New Apostolic Reformation
[5] American Republican politicians such as Mike Johnson, Doug Mastriano, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert and activists such as Charlie Kirk have aligned with it.
The NAR has been described as taking the restorationism, dominionism, and "end-times revival" focus of the Latter Rain movement – thought to lead to a new Christian influence on the world – and the authoritarian nature of the Shepherding movement, described as "a kind of pyramid of power and accountability whereby authority (usually male) would flow down from a leading national (or global) figure to local pastors, and even through a chain of pastoral command between congregants".
You'll become part of a great end-time army that will bring about a world revival and cleanse the earth of evil by calling down hailstones, fire and the other judgments of God described in the New Testament book of Revelation.
"[56] Many NAR adherents have adopted the Appeal to Heaven Flag from the American Revolutionary War that symbolized seeking authority from a power higher than the British king.
André Gagné asserts the NAR symbolism of the flag "has completely turned" from the original meaning, to now "support the idea that Trump should be president, that he's chosen by God."
The flag is displayed outside Speaker Mike Johnson's Capitol Hill office, and has flown at the New Jersey vacation home of United States Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito.
"[61] During a summer 2022 livestreamed service, Sheets prayed over congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who identifies as a Christian nationalist, concluding, "You are highly favored, you will not fail, in Jesus' name, Amen!
[90][7] In 2021, NAR leaders played a key part in heading the newly founded Michael Flynn ReAwaken America Tour, which was initially a protest against COVID-19 restrictions.
Anthea Butler, chair of the University of Pennsylvania religious studies department, asserts the prophecies and charismatic preaching at ReAwaken events can be traced to NAR.
"Darkly messianic religious speakers" speak at the events, with one warning, "Do not be surprised if the Angel of Death shows up in Washington", and others referring to "demonic territory that's over the land".
The event was hosted by Lance Wallnau, who had previously characterized Harris as representing the "spirit of Jezebel" and employing "witchcraft" during her debate with Trump weeks earlier.
[96][97][98] Campaigning for Trump in October 2024, Elon Musk held a town hall meeting at a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania megachurch that in recent years had hosted an array of Christian nationalist leaders, many with ties to NAR.
Donald Trump has appeared on the program six times; other guests have included Michael Flynn, Charlie Kirk, Jeanine Pirro, Steve Bannon, Glenn Beck and Chaya Raichik.
In 2001, the German Evangelical Alliance released a statement denouncing the spiritual warfare trip of C. Peter Wagner and Global Harvest Ministries to engage the "Queen of Heaven" territorial spirit in battle, stating that while they encouraged prayer, the movement's methods were "unbiblical".
[37][107][82] Forrest Wilder, senior editor for the Texas Observer, describes the New Apostolic Reformation as having "taken Pentecostalism, with its emphasis on ecstatic worship and the supernatural, and given it an adrenaline shot."
NAR "calls to 'take back the land' of Muslim Americans" by engaging in spiritual warfare prayer over mosques, described as "like sending our special forces into Afghanistan", drew concern.
[110] The same year, sociologist Margaret Poloma described the NAR's spiritual warfare rhetoric: "The way some of the leaders talk, you'd think they were an army planning to take over the world...It sounds to me like radical Islam.
[113] In 2022, Matthew D. Taylor, a scholar of Protestantism at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies, released an audio documentary on the movement's connection to the January 6 United States Capitol attack, entitled Charismatic Revival Fury.
In the weeks preceding the January 6 attack, self-proclaimed NAR apostles such as Dutch Sheets told followers they needed to be at the Capitol to ensure Trump would remain president.
[121] Politico reported in February 2024 that Russell Vought, a leader of Project 2025—a group closely aligned with Trump that created an expansive blueprint for the next Republican presidency—was spearheading plans to instill Christian nationalism into that presidency.
[122] One of the story authors, Heidi Przybyla, later said in a television interview, in part: Remember when Trump ran in 2016, a lot of the mainline Evangelicals wanted nothing to do with the divorced real estate mogul who had cheated on his wife with a porn star and all of that, right?
[125] Holly Pivec, co-author with Biola University theology professor Douglas Geivett of Counterfeit Kingdom: The Dangers of New Revelation, New Prophets, and New Age Practices in the Church, says many Pentecostals and Charismatics are concerned that the NAR movement is inconsistent with historical Christian teachings.
NPR reported the "any means necessary" faction has a direct line to House Speaker Mike Johnson due to his close ties to NAR leaders such as Jim Garlow.
Scholar Steve Snow argues that the "NAR represents what Richard Hofstadter referred to as the modern paranoid style in American politics" characterized by the John Birch Society (JBS).
[128] Likewise, Anthea Butler says the messaging at ReAwaken America events of election denialism, vaccine conspiracy theories and anti-government sentiment has been largely embraced by the Republican Party.
Mark Clatterbuck, associate professor of religion at Montclair State University, described an October 2022 ReAwaken event he attended as a MAGA-driven "seething groundswell of spiritually sanctioned incitement to violence that was impossible to ignore."
Clatterbuck added that leaders aligned with NAR are "driven by a prophetic certainty that God is commanding them to establish a militant Christian theocracy in the United States.
"[5] Researcher Bruce Wilson asserts he has identified well-funded programs designed "to obscure, to confuse and confound reporters and journalists and academics who are writing about and discussing dominionist Christianity."
"[44] One scholar, noting the prevalence of Wagner's spiritual warfare teachings in Singapore, describes the belief's potential for divisiveness in a multicultural society where the deities of neighboring non-Christians are seen as "cultural ethnic demons".
[134] Scholar Damon T. Berry argues that the "presence of imagined enemies [threatening] to destroy Christianity and America added to Trump's appeal" to evangelicals, issues NAR prophecies were believed to address.
