The fact that Isaiah's writings reveal seven identifiable spiritual levels tells us something important, especially as they show the advancement of God's people from one level to the next. God calls the people of King Hezekiah by the names Zion and Jerusalem, for example, after they pass a test of their loyalty at Assyria's siege of Jerusalem (Isaiah 37:22). Before that, like the majority of God's people in the Book of Isaiah, they are known as Jacob or Israel. Likewise, when Isaiah heals Hezekiah and declares God's people clean, he is performing the same roles the seraph performed who once declared him clean and healed him (Isaiah 6:1-7; 38:21; 40:1-2).
Among the wicked, on the other hand, there occurs regression. Those who start off on the Jacob or Israel level may, by making poor choices, descend a level and become identified with Isaiah's Babylon category and thus meet the same fate. Each time a person ascends, he or she is reborn or re-created a new creature, as it were. But the reverse happens when people descend: they are de-created and are no longer the same persons they used to be. Because God is a loving and benevolent Parent, we may trust that as we emulate his loving and benevolent qualities this mortal environment will indeed prove to be the optimum one for furthering our spiritual growth.
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