A lot of people get concerned about reading Isaiah because it can be confusing! Isaiah jumps from the present, to the past, to the future and doesn’t even tell you where he’s headed! Plus he speaks symbolically; sometimes he speaks as if he’s the Savior; and some of his words just don’t even make sense. What can you do? Remember Isaiah’s name and his son’s names to keep things straight. In general, Isaiah talks about three themes (that coordinate with his and his sons’ names):
- Isaiah means “Jehovah is salvation.” He often speaks about the hope of eventual salvation through Christ.
- Maher-shalal-hash-baz means “to speed the destruction.” Isaiah often speaks about the impending destruction of those (past and present) who don’t turn to Jesus and repent.
Shear-jashub means “a remanant shall return.” Isaiah speaks about the gathering of ancient and modern Israel. The ancient gathering was more physical while the modern-day gathering is a spiritual return to God. (Source)