Ethnos Shall Rise Against Ethnos

We Be Abraham's Seed

"Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom." Luke 21:10

In the text above, the word "nation" is the Greek word ethnos, which refers to people of the same race or nationality who share a distinctive culture.  According to Jesus, one sign of the end times is that there will be an increase in the struggle between ethnicities.

Not only is this true in the world at large, but we see this same distractions in the churchworld as racial tensions rise around the physical identity of Israel.  All across the globe, racial separatists are claiming to be the "true Israel" of God...and there is a reason why these groups are picking up steam: the pride of life.

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." I John 2:16

While it may be pleasing for the old man to believe that anything of the flesh contains some sort of redemptive value, God tells us that if we sow to the flesh we will reap corruption (Galatians 6:8).  Know that when you embrace the pride of life - and those who promote it - you are demonstrating that you are not of the Father.

Fallen man always desires to be lifted up.  Anytime you find a religious group defining inclusion or God's acceptance based on the flesh, then you are dealing with the nature of unregenerate man.  This is why you will often find the hallmark of such groups to be pride; a boasting of themselves, their identities, and their "works".

It was the same in Jesus' day as the religious leaders claimed to be justified through the lineage from their father Abraham, yet Jesus reprimanded them (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8; John 8:33, 39).  In Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, because He makes of both one new man (Romans 3:9, 9:24, 10:12; Ephesians 2:15, Galatians 3:28, 6:15; Colossians 3:11; I Corinthians 12:13). 

Someone recently commented on an article asking if I believed that the Jews currently in Israel are the actual Jews spoken of in the Bible.  I would like to share my response here:

I believe foremost that the Lord knows those who are His. So the "who is Israel" question is not very pertinent. By that, I mean one's physical lineage has no bearing on salvation. Even the physical descendants of Israel need to turn in faith in Christ - where there is no longer Jew nor Gentile.

I also believe that we are in the latter days. Specifically that the seven year peace treaty with Israel and the surrounding Arab countries will begin the seven years of tribulation. This doesn't mean that all natural Israelites are in Israel (or that all in Israel are natural Israelites), but it means that God's timetable is on track to unfold end time sequences.

For me - and I believe for most born again believers - this is a non-issue.  However, there is a falsehood undergirding many of these sects saying that the Jews in Israel are not true Israelites, but rather impostors who converted to Judaism. 

In the following video entitled "The Khazar Myth Debunked - 13th Tribe - Arthur Koestler Refuted", Chris White illustrates how race has nothing to do with one's genealogical descent.  You cannot tell who is or who is not a physical Jew based on skin color. He also reviews evidence to discount the theory that the Ashkenazi Jews are merely descendants of the converted Khazar Turks.

God did choose a specific people of a specific ethnicity as His own in order to bring forth the promised redemption for mankind; yet, they too must turn in faith to that Savior. The advantage of the Jew is that they should more readily be able to recognize and yield to Jesus Christ because to them had been entrusted the oracles of God (Romans 3:1-2). 

"But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain." Titus 3:3

How is it that so many are turning to arguments of genealogies and attributes of the flesh in order to define righteousness when Scripture is clear that such is in vain?

Don't be deceived in these last days by falling prey to "ethnos rising against ethnos".  Those who have truly been born again understand that we can place no confidence in the flesh and neither know any man after the flesh (II Corinthians 5:16; Philippians 3:3). 

For whatever value this adds to those seeking truth, I pray that it helps.  However, the most important thing to know is that such issues as ethnicity - and any attribute of the flesh - have no bearing or significance on our standing in Christ.

"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." Romans 2:28-29

"Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Galatians 3:7

You may also want to read the following sermon by Pastor Voddie Baucham as he addresses the issue of race from the Scriptures in: The Table of Nations: Are there Many Races or One?