Literature

Herbert W. Armstrong often said that one third of the Bible is prophecy and that 90 percent of it is for today! That is a true and amazing statistic that most religious people today fail to grasp! The book of Isaiah is filled with prophetic duality.

Isaiah knew his prophecy was for both ancient Israel and modern Israel. “Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever” (Isaiah 30:8). “[T]he time to come” expression means “the latter day” in Hebrew. Isaiah wrote his message on a table (or tablet) for ancient Israel to read. But why did he also write his message in a book? Because his message was primarily for “the latter day”—or the time we are living in right now! That is the only reason he wrote it in a book!

Isaiah also discussed duality in Isaiah 41:22, which says, “Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.” There is the former and the latter end (which almost always refers to the end of this age). There is the former house and the latter house—or God’s physical temple and then the firstfruits who have been called and given God’s Holy Spirit (Haggai 2:5, 9).