Country music singer John Rich is making waves for criticizing megachurch pastor and author Joel Osteen for not preaching on hell and the end times, implying that Osteen is more interested in book sales than altar calls.
Rich is known for his Christian faith and strident remarks about politics. In 2024, he blended those themes to write the hit single “Revelation,” an apocalyptic-themed song that Rich has said God told him directly to write.
Rich’s comments about Osteen came in the context of his appearance on the “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast for a wide-ranging conversation that spanned more than four hours. The topics of conversation included Rich’s journey of faith, his struggles, his music career, and a smattering of political and cultural topics, including sex trafficking allegations against Jeffrey Epstein and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Regarding Combs, Rich recounted remarks Combs once gave at an awards ceremony about the scope of his influence over the culture. Rich said that Combs claimed to “own” the souls of young people, determining what they wore and what they listened to.
Characterizing Combs’ remarks as demonic, Rich said, “And I thought to myself, ‘Is anybody going to say anything about that?’”
“Anybody in the news? Any preachers?” Rich continued. “Hello, any of the big preachers? Joel Osteen, where you at? Anybody gonna stand up and say, ‘Hey, you’re a child of the devil and you don’t own any of our kids’ souls,’ and ‘I hope God takes you to hell sooner rather than later’?”
“Is anybody gonna say that? No,” said Rich. “No, just gonna roll on down the road. ‘Well, buy my book. Buy my book. Put more money in the plate.’ No. No preachers, no preachers calling that out.”
Rich went on to perform for Ryan an unreleased song called “Righteous Huntsman,” which is written to child predators from the perspective of a father. Rich sang the refrain, “You better give your soul to Jesus while I get my gun.”
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Later in the conversation, Rich and Ryan discussed Rich’s views of the end times, particularly the persecution and suffering that Rich believes Christians will endure on a global scale.
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