Some believe this signals the start of the third temple referenced in end times prophecy.
QUICK FACTS:
- Christians have begun discussing the significance of the arrival of fie red heifers to the nation of Israel.
- Questions about whether these could be the fulfillment of end times biblical prophecy have turned the attention of many to the events said to surround the building of the third temple.
- The heifers arrived from Texas last week after Jewish rabbis approved them as being the correct color and devoid of blemishes, which was required under Mosaic law as outlined in Numbers 19.
- “The cows have been inspected by rabbis and were found to be red and unblemished, which means they are ritually pure for sacrifice as stipulated under the law of Moses,” All Israel News reported. “In order for someone following Mosaic law to become ritually pure, the ashes of a red heifer are required, according to the Book of Numbers.”
JEWISH RESPONSE:
- The Orthodox Jewish community is reportedly viewing the arrival of the heifers as another move toward the “Jewish journey to restore the Temple services in Jerusalem.”
- The heifer’s arrival was noted as significant by pro-Israel Christian website TheIsraelGuys.com which said, “It’s incredible that several red heifers have been brought to Israel and could potentially be used in the reinstatement of the Temple services in the near future.”
- “At the same time, as believers in the Bible and God’s prophetic plan for Jerusalem, we first have to care about, and advocate for the place where God chose to place His Name, and where He said a House would one day be restored as a House of Prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7),” the site explained.
END TIME IMPLICATIONS:
- Pastor Phil Hotsenpiller, American Faith founder, Senior Pastor of Influence Church, and biblical prophecy expert weighed in, saying, “We are living in prophetic times that could very well signal the return of Christ!”
- “The Red Heifer is the final element needed to restore the Jewish sacrificial system in Jerusalem. The sacrifice is for the purification of the priests and sacred vessels before the priests can enter the rebuilt Temple,” Hotsenpiller went on to say. “At present, an Islamic Mosque sits on the site where the former and later Temple will sit. The Bible teaches that the coming AntiChrist will establish a covenant of peace with Israel (Daniel 9:27) and allow the Temple to be built. During the Great Tribulation, he will seize control of the Temple and declare himself to be god.”
- The pastor pointed to 2 Thess. 2:4, which says that “He [the man of lawlessness] will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”
BACKGROUND:
- Initiated by Rabbi Azariah Ariel, the Temple Institute began its Red Heifer initiative about ten years ago.
- However, an animal that fulfilled the requirements laid out in the biblical Old Testament has been hard to find for the nation.
- After failing to produce a suitable candidate from ranchers in Israel, The Temple Institute started looking elsewhere to find sources for a red heifer.
