As we enter into the Thanksgiving holiday, this nation is as divided as it ever was. A recent Politico poll indicates some 80% of republicans believe the election was stolen; some 97% of democrats think it was fair. Democrats want to get rid of the electoral college; republicans want to keep it. In other news, many Democratic Party leaders are saying that capitalism is racism; that funding police is racism; that anyone who supported President Trump is a racist. These accusations and labeling of groups of people who disagree with a certain political party is exactly what leads to tyranny. With tyranny comes a dissolution of freedoms of speech and religion, a likelihood that is a growing seed in dark rich soil in America.
A reminder here is appropriate: America is not the end time timepiece. Israel is. The rise of the antichrist; the return of Christ; the rapture; are not dependent on America. No doubt, however, this country plays an integral role because of its position as the lampstand of freedom that has spread the gospel to the four corners of the earth and has served as the model for religious liberty and civil rights. Yes, we have our issues, but we work on them—at least until recent years—together and use the bountiful blessings of liberty and the ideal of “American” to solve problems and meet challenges like no other place in the world. Even so, we are falling prey to something very similar to as prophesied in the Bible.
There is a principle described by Christ in Mark 3:24-25: “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” This is self-evident. Americans are divided to the degree that they do not need COVID 19 to keep them apart at Thanksgiving because they have politics—a far more dangerous virus for it attacks the heart and the mind and ravages from within the soul. For this is a division of belief and faith. One cannot be driven by hate and say they love; One cannot embrace lies and be filled with the truth; One cannot dishonor his brethren and be honorable; One cannot be motivated by injustice toward others and be just.
Which brings us to Christ’s point in Mark 3:26, “And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.” With these types of internal conflict as evidenced by not only our nation, but also within the souls of many, the work of the devil will have an end within. A nation divided cannot stand. We are divided as a nation, in many cases hatefully so. A house divided cannot stand. Many of our families are divided causing anger and distrust. The common divider right now masquerades as politics, but in reality, it is spiritual. This division is between those who have stronger degrees of faith than others. Political beliefs are manifesting as substitutes for faith. As Christ followers, we must rise above this political trap and stand in the breech, showing the way just as the Word of God is the lamp unto our feet.
