The Birth-pains are the first seven years of the Day of the Lord, called the Chevlai Shell Mashiach (Birth-pains of the Messiah). To learn more about this period, go to the book “Messiah Texts” by Raphael Patai. So, the seven years are the same in Christian eschatology and Jewish eschatology, but there are some major differences. There are examples from Scripture on this.
David reigned in Hebron seven years, then moved his throne to Jerusalem (1 Kings 2.11). Hebron is a Hebrew idiom for “Heaven” and it is also called “Abraham’s Bosom” in Luke 16.22. There is a belief that the resurrection will begin from there because Adam is buried there. So, the Messianic Kingdom will start in Heaven with Yeshua being coronated on Rosh Ha Shannah, after the believers have been caught up in the Gathering and the resurrection has happened (Dan 7.9-10, 13-14). This seven year period is called a “Shavuah” or “week” (Dan 9.24-27). A seven day, week, month or year period is also called a shavuah (or any multiple of seven). At the end of this seven year shavuah, the kingdom will be moved to earth at the second coming of Yeshua. This seven year period on earth is called the “Chevlai Shell Mashiach” or the “Birth-pains of the Messiah” in Jewish sources.
Isa 66.10-13 says that believers will rejoice over Israel and be “nursed” with the pure milk of the word (Heb 5.11-14; 1 Pet 2.2) and “chewing” the cud, producing milk (Josh 1.8-the word for “meditate” is the word for “ruminate”). Isa 66.14-16 then says, “then you will see” all of the above come to pass and the Lord will come in fire, purging and executing judgment by fire at the coming of Messiah (Num 31.23; Zech 14.1-13; Matt 24.29-31; Rev 19.17; Deut 33.2; Hab 3.3-16). Isa 66.17 is something we have seen before on Isa 65.3-4 where they are “following one in the center” which refers to an idol. They eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice, and they “shall come to an end altogether.”
Isa 66.18-20 says that God will gather the non-Jews to see his glory because the Messiah has come. He will send these non-Jews who believe and survived the Birth-pains to all the nations mentioned in v 19. These non-Jews will bring back “your brethren (the Jews) from all these nations. Isa 66.21 goes on to say that some of them (of the returning Jews) are going to be of priestly descent and Levites. These people were among the nations, just like when the Jewish people came back from Babylon (Neh 7.64-65).
Isa 66.22 is referred to in Isa 65.17 and this will be the fourth “new heavens and new earth.” We had the original one at creation, then from the fall to the flood things changed after sin entered the world. From the flood to the Day of Lord will be the third one, this present time. At the beginning of the Day of the Lord to the Olam Haba we have a fourth new heavens and earth, then we have the Olam Haba where everything is back to perfection.
Isa 66.23 shows that the new moon festival and the Sabbath will be reinstituted again, and all mankind will come to bow down to the Lord. This is referred to in Ezek 46.1-2; Isa 11.10-12; Isa 2.2-4; Micah 4.1-5; Zech 14.16-18. These festivals will be kept in the future, when Messiah comes (Isa 56.1-7). They are not done now, nor because the Torah has been done away with, but because there is no Temple, functioning priesthood or the holy things.
We are going to spend some time in our last verse, Isa 66.24, because we want to bring out some important concepts. It refers to what happens to those who are unbelievers at the time Yeshua returns and the judgment (Matt 25.31-46). It will be a Yom Ha Din, a Yom Kippur to be exact, when Yeshua arrives at Jerusalem (Zech 14.3-15; Matt 24.29-31). “Then they (of v 23..”all mankind”) will go forth and look on the corpses of men who have transgressed against me, for their worm (an idiom for their consciences that will gnaw away at them and torment them) shall not die and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be an abhorrence to all mankind.” This “burial” place is called Tophet, south of Jerusalem, where the Hinnom, Valley meets the Kidron Valley. These people were the “goats” of Matt 25 and were cast into Gehenna (“Gay Hinnom” in Hebrew=Valley of Hinnom). Jer 19.1-15 talks about the “Valley of Ben Hinnom” or Tophet, and it will eventually be called the “valley of Slaughter” (v 6).
This area is the most cursed place on earth, and it is opposite of Abraham’s Bosom. These concepts are alluded to in the aggadah (parable) of Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16. This area was where Judah made their sons and daughters “pass through the fire” to Molech (2 Kings 23.10, 2 Chr 28.1-3, 33.6; Jer 7.31, 18.1-13). It was seen by the people as the most cursed place on earth. Unbelievers were not buried as Believing Jews were. They were thrown on a pile of other bodies there. This tells us about the judgment that falls on a believer who does not believe in Yeshua as the Redeemer and Messiah (Rev 19.21; Ezek 32.2-8, 17-34; Rev 14.14-20; Isa 14.9-21, Isa 24.21-22; Joel 3.9-14; Luke 19.27; Jer 7.27-34; Luke 17.33-37).
This area is at the base of the Hebrew letter “Shin” (stands for the name of God) that is on the city of Jerusalem. The vowels from Tophet in Hebrew were taken from the word “Boshet” which means “a shame” (Micah 1.11) and used in place of Baal or Asherah in names, such as “Mephiboshet” the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul. His name means “from the mouth of shame.” This area was associated with Baal (Jer 32.35) and was considered unclean. It was a garbage dump during the days of Yeshua with a constant fire (Mark 9.45). Akeldama (“field of blood) was where the blood from the Temple was deposited after coming through a conduit (the Amah) from the Temple. It is mentioned in Matt 27.6-7; Acts 1.19). It is in Tophet and it is the burial place of Annas, Caiaphas and family. Yeshua will come and judge the survivors of the Birth-pains there (Matt 25.31-46). The unbelievers will be on his left and the believers will be on his right. That would mean that Yeshua is sitting in judgment on the Mount of Olives, with Tophet, the most cursed place on earth on his left, and the Temple, the most blessed place on earth, to his right. The believers on his right go to the Temple, the festival of Sukkot and the Messianic Kingdom on earth. The unbelievers on his left go to Tophet and that is where their corpses are in Isa 66.24.
We have now come to the end of the Servant Passages in Isaiah. As you can see, there is a lot of information here and the thing we must keep in mind is that this was the message of “the voice” of Isa 40.3 and the Lord gave this voice this message (Isa 40.6). This was the message of Yochanon Ha Matvil when he came before Yeshua in the first century, and it will be the message of the Two Witnesses and the 144,000 during the Birth-pains.
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