# Theological arc

*The sacred/historical equivalent of PLOT-GRAPH.md. Tracks the theological, covenantal, or dharmic progression across the text -- salvation history, the prophetic timeline, the dharmic cycle, the narrative of redemption.*

## Overall arc

**Shape:** {{SHAPE}} (linear progression, cyclical, chiastic, apocalyptic unveiling, spiral)
**Starting point (theological):** {{START}}
**Ending point (theological):** {{END}}
**Central movement:** {{CENTRAL_MOVEMENT}}

## Major phases

### Phase 1: {{PHASE_1_NAME}}
- **Units covered:** {{UNITS}}
- **Theological theme:** {{THEME}}
- **Key figures:** {{FIGURES}}
- **Turning point:** {{TURN}}
- **What the reader should understand by end:** {{UNDERSTANDING}}

### Phase 2: {{PHASE_2_NAME}}
- **Units covered:** {{UNITS}}
- **Theological theme:** {{THEME}}
- **Key figures:** {{FIGURES}}
- **Turning point:** {{TURN}}
- **What the reader should understand by end:** {{UNDERSTANDING}}

*(Continue for all phases)*

## Covenantal progression

*(For traditions with a covenant structure -- Abrahamic, dispensational, etc.)*

| Covenant | Book/Unit | Terms | Sign | Fulfillment |
|----------|-----------|-------|------|-------------|
| | | | | |

## Prophetic timeline

*(For prophetic texts -- what is foretold, when it is foretold, when it is fulfilled.)*

| Prophecy | Prophet | Book/Unit | Fulfillment book/unit | Type |
|----------|---------|-----------|-----------------------|------|
| | | | | |

## Recurring patterns and types

### Typological connections
{{TYPOLOGIES}}
*(Figures or events that prefigure later figures or events. "Type and antitype" in Christian reading, "asbab al-nuzul" in Quranic commentary, etc.)*

### Structural parallels
{{PARALLELS}}
*(Chiasms, echoes, recurring formulas across the text.)*

### Thematic progressions
{{PROGRESSIONS}}
*(How major themes develop, complicate, resolve, or remain unresolved across the arc.)*

## The reader's journey

**What the reader knows at the start:** {{READER_START}}
**What the reader learns along the way:** {{READER_MIDDLE}}
**What the reader should see by the end:** {{READER_END}}
**What the reader should DO as a result:** {{READER_ACTION}}

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*This file is loaded when planning any major unit. The drafter references it to ensure each passage advances or anchors the theological arc.*