What is a Nation?

What is a “nation”?

By Richard P. Joseph

When one sets out to study history, especially ancient history, it is necessary to put yourself into the mindset of the culture and customs in which you intend to understand.  All too often modern bible students and church parishioners attempt to decipher scripture as if it were written last week, in America and using modern concepts.  I am not going to give any long lesson on biblical hermeneutics in this article for two reasons; one, I am not a scholar and two, it would take an entire book to do it in.  However, there is a simple formula that is necessary if you are going to make any arguments for or against scripture.  

Some of the questions one must ask when reading scripture is; “Who was it written to”?  “When was it written?”  “Why was it written”?  “What was it written for”?   Ed Stevens, in his book Final Decade on page 15,  puts it this way:

In order to gain a deep understanding of the first century, we need to experience it like an eyewitness.  We need to know not only what happened and when, but where it happened and why, and how it is related to the overall plan of redemption.

I am going to use this type of thinking as we take a look at one of the major misconception of end times events and that is “what is a nation”?  It might seem like I am making a mountain out of a molehill but it should all make sense and hopefully make you think next time you hear talk about the end times.  The scripture that I am going to look at today is Matthew 24:7 which reads:

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom…

As a new Christian, when I heard this passage, I always imagined that a nation was something like The United States or the Soviet Union, or China.  Of course any books I read during that time concerning End Times events viewed it that way also.  They talked about a United Europe and Russia and how they were going to attack Israel etc etc.  In fact that is still the common thought today except for those in the preterist movement.  In the preterist movement we attempt to answer those questions previously mentioned before we make our conclusion about scripture interpretation. So let’s take a look at another scripture in the second chapter of Acts that will help us with this one.

5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

If one looked at a map of those nations mentioned above, especially as it was in those days, the square mileage probably wouldn’t add up to the size of Michigan.  Another thought would be to think about the Native American Indians as it concerned those in the 17th century.  Each tribe considered themselves a separate nation.  Just like first century Palestine, the Indians would say that their tribe was their nation.  We hear things like the Huron Nation, the Iroquois Nation, the Choctaw Nation, etc.  Those places might be five miles apart from each other and consist of a tribe, or in Palestine, a City State.  So getting back to what Jesus meant when he said “nation will rise against nation”, he (and his listeners) were not envisioning “half the globe”; they were envisioning a city state maybe 5 or 10 miles away.  Of course some were further but none took up half the globe.  Rome was a large city and the Roman army occupied much of the known world but each place retained its identity.  Occupation in those days was basically just one big tax collecting operation.  If they paid their taxes and didn’t cause any trouble, they were otherwise left alone.  So why am I making a big deal about this?  In order to interpret history correctly, that’s why.

Once the end was near and the second coming of Christ was about to happen, there was a massive civil war in Israel.  Zealot factions began to organize and fight amongst each other.  There were small bands of raiders and armies running around Israel pillaging food and weapons to fight against each other and against Rome if necessary.  Once Rome became involved it became even more obvious that the warning that Jesus gave about  “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near” was serious.  There were wars and rumors of wars at this time in all of the surrounding “nations”.   Jesus was not talking about the United States, Russia, and Europe invading Jerusalem, he was talking about his generation.  Once you read the actual events from those that were there you would have a better understanding of what Jesus meant.  Nation did rise up against nation (Jews against each other and against Rome and also Jews against Greeks, Syrians, etc) , and Kingdom against kingdom (God against the devil).  Reading the writings of Josephus and others will give you a glimpse into a world that you probably didn’t even know existed.  

As I sat in a pew for many years, I was never taught about the intricate events that happened during the book of acts and shortly after.  Once I began studying this, it opened my eyes up to what type of world the scripture was actually written in and talking about.  If you want to read the bible in a whole new light then I invite you to study the historical context that is was written under.  The bible will go from an obscure book of small quotes from the pulpit to a marvelous story with unending adventures.  You will finally understand the duress and immanency that Paul and Peter wrote under.  You will understand the political arena that the struggle happened in.  It will make the end times come alive instead of some obscure future event that is never mentioned in the bible.  You will finally understand what the “End Times” were.