Red heifer cows spotted in West Bank, What is Israel’s plan?

A small group of Red Angus cows, occupying the heart of the West Bank, has stirred controversy among both Israelis and Palestinians. People imported these cows from Texas amid significant fanfare and some believe these animals possess the key to fulfill ancient biblical prophecy and ignite political tensions in the region.

To fulfil the requirements for purification from death according to the Old Testament law, one needs the ashes of a red heifer. If one makes contact with a corpse, they view him as unclean. Red heifers refer to reddish-brown cows. The animal has to be "without defect or blemish" and should not have ever carried a yoke. The red heifer sacrifice specifies the color of the animal and is done outside the city gates, setting it apart from other sacrifices, as it involves a female animal.

According to the Torah, a red cow, also known as a red heifer, is a female bovine that has never been pregnant, milked, or yoked. The Torah also states that these cows were brought to priests as sacrifices, and the ashes of the cows were used to purify the uncleanness of corpses.

In the Torah, the red heifer is a sacrifice that is brought to the priests. The red heifer represents Christ because it sacrifices its blood so that the children of Israel can enter into the Holy of Holies, or the presence of God.

Jewish tradition states that they need the ashes of a perfectly red heifer cow for the ritual purification that would allow them to build a Third Temple in Jerusalem. Radical Jewish groups say that the temple must be constructed on the raised plateau in Jerusalem's Old City known as the Temple Mount, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine stand today. Some believe that this will herald the messiah's arrival.

The cows are called red heifers and are now kept in a secret place in the West Bank, controlled by Israel. Some Jews and Christians believe these cows are important for rebuilding the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and for welcoming the Messiah.

To understand why, we need to go back nearly 2,000 years when the ancient Romans destroyed the last temple in Jerusalem.

According to the Bible's Book of Numbers, the Israelites were commanded to offer a red heifer that was perfect and had never been used for work. Believers say that only with this offering can the temple be rebuilt.

From Texas to the West Bank

Yitshak Mamo, of Uvne Jerusalem, a group committed to seeing a new temple built in Jerusalem's Old City, was instrumental in bringing the heifers to the Holy Land.

"You can check to see if they have any white or black hairs," he told CBS News, explaining that any hair that isn't red would disqualify the cows from fulfilling their prophesied role.

"It took us years to find the red heifers. The quest led Mamo to Christian ranchers thousands of miles away, not Jewish breeders. Mamo said, "After a long search in Texas, we found them." "Texas red angus."

To bypass strict laws in place at the time that banned the export of U.S. cattle to Israel, the heifers were classified as pets, Mamo said with a laugh. But to those following biblical commandments, the cows are no laughing matter, he added, stressing that it was no publicity stunt.

"Harry Potter is a good story. The Bible is not a story," he said. "The Bible is a way of God to lead us."

The perfect cow hasn’t been seen for 2,000 years. Not since the Romans destroyed the Second Jewish Temple - which is believed to have stood at the top of the Temple Mount - in AD 70 has the perfect red heifer been glimpsed.

Some Jewish activists and US evangelical Christians, who believe that the construction of the Third Temple will trigger the second coming of Jesus and Armageddon, decided to breed their own. In 2022, they brought five of these promising young cows, with glossy ochre hides, from a Texas ranch to Israel amidst much fanfare. They now house these cows in an archaeological park, isolated from biblical ruins and flowering rosemary bushes by a high steel pen.

The History of the Jewish Red Heifer

The Jewish Talmud, a revered text, details the conditions for the Messiah's arrival. One of these conditions involves rebuilding the Temple on the site of the ancient Sulaimani Temple, also known as the Third Temple.

According to Jewish belief, they must demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque. They must sacrifice a red heifer to achieve purification for this endeavor, and they must use its ashes for sanctification.

The Jewish tradition believes that constructing the Third Temple requires the essential purification element of the ashes of a red heifer. After World War II, it seems people have fulfilled the Messiah's first two conditions, which now draws attention to the third condition. Yet, the construction of the Third Temple depends on the availability of a red heifer, resulting in Jewish communities worldwide conducting searches for a suitable candidate.

Red heifers in the Bible

The Torah describes instructions for the red heifer offering in Numbers 19. The children of Israel were commanded to obtain a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke. The heifer was then to be slaughtered and burned outside of the camp. Some of its blood was sprinkled seven times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting. The ashes of the red heifer were used to ritually purify corpse uncleanness. 

Now the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come”. (Numbers 19:1-2)

God gave His law to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, which included the requirement of perfect red heifers. They had to be flawless and unyoked. If hairs which were not uniformly red spotted the heifers, their status would change to "unkosher". They need to be perfect. But what about their fate? Their fate wasn't appealing from a cow's perspective because it consisted of being burnt to complete totality, even including their dung. However, their death brought life. To make proper priestly sacrifices and atone for sin, the priests needed the ashes from the completely incinerated red heifer.

“And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered before him. And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. And the heifer shall be burned in his sight. Its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned.

And the priest shall take cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire burning the heifer.

For the unclean they shall take some ashes of the burnt sin offering, and fresh water shall be added in a vessel. Then a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on whoever touched the bone, or the slain or the dead or the grave. And the clean person shall sprinkle it on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day. Thus on the seventh day he shall cleanse him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and at evening he shall be clean. (Numbers 19:17-19)

Red heifers were specifically disqualified from sacrifice under Rabbinic rules:

• If she had been ridden or leaned on
• If a garment had been placed over her
• If a bird rested on her, among many others.

"In contrast, the following factors determine a cow's qualification as a red heifer for this holy purpose of purification. Numbers 19 describes this, and you can also find it in the Talmud:"

• The red heifer must be perfectly red.  Even its hooves must be red.
• It was to be approximately three or four years old.  While older animals could be used, younger ones could not.
• It must be completely free from any kind of external or internal defect.
• Not even once must it have been yoked or used for any type of physical labor.

And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:21-23)

The Story of the Cow in the Holy Qur'an

The Holy Qur'an recounts how Prophet Musa (AS) and his people interacted with a cow, highlighting the importance of this animal in their culture. When Allah commanded them to slaughter a cow, they hesitated and asked for more specific information regarding its characteristics. Despite their initial reluctance, they eventually followed the instructions.

The Qur'anic narrative underscores the importance of obeying divine commands and highlights the role that cows play in religious rituals. It draws an analogy to the Jewish tradition of the red heifer, emphasizing the symbolic significance of specific types of cows and their use in rituals.

Jewish and Islamic scriptures both depict the significance of cows in religious rites, albeit in different contexts. Jews seek a red heifer for purification and temple construction, while Muslims consider the story of Prophet Musa (AS) and the role of the cow in obedience to divine commands. Even with these differences, both traditions attribute symbolic importance to cows and their ritualistic significance in a parallel way.

The Heifer is a Symbol of Jesus’ Sacrifice

Jesus died on the cross outside the camp. They first examined him and found no charge worthy of death. Then, they spilled his blood seven times:

1. Back was pierced by scourging (Mark 15:15)
2. Brow was pierced by a crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29)
3. Left hand was pierced (John 20:27)
4. Right hand was pierced (John 20:27)
5. Left foot was pierced (Luke 24:39-40)
6. Right foot was pierced (Luke 24-39-40)
7. Side was pierced (John 19:34) 

Jesus willingly sacrificed Himself, unbroken, taking our sins and briefly facing death before being resurrected victoriously. He will return to judge the wicked (Malachi 4:1,3). The Romans and high priest Caiaphas who executed Him thought they were innocent until His death proved them guilty. Their only purification would come from acknowledging His death and resurrection. In John 12:32, Jesus stated His crucifixion would draw all to Him.

What Now?

What's happening now is quite perplexing: there are religious Jewish groups eagerly anticipating the construction of the third temple, militant organizations resorting to extreme violence to prevent it, and misguided support from Christians worldwide taking sides in this conflict. All three traditions have extensive prophetic literature about what comes next, especially concerning the appearance of a third Jewish temple on the Temple Mount.

The logistics of building a third temple on the Temple Mount are uncertain, although there is sufficient space to construct it without dismantling existing structures. The Temple Institute is poised and ready for this eventuality, waiting for the necessary permissions and resolving the last obstacle, the absence of red heifer ash.

According to Scripture, while the third temple will indeed be built, it will also face desecration. However, at the culmination of this era, the Messiah will arrive and rightfully claim His place on the Temple Mount, establishing justice and peace forever.

Satan, knowing his time is limited, vehemently opposes this divine plan. Yet, the Lord's will cannot be thwarted. As believers, we must focus on personal preparation by purifying our lives and renewing our dedication to Him. Understanding the context of the red heifer's significance, including the subsequent events in Scripture, guides our actions and spiritual readiness today.

Observant Jews pray daily for the swift rebuilding of the Holy Temple in their lifetime. Efforts to rebuild the Holy Temple have been ongoing in Israel since 1967. However, a major challenge is the presence of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount.

The rebuilding of the Third Holy Temple and the regathering of the Jewish People are seen as fulfillments of biblical prophecy. Many preparations for the Third Temple, such as sacred worship vessels and priestly garments for the Levites, have already been made. However, the critical element needed to begin Temple services is the red heifer.

According to biblical teachings, the red heifer is the only animal that can restore the necessary purity for Temple rituals. It's important to note that while this is significant in Jewish tradition, for those who believe in Jesus as the Messiah, this symbolism may hold a different meaning.

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