According to a well-known pastor, Christian conservatives who have been lulled into a false sense of security from the power of the religious right in the ’90s to the gains for religious freedom under President Trump will be “astounded” by the “harsh” new sheriff coming to town.

Dr. Robert Jeffress of First Baptist, Dallas says things have been pretty good for a fairly long time. But with restrictions on churches because of COVID and the battle over Ten Commandments monuments notwithstanding, there has been a changing of the guard.

“We are a distinct minority, and I think that’s what a lot of conservatives don’t get,” he tells One News Now. “They think that we’re the majority, [that] we ought to be able to press our will upon the American population because we are the majority. We’re not the majority. We’re the minority.”

In a recent discussion with Sandy Rios on her morning show, the radio host and the pastor talked about groups like the Secular Democrats of America openly challenging and mischaracterizing Christians who are involved in politics.

“We urge you not to underestimate the institutional strength of what we refer to in this document as the Christian Nationalist Movement, or the Religious Right,” Rios quoted from one of the group’s documents. “Its political ideology is anti-democratic and anti-scientific.”

With the Biden administration likely on its way into power, Jeffress says things are likely to go south and in a hurry.

“It’s a militant movement, and … I think the war against Christians is not going to be incremental,” Jeffress predicts. “I think once this new administration takes office, I think it will astound people how quickly and how harshly the attacks will come.”

That is not to say, though, that believers need to give up. Dr. Jeffress says “the right response” is to push for godly leaders in government.