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 that we're living in. Today I begin a series I've been researching for months. It's called Prepare for the Rapture, Part 1. Subtitle: Lessons from Elijah and Elisha: Who Goes and Who Stays?

This is a very important series because, according to my research, the rapture may very well happen in the next two years. And quite frankly, as I've been talking about this with my students and other ministry colleagues, I've been surprised by their responses. In fact, I've been blown away by the number of people who do not want to go in the rapture.

Now, if you've been following my latest seven-part series called The Final Week of the Church Age, I lay out for you why I believe that the year 2025 puts us almost at the end of the final seven years of what's called the church age. And these seven years parallel what was going on in the last seven days of Jesus' life.

Let me say it this way: I've come to understand a biblical Last Days template that I call "Follow the Body" because whatever happened to Jesus' physical body during his last seven days on this earth, I believe is a picture or a tabnit for what will happen to his spiritual body, which is what the New Testament refers to as the Ecclesia or the church.

So if we follow his physical body, what happened to him? His last seven days, that should tell us what happens to the "Body of Christ" during our last seven years on earth. Now, we all know that at the very last day of his earthly life, he was imprisoned, tortured, and killed. And his physical body was removed from the earth.

All of this happened suddenly. One day he was teaching, the next day he was gone. His disciples witnessed it all, which seems to suggest that today's disciples or followers of Jesus are about to witness what I call the death of the body of Christ, meaning that we will witness the sudden disappearance of his body from planet Earth.

If you recall how this revelation unfolded for me, it was 2021. I had an epiphany while celebrating Hanukkah when I was flooded with light. I realized in a flash that the final week of the church age began during Hanukkah of 2020 when the pandemic began. That's when the world experienced a major shift. And I'll put links to key episodes in the notes to this episode that discuss more fully this revelation if you want to learn more.

But let's say I'm correct in my assessment of God's timeline here and the final week of the church age began in 2020. We know that a biblical week of years is seven years long. That's how the prophet Daniel describes this 70th week when the Lord sifts his Jewish people while his wrath is released on the earth to cleanse it. Christians refer to this period as the tribulation, lasting seven years.

Jews call it the birth pangs because it is during these seven years that the Messianic Kingdom is birthed. Now, devout Jews such as Orthodox Rabbi Alon Anava have been actively teaching and warning the Jewish people that the birth pangs are almost here. So, in Christian terminology, what Jews are saying is the tribulation is right around the corner, and they're right.

According to my research, it begins in two more years. If that's true, what is the event that kicks off the tribulation? It's what we call the rapture. Jews call it the resurrection. And according to God's timetable, this event falls on Rosh Hashanah, Tishrei 1 on the Hebrew calendar, when the world has been in existence six days or 6,000 years.

Now I'm reviewing this for you because if the final biblical week of the church age began in 2020, that puts the rapture on Tishrei 1 seven years later, which happens to be September 12th, 2026. And that's just around the corner. Because Tishrei 1 is the new year on God's calendar, the date of the rapture would technically fall Hebraically in 2027 because it's the turn of the year.

Now there is always the possibility that I am incorrect in my interpretation of findings because there are so many variables with God's times and seasons and how Gentiles have screwed it up with our Gregorian calendar. So if I'm off by a few months or even a year, that doesn't make me a false teacher. I am a chronicler. I'm called to record how our generation is living through the end of the church age.

We've never walked this way before, and when I see fulfillments of prophecies and say nothing by way of warning or instruction, that's when I'm in error. The bottom line is the rapture is coming soon. Are you ready for it if it's just two years away? Frankly, it was the answer to this question from mature believers that prompted this study.

One ministry colleague, when confronted by my findings, said, "If Jesus is coming that soon"—long pause—"I don't think I'll be going." I thought to myself, "What?" We know it is not biblical for God to do something against our will, which brings up the question: Do we have the freedom to decide if we want to go in the rapture or if we want to stay?

And if it's true that we can decide whether to go or stay, then what happens to those who are not taken? Do they lose their salvation and their place in the kingdom? I believe these questions have surfaced because it is time to press in for wisdom on this issue. Now, what made this very personal is that I know with everything in me that I am going in the rapture.

I've known this for years and years. I truly believe I have two years left on this earth. Every decision I am making now regarding my personal affairs and the legacy I want to leave behind are foremost in my mind every day. I know why I'm going to be taken. I know what I will likely be doing in the kingdom, and that I've been prepared my whole life for the assignment I believe the Lord has for me.

Now, that inner knowledge has grown throughout my walk with him the last seven years or so, and why I take every opportunity I can to teach how you can find what you were put on this earth to do. And just to ease your mind a little, most people have no clue what their calling is. You see, the gifts that the Father put inside you to be busy with in this world relate 100% to the work he has for you to do to help him build his kingdom on earth.

Now, I'm speaking right now to those who want to be taken when he comes. If you do not know your personal calling, the gifts and talents that make up your uniqueness, that is what you should be working on now. And I have a lot of resources on my website at candacelong.com to help you. The one that most comes to mind is a course called Journey to the Center of You.

If you have trouble finding the right resources, reach out to me on my contact form. I'll get back to you. This is no decision to put off. You want to be ready and expectant when he comes to the clouds, unless, of course, you are called to remain. Recently I had a ministry colleague come up to me after a talk, and he said, "I believe I'm called to stay and help those who are left behind after the rapture."

Again, his response threw me for a loop because I had never considered that choice was an option. But I'm learning that it is. If the Lord is calling you to remain, then he would want you to know why and impart a double anointing of grace to endure seven years of tremendous trial. You see, when these seven years of birth pangs on the earth are finished, there are still 993 years left in what's called the Kingdom Age.

There's a lot of work that needs to be done to build Messiah's kingdom. All of God's ways will be embedded in every facet of the kingdom. No evil will be allowed. It will be glorious, but it requires working alongside the Messiah and under his oversight. Remember, the Day of the Lord lasts 1,000 years, and it's only the first seven that are the birth pangs.

Those seven end at Yom Kippur in the year 6008 after creation. Jewish doctrine teaches that it's on Yom Kippur when Messiah returns to do battle against all the nations coming to destroy Jerusalem. And he brings with him those who spent the seven years in the bridal chamber and reunites us with the ones who have remained faithful on earth.

When Yom Kippur is finished, there is no more time for repentance. The gates are closed and the books are sealed. Every person who refuses to accept Messiah as ruler of the earth will be cast out. They will not enter the kingdom of God. But all who have been waiting for Messiah to come will remain as part of the generation of the kingdom.

And that population includes those who are taken in the rapture, who will be in resurrection bodies, as well as those in earthly bodies who survived the tribulation. These two groups will work side-by-side helping him build the kingdom of God on earth. Now, the key takeaway here is that if you are called to remain, the Lord does have an assignment for you, only you would be in an earthly body.

God's calling for Elijah required him to leave this earth for a season, but the calling he had for Elisha was to remain. And you need to know which assignment he has for you. Let's dive into 2 Kings 2. This is a beautiful tabnit that teaches us who goes in the rapture and who stays. As we break out this passage, I'm using the technique that I've learned in my years of studying the Torah.

It is a sacred charge embedded in the Shema. Jews recite this every day: Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one." The word Shema doesn't mean obey; it means hear, listen. I've learned that the proper way to study God's word is to break out all the pieces, find the Hebrew meanings to words, review the backstory and what's happening, and then let all of that teach me.

In other words, we listen to what the Torah or the Tanakh is saying. This is what pleases God. For the last several months, I have been focused on the first 15 verses in 2 Kings, chapter 2, to learn what the Father wanted to teach me about the rapture. After all, what better example to learn from than Elijah, who experienced it firsthand and everything that led up to his being taken?

Let me read this passage from the Revised Standard Version. "Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. And Elijah said to Elisha, 'Tarry here, I pray you; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.' But Elisha said, 'As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.' So they went down to Bethel."

"And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, 'Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?' And he said, 'Yes, I know it; hold your peace.' Elijah said to him, 'Elisha, tarry here, I pray you; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.' But he said, 'As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.' So they came to Jericho."

"The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, 'Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?' And he answered, 'Yes, I know it; hold your peace.' Then Elijah said to him, 'Tarry here, I pray you; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.' But he said, 'As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.' So the two of them went on."

"Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle, and rolled it up, and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them could go over on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.' And Elisha said, 'I pray you, let me inherit a double share of your spirit.'"

"And he said, 'You have asked a hard thing; yet if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.' And as they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried, 'My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!' And he saw him no more."

"Then he took hold of his own clothes and he rent them in two pieces. And he took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, 'Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?' And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other; and Elisha went over."

"Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him over against them, they said, 'The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.' And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him." There are a lot of observations to take note of here, and in the time remaining, I'll bring you five observations and we'll continue in part 2. And Lord, I pray that you will speak to us in a way that we can hear: Shema.

Observation number one: Whenever I'm breaking apart a passage, I use the King James Version of the Bible because that is the version that is keyed to Strong's Concordance to the original Hebrew words and meanings. So the first thing I did was reread this passage in that version, especially looking for repetitive words or phrases.

Because Holy Spirit is very specific in the words he uses, and repetition is often used when God wants to emphasize something or when something is about to happen once in the natural and then repeated exactly like this in the future. We find an example of this use of repetition at the very beginning of our passage. In the King James Version, it starts out this way: "And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven..."

Now, this flagged my attention immediately because I had just been studying Genesis 6, and the chapter began, "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God took them as wives of all which they chose." Now you recall this tells a story when fallen angels had sex with earthly women and polluted the entire human race, leading to the flood.

The sages tell us that whenever you see this phrase "and it came to pass," that whatever happens next presages trouble, meaning it forewarns the reader that something bad is about to happen. It is a huge red flag. Now we can certainly see that in the Genesis 6 passage about what the fallen angels did. So that made me ask why such a warning was given in our passage about Elijah being taken up.

And that's where we need a little backstory. The book of 2 Kings tells the story of Elijah being taken from earth, and the commentators tell us that when Elijah was taken, that triggered the end for Israel, referring to the ten tribes in the northern kingdom. So right in the beginning of the story, God is warning us that something earth-shaking is about to happen that will lead to the devastation of Israel.

In application of this principle, God is warning us who are about to be taken that we're about to see the end of things as we know it. Observation number two is that this passage signals the time of separation between those who are called to be taken at the first resurrection and those who are called to remain. So our story relates to the period of time we are in today where there will be a dramatic separation of those who will be called up to heaven in the blink of an eye and those whose assignment is to remain.

Observation number three comes a little later in our passage when the same foreboding phrase is repeated in verse 9. Here's how it reads: "And it came to pass, when Elijah and Elisha were gone over the Jordan, that Elijah said to Elisha, 'Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken away from you.'" This is another red flag of warning.

What does it mean? This is the time period when the two prophets crossed the Jordan. Now this draws attention to the last time that they were together before Elijah was taken. The commentators explain that the expression "crossing the Jordan" is metaphorical language that refers to making a key decision. Now studying the geographical layout of the area where they were, the two of them were headed back the other way to the east side of the Jordan toward Elijah's home in the wilderness.

He wanted to return to the caves where he spent so much time. That's where the Lord would come for him. So Elisha had to make a monumental decision to cross the Jordan, which was probably at the flood stage. The only way they could cross was for a miracle to take place, which it did when Elijah struck the waters with his mantle. But once they crossed over and Elijah was gone, Elisha was stuck.

So observation number four: God required that Elisha make a life-changing decision. To receive the anointing from his mentor for the work he was called to do, he had to cross over into a place where there was no way back except for a miracle. Next time in part 2, I'll devote the entire episode to more observations and practical applications.

But here's a preview if you want to do some study on your own. Elijah gives us four steps that we have to take if we want to be taken up in the rapture. They are represented by the four places Elijah had to go to before leaving: Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and the Jordan. There's a reason these four are mentioned, and they give us an important set of instructions.

We'll also discover next time why Elisha asked for and received a double portion, and what that means for those who are called to remain. And the final observation for today has to do with the self-awareness in these two prophets. Elijah knew he was about to be taken. There was no question mark in his mind. And Elisha knew he was called to remain.

God wants you to have that same level of assurance. To share this episode with others, go to candacelong.com/podcasts and click on this episode called Prepare for the Rapture, Part 1. I want to thank you so much for being with me today. Be sure and join me next time for part 2. I'm Candace Long, and you've been listening to Lessons in the Latter Days. God bless.