Unmasking the New Apostolic Reformation: Power, Prophecy, and the Threat to Democracy
“When spiritual authority merges with political ambition, the result is rarely sacred and often dangerous.” - Mary Coughlin
✍️ Author’s Note:
This post is not about fear-mongering. It’s about truth-telling.
I believe deeply in the right to worship freely—and just as deeply in the need to protect the sacred boundary that keeps faith from becoming law and power from becoming idolatry.
I wrote this after coming across a recent Atlantic article that chilled my bones. It connected dots between Christian nationalism, political extremism, and a movement I’d never heard of before: the New Apostolic Reformation.
What I discovered felt both deeply familiar and profoundly dangerous.
Separation of church and state isn’t anti-faith.
It’s the only way faith can remain sacred and free.
What Is the New Apostolic Reformation?
It sounds innocuous—a new wave of Christian revival. But the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is not a church, not a denomination, and not a fringe group. It is a global movement of loosely connected leaders—many self-appointed as “apostles” or “prophets”—claiming divine authority to shape governments, transform nations, and reclaim culture for God.
What makes it dangerous is not just its theology, but its mission: dominion over every system of society, from education to law, media to medicine.
The Seven Mountains Mandate: Dominion Disguised as Discipleship
At the heart of NAR’s political theology is the “Seven Mountains Mandate.” According to this ideology, Christians are called to “invade” and control seven areas of culture:
Government
Education
Media
Religion
Family
Arts & Entertainment
Business
This isn’t about coexisting—it’s about conquering. The mandate is clear: gain influence, shape laws, and install a version of “biblical values” that aligns with the NAR worldview. This often includes anti-LGBTQ+, anti-abortion, anti-science, and anti-democratic policies, enforced not through debate, but divine right.
From Spiritual Warfare to Political Extremism
The language of the NAR is spiritual—“intercession,” “revival,” “warfare,”—but the outcomes are material: elections manipulated, misinformation spread, and violence justified.
We’ve seen this play out:
Prophets declaring Trump “chosen by God”
Calls to “rebuke” and “cast out” political opponents
Participation in the January 6 insurrection
Global networks funding political candidates in Brazil, Uganda, the Philippines, and beyond
The Trauma Behind the Theology
This movement thrives on fear—fear of cultural erosion, of moral collapse, of “the other.” It uses trauma language—“wounded nation,” “spiritual attack,” “enemy infiltration”—to justify control.
But this is not healing. It’s coercion. And for those raised within these systems, it can be deeply traumatizing. Children taught to fear their bodies. Women silenced by “submission.” Marginalized communities demonized.
The NAR doesn’t bring peace—it manufactures enemies, both real and imagined, then declares war in the name of God.
Why This Matters Now
In 2025, we are watching history bend. The line between faith and fascism is being blurred. The NAR is not the only force at play—but it is a powerful one, often working behind the curtain. Its leaders don’t just want revival. They want rule.
A Call to Reimagine
We don’t heal by replacing one empire with another. We heal by dismantling systems of control, by cultivating spiritual practices rooted in dignity, compassion, plurality, and love. We reimagine what it means to be connected—not through conquest, but through care.
Let us not fight fire with fire. Let us be the water, the weave, the wild resistance of hope.
Reflection Prompt:
What do you believe in? What kind of spiritual or ethical authority do you trust—and how can you tell the difference between healing and harm when it’s cloaked in sacred language?
Not all prophets wear robes. Some wear flags. Some sell fear wrapped in scripture. But the true divine? It doesn’t dominate. It dignifies.
With fierce hope and sacred clarity,
Mary
P.S.: If something stirred in you as you read—follow it. Truth isn’t always loud, but it’s always liberating. The REIMAGINE Movement is a space for us to untangle, unlearn, and rebuild together. You are not alone in this.
