Update: A follow-up to this post explores the antisemitic origins and deadly consequences of the rhetoric and conspiracy theories this post reports on.
Monday night’s edition of the FlashPoint program on televangelist Kenneth Copeland’s Victory Channel focused on the selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as the Democratic candidate for vice president.
Guest Rick Green, an associate of Christian nationalist historian David Barton, declared Walz a “power-hungry tyrant” who is “perfect for the Communist Democrats.” If Green was hoping that would be the program’s most memorable attack line, he would soon be sorely disappointed.
That honor goes to “prophet” Joseph Z. Here’s part of his answer to his first question from host Gene Bailey, who asked if Z was encouraged or discouraged by what’s going on the country right now:
I believe very clearly the spirit of the Lord is making a way for the body of Christ to go through in this time. And you know even when we bring up guys like Tim Walz and look at what’s going on, people say he’s you know midwestern folksy, I have another word for him, being from Minnesota myself, and it’s weird. The guy’s just weird. You see the way he hugs his wife. You see the way he does everything. I believe the Spirit of the Lord is letting them overextend their reach. I believe he’s giving them a sense of confidence that’s actually going to be a surprise silver lining turnaround in this whole narrative. I believe the spirit of the Lord is going to bring victory and breakthrough. And you know it’s interesting how the spirit of antichrist just loves to pick these people that fit right in with the wicked overlord lizard mafia that is really driven by their goblin masters, and when you’re looking at this, I believe that’s exactly what we’re facing right now—a spirit of antichrist that wants to have its way.
Remarkably, Bailey had just introduced the Colorado-based Z to FlashPoint viewers by vouching for his credibility:
What we put on the air we take very seriously. And who we put on the air we take seriously as well. But that comes even more so when it comes to men of the cloth and prophets. Well, I met Joseph Z over a year ago, and I’ve continued to watch Joseph. My friend Hank Kunneman—we’ve continued to watch him. When he didn’t know we were watching, we were watching to see how he handled things. And I’m glad to say, I’m proud to have Joseph Z on the show tonight.
FlashPoint was launched by the Victory Channel in the fall of 2020 to help rally conservative Christians to support Trump and likeminded candidates, and as Right Wing Watch has reported, “provides a steady platform for pro-Trump, Christian nationalist propaganda and conspiracy theories, as it did on the night of Jan. 6, 2021.” Trump has rewarded the show’s loyalty by calling in repeatedly and sitting down with Bailey for a Mar-a-Lago interview last year. More from RWW:
“FlashPoint” played a key role in spreading lies about the 2020 election and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, with host Gene Bailey regularly welcoming right-wing “prophets” and evangelists like Lance Wallnau, Hank Kunneman, and Mario Murillo on to the program, where they steadfastly refuse to accept the election results.”
Wallnau, a New Apostolic Reformation figure and promoter of Seven Mountains Dominionism, wrote a foreword to Z’s book “Demystifying the Prophetic,” which promises among other things to teach readers how to “identify real and false prophets.”
Last year Green displeased Bailey and other Christian nationalist leaders and activists when he said he thought then-presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy could make a good president, and Green was forced to “eat crow” on the program and insist that the nation’s founders said “over and over again” that the country needs “biblical leaders.”
FlashPoint regularly takes its show on the road, hosting events in front of live audiences to rally conservative Christian activists. Promoting a 2023 event to train right-wing Christians how to take over local school boards, Bailey declared, “That sounds like we’re trying to take over the world? Yes, we are. I fully admit that. That’s exactly what we’re doing.”
