Lessons in the Ladder Days

Candace Long: I'm Candace Long with Lessons in the Latter Days, offering biblical commentary to make sense of the times we're living in. Today I bring you a very tough episode to listen to. But as I research the Old Testament prophecies about the years leading up to the redemption, this topic keeps surfacing. And as much as I've tried to avoid it, I feel the Lord's prompt that now is the time to ask the question which is today's teaching: Is Christianity Daniel's final beast?

Now before you label me a heretic, I hope I have earned your trust over the last five years to at least be heard for a few minutes. This subject is dominant with our Jewish forefathers as well as many known Messianic Rabbis. It is found in many scriptures and the Old Testament prophets.

Let me begin by explaining what is meant by Daniel's final beast. Daniel is the most revered prophet to whom God gave visions and wisdom concerning the end of days. In Chapter 2, he interprets King Nebuchadnezzar's vision, which depicts the five kingdoms that will rule over Israel until Messiah destroys them and sets up His kingdom. Four of these kingdoms have come and gone: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

And the final one is forming before our eyes. Daniel describes this kingdom as a dreadful and terrible beast with legs and feet of iron mixed with clay. Each kingdom is paired with a natural element. Babylon is gold. Medo-Persia is silver. Greece is copper or bronze. Rome is iron. And this final kingdom is a mixture of iron and clay. This kingdom is rising now, and it's called Edom, which is another name for Esau.

Notice that Christianity is not a kingdom. The sages call it Hellenized Christianity since it is rooted in the Greek way of thinking. It is also called Western Christianity since Esau is considered the patriarch of Rome and his descendants intermarried with European royalty. So the Kingdom of Edom includes most of the Western world, and it reflects Esau's contempt for his brother Jacob, who was devoted to Torah study.

The belief that Hellenized Christianity is part of Daniel's final beast is deeply held not only by respected Jewish sages but also by Messianic Rabbis that I have listened to over the years. Now as difficult as this may be to hear, this view is biblically supported, which we're going to examine. Today we'll look at four biblical threads among the eight that I've identified so far, followed by commentary.

Number one: where we are in our Torah studies. Number two: the findings from our Exodus study that only 20% of the Jews were redeemed, leaving 80% behind. Number three: where we are on God's calendar. Number four: insights from Jesus' final days. Number five: a summary of the origin of Christianity. Number six: how Christianity got linked to the growing Kingdom of Edom. Number seven: scriptures that point to this rise of Edom and why Hellenistic Christianity is viewed as part of the final beast. And number eight: the split that's developing among Christians as these threads are being woven together.

My source material is scripture itself viewed through a Jewish lens. Now for those who may be new to my teaching, I have followed Jesus as the Messiah for over 55 years. But 20 years ago, the Lord led me to study Judaism. So I honor the Sabbath, I celebrate the festivals, and study the Torah every week. Becoming Torah-observant has been the second most important decision in my spiritual life.

I'm also pulling from Rabbi Itzhak Shapira's book, *The Fall of Edom: Decoding Obadiah's Vision*. In it, Rabbi Shapira quotes well-regarded sages whose depth of insight into God's word is inspired.

Thread number one is where we are now in our Torah studies. At this writing, we're in the book of Exodus, which I view as the rehearsal for our exodus. In Chapter 3, God tells Moses, "I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry." And our thread is in verse eight, "I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, to bring them up out of that land into a good land."

I want you to notice the three action verbs telling us what the Lord is about to do. Verb number one: "I have come down." The word is Yarad, which means to descend spiritually into the dark, oppressive culture that they were in, to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. God gave them into the power of Pharaoh. Verb number two was to "deliver them out." The Hebrew word is Natsal, which means to snatch out suddenly. And verb number three is to "bring them up," which is the word Alah, which means to ascend or to go up.

So some 3,500 years ago, God came down from heaven to snatch out and take up a people group designated as His. But who did He go down to get? Every Jew? No. Only families of the 70 descendants of Jacob. To them He sent Moses with instructions of how they would be delivered. The Exodus Tavnit, which is a multi-layered metaphorical picture, teaches us that the same thing will happen to the final generation before the redemption.

At the appointed time, Messiah will come down from heaven and snatch out suddenly those who are His. He will cause them to rise and ascend to the heavenly kingdom. Now do you see the picture? But before this redemption can happen, something important has to happen first. There must be a separation between those whom God has appointed to be taken from those who are not.

And this brings us to thread number two, which is the concept we've talked for weeks about during our Torah study on Shabbat Shalom: that only 20% of the Jews were taken at the Exodus. And you might be asking, "Wait a minute, my Bible doesn't say 20%." The key passage is found in Parashat Beshalach, which covers Exodus 13 through 17 and records how God led them out of Egypt.

I'm going to read from the Hebrew-English transliteration in the Schottenstein Chumash published by Artscroll. These are the volumes that I use. "God said, 'Lest the people reconsider when they see war and return to Egypt.' So God turned the people toward the way of the wilderness to the Sea of Reeds. Armed did they go up, the children of Israel, from the land of Egypt."

And the wisdom is found in the last line: "Armed did they go up, the children of Israel, from the land of Egypt." The word for armed is Chalatz, and it means to equip for fight. But here's Rashi's commentary on this verse: "According to the Midrash, the word Chalatz derives from the word Chamishi, which means a fifth. And it implies that only one-fifth of the Jews left Egypt. The rest were not prepared to adopt a new life as God's people, and they died during the plague of darkness."

As we go deeper into the Exodus account, we are mindful of the separation taking place between those who were willing to risk everything and follow Moses out of Egypt and many family and friends who chose to stay. This separation is confirmed in an earlier portion, Va'era. In Exodus 6, verses 7 and 8, the Lord says this: "I shall take you to me as a people, and you shall know that I am Hashem your God who takes you out, and I shall bring you to the land."

Rabbi Simlai, who was a prominent third-century Talmud scholar, sees something interesting in the juxtaposition of these two promises: "I shall take you" and "I shall bring you." That just as only two people arrived in Israel out of the 600,000 who left Egypt—remember, only Joshua and Caleb did not die in the wilderness—so were the 600,000 who left Egypt a remnant in the ratio of two out of 600,000 who did not leave. The Talmud tractate Sanhedrin 111a says, "So it will be in the Messianic era. Only two out of 600,000 will take part in the redemption."

What I want you to see in these ancient sources is the belief that our Jewish forefathers had of how few will be taken at the redemption. This is a wake-up call, not to take the first resurrection lightly. Scripture tells us that 600,000 left Egypt. Those were the men who formed the army. The Rabbis determine that with their wives and children, the number of those who left were about three million people. Now if three million represented only 20%, a fifth, then the 80% who were left behind numbered 12 million.

Now God didn't leave them behind because He hated them. No, He left them because they refused to accept Moses as the deliverer and listen to his instructions. Now let me apply this lesson to what is happening now. I'm only one voice repeating Moses' message. Some of you will listen to know what to do. But there will be millions who will not hear this message, and still others who hear it, but they will not follow the instructions.

Thread number three is where we are on God's calendar. For over a year now, I have been laying the foundation for why I believe the month of Nissan, when the Exodus took place, in the year 2020 began what I call the final week of the church age. Now before I explain what this is, let me back up for those who may be unfamiliar with the seven-day plan of God which He gave us in Genesis.

You'll find this illustrated in my handout as part of our Shabbat Shalom radio program, and I'll put links in the description notes. God created the world in six days, and then came the seventh day, which was sanctified and set apart as the Sabbath, the day of rest that belongs to the Lord. Scripture also teaches that every day of the Lord is as a thousand years.

So seeing this through the Jewish lens, God created the world for six days, meaning He created it to exist for 6,000 years from creation. So when we come to the end of the 6,000th year, just as it begins day seven on the Hebrew calendar, this is Tishrei 1, which is known to be the birthday of the world. So on Tishrei 1 in the year 6001, the Day of the Lord begins.

And two things happen simultaneously. First, Messiah comes to the clouds at the redemption, also called the first resurrection, to snatch up those He has chosen to attend the wedding supper and the coronation of the king. Christians call this the Rapture. The second thing that happens is that the birth pangs begin for those who remain on the earth, and it will last seven years, during which God pours out His wrath to cleanse the land from its filth, destroy the sinners and every idolatrous altar, purify the remnant who survive, and restore the children of Israel to their rightful place. His nation of priests chosen to govern all of the nations during the Messianic kingdom.

Now after 35 years researching the biblical prophecies on these very end of days, I believe we are living in the final week, which is the final seven-year period at the end of what's called the Church Age. This is the 2,000-year period since Messiah's death and resurrection. This final week precedes the seven-year birth pangs. It's two seven-year periods back-to-back.

And is the time period that we're in now where the Lord is purging the Gentile part of the bride, and He's testing us to see if we qualify to be taken early. Will we stay away from defiling things? Are we willing to leave this world and commit to the seven years of training in the Jewish ways to become a member of the Commonwealth of Israel and assume the respective roles that Messiah has for us in the kingdom? We are in this time of separation.

My working theory is that these seven years we are in now parallel the last seven days of Jesus' earthly life. We know that his spirit separated from his body on Nissan 14th. If my analysis is correct that 2020 began the final seven years of the church age, then 2026 puts us at day six, which represents the last day of Jesus' earthly life.

Thread number four are insights from Jesus' last days. Insight number one is found in Luke 9, where we see Jesus being prepared for his final hours. And this was during his final year on earth. We read in Luke 9, verse 30, "Behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his decease which he should accomplish in Jerusalem."

I want to draw your attention to the word decease, as in "these men spoke of his decease which he should accomplish in Jerusalem." Strong's Concordance translates this word as Exodus. Amazing. Moses and Elijah were preparing Jesus for his exodus from the earth back into the heavenly kingdom. Now how did they prepare him? By rehearsing with him every detail of the Passover service that Moses taught in the Torah.

Remember Jesus was preparing to become the Passover lamb. So every detail had to be fulfilled exactly as Moses wrote it. My personal belief is that we have one more Passover before He comes to the clouds. But herein lies one of your biggest tests: will you rehearse our exodus by celebrating Pesach as the Torah instructs us to do in Exodus 12? Or will you celebrate Easter as most Christians do?

Insight number two is the one I leave you to ponder with for part one. For it hit me like a ton of bricks just the other day as I was pondering what Jesus did during his final day. When the soldiers and officers of the Jews seized him in the garden, he gave himself over to the Roman authorities. I suddenly saw the Tavnit. During the last seven days of Jesus' life, the template is to examine in the natural what he was doing physically.

We are to follow the body, since we are referred to throughout the New Testament as the body of Messiah. Thus, whatever he did during his end of days is what will happen to his body. That is the picture, the Tavnit. So here we have one of his final moments. He gave his physical body over to Rome.

First, let's look at the three things that happened to his body in the natural. Number one: he was bound and delivered into the hands of Roman authorities. They stripped him of his rabbinical garments and shoved thorns in his head. They pulled out his beard and beat him so badly that Isaiah 52 tells us people were stunned by his face and body so misshapen. He was unrecognizable as a Jewish rabbi. Number two: his body was buried for two full days with Roman guards stationed around the tomb. Number three: during the early morning of the third day, his body was gloriously resurrected.

Now let's look at this metaphorically. What I want you to see is by the Lord's final act of giving over his body to Roman control, there was a prophecy telling us not only what was going to happen to him in the future, but also what would happen to the body of Messiah.

Here are seven concluding thoughts for your consideration. Number one: the two days that his body was in the tomb under Roman control represent the 2,000-year period of the Church Age. He was crucified at the end of day four, that's the year 4,000 after creation. He's showing us that he will not be seen again as the Jewish Messiah during day five and day six, until the beginning of day seven when he comes to the clouds in glory.

Number two: during this time under Roman control, Hellenism would distort his appearance so as to make him unrecognizable. We've seen this as countless artists portrayed him over the centuries as a god-man who fit into their Greek culture. This Jesus is slender and effeminate, with long hair parted in the middle, with a short pointed beard resembling the Greek god Zeus. Now if you do an internet search for Jesus Christ, you will see this image everywhere. And it is this Jesus who is adored by the entire Western world and displayed in almost every church and cathedral. This man is not Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah.

Number three: as time went on, Hellenism has presented this Jesus to Gentiles and Jews as the way to get to God without having to follow the Torah and all of those 613 commandments, creating new traditions and teachings that Jesus did away with the law. Number four: not only was his physical body transformed as unrecognizably Jewish, but so was the early body of Messiah who were spirit-filled followers of Jesus and they were Torah observant. This describes the early church for close to 300 years. When Hellenism then began to sever Christians completely from our Jewish foundation, and the body of Messiah was turned over to Hellenistic control, as Jesus foretold by his final act.

Number five: here we are today, and there is a new awakening and hunger for the Torah. Countless followers of Yeshua are experiencing the pull to reconnect to the faith of our fathers, as Malachi prophesied before the Day of the Lord. Number six: the separation spoken of in Exodus 12 is being fulfilled before our eyes. The smaller remnant is pulling away from Hellenistic Christianity. We want to celebrate Pesach instead of Easter, Hanukkah instead of Christmas. We are breaking free of the grave clothes and choosing to follow Moses all the way to the kingdom.

And number seven: this remnant is waiting for the day when he comes to the clouds surrounded by glory in the garments of the promised Messiah. To reveal himself as Joseph did to his beloved Jewish family. Glory to God.

If you'd like to share this episode, go to candacelong.com/podcasts and look for the episode "Is Christianity Daniel's Final Beast? Part 1." I will provide links to all of the resources mentioned in the description notes. In part two, I will show how Hellenized Christianity became aligned with the Kingdom of Edom and is now viewed by the sages as Daniel's final beast. I will share the views of Messianic Rabbis who are part of this great awakening. They are looking to us as Gentile believers who grew up under Hellenism to help restore our Messiah to his Jewish family.

Please consider studying the Torah with us every week on shabbatshalomradio.com. Check our website for details. The Lord is coming soon to bring us out and cause us to go up. I'm Candace Long, and you've been listening to Lessons in the Latter Days.