Beginning as infants, we as human beings progress from being totally dependent on others to acting with increasing independence within growing areas of influence. As we mature physically, we follow God’s pattern by participating in God’s creation. We “beget” or “give birth” to others as they begin new physical and spiritual cycles, thus helping their ascent on the ladder.
We create a hell for ourselves by our own foolish actions: we refuse to follow God’s pattern of ascent and instead deny our love and service to others and instead become self serving, like a fruit that rots from the inside out. Neither heaven nor hell wait until the next life; we create them for ourselves on the earth, and they extend right on into the next phase of our existence.
No ones ruins our lives for us, but we destroy our own lives, as every undeserved “ruin,” in the course of complying with God’s will, leads to “rebirth” when we pass the test.
Only those higher can lift those lower spiritually.
As God’s people ascend to the Zion/Jerusalem level, they, in turn, teach those still in the Jacob/Israel category, to assist them to ascend also: “Scale the mountain heights, O Zion, herald of good tidings. Raise your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, messenger of good news. Make yourself heard, be not afraid” (Isaiah 40:9).
In the “last days,” when God’s people repent of transgression and return from exile, Isaiah predicts that “many peoples will go, saying, ‘Come, let us ascend 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 will go forth the law, and from Jerusalem the word of Jehovah” (Isaiah 2:3).
The work of God’s endtime servant and his associates leads to many of God’s people ascending the ladder and surviving the archtyrant’s cleansing of the earth: “Then will they who are left in Zion and they who remain in Jerusalem be called holy—all who were inscribed to be among the living at Jerusalem” (Isaiah 4:3).
When you hear or read the word minister, what comes to mind? As with all words of God, minister has a specific meaning in scripture. Minister means to teach,◇ but specifically to teach His words, His truth. Isaiah describes those who obtain His words and teach them to others as ministers, as those who serve God by ministering to those below them. Because His words are powerful and most effective, His ministers or His servants teach with power and authority. His truth is found in them to the degree they are exalted to Zion/Jerusalem, to Sons and Daughters of God, to Seraphs. Isaiah calls these righteous who serve God. As His servant is described as Righteousness, so are those who assist in bringing others to God in truth and righteousness.
As the servant declares good tidings to the nations of the earth and the isles of the sea, so do God’s righteous servants. As he releases people from bondage and oppression, so do they. As he patiently endures shame and insult for God’s sake, so do they. As he calls on the name of God and fulfills all his will, so do they. As he trusts in God in the face of perils and opposition, so do they. As he is not disgraced but vindicated by God in the end, so are they. As he refutes the wicked who wrongfully accuse him, so do they. As he restores ancient ruins and rebuilds God’s temple, so do they. As he gains grace and honor in the eyes of God, so do they. As he joyfully celebrates God’s salvation, so do they.
To even ascend to Zion/Jerusalem level, all must pass three tests of loyalty.
By passing these tests, God’s people ascend to Zion/Jerusalem, but by failing them they descend to Babylon, where they remain until Babylon is destroyed. Fortunately there is still time to repent, for it is through repentance that we pass these tests.
Whom do we serve? Are we serving God or are we serving ourselves, while we worship others? There will be three tests of loyalty to God for God’s people. These tests also serve as trials for God’s people.
¹The King of Assyria/Babylon— A Political Dictatorship
²Idolaters/Idolatry—Materialism and Sensual Gratification
³False Brethren—Ostracism by Ecclesiastical Authorities/Putting our Trust in Men
Isaiah’s three tests don’t necessarily follow a particular order, yet they are trials of God’s people in every sense. Each attempts to divert their loyalty away from the true God to a counterfeit—to itself.
The ¹king of Assyria/Babylon represents a political dictatorship that pressures people, under pain of death, to submit to its control.
²Idolaters seduce people by selling them Babylon’s standard of total materialism and sensual gratification. But the Lord's people have expanded idolatry to include any and all activities that cause them to waste the days of their probation.*
And ³false brethren abuse their ecclesiastical authority and in God’s name ostracize people who don’t adopt their current religious point of view. In addition, the three tests allude to temptations such as envy, jealousy, lust, hate, anger, pride, and personal ambition.
In Isaiah’s endtime scenario, the archtyrant rises to prominence as a political power as a result of a decline in spirituality among God’s people. An outward form of worship hides an inward emptiness. Thus, Paul predicts that there will “occur a falling away first” before the “man of sin is revealed, the Son of Perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself to be God.”
Concerning this usurper’s false claims, Paul adds that God will send the wicked a “powerful delusion, so that they will believe a lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4, 9–11). Having rejected the truth, they buy into his false propaganda. The king of Assyria/Babylon not only pretends to be divine, he wields unprecedented political power. He has the military capacity to realize his self-serving ambition, to wreak havoc and disaster wherever he strikes. As evil as he is, his seemingly invincible strength will sweep many people off their feet, convincing them to submit to his control.
The temptation to “go over to the winning side” will sway masses of people as it swayed the Germans and other nationals during World War II. However, by giving the archtyrant their allegiance they dissolve any allegiance they may have had to God. Just as those who love darkness cannot comprehend light, what is evil is incompatible with what is good. The archtyrant’s charisma, too, will influence multitudes to go along with his agenda. Isaiah depicts him figuratively as a “mouth,” “tongue,” and “lips,” referring to his power of speech and oratory. Daniel describes him as “a mouth speaking great things” (Daniel 7:8, 20; emphasis added). Isaiah further characterizes him as a “rod,” “staff,” and “scourge,” reflecting his ability to enforce his rule. Ezekiel predicts mass destruction in a day when violence springs up as a “rod of wickedness” (Ezekiel 7:11; emphasis added).
If we would resist the most powerful force for evil the world has ever known, we must believe that “this too will pass”—that God will deliver those who wait for him.
The evil influence idolaters have on God’s people may be subtler than the two other challenges, but it is equally deadly. Isaiah represents idolatry as “harlotry”—unfaithfulness to God’s covenant. People become complacent and forget about God as they immerse themselves in the pleasures of Babylon. According to Isaiah, their loving and coveting of material possessions and worldly activities is idolatry, and the effect of idolatry is spiritual blindness. When they are “blind” and “deaf,” people perceive truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth.
Although an entire society engages in idolatry, God’s people are not justified in doing so. No matter how entrenched Babylon is, all who would ascend must learn to rise above it.
John predicts that many in the world will worship the image of the “Beast.” Those who refuse to accept the Beast’s “mark,” he says, will be unable to buy or sell. For those who belong to Babylon, worshiping this idol will be more of what they are already doing. On the other hand, to escape Babylon’s net when it is cast over everyone, we must determine beforehand how we will survive. Although Isaiah doesn’t go into detail on this, his scenario shows how idolatry will have a tight hold on God’s people and that economic collapse will follow.
In God’s Day of Judgment, he declares, when the wicked suffer famine and destitution, the righteous will “eat the fruits of their own labors” (Isaiah 3:10). They must choose between him and “gods who cannot save.” God warns his people to “come to their senses” and forsake their idols. He will forgive them when they grind their gods to powder, “leaving no idols of prosperity and shining images standing.”
Moses had required this of those who worshiped the golden calf. God asks his people to “turn to me and save yourselves” from the ends of the earth. God has chosen them to be his “witnesses,” to testify that without him there is no “salvation,” that apart from him there is no God. It is God’s will that his people “magnify the law and become illustrious,” receiving all the blessings of the covenant. They must choose between him and “gods who cannot save” (Isaiah 27:9; 42:21; 43:10–12; 45:20, 22; 46:8).
Another trial God’s people face is the tendency by some to control others’ spiritual lives. Driven by an ungodly loathing of those more zealous for God than themselves, certain “brethren”—religious leaders—misuse their authority by acting “holier than thou.” Contrary to counsel Jesus gave, they pull out the wheat with the tares, blacklisting and excommunicating those whom they cannot deem unfit. These suffer the misfortune of being social outcasts, of being treated as heretics and apostates.
They must deal with the paradox of so-called men of God—“shepherds” of the people—making a pretense of mediating God’s covenant while, in fact, persecuting them in his name (Isaiah 56:3, 10–12; 61:7; 66:5).
Ezekiel, too, describes false brethren as “shepherds” who, instead of feeding the flock, scatter and drive it away. They feed themselves from the fattest. They don’t care for the sick to bind them up nor rescue those astray. The sheep wander wherever they can, becoming a prey to “wild beasts”—forces foreign and hostile to God. God responds by raising up his servant, who gathers the outcasts from whence they are scattered. God appoints His servant as His people’s “prince” and “shepherd,” establishing His covenant with those he gathers (Ezekiel 34). Ezekiel’s scenario thus parallels Isaiah’s, except that Ezekiel emphasizes the shepherds’ abuses whereas Isaiah highlights how people handle them.
In the end, those who claim God’s authority in support of their unrighteous leadership see their worst fears realized—they lose their place in the kingdom of God. God brings them to judgment and releases them as shepherds. They themselves become a prey to “wild beasts.” The shame they brought on others comes on themselves in full.
Isaiah likens persecution by false brethren to the Woman Zion, God’s spouse, going into labor, also called the “birthpangs of the Messiah.” She gives birth to God’s “son” or servant, and to a “nation” of God’s children. This nation consists of those whom the servant gathers, who ascend to Zion/Jerusalem (Isaiah 55:4–5; 56:8–11; 61:1–3; 66:5–9).
Such challenges can present huge difficulties for God’s people. Through these trials, they learn to let God fight their battles while they maintain their personal integrity. As they repudiate every power that rivals God’s, they conquer their fear of death, deprivation, and rejection. They face the worst and realize that God sustains them, thus passing the test of their loyalty. To those who fear him—who loathe to offend him—God is a “sanctuary” in the midst of trouble. As they overcome opposition, God transforms their state of weakness into one of strength. The adversity they endured for being loyal to God—for being different from the rest of society—was the very thing that propelled them upward.
Those who fail these tests suffer a similar fate as the people who challenge them. Siding with evil may momentarily satisfy worldly lusts or personal ambition but may permanently distance a person from God. At the last, all that was gained is lost. God’s justice requires that He brings the wicked to judgment. The archtyrant makes an end of idolaters and false brethren, but God’s servant makes an end of the archtyrant. The oppressors’ anti-God attitude causes God to intervene.
Those who seize God’s power, who ingratiate themselves into His position, end up disinherited and humiliated. Those who unjustly suffer humiliation at the hands of evil authorities, God moves up the ladder.
So, simply calling ourselves God’s covenant people will not decide our destiny at the end of the world. A person may confess that he is committed to God but at the same time pursue antichrist endeavors. He may claim to be a Jew, Christian, Moslem, or member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but in reality be an idolater. He may be a professor of religion but irreligiously tyrannize God’s people, believing that they are in error.
What people do, and what they desire in their hearts, determines what level of the ladder they are on. ¹Do they trust in God or the arm of flesh? ²Do they love God or the lusts of Babylon? ³Do they observe God’s law and word or the commandments of men? Do they release others from oppression or oppress others? Do they minister to one another ◇the greatest good or some other good?
*See That Which We Work For We Worship.
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Some ideas and narrative I captured from Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven by Avraham Gileadi, which helped me make connections to the obstacles we face in serving God and ministering to one another.
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