For US multi-billionaire Peter Theil September 23 must have been a rather disappointing day. It was the day the Rapture was to occur. Sadly, as with other similar predictions about the end days over the centuries it didn’t come to pass.

It was more of pity given that he recently delivered a series of four off-the-record lectures on the Antichrist. The talks at the Commonwealth Club were sold out and the online invite vaguely indicated the talks would be “addressing the topic of the biblical Antichrist” and its “theology, history and politics – all off the record.

Theil, who founded Pay Pal and was a foundation investor in other companies is now worth billions, the 103^rd richest person in the US and his net worth is $US 20.8 billion. He owns an island in Hawaii and has a vast estate in New Zealand set up to handle the Apocalypse when it comes. One of his companies, Palantir produces software used by the Israeli Defence Forces to strike targets in Gaza. Given the number of civilian casualties in Gaza either the software is not much chop or is working exactly as the Israelis wanted. It is also used for real-time tacking to target undocumented immigrants.

The Theil lectures were supposed to be secret but a tech worker, Kshitij Kulkarni, was reported in The Standard, to have got himself into the first one and took notes which have now been leaked. He was banned from the next three and his ticket was revoked without refund.

Happening at the same time as the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the Christian Nationalist poster boy, it raised many questions about what Christian nationalism is and what it stands for.

Thiel, in his lecture, allegedly cited a series of Biblical passages which discuss the arrival of the Antichrist and the apocalypse. If you are unfamiliar with the Bible look at Daniel 12:4; Matthew 24:35-36; Thessalonians 5-3, 2 and 2.6 and Revelation 9:6.

He argued that because we are increasingly concerned about existential threats the time is ripe for the Anti-christ to rise to power. There are a number of candidates for the Antichrist but Theil once suggested Greta Thunberg could be the Antichrist. Ross Douthat, a New York Times columnist once suggested that Thiel might himself be the Antichrist. Readers are welcome to consider their own candidates.

Theil might be hugely rich but he’s still a grifter. His staff refused Kulkarni a refund for the lectures he didn’t get to attend.

Recently the PRRI American Values Atlas looked at religion, culture and politics. The results put Thiel in context. It found that three in 10 Americans qualified as Christian nationalism adherents – about the same as those who were sceptics or rejecters. It also found that White evangelical Protestants and Hispanic Protestants are most likely to hold Christian nationalist views. About half of those who attend religious services weekly or more often are adherents or sympathizers.

They are dominant in the US South and Midwest and there is a strong correlation between this support and votes for Trump in all 50 states. They see migrants as invaders and see them as “poisoning the blood of our country” and 30% of them agree that “because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence to save the country.”

They are also likely to be older, have lower education levels and believe that: Society is better off when men and women stick to the jobs and tasks they are naturally suited for. An overwhelming number of them think society has become “too soft and feminine.”

They get their news from Fox News and most trust far-right TV news sources and think Trump’s election victory was ordained by God. They are, however, also under the illusion that Trump will peacefully leave office at the end of his term.

If you want to get a better handle on Christian nationalists a quick re-read of Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale. Or, if you are a total masochist, dip into Charlie Kirk’s record of utterances.