Reports that US commanders have framed the war on Iran as part of a divine plan highlight the dangerous intersection of religious prophecy and modern military power.

We shouldn’t be surprised that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation received over 200 calls from more than 50 US military installations reporting that commanders had told troops that the war on Iran was part of God’s plan.

The commanders’ preaching references the Book of Revelation and its forecast of Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ.

Christian fundamentalists have long been predicting imminent “end times.” So why not now?

But then again, what store can we place on the Book of Revelation, a book that Greek Orthodox Christians – who knew a thing or two about the author – never accepted as a genuine sacred book.

The Orthodox are not alone. Protestant reformer, Martin Luther says in the 1522 preface to his translation of Revelation that the book is “neither apostolic nor prophetic.” He could in no way detect the Holy Spirit in it.

Similarly, US founding father, Thomas Jefferson was not impressed, describing it as “the ravings of a maniac.”

The US fundamentalists, who so lovingly quote Revelation, seem to know nothing of its origins. Some seem to think the Bible was written in English, with the “original” being the King James’ version.

Revelation was written in Greek by John of Patmos. The author, John, gives his location in Chapter 1, verse 9. Patmos is a small island off the coast of what is now Türkiye, and East of the slightly better known Greek holiday island of Mykonos.

John also says, (Ch.1,v.1) that what he is revealing are “things which must shortly come to pass.” (my emphasis)

Have they already happened? Or did he get this wrong? Or is roughly 2,000 years a short time? Why then might “shortly” not mean 3,000, 4,000 or even 200,000 years?

John is writing in the days of the Roman Empire and says he is addressing the Seven Churches of Asia, which he clearly identifies as the seven churches of the Greek-speaking part of Anatolia, now part of Türkiye. A rational interpretation is that he hoped for an immediate end to the persecution of these early Christians.

Most importantly, it is the Greek-speaking part of the Christian world – the people who were most likely to know about John – who later rejected the book as part of their Canon.

Those farthest away, and least likely to have studied any of the Bible in its original language – US evangelical Christians – are the ones now telling us what it predicts.

It’s a strange world. Not that long ago these Christian evangelicals were obsessed with “anti-popery” but they unquestioningly accepted the Roman Catholic inclusion of this script as one of the sacred books of the Bible.

Not that long ago US evangelicals, such as Gerald B Winrod, also ranted and preached about Jews killing Christ. Winrod, who ran for the US Senate in the 1938 election, wrote, in his book, The Jewish Assault on Christianity, that _“_The same forces which crucified Christ nineteen hundred years ago are today trying to crucify His Church.”

He was not alone.  Catholic priest, Charles E. Coughlin, who had 30 million listeners to his radio program in the 1930s when the US population was 120 million, preached that Jews were responsible for both the death of Christ and the rise of atheistic Communism.

Now, it seems, that for many US Christians the Israelis are the good guys and Trump is leading the way to the second coming.

All this wouldn’t matter, were it not for the fact that evangelicals vote, and they have voted for Trump and his ilk. It wouldn’t matter were it not for the fact that hundreds of people are dying and being maimed and injured in this crusading war. Think for a moment of the wanton killing of 160 primary school girls in a US missile strike in Minab. Does Revelation predict and justify that?

It wouldn’t matter were it not for the fact that the US and Israel possess nuclear weapons and are led by the erratic President Trump and the fanatic Benjamin Netanyahu.

Frighteningly, if US military leaders, and their Commander in Chief believe in Revelation’s Armageddon, they might just make it happen.

More optimistically, on 5 March Trump said that the war on Iran could last four to six weeks or less. As I write, he is saying that the war will not end until Iran accepts unconditional surrender.

Had he read about the region, and US involvement, he might have discovered the writings of CIA man, Kermit Roosevelt, who played a key part in the 1953 overthrow of the democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, and the installation of the Shah.

Roosevelt later wrote: “If we are ever going to try something like this again, we must be absolutely sure that [the] people and the army want what we want.”

Today we know no such thing.

Trump and his cronies should also note an Arab observation about the Persians: “A people who will spend ten years making a rug, will wait many years to achieve victory in war.”

Having launched the attack on Iran, Trump – who seems to know nothing of the history of the region – said one of the US’ objectives was regime change.

Apparently believing that it would make a real difference, a US/Israeli strike killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

But again, had he been briefed on the history, he might have been told of the late Ayatollah Khomeini’s last message when he said: “Know that the departure of one servant shall not leave a scratch on the steel shield that is the nation.”

Trump has no chance of finding an Iranian leader, or leadership team, who could ensure countrywide friendship with the US and Israel.

Outsiders who are cheering for the return of the Shah’s dynasty should note Robert Fisk’s observation in his book, _The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East_, that the Shah’s regime was one of the most notorious and most murderous in the Middle East. He retained power thanks to his secret police, Savak, which had a US mission attached and used the most appalling methods in its torture chambers.

The Israeli tail wags the idiot Trump dog. And the Israelis’ objective is clear. Having the US entangled in a long war in one form or another, is just fine.

As in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, the aim is to weaken and drive Iran backwards: divide-and-rule; Balkanize Iran and have the various ethnic groups fighting each other.

The Israelis will have no better chance than in these last years of Trump’s chaotic leadership. We can only hope that we survive the apocalypse and later US administrations are not so easily manipulated.