Are rising clashes between people of different races and ethnicities a sign of Jesus’ approaching return, hinting that He has opened the second seal?
READ TIME: 2.5 Minutes
Peoples vs. Peoples
Does it feel like peace has been taken from the world? It’s not only that over 25% of the world’s countries are in military conflicts, but tensions and even violence between races and ethnicities are rising.
Is this what Jesus meant when He said, “nation [ethnos] will rise against nation [ethnos], and kingdom against kingdom,?”
We see conflicts rising between the races and ethnicities in many free societies, including Israel, the U.S., France, Germany, and Great Britain.
The division is growing among battle lines barely visible before the 1960s, such as sexual preference, gender identity, and climate change. And as the population polarizes, we see tolerance for opposing views drastically decreasing. At the same time, the arena for such battles has grown exponentially through social media.
As the result of all of these factors, a sizable portion of the populations in these societies believe civil wars are possible, if not likely.
Is it possible that Jesus has opened the second seal, taking peace from the earth?
What Did Jesus Mean in Prophesying Conflicts among Ethnos
Both the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, and Revelation 6 tell us of a progression of signs to appear before Jesus comes to claim His church. In current times, we see nearly all of these signs manifesting. And when we recognize ALL of these signs, we will know that Jesus is at the door and will come within the generation. (Matthew 24:33-34)
The second seal corresponds in order and nature to Jesus’ reference in the Olivet Discourse about nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:7)
For many Bible readers, the word nation seems very similar to kingdom. However, this translation lacks the depth of its meaning. The word used in the Greek text is ethnos. Ethnos is directly translated to ethnicity and embraces a people group’s race and culture, including their religion. A nation, on the other hand, is a state made up of an ethnos.
What is the cause of this conflict between peoples and kingdoms? Revelation 6:4 tells us that when Jesus opens the second seal, peace is taken from the earth. What does the earth look like without peace?
Such an earth certainly has wars but is not limited to wars. Once peace is taken, conflict brews among all dividing lines, including national borders, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual preferences, gender, and political beliefs. And the sides will become more polar and hostile towards one another. Because of lawlessness, love grows cold (Matthew 24:12).
Does this sound like what we are seeing today?
Conflicts of the Races and Ethnicities
Today we are seeing rising unrest among races and ethnicities. Here is a sampling of conflicts occurring in major democracies today:
- Israel – Hamas has spurred great unrest between many Arab Israelis and Jews. From the Temple Mount to neighborhoods, there have been riots, attacks, and even lynchings. Israel polarizes the nations, so this conflict quickly spread to other countries including the U.S., France, Great Britain, and Germany.
- The United States – Groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa have polarized the country and squashed tolerance. Attacks on Jews and Asians have jumped, attributed to the conflict in Israel and the China-originated COVID-19. The “woke” left is actively promoting racism against white people in the name of justice.
- France – The large influx of Muslims into France has contributed to disintegration and great unrest. Many Muslims live in poverty-stricken suburbs, which are breeding grounds for Islamic fundamentalism. These areas are considered no-go areas to police and government representatives. In a recent survey, 45% of the French surveyed believe there is a threat of civil war due to Islamic unrest.
- United Kingdom – Like France, Muslim immigration has resulted in disintegration. In a recent survey, 35% of people thought Islam was a threat to the British way of life, while 32% agreed that “no-go areas” exist in Britain where sharia law dominates and non-Muslims could not enter.
- Germany – The number of reported cases of racism in 2019 of 1,176 had more than doubled since 2015. Migrant immigration has stoked the fire with 41% of the respondents of a survey stating that they had “serious or very serious reservations about renting an apartment to an immigrant.”
But peace being taken from the earth goes beyond races and ethnicities.
Peace Taken from the Earth under the Second Seal?
Today, the divisions of people groups continue to grow along new battle lines. LBGTQ, gender identity, gender transition, socialism, and climate change further divide and polarize people.
Along these new lines, mass protests are erupting at an increasing rate. This chart from the Economist illustrates the increase in mass protests over the past ten years.
Meanwhile, social media has expanded our impassioned arguments for the world to see. As a result, each of us encounters far more conflict each day. The snowball effect of one ill-worded Tweet expands anger, meeting hostility, curses, and calls for violence.
A controversial Tweet can also roll into real-world consequences, including losing your job, friends, and customers/clients. Today’s fascist cancel culture has zero-tolerance for dissenting views that stray outside of liberal causes. Since when does having a contrarian opinion deserve being fired such as Gina Carano, losing retail distribution partners such as Mike Lindell, having your business boycotted such as Goya Foods, or receiving violent threats like Rand Paul?
Ethnic hatred is even spreading among social media. For example, Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry released a report noting that 80,000 Twitter users posted around 250,000 anti-Semitic posts in the ten days following the beginning of Operation Guardian of the Walls. Illuminating how this local issue spread worldwide, Arabic-speaking writers only produced 20% of the hate content. English speakers wrote 36% of the content, and the remaining 44% was in Spanish, German, and Russian.
In many ways social media acts as a barometer for anger and hostility in the world.
So looking around at today’s world ask yourself, has Jesus opened the second seal that takes peace from the earth?