ARROWS
Arrows are like swords. There are arrows of truth in the mouths of New Covenant disciples that bring life, and arrows of false teaching in the mouths of false prophets that bring death. It is the same principle as the power of the tongue to bring life or death.
Arrows are slightly different, however, in the symbolism of arrows as people. But, like swords, people can bring either life or death. False prophets are arrows of death because they speal false teaching with their tongues. True prophets and warriors, however, bring both death and life: Death to religion and new life to people who listen to God through them.
Jesus was a teacher and a prophet through whom God spoke by the power of his spirit. But he was no ordinary prophet. He was a true prophet whose teachings/words mediated the terms of the New Covenant to Old/First Covenant religionists who had their eyes and ears opened so that they could recognize Jesus as the messiah who would open their spiritual eyes and deliver them from captivity to religion.
God’s words spoken/taught by Jesus and other true prophets are words of truth. People who hear and obey these words of truth are sanctified, healed, and set free from the sin of religion. The power to accomplish these miracles exists only in the word of God spoken through his voice directly or through true prophets.
STUDY TIP: See Checklist for Identification of True Prophets.
Jesus is only one of a long list of true prophets. All true prophets are New Covenant disciples when they speak (i.e. prophesy) for God. None of these true prophets — including Jesus — were born into New Covenant families. All true prophets had seasons of their lives in which they were Old/First Covenant religionists and there is evidence that some of them even backslid into Old/First Covenant religion. But, while they were true prophets, they all spoke God’s truth to religious people. They were all anointed to speak truth that would set people free from the sin of religion. They were highly motivated to take the risk of speaking out because remembering that they were once slaves in Egypt, they want to help people who are still enslaved to religion become free.