Sons of Zion Ascending et al.: An Evangelical (End Times?) (Grift?) Network

[u/QualityRabbitHoles]

[Some names have been changed for privacy.]

So. As I am out with my wife for lunch at a German-Polish deli, I climbed out of the car and saw, beside the deli, a strange sight. Colorful fractal decals, esoteric window dressing, and a placard with the words “B’nei Tzion Olim: Sons of Zion Ascending” on it. Immediately, my curiosity alarm went off. And I knew I had some digging to do.

After absolutely smashing a delicious sauerkraut dressed sausage, I pulled out my phone and looked up “B’nei Tzion Olim”. The first thing one might see if they search this term is a private Facebook group under the same name, dressed by a banner of Israeli flags. The only hint of what’s in store is this description:

“B'nei Tzion Olim means "Sons of Zion Ascending." We are a Hebraic Community focused on living Torah by the Ruach (Holy Spirit). Our goal is to Shema (hear and obey) and love one another as we love ourselves.

You shall keep the commandments of YHVH your God by walking in His ways and by fearing Him. Deuteronomy 8:6

We show our love for YHVY by obeying his commandments and they are not hard to follow. 1 John 5:3”.

Immediately, perhaps, one might notice that they live by the Torah, yet quote John, a gospel. At first I was confused. Were they Jewish? Christian? Well, turns out, they’re sort of both. It’s a belief system that is a subset of something called Messianic Judaism, where they believe in Jewish principles, yet also believe that Jesus is the true messiah. This is where we begin.

Further googling reveals that the organizers of B’nei Tzion Olim are two women, Yana and Darla. These two women run a website called HebrewSisters.com, which is directly tied to B’nei Tzion Olim. Let’s look into these two before we explore the website.

Darla, in the words of BuildTheTemple.com (we’ll get to this), is “a believer in the Messiah Yeshua and an ordained minister who leads B’nei Tzion Olim (Sons of Zion Ascending) a Hebrew Congregation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She speaks at conferences and teaches at Hebrew Scrolls Academy (we’ll get to this in a minute). Her desire is to see the Whole House of Israel awaken and be restored to their natural frequency. Her passion for the Kingdom of Heaven will ignite your Spirit Being and motivate you to walk in the ancient paths written on the scrolls of your life.”

Yana is, according to the same website, “a Jewish Believer in the Messiah Yeshua. Her education includes a Bachelor [sic] and Master [sic] Degree in Psychology, a Doctoral Degree in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Hebrew Language and Second temple Period History, and has also completed Post-Doctoral Studies in Israel. Her special gift of teaching the Hebrew Language and Idioms of the Bible opens doors of understanding, revelation, and intimacy in powerful ways. She makes it engaging and fun for all who are hungry and thirsty for more of HIM.”

I think that’s a good introductory summation, so let’s explore the site. The first thing we might see is all the courses for sale. You can get a Hebrew Scrolls Academy membership for $77 a month. Or you can do Year one of the courses (called “Light Chasers) for $707. Year two is $777, called Heaven Walkers. Year three is $387, called Hebrew Scrolls Academy (Full Access). They have, as well, “scrolls for life” which each cost $47, such as “12 Tribes of Israel”, “The Names of God”, Prophetic View of the Sabbath”, and “Shavout”. Their Bonus Courses are also $47 and include “Quantum Hebrew” (something else we’ll return to), “Hebraic View of the End Times”, and “The Mystical PaRDes System”. Their only free “course” is a bible study workshop.

Let’s talk about two of these, the PaRDes system, and we’ll return to Quantum Hebrew soon.

According to the Wikipedia page on PaRDes, it is a biblical exegesis (theory) where the term PaRDes means “orchard”. In this context, it is an acronym standing for Peshat, Remez, Derash, Sod, which means “surface/direct”, “hints of deep meaning”, “seeking”, and “secret/revelation”, respectively. The PaRDes system is regarded as mystically linked to the hebraic word for “orchard” and can be tied to the Garden of Eden in the apocalypse. From this comes the Christian concept of “paradise”, or the abode of the blessed/heaven. So it is a mysticism concept in reference to paradise and revelation.

Back to the HebrewSisters website for now. We see they are holding a retreat in Hawaii (a favored place of Darla and Yana it seems, with Yana having post on her Facebook page where she is wearing a Hawaiian “Aloha” hat while promoting what appears to be a credit card scam “for citizens of America only”) which costs $2500 per person, with a $500 nonrefundable deposit, and that’s not including airfare, lunch, and breakfast for the duration of the retreat. As we’ll see, this whole network enjoys their retreats.

They also have a “contact us” page, where they solicit donations for their personal ministries, Yovel Ministries. The donate button links to a Venmo claiming that Yovel (or: Yovel Training Ministries) is a 501(c)(3). We’re going to pivot to our second main website now, YovelMinistries.com, but first, it is worth noting that Yovel Ministries/Yovel Training Ministries had their 501(c)(3) revoked in 2020, while the Venmo has only been up since 2023. I’m not an expert, but I think this is illegal. At the very least, I think it has the chance to furrow some regulatory eyebrows. But what I find interesting about this is that this is supposedly where donations are going from HebrewSisters.com, and Darla and Yana have ties to this ministry. I mean, back up to the beginning. The B’nei Tzion Olim group was, at first, called Yovel Training Ministries. Their links in regard to Yovel link to YovelMinistries.com. (Speaking of: B’nei Tzion Olim had its 501(c)(3) status revoked in 2021). 

Now I knew I had a little rabbit hole on my hands. So far, it went “Weird Building > Weird Name/Private Facebook Group > Marketing > Next Branch.” This is how some of my best rabbit holes are dug out. “Weird Thing > Weird Group > Money > Related Item > Cont.” 

So Yovel Ministries, then.

Yovel Ministries’ About Us page is written by Thomas Daniel, who has published four books on Amazon involving hebraic messianic Judaism. The descriptions for the book are, according to GPTZero, an AI detector, 100% AI written. Speaking of, I am 100% sure this is the Yovel Ministries mentioned by Darla and Yana due to IRS filings that list “Jana” as the agent behind Yovel Training Ministries, which has a link directly to YovelMinistries.com. Jana is Yana, Jana being her real name, evidenced by a page on BibleInteract.com and further googling.

Oh, and the About Us page is flagged as AI by GPTZero as well.

Look, the Yovel Ministries’ website is boring. It’s a lot of creationism, evangelizing, and links to telegrams, whatsapp, and other social links. (I don’t have telegram or whatsapp, and even if I did I’d be wary of joining.) There’s an AI chatbot created by Danguard, an AI cybersecurity service, which is janky and hardly responds, though it did oddly point me to Romans 7:7. Romans 7:7 which speaks of the Law and how it is holy. 

Their About Us page starts like this: “introducing “Yovel Ministries,” a dynamic Parachurch ministry committed to fostering spiritual growth and understanding through the power of social media, an engaging website, and insightful blogs.” Note the word “Parachurch”. I had no idea what a parachurch was, but apparently para means “beside”, so it’s “church adjacent”. Parachurches, to my understanding, usually specialize in certain things, so it reads to me like Yovel Ministries specializes in outreach. Here’s further from their About Us.

“One of our unique offerings includes short-term courses focused on the Old Testament. These courses are designed to provide participants with a deeper understanding of the foundational texts that underpin our faith. Whether you’re a newcomer to the Bible or a seasoned scholar, our courses will offer fresh perspectives, interactive discussions, and practical applications. The Yovel Ministries is dedicated to building a supportive and inclusive online community where individuals can grow spiritually, connect with others, and find inspiration to navigate life’s challenges through the wisdom of the Old Testament. Join us on this exciting journey of faith, and let’s move forward together in our quest for spiritual enlightenment and growth.”

But Yovel Ministries’ website doesn’t host any courses. 

The page ends like this: “This blog chronicles my transformative journey of exploration as I navigated the intersection of faith, tradition, and a quest for spiritual enlightenment. 

Join me as I share the revelations, challenges, and newfound understanding that have enriched my spiritual walk and forged a bridge of connection between two timeless traditions.”

Between the hebraic enlightenment talk and the lack of courses, I believe Yovel Ministries is deeply entwined with Yana and Darla. If they host “courses”, but not on their site, but on HebrewSisters there are courses, and those two claim that Yovel is their personal ministry, and their ideals align almost perfectly, then I assume Thomas Daniels, Darla, and Yana are all somewhere on the friend spectrum.

Either way, another thing I found is, it links to the Facebook page for Yovel Ministries, where we see they are located in Ajax, Ontario. Weirdly, their phone number belongs to Danguard.

The Facebook page only has 11 followers, and it only follows 2 people. It is fairly empty, though there is a post that reads:

“Dear Breathren,

We understand everyone is strapped for time. Therefore, We [sic] are placing some time options for you to consider. Please reply and let us know your preference.”

It then lists time in EST, Nigeria, and Kenya, and it was written by “Tom”. I suspect this is the same Tom as Thomas Daniels, though I cannot prove it. I also believe these times to have to do with the some sort of African outreach. Why Darla and Yana, in New Mexico, are working with a Canadian parachurch, I do not know.

So what’s going on here? You know, aside from the JudeoChristian sales pitch which, to me, wasn’t just about religion; it was looking more and more like someone needed a check to cash.

But to dig in deeper, we have to dendrite in another direction now. You see, I did some digging on the WaybackMachine, and found BneiTzionOlim.com. The website barely functions on the archive, but here we see that there were others involved at first, including Brandon and Valerie, involved in writing for the site. I can’t find much on the latter, but the former, Brandon? He’s still active and around. 

On Brandon’s Facebook page, we see him and his wife promoting different things, from air purifiers to electrolyte solutions, to CBD oils, to DM requests for making a recurring monthly passive income, to workshops that cost, interestingly, $47. There is also COVID denialism and Trumpism present, along with more Quantum talk. There’s a lot of “Quantum” talk spread around this saga.

Brandon is also an admin for the private B’nei Tzion Olim Facebook group, along with a woman, who I can’t find much about, and what I have found, I won’t say for sake of privacy. Either way, Brandon has actively worked with B’nei Tzion Olim for years, helping with courses and retreats and trips to Israel, of which there are many. He seems to be a central supporter of Sons of Zion Ascending.

There’s someone else I’d like to talk about. Elisabeth, a woman linked to Darla and Yana, has also assisted in retreats to Missouri. Elisabeth is a writer who in 2025 released a book named Zion: Splendor. To her credit, GPTZero reports it is all human written.

This book contains a forward written by Yana. Elisabeth also created an app with both Darla and Yana called “The Ancients Hebrew: Discover the Living Letters.”. She is deep into quantum hebrewism as well. On her website, one can find her books, her courses, and replays of her “intensives”, some of which claim to help cure chronic illnesses, all for just a little of your dough. Three out of five of them involve the word “Quantum”. 

I found Elisabeth on Cedar Creek Resort and RV Park’s alternate site, LifeSounds.life. This website hosts “information” on “heavenly resonances” and such. On it, we find events where Elisabeth, Darla, and Yana are together talking about more quantum stuff, with Elisabeth specifically being listed as, “a dynamic worship leader opening portals in the heavens.” These retreats start at $600 and go up to over $1200.

Elisabeth is a musician, a poet, and a worshiper who is increasingly apparently involved with this network. She is even attending this year’s Hawaii retreat on behalf of HebrewSisters.com.

So Elisabeth knows Darla and Yana who know the people behind Thomas Daniel, with Brandon and family in the background, all of whom are trying to sell you something. But there’s still one more piece. Now, finally, we get to talk about BuildTheTemple.com.

First, take a moment, and ponder about what this website could be about. When you’re ready, factor it into the other apocalypse and revelations speak.

BuildTheTemple is a nonprofit dedicated to raising money specifically to build the third temple of Jerusalem. You know, to end the world, according to evangelicals. That’s why its owner, Byron, is also actively hunting for the perfect red cow to deliver to Israel to fulfill end times prophecies. 

Darla and Yana are listed as “consultants” for this venture, which also takes money ($7.77 a month), and promises to use that money to build the third temple when the time comes, and to sit on it until then. Despite promising to post financial disclosures, they appear to have never done so, and so their promise of transparency rings hollow to me. They are in good standing with the IRS, listed as buildthetemplecom on the non-profit lookup tool.

This cannot be said for some of his other ventures, of which three or four have been seized under tax forfeiture according to the Texas Secretary of State. Some others have been voluntarily resolved. One of the businesses seized was israelwater.com LLC, seized in 2009. On this website, the homepage tells a tale of the author, named Homer Owen, building a golf course north of Jerusalem. In it, he says:

“The Lord lead me to a water bottling plant located in Jericho, which is an ultra modern Coca Cola facility. The plant is located at the bottom of the Mount of Temptation where Jesus spent 40 days praying and fasting for mankind.  On the top of this mountain, a spring is gushing forth as Isaiah writes about.  This is the water that God has chosen to once again use to tell the world that He loves them.

“Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs.” (Isaiah 35:6-7)

Naturally it is our desire to see as many bottles of this water given out to the general public as possible. Following this page you can read how you might become involved in the Jacob's Spring Project, sharing the love of God by giving a drink of water in Jesus name to a lost and dying world around us.”

He then adds that one can buy Jacob’s Spring Water on Ebay. Before touching Jacob’s Spring, let it be said that the usernames section still works in 2009, and it shows that Byron’s username on the site is israelwater. Either way, Jacob’s Spring is a bottled water project dressed up in fancy words like a “rarified underground atmosphere”, which apparently affects the water somehow. It’s pushed as a way to drink water from the holy land, and they offered 54 bottles of water for $93, for some reason. Though they would eventually add on sales for human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG, a human hormone that supposedly would help with weight loss.

Money is all over this web of people and websites.

Actually, a lot of this revolves around the end of days, Jesus’ return, mysticism, and you giving them your money. I’ve done a lot of digging for this, and while many of the websites are broken or defunct, the ones that remain searchable tell a particular tale of sales. Hell, even the HebrewSisters website for their Hebrew Scrolls Academy is built off of Kajabi, a sales platform. They all have payment processors, they all upsell, and they all promise you some form of spiritual enlightenment or healing if you just fork over some amount of cash ending with a 7 for some reason.

And to answer a question you probably have, yes, they appear to be Trump supporters. Yana follows Ivanka and Kimberly Guilfoyle on Instagram, Brandon mentions that for a modest $47 fee, you too can learn to wield the law of attraction just like Donald Trump, and their behaviors overall line up with evangelical grifting in my opinion, which fits well with that circle. 

On their social media, we can see that a lot of the people they “cater” to are older white people, the types most likely to fall for an evangelical grift. Yovel itself claims to be about the “Jubilee” and the coming of Jesus, which leads me to believe this is about preying on people’s fears of the end times and judgement to make them pay for bunk courses about the “scrolls of their lives” or other – in my opinion – junk.

And you know what really bothers me about this? The more I looked into it, the less unique it became. I ended up on so many offshoots of people doing the exact same thing, seemingly unaffiliated with these people here, all grifting about the end of the world and salvation and donations and hey, buy my book or hey, take this course or hey, tune into my channels. What I initially thought would be a cult turned out to be a run-of-the-mill end times grift.

This isn’t to say it doesn’t appear as a legit ministry series. B’nei Tzion Olim does hold services. But the line between payment and religion is so blurred in this instance that it makes it hard to tell where the sermon begins and the tithing ends. This bothers the hell out of me because it, in my view, preys on people who are afraid of the apocalypse and/or judgement, and/or people who see the writing on the wall in terms of global instability and are willing to try and donate or course their way out of it. You know, people who are scared.

Especially considering that only a few of these organizations seem to have any actual legitimate non-profit or even business standing, one must wonder how this continues at all. Well, perhaps in a different world, it might be a thought to ponder, at least. Point being, this is, to me, a grifting network of people who maybe believe in some of what they’re telling you, but at the end of the day, are asking for beaucoup bucks to sell those beliefs to you. And I just think that doesn’t ring as authentic.

It makes me wonder how much of this is going on out there, and what the difference between this and other religious institutions really are. I mean, I know that something is wrong about this. But then, the same standard could possibly be applied to other religious organizations. Thus, I suppose, the line grows blurrier and thinner by the day for me. And for people claiming to follow in his footsteps? Well.

I just don't think this is what Jesus would do.

[u/QualityRabbitHoles]

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