Of Gog and Magog: The Geopolitical Visions of Jack Chick and Premillennial Dispensationalism

Abstract

This paper is a study of the geopolitical vision of Jack Chick, author of Christian cartoon tracts. In over 50 years of publishing, Chick has sold over 500 million tracts, making him a significant, if idiosyncratic, example of a creative Christian force shaping geographic imaginations. The paper outlines the basics of his theology, known as premillennial dispensationalism, and then illustrates how Chick has rendered the prophetic geopolitics of the future visible in his tracts. A discussion follows that tracks the policy implications of the premillennial dispensationalist geopolitical vision and how it has played out in American history. The conclusion notes that Chick’s success is in part because of his selection of media, as the cartoon tracts structure the message that is mediated to recipients. Also, the paper calls for more research of religion as a structuring agent of geopolitical visions.