<a href=http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Virginia-Governor-Cruz/a599d270916542949632e1b7deba51ba/6/0>Daniel Sangjib Min</a>/AP
Last week, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas proudly announced the latest endorsement of his presidential bid. It came from Mike Bickle, the founder and director of the International House of Prayer of Kansas City. Bickle is a controversial pastor who has attacked same-sex marriage as a sign of the End Times and seemingly blamed the Jews for the Holocaust.
Here’s Bickle on how the legalization of gay marriage would tear the United States apart:
He’s more explicit in this sermon, in which he calls gay marriage “a unique signal of the End Times”:
Cruz’s new backer had some unique observations about celebrity talk show host and billionaire Oprah Winfrey. Bickle said Oprah is charming, kind, and reasonable but, unfortunately, also a forerunner of the Antichrist:
In a 2011 speech, Bickle suggested that millions of Jews were killed during the Holocaust because they didn’t accept God’s gift of Jesus. At this event, he read from Jeremiah 16:16 and used this passage from the Bible to explain why Hitler executed millions:
The Lord says, “I’m going to give all 20 million of them the chance to respond to the fishermen. And I give them grace.” And he says, “And if they don’t respond to grace, I’m going to raise up the hunters.” And the most famous hunter in recent history is a man named Adolf Hitler.
Cruz publicly thanked Bickle for his endorsement. “Through prayer, the Lord has changed my life and altered my family’s story,” Cruz said in a statement on his website. “I am grateful for Mike’s dedication to call a generation of young people to prayer and spiritual commitment. Heidi and I are grateful to have his prayers and support. With the support of Mike and many other people of faith, we will fight the good fight, finish the course, and keep the faith.”
