Clash of Kingdoms

Tikkun Global

Jerusalem, Israel

In the Exodus story, God confronted Egypt in judgment. According to this biblical pattern, God will judge all the nations of this world.

The deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt was an outworking of God’s covenant with Abraham. “And the sons of Israel groaned because of the bondage; and they cried out, and their cry ascended to God. And God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Exodus 2:23-24 modified NASB).

The difficulties of the end times will cause all peoples to cry out to God as well. In seasons of great deliverance or judgment God sends His representatives: Joseph and Moses in Egypt; Jonah to Assyria; Daniel in Babylon, Mordecai and Esther in Persia, and the apostle Paul to the Roman Empire.

The message of God’s kingdom confronts every nation in the world throughout history. The ultimate prophetic message is that the kingdoms of the world must be transformed into the kingdom of God and His Messiah (Revelation 11:15).

The Exodus is also a message of liberation from bondage for any people group at any time. It’s as if God said, “Now you're going to see what I’m like. I’m going to bring down the evil empire and deliver the oppressed people.” That’s YeHoVaH, the God we serve.

Egypt had ruled the world for centuries, and then at the fullness of time, God came to confront, deliver, and judge. Assuming the 10 plagues were each about a week apart, within a mere few months this huge empire was brought to its knees.

“For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night and fatally strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments.” (Exodus 12:12)

There were two levels of judgment – on the people of Egypt for their sin, and on the demonic principalities who were empowering them. Those “gods” of Egypt were evil, sinful angels. God destroyed that demonic religion step by step, educating both the Egyptians and the Israelites.  

The same process of judgment and deliverance is being repeated in these end times, in different areas and cultures, one of which is Islam. We love Arabs but we hate jihad. We want to see our Arab cousins set free from those evil spirits. Jihad kills many more Arabs than Jews. Our love for Arabs means we desire to see them delivered from the oppression of Islamic extremism.

Last redemption like the first

There is an expression in traditional Judaism that the last redemption will be like the first one – meaning that the events of the end times will be like the deliverance at the time of Passover. Indeed, the book of Revelation describes plagues, prophecies and judgments in very similar terms to that of the Exodus. In Dan Juster’s book, The Passover Key, he offers insights into this comparison. God will punish recalcitrant sinners and bring judgment against the principalities of darkness. Many people will be set free. Yeshua is the Passover Lamb who gave His blood to redeem us. Through Yeshua's blood and sacrificial love, we can overcome the forces of evil (Revelation 12:11).

Many years ago, I decided to follow Yeshua. I wanted to love God and my fellow man. I wasn’t planning on fighting. However, there is a great battle at hand between good and evil. People suppressed under the kingdom of darkness need to be delivered.

God’s love can bring us out of darkness into light. Those who are delivered become “Israelites” – an ecclesia – a group of people called out of the evil empire of this world. These called-out-ones are serving to set up a new kingdom of love and truth.  

There is a clash of kingdoms, a spiritual war between good and evil. Yeshua will return leading an angelic army. The war is first fought in the heavens against satanic angels, and then on earth against the human armies arrayed against Him.

As Moses came to set the people free in the Exodus, Yeshua is sent from God to bring eternal redemption. He came as a lamb; He’s coming back as a lion. He will conquer the earth as Joshua conquered the land of Canaan. He will rule on earth from Jerusalem as King Solomon did.

The Passover Seder ends with a cute children's story-song “One Goat” that’s really about empires and kingdoms. it goes like this: “My father bought one kid goat with two coins; and then a cat came and ate the kid goat; and then a dog came and ate the cat; and then a stick came and beat the dog; and then a fire came and burned up the stick; and then water came and quenched the fire; and then an ox came and drank up the water; and then the butcher came and killed the ox; and then the angel of death came and killed the butcher; and then the Holy One blessed be he came and killed the angel of death.”

The song sounds funny, and you get to repeat it real fast; yet there is a symbolic meaning of the song: The father who bought the kid goat is God. The little goat is Israel. The two coins are the two tablets of the law. The other symbols are the series of world empires who tried to kill the Jewish people: Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, the Inquisition, Islam, etc.

Jewish people tend to see history as a series of persecutions, all trying to annihilate them as the chosen people. The kingdoms of this world are always trying to destroy the kingdom of God, climaxing in the last great war when Yeshua returns.

Human history is heading for that final clash of kingdoms. As mentioned, the book of Revelation describes a series of plagues parallel to those in Egypt. The Antichrist will be like an evil Pharaoh ruling a world-wide empire of evil. We as the people of God need to stand in faith. We want to live spiritually in “Goshen land” under God's protection. We can pray like Moses and Aaron to bring righteous judgment and deliver the suffering “Israelites” of every nation. The people of God will be revealed in special glory and grace.

This epic story begins with Abraham. It continues through Moses, David, Yeshua, the apostles, and the spread of the good news of the kingdom of God. In our generation we are seeing the restoration of Israel, the renewal of the messianic remnant, and the joining together of Israel and the Church into one “olive tree.”

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your wonderful plan for a wonderful world. And we thank you for your grace to give us a part to play!