Earth, or Heaven?

Christian nationalists love to say that they support building a Christian nation and want to affect national politics in such a way as to bring us closer to God’s ways here on Earth.

This is a noble pursuit, and I’m not saying it’s evil to want such a thing.

But the problem lies with how Christians are in this world, yet part of a kingdom that is far above petty divides and party lines.

We should never fight for “kingdom now” theological stances in the secular arena.

Can a Christian be in politics? The military? Lead an entire nation?

Of course!

But God is ultimately sovereign over history, so His purposes will ultimately be fulfilled on this planet.

That means He even uses the Christian nationalists for His aims in history.

Yet the attitude we should have among the secular world is one that I wrote about back in 2023/2024.

The ideology comes from an angel.

Angels are far closer to the LORD, Yahweh, than any of us humans. They travel the cosmos freely, have access to the throne of the Almighty, and have supernatural powers like blinding men and killing thousands upon thousands of soldiers alone (reading about that was cool).

What attitude should believers have?

“When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, ‘Are you for us, or for our adversaries?’ And he said, ‘No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, ‘What does my lord say to his servant’” (Joshua 5:13-14 [ESV])?

The prince of Yahweh’s host (as it says in the literal Hebrew) was only concerned with the affairs of the King of Kings.

He didn’t take human sides into account at all.

It is ultimately Yahweh’s purpose that prevails overall.

In my personal life, I try to stay out of politics as much as possible, unless something huge comes up and I must determine the best paradigm to place myself in.

I lean toward conservatism (in Scripture more than political arenas) but can’t stand made-up traditions over God’s words, so I also don’t align with everything they teach.

There are a few issues I lean a little left on, but I also don’t take everything they stand for as important to the ultimate sovereignty of God. I will never take the liberal stance on Bible prophecy, for example, since you’d have to be beyond stupid to not realize prophecy is real.

If you don’t believe in prophecy, you aren’t a Christian. I stand by that statement forevermore.

Truthfully, God uses either side to accomplish His will, and man’s machinations and Satan’s machinations ultimately serve God’s grander vision for the universe.

Is Christian nationalism biblical? In the sense that God uses these people to carry out His plans, yes.

But the Prince of Yahweh’s armies sided with only God.

If we put our trust in human institutions, we will only be disappointed.

Contextually, I mean placing our ultimate faith in something other than the LORD.

Relieving debt for people is marvelous.

Charities do wonderful work on this Earth.

Church communities (which I often disagree with for biblical reasons) can be awesome for community.

But let’s keep God on the throne and humans underneath that ultimate authority.

You can have your political slogans, but God alone is to be exalted.

You can fight for rights, but true wisdom and truth come from God’s mind.

You might stand for every amendment you can, and I’d agree with you. But God’s laws are higher than man’s laws.

When the apostles were on Earth, they respected the station of the kings they were brought to and never acted like political dissidents—even if some of the kings treated them as such. Kings like King Agrippa knew Paul was innocent. Respect the station, even if you don’t agree with someone.

I’ll tell you right now. If Kamala had been elected, I’d respect the station. Just like when Biden was in office. Whether or not he was coherent is beside the point. The ruler of your nation is the one who leads the nation.

Look at all the biblical examples of rulers.

Moses did not outright disrespect Pharaoh. He followed a divine directive, above sides.

Speaking of pharaohs, Joseph only treated the ruler of Egypt with respect and even helped him understand his prophetic dreams, although he was a pagan king.

Jesus called out religious hypocrites, but deferred to Pilate. He understood Pilate had been granted that authority from His Father, ultimately serving a purpose of giving in to the demands of the Israelite leadership who envied Jesus and considered him a blasphemer.

We can support “our guy” all we want, but God made that man or woman.

Keep things in perfect alignment from the top down.

God first.

Then your spouse and family, and then your immediate neighbor plus the governing authorities.

I’m not saying not to have pride in your nation.

But realize God is the one who sets up empires, decides when they fall, and raises new ones in their place.

If you want the nation to go back to a righteous state, then heed the famous words found within the Scriptures.

“… if my people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 [ESV]).

Only God Himself can heal a nation, even if this verse is technically about Israel as a nation. But blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh.

So, it’s up to the individuals who live in the nation to restore the nation by following God’s commandments. But only God restores and heals.

He heals the nations’ scars when they serve Him. But nations are made of individuals, and the Bible never mandates a theocracy apart from the Torah.

Next time you ask which side you should take, simply say in your mind: “No, but His kingdom is not from here.”

May glory be His alone, and may all His plans succeed above all human limitations and institutions.

Shalom.