Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has secured the endorsement of yet another evangelical leader, someone who became a controversial figure after he pointed at talk show host Oprah Winfrey as the forerunner of the Antichrist.
Mike Bickle, founder and director of the International House of Prayer Kansas City, has joined Cruz's bandwagon, according to Right Wing Watch and Raw Story.
The evangelical pastor oversees several ministries and a school where students are taught about the Word of God, including what to watch for as the end times approach.
Bickle made waves when he accused Winfrey of being the forerunner of the Antichrist, claiming that she belongs to the "Harlot Movement," a group that will allegedly seduce the masses with "humanitarian projects" and "acts of compassion for all the wrong reasons."
"I believe that one of the main pastors, as a forerunner to the Harlot movement, it's not the Harlot movement yet, is Oprah. She is winsome, she is kind, she is reasonable, she is utterly deceived, utterly deceived," Bickle once preached. "A classy woman, a cool woman, a charming woman, but has a spirit of deception and she is one of the clear pastors, forerunners to the Harlot movement."
Bickle has been preaching that gay marriage is "rooted in the depths of hell," and that homosexuality "opens the door to the demonic realm."
In throwing his support to the Texas senator, Bickle said, "Our nation is in a great crisis in this hour" and that "we need a president who will first be faithful to honour God's Word."
"We need a president who will work to defend religious liberty, uphold our Constitution, keep our country safe and our economy sound, and speak truth to the nation. We have been praying for righteous leaders, and Ted Cruz is such a leader. I am enthusiastically endorsing Ted Cruz," he said.
