Categories of Babylon – Chapter 3, Part 1

​This week in our review of Isaiah Decoded, we’ll begin our review of Chapter 3 – Babylon, Rebels and Worshippers of Idols.  What a person should see in chapter 3 is that Dr. Gileadi lumps all of the wicked who are saved into one category – Babylon. Though there is some logic to this view, one additional category of the wicked that appears in the scriptures and is a greater degree of evil is the example of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah become so reprehensible to God that He Himself destroy them. This week we’ll introduce two additional categories to Dr. Gileadi’s Babylon category.

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​Dr. Gileadi’s Ladder to Heaven
We’ll begin our discussion by looking at Dr. Gileadi’s interpretation of Isaiah’s Ladder to Heaven. The categories for those who ascend to God include – the Most High God, the God of Israel, Seraphim/Angels, Sons and Daughters, and Zion/Jerusalem. Then we have a decision category of God’s people who are called Jacob/Israel. For those who descend into death and hell, we see Babylon and Perdition.

Descending	Decision	Ascending
		Most High God
		God of Israel
		Seraphim/Angels
		Sons and Daughters
		Zion/Jerusalem
	<  Jacob/Israel  >
Babylon
Perdition

One thing that I noticed in this scheme as I evaluated it was that there was a lack of balance. I saw all of the categories that described the righteous but only a couple that described the wicked. In other words, this is a system out of balance. So lets review chapter 3 of Isaiah Decoded to discover additional degrees of wickedness that can provide a balance to Isaiah’s Ladder to Heaven.


 
Three Levels
As we review chapter 3, what emerges are three categories of Babylon. A category of Idolaters who are unjust, a category of Sodom who commit violence and sexual perversions, and a category of Mahan believers who murder for gain.

Babylon	Sodom/Gomorrah	Mahan
Idolatry and Injustice	Violence and Sexual Perversions	Believers who Murder for Gain

Let’s now review chapter 3 to see how these three categories come together.
 
 
Babylon
The key quote that we see in chapter 3 that describes our Babylon category is found on page 72.
 
“Babylon’s sins are injustice and idolatry, in other words, oppression of others and setting one’s heart on the things of this world. As a category of wickedness, Babylon is a spiritual dead end.” P.72
  

Sodom/Gomorrah
Here is the key quote for Sodom/Gomorrah. Though we see the same types of sins in Sodom as we see in Babylon – idolatry and injustice, Sodom ramps up wickedness to include violence and sexual perversions.
 
“God will bring a harsh judgment on Babylon as he did on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed by a hail of fire and brimstone until nothing was left of them. Their residents were guilty of tyranny, murder, exploitation, and sodomy. The very names Sodom and Gomorrah came to mean everything wicked in humanity and how God cursed those who condoned it.” P.77

The only other time when God executes judgement Himself is when He destroys humanity by flooding the earth. The Bible indicates that violence was a reason for the flood - Genesis 6:11,13
  

Mahan
Finally, we have Mahan. Though not as wicked as Perdition who have a perfect knowledge of God like Cain and Judas and who murdered for gain, Mahan are believers in the God of Israel who  make a conscious choice to descend into the depths of carnality and wickedness. Going so far to murder for gain – power, praise and property.
 
“Isaiah describes God’s wicked people who descend as a “whore” or harlot. That imagery identifies them with Greater Babylon, also called a “whore” or harlot. In effect, God’s rebellious people do all that Babylon [and Sodom] does and thus suffer the same fate. They regard evil as good and good as evil. They devise schemes to exploit and defraud the needy. They rob and commit murder to get gain.” P.104
 
 
Expanded Isaiah’s Ladder to Heaven
So now our Ladder to Heaven looks like this – four categories of humanity both for the righteous and the wicked – balance and order!

Descending	Decision	Ascending
		Most High God
		God of Israel
		Seraphim/Angels
		Sons and Daughters
		Zion/Jerusalem
	<  Jacob/Israel  >
Babylon
Sodom/Gomorrah
Mahan
Perdition

Three Grand Keys of the Gospel
When we integrate these categories in with our Three Grand Keys of the Gospel that is expressed in the Spirit, the Son and the Father, which can also be correlated with the three eternal realms, this is what it looks like – 

The Spirit	The Son	The Father
Realm of the Spirit	Realm of the Son	Realm of the Father
Babylon Sodom/Gomorrah ​Mahan	Zion/Jerusalem	Most High God God of Israel Seraphim/Angels Sons and Daughters