U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for "Armageddon," Return of Jesus

[muriel_volestrangler]

A combat-unit commander told non-commissioned officers at a briefing Monday that the Iran war is part of God’s plan and that Pres. Donald Trump was “anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth,” according to a complaint by a non-commissioned officer.

From Saturday morning through Monday night, more than 110 similar complaints about commanders in every branch of the military had been logged by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF).
...
One complainant identified themselves as a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in a unit currently outside the Iran combat zone but in Ready-Support status, deployable at any time. The NCO said they were Christian and emailed the MRFF on behalf of 15 troops, including at least 11 Christians, one Muslim, and one Jew. (Full email printed below.)
...
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has enshrined evangelical Christianity at the uppermost levels of the U.S. military, airing monthly prayer meetings throughout the Pentagon. Last year, the Pentagon confirmed to me that Hegseth attends a weekly White House Bible study. It’s led by a preacher who says God commands America to support Israel.

https://jonathanlarsen.substack.com/p/us-troops-were-told-iran-war-is-for

I don't know what's worse - Hegseth cynically being a showy "Christian" who thinks that means fighting other religions, or the commanders below him who eat that up and actually believe it.

[raging moderate]

1. So they think they have the right to ORDER GOD AROUND?

This is blasphemy that is almost identical to the vicious tyranny of the medieval narcissistic rulers.

[hvn_nbr_2]

9. If we start a war and we say it's Armageddon, then Jesus has to come back.

The Bible says that no one knows when. These religious freaks and fanatics think they know because they think they can force God's hand simply by saying that their war is Armageddon.

And re: your subject line: They not only think they have the RIGHT to order God around. They think they have the POWER to order God around.

[multigraincracker]

2. Now pass the plate.

[UpInArms]

3. This is intolerable

Last edited Tue Mar 3, 2026, 09:57 AM - Edit history (1)

Eta

I wish all of the end timers would just rapture themselves off my planet

[surfered]

4. The Biblical basis.

According to Scripture, when Christ comes again, he does so in Israel. That is why these Evangelicals support Israel. They need for it to exist for Christ’s return when they will be raptured while all the Jews die.

[Bmoboy]

5. Classic murder-suicide pact

Why do the killers not just kill themselves and go to Jesus? Why do they need to kill all the rest of us first?

[Ray Bruns]

6. I predict that when Jesus doesn't show up, a lot of people are going to be sorely disappointed.

[Fiendish Thingy]

7. As reported by one blogger

And nobody else.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. As denigrated by you. Again.

Look, it's clear you have something against either the MRFF or Jonathan Larsen - who knows why. A story is broken by a journalist on Monday night, and you're immediately over any thread mentioning it, trying to pretend the journalist is just "a blogger" or "some guy". You didn't check him out yourself - fine, not everyone has time. But you obviously do have the time, but you've chosen to spend it trying to downplay this story.

Why?

[Fiendish Thingy]

10. Any story this significant that was vetted and verified would be widely reported

That’s my beef, nothing personal against Larsen or his alleged source.

I’m guessing the MRFF is getting flooded by media requests for interviews, and if they can provide corroborated evidence, then I would expect the story to spread. If it can be verified, then I hope it does.

But in this age of AI, clickbait and misinformation, it is critical that we take a breath and use critical thinking before accepting something as true and factual.

I’m sure you have seen false reports spread like wildfire here on DU. I remember one report of the death of a celebrity or politician made it to the top of the Greatest Page, and then it was retracted as unconfirmed.

Other false reports, proven false by numerous DUers providing evidence to the OP, have nevertheless risen to the top of the Greatest Page without a retraction/deletion, misleading hundreds who rec’d the thread without seeing the evidence it was false.

There is nothing wrong with taking a breath when a single sourced report is breaking.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Sadly, I think you overestimate the interest of much of the media in the far right "Christian" infiltration

of the US military. Sure, "take a breath" - which means investigating the credentials of the source. It turns out it's a well-known journalist (MRFF calls him "veteran" ), with a trustworthy history of who he's worked for, and a history of working with MRFF. So it's not surprising he's first out of the blocks with a story of theirs.

And look, now it's Tuesday morning, MRFF's own write-up is on their own site: https://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/2026/03/mrff-inundated-with-complaints-of-gleeful-commanders-telling-troops-iran-war-is-part-of-gods-divine-plan-to-usher-in-the-return-of-jesus-christ/

and at their link, they link back to Larsen's substack article: https://myemail.constantcontact.com/MRFF-Inundated-with-Complaints-of-Gleeful-Commanders-Telling-Troops-Iran-War-is--Part-of-God-s-Divine-Plan--to-Usher-in-Return-o.html?soid=1101766362531&aid=3OTPFAZxIrI

[Fiendish Thingy]

12. I look forward to additional outlets investigating this report. Nt

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Huff Post, Common Dreams, Charlie Pierce in Esquire

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/troops-being-told-prepare-armageddon-164235865.html
https://www.commondreams.org/news/iran-armageddon-military
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a70590863/jesus-trump-military-iran-war/
Asia Times: https://asiatimes.com/2026/03/us-troops-were-told-iran-war-is-for-armageddon-return-of-jesus/
New Republic: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/military-leaders-iran-war-trump-172548999.html

[Fiendish Thingy]

14. Good. Nt

[Eugene]

15. Not just one blogger. Mainstream sites like The New Republic are starting to run with this.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/military-leaders-iran-war-trump-172548999.html

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has been dealing with these complaints for several months. Even before this, MRFF were easy enough to find.

[Fiendish Thingy]

16. Glad to see the story get vetted and reported more widely

At the time of my original post, only one blog was reporting it.