Evangelical Pastor Urges Christians to 'Mobilize' to Fight Civil War Against Left-Wing Activists

Conservative evangelical pastor Rick Joyner has urged Christians to "mobilize" to fight a civil war against left-wing activists.

Joyner, who recently described Black Lives Matter protesters as the "KKK of this time," discussed his concerns about a civil war in the U.S. during an appearance on the conservative Christian program The Jim Bakker Show. Right Wing Watch first reported his remarks on Monday.

"We're in time for war. We need to recognize that. We need to mobilize. We need to get ready," Joyner said during the show. He went on to discuss "our civil war," saying that he'd seen in a dream that "militias would pop up like mushrooms" and they would be backed by God.

"Jesus himself said, 'There's gonna be a time when you need to sell your coat and buy a sword.' Now that was a physical weapon of their day, and we're in that time here. We need to realize that," he said.

The pastor went on to say that God had "seeded" the U.S. with veterans of recent wars who "know how to fight in urban warfare." He said that these veterans would "be a part of the leadership of these militias and help us in what's about to unfold in our own country." Joyner described them as "patriots."

"These are going to be those who know what the tyranny of Marxism is, and they have seen its evidence and the cruelty of some other ideologies, and all that is out there," Joyner said. "God has prepared us for this."

Joyner later told Newsweek that he discourages people from joining racist or extremist militia groups.

"Though militias have gotten a bad name in recent times for their often racist or other extremist views, to have a militia is a constitutional right (first part of the Second Amendment)," he said in an email. "As having one or becoming a part of one is now a common question...the goals for these people...now wanting to start are simply to defend their communities, especially where our main defense, law enforcement, is under such an attack. I do counsel those who have asked me about this that Christians should join those that are not based on racism or other extremist views."

The pastor also said that a new civil war is necessary from heaven's perspective because the Revolutionary War and the Civil War did not fully accomplish their goals.

"By not abolishing slavery and by not becoming a place where all were treated equally and fairly, as we declared as our reason for independence, it made the Civil War inevitable. If the Civil War had fully accomplished its purpose, the civil rights movement would have not been needed, etc. In this dream, another revolution/civil war was now inevitable," he said.

Joyner has been making similar calls and predictions for more than a year. Earlier this month, he urged people to arm themselves for a civil war during a previous segment of The Jim Bakker Show.

"The Second Amendment is linked to militias," he said. "We were meant to have militias throughout the country to defend our communities.... I think there is going to be a militia movement that unites and supports."

Joyner has been a vocal Donald Trump supporter. "By the end of Trump's presidency, he will be considered one of the greatest presidents we've had since the founders," he said in a June 2017 Facebook Live video.

White evangelicals have been one of Trump's strongest bases of support since his election. According to polling by Pew Research Center shortly after the last presidential election, some 77 percent of white evangelicals said they voted for Trump. But more recent polling conducted by the center in July showed that support for the president may have slipped slightly in this demographic, as just 72 percent said they approved of the job Trump is doing as president.

This story was updated on September 15 with additional comments from Joyner.