Lessons in the Ladder Days

Candace Long: I'm Candace Long with Lessons in the Ladder Days, offering biblical commentary to make sense of the times we're living in. I want to return to a topic I began a couple of months ago called "Prepare for the Rapture." Today in part two, I want to teach lessons from Elijah to those who are called to be taken.

Both Christians and Jews need to understand what this biblical event is and how it will impact them. For those who do not know what I'm talking about, the Rapture is a term that refers to a key teaching in Christianity whereby millions of followers of Jesus as the Messiah will be suddenly taken out of the earth while they're still alive. One minute they're here, the next minute they're gone.

If this were to happen tomorrow and you were not taken, would you understand what just happened? An even more critical question is, if you are being prepared to be taken, are you ready? Do you have your affairs in order? I believe the Rapture to be imminent. My 35-year research leads me to believe it will happen within two years. Personally, I am preparing for it because I know I will be taken. This is why I have returned to radio, to do what I can to prepare as many people for what is about to happen.

In part one, I discussed Second Kings 2, which puts us into the story of Elijah the prophet and his servant Elisha right before Elijah was taken away in a fiery chariot from heaven. I urge you to listen to this part first because it lays the foundation needed to either be taken out of the world or to stay and live through the worst seven years in biblical history.

Jews call this seven-year period the birth pangs because at the end of it, the Messianic Kingdom will be birthed. Christians call it the Tribulation. It is the same seven-year period when God's wrath comes to cleanse the earth from idolatry, bloodshed, and immoral filth. The Messianic Kingdom cannot come until the earth is cleansed. This is what Jews and Christians are waiting for.

Lesson number one: we need to understand that the singular event that triggers the birth pangs is when Jesus comes to the clouds and calls his followers to come out of the earth. The New Testament teaches that he will literally snatch them away in a split second, just as Elijah was carried away into heaven.

Lesson number two: the word Rapture is not found in the Bible. It comes from a Latin word, *raptura*, which means to carry off or snatch away. The word was introduced in medieval times and it stuck. It is a word that describes the event. Although the word may not be biblical, the concept of God calling out his followers has deep biblical roots.

The first instance of somebody suddenly taken to heaven was our seventh patriarch Enoch, who was Noah's grandfather. This is recorded in both Genesis as well as in the New Testament book of Hebrews, chapter 11. The ancient records tell us that Enoch went just like Elijah did, in a fiery chariot sent from heaven. He was the seventh patriarch who was taken at the end of seven days of preparation, snatched out of the earth as a picture to teach us that certain ones who have earned favor with God will be taken out of the earth at the start of the seventh day, known as the Day of the Lord.

This is an important ladder-days picture. The second example is found in the ancient book of Jasher. It records that five years before the flood, all of the people who knew the Lord were taken out of the earth at the same time. Jasher wrote, "The Lord willed them to die so as not to behold the evil that God would bring upon their relatives."

I want you to take note of this because it represents a pattern whereby God removes the ones that he considers faithful, righteous, and just. He removes them before his judgment falls. He does this for three reasons. Number one: to reward their faithfulness. Number two: to protect them from seeing the evil poured out on others. And number three: because he has need of them in heaven.

I go into great detail about Enoch and others who were taken before the flood in my monograph, *The Days of Noah*, which you can find in my online store at candacelong.com/store. Still other examples in the Bible are King Josiah and King Hezekiah. God told each of them that because of their faithfulness, he would remove them before judgment fell. The takeaway for us is that God removes his faithful ones before judgment. This is a repetitive biblical concept.

Lesson number three is an important ladder-days concept rooted in the Torah and it relates to our topic. In both Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16, God instructs his people to count the days from Passover to Shavuot for exactly seven weeks. This is a yearly observance called counting the Omer and it happens when the harvest comes in and the grain goes through five processes to purify it to be worthy of an offering to God.

The grain, which is a picture of us, has to be gathered, threshed, winnowed, parched, and sifted. This is a picture or Tavnit representing the harvest of souls which goes through the same sifting processes at the end of the age. Those who make it through and are cleansed will enter the Kingdom. What many Christians and Jews do not understand is that during this seven-week process, the Torah specifies two separate harvests: the barley harvest and later the wheat harvest.

Separated by a seven-week period, Moses emphasizes these seven weeks have to be perfect and complete. Only then will God receive the full harvest. I hope you can see this because God is speaking in the metaphorical language of pictures. The first harvest, barley, comes right at the beginning before the seven weeks begin to be counted. The barley harvest is the grain that gets ripe first and represents the millions of followers of Jesus who will suddenly be snatched out of the earth.

They will disappear. This is a real event that is about to happen. Jesus told his followers in the last intimate conversation he had with them, found in the Gospel of John, chapters 14 through 17, that he was returning to the Father and was going to prepare a place for them. He said, "I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also."

The apostle Paul, a devout Jew whose life was changed when Jesus appeared to him after the resurrection, wrote in this abbreviated portion of First Thessalonians 4, "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God, and we shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air."

This describes the event known as the Rapture, when Jesus takes up the barley harvest that has been sifted during our seven final years of the church age, which is now. Once we're gone, God's attention then turns to the seven years of birth pangs, which will cleanse, purify, and prepare Israel, his long-awaited wheat harvest, to be brought into the kingdom and fulfill every promise he had made to our Jewish forefathers.

I wanted you to see how these two harvests, the barley and the wheat, relate to each other, separated by seven years. Let's return to Elijah now. During the remainder of our time, we're going to look at three takeaways. Number one: what Elijah's story teaches us as to what qualified him to be taken. In other words, if you want to be taken early, is there something you need to do to reserve your place, so to speak? Number two: why was Elijah taken early? And number three: what were the final things that Elijah did before he left the earth?

Takeaway number one is found in Second Kings 2. This passage opens with the ominous phrase that we discussed last time, "And it came to pass when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind." The sages teach as you recall that the phrase "and it came to pass" always signals something foreboding. So God is giving us a caution light here. Stop and pay attention to what follows.

Elijah takes Elisha to four different places that I refer to as stages. They are given in a special order: Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and the Jordan. At each place, Elijah tells Elisha the same thing. He says, "Tarry here." Elisha says, "No, I'm not going to leave you." So they go to the next place with the same instruction: "Tarry here."

This repetition of the same words and the same action is repetitive and significant. The word tarry is the word *yashab*, which means to make to abide there, to cause somebody to sit down and make this a resting place. I want you to see the significance of each of these four places in the life of God's people. What we are seeing here is Elijah acting out a four-act play. I believe it is preparatory instruction for who qualifies to be taken because Elijah had tarried in each of these four places.

What do these places signify? Gilgal is found in Joshua 4 when the Israelites crossed the Jordan and set up their first encampment in the land that God promised them. Several things you should note about this place. Everything that happened there is a picture of what will be required of us in order to cross over and enter the Kingdom. First, it says all the people were clean when they crossed over.

This is a prerequisite. The Hebrew word clean is *tamam*, which means they were complete and perfect in a moral sense. This relates to the principle in Deuteronomy 23 which says, "For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you. Therefore shall your camp be holy and that he see no unclean thing in you and turn away from you."

The word unclean refers to nudity, disgrace, immodesty, and especially showing your genitals. So here at Gilgal, Israel entered the kingdom clean, pure, and unified. The priests and Levites knew their roles. They carried the ark and the stones representing the tribes. All of the tribes were unified in their covenant to carry the Torah and bear its yoke of responsibility and remain a nation totally centered around God, learning his ways.

Bethel was the second place. This was historically where Abraham first camped when he came into the land. It was here in Bethel where Jacob dreamed and saw angels ascending and descending. Those who tarry or learn to abide here will experience being fed with the heritage of Jacob our father, written about by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 58.

The third place they tarried was in Jericho, the first place of victory and conquest where Israel was to destroy everything and was not to take any personal souvenir. Metaphorically, Jericho was the place where the flesh had to die and we lay down our desires for personal praise of something we've done. After Jericho was wiped out and later rebuilt, it became a retirement place for the sons of the prophets. It was also where Elijah established a school and poured his life into those who wanted to learn from him.

The final place they tarried was the Jordan, the Valley of Decision, where we find Elijah right before he left the earth. It was also the place of no turning back that Elisha came to, for there was no way he could go back without a miracle. So what do these four places mean for us today?

Very simply, those being taken early must have a clear identification with our Jewish heritage. God is telling us through this story to tarry at each location. Feel what they felt, understand what it means to carry the yoke of the Kingdom, to learn more about God's ways. Here is where I'm concerned because let's face it, most Christians hold on to their traditions.

We are not properly aligned with our patriarchal heritage. I want to be sure to say this next part carefully. There are many people who love Jesus, but their bond is with Christianity, not Judaism. The purpose for the spirit of Elijah coming right before the Day of the Lord is to teach how we can become more grafted into our Jewish vine.

If the Rapture took place today and you know very little about Judaism and following God's ways that he set up in the Torah, I do not believe that you would lose your place in the Kingdom. However, I do believe you would lose your opportunity to fully inherit the intended place God had for you and your ancestors.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5, this is my paraphrased version, "Whoever dismisses or relaxes one of the least of the commandments that God set up and teaches others that it's okay not to do them either shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven." They would get in the kingdom, but Jesus could not delegate them to a leadership position there because they did not seek to learn and study God's ways while they had time.

They chose to follow Christian traditions instead that are not rooted in the Torah. I believe this is why the Lord called me to begin studying Judaism in 2006 so that I could testify to how much learning God's ways has meant to my spiritual growth. I spend my time producing resources to help you learn the ways of our forefathers. There is still time to let God know that you want to learn and grow and be better prepared to be taken and receive your full inheritance.

Takeaway number two has to do with why Elijah was taken. Heaven required Elijah to become a constant reminder of the prophet who will return before the Day of the Lord. In fact, his presence is built into Holy Week itself. The Jewish custom is for families to set a place at the dining room table for Elijah at the Passover Seder and honor him with great expectancy.

He appears at the end of the book of Malachi as the spirit of Elijah sent out to prepare us for the Messianic Kingdom and return us to the faith of our fathers, which is Judaism. In Matthew 17, we find Elijah at the Mount of Transfiguration working along with Moses to prepare Jesus for his role during his final week before the crucifixion. Finally, Revelation 11 tells us that Elijah will be one of the two witnesses who will prophesy to Israel during the birth pangs. He will explain to them what all has gone on and why.

There was much work that Elijah had to do in heaven to prepare for this future role. To apply this principle to us, we who are taken at the Rapture will enter an intense and exciting training period. Remember the New Testament teaches that followers of Jesus, along with devout Jews, will function as priests and assist Messiah as he builds his Kingdom.

We need to be trained how to do this. We have a lot to learn, especially those who were taken away from Judaism in the third century as the early Christians were. The Torah teaches that training will take place during the seven years of cleansing on the earth. Then when Messiah comes to establish his kingdom on earth at the end of the birth pangs, we all need to have been trained and prepared in our respective roles of what he has gifted and called us to do and we'll be under his supervision.

The final takeaway is what Elijah was busy doing right before he was taken. First, he revisited the places where he had taught and prepared them for his departure. That's why I have returned to radio to follow Elijah's example. I am returning to the places where I received the most interest in my teachings. I feel an urgency to impart what he has taught me about the Kingdom before I leave the earth.

Second, Elijah spent time mentoring those who wanted to learn from him. So I am planning to spend more time with those who desire to learn from me. Mentoring and coaching is a high priority. Third, Elijah asked the one closest to him, which was Elisha, "What may I do for you before I go?"

Going was foremost in Elijah's mind. For me, that means taking care of every legal matter: getting my financial affairs in order, anticipating the disruption of society and normal legal proceedings once the Rapture occurs. I'm working on this part now. I believe life will experience a great upheaval. For instance, personally, I am setting up my finances and corporate structure differently so that Lessons in the Ladder Days is able to continue after I'm gone for those who remain like Elisha, and help them understand why they were not taken and what they need to be busy doing.

Personally, this is a time when my attention is less involved with what is going on politically. My mind and heart have already shifted to the Kingdom. My priorities are to keep my home free from defilement and my ears open to hear the insights and lessons the Lord wants me to pass on in these programs, which I plan on doing as long as I have breath.

This year, I'll offer some online courses for those who want personal one-on-one teaching. If this interests you, go to my website and subscribe so that I have your name and email address. That way I can notify you when these classes are available. It's important to me that I pass on to others what he has shown me regarding the final week of the church age and what we are to be doing as we head toward the birth pangs.

I look forward to coaching and consulting one-on-one or with small groups to help you identify your calling, what the Father put you on earth to do. This is one of my highest priorities. I have lots of online training modules if you want to learn at your own pace and you can find links to those on my website. To share this episode with others, go to candacelong.com/podcast and click on this episode, "Prepare for the Rapture, Part 2."

I want to thank you so much for being with me. I don't take this time for granted. I hope you join me again next time for Lessons in the Ladder Days. God bless.