You don't have to be religious to figure out that theological indoctrination is a great way to de-legitimize courts, laws and norms of civil society in your favor.

The intersectionality of the American military industrial complex, the Republican Party and fundamentalist Christianity go back much further than Hegseth. When Bush talked about a "new crusade" after 9/11, who do you think he was signaling to? That wasn't just awkward phrasing.

The only real difference between then and now is that the current administration is run by groypers and trolls who don't care about kayfabe and aren't capable of subtlety.

Not exactly the "Armageddon" part. It's a little more complicated than that.

Hegseth's preacher is part of a partial preterist and postmillennialist group. They believe apocalyptic prophecies like the Great Tribulation and Armageddon were largely fulfilled in 70 CE when the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem.