DISCERNING LIES FROM TRUTH
The bloody images of swords, arrows and blood found in the Old Testament and in the Book of Revelation are all parables of an ongoing war of words of lies and truth between true prophets and false prophets. True prophets interpret the bible symbolically and false prophets interpret it literally. Christian Nationalists always interpret the bible literally.  Lies (i.e., words) told by Old/First Covenant religionists are symbolized as blood, arrows and swords. Truth (i.e., words) told by New Covenant disciples are also symbolized by blood, arrows and swords.

The only way to know if the words are truth or lies is to evaluate their effect on people. The potential effect that truthtellers have is life-giving changes in hearts and minds. The effect of Christian Nationalists’ words is hurt, injustice, chaos and even death.

Because Christian Nationalists do not know the difference between true prophets and false prophets, they believe that their interpretations of the literal bible are correct. That is why they fight with religious passion to project their false beliefs (i.e., lies) onto the American public without regard for God’s many commands about loving one another. 

Currently, Christian Nationalists are gaining ground by broadcasting their lying words in language that is typically observed in totalitarian governments. That is not good news. But the good news reported in the Book of Revelation is that the truthtellers (i.e., New Covenant disciples) win. The power that makes winning possible is truth.

God’s weapons in spiritual warfare are words. He does not employ strategies like political activism, protests, legislation, editorials, books, blogs, sermons, court rulings, prayer meetings, fasting and other human efforts to accomplish his works. He uses his words of truth spoken by his servants to overcome oppression, abuse and lies. 

The warfare in the Book of Revelation should not be interpreted as a final, worldwide, apocalyptic event such as is imagined in literature, art and sermons. It is a symbolic reference to the ongoing warfare between religious entities such as Christian Nationalists and everybody else.

To many people, Christian Nationalists appear to have the upper hand because they have been more successful in the use of words in their fight for political power.  They spread their words (i.e. lies) through political activism, protests, legislation, editorials, books, blogs, sermons, court rulings, prayer meetings and so on. The only way to subdue Christian Nationalism is to use the one and only weapon that can defeat lies: Words of truth.

When we correctly interpret the symbolic meaning of the Bible, we see that God is on the side of people who speak words of truth with the power to give spiritual life to others. God is not on the side of people who use words to hurt, abuse and destroy the physical, emotional or financial life of others. If we interpret the bible correctly and speak truth to Christian Nationalists, we can restore the physical, emotional and financial lives of those they abuse, and make the way for everyone — including those who call themselves Christian Nationalists — to gain spiritual life as well.

When we consider the current threat of Christian Nationalism, we might think that there never was a time in history when it was more important than today for God to speak through his servants. Whether it is the most important time or not, we know that we mortals can either obstruct God’s work or enable it. If our hearts and minds are not in agreement with his purposes, we inhibit God’s work. But, if our hearts and minds are aligned with his heart and mind, we enable his work. The choice is ours.

For convenience, we call people who use words of truth to confront Christian Nationalism “truthtellers.”