Torah and New Testament Foundations-Understanding the Redemption-Part 47

Isa 66 is the last chapter we are going to deal with in the Servant Passages, and it has the context of the second coming of the Messiah. In verse 1 it says, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool, where then is a house you could build for me? And a place that I may rest?'” Ezek 43 7 says, “Son of Man, the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their harlotry and by the corpses of their kings when they die.” After “Son of Man” we have the “Aleph and Tav” in Hebrew which means “head of the covenant.” In Isa 66.1, the Lord asks “where then is a house you (unbelieving Jews) could build for me?”

Is God showing his disapproval for the rebuilding of a Temple? Is it a man-made effort in the last days? Who said they could build it? Do the Two Witnesses or the 144,000 approve? Where in Scripture is it given to rebuild? Some say there is a standing order for a Temple to be built, but that is rabbinical conjecture. Moses, Solomon, Zerubbabel and Yeshua are specifically mentioned to build one. Does Israel “merit” a Temple in their current spiritual state of unbelief? Isn’t that reason the Temple was destroyed in the first place? We know one will be built during the Birth-pains, but is it from God?

The “earth is my footstool” refers to the fact that at the top of Mount Moriah, the contour lines are in the shape of a foot, and that is where the earthly Temple stood. The contour lines were done by Claude Conder in 1870 with the Palestinian Exploration Fund. The Temple was still standing when verse 1 was written. It stood for 100 years after Isaiah was killed by King Manasseh. This is a prophecy that the Temple would be destroyed, and that is going to happen three times in total. The first time will be by the Babylonians, the second by the Romans, and the third will be at the end of the Birth-pains. This is referring to the Temple that is being prepared before the Messiah comes, the one that will be standing during the Birth-pains.

“Where is the place I may rest” alludes to the “m’nuchah” spoken about in Isa 11.10. Heb 3.7 to 4.9 will be talking about the Two Redemption’s and the “m’nuchah.” The First, or lesser, Redemption is called the Egyptian Redemption, and the Second Redemption, or greater, is called the Messianic Redemption. This passage in Hebrews also compares “today” as the Olam Ha Zeh and “a Sabbath for the people of God” as the Olam Haba.

Moses was the shaliach of the First Redemption and Yeshua is the shaliach of the Second Redemption. Israel did not enter his rest in Canaan because of the Twelve Spies incident (Num 14.29). So, the “m’nuchah” was not entered into because they would not enter the land. The “good news” (Basorah/Gospel) was preached to them but they did not have faith (Heb 4.2). Yochanon preached the Basorah (Gospel) of the Kingdom, but you will notice that nobody was asking “What is the Basar?”

Some people are taught that the “gospel” began when Yeshua came, but that is not true. Yochanon was not “introducing” the Gospel because it was already known to the people. The term “Basorah” was not new to them. We will see this term throughout the Tanak (old testament). It is seen in Isa 40.9 as the message of the “voice” of Isa 40.3. The Kingdom of God was not a new concept either. The Kingdom of God (Heaven) is the restored kingdom of Israel (1 Chr 28.5; 2 Chr 13.8). It is simply his “movement.” The “good news” or the “Basorah” was preached in Eden. The plan was in place in the mind of God before man ever sinned, in order for man to have redemption.

The “m’nuchah” refers to the land and the “Sabbath” as the Messianic Kingdom. There is only one way we enter into this and that is by “emunah” or faith. Faith is made up of three elements. You must have “Ahav” or the love of God; you must have “Mitzvot” which are the commands of God and you must have “Da’at” which is the knowledge of God based on experience. All three of these elements must be working in order to have biblical faith. The “land” is a place and the “Messianic Kingdom” is a time. The ‘Sabbath” is a “state” also called the Olam Haba. You “rest” from your efforts and you are in a “Sabbath of God.” Isa 66.2 says exactly what Heb 3.7 through 4.9 says.

Isa 66.3 tells us that they did not have faith or the heart for what God wanted. They were missing the point in the korbanot in the Temple. So, Isa 66.4 says that God will cause a delusion to come upon them because they have chosen their own ways and they delighted in abominations (idols). The Lord will bring upon them what they dread. This is because they did not answer when he called, and chose what the Lord did not delight in. This will be the state of many when Yeshua returns. They were at the right place (the Temple) at the right time (festivals, etc) doing the right thing (korbanot, prayer) but it can still be an abomination to God if you don’t have the right “essence” and “attitude” of what you are doing.

Everything gets down to “Why are you there?” Are you there to be seen, or do you think you are “racking up points with God?” Do you think you are pleasing God because you are supposed to kill a bull, lamb or give a grain offering? Could this be the state of the worshipers in the coming Temple before they come to saving faith in Yeshua after the defeat of Gog and Magog (Russia)? In these passages, they were going through the motions. People should come because they believe, and you are there because you are in a relationship with the Lord. The “motions” he will “spew out of his mouth.”

Isa 66.5-6 says that the people were to hear the word of the Lord. “Your brothers (Jewish) who hate you (Yeshua and his believers), who exclude you for my name’s sake have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy'” means they thought they were serving God by persecuting believers (John 16.2; Acts 4.1-22, 5.17-42). But they will be put to same (Rev 1.7; Zech 12.10).

Isa 66.7-9 is a very eschatological verse. There are three births talked about and being alluded to in these verses. “Before she (Israel) travailed (in the Birth-pains of 70 A.D.) she brought forth, before her pain came (in 70 A.D.), she gave birth to a boy” (Yeshua-Rev 12.1-5). This is the first coming of the Messiah and “travailed” refers to the birth-pains in the First Century. “As soon as Zion travailed (the seven year Birth-pains that are coming) she (Israel) brought forth her sons” refers to the 144,000 saved in “Babylon” (Micah 4.10). They are the first fruits of those saved during the Birth-pains (Rev 14.4; Jer 50.8; Rev 7.3; Micah 4.10, 5.3). This is the second birth.

“Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?” The answer is “No.” “Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” Again, the answer is “No.” This is the third birth referred to in these passages, which is the birth of the nation into Messiah (Ezek 39.22; Isa 10.12, 37.1-3). This is the “new birth” that comes only through the Lord.

In Christian eschatology, they have the Birth-pains, then the 1000 year “Day of the Lord” they call the “Millennium.” In Jewish eschatology, you have the Olam Ha Zeh that goes for 6000 years, then the 1000 year Atid Lavo, or the “Day of the Lord.” The first seven years of the Atid Lavo is the Birth-pains. Rosh Ha Shannah, year 6001, will be the Natzal, or the gathering of believers to the Lord (1 Thes 4.13-17; 1 Cor 15.50-52 ; Zeph 2.1-3). At the same time, the 144,000 and the Two Witnesses come to faith in Yeshua and receive their commission from the Lord, much in the same way Paul did on the road to Damascus. Ten days later, on Yom Kippur (Tishri 10), the Birth-pains will begin. That is why it says in Rev 14.4 that the 144,000 “have been purchased from among men as the First Fruits to God and the Lamb.” So, the Birth-pains will be the first seven years of the Day of the Lord, and they are called the “Chevlai Shell Mashiach” (Birth-pains of the Messiah, because he is coming). The seven years are the same in Christian and Jewish eschatology, but the difference is when it begins and where it begins.

In Part 48, we will begin here and give some example from Scripture on this concept.

Posted in All Teachings, Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, Prophecy/Eschatology, The Festivals of the Lord, The Tanak, Tying into the New Testament

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