While the world is at war, the body of Christ must unite. The Greek word for nation in this verse is "ethnos." It is where we draw the English word ethnicity from. It means a race or a tribe. Jesus is talking about ethnic groups in Matthew 24, not nations such as the U.S. or Israel.
He's saying that in the last days people of different ethnic backgrounds would rise up against one another. And He has certain things to say to us about why that should not be the case.
Notice the words of Jesus in Mark 3:24-25: "And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand."
We should not be at each other's throats. But there is one who will put one ethnic group against another, and that is Satan, the enemy of our soul. He has done everything he can to divide us and get us to turn on one another based on race.
Your enemy is not flesh and blood. Satan is your enemy. And Jesus describes what would be a great tool of his in the last days. Satan would have different tribes, different races, to war against each other.
We must realize, however, that there is no difference between any of us. All of us come from the same daddy. I don't care how you look at it, if you keep going back to your great, great, great, great...great-granddaddy, everyone will come back to a man named Adam.
He is the daddy of all of us. We know that Adam's body was made from dirt. And in the chemical composition of dirt, we find that there is red dirt, brown, black, and white dirt. Not one speck of dirt is better than another speck. On the outside our flesh is all dirt. But on the inside is Christ, the Anointed One.
Now, Jesus has made it clear that He wants us to be in unity. We can say it this way. If a house divided cannot stand, then a house united cannot be defeated. When we stand together and drop all our differences, recognizing what is important—that is Jesus is Lord—we shall not be defeated.
So let us stand united together, love one another and go on and whip the devil.
Scripture references: 1 Corinthians 13:1-8; 1 John 4:4-8
Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).
