Hated of ALL NATIONS

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:9, 13, 14)

1. For my name's sake. ~ I think this is the key part of these verses. If it were not for the name of Jesus Christ, there would be no power in the lives of believers. If it were not for the name of Jesus Christ, there would be no reason for unbelievers to persecute believers. If it were not for the name of Jesus Christ, we would not be hated for being who we are.
2. Hated of all nations. Killed. Afflicted. ~ These are hard words that most do not want to hear. First of all, most wonder what this verse means that since there is no "persecution" in America. That is a concept that I completely disagree with. Another verse paralleling this verse is (2 Timothy 3:12) Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. So my question is this, "If we are not being persecuted, are we living Godly in Christ Jesus?" I believe that if we are living Godly in Christ Jesus we will be persecuted for our faith even here in America, and most likely it will be from "Professing Christians" who are not sincere & genuine followers of Jesus Christ.
3. He that shall endure till the end ~ Since there will be persecution, to the genuine follower of Jesus Christ, it will be a trial to stay sincere in our walk with Jesus Christ. We will often times be tempted of the devil to stray from our path of following Jesus to live the "easier" life in sin. 
4. Gospel of the Kingdom ~ Finally, the Gospel of the Kingdom is what is to be preached in all the world. What kind of Gospel have we as Americans given to the world? Should it be quarantined or should it be exported? Has it been a "save me" gospel or a "kingdom gospel?" If you want a detailed explanation on what I mean by Gospel of the Kingdom send me and email at cabeljenkins@gmail.com.

How have these verses impacted me? Pretty much to sum it all up, is to say that I have lived a very lukewarm life as a believer of Jesus Christ. Yes I maybe have done things for the kingdom of God that others in our church wouldn't dare of even doing, but that is not the standard. Whenever we start taking our eyes of Jesus and looking around at others we will start to sink as Peter did. Jesus always calls us to a much higher standard.


I hope this is a blessing to you. I'd like to hear your thoughts on these verses. May God Richly Bless you as you move out as a willing servant to be used in the Kingdom of God regardless of what the rest of the American Church thinks of you. Keep looking up to Jesus!

Until the nets are full,

Caleb L. Jenkins