Isaiah Decoded Quotes

“But let’s begin at the beginning. Do you remember Jacob’s “ladder” reaching from earth to heaven, on which angels ministered up and down? Jacob called it the “gate of heaven,” with God visible at the top. (Genesis 28:12, 17.) Around that idea, Isaiah builds a theology—a way we define humanity’s relationship to God. In other words, What is God’s role towards us, and ours towards him? Isaiah’s theology embraces all people born on the earth, no matter how good or evil they turn out to be. In the process, Isaiah describes different ways of living that people choose for themselves, some drawing them nearer to God, others distancing them from him. Each way has a place on the ladder to heaven. Where we find ourselves in this divine scheme depends on us, on what law we live—a higher or lesser law. When we discern the different levels represented on the ladder, we can learn a great deal about ourselves by asking, How does my life fit with this picture? Probably most of us would like to know more about where we stand with God. We have questions such as, How did I get where I am, and where am I going? Or more to the point, Where do I want to go? In addressing such questions, Isaiah eliminates the need for a lot of speculation about ourselves. He shows us the ladder to heaven, and we answer our own questions. Most importantly, Isaiah teaches us how to get through heaven’s “gate.”
― Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven

“I also realized it wasn’t so much that people read the same Word of God differently, but that many weren’t reading it at all—not the scripture itself—at least not in a manner that allowed them to fit every piece of it into one cohesive picture of the truth. Instead, people were reading materials their religions published for study. Often these were selective—preserving some threads of the truth while excluding others—so that the total picture was so incomplete it became a distortion.”
― Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven

“When Jesus said “The truth will make you free,” he implied that the more truth is in us, the more we are our own agents. By living the truth—by living the laws of God that are grounded in the truth—we become increasingly independent. The opposite is also true: the more we live a lie, the more we are bound by lies and become less free. Because God is the source of truth, he is also the source of freedom—not the freedom to do what we want, but to live the truth, which makes us free. We thus become acquainted with the “power of truth.”
― Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven

“The Hopi tribe of Native Americans teaches that if we advance as far as we possibly can in this life, then we will not have to wade through three more worlds after this one to get to where we are going. In Isaiah’s context of a ladder to heaven, that means if we ascend from our starting point—Jacob/Israel—to the level of seraphim (three levels), we will arrive at the highest goal God has set for us on the earth, the third level of blessedness (see Figure 137). As noted, the kabbalist model of the Tree of Life similarly proposes that God created us four levels below his own. By ascending three levels, therefore, we reach the level next to God’s. On the two highest, God manifests himself to us directly.”
― Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven

“Understanding this narrow definition of Zion helps us see who belongs to it. “Zion” is both a people and a place: those of God’s people who repent and the place to which they return—a place of refuge in God’s Day of Judgment (see Figure 32). The verb “repent” in Hebrew (šwb) is the same as the verb “return” (šwb). This implies that those who return from exile are the same as those who repent. And its opposite: those who don’t repent do not return but are destroyed with the nations. In short, Zion is a select group within God’s people; but it is also a new, more glorious version of the Promised Land. God blesses the people Zion and their land because they accept a higher level of commitment.”
― Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven

“We qualify for heaven when we enter God’s presence. Some people attain that state in this life; while still living on the earth they see God. Others fail to do so even after death.”
― Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven

“What people do, and what they desire in their hearts, determines what level of the ladder they are on. Do they trust in God or the arm of flesh? Do they love God or the lusts of Babylon? Do they observe God’s law and word or the commandments of men? Do they release others from oppression or oppress others?”
― Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven

“Jehovah will smite Egypt, and by smiting heal: they will turn back to Jehovah, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.” (Isaiah 19:22.)”
― Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven

“While my approach has been academic, the truths I present here for the layperson, which are distilled from analyzing the writings of Isaiah, are far from academic—I consider them life giving. I invite you, the reader, to put them to the test, to see if they are not enlightening, empowering, and freeing to your spirit for that flight to heaven which God has invited every one of us to make.”
― Avraham Gileadi, Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven