A seven-part structure divides the Book of Isaiah into two halves of thirty-three chapters each. Seven pairs of antithetical themes in the first half parallel seven pairs of the same themes in the second half. Within that structured arrangement, Isaiah develops prophetic and theological concepts that deeply impact his message, especially as it relates to the end-time. Instead of his book for the most part dealing with an ancient timeframe, it predicts the end of the world.
As a synchronous holistic structure—in which all parts of the book interconnect concurrently or synchronously—Isaiah’s Seven-Part Structure converts his prophecy into an end-time scenario. Within that setting, Israel’s ancient history—as selectively depicted in Isaiah’s writings—serves as an allegory of the end of the world. Consequently, the names of nations and persons that existed in Isaiah’s day function as aliases or codenames of end-time nations and persons.
Isaiah’s seven pairs of antithetical themes additionally reveal a systematic theology. They show how God relates to humanity within the terms of his covenants. A divine pattern emerges in which ruin precedes rebirth, punishment precedes deliverance, humiliation precedes exaltation, suffering precedes salvation, and disinheritance precedes inheritance as people keep God’s law and word. A cyclical pattern of ascent to higher spiritual levels typifies Isaiah’s theology.
Seven spiritual categories of persons or nations who appear in Isaiah’s prophecy—righteous and wicked—account for all of humanity. Forming a spiritual hierarchy or ladder to heaven, they are identifiable by how Isaiah characterizes them. To ascend from one spiritual level to the next, persons or nations must temporarily descend through tests and trials. As they learn to comply with God’s law and word on the next highest level, they experience spiritual rebirth.
God’s higher law and word constitute the terms of a higher covenant. The higher a person or nation ascends, the greater is the preceding descent phase through trials that test their loyalty. All ascent is characterized by God’s re-creating the candidate closer to his own image and likeness. Accompanying their ascent is a new name that name reflects their attaining a higher spiritual category. With this comes a new divine calling to minister to others of God’s children.
Descent to a lower spiritual level happens when a person or nation breaks God’s covenant by transgressing his law and word that pertain to it. In such cases, instead of God’s re-creating the person closer to his image and likeness, he is de-created and becomes less than he was. While ascent and descent typify human existence in the mortal world, descent may reach a point of no return known as Perdition. It occurs when a person’s evildoing becomes irrevocable.