The Story Of The Red Heifer

 The RED Heifer Of Israel.

Over the past two years, I was intrigued by the Red Heifer of Israel. This post explores the meaning and significance for Christian believers. Do we need a Red Heifer and is it significant?

Story behind the Red Heifer

In Jewish tradition, the Red Heifer (Parah Adumah) holds immense symbolic and ritual significance, primarily as a means of purification from ritual impurity contracted through contact with the dead. 

The biblical commandment, detailed in Numbers 19, describes a highly specific ritual involving a perfectly red cow, without blemish or ever having been yoked. Its ashes, mixed with pure spring water, are used to create "waters of lustration" that cleanse those who have become impure, enabling them to re-enter sacred spaces like the Temple. 

For many religious Jews, particularly those anticipating the rebuilding of a Third Temple in Jerusalem, the discovery and raising of a truly unblemished red heifer is seen as a crucial prerequisite, as its ashes would be necessary for the ritual purity required to resume Temple service. This quest has led to various efforts in Israel to rear such cattle, garnering attention and sometimes controversy due to its prophetic implications.

Red Heifer Scriptures -

Numbers 19: 1

And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Numbers 19:2

This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:..

Numbers 19:9

And a man that is clean shall GATHER UP THE ASHES OF THE HEIFER, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: IT IS A PURIFICATION FOR SIN.

Jesus Established A New Covenant For Cleansing Of Sin Through His Blood On Calvary.

All who believe in Jesus for salvation and who follow Him are saved through faith in His atoning sacrifice on Calvary as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

He said He established a NEW TESTAMENT OR COVENANT THROUGH HIS BLOOD:

Mat 26:28

For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

God confirmed the abolition of animal sacrifices for purifications of sins when at the death of the Lord, the vail of the temple in Jerusalem ripped from top to bottom. God had ripped that old covenant in Heaven:

Matthew 27:50

Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

Matthew 27:51

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Important note about the veil in the Temple in Jerusalem:

This was a supernatural event. The veil in Herod's temple was approximately 60 feet tall and 30 feet wide, according to the ancient Jewish historian Josephus.

The veil was also described as being as thick as a man's hand. This veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.

Believers in Jesus who follow His teachings and live righteously are cleansed continually by the blood of the Lord -

1Jo 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

CONCLUSION

Christian believers believe in Jesus for cleansing from sin. I do not currently have any scriptural evidence that a red heifer is associated with the cleansing of Jerusalem.

The BRANCH = Jesus will build the Temple in the 9th millennium, around 2370 - Zechariah 4: 12.

He will also cleanse Jerusalem and the earth by removing the names of the idols and by casting the unclean spirits in to the abyss with Satan their ruler - Zechariah 13: 1, 2, Revelation 19, Revelation 20.