Return to the Garden of Eden

By Thaddeus Kedziora

Return to the Garden of Eden is dedicated to refuting the unbiblical error of Replacement Theology, which supposes that God has spiritually replaced Israel with the Church. The problem with this understanding is, if God replaced Israel, who was promised an everlasting possession of land, then what good is His promise of an everlasting salvation to the Church.

This book concentrates on the multitude of verses in scripture, which indicate that the national restoration of Israel is an absolute imperative. It demonstrates that Israels existence today was not only predicted, but necessary for Christ to return to earth, just as He said He would. This book illuminates the fact that Israel being a nation in our time, is a miracle to be witnessed by we Christians, and a comfort and encouragement that God always keeps his word literally, not allegorically.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490893945

Thaddeus Kedziora

Thaddeus Kedziora has a master’s degree in social sciences and has retired after thirty-two years as a letter carrier for the USPS. He has spent over thirty years studying Bible prophecy and twenty years leading a home Bible church.

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Copyright © 2015 Thaddeus Kedziora.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-9395-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9396-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9394-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015911167

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/29/2015

Contents

Introduction

Chapter One Thy Kingdom Come: The Kingdom of David

Chapter Two A Change Is in the Wind

Chapter Three The Judgments

Chapter Four Israel’s National Restoration

Chapter Five Order in the Court

Chapter Six Christ on earth

Chapter Seven The Kingdom of Christ

Chapter Eight What on earth?

Chapter Nine Changes in the People

Chapter Ten The New Jerusalem

Chapter Eleven The Great White Throne Judgment

Chapter Twelve Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism

Chapter Thirteen Christian Anti-Semites

Bibliography

Dedicated to the memory of my wife Kelly Kedziora and my only brother James Kedziora

Introduction

No matter how bad things are here in the world today, God has a plan. It is not a secret plan. He has sprinkled his plan throughout the Bible. He has told the prophets. He has made it clear what the world will be like during Jesus’ thousand year earthly reign. This book digs through the hundreds of verses of scripture, to unveil what Christ’s Millennial Kingdom looks like. This book uncovers what happens to those people who have persecuted Jews. It explores how the King of the Jews will rule the world. This book dwells where no other book has gone. It goes to the future of saved and lost Gentiles, saved and lost Jews and the restoration of national and spiritual Israel and the soon coming earthly thousand year Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER ONE

Thy Kingdom Come: The Kingdom of David

So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ (Acts 1:6). This was the last question the disciples asked the resurrected Jesus before His ascension to heaven. This was a logical question because the Old Testament did not explicitly teach that there would be an interval between His two comings. It is important to note that Jesus did not correct the disciples in their understanding of a literal earthly Jewish kingdom. The implication is that their understanding was correct. In fact, their understanding mirrored Jesus’ own teaching that He would return, after an unspecified period of time, to establish a kingdom for Israel (Matthew 25:19). To say that we are living in the earthly kingdom of Christ today is erroneous, because He has not yet returned in the same manner that He left—in the clouds, visibly (Acts 1:11).

Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would come to them (John 14:25). This coincided with Ezekiel 36-37 which prophesied the restoration of the nation of Israel along with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on all Jews (Ezekiel 36:26-27). This is known as the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Joel 3:2 also confirmed that the Spirit would come to the nation of Israel. Paul later corroborated with an exclamation point that every single Jewish person in the kingdom would be saved (Romans 9:26). So the kingdom is not here, but it is coming as promised.

A cursory examination of the history of the Jewish people will reveal why the Jews were so hopeful of the soon coming of the Messiah. Following the Roman conquest of Israel in 63 B.C., Israel was totally subjugated to Rome. The untold cruelty and the oppressive taxation were unbearable. The Jews longed for the restoration of Israel. The word restoration means being brought back to its former state or brought back to health. It means to restore lost dominion or authority. The disciples were not alluding to a spiritual kingdom at the end of the age; they were looking for the restitution of Israel to its former condition: a nation with the Messiah as their King. Countless Old Testament Scriptures prophesied that the Messiah would reign over Israel, and Israel would be the head of all nations (Deuteronomy 28:13, Ezekiel 37:26-28). Jesus Himself spoke many times of a future kingdom (Matthew 13:40-50; Matthew 24-25; Luke 12:36-40, 17:20-37, 21:5-36.), but He said no man would know the time of this kingdom. Such a statement does not nullify their expectation of a literal earthly kingdom of Israel. It actually proves that their understanding was correct.

Just as there were signs and Scripture that pointed to the Messiah’s first coming, Jesus said there would be signs to indicate His Second Coming, as well. Jesus said, Now learn this lesson from the fig tree (Matthew 24:32). Who is the fig tree? Hosea 9:10 defines who the fig tree is: When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your fathers, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. Jeremiah 24 also likens Israel to a fig tree. Matthew continues, As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door (Matthew 24:32-33). This passage refers to Jesus’ second coming. Matthew continues, This generation will not pass away until all these things take place (Matthew 24:34). Which generation? The generation which sees all the events of Matthew 24 take place. Since Matthew 24 is not written to Christians per se, it is for the benefit of those Jews and Gentiles who have been left behind from the Rapture. Now if the church begins to notice current events like those described in Matthew 24, then how close is the Rapture? Remember, these events are the beginning of birth pains (Matthew 24:8).

What are these birth pains of Matthew 24? The first example will be an international hatred of the Jews (Matthew 24:9). One glance at the world’s political landscape reveals that Israel currently has no real friends or allies. In the past, America has staunchly supported Israel, but has recently become increasingly hostile, even on occasion refusing to meet with Israel’s President and forcing Israel to negotiate her land for peace with Muslim Palestinians whose charters refuse to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist. This lack of support for Israel could explain America’s current rapid decline politically, economically, and globally. This process has already begun and is evident and corroborated by simply watching the evening news.

An article on www.darkpolitricks.com entitled UN Resolutions Against Israel reports that the United Nations Security Council since 1972 has over 100 resolutions against and condemning Israel. The prophecy of Matthew 24:9 is true today in your lifetime. Is that just a coincidence? Is it a coincidence that after 2,000 years Israel is a nation again, as prophesied in Ezekiel 37? Israel was a divided nation with Israel as the Northern Kingdom and Judah as the Southern Kingdom, but God said He would save both kingdoms (Zechariah 8:13). He said that He would plant them in their land, never to be uprooted again (Amos 9:15). He promised that they would never be two nations again or a divided nation again (Ezekiel 37:22). Coincidentally, he prophesied that this nation would not be called Judah or Zion, but it would be called Israel (Ezekiel 37:12). This prophecy was fulfilled in 1948. Now, is God awesome, or what?

The very reason Jesus returns is to judge the world for the way people treated the Jews. Probably the most familiar passage dealing with relationships with Israel would be Genesis 12:3, I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse. But, Joel 3:1-2 should make every individual voter in America pause: In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land. That is exactly what America wants Israel to do—divide up her land for peace. God does not refer to Israel as My occupied territories but as My land. Many Americans fully support the Palestinian cause and even support the making of Jerusalem into an international city rather than a Jewish one.

Another birth pain described in Matthew 24 is the abomination that causes desolation, which is when the Antichrist will set himself up in the temple and claim to be God (Daniel 9:27). Right now the Muslim Dome of the Rock sits on the Temple Mount, but for the past 20 years a group known as The Temple Mount Faithful has been meticulously crafting all the utensils necessary for temple worship. They have even tried, without success, to put the cornerstone on the Temple Mount. We know from Scripture that the temple will be rebuilt, but in all of history, only in the last few decades has Israel even contemplated such a move. So we can see the events of Scripture beginning to fall in place with current events. How exciting!

With Syria in the news daily with their civil war and use of chemical weapons, Isaiah 17:1 is another prophecy which looms on the horizon, See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins. The potential for this to be fulfilled in our lifetime is very real. Many Bible footnotes say this has already been fulfilled, but since Damascus is still a city today, this prophecy has obviously not yet taken place. When God does away with a city, He means it, e.g., Sodom and Gomorrah.

Another current event that coincides with Scripture is the relationship between Russia and Iran. The covenant between these two nations was predicted 2,600 years ago. Ezekiel 38 notes that a nation to the far north of Israel along with Persia will attack Israel. Iran was known as Persia until just a few decades ago. Russia is the only country to the far north of Israel and has helped Iran build its nuclear weapons program for the last decade. These are not just coincidences. These are prophecies being fulfilled in your lifetime.

While Jesus did not specify the time of His coming, He did identify events that would be clear to the elect only. Daniel said that none of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand (Daniel 12:10). So a believer’s faith in the last days is not a blind faith; it is a faith backed up by current events. These current events are to provide encouragement to believers. Concerning the Rapture of the church, Paul says the reality of this event should provide encouragement (1 Thessalonians 4:18). The writer of Hebrews says that when we see these current events unfolding, which are precursors to Christ’s second coming, we are to encourage each other (Hebrews 10:25). His return will be near when these events begin to take place.

And what kingdom will Christ usher in when He returns? Is it the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of David? Both David and Solomon understood that the Kingdom of David was to be a literal political kingdom (2 Samuel 7:18-29, 2 Chronicles 6:14-16). It would not be a spiritual kingdom, but a literal kingdom. Since Christ is not physically present on earth today, He is therefore not presently reigning on the Throne of David. Not one reference in all of Scripture says that Christ is presently reigning on the Throne of David. Christ is presently seated on His Father’s Throne (Hebrews 12:2). The Throne of David is not an allegory for some mystical kingdom. It refers to a millennial kingdom where Christ will rule the earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-7).

Christ’s 1,000-year reign will not be a heavenly kingdom. The Bible calls all Christians priests (1 Peter 2:9). Everyone who believes in Christ will have the privilege of becoming a priest in the earthly kingdom when we reign with Christ (Revelation 5:10). And He will be King over the whole earth (Zechariah 14:9), and Jerusalem will be the capital of the whole earth (Zechariah 14:16). When we read Scripture we can see the truth of a political, earthly reign of Jesus on the Throne of David.

Why does the millennial kingdom have to be an earthly kingdom? David Reagan, in his book God’s Plan For the Ages lists several reasons.¹ First, it is because God has to keep His promises to the Jews. Many people believe that since the Jews rejected the Messiah, He has therefore rejected them. That is like saying since my wife cheated on me, I get to cheat on her. If that were the case, no one could trust God. But we know that God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18) and that God promised to give Israel the entire land of Canaan (Genesis 17:8) including all the way through Iraq, which will take place during the Millennial Kingdom. He gave that land to Israel as an everlasting possession (Genesis 17:7-8). While Israel may not possess all that land now, it does not mean that she will not possess it in the future. In fact, if Israel does not possess all that land in the future, God will be made a liar, a covenant breaker, and untrustworthy.

God’s promise to restore the Jews to their land was given through the Jewish prophets. He promised through Hosea, I will plant her for myself in the land (Hosea 2:23). He promised through Moses that if they were obedient, He would grant them abundant prosperity in the land He swore to your forefathers to give you (Deuteronomy 28:11). He promised through Amos, I will plant Israel in their own land never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them (Amos 9:15). He promised through Ezekiel, I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land (Ezekiel 37:21). He promised through Zechariah, I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God (Zechariah 8:7). The kingdom of David is not a spiritual kingdom; it is an earthly, literal, political kingdom in a restored Israel, with Jesus as its King and Jerusalem as its capital.

During this