A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 24-27
Kuruvilla Thomas
Bangalore
Published on 23 July 2026 *
Introduction
This study treats Isaiah 24-27 as a cryptochiasmus in order to arrive at a coherent reconfiguration of the text ( see definition of cryptochiasmus in [1] ). If you wish to skip the technicalities of a chiastic parse, you may read starting from Section 4 of the Discussion section, which has the reconfigured text.
This prophecy is regarding the three periods of God's wrath that are known as the 3 great "Days of the Lord" (as in Joel [8]). The meaning of the passage is obscured both by its chiastic structure and by ambiguous language that can apply to more than one period, so we will try to justify our parsing decisions in some detail.
Discussion
1. Presuppositions
We base our parse of Isaiah 24-27 on the assumption that it refers to 3 periods:
- The Aftermath of the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD). The Roman army destroyed Jerusalem and slaughtered its people. The Judahite Christians escaped this massacre.
- The start of Christ's Millennial Reign (from 2026AD). Israel is restored, and Satan's empires, "Babylon" and the Beast, are defeated.
- End-Times Tribulation (circa 2967AD). The period of the End-Times tribulation, after Christ's Millennial Reign and before Christ's Heavenly Reign.
2. Parsing the chiasmus
We will use the NIV Bible for this parse.
Parsing this chiasmus involves dividing portions of the text into the three categories above. We will call the period of First Jewish-Roman War Period 1, the start of Christ's Millennial Reign Period 2 and the End-Times Tribulation Period 3.
Categorizing Isaiah 24-27
Ch 24 Vs 1-4 appears to belong to Period 3. This extent of worldwide devastation will only occur during the End-Times Tribulation (see Rev 8).Ch 24 Vs 5-13 belong to Period 1. The destruction and desolation of Judah. We believe the Laws spoken of in vs 5 refer to the Mosaic laws that the Pharisees had corrupted. The scope of the geography narrows to a nation and then a city (in the previous subunit, the whole earth was covered). The particulars mentioned - new wine, timbrel, harp - are appropriate to an ancient time. Also, we expect to see a passage regarding the Roman attack in all cryptochiastic prophecies.
Ch 24 Vs 14-16a belong to Period 2. Praise to the God of Israel from around the world. The entire earth celebrates and praises the "Righteous One" of Israel, because He has defeated their oppressor, Satan. This kind of worldwide celebration will not occur in the other two Periods.
Ch 24 Vs 16b-18a belong to Period 1. The prophet laments the deceitful nature of the descendants of his own people, the Judahites. Because of their wickedness, they cannot escape death.
Ch 24 Vs 18b - Ch 25 Vs 12 belong to Period 3. The scope of this section broadens to the whole world in 24:18b-23 - tribulations around the earth and in the heavens. In the next chapter, the passage in 25:1-5 is a song of praise suitable for Christians at the end of Christ's glorious reign on earth, and the rest of the chapter, 25:6-12, is regarding events at the beginning and end of the Final Tribulation.
Ch 26 vs 1-11 belong to Period 1. This subunit is primarily a song from the Christian Judahites at the end of the First Jewish-Roman War.
Ch 26 vs 12-15 belong to Period 2. God restores Israel spiritually and physically at the start of the Millennial Reign.
Ch 26 vs 16-17 belong to Period 1. The Judahites turn to God in their suffering at the Roman attack on Judea.
Ch 26 vs 18 - Ch 27 vs 13 belongs to Period 2. Satan's forces are defeated and Israel is restored. ( Although 26:17 and 26:18 are both metaphors about pregnancy, we separate them into two Periods, so that they fit the context. Note that 26:17 is about the pain of pregnancy, and 26:18 focuses on the results of pregnancy.)
Original text
We color-code the chiastic units of the original text (NIV) below for easy visual identification using: red for Period 1, blue for Period 2 and green for Period 3. We have retranslated parts of the text.
Isaiah 24 1 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and shatter [a] its inhabitants— 2 it will be the same for people and priest alike, for servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor [b]. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word. 4 The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the haughty people of the earth languish [c].
5 The land is defiled under [d] its people; they have disobeyed the laws, twisted [e] the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore a curse consumes the land [f]; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore the inhabitants of the land will be burned up, and very few will be left [g].
7 The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan. 8 The joyful timbrels are stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. 9 No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
10 The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred. 11 In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the land [h]. 12 The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces. 13 So it is on the land [i] and among the peoples [j], as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.
14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty. 15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. 16a From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.”
16b I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” [k] 17 Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the land [l]. 18a Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare.
18b The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. 19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken. 20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hammock [m] in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.
21 In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above that control [n] the kings on the earth below. 22 They will be gathered together as prisoners bound in the pit [o]; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. 23 The moon will be covered and the sun darkened; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of His elders, with great glory [p].
Retranslation notes for Isaiah 24
[a] vs 1 "shatter" instead of "scatter".
[b] vs 2 "for people and priest alike, for servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor" instead of "for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor". Modified verse, based on the BSB translation, so that we have a balanced regular chiasmus.
[c] vs 4 "the haughty people of the earth languish" instead of "the heavens languish with the earth".
[d] vs 5 "land is defiled under" instead of "earth is defiled by”.
[e] vs 5 "twisted" instead of "violated”. From the New Living Translation.
[f] vs 6 "land" instead of "earth”.
[g] vs 6 "Therefore the inhabitants of the land will be burned up, and very few will be left" instead of "Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left”. Changed the tense and changed "earth" to "land".
[h] vs 11 "land" instead of "earth”.
[i] vs 13 "So it is on the land" instead of "So will it be on the earth”.
[j] vs 13 "peoples" instead of "nations”.
[k] vs 16 'I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!' instead of 'But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!'. Based on the NET bible.
[l] vs 17 "land" instead of "earth”.
[m] vs 20 "hammock" instead of "hut”.
[n] vs 21 "that control" instead of "and”.
[o] vs 22 "They will be gathered together as prisoners bound in the pit" instead of "They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon”.
[p] vs 23 "The moon will be covered and the sun darkened; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of His elders, with great glory" instead of "The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory”. Based on the NET translation.
Isaiah 25 1 Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. 2 You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the enemy’s [a] stronghold a city no more, never to be rebuilt. [b] 3 Therefore strong peoples honor you; cities of ruthless nations revere you. [c] 4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall 5 and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of enemies [d]; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
6 The Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples in this mountain, [e] a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 In [f] this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations. 8 He [g] will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove contempt for his people [h] from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.
9 In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
10 For the hand of the Lord will rest in this mountain. Moab will be trampled down under him as straw is trampled down in the manure. [i] 11 He will spread out His hands in their midst, as a swimmer reaches out to swim. [j] God will bring down their pride along with [k] the cleverness of their hands. 12 He will bring down your strongly fortified defences [l] and lay them low; he will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust.
Retranslation notes for Isaiah 25
[a] vs 2 "enemy's" instead of "foreigners'".
[b] vs 2 ", never to be rebuilt" instead of "; it will never be rebuilt".
[c] vs 3 "Therefore strong peoples honor you; cities of ruthless nations revere you" instead of "Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you". Based on Young's Literal Translation.
[d] vs 5 "enemies" instead of "foreigners".
[e] vs 6 "The Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples in this mountain" instead of "On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples".
[f] vs 7 "In" instead of "On".
[g] vs 7, 8 "nations. 8 He" instead of "nations; 8 he".
[h] vs 8 "contempt for his people" instead of "his people’s disgrace".
[i] vs 10 "For the hand of the Lord will rest in this mountain. Moab will be trampled down under him as straw is trampled down in the manure" instead of "The hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain; but Moab will be trampled in their land as straw is trampled down in the manure". Based on the KJV.
[j] vs 11 "He will spread out His hands in their midst, as a swimmer reaches out to swim" instead of "They will stretch out their hands in it, as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim". Based on the KJV.
[k] vs 11 "along with" instead of "despite".
[l] vs 12 "strongly fortified defences" instead of "high fortified walls".
Isaiah 26 1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. 2 Open the gates that the righteous people [a] may enter, the people [b] that keeps faith. 3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. 5 He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. 6 Feet trample it down— the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.
7 The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. 8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. 9 My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit seeks [c] for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. 10 Though [d] grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the Lord. 11 Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your anger against the people and be confounded; [e] let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.
12 Lord, you will establish [f] peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us. 13 Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor. 14 They are now dead, they live no more; their spirits do not rise. You went against them and eradicated them [g]; you wiped out all memory of them. 15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord; you have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land.
16 Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. 17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord.
18 We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought deliverance to the earth. The [h] people of the world have not come to life. 19 But your dead live, Lord; their bodies rise. Those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning, so that the earth brings forth her dead [i].
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. 21 See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer.
Retranslation notes for Isaiah 26
[a,b] vs 2 "people" instead of "nation".
[c] vs 9 "seeks" instead of "longs".
[d] vs 10 "Though" instead of "But when".
[e] vs 11 "Let them see your anger against the people and be confounded" instead of "Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame".
[f] vs 12 "will establish" instead of "establish".
[g] vs 14 "You went against them and eradicated them" instead of "You punished them and brought them to ruin".
[h] vs 18 "deliverance to the earth. The" instead of "salvation to the earth, and the".
[i] vs 19 "But your dead live, Lord; their bodies rise. Those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning, so that the earth brings forth her dead" instead of "But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead". Primarily changed tense, based on YLT.
Isaiah 27 1 In that day,
the Lord will punish with his sword— his fierce, great and powerful sword— Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.
2 In that day—
“Pleasant vineyard! Sing of it [a]: 3 I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it. 4 I am no longer angry. Would mere briers and thorns come against me in battle? I would trample on them; [b] I would set them all on fire. 5 Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.”
6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.
7 Will He [not] strike them as they have struck? Will He [not] destroy as they have destroyed? [c] 8 You will contend with them measure for measure, as you drive them away. With His fierce blast He will repel them, as on the day of the east wind.[d] 9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones to be like limestone crushed to pieces, no standing images [e] or incense altars will be left standing. 10 The fortified city stands desolate, an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness; there the calves graze, there they lie down; they strip its branches bare. 11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without wisdom [f]; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
12 In that day the Lord will harvest [g] from the flowing Euphrates even to [h] the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were lost [i] in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.
Retranslation notes for Isaiah 27
[a] vs 2 "Pleasant vineyard! Sing of it" instead of "Sing about a fruitful vineyard".
[b] vs 4 "I am no longer angry. Would mere briers and thorns come against me in battle? I would trample on them" instead of "I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle".
[c] vs 7 "Will He [not] strike them as they have struck? Will He [not] destroy as they have destroyed?" instead of "Has the LORD struck her as he struck down those who struck her? Has she been killed as those were killed who killed her?".
[d] vs 8 "You will contend with them measure for measure, as you drive them away. With His fierce blast He will repel them, as on the day of the east wind" instead of "By warfare and exile you contend with her— with his fierce blast he drives her out, as on a day the east wind blows".
[e] vs 9 "standing images" instead of "Asherah poles".
[f] vs 11 "wisdom" instead of "understanding".
[g] vs 12 "harvest" instead of "thresh".
[h] vs 12 "even to" instead of "to".
[i] vs 13 "lost" instead of "perishing".
3. Building the reconfigured text
From this parse, it appears that Isaiah 24-27 form a cryptochiasmus as below:
A1 Ch 24 Vs 1-4 Period 3. End-Times Tribulations
B1 Ch 24 Vs 5-13 Period 1. The desolation of Judah
X Ch 24 Vs 14-16a Period 2. Praise to the "Righteous One" of Israel
B2 Ch 24 Vs 16b-18a Period 1. The Judahites are slaughtered
A2 Ch 24 Vs 18b - Ch 25 Vs 12 Period 3. End-Times events
We now reconfigure the passages in the right order based on the chiastic structure above and based on the ordering rules of a cryptochiasmus [1].
We lead with central pivot point 'X'. The corresponding subunits (for example, subunit A1 corresponds to A2) are placed contiguously to form units (for example, A1,A2 is a unit) so that we get a list of such units.
The sequence selected for rearrangement is:
X [B1,B2] [A1,A2] (1)
Note: We choose the reverse order for our units so that we get another cryptochiasmus with the rest of the prophecy. The rules of cryptochiasmi allow this.
We have the following sequence when we include the rest of the prophecy:
X - Period 2
[B1,B2] - Period 1
[A1,A2] - Period 3
Ch 26 vs 1-11 - Period 1. The Christians of Judea praise God
Ch 26 vs 12-15 - Period 2. Israel is restored
We still have text for the periods in a non-contiguous form. We can treat this as a doubly applied cryptochiasmus as below
M1 X - Period 2
N1 [B1,B2] - Period 1
XX [A1,A2] - Period 3
N2 Ch 26 vs 1-11 - Period 1
M2 Ch 26 vs 12-15 - Period 2
The sequence selected for rearrangement is:
[M1,M2] [N1,N2] XX (2)
Translating this sequence (2) into the subunits of the first chiasmus, we get:
[X, Ch 26 vs 12-15] [[B1,B2], Ch 26 vs 1-11] [A1,A2] (3)
Further translating (3) into verse numbers, we get:
[Ch 24 Vs 14-16a, Ch 26 vs 12-15] [[Ch 24 Vs 5-13, Ch 24 Vs 16b-18a], Ch 26 vs 1-11] [Ch 24 Vs 1-4, Ch 24 Vs 18b - Ch 25 Vs 12 ] (4)
Below, we have another 2 subunits of the prophecy that remain to be integrated into the reconfiguration:
Ch 26 vs 16-17 - Period 1. The Judahites seek God's forgiveness
Ch 26 vs 18 - Ch 27 vs 13 - Period 2. Satan is defeated and Israel is restored
These subunits are in the sequence Period 1, Period 2. The units in (2) above will form a chiasmus with these two subunits so that the Periods are in the sequence [2,1,3,1,2], and this chiasmus can be reconfigured.
But we eschew the lengthy and complex formalism of a chiastic reconfiguration and, instead, use the expedient of appending the subunits to the Period to which they belong in (4), so that we get (5) below.
[Ch 24 Vs 14-16a, Ch 26 vs 12-15, Ch 26 vs 18 - Ch 27 vs 13] [[Ch 24 Vs 5-13, Ch 24 Vs 16b-18a], Ch 26 vs 1-11, Ch 26 vs 16-17] [Ch 24 Vs 1-4, Ch 24 Vs 18b - Ch 25 Vs 12 ] (5)
We arrive at the reconfigured passage in the next section by rearranging the verses so they are in sequence (5).
4. Isaiah 24-27 Reconfigured
The start of Christ's Millennial Reign (from 2026AD) (Ch 24 Vs 14-16a, Ch 26 vs 12-15, Ch 26 vs 18 - Ch 27 vs 13)Chiasmus 1: Israel is restored, The people of earth praise the God of Israel after Satan's empires are defeated (24:14-16a, 26:12-15, 26:18-19)
Chiasmus 2: God protects Israel as He destroys the Beast (2030AD) (26:20 - 27:4a)
Chiasmus 3: God preserves a fruitful Israel during the Millennial Reign (27:4b-8)
Chiasmus 4: Israel is restored and "Babylon" is destroyed forever (27:9-13)
The Aftermath of the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Ch 24 Vs 5-13, Ch 24 Vs 16b-18a, Ch 26 vs 1-11, Ch 26 vs 16-17)
Chiasmus 1: Judah is devastated for its sins (24:5-13,16b-18a)
Chiasmus 2: A song of praise from the Christian Judahite community (26:1-11,16-17)
End-Times Tribulation (circa 2967AD) (Ch 24 Vs 1-4, Ch 24 Vs 18b - Ch 25 Vs 12)
Chiasmus 1: Punishment and devastation at the Beginning and Close of the End-Times Tribulation (24:1-4,18b-23)
Chiasmus 2: Praise for the goodness God shows from the start of the Millennial Reign to the End of the World (2026-2967AD) (25:1-12)
5. A Commentary on the Reconfigured Text
5.1 The start of Christ's Millennial Reign (from 2026AD) (Ch 24 Vs 14-16a, Ch 26 vs 12-15, Ch 26 vs 18 - Ch 27 vs 13)
This Period is structured as a series of 4 chiasmi.Chiasmus 1: Israel is restored, The people of earth praise the God of Israel after Satan's empires are defeated (24:14-16a, 26:12-15, 26:18-19)
A1 24:14-16a The people of earth praise the God of Israel (from 2030AD)
X 26:12-15 Israel is restored spiritually and physically
A2 26:18-19 The people of earth praise the God of Israel: the reasons (from 2030AD)
Subunit A1: The people of earth praise the God of Israel (from 2030AD) (24:14-16a)
Chapter 24 14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty. 15 Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. 16a From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.”
After Satan's "Babylon" and Beast empires had tormented the world during its tyrannical reign for a 42-month period (Rev. 13), God ends its reign over the earth, and He raises His righteous from the dead at the First Resurrection (see corresponding Subunit A2 below). People from around the world praise and give glory to the righteous God of Israel (note that this prediction is phrased as an exhortation). The "east" and the "west" represent the nations of the world closer to the New Israel, and "islands of the sea" (nations across the Mediterranean) and "ends of the earth" refer to more distant lands; taken together they represent the whole world.
Pivot X: Israel is restored spiritually and physically (26:12-15)
This pivot is spoken by the Israelites of this Period and addressed to God.
Chapter 26 12 Lord, you will establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.
Israel will be established as a nation that enjoys peace and prosperity, and all its blessings will come from its God, through Christ and his Messiah (see Isaiah 11:1-9).
Chapter 26 13 Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honor. 14 They are now dead, they live no more; their spirits do not rise. You went against them and eradicated them; you wiped out all memory of them.
For many millennia, the Israelites, particularly the Northern Tribes, had worshipped other gods; these gods had ruled over them from the spiritual realm, because their own God had exiled them (see Ezekiel 39:23). But God now rules over the New Israel and the Israelites no longer worship foreign deities (the other gods are figuratively "dead", "no more alive" and "eradicated" as far as the Israelites are concerned; they "do not rise" and "all memory of them is wiped out") (see Isaiah 30:21-22).
Chapter 26 15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord; you have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land.
The Israel of the Millennial Reign will expand into other nations, so that there is room for its giant population (see also Obadiah 1:19-20, Zech. 10:10, Isaiah 49:20). For the God of Israel is all powerful.
Subunit A2: The people of earth praise the God of Israel: the reasons (from 2030AD) (26:18-19)
This subunit continues from the corresponding Subunit A1 above.
Chapter 26 18a We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought deliverance to the earth.
The non-Christians of the world say that they and their gods have not delivered the earth from the great tribulations of the tyrannical reign of Satan's "Babylon" and Beast empires. They made some progress in overthrowing these empires ("were with child") but were ultimately unsuccessful ("gave birth to wind"), for only God could save the world from Satan's power.
Chapter 26 18b The people of the world have not come to life. 19 But your dead live, Lord; their bodies rise. Those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning, so that the earth brings forth her dead.
The non-Christians see that their gods have never performed the astonishing miracle of resurrection. But the Christians who suffered and died for their faith in Christ during the reign of the Beast were resurrected in the First Resurrection at the start of Christ's Millennial Reign over the world (see Rev. 20:4-6), and they joyfully praise God. God raised up the dead in the way that morning dew brings life to plants in the desert ("the earth brings forth her dead plants").
Chiasmus 2: God protects Israel as He destroys the Beast (2030AD) (26:20 - 27:4a)
A1 26:20 Before the Beast is destroyed: God warns the Israelites
X 26:21 - 27:1 Satan's Beast empire is punished and destroyed
A2 27:2-4a After the Beast is destroyed: The Israelites praise their God
Subunit A1: Before the Beast is destroyed: God warns the Israelites (26:20)
Chapter 26 20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by.
After the Beast's reign ends (April 2030), the Israelites ("my people"), are warned to hold on a little longer and "hide" themselves in their own nation ("your rooms") for a few months until the Beast is devastated (spring/summer 2030) - this is a sort of travel advisory. God in His wrath will violently destroy the evil Beast empire after He thwarts its attack on the New Israel (see also Zech. 12:2-3, Ezekiel 39).
Pivot X: Satan's Beast empire is punished and destroyed (26:21 - 27:1)
Chapter 26 21 See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer.
God will destroy the wicked of the earth, so punishing the sins they committed, particularly during the reign of the Beast (Ezekiel 39). The murders of the righteous ("blood") will be disclosed to the world, and God will punish the perpetrators (Rev 18:24, Rev 19:11-21). This period of God's wrath against the wicked is one of the 3 great "Days of the Lord" of Joel [8].
Chapter 27 1 In that day, the Lord will punish with his sword— his fierce, great and powerful sword— Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.
Satan's empire, the Beast ("Leviathan") (see Rev 13:1), will be destroyed at the start of Christ's reign over the whole world (Rev 19:11-21). The physical aspect of the Beast (the humans) will be killed (Ezekiel 39), while the spiritual aspect of the Beast (the fallen angels) will be thrown in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:20).
Leviathan, the giant sea dragon/serpent, is often used in the Bible to represent a powerful, dangerous enemy (see Job 3:8, Job 41, Psalm 74:14, 104:26). In Rev. 12:3, the spiritual aspect of the Beast is represented by a dragon, a coiling, multi-headed serpent in the stars of heaven ( see [9] ). Note that we take all three descriptions - gliding serpent, coiling serpent and monster of the sea - to refer to the same mighty beast. The Lord's "sword" is the army of righteous angels and humans through whom God destroys this Beast (see Rev 19:14). The "sea" represents the mass of people out of which the human aspect of the Beast emerges (Rev 13:1, 17:15).
Subunit A2: After the Beast is destroyed: The Israelites praise their God (27:2-4a)
Chapter 27 2 In that day—
“Pleasant vineyard! Sing of it:
3 I, the Lord, watch over it;
I water it continually.
I guard it day and night
so that no one may harm it.
The Israelites sing a song of praise to God, for He has preserved and protected their nation from Satan's forces at the start of the Millennial Reign (note that this prediction is phrased as an exhortation). We propose that "Pleasant vineyard" is the name and/or the first words of the song, and vs 3 describes the contents of the song.
This is one of 3 songs of praise for God in this prophecy, one for each Period (see also Isaiah 26:1-6 in Period 1, Isaiah 25:9 in Period 3),
Chapter 27 4a I am no longer angry.
God is no longer angry (see 26:20 in the corresponding Subunit A1 above), as He has punished and destroyed the Beast empire. So the travel advisory of Subunit A1 is lifted.
Chiasmus 3: God preserves a fruitful Israel during the Millennial Reign (27:4b-8)
A1 27:4b-5 God fights against Israel's enemies
X 27:6 Israel will be a fruitful nation
A2 27:7-8 God fights against Israel's enemies
Subunit A1: God fights against Israel's enemies (27:4b-5)
Chapter 27 4b Would mere briers and thorns come against me in battle? I would trample on them I would set them all on fire. 5 Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.”
In keeping with the vineyard metaphor, briers and thorns represent nations controlled by fallen angels that come against the New Israel during the Millennial Reign (see for example, the Gog and Magog war of Ezekiel 38). The enemies of the New Israel can pick one of two options: make peace with God and come under His protection; or attack Israel and be destroyed.
Pivot X: Israel will be a fruitful nation (27:6)
Chapter 27 6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.
During the Millennial Reign the New Israel ("Jacob" is used as a synonym for Israel), the fruitful vineyard, will be a peaceful, prosperous nation that is a blessing both spiritually and materially to the world (see also Isaiah 19:24).
Subunit A2: God fights against Israel's enemies (27:7-8)
This subunit continues from the corresponding Subunit A1 above.
Chapter 27 7 Will He [not] strike them as they have struck? Will He [not] destroy as they have destroyed? 8 You will contend with them measure for measure, as you drive them away. With His fierce blast He will repel them, as on the day of the east wind.
During the Millennial Reign, God will punish and destroy the enemies of Israel with the same intensity with which they come against Israel. God will help Israel fight all attackers blow for blow, and help them repel all advances with His supernatural powers (the east wind in Israel was known for its ferocity - cf. Job 27:21) (see also Isaiah 30:30-31).
Chiasmus 4: Israel is restored and "Babylon" is destroyed forever (27:9-13)
A1 27:9 Israel is restored: spiritually
X 27:10-11 "Babylon" is destroyed forever (2030AD)
A2 27:12-13 Israel is restored: physically
Subunit A1: Israel is restored: spiritually (27:9)
Chapter 27 9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones to be like limestone crushed to pieces, no standing images or incense altars will be left standing.
At the start of Christ's reign, the Northern Tribes ("Jacob") atone for the waywardness of their forefathers. They stop the worship of pagan gods and their idols ("altar stones", "standing images", "incense altars"), and turn back to their God forever (Romans 11:26).
Pivot X: "Babylon" is destroyed forever (2030AD) (27:10-11)
Chapter 27 10 The fortified city stands desolate, an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness; there the calves graze, there they lie down; they strip its branches bare. 11a When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them.
Satan's empire "Babylon" (the empire is called a "city", as in Rev 17:18) is destroyed forever, and, with it, Satan's power on earth is ended (see also Rev 18). These verses evoke a stark image of the eternal ruin of this empire; but since this is an international organization and not a literal city, the entire passage should be considered figurative (see also Isaiah 13:19-22).
Chapter 27 11b For this is a people without wisdom; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.
The people of "Babylon" are devastated, because God, their creator, shows no mercy on those who foolishly chose Satan for the worldly benefits that he offers.
Subunit A2: Israel is restored: physically (27:12-13)
Chapter 27 12 In that day the Lord will harvest from the flowing Euphrates even to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were lost in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.
God will once again gather ("harvest") the Israelites, who are spread throughout the world, into the New Israel.
Egypt and its wadi/river represent all nations of the world to the south of Israel, and Assyria (the empire to the north of Israel in Isaiah's time) and the Euphrates represent all nations to the north of Israel, and together they represent the whole world (see also Hosea 11:11). The "trumpet" in this passage refers the one used in ancient Israel to gather the people (see Numbers 10:1-10); so it is another metaphor to indicate that God will call out to His people and gather them in from around the world.
5.2 The Aftermath of the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Ch 24 Vs 5-13, Ch 24 Vs 16b-18a, Ch 26 vs 1-11, Ch 26 vs 16-17)
This Period is structured as a series of 2 chiasmi.Chiasmus 1: Judah is devastated for its sins (24:5-13,16b-18a)
A1 24:5-6 Judah's sins and consequent punishment
X 24:7-13 The aftermath of the war
A2 24:16b-18a Judah's sins and consequent punishment
Note that subunits A1 and A2 are warnings to the Judahites before the First Jewish-Roman War, and the pivot describes the aftermath of the war.
Subunit A1: Judah's sins and consequent punishment (24:5-6)
Chapter 24 5 The land is defiled under its people; they have disobeyed the laws, twisted the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. 6a Therefore a curse consumes the land; its people must bear their guilt.
The Judahites have disobeyed the statutes of God, so breaking the everlasting covenant (we take "laws", "statutes", and "everlasting covenant" to refer to the Mosaic covenant - Exodus 19:3-6). Their corrupt leadership has led them astray into wickedness through evil ideas from Babylon, and through the twisting of the statutes from God (see Matt. 23). So God has decided to punish ("curse") His people and their land.
Chapter 24 6b Therefore the inhabitants of the land will be burned up, and very few will be left.
The majority of Judahites will be cruelly killed ("burned up" represents destruction of all kinds) in the First Jewish-Roman War, and the few who are not killed will be taken into exile. Only Christian Judahites will be spared the massacre as they will heed Christ's advice to flee to the mountains on seeing the Romans (Matthew 24:15-16). ( See details on this war in [2].)
Pivot X: The aftermath of the war (24:7-13)
This pivot poetically describes the aftermath of the war.
Chapter 24 7 The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan. 8 The joyful timbrels are stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent. 9 No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
There is no longer any joy or celebration in the land of Judah after its devastation, and Isaiah expresses the gloom in the land through a series of images (see also Joel 1:8-20). Nature ("vine", "new wine") is affected along with the people.
Chapter 24 10 The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred. 11 In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the land. 12 The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces.
The cities of Judah are destroyed and desolate (we take the "ruined city" of this passage to refer to the urban centres of Judah in general and not any particular city). The entrances to the empty houses are barred because very few people live in these cities. The few remaining cry for wine - to drown their sorrows and not to make merry. The battered gates and broken walls ("ruins") signify that the fortified cities can longer protect its residents.
Chapter 24 13 So it is on the land and among the peoples, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.
Most of the population of Jerusalem and Judea are killed or exiled into slavery, and the land is destroyed - Judea is as bare as an olive tree or grape vine after the harvest (cf. Isaiah 17:6).
Subunit A2: Judah's sins and consequent punishment (24:16b-18a)
Chapter 24 16b I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!”
The prophet laments (he "wastes away" in extreme sorrow) (see also Isaiah 21:3-4), for he foresees the deception of the Judahites, particularly the leaders that exploit the weak (Matt. 23). They pretend to be pious worshippers of God, but they are in fact wicked worshippers of Satan and pagan gods (Zeph. 1:4-6). These are the Judahites who rejected Christ and crucified him.
Chapter 24 17 Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the land. 18a Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare.
All the Judahites that reject Christ and remain under the Old Covenant will be killed by the Romans, because the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70AD signifies the end of the Old Covenant between God and the Israelites. This passage, a saying of the time (the same expression is used in Jer. 48:43,44), indicates that there will be no chance of escape for the wicked Judahites.
Chiasmus 2: A song of praise from the Christian Judahite community (26:1-11,16-18)
A1 26:1-6 The righteous Judahites are saved and the wicked destroyed
X 26:7-9 The good people of the world learn righteousness from God
A2 26:10-11,16-17 The righteous Judahites are saved and the wicked destroyed
Subunit A1: The righteous Judahites are saved and the wicked destroyed (26:1-6)
Chapter 26 1a In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
This song in 26:1-6 is from the people of Judah who were saved by their faith in Christ - they had heeded Jesus' warning to escape to the mountains when they saw the Romans (Matthew 24:15-16). They are the first Christian community, and this song celebrates their Christian journey and God's blessings on them. Two figurative "cities" are mentioned: the "strong city" that is the Christian community, and the "lofty city" of haughty Judahite non-believers.
Chapter 26 1b We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. 2 Open the gates that the righteous people may enter, the people that keeps faith.
The 'strong city' represents the community of faithful Christians who make up the "kingdom of God" (Mark 1:15). The 'walls' and 'gates' of the 'city' represent salvation (cf. Rev 21:14), because only the righteous who are saved through Christ can enter this "city".
Chapter 26 3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
Those who faithfully and forever trust in God, the Rock Eternal, enjoy perfect peace, for He will protect them (cf. Isaiah 12:2).
Chapter 26 5 He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. 6 Feet trample it down— the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.
The 'lofty city', which represents the wicked Pharisee leaders and their kind, the cruel enemy of the righteous 'city' of vs 1. This 'city' ruled over the Judahites, and it impoverished and oppressed them (cf. Isaiah 3:13-15). These wicked are destroyed ("turned to dust") through the Roman attack, and their works and memory are "trampled upon" by those they once oppressed.
Pivot X: The good people of the world learn righteousness from God (26:7-9)
This pivot is regarding all the righteous of earth (the subunits, [A1,A2], focus on the Judahites).
Chapter 26 7 The path of the righteous is level;
you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,
we wait for you;
your name and renown
are the desire of our hearts.
9a My soul yearns for you in the night;
in the morning my spirit seeks for you.
God, the Upright One, directs the way of the righteous ("makes their way smooth" in vs 7), so that the path they must take is clear to them ("level") (cf. John 14:6, Psalm 143:8, Proverbs 3:6). ( The wicked, on the other hand, wander aimlessly, as in Proverbs 5:6).
The righteous are eager to walk according to God's law, and in accordance with His reputation as a righteous and good God ("your name and renown" in vs 8).
The righteous yearn for an understanding of God, and they seek it continually ("night" and "morning" in vs 9a), so that they may live according to His will (cf. Psalm 63:1-8).
Note that vs 7,8 and 9a have a similar meaning and are structured as 3 parallelisms. Also, Isaiah changes the narrative's perspective - he speaks as a narrator in vs 7, as the righteous in vs 8, and as a single Christian in 9a.
Chapter 26 9b When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
The good mend their ways when God judges the peoples of earth from time to time and inflicts punishment on them for their sins (see also Psalm 119:67). ( Note that since the whole world is mentioned, this passage belongs in the pivot.)
Subunit A2: The righteous Judahites are saved and the wicked destroyed (26:10-11,16-17)
Chapter 26 10 Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the Lord.
The wicked Judahites continued in their evil ways, even after God was gracious to them and showed them favour (see Romans 2:4-10). Though they live in God's chosen nation ("a land of uprightness"), the wicked Judahites continue doing evil, for they have no regard for the greatness of their almighty God (see also Matthew 11:20-24).
Chapter 26 11 Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your anger against the people and be confounded; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.
Though God published His plans to punish the wicked Judahites (His "hand is lifted high" to strike them), they remained oblivious to the danger (see Matt 23:33-38). They are shocked when they eventually see the extent of God's wrath against them, because through this war, God punishes His people with the kind of cruel punishment that is typically reserved for His enemies ("fire" represents all kinds of punishment from God) (see also God's "strange work" in Isaiah 28:21).
Chapter 26 16 Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. 17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord.
During the attack on Judea, some of the Judahites that had fled to Jerusalem beseeched their God for deliverance from their intense suffering (see also Zech 12:10-14); the people were in great pain, like a pregnant woman, so they could barely whisper in prayer. Those who turned to Christ before the Romans arrived in Jerusalem were saved physically and spiritually.
5.3 End-Times Tribulation (circa 2967AD) (Ch 24 Vs 1-4, Ch 24 Vs 18b - Ch 25 Vs 12 )
This Period is structured as a series of 2 chiasmi.Chiasmus 1: Punishment and devastation at the Beginning and Close of the End-Times Tribulation (24:1-4,18b-23)
A1 24:1-4 The wicked are punished at the Start of the End-Times Tribulation: on earth (unknown date)
X 24:18b-20 The earth is destroyed at the Close of the End-Times Tribulation (2967AD)
A2 24:21-23 The wicked are punished at the Start of the End-Times Tribulation: in the heavens (unknown date)
Subunit A1: The wicked are punished at the Start of the End-Times Tribulation: on earth (unknown date) (24:1-4)
Chapter 24 1 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and shatter its inhabitants— 2 it will be the same for people and priest alike, for servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word. 4 The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the haughty people of the earth languish.
At the start of the End-Times Tribulation, Christ raptures out the righteous to heaven (see Matt. 24:31), and he leaves behind the wicked to languish, primarily those who haughtily refuse to worship and obey God (see Isaiah 13:11). After the rapture, large parts of the earth and those who live on it are devastated by God (see Rev 8 in [6]); all the wicked on earth suffer equally, no matter who they are: rich or poor, great or small ("for people and priest alike, for servant and master...").
Pivot X: The earth is destroyed at the Close of the End-Times Tribulation (2967AD) (24:18b-20)
Chapter 24 18b The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. 19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken. 20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hammock in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.
At the close of the End-Times Tribulation the earth is destroyed in an outpouring of God's wrath ("the floodgates of the heavens are opened"). The earth is shaken in a progressively violent manner until it is forever destroyed, for the earth is corrupted by all the wickedness that occurred on it (see also 2 Peter 3:10, Rev. 21:1).
Subunit A2: The wicked are punished at the Start of the End-Times Tribulation: in the heavens (unknown date) (24:21-23)
Chapter 24 21 In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above that control the kings on the earth below. 22 They will be gathered together as prisoners bound in the pit; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days.
During the Millennial Reign, Satan's angels ("powers in the heavens") had controlled the nations outside the New Israel through their chief worshippers, the human leaders ("kings") of those nations (Satan himself was imprisoned in the Abyss at the start of the Millennial Reign - Rev. 20:1,2). At the beginning of the Final Tribulation, God binds these fallen angels in the Abyss / Bottomless Pit (cf. Rev 6:12-17, cf. Psalm 82:6-8). They will all be punished later in the Final Judgement (cf. Rev. 20:11-12).
Chapter 24 23 The moon will be covered and the sun darkened; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of His elders, with great glory.
The fallen angels (fallen angels are often represented by the sun, moon and stars - Deut. 17:3, 4:19) will no longer control the nations of the earth ("moon will be covered", "sun darkened") (see Rev. 6:12-14). For, during the End-Times Tribulation, God will take complete control of the whole earth; He will reign with great glory through the elders of His angels and through the New Jerusalem (the elders of His angels are the leaders of the angels - see Rev 4).
Chiasmus 2: Praise for the goodness God shows from the start of the Millennial Reign to the End of the World (2026-2967AD) (25:1-12)
A1 25:1-3 God destroys Satan's organization: at the start of the Millennial Reign (c. 2030AD)
B1 25:4-5 God preserves the righteous: during the Millennial Reign
X 25:6-7 God rewards the righteous in heaven at the rapture
B2 25:8-10a God preserves the righteous: during the End-Times Tribulation
A2 25:10b-12 God destroys Satan's organization: at the close of the End-Time tribulation (2967AD)
This chiasmus, begins (in vs 1-5) with a song of praise that looks back at the Millennial Reign (Subunits A1 and B1 are regarding a time before this Period), and continues with prophecies regarding the End-Times Tribulation up to the End of the World.
Subunit A1: God destroys Satan's organization: at the start of the Millennial Reign (c. 2030AD) (25:1-3)
Chapter 25 1 Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.
God is praised, because at the start of the Millennial Reign He has faithfully fulfilled all His wonderful plans. God's plans for the start of the Millennial Reign had been revealed in some detail through His prophets - almost all cryptochiasmi have a Period regarding the start of the Millennial Reign (for example, see [5]).
Chapter 25 2a You have made the city a heap of rubble,
the fortified town a ruin,
the enemy’s stronghold a city no more,
never to be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples honor you;
cities of ruthless nations revere you.
At the start of Christ's Millennial Reign, God had forever destroyed Satan's empire of "Babylon" (Satan's worldwide organization of "Babylon" is represented here by the ancient city of Babylon, as in Rev 17:18; it is called a "city", "fortified town" and "enemy’s stronghold") (see also Rev 18). God has been revered and feared around the world, even by wicked peoples, for destroying this extraordinarily powerful empire.
Subunit B1: God preserves the righteous: during the Millennial Reign (25:4-5)
Chapter 25 4 You have been a refuge for the poor,
a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
is like a storm driving against a wall
5a and like the heat of the desert.
During the Millennial Reign, God had been a protector of the righteous of the world that were poor and weak; through Christ and his Messiah, God had sheltered the powerless from those who would ruthlessly exploit or harm them ("storm", "heat") (see also Isaiah 11:3-5).
Chapter 25
5b You silence the uproar of enemies;
as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
God had also protected ("like a shadow of a cloud") the earth from the verbal assaults of the wicked through various media ("uproar", "song") (see for ex, Rev 13:5,6).
Pivot X: God rewards the righteous in heaven at the rapture (25:6-7)
Chapter 25 6 The Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples in this mountain, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines.
Christ will come in glory at the start of the End-Times Tribulation and rapture out the righteous into heaven (Rev. 7:9,14,15), where they will enjoy a great "feast" of spiritual blessings ("feast of rich food", "banquet of aged wine"...) (see also Rev 7:16-17). Note that the "mountain" in this chiasmus refers to the community of righteous Christians living around the world (the "mountain" symbol is similarly used in Isaiah 2:2).
Chapter 25 7 In this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations.
The veil that separates the world from God's spiritual realm will be lifted for the righteous (for those "in this mountain"), so that they have direct access to God and His wisdom (see also Rev 7:14,15).
Subunit B2: God preserves the righteous: during the End-Times Tribulation (25:8-10a)
Chapter 25 8a He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;
After the righteous are raptured into heaven, they will enjoy everlasting life (John 3:16, Rev. 21:4), and they will no longer suffer sorrow or pain (Rev 7:16,17) - although the Millennial Reign of Christ had been a golden age, it had not been completely free from pain. ( Paul paraphrases from this passage in 1 Cor. 15:54, in support of his own predictions regarding this time.)
Chapter 25 8b he will remove contempt for his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.
The contempt of the wicked non-believer for God's righteous people will be taken away across the earth; because while the righteous are taken up to heaven and enjoy a blessed eternal life, and the 144,000 righteous that remain on earth are protected by God's seal (Rev 7:1-8), the wicked on the earth will suffer and die through the End-Times Tribulation.
Chapter 25
9 In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
10a For the hand of the Lord will rest in this mountain.
The righteous (those "in this mountain"), who have been raptured into heaven, sing in praise of God, as they have been saved from the End-Times Tribulation (Rev. 7:10, Rev 7:14-17). God is faithful to those who trust in Him, and He will take care of the righteous ("the hand of the Lord will rest in this mountain").
Subunit A2: God destroys Satan's organization: at the close of the End-Time tribulation (2967AD) (25:10b-12)
Chapter 25 10b Moab will be trampled down under him as straw is trampled down in the manure. 11a He will spread out His hands in their midst, as a swimmer reaches out to swim.
At the close of the End-Times Tribulation, Satan will attack the New Jerusalem in the final Gog and Magog war (Rev 20:7-10, 16:13-16). God will trample down the wicked Magog ("Moab"/China) army, just as straw is trampled into dung to make manure; He will reach into this army and throw its soldiers around, in the way that a swimmer stretches out his hands into the water and pushes it around. ( Note that the righteous people of China have been raptured out by this time.)
In what sense is China called "Moab" here? China is the New Israel's periodically hostile eastern neighbour around the time of the Millennial Reign (see Ezekiel 38,39), just as Moab was Israel's occasionally hostile eastern neighbour in ancient times (China is also called "Moab" in Isaiah 15-16 [7]). Note that although this army is made up of soldiers from around the world (Rev 20:8), it is called "Magog/Moab", because the Chinese lead and dominate it.
Chapter 25 11b God will bring down their pride along with the cleverness of their hands. 12 He will bring down your strongly fortified defences and lay them low; he will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust.
God will utterly destroy the this army ("bring down their pride", "bring them down to the ground, to the very dust"), despite its advanced defence equipment ("strongly fortified defences", "cleverness of their hands").
Conclusion
With this chiastic reconfiguration of the text, we show that this prophecy makes predictions regarding three periods of punishment and destruction of the wicked: the wicked among the Judahites in Period 1, Satan's wicked forces in Period 2, and the wicked of the whole world in Period 3. The prophecy also has 3 songs of praise for God, one for each Period (Isaiah 26:1-6 in Period 1, Isaiah 27:2-3 in Period 2 and Isaiah 25:9 in Period 3).
References
[1] A Definition of Cryptochiasmus[2] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The 70 Weeks Of Daniel"
[3] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The Olivet Discourse" in Matthew 24
[4] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 13-14
[5] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 4-22 Part 2
[6] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 4-22 Part 3
[7] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 15-16
[8] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Joel
[9] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 12
[10] A Commentary on Ezekiel 39
* First version published on 4 February 2020.