This episode mostly addresses the posture of believers towards the world. Christ's kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), and therefore wars against people and the unbelieving culture at large are completely misplaced. Believers should war against the real enemy, "spiritual hosts of wickedness," instead of foolishly wrestling with flesh and blood. (Ephesians 6:12). The unbelieving culture around us is composed of hostages of the devil who are "held captive to do his will." (2 Timothy 2:26). Christians are called to liberate these hostages, not subjugate them to a so-called "Christian state," that essentially governs according to the power dynamics of this world. That many evangelicals are open to Christian nationalism underscores the misplaced identity of believers who haven't yet grasped their "alien" status, with respect to this world (1 Peter 2:11). And critically, the mission of Christ's kingdom alien ambassadors is neglected and undermined when worldly believers wrestle with flesh and blood and slaughter POW's in a misplaced culture war.
The Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, NOT to the State
This episode elaborates on the previous episode, principally focusing on Matthew 16:18-19, where believers are given the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Christ builds His Church by calling people out of the kingdom of darkness and placing them in the kingdom of Christ, through the person of the Holy Spirit. The "ekklesia," or church literally means "those called out of." Those who don't respond to the call carry on in the kingdom of darkness, and the natural locus of ungodly power is the state. This fact alone points to the inevitable conflict of kingdoms as both the Church and non-Christians seek to co-op the State to serve their respective interests. The history of Christian nationalism largely reflects widespread corruption in the Christian Church based on an unhealthy mixing of the kingdoms. Since Christ gave believers the keys to the kingdom of heaven, NOT those accessing worldly kingdoms, Christians should focus their efforts on reaching unbelievers through preaching the gospel. Setting up earthly "Christian" kingdoms amounts to making the Church another powerbroker, diluting and corrupting its mission. Believers instead should utilize their LEGITIMATE authority to make disciples, not presuming they have been given a mandate to FORCE Christ's other-worldly kingdom onto non-Christians. The episode finally addresses "binding and loosing" as it relates to the keys of the kingdom.
The Proper Response to Christ’s Authority
This episode unpacks the appropriate response of believers to Christ's triumphant resurrection. "All authority has been given to Me [Christ] in heaven and on earth." (Matthew 28:18-19) Based on Christ's universal authority, Christians are commanded to make disciples of all the nations, and their primary mission is to proclaim the gospel, calling people out of darkness into the marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9) The universal body of Christ is composed of those who have been called out of the kingdom of the darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Christ. (Colossians 1:13) The word "church" literally means "those who are called out of," and believers are given the veritable keys to the kingdom, as they proclaim access to God's kingdom through repentance and faith in Christ. This then is the mission of the church and the mandated response to Christ's universal authority. It is NOT the setting up of an abominable church-state mixture where all are compelled to submit to Christian rule, in the same way that mosque and state are intertwined in predominantly Islamic countries. The episode finally concludes that the principal enemy of the church (those who are called out of) is demonic forces ("gates of hell"), not the world, whose hostages we are called to liberate.