The Ladder to Heaven and Isaiah’s Endtime Temple – Chapter 9, Part 1

​This week we’ll begin our review of chapter 9 in Isaiah Decoded – Ascending the Ladder to Heaven. The best way to summarize what we have learned in our review of Isaiah Decoded is to consider how the ladder to heaven will be presented in the temple that God’s Endtime Servant will establish. Isaiah states “that He may instruct us in his ways, that we may follow in His paths” will be presented in this Endtime temple – Isaiah 2:2,3.

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Introduction
As a fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, Yehovah recovered Israel the first time that we see in the Book of Exodus. This restoration meant that Abraham’s descendants would become Yehovah’s covenant people and that His presence would be with them. Previously, Yehovah’s presence was revealed on a mount to individuals that we see in Abraham, Jacob, and Moses but among Yehovah’s covenant people He required a consecrated dwelling place, which originally was a mobile structure (Tabernacle) that Israel transported from place to place until a permanent temple was built in Jerusalem. Israel would know that God's presence was there by a cloud over the Tabernacle by day and a pillar of fire at night.

​​The tabernacle’s design had three compartments – an Outer Court, a Holy Place, and a Most Holy Place or Holy of Holies. The Outer Court contained an altar for animal sacrifices for offerings of sin, peace and thankfulness. The Court also contained a basin where the priests would purify themselves before performing sacrifices and entering into the Holy Place.
 
The Holy Place contained an altar of incense representing the prayers of the righteous ascending to God, the Table of Shew Bread representing the twelve tribes, and most importantly the menorah representing the perfection and presence of Yehovah, the Son.
 
The Most Holy Place is where God’s presence was actually revealed to the High Priest and contained the mercy seat and ark of the covenant.

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The Tabernacle as a Model of Heaven
The Tabernacle to Israel was where God’s presence dwelt. However, the Tabernacle is really much more than that. The Tabernacle is, in a broader sense, a representation of Heaven. As we consider what we have learned about the three realms or glories of heaven and being saved, receiving everlasting life, or eternal life, these concepts correlate with the three divisions that we see in Israel’s Tabernacle – the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place.

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Israel’s Tabernacle and the Ladder to Heaven
Beginning on page 333, Dr. Gileadi links Isaiah’s spiritual categories of humanity with Israel’s Tabernacle/Temple. We should note that the layout of the Tabernacle and Temple differed. In our analysis, we’ll use the Tabernacle as it provides the essential elements of our analysis as opposed to Dr. Gileadi’s use of the Temple layout indicated in his following quote.
 
“There exist architectural models of a ladder to heaven, such as Moses’ tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple in Jerusalem. Three enclosures, one inside the other, created boundaries within which people eligible could go (see Figure 138). The temple’s outer court parallels Jacob/Israel, the inner court represents Zion/Jerusalem, and the “sanctuary” symbolizes sons/servants. A “Holy of Holies” in Solomon’s temple housed the Ark of the Covenant, on which cherubim (the equivalent of seraphim) surrounded God’s throne. From the Ark, God spoke with Moses (who was himself a seraph) face to face. Priests entered the sanctuary, Levites the inner court, and the people of Israel the outer court.” – P.333
 
So then what we see is that God, Angels, and Servants correlate with the Most Holy Place or Holy of Holies. Zion/Jerusalem correlates with the Holy Place and Jacob/Israel (Babylon, Sodom, and Mahan) correlates with the Courtyard. 

​Israel’s Tabernacle and God’s Seven Covenants
The last topic Dr. Gileadi presents in chapter 9 is on covenants. Each spiritual category can be correlated to specific covenants, which define the kind of relationship we have with God.
 
“What do all ascending levels of the ladder have in common? Making and keeping covenants with God. God interacts with his servants and people through covenant relationships. If we want to succeed with God, therefore, we must do things his way. He has determined beforehand the terms of the covenant that aid our ascent. He has also excluded other formulas for climbing the ladder, even if they differ only a little from his own. In short, there is just one path into God’s presence—his path. His covenants with his people benefit all who keep them: God is the benefactor and we are the recipients of his blessings. By keeping our commitments, we rise above our current level to a higher one.” – P. 352
 
The seven covenants of God are  - Messianic, Abrahamic, Threshold, Priesthood, Sinai, Davidic, Enochic. Likewise, we can integrate these covenants in with our Tabernacle with their corresponding signs.

Isaiah's Endtime Temple and Binding Ourselves with Heaven/Eternity
When we consider ascending the ladder to heaven, what should matter most is having our covenants, our relationship with God made unconditional and everlasting.  That is what binds us with God, Heaven, and Eternity. Though Mormonism has made the Temple about marriage and posterity, they seem to miss the point about binding ourselves with Heaven - certainly these concepts of marriage and posterity are included in God's seven covenants, but its all for nothing unless those covenants become unconditional and everlasting.

For Jacob/Israel (Babylon, Sodom, and Mahan), their covenant become unconditional and everlasting when they take upon them the Name of Yeshua as their redeemer and live His basic law.

For Zion/Jerusalem, their covenants become unconditional and everlasting when they are Born Again and are sealed by the Holy Spirit.

For Sons/Daughters/Servants, their covenants become unconditional and everlasting when they have their callings and elections made sure - seeing God, the Son in the flesh.

For Serpahim/Angels, their covenants become unconditional and everlasting when they receive the power to seal on earth with Heaven.​

Moreover, these seven covenants are cumulative and build on each other. In other words, you can't just skip over the lower covenants and go right for the higher ones. You have to ascend the ladder to heaven and begin at the bottom and work your way higher.

Isaiah's Endtime Temple, in the end, will become an edifice of learning about ascending the ladder to heaven and binding ourselves with God, Heaven, and Eternity.

"In the latter days the mountain of Jehovah’s house shall become established as the head of the mountains; it shall be preeminent among the hills, and all nations will flow to it. Many peoples shall go, saying, Come, let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, that we may follow in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and from Jerusalem the word of Jehovah." - Isaiah 2:2,3


The Seven-Chambered Temple
In a previous post, we saw that the final layout of God's temple included seven rooms or chambers - taking us back again to God's standard of perfection, fullness and completion - which we can correlate with the seven stages of transformation to become like God. 

​Seven Stages
    A New Creation of Spirit
    A New Creation of Material/Physical
    A New Creation of Mortality (Knowing Good/Evil)
    A New Creation of Immortality
    A New Creation of the Holy Spirit
    A New Creation of the Son
    A New Creation of the Father

​The progression through these seven rooms symbolize a believers ascension to become like God with the stages and covenants of transformation.