The End Times Checklist That's Driving the War on Iran

Eschatology, the study of the end times, isn't just a Sunday School topic anymore. It's shaping military rhetoric, command structures, and foreign policy. When the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, Matthew's first thought wasn't about geopolitics. It was about the end-times ideology driving some of the people in power right now. This week, Matthew and Melissa are joined by Reverend Timothy Garvin-Leighton, pastor at the Church of the Pilgrimage in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Tim has taught classes on eschatology across Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, and he brings serious academic depth to a conversation that desperately needs it. The episode opens with Pete Hegseth's Pentagon briefing quote about Iran being "hell bent on prophetic Islamist illusions" and a leaked letter from a military NCO describing how their commanding officer told troops that the Iran strikes were "all part of God's divine plan" and that "President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon." Multiple complaints were filed with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. From there, the conversation goes deep: What is dispensationalism and where did it come from? Who was John Nelson Darby and why is his 1800s theology shaping American foreign policy? What are the seven dispensations? Why are evangelicals so committed to the modern state of Israel, and what does that have to do with John Hagee, red heifers, the third temple, and the settler movement? How do Jewish, Christian, and Islamic eschatology mirror each other in surprising ways? Why do some believers think they can speed up the end times through military conflict? Is Trump the Antichrist? And what does any of this have to do with the rapture, a concept that most biblical scholars trace back to the Latin translation of a single word? Tim also walks through the "prophecy checklist" that dispensationalists use, including the wild phonetic system that maps ancient biblical place names onto modern Russia, and explains why reading Revelation literally creates a dangerous feedback loop between theology and policy. The episode closes with Tim sharing how he scrapped his Sunday sermon after the Iran strikes and preached instead on Matthew 5:9 ("Blessed are the peacemakers") because in a moment when end-times theology is being used to justify war, the most important Christian witness might just be making peace. Referenced in this episode: Jonathan Larsen's Substack article on military officers invoking Armageddon theology Joe Smith Substack article  Merch & more: yallaintright.co