Glenn Beck has endorsed Ted Cruz for president, which his organization emphasized as his “first ever presidential endorsement.” That distinction proves significant in the context of Beck’s dominionism. He has said that Cruz was “raised for this hour” by the “hand of divine providence.” Most recently, Beck has offered the outlandish claim that God brought about the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to “wake up” conservative voters and summon support for Cruz.

As a Christian, I retain unshakable faith in the sovereignty of God. In a sense, you could truthfully say that He brought about Scalia’s death, but only in the same way that He has brought about anything that has ever happened. Assigning special theological significance to a particular death or a particular candidacy for president requires a certain level of presumption that I, for one, would not dare.

Romans 13 tells us that “there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” In this sense, if Ted Cruz ends up becoming president of the United States, it will be by God’s hand. But then, so will have the election of all 44 presidents before him, including Obama. A cursory reading of scripture demonstrates that God does not always appoint leaders who love or obey him. In fact, as history attests, he often appoints the opposite. There is therefore little sense in singling out Ted Cruz as uniquely “raised for this hour.” The implication of such a statement is that God favors Cruz over anyone else who may win the Republican nomination or the presidency, and that He needs you and I to manifest his divine will in the ballot box. Unless Beck has somehow reopened the closed office of prophet, I’m not sure how he could know that.