I think most readers know what Christian nationalism is, but if you don't, Christian nationalism is the belief that America was founded as a "Christian nation" and that, because of this, America has a divinely ordained role to play in world affairs. However, America's Christian identity is currently and constantly being attacked and undermined by godless and secular forces, threatening America's ability to fulfill God's purposes. Consequently, Christian nationalists feel called to "do battle" with these anti-Christian forces to restore America as a "Christian nation." "Making America Great Again," in this view returning us to our Christian foundations, will allow America to to fulfill God's providential plans for our nation and the world.
When combined with dispensational thinking Christian nationalism sees the rise or fall of a "Christian America" as a central player in end times scenarios. Consequently, political events in Washington have enormous eschatological significance. Each election, each political win or loss, each headline, is an end times sign or portent. For example, there were evangelicals who believed that Barack Obama was the Antichrist. And there are evangelicals who feel that Donald Trump is battling the forces of the Antichrist.
Along with Christian nationalism, the state of Israel also plays a key role in many dispensationalist systems. Thus, how American foreign policy affects the state of Israel has great eschatological significance for evangelicals. For example, when Donald Trump moved the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem his reason was, in his words: "And we moved the capital of Israel to Jerusalem. That’s for the evangelicals.” Why? Because recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has enormous end times significance for dispensationalist evangelicals. Consequently, by making policy decisions conform to dispensationalist expectations Trump solidified his position as "savior" in the minds of many evangelicals. For evangelicals, moving the embassy to Jerusalem might have been Trump's most momentous decision, getting us one step closer to the end times.
It's this combination of Christian nationalism with dispensational thinking that gets evangelical Christians involved with QAnon, the conspiracy theory focused upon the heroic actions of Donald Trump in fighting evil cabals seeking to destroy America. To be sure, QAnon isn't an "end times" conspiracy theory. But given how Trump's actions are interpreted by dispensational Christian nationalists, Trump's actions, as revealed by Q, are given eschatological significance. QAnon helps dispensational Christian nationalists read "the signs of the times."
