God warned of the danger of cultural diversity in Daniel’s vision. The prophet saw a statue representing four great kingdoms. The last of the realms, the Roman Empire, was symbolized by the statue’s feet. The Bible says, “…as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile” (Dan. 2:42-43). Historians remind us that its citizens lacked loyalty to the empire and that this was part of the reason for its collapse. Rome attempted to absorb conquered nations. At times, soldiers from subjugated peoples made up much of the Roman army, including the Praetorian Guard, a regiment of 7,000 elite bodyguards charged with protecting the emperor.

God requires unity among Christians. Christ prayed that his followers “…may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21). Yet some modern politicians have advocated a “global nation” goal for the human race. Is that the kind of unity our Father desires? His response to the Tower of Babel answers the questions. Consider Gen 11:4-10:

The Bible teaches that God, as always, wants his people to be unified. In the Old Testament, the division of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms went against his word. The Bible extols unity. Psalm 133:2 declares, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Unity of all races is commanded in the New Testament as well. Galatians 3:28-29 reads, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” All ethnicities are equally Christian and we are to worship and practice the faith together in harmony.