From the time of the fall in the Garden of Eden, man has lived outside the manifest glory of God’s presence. At one time, Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening and depended on Him for the “giving of all wisdom,” but when they were deceived to believe they could rely on their own senses and make their own decisions regarding right or wrong in their own eyes, it was then they left God out of the equation and ceased to exist in His garden of holiness.
Through this deception of “you can make your own choices,” a new era or “age” began. Mankind has since been in the age of Satan’s dominion over planet earth. The challenger of the God of Creation has been busy setting up his false kingdom in high places and assigning his hosts to rule over principalities, regions and places of government. These powers have brought darkness to the Earth and man will continue to either succumb to or fight this evil until the darkness of this age comes to an end. The marked time of the closing of this era is commonly referred to in Scripture in Hebrew as acarit-hayamim— “the end of the age.” That is, the end of the age of darkness or the end of the age of man ruling nations through the evil and corrupted influence of Satan.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[c against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Eph. 6:12 (NKJV)
How the Era Began
When the new creature (man) was created, made from the very elements of the physical creation of earth, as well as the eternal aspect of spirit that enabled the creature to live with God forever, God’s wisest and most beautiful archangel rebelled in jealousy. His beautiful appearance that helped to deceive the creation in the garden is evident in the lamentation declared against him by God. This declaration was given to him while he was ruling upon the earth. It is a declaration that is historical and in the end, prophetic to the coming Kingdom of God.
“You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering…
You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your trading (traveling about) you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; Therefore, I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you” (Ezekiel 32:12-17 NKJV).
We see the beginning from the end in these passages. The most beautiful angelic creation had his place among the holy presence of God, among the fiery stones of sanctification. We also see this cherub allowed to travel about in God’s Garden of Eden where the Master had placed His new creation, man. The cherub, called nephash in the Hebrew text (meaning: enchanter or deceiver through an idiomatic description of a snake) did not appear to look evil but rather beautiful according to Ezekiel 28. After this encounter with man the cherub is often referred to as Satan. God prophetically declared the fallen cherub as defeated in what would be known as the “End of the Age.”
God’s purpose is to bring His rightful throne to earth (He specifically chose Jerusalem as the location) and to rule over His own creation. All historical events point to one thing and that is God setting up His Kingdom—as in, Thy Kingdom come.
God’s plan for all of history is to leverage the deception of man, to wake up all of those who will choose Him, to fight against the principalities of the age of darkness, to be witnesses of His sovereignty and trust Him in all things – even to death. As in, His will be done.
During this age of darkness, God started early in history by making covenants and relationships with individual men. Those who heard Him were of the ranks of Enoch, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and King David. God did not yet have a nation that was called His own until Jacob’s family (called Israel) was delivered from Egypt and declared Him as their national God. The Creator, Elohim, was not declared to be the God of any other nation up until Israel responded to do so. All other nations worshipped and appeased pagan gods or rulers of the air such as Ra, Ishtar, Tammuz, Molech and many more assigned in high places.
Israel Responds as a Nation
Finally, there was “a people” that said yes to God. But the ruler of darkness still influenced the hearts of the Israelites, tempting them in the sensual rule of the nations. Out of the twelve tribes of Israel (God’s chosen nation) only one tribe, Judah is still identifiable. Ten of the twelve tribes (known as the United Northern Kingdom of Israel) were exiled and assimilated into the pagan nations subjecting themselves to the principalities of this world. Judah–ites, now known, as “Jews” are mostly comprised of the tribe of Judah and two other brothers of Judah
(which are the tribes of Benjamin and Levi). These latter tribes are known as Jews by a national identity, as these three were once called “The United Southern Kingdom of Judah.”
God Chooses the Seed of Judah
The giving of the Messiah, that is the Anointed One, that would bring redemption to the world, came through the tribe of Judah. This “Salvation of God” (Jesus—Yeshua) was incarnate in human form and came to the earth in order to redeem those who would have an ear to hear, save those who would trust and receive Him, and give them an entrance to stand before the Creator of all things. It was the Jewish followers of Yeshua who brought this timely message of hope to the nations that were ruled and controlled by the forces of darkness. A Light was shining through these Jewish missionaries who broke protocol by the commandment of their teacher, their Mashiach, Yeshua to go into all the nations and tell others that “The Light has come”. This event began the fulfillment of the promise God gave Abraham “that it would be through his seed that all the nations shall be blessed”.
Nations Respond
The Good News of Israel’s God offering a covenant through the Messiah Yeshua traveled throughout the nations for several centuries converting the pagans into followers of Christ and worshippers of the God of all Creation, YHWH. Constantine the Great responded to the news as well and made this sect of Judaism now called Christianity, the one world religion. However, the religion was soon compromised through the mixing of paganism from the nations and the mandates of government through rote creeds. A few hundred years later the church became very corrupt, lost it’s light and entered into what history calls the “Dark Ages.” The need for reformation was evident as Martin Luther dared to challenge the church and state in the 1500s. The light of Yeshua began to shine brighter as His Kingdom advanced through the appropriation of the gospel. The kingdoms of this world began to be challenged and there is to this day the pushback from the prince of darkness. The enemy adapted to this message of Christ and created a counterfeit. His cunning deception has brought a “false light” that looks like social justice, progressive and tolerant education, and soulish compassion with religious facades. It is evident today more than ever before that there are still two choices: The God of Heaven and the Bible or the false god of this present world.
The Controversial Land
There has never really been peace in the territory that God promised His covenant people. In fact, this small piece of real estate has caused many wars over the course of time. But in this last century, God has prevailed with favor and obvious supernatural victories as the survivors and patriots of an ancient people came back to this land from the ashes of the Holocaust. The biblical land of Israel, the land God promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was given back to the Jewish people (the only identifiable tribe of Israel). It was through conquest over the Ottoman Empire that Great Britain acquired the land that is now called Jordon and Israel. An official legal document called the Balfour Declaration was written and determined that a portion of the land would be given back to the Jewish people as a homeland. A second document known as “The British Mandate” called for the area of the Trans-Jordon to be given to the Arab people and the other smaller parcel west of the Jordon to be given to the Jews. The League of Nations approved the declarations and Israel and Jordon became sovereign nations. This has never sit well with the surrounding Arab nations. Immediately after Israel was established as an independent state, war broke out. Even though the tiny country supernaturally prevailed there has never been real peace. The Bible prophesies that a false peace brought in by a peace treaty signed by a world leader will initiate the countdown to the end of the days of man’s governance and the coming of the true Messiah that will set up His physical Kingdom in Jerusalem. This coming “Golden Era” of Christ will endure one thousand years as God’s anointed Messiah judges and rules all the nations with a rod of iron (meaning “with all authority”).
oHo
The Kingdom Starts Within Us
When Messiah walked the earth, He told the Pharisees that the Kingdom is not to be observed but rather the Kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:20); one must realize that because of the redemptive work of the first coming of Messiah—Yeshua, the Kingdom would at first be a spiritual one birthed in the hearts of those who chose to trust in Him. A choice to identify one’s self with the advancing of God’s Kingdom is actually the proliferation of the gospel message that proclaims that He is God and the adding of His children that choose to trust in Him because of it. This growing “family” of those who choose Christ are now “born again” in a spiritual nature that is evidenced by “the actions and fruits of the Holy Spirit”. According to Romans 14:17, the Kingdom is not physical (at least not yet) but it is the spreading of good and all that is righteous, peaceful, and joyful. This is what believers sow as they share the Kingdom. There is, however, another kingdom of deception and darkness that is growing but will soon come to an end. Yeshua prophesied that many (of His own) will be deceived by this false kingdom. The world and its leaders will try to bring in peace. But hear me, please, NO EFFORTS OF MAN WILL BRING PEACE TO ISRAEL OR THE WORLD. Only the Messiah can—and will—do that.
The Kingdom is Given
After Yeshua’s crucifixion and burial, the Messiah went into the underworld to set the righteous captives free and then take them on the clouds to heaven with Him. This prophetic act is recorded six hundred years before it happened by the prophet Daniel; “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,
and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13,14 NKJV).
This Scripture clearly shows that now “this Son of Man” who has conquered death is given dominion, glory and an indestructible, eternal KINGDOM!
The apostle Paul also confirmed that Yeshua was the one who fulfilled this by using the Words of King David (See Psalms 68:17,18)
8 Therefore He says:
“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”[a] EEe
9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first[b] descended into the lower parts of the earth? Eph. 4:8,9
The Culmination and Manifestation of the Kingdom
The Messiah King will come back to earth with all authority from the Father “riding on the clouds” of heaven with those who have died in Him. At this time, the bodies of the saints of heaven will be restored and those who are alive and believe in Messiah will be changed. It is at this precise moment that “all creation will be eagerly waiting” for the revealing of those who have chosen Him (Romans 8:19). All will see His children vindicated and glorified. Those alive will join Him in the clouds of eternity. From there the people of God will watch this Almighty Messiah overcome the world leader, the false religious prophet and all that have assembled from the nations to wage war against Israel; against the Land of Covenant and the Holy City on which God has chosen to place His Name and His Throne.
The Saints Will Reign with Messiah
I cannot say this any better than what we read in God’s sacred Word.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a[a] thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Rev. 20
With this knowledge of Scripture and prophecy, it begins to make sense the enemy will influence the nations and deceive so many people who should be trusting God but instead believe the lies of secular humanism, hate the Holy Land and the people in it, and the very city He calls His own. Yet, for those of us who have taken the foundation of our faith IN Jesus, provided by the gospel of salvation, and have transformed it into the faith OF Yeshua, the gospel of the Kingdom, we have an entirely different perspective.
Come Lord Jesus!
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The following is an excerpt from the memoir, Just a Little Girl by Dr. Victoria Sarvadi, © 2017, pages 1-3.
A knot of anticipation grows in my stomach as we fly over the Mediterranean Sea and the deep-blue water is replaced by the white sugar sand of the desert. I take a sip of my favorite herbal tea and then blindly reach into my purse for my lip gloss to reapply it for the third time in ten minutes. Why I keep tossing the tube back into my cavernous bag is a mystery to me.
I can feel the plane descending and notice the subtle shift in the sound of the powerful jets. I’ve been blessed to gaze out the window on the descent into some of the most renowned airports around the world. However, this approach grips my emotions. The historic and religious significance of where we are heading overwhelms me.
While there is a seemingly never-ending debate over exactly where human history began on the planet, there is no doubt the land we are approaching is where Jewish history began—the land of Israel.
However, Israel began not as a place, but as a person.
The historical facts of Judaism can all seem very complicated. Especially for non-Jews raised in America under the influence of Hollywood or the umbrella of a Christian denomination, many of which teach little to nothing about Jewish history, tradition or culture. Trust me, I get how confusing it can be. There was a time when my husband Paul and I understood virtually nothing of the Jewish roots of the faith of Jesus. Paul was born in Ohio and raised Catholic and I’m a Texas native who grew up in a Lutheran family.
Yisrael is the name given to Jacob in Genesis 32:28 after he wrestled with the Messenger of God who then bestowed upon him the Hebrew name Yisrael. Later, the twelve sons of Jacob (aka: Yisrael) became the forefathers of the Twelve Tribes of Israel—whose offspring were given a national identity as they became known as the Israelites. Today, ten of Israel’s twelve tribes (also known as the Northern Kingdom and as Judah’s brothers) have lost their documentation (and I believe the memories of their identities as well,) and predominantly exist assimilated in the nations as the Bible clearly states. Judah, which was once a separate kingdom included the tribes of Benjamin and some of the Levites and now make up what is known as the Jewish people of today. This remnant of Jacob’s children still maintain their identity and are called “the children of Israel.”
For many modern-day Christians weaned on Cecile B. DeMille epic films, the story of Judaism and of Israel began with the Ten Commandments and with Charlton Heston as Moses, the mass exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt and the wrath of Yul Brenner who played Ramses, the Pharaoh.
Jewish history actually starts with the story of Abraham, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob. Known as the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are often referred to as the physical and spiritual ancestors of Judaism.
Some would argue whether Judaism is, in fact, a religion, an ethnicity, a culture, or a heritage. I would suggest it is all that, and more.
Understanding the Judaism that Jesus obediently observed has shaped how I see Christianity. It shapes the way I now read the Bible, and the way I approach my Messiah. It has helped to lift the fog of spiritual amnesia that for years kept me from experiencing a deeper relationship with God.
As a Christian, the more I learn about the Jewish faith of Jesus the more I want to know. And the more I know, the more I want to share this knowledge with others. This desire to teach—to share God’s truth as it’s revealed to me—runs through my blood like oxygenating cells. In fact, I have been given this prophetic mandate.
The truth is, after years of seeking and study, I find familiarity and comfort in the land of the people who gave us the Bible, in the prophets whose words are still being fulfilled today, and in the celebrations and traditions of the faith of Christ that bring balance and meaning to life. I find purpose in my love of the Messiah Yeshua—who many call Jesus—and who has ushered in the way to stand before the God of the universe.
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Visit your local bookstore or VictoriaSarvadi.com to get your copy of Just a Little Girl.
