Humanity Divides into Seven Spiritual Categories: Chapter 1 – Part 2

This week in our review of Isaiah Decoded we’ll continue with looking at Chapter 1 – The Ladder to Heaven.  Dr. Gileadi introduces how the discovery of a seven-part structure of opposite themes in Isaiah forms the basis for recognizing the concepts of ascension or descension to or away from God.  Additionally, we’ll see him identify various kinds of people in Isaiah that provide examples of what people did to merit a particular category. Finally, we’ll expand on Dr. Gileadi’s analysis as we survey the whole of scripture to uncover additional spiritual categories of people; and, then apply these concepts to our Three Keys of the Gospel.

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Seven Opposite Themes
Dr. Gileadi opens his discussion on Isaiah’s spiritual categories of Humanity by identifying seven opposite themes in the book of Isaiah. “Isaiah’s literary structure, I found, has seven pairs of themes—each theme with its opposite—which express ways we interact with God.” Those seven opposing themes are set out on page 18 with Figure 6.

Isaiah’s Seven-Part Structure
 
Ruin and Rebirth (Isaiah 1–5; 34–35)
Rebellion and Compliance (Isaiah 6–8; 36–40)
Punishment and Deliverance (Isaiah 9–12; 41:1–46)
Humiliation and Exaltation (Isaiah 13–23; 47)
Suffering and Salvation (Isaiah 24–27; 48–54)
Disloyalty and Loyalty (Isaiah 28–31; 55–59)
Disinheritance and Inheritance (Isaiah 32–33; 60–66)

​Ascension and Descension
The primary concept that Isaiah conveys here with the seven-part structure is that there is a sequence of ascending and descending to or away from God. We can now see a pattern of ascension and descension in these seven themes.

˄˄  Ascending   ​˄˄	˅˅  Descending  ˅˅
Exaltation	​Disloyalty
Inheritance	​Rebellion
​Salvation	​Punishment
Rebirth	​Suffering
​Deliverance	​Ruin
​Compliance	​Disinheritance
Loyalty	Humiliation

Though Dr. Gileadi sees this process apply to each spiritual category on Isaiah's ladder, we can also apply it as an overall pathway of ascending or descending to or away from God.

As we demonstrate our loyalty to God and comply with His law, we are delivered from the curses of violating God’s commands.  From there, we are Born Again as we demonstrate our resolve under duress to be faithful to God and are reborn/re-created. From there, God blesses us with the blessings of salvation – physical and spiritual life and we qualify to be in the Son’s presence. Integral to salvation is an inheritance in God’s kingdom. As we continue in His Word and reach the full stature of Messiah, we achieve exaltation in the presence of the Father.
 
On the other hand, by demonstrating our disloyalty to God and rebel against His law, we are punished for our actions. Punishment takes us to suffering as we experience the judgements of God’s Law. As an opposite to salvation and receiving the blessings of life, these experience ruin – they experience physical and spiritual destruction, death and are de-created.  For those who are hardened in their rejection of God, they are disinherited in this life and in eternity and experience humiliation as they are reduced to the lowest level of God’s creations.
 

Isaiah’s Models of the Seven Categories
Another device that Isaiah uses to describe these seven categories of humanity are examples of people that characterize these categories that we see in the Bible.  “The Book of Isaiah portrays many kinds of people who performed various political and religious roles in antiquity. From the lives of these biblical personalities—from recognizing what law they kept—we learn how to ascend the ladder. Isaiah describes people in his book for the very purpose of illustrating higher and lower spiritual categories. Seeing what they do gives us an idea of what people on each level do.” Dr. Gileadi sets out these categories in Figure 9.

Isaiah’s Ladder to Heaven
 
The Father - the Most High God
(The Head God - Genesis 1)
Jehovah—God of Israel
(Yehovah-Yeshua, the Son)
Seraphim—Angelic Emissaries
(Abraham, Moses)
Sons and Daughters—Servants of God
(King Hezekiah)
Zion/Jerusalem—God’s Covenant People
(Seventy Elders)
Jacob/Israel—Believers in a Creator-God
(Children of Israel)
Babylon—the Wicked of the World
The King of Assyria/Babylon—Perdition
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​Sodom/Gomorrah and Mahan
One thing that we don’t see here in Dr. Gileadi’s seven categories are increasing degrees of wickedness, which I see supported in the scriptures. Those additional two categories include Sodom/Gomorrah and Mahan.  When we look at the scriptures, the wicked of the world can be further divided as follows. 

​The Wicked of the World
 
Babylon – Succumbs to the desires and passions of the Carnal/Natural Man
Sodom/Gomorrah – Sinning while committing acts of violence
Mahan – Murders for Gain
Perdition – Rejects the Father and the Son
​

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​Jacob/Israel – the Decision Category
One of the basic features of Isaiah’s Ladder to Heaven is that all of those who identify with the God of the Bible, at the Endtimes, will no longer be able to act casually towards God and His Law but will be forced into following a path of righteousness and ascend or  descend into wickedness.  Those who fall into this category Isaiah refers to as Jacob/Israel, which is our decision category.

The Decision Category
 
Jacob/Israel—Believers in a Creator-God

Perdition – the Unredeemable
Another basic feature of the Ladder to Heaven is that those who are Perdition, the Unredeemable, are eternally de-created, disorganized and don’t qualify for any kind of an inheritance in God’s eternal realms.

The Unredeemable
 
Perdition – Rejects the Father and the Son

Isaiah’s Ladder to Heaven and the Three Gospel Keys
So what we get at the end of the World for Isaiah’s Ladder to Heaven is the elimination of Jacob/Israel and Perdition. What we also see is the addition of two addition categories of wickedness. If we then apply this system of seven spiritual categories to our three grand keys of the Gospel, we get the following.

Categories of Humanity at the End of the World

The Spirit	The Son	The Father
Babylon	Zion/Jerusalem	God
Sodom/Gomorrah		Angels
Mahan		Servants

​Moreover, what we will see at the final judgement when all acknowledge Yehovah-Yeshua as the Redeemer for all Humanity even those who have been evil will bow and acknowledge Yehovah-Yeshua as the Savior for all Humanity. - Philippians 2:10, 11