What does a Christian nationalist induction ceremony look like? You’d get a pretty good idea by watching a clip highlighting the “Watchman Decree” from a recent FlashPoint Live event in Georgia.
On July 1, a slew of conservative Christians, including conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and anti-abortion zealot Abby Johnson, gathered to do far more than pray. During the event, host Gene Bailey urged the Christian audience and everyone watching the livestream to join together and recite what he called the “Watchman Decree.”
Watchmen, in this case, refer to people who pledge to watch over the nation and make sure it’s run according to conservative Christian principles. Writer and activist Nick Knudsen shared the clip that went viral, but you can see it for yourself at the 1:24:00 mark in this video.
After explaining how conservative Christians are “God’s governing Body on the earth” and have “legal power from heaven” to “destroy every attempted advance of the enemy,” they declare the following:
We decree that America’s executive branch of government will honor God and defend the Constitution.
We decree that our legislative branch (Congress) will write only laws that are righteous and constitutional.
We decree that our judicial system will issue rulings that are biblical and constitutional.
We declare that we stand against wokeness, the occult and every evil attempt against our nation.
We declare and we now take back our God-given freedoms, according to our Constitution.
We declare that we take back influence at the local level in our communities.
We decree that we take back and permanently control positions of influence and leadership in each of the *Seven Mountains.
We decree that the blood of Jesus covers and protects our nation. It protects and separates us for God.
We declare that our nation is energy independent.
We declare that America is strong spiritually, financially, militarily and technologically.
We decree that evil carries no power, authority or rights in our land nor over our people.
We decree that we will operate in unity, going beyond denominational lines in order to accomplish the purposes of God for our nation.
While some of that is just a rehash of conservative talking points (e.g. “wokeness,” “God-given freedoms,” etc), there’s no mistaking the idea that these people want total control of the government or at least believe the government must adhere to biblical practices… as interpreted by them and them alone.
(The “Seven Mountains” mandate refers to Christians taking over the areas of Religion, Family, Education, Entertainment, Media, Government, and Business in order to influence every aspect of our lives.)
This isn’t merely a wishlist. Declaring that the judicial system must “issue rulings that are biblical” effectively undercuts the entire principle of church/state separation. Declaring that evil “carries no power, authority or rights” is frightening when you consider how anything can be declared evil by these people—including abortion care, LGBTQ rights, environmental regulations, etc. And saying they will “operate in unity” is really just a threat against everyone who’s outside the faith. The “Watchman Decree” is nothing less than a rallying cry against anyone who isn’t Christian.
Can you imagine the conservative outcry if any other religious group even hinted at anything like this? They would flip out. They would invoke Sharia Law (no matter the religion involved). They would scream about how the country is not a theocracy! But because these are conservative Christians, there’s no similar outcry on the right. Hell, a sitting member of Congress appeared on stage with these people giving her endorsement to their cause!
These aren’t some people on the fringe, either. Gene Bailey helps run Eagle Mountain International Church, which is affiliated with Kenneth Copeland Ministries. Copeland, of course, is arguably the wealthiest scamvangelist in the world. You can tell just by looking at the crowd that we’re not talking about pastors who run churches out of strips malls in random cities; these are the kinds of people who use their wealth to spread Christian propaganda and gain influence.
If you’re voting for Republicans at any level, these are the people you’re elevating to positions of power. No matter how many naïve people tell you otherwise, both parties are not the same.
The clip in question has been rebuked by Democrats and at least one non-insane Republican, but other Republicans welcome this because this is their base. It doesn’t matter who’s in office or how powerful the position is: These Christians want to take over the country, up and down the line, and anyone who’s not on board with their vision will be declared an enemy.
The segment was meant to be inspirational. Instead, it’s a nightmare vision of what our country could look like if the wrong people get another chance to run the nation.