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What Happens After Christian Prophets Admit They Were Wrong About Trump?
On YouTube, charismatic prophets are hurrying to reframe their failure for disillusioned followers
After a year mangled by shattering uncertainty, political upheaval, and plague, it sure would be nice to have a safe bet, a window into the future, an omniscient someone pointing the way through.
Over the past year, psychics and tarot card readers saw a boom in business— so did a serious uptick in complaints of fraudulent psychics and spiritual advisors to AARP’s helpline. Astrologers’ grew their $2.2 billion industry, kicked off with a spike in Google searches for “coronavirus astrology” last March. There’s the malarkey of QAnon, set down by their prophet, Q. And among the charismatic Christian set, there’s been a flood of armchair prophets building a following on YouTube.
“YouTube is a huge new factor for these prophets,” notes Robert Schoone-Jongen, emeritus professor of history at Calvin University, in an interview over email. “Also the charismatic faction has been growing more in recent years, with its plethora of unsupervised ministers who are free to claim to the heart’s desire.”
With the YouTube prophecy phenomenon, just about anyone with a Bible and a decent podcast mic can spout messages they believe God or the Holy Spirit have ferried to them. Hundreds of thousands of people watch each video—and find links to self-published books and podcasts in the comments.
There are a few ways to interpret this phenomenon. Surely, legions being stuck in lockdown looking for answers grew online flocks. For some, the uptick in prophecy is the work of the Holy Spirit. There’s also an overturning of old hierarchies. Charismatic traditions include women and people of color, although, as Ruth Graham noted for the New York Times, “the most successful politically oriented prophets of the Trump era were white and appealed to an audience that resembled Mr. Trump’s base.”
