Chapter 5. 12
The Red Heifer
Holy Cow – The Third
Temple - The Menorah
Ritual Objects, The
Awaited Messiah.
Jacob’s Trouble
The Red Heifer and the
beginning of the rebuilding of the temple actually ushers in, Not the Messiah,
but the birth pangs of the Tribulation period
known as “Jacob’s Trouble”. The
Anti-Christ as prophesized will stand in the completed Holy of Holies and the Temple becomes “The
Abomination of Desolation”.
Jeremiah 30:7 - The time of Jacob's trouble
7 Alas! for that day is great, so
that none is like it: it is even the time of JACOB'S
TROUBLE;
but he shall be saved out of it. (ASV)
Matthew 24:15 – Antichrist will stand in
the Holy of Holies
- I15 Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,'
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place"
(whoever reads, let him understand), (NKJV)
Daniel
11:30-31 – Sanctuary will be desecrated by the Image
30 "For
ships of Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and
will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will
come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.
31 "Forces from him
will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the
regular sacrifice. And they will set up the ABOMINATION
OF DESOLATION. (NASB)
Symbolism
and Mysticism
Chukkim is “statues” given without reason, they are
sometimes called “Supra-rational” decrees. Some of these laws can seem
irrational to human reason. These are statutes that God decreed that are beyond human
reasoning; we know that their true meaning is beyond our intellectual grasp. According
to scripture, the ashes of the red
heifer have the
inexplicable power to cleanse all those who have been rendered unclean.
The Talmud claims that the red heifer sacrifice was the only one of
God's commands that King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, claimed he did
not understand.[1] In the past 2000 years,
there has been a few Red Heifers found, but no perfectly Kosher Red Heifer has ever been found.
The TENTH Red Heifer ushers in the time of
purification in expectation of the awaited Messiah.
The imagery of the Blood of the heifer without blemish being sacrificed and its blood cleansing
sin is a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ shed on the cross for believers’
sin. He was “without blemish” just as
the red heifer is to be. Red is
symbolic of Sin that will be made white
as snow by the RED blood of Jesus Christ.[2]
The Red Heifer was sacrificed “outside the camp” in the same manner Jesus was crucified
outside of Jerusalem: Jesus suffered
outside the city gate to make the people Holy through his own blood.
Josephus on the Red Heifer
Josephus the Jewish Historian who was born around
the year Jesus was crucified speaks about the Red Heifer. Miriam the Prophetess
and Sister of Moses had died. Moses
directed the Hebrews to make a public funeral for her and to bring him a Red Heifer.
This was the first of the recorded NINE Red Heifer offerings.
Here is Josephus’s account extracted from his writings of “The Antiquities
of the Jews”.
Josephus
4.4.4:79-81 – Red Heifer was killed outside the camp.
79 He brought a HEIFER that had never been used to the plough or
to do husbandry that was complete in all its parts, and entirely of a RED
color, [3] at a little distance from the camp, into a
place perfectly clean. This heifer was
slain by the high priest and her blood sprinkled with his finger seven times before the tabernacle of God.
80 After this
the entire heifer was burnt in that state, together with its and entrails; and
they threw cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet wool, into the midst of the
fire: then a clean man gathered all her ashes together, and laid them in a place
perfectly clean.
81 When
therefore any persons were defiled by a dead body,[4]
they put a little of these ashes into spring water, with hyssop, and,
dipping part of these ashes in it, they sprinkled them with it, both
on the third day; and on the seventh, and after that they were clean.[5] Then he enjoyed them to do also when the
tribes should come into their own land.
Messiah
For the Christian, The return of
Jesus, the Messiah will be in TWO parts.
1) If your Belief System is a pre-tribulation return of Christ, then
He comes in the AIR at the Rapture;
removing the Church before the tribulation period begins; this will be before
the Temple is completed. Nothing else in prophecy has to happen before the
Church can be raptured… It could be today.
2) When He comes on
the EARTH seven years later at the end of the
Tribulation period after the Temple is completed to set up His Millennium
kingdom.
Jesus has revealed Himself to those that did not ask for Him; He was
found by those that did not seek Him, to the nations that did not call on His
name, He said “Here am I.” He has held
out His hands to an obstinate people; He called, but some chose not to answer. Live is choice driven.
The decisions that you make on this side of life has eternal
consequences; Choose
Life
Isaiah 65:1-12 – I called you, but you did not
answer
1 "I revealed
myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did
not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, `Here am I, here am
I.'
2 All day long I have held out
my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing
their own imaginations--
3 a people who
continually provoke
me to my very face,
5 who say, `Keep away;
don't come near me,
12 I will
destine you for the sword, and you will all bend down for the slaughter; for I called but you
did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in
my sight and chose what
displeases me."
[1] Ecclesiastes 7:23-24 - Solomon didn’t understand the Red Heifer
[2] Isaiah 1:18 – Sins red like crimson, they shall be white as snow -- Hebrews
9:13-14 – The blood of Christ who was without blemish purifies the believer; as
the ashes of the heifer sanctifies
[3] Numbers 19:1-22 - RED HEIFER,
unblemished, never yoked
[4] Numbers
9:6 - Become unclean by touching a dead body
[5] Daniel 12:10 - Many shall purify themselves -- Ezekiel 36:25 – God will sprinkle clean water
on you -- Isaiah 1:18 - Though your sins are like
scarlet, they shall be white as wool
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