Ascending the Ladder to Heaven at the End of the World: Chapter 1 – Part 4

​This week in our review of Isaiah Decoded we’ll wrap-up our review of chapter 1 – The Ladder to Heaven. What we see in the last section of chapter 1 is Dr. Gileadi discussing various aspects of the end of the world or the Endtimes. His intent in this discussion is to help us understand Isaiah’s Endtime scenario so that can respond properly to Endtime events and ascend into the millennial age of peace and prosperity under the reign of the God of Israel – Yehovah-Yeshua.

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​The Big Picture
The first thing that we should know is that the earth itself is on a course of ascension. God uses the earth as the vehicle to facilitate the ascension of Humanity. The first stage of this ascension is that Humanity’s starting place is our Fallen World, which was a result of the decision of Adam and Eve to partake of the tree of knowledge to become like God. According to biblical prophecy, we see the earth ascend from her fallen state into Paradise as Yeshua returns to the earth and rules a thousand years that we see in the Millennial Age. Finally, the earth ascends one final time to become Heaven. 
 
At the transitional stages of the earth’s ascension, there is a cleansing and renewing of the earth’s physicality and of her inhabitants. The inhabitants who remain themselves experience a transition or transformation as God separates those who live a higher law, who prove loyal to Him, and eliminates those who don’t. Essentially, what we see is that the earth itself descends before she ascends.

Ascension of the Earth

People Past and Future
The first topic that Dr. Gileadi presents to us is with Isaiah’s spiritual categories of Humanity is to help us identify how certain types of people have responded to God in the past, which shows us how people, how we, will or should respond to God in the future. “By knowing about ourselves, we can get a good idea of where we will fit into the scheme of things if the end of the world were to occur in our day. According to Isaiah, our place on the ladder will have a crucial impact on what will become of us.” - P. 25
 
 
Knowing the End from the Beginning
Another aspect of the Endtimes that we should be aware of is how do we respond to events that will happen at the end of the world. By knowing the events in the past, we can respond properly to events that happen in the future.
 
“Many events in the beginning of Israel’s history will repeat themselves, so that events at the end will not come as a surprise to those who study scripture.” “Isaiah also shows that the way people acted in the events of old is the way they will act again when the events roll around a second time. And how God dealt with people in the past—in delivering the righteous and punishing the wicked—is how he will deal with them in the future. The times may have changed—they may be radically different--but God hasn’t changed.” - P. 25,26
 
One constant that we see in the history of man is that human nature doesn’t change. It seems that man is destined to make the same mistakes over and over infinitively. We can say that as we review history and see how man is cycling through a pattern of building-up and then destruction. One such cycle of history is illustrated in the Tytler Cycle of freedom and bondage.

In Isaiah, Dr. Gileadi sees two primary devices in Isaiah that describes what happens in the future by what happened in the past. “Isaiah predicts this endtime scenario using a simple but effective technique: he organizes his writings using two entirely different kinds of literary structures simultaneously. The way the different parts of these structures interrelate conveys its own prophetic message…”  - P. 27 
 
Linear Structures
The first structure Dr. Gileadi discusses is the convention of time as a linear structure “Isaiah uses several (layered) linear structures, which involve a timeline that begins in Isaiah’s day and ends in a millennial peace. In linear structures, history is seen as one long continuum, covering centuries of time …” “[Isaiah] takes the archetypal patterns of all ancient Near Eastern literatures—Egyptian, Ugaritic, Babylonian, and so forth—and adapts them for his own prophetic purpose. His vision embraces the whole world, inviting other cultures to relate to his writings. The message is Hebrew, but it is far-reaching and universal in its perspective.” - P. 28​

Chronology of Time as a Linear Structure

Synchronous Structures
The second structure that we see Isaiah employ is synchronous structures, which correlate with our history cycles. In other words, what has happened in the past with occur in the future in repeating events. “In synchronous structures, the events of the past that Isaiah describes no longer relate just to the past but also to the future. In other words, everything Isaiah mentions will happen again in one form or another…”  - P. 28
 
Another aspect of synchronous structures in Isaiah is that Isaiah predicts events on several levels. Overall we see Isaiah predict a series of events that leads us into a millennium of peace, but we also see Isaiah refer to other synchronous structures that expand our understanding of the Endtimes. “One synchronous structure, discussed in the next chapter, that doesn’t cover the whole Book of Isaiah, contrasts the king of Babylon in one part of the book, verse by verse, with the King of Zion in another.”  - P. 29,30

Layered Synchronous Structures ​(layered repeating events)

“In summary, by using two kinds of structures—linear and synchronous—superimposing them one upon the other, Isaiah predicts two separate time periods simultaneously.” - in history and the Endtimes. - P. 31
 
 
Codenames and the Prophecy of Isaiah
Another device that Isaiah uses to prophesy events in the future from events in the past are the names of people, nations and groups that occur in the past that personify people, nations and groups that will occur in the future. For example, the kings of Assyria and Babylon who were present in Isaiah’s day provides a “type” of characters that will occur at the Endtimes who conquer and destroy much of the world.
 
“So while Isaiah is talking about a king of Assyria/Babylon who fulfilled his role anciently, he is also talking about a new king of Assyria/Babylon. In Isaiah’s day (and shortly thereafter), such a king, or several kings, conquered and destroyed much of the known world. But because the events of Isaiah’s day are going to repeat themselves at the end of the world, we will see this very scenario again. In other words, a new king who conquers and destroys will become a major actor on the world stage [at the end of the world].” - P. 32
 
Understanding these “types” that occurred in the past will help to know what to expect in the future and prepare.
 
Another example of codenames that Isaiah uses is the name of Egypt. Egypt in Isaiah’s day was a super-power that was imploding. Isaiah uses the collapse and foreign invasion of Egypt in his day to predict a super-power in the future that collapses and is invaded. That super-power in the future correlates with America. Isaiah provides an Endtime scenario in the 19th chapter of Isaiah that looks like America.
 
“Few people may suspect that the great superpower America appears in the prophecies of the Bible, especially in end-time prophecy. Yet there it is in plain sight, and just as prominent as America is in the world today. Where? In the prophecy of Isaiah under the codename of the great superpower of Isaiah’s day: Egypt. The two are a perfect match.” (Gileadi, America in the Prophecy of Isaiah)

Anciently ​(type)	SUPER-POWER IMPLODING	Endtime
Egypt	>>>>>>	America

Spiritual Levels of Humanity and the End of the World
Isaiah also uses the types of people who lived anciently to represent people who we see at the end of the world. Isaiah sees the following types of people that will exist at the end of the world.

Isaiah's Spiritual Categories of Humanity (Anciently and Endtime)

​God of Israel (Yehovah-Yeshua) Seraphim/Angelic Messengers (Joint-Heirs) Sons/Daughters (Elect) Zion/Jerusalem/Covenant People (Pure in Heart) Jacob/Israel (Believers in the God of Israel) Babylon (The World) (Sodom/Gomorrah) (Mahan) Perdition

Moreover, Endtime events provide an opportunity to ascend or descend depending on how we respond to Endtime events. Will Jacob/Israel – the decision level which include adherents of Christianity - embrace the fullness of God’s Law and remain loyal to God through Endtime trials and ascend to Zion/Jerusalem or will they accept the “Mark of the Beast” and descend into idolatry and carnality. 

“So where will we stand in that fateful day? Will we behave badly and end up lower on the ladder? Or will we accept the challenges of those times and rise higher? We will either succumb to fear or exercise faith in God and behave nobly. Our beliefs alone won’t save us; nor will the props of the past support us. Isaiah’s scenario teaches that people ascend the ladder by meeting hardships head on—by passing tests of “loyalty” to God and “compliance” with his will. God permits these adverse circumstances for us to utilize as stepping-stones in our climb upward. World conditions in that day will provide a unique means for us to obtain “salvation,” “exaltation,” and every blessing God has promised.” - P. 34,35
 
We’ll look at Isaiah’s Spiritual Categories of Humanity in detail to get a clear picture of where we are and what we need to do to ascend.
 
  
Passing into the Millennium
For those who remain loyal to God, God preserves and meets them in Paradise at His millennial reign.
 
“Isaiah foretells a glorious future for God’s people. Ancient prophets all looked forward to that golden age, to what we now call the “Millennium.” To them, that was a major purpose of the earth’s creation from the beginning. [At the end of the world]—in the interval of time before the Millennium—many will reach the highest levels on the ladder as they prove faithful to God under all conditions. Many will accept momentary trials cheerfully, knowing that such trials are a part of God’s plan. While some will do anything to avoid suffering, rejection, persecution, and death, many will accept these things, if necessary, as “more par for the course”—as doors to divinity, as opportunities for ascent, until they see God.” - P. 35,36