The Red Heifer

What is the importance of this phenomenon to the days we live in?

by:

Michael L. Ford Th.D

Index

Introduction                                                                               1.

      Why this booklet?

The Mystery of the Red Heifer                                                     2.

      Why even the Jews do not understand it,

      and why Christians should seek to.

The Modern Impact of a Red Heifer                                              6.

      Why even non-religious followers of

      Middle Eastern events are concerned

      over a little red calf.

How the Past Meets the Present                                                 10.

      Why the Copper Scroll links the past

      and present and leads us to ancient

      treasure greater than silver or gold.

Christianity Holds the Answer to the Red Heifer                            13.

      The believer has a responsibility

      To study the Red Heifer

That Which Purifies Makes Those Involved                                   16.

   in the Process Unclean.

      The Red Heifer and the Body of Christ.

The Meanings of the Things Added                                              19.

      Clues to how these things give

testimony to the work and ministry

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Storing Ashes Outside the Camp                                                25.

            Why the Red Heifer must occupy the same

            relationship to men as the Messiah.

The Red Heifer is a Female Animal                                              28.

      The Bible uses gender with purpose to teach

            God's truths

Conclusion                                                                                31.

Introduction

            In early April of this year (2002) word came to me that a second red heifer had been born in Israel during modern times. The first I knew about was born in 1997, but before it reached its time of usefulness for the fulfillment of prophecy it was found to not be without blemish. White hairs popped out on its tail and that meant that the animal could not be used for the ancient Jewish ritual of purification.

            Surprisingly, in spite of the work of prophecy preachers like Dr. Ed Vallowe, the significance of the Red Heifer is virtually lost on the Christian church. In his lifetime Dr. Vallowe followed the work of breeding such an animal and preached many sermons about it. Was it not for him and others the importance of this event might have been lost on me as well.[1]

            Dr. Vallowe knew personally the fundamentalist rancher in Texas who was working to develop a strain of cattle that would routinely produce all red offspring. But this is not the only person working on such an enterprise. For instance, there is Clyde Lott of Mississippi. He is a Pentecostal evangelist who has been working with Rabbi Chaim Richman, author of the book "The Mystery of the Red Heifer: Divine Promise of Purity" and a religious leader whose Temple Institute in Jerusalem devotes its energies toward the restoration of the Temple on Mount Moriah.

            I have also heard of two European projects to produce a red heifer as well, but have not been able to confirm they do indeed exist. In any case there are a great many people, Christian and Jew alike, who see the need for a red heifer. So while the world scoffs and some alarmist reporters proclaim people involved in such enterprises are dangerous extremists who could bring on a real Armageddon, people have continued on a project designed to prepare the way for Messiah's return.

            It is my hope that this booklet will shed some light on the subject of the Red Heifer and the reader will go away with a new respect for Bible prophecy.

The Mystery of the Red Heifer

            For the Jew, the Red Heifer has been a mystery ever since God gave Moses the original instructions on the subject:[2]

(1) And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying, (2) This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke. (3) And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face: (4) And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times: (5) And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: (6) And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. (7) Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even. (8) And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even. (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. (10) And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and to the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute forever.

                The Jewish people have always known that the Red Heifer was absolutely essential to the state of ritual purity needed for the offering of the Paschal lamb.[3] The ashes of the Red heifer were needed, and as long as no ashes were available, the people were not in the proper state to participate in the sacrifice.

The ritual of purification using the ashes of the Red Heifer is one of the least understood of the Lord God's[4] commandments. These ashes were necessary to cleanse anyone entering the Temple, but even King Solomon who was noted for his God-given wisdom confessed that this was a riddle far from him.[5]

The Hebrew text gives the reader some temporary relief to the questions related to this mysterious directive. It indicates that more than a commandment, this is a chukah, an ordinance that is to be followed without question or need for understanding.

From the Talmudic commentaries we can glean that the rabbinate believed Moses only fathomed the physical and spiritual properties of the process. In short, the person who relayed the message from God did not understand the significance of the requirements beyond what was superficially apparent. It was a mystery that would be unfolded only in the fullness of time.

The Jewish Sages tried to offer a hint to the solution of the puzzle by linking the Red Heifer with the sin of the Golden Calf. The idol was burned and pulverized. This powder was poured into water and the Israelites were forced to drink it. Also of note are the references to burning the red cow, since the Golden Calf was not sacrificed but burned. It is the powdered form of the Red Heifer, the ashes that are mixed with water to purify the children of Israel. And red is the color of sin is as alluded to in Isaiah 1:18,

"Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow..."

People seeking explanations for the mystery also point to a clue they see in the apocryphal Book of Enoch. In chapter 84, section 17, he tells his son Methushela (Methuselah) of a dream. Its prophetic imagery portrays the key figures of biblical history as animals: "I saw a vision in my bed; and behold, a cow sprung forth from the earth; and this cow was white. Afterwards a female heifer sprung forth; and with it another heifer: one of them was black, and one was red. The black heifer then struck the red one, and pursued it over the earth. From that period, I could see nothing more of the red heifer."[6] In Enoch's dream the black cow symbolizes Cain and the red cow represents Abel. After the elder slays the younger, we read in Genesis how the blood of Abel cried out from the ground.

Not only does Torah[7] detail the first homicide in history, but it also records the first ritual defilement. And that's the initial purpose of the purification process: to cleanse one after coming in contact with the dead. Some question if this first murder of an innocent could be the origin of a perplexing but sacred rite? We are introduced to the ordinance of the Red Heifer halfway through the Book of Numbers, in chapter 19. According to Seder Ha Olam, it was actually instituted on the second day of the first month (now called Nissan), in the second year of the Exodus (2449 from Adam). The previous day had seen the first services of the newly completed Mishkan (Tabernacle). The following day, Moses was instructed to have a perfect red cow led outside the camp by Eliezar. There, it was to be slaughtered. The animal was then burned with a mixture of cedar, hyssop and scarlet coloring. A minute amount of the finely sifted ash was thrown into water. It could be a vessel or even a large body of water. Purification occurred only if the surface of the water was disturbed upon contact with the ashes.

                We can see that for the Jew the ritual of the Red Heifer has been a complex one for many generations. Christianity however has also seen the Red Heifer as a having many questions connected with its ritual, but have understood that the Red Heifer is fundamentally a type of Christ. This does not remove the heifer from the list of things in the Scripture that foster questions among believers, but it certainly changes the area of the questions.

            For instance if a person believes that the Red Heifer is a type of Christ, the place of the sacrifice becomes significant. The heifer is slain outside the camp and the Lord Jesus Christ was slain outside the camp. The Red Heifer accomplishes the ritual purification of the believer so they might enter into the Tabernacle to worship. The death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ makes possible our access into the throne room of God, so that we might enter therein and worship. This is not the end of the parallels in the subject that can be clearly discerned either, but there are less obvious relationships between the two that also cry out for answers:

1.      Why does that which purifies make those involved in the process unclean?

2.      What is the significance of the items added to the burning of the heifer?

3.      Why must the ashes of the Red Heifer to be laid up in store and kept for the purification outside the camp?

These three and more questions beg for answers, and Bible scholars have offered explanations for them. But the greatest question that has not been satisfactorily answered is

4.      'Why is the animal God ordained as symbolic of His purification of the people a female one and not a male?'

            The pagan, satanically inspired counterfeits that exist in heathen societies are almost uniformly male. It is normally the male that is identified with the virility required in religious expression. But in God's ordinance we find a female. This should be a big question that looms large in the mind of every believer seeking to discover the things of the mind of God that are reserved for those who diligently seek Him.

5.

The Modern Impact of a Red Heifer

            Some reporters on the Middle East almost had a panic attack when the first Red Heifer was born as a result of the efforts of a Texas rancher working in cooperation with friends in Israel. Then they felt a sense of relief when the best hope of having a purification sacrifice developed flaws before it came to its third year of life. But their sense of relief was not long lived. For in March of 2002 another heifer was born in Israel that is for the moment at least satisfactory for sacrifice.

            There concern comes from the fact that people who believe the Scripture, both Jew and Christian, see the Red Heifer as significant to the events of the last days. A secular writer sounding a note of concern over the birth of the latest Red Heifer said the following in a recent article:[8]

To Jews who adhere to ancient tradition, whose number include religious Israeli nationalists, the long-awaited Messiah will return to become the king of Israel and high priest of a rebuilt Temple, which can only be on Temple Mount. For Christian fundamentalists, Jesus Christ's return at the height of the battle of Armageddon, in which forces of the Antichrist clash in Israel with a 200 million-man army from the East, will require a Third Temple from which the Lord will begin a millennial reign. And for Muslims, an Antichrist figure called the Dajal will be a Jew who will lead an all-encompassing war against Islam, which will culminate in the return of Jesus (as a Muslim prophet), the Kaaba, or Sacred Rock in Mecca, transporting itself to Jerusalem, and final judgment in the valley just below the Noble Sanctuary.

It is easy to see how people who know a little, but have no confidence in the authority of the divine hand might view the modern events related to the Red Heifer with alarm.[9] But when seen within the framework of God moving in the history of man to reveal Himself we come away with a different viewpoint and way of expressing ourselves.

                For the Christian believer the birth of a modern Red Heifer is another indication of the presence of God in the chain of events and this gives us hope. More than this it is a not unexpected event that justifies what has been going on all along throughout history. In the Mishnah,[10] Tractate Parah, we learn that there have been a total of nine red cows in history. [11]

1.      The first was under the supervision of Moses;

2.      The second was prepared by Ezra;

3.      Two by Shimon Ha Tzaddik;

5.      Yochanan, the High Priest also sacrificed two;

6.      Eliehoenai, the son of Ha-Kof was the seventh.

7.      Hanamel, the Egyptian burned the eighth.

8.      The ninth Red Cow was sacrificed by Ishmael, son of Piabi.

The tenth Red Heifer will be burned in the time of Mashiach (or Messiah, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ).

            Israeli journalist Gershom Gorenberg, published a book titled The End of Days. He wrote in his book about the apocalyptic struggle over the Temple Mount,[12]  "[Israeli] government officials and military leaders could only regard the requirement for the missing heifer as a stroke of sheer good fortune preventing conflict over the Mount." He explained it thus:

the ashes of a flawless red heifer — an extremely rare creature — were required by the ancient Hebrews to purify worshipers who went into the Temple to pray. In modern times, rabbinical law forbids Jews from setting foot on the Temple Mount, thus violating the site where the Holy of Holies dwelled, until and unless they are ritually purified. Without a perfect red heifer to sacrifice, the Third Temple cannot be built, and Moshiach — the Messiah — will not come.

            Clearly, the birth of a second Red Heifer filled some people's hearts with a sense of wonder, surprise, even horror. But the story is not ended, even should this present heifer remain unblemished. Fulfillment of the modern saga will require some missing relics from the past. No doubt this still comforts the hearts of those who find a modern unblemished Red Heifer so unsettling.

            People who are unsettled by this Red Heifer do have some legitimate causes for concern. There have been at least four actual plots to clear the space where the Temple once stood. Author Robert Stone says that some of those in on these conspiracies were highly placed in the army and police organizations.[13] So even though Israeli security forces are vigilant against conspirators of this sort, it is possible that religious people within the army could actually help some group to be successful. When intelligence organization's attentions are drawn elsewhere by the Palestinians creating their own form of bedlam it becomes even more possible that a radical group could slip the net.

Richard Landes says there is immense anger among Israelis, both religious and secular, at the ingratitude of Muslims, whom the conquering Israeli army allowed to occupy and control the Temple Mount in 1967. Add to this the fury of a nation under attack by Islamic suicide bombers, and, says Landes, "it's entirely conceivable that this [red heifer] could trigger a new round of attempts to blow up the Dome of the Rock."[14] Their anger is well founded for it is a fact that when Muslims controlled Jerusalem prior to 1967, they did not allow Jews access to even the Wailing Wall. Subsequently, they have been most uncooperative about anything related to the Temple Mount and have even launched a number of terrorist actions and riots from the Dome of the Rock.

 It is this writer's opinion that the Moslems (perhaps with a little supernatural help) will bring about the collapse of the Dome of the Rock themselves. They have attempted to invent a fiction that the Jews never had the occupation of Jerusalem and the Temple such as the Scripture claims. To that end in recent times, they have been doing bulldozing and excavations around the Dome of the Rock. While doing that work they have denied the building code inspectors access to the area to insure whatever is going on is done safely and according to code. Also they have not allowed the Israeli's to investigate the material being removed from the site. The reasons for these actions have become clear over time. The purpose of the work that has been going on has been to remove any evidence of Jewish occupation of Temple Mount from Biblical times up to the destruction of the Temple by Titus in 70A.D.

Some of my sources have advised that what the Moslems on Temple Mount have accomplished is some damage to the foundations of the Dome of the Rock shrine and the al Aqsa mosque. The result of this damage I am told is that at least one very significant crack has appeared that could result in a structural collapse. Since we are also talking about structures that were remodeled by the father of the much sought after terrorist Osama bin Ladin, the whole thing takes on the kind of paradoxical twist that occur more often in storybooks than real life. But the irony of the situation is enjoyable for the moment.[15]

In keeping with past Islamic performance I would have to observe that any destruction of these sites in Jerusalem would give them an excuse for a fresh jihad against Israel. Gershom Gorenberg wrote in his book "What happens at that one spot, more than anywhere else, quickens expectations of the End in three religions. And at that spot, the danger of provoking catastrophe is greatest," "These kinds of circumstances are exactly what people are waiting for," says Richard Landes, "We could be starting a war. If this is a real red heifer, and strict Orthodox rabbis have declared her worthy of sacrifice, then a lot of Jews in Israel will take that as a sign that a new phase of history is about to begin. The Muslims are ready for jihad anyway, so if you have Jews up there doing sacrifices, talk about a red flag in front of a charging bull." Muslim leaders would see an attempt by Jews to take over the Temple Mount as a sign of the Islamic apocalypse.

How the Past Meets the Present

            Some observant Jews claim that the place for the sacrifice of the Red Heifer is a particular place. Rabbi Chaim Richman[16] expresses it this way beginning with Numbers 19:9:

Verse 9 tell us that a man who is clean must gather the ash and put it in a "clean place outside the camp." This is a specific place. During the Temple periods this place was/is on the Mount of Olives. The altar of sacrifice and place of burning for the Red Heifer was at or near the top of the Mount of Olives. The gates of Jerusalem are named for their use. The Dung Gate leads out to the Hinnom Valley where the refuse of the city was deposited and burned. Jaffa Gate leads to Jaffa. Damascus Gate lead to Damascus and so on..... In Nehemiah 3:31 we read about the Gate Miphkad (KJV). Looking at the word Miphkad we can see that it means "appointed" and is translated so in several renderings. The word Miphkad appears in Ezekiel 43:21 also where it is translated appointed. This is referring to a specific place not a place in general. The rabbis have named the altar of sacrifice for the Red Heifer as the "Miphkad Altar". It is interesting that the passage in Ezekiel is speaking about the sin offering. There is a connection there, but I will not try to go into it right now. The significance for us is in regard to the rebuilding of the Temple. The Temple Mount has been trodden down by Gentiles for nearly 2000 years. The Temple was destroyed after it was defiled by Titus and has laid waste until covered over by Islam. Before a Temple can be rebuilt, the site must be cleansed. Before animal sacrifice can be reinstated, the site and stone altar (of course an altar must be constructed first) must be cleansed. This is why a Red Heifer is required. I still see a problem. Before a Red Heifer can be sacrificed and burned, there must be access to the altar site and place of burning on the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is nearly all controlled by Arabs. The approximate site of the altar and place of burning is under Arab control and is "trodden down by Gentiles" and must be cleansed prior to any sacrifice or offering being made. Remember the requirements mentioned in Numbers 19:9..... a clean place outside the camp. There is no clean place outside the camp, it has been defiled. I, therefore, believe that a quantity of ash from the last cow or "Ash of old" must be found and used to purify the site before a new cow can be offered.

            From reading Rabbi Richman's comments on the subject of even having a place to sacrifice a modern day Red Heifer, the problems might seem insurmountable. But when you know the rest of the story the investigator begins to only wonder which particular chain of events will actually line up to cause the ritual of purification to become merely a procedure to be followed instead of a complex series of problems to be overcome.

. necessary ingredients for preparing the water of purification, except the ashes of the previous nine red cows.[1]

            Dr. Ed Vallowe had reported a number of years ago the location of the ashes of previous Red Heifers had already been located. The searchers who discovered the pot of ashes, which Jeremiah secreted in a cave, were kept from retrieving them for the time being by the supernatural intervention of an earthquake. It occurred at just the right moment for the hunters to see the validity of what they had found without being able to retrieve them.[2]

            Other items from the past have been recovered we have reason to believe. Two organizations are in Israel today, working toward rebuilding the Temple and re-instituting Temple sacrifice. Prominent is the Temple Mount & Eretz Ysrael Faithful Movement led by Gershon Salomon,[3] They have all the monies and materials needed to rebuild the Temple. This group has already reconstructed all of the Temple furnishings and priestly garments. Through the inventory of Temple treasure listed in the Copper Scroll, they have excavated the spices which were used in making the Temple incense and even a vial of the Oil of Anointing.[4] So, the final requirement for the purification ritual is the ashes of the Red Heifer. The Temple Mount Faithful say that once they receive permission to rebuild, that the entire complex can be completed within one year.[5] There is still some discussion as to the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant, but Israeli insiders say that the members of the priestly tribes know where it is and have kept it hidden for safety.[6]

Christianity Holds the Answer to the Red Heifer

            For the Jew, who has not discovered that the Messiah has already come and sacrificed for sin, the Red Heifer must remain a mystery. For some Christians, the whole subject of a Red Heifer is to them foolishness. But the answer to both situations is found in Romans chapter 11:

(25) For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

(26) And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

(27) For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Truly for those who have come to knowledge of the truth, the Red Heifer should be a marvelous revelation of the wonderful works, foreknowledge, and power of God.

Lying upon my bed in the night and contemplating the ignorance some people seemingly are content to dwell in, a thought occurred to me. The thought was this. For a man to refuse to learn of God's truths and seek understanding is actually an insult to the Holy Spirit whose job it is to teach us and lead us into all knowledge that the Lord would be pleased to reveal to us. In order for growth in knowledge to occur we must cultivate the humility of spirit that the Bible commends and a love of searching the Word.

Purity of doctrine is essential to proper understanding of prophetic issues including the subject of the Red Heifer. False beliefs, such as the once popular idea that God was finished with the Jewish people or that the church had become the true Israel only keeps the believer away from real knowledge. A failure to understand the Lord Jesus Christ's position as the true High Priest or about the future Temple ritual that will take place during the millennial reign of Christ will also hinder the believer from coming to an understanding of the grand design of the Most High.[7]

There will come a time when the Gentile will once again return to the Jew for instruction in the mysteries of God:

Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.[8]

Zechariah 8:23

This is an event held in reserve for the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles. Until that time we should note that Paul writing to the Romans remarked that blindness in part happened to Israel. This blindness actually had two characteristics:

1.      The Jewish people were for the most part ignorant of the fact the true Messiah had come and offered the perfect sacrifice for sin, Himself, and

2.      They did not understand the full portent of those things, which they observed, even though that which they did understand and got right was important.

Among the Jews are those who have preserved ancient knowledge. They have been important to those in the Christian church who could and would avail themselves of information and use it correctly. Among Christians there have been Jewish and Gentile believers who served as apologists, explaining what these things meant. As we have progressed toward the end of the age our understanding has become more complete and it has been possible to build upon the work done by those who have gone before a clearer and clearer picture of what all these things mean.[9]

For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face:

Now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

1Corinthians 13:12

The central understanding that the Red Heifer represents the Lord Jesus Christ is essential to understanding what everything pertaining to this means. And we should treat the Red Heifer as important first of all because God saw fit to include it in His word, and secondly because in these last days He has moved to provide the Chosen People the means of obeying His commands concerning the Red Heifer.

            If the subject of the Red Heifer is important, and it is, the believer who wishes to delve the mysteries of God should want to know all the he or she might be able to understand about it. Already we have shared some important truths in the development of our theme. It is unlikely that a reader would have come this far without at least an interest in current events or Bible prophecy. But the greater matters yet await the turning of the page. In these last days the meaning of Biblical pictures God draws with His written Word should be as familiar to us as traffic signs we encounter along roadways.

            It then becomes the duty of the astute Christian believer to amalgamate what has gone before in the Old Testament with what has been revealed in the New. Instead of trying to reinterpret what God has revealed, he must humble himself and seek to understand it within the context that it was revealed Then he will not seek to impose his values upon God's truth, but allow that truth to be pressed into him. Then with the beginning of understanding, he should tell what he knows even as he seeks to learn more.

            An example of what I am speaking of demonstrated in just one area is the parallels between the coming of a Red Heifer in this present day and the appearance of Messiah {Christ} to offer, Himself, for our sins. Prior to His appearing, a number of false saviors came on the scene. It is consistent with this fact that one or more false heifers should come on the scene, raising the hopes of the Jewish people until some flaw be found in them. The church should recognize this parallel more readily than an unsaved Jewish person.

Also prior to the Lord's return, the Lord Jesus Christ said there would be false Christ's come on the scene, and this has been so. Should there not also be one or more false heifers born? We have seen that to be the case, and we can proclaim the events of the day fit perfectly our understanding that the Red Heifer is a testimony of Christ. Further investigation will serve to bolster this assertion.

15.

That Which Purifies

Makes Those Involved in the Process Unclean

            Jim Long, in his article "Beauty for Ashes" speaks of the enigma of the ritual of preparing the Red Heifer. Its effect was the unclean person was cleansed and the clean person was made unclean.[10] Like so many scholars in Israel, his knowledge related to the Red Heifer is a mixture of great depth and an ultimate failure to see the truth. He wrote:

In the days of the First and Second Temples, the ashes were divided into thirds. One portion was given to the Levites guarding the entrance to the Temple. Another part was stored in the Anointment Hill (Mount of Olives). That share was used to purify the priest. It was deemed necessary should the priest need to burn another red heifer. The remaining third was placed in a wall known as the chail, which faced the Women's Gallery of the Temple. A portion of these ashes were to be undisturbed as implied by Numbers 19: 9-10, "as a keepsake for Israel."… The enigma of this purification ritual is not in its preparation, but its effects: the unclean person was cleansed and the clean person was rendered unclean. The Prophet Hoshea likened Israel to an adulterous woman because of infidelity towards HaShem. (The similarity of sound between the English words "adultery" and "idolatry" is based on this.) Much of modern Israel would stand accused of being "adulterous" in respect to the Creator. And it also goes without saying that the nations are jealous of this "wife", Israel. That's why it is so essential to find the Ashes and create the water of purification. We can look to another wife accused of adultery in Numbers 5:11.[11] She could drink the waters of purification and be found innocent. She then conceives.  Once the Ashes are found, the righteous of Israel will be purified, found guiltless and bring forth a child called Mashiach. The impact of this rite, even on the Jewish people of today, is so significant that the Lubavitcher Rebbe stated that "the Mitzvah of the Red Heifer represents the totality of the Torah."

Here you have seen a demonstration of my point exactly. Jim Long provides us much valuable information about the past, and a clue to our question of why a female animal is required. But he is hindered from seeing the ultimate truth of the Red Heifer because he does not seem to understand that the Messiah has already come as a babe and His return will be the arrival of the conquering Lord and perfect High Priest.

            Actually the answer to why the person who slays the Red Heifer and the one who gathers the ashes of the Red Heifer are declared unclean is exposed by continuing to read Numbers 19. Instead of the customary stop at verse ten as I did in the beginning of this paper, read all the way to the end of the chapter. What you discover is the passage continues with instructions concerning being rendered unclean by the handling of a dead body. In short, those who prepare the Red Heifer are rendered unclean because handling the Red Heifer has exactly the same effect upon them that handling a dead human body has. It must be treated so because it is a testimony to the sacrifice by the Lord Jesus Christ for our sins.[12]

            There are two things to note about the Lord's sacrifice on the cross that is important to note at this point:

1.      He sacrifices Himself - gives willingly. (Galatians 1:4)

2.      He takes the sins of the world upon Himself- He is then unclean so that the world may be cleansed. (1John 1:7)

            The Lord entered into His role as High Priest when He prayed the priestly prayer recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John. Thus He was prepared to both superintend the slaying of the Red Heifer and the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb, both in His own Person. [13] Christianity keys upon the sacrifice of Christ the Lamb and virtually ignores the role of cleansing the Red Heifer performs.

            The resurrection of the Lord on the third day, and the fact that He had not yet entered into the presence of His Father coincide with the purification ritual for one who has touched a dead body. He has touched a dead body, Himself. He has purified Himself with His resurrection on the third day for He is the Red Heifer. And, on the seventh day, the Lord Jesus Christ was prepared to enter into the Holy Place and offer the unblemished Lamb, Himself, which was sacrificed for the sins of the world.

            There is one final observation on the question of how that which purifies makes those involved in the process unclean, and it exists apart from the issue of ritual defilement related to the touching of a dead body. In the period of time leading up to Christ's crucifixion, He appears before three separate inspectors, each of which He treats differently in His responses. He appears before the High Priest and a number of the Sanhedrin; He appears before Pilate; He appears before Herod. Each of these bring a penalty for their actions upon themselves and those over which they have authority. In all of these no true bill of indictment could be brought against the Lord and everything said to get Him to the cross was based on falsehoods and political expediency. These persons all did this knowing that they were involved in perpetrating a lie. In the process they dishonored their offices and proved themselves unworthy of them. These were a form of defilement in each case. The scourgings and other ill treatment we would today refer to as a trial by fire.[14] The symbology of the ordeal of the true Red Heifer, the Lord Jesus Christ, is present to speak to the present day church.

The Meanings of the Things Added

            There are three things added to the flames as they consume the Red Heifer that are important to the study of this important ritual. It is my contention that the items added have both a spiritual value and a practical value. As we study the things added and wonder at how God works, I will endeavor to make both values clear.[15]The three items added to the fire and the ashes of the Red Heifer are:

1.       cedar wood,           These are added by the expediency of       

2.       and hyssop,            casting them into the midst of the fire   

3.       and scarlet,             while the Red Heifer is reduced to ashes.

Each of these items will also add slightly to the total volume of ash which is to be derived from the burning of the Red Heifer.

Cedar Wood

            Dr. Ed Vallowe made much of the fact that the cedar, not the dogwood of popular misconception, was the preferred tree of crucifixion by the Romans. He pointed out that it was desirable because it helped to absorb the odors excreted by those dying in agony upon the cross. Following his teaching on the subject, we can conclude a weighty matter. The inclusion of the cedar in the ancient ritual foretold to Israel in a symbol that which would make clean forever would have to do so by means of a cross of wood made from the cedar, but there is more.

is that among its medicinal qualities, which are not a few, is the ability to cause kidney failure, convulsions, and digestive irritation.  But at the same time it is an uterine stimulant. Thus the description of the use of the ashes of the Red Heifer as a trial for an accused adulterous woman, and the reward for one found innocent as described in Numbers 5:11-31 is revealed to be medically possible. The end result of a particular trial by such a method would still remain in the hands of God.[2]

            The inclusion of this cedar in the Red Heifer ash would likely protect the ash itself from insect damage preserving it through the generations. Since the bark is chocolate brown, tinged with red, it would likely contribute to a reddish tinge existing in the final ash product of the burning of the Red Heifer.

            We conclude this segment with the recalling of an ancient story. This legend states that when Mary, Joseph, and the child Jesus fled from Herod into Egypt they took refuge under a juniper bush. While we do not know whether this story is true or not, and we suspect it since the original has a focus on the "Virgin Mary," it is nevertheless true that this plant was and is well known in Egypt. It appears on papyri of medicinal recipes that have been dated back to 1550 BC.

Hyssop

            It would take a hard-hearted person indeed, whom having knowledge of the symbology of the rock as a type of Christ in the Scripture, and yet be unmoved on this subject. Prophecy preachers often talk about the particular variety of hyssop in view when we prepare the Red Heifer. When it is described how this plant will reach far down into the soil and coming to a rock wrap itself firmly around it a light dawns in the heart. As one should seek to cling to the rock that is Christ, anchored firm and deep in the Savior's love so this plant reaches deeply into the soil.[1]

            Dr. J. F. Royle identified the Hyssop of the Bible with the Caper-plant (Capparis spinosa) which grows in the Jordan Valley, in Egypt, and the Desert, in the gorges of Lebanon, and in the Kedron Valley. It 'springs out of the walls' of the old Temple area.[2]

            When Dr. Ed Vallowe visited the cave where ashes from previous Red Heifers were believed to be hidden he made a remarkable discovery. He observed that though this particular variety of hyssop is rarer than once was the case, growing near the entrance was some hyssop just waiting for the day that it would be needed to serve in the preparation of another and perhaps final Red Heifer.

            The biblical hyssop's cousins have found their way into many a herb garden. Their flowers and evergreen leaves have long been used as a flavoring for foods and beverages and as a folk medicine for nose, throat, and lung afflictions.[3] The plant has a sweet scent and a warm, bitter taste. It is used to flavor both sweet and savory foods, and such liqueurs as absinthe. Hyssop honey is considered especially fine.[4]

The leaves, stems and flowers of Hyssopus officinalis possess a highly aromatic odour and yield by distillation an essential oil of exceedingly fine odour, much appreciated by perfumers, its value being even greater than Oil of Lavender. This Hyssop of commerce occurs in Palestine, but is not conspicuous among the many species of the mint family to be found on the Syrian hillsides, which include thyme and marjoram, mint, rosemary and lavender.[5]

The leaves are used locally as a medicinal tea.[6] As a kitchen herb it has gone out of use because of its strong flavour, but on account of its aroma it was formerly employed as a stewing herb.

It is plain to the serious investigator that the ashes of the Red Heifer is not only capable of purifying as the Scripture claims from a spiritual viewpoint (because God says so) but it is also capable of healing from a medical viewpoint. Therefore this segment is concluded with a brief overview of its medical  virtues:

It is an expectorant, diaphoretic, stimulant, pectoral, carminative. The healing virtues are due to a particular volatile oil, which is stimulative, carminative and sudorific. It promotes expectoration, and in chronic catarrh, its diaphoretic and stimulant properties combine to render it of value. It is usually given as a warm infusion, taken frequently and mixed with Horehound. Hyssop Tea is well adapted to improve the tone of a feeble stomach, being brewed with the green tops of the herb, which are sometimes boiled in soup to be given for asthma. In America, an infusion of the leaves is used externally for the relief of muscular rheumatism,[7] and also for bruises and discolored contusions, and the green herb, bruised and applied, will heal cuts promptly.

Scarlet

            When we read the passage that gives us those things thrown into the fire with the Red Heifer our minds may make a mental leap without our recognizing it. In Numbers 19 when we come to the place where the word scarlet is used it is easy to envision scarlet colored cloth. But in the course of studying the word used in the passage, I have come to question whether this is correct or not. Some others have evidently had problems with this outlook as well for they have referred to the scarlet as purple stuff or scarlet stuff.[8] After careful consideration, I have come to believe that the instructions actually require the inclusion of the insect from which the scarlet is derived. Nothing less will do.

            The scarlet must represent a number of events that occur in the Scripture finally culminating with the robe thrown over our Lord to mock Him. Then it must also stand for the sins of men, which are likened to the color scarlet. Using a single source, or even a number of items died scarlet would be inadequate for that reason alone. Then, it seems also likely that since the other items would contribute to a reddish tinge to the ash derived from burning the Red Heifer, that the Lord would require the full effect be accomplished with the addition of the very insect that provided the color in ancient times.

            The uses of the color scarlet in the Bible are too important to pass unlisted:

1.      Genesis 38: 28, 30 & Joshua 2: 18, 21- For marking thread or rope -

2.      Exodus 25:4 & Numbers 4:8 - For the hangings of the Tabernacle -

3.      Exodus 39: 1- For the High Priest's vestment -

4.      Leviticus 14:4- Cleansing of the recovered leper -

5.      Song of Solomon 4:3- The lips of the bride -

6.      Isaiah 1:18- Sins are as scarlet-

7.      Daniel 5: 7,16,29- The dress of one who is honored.[9]

These specific references seem to me to be important enough that they would be worthy of a separate study on the part of someone interested in truly reaping spiritual rewards from a study of the symbology of the elements of the Red Heifer preparation. Because of the constraints of space such a study is not possible to be included here.

            Suffice it to say, that the Biblical references to the color scarlet and their inclusion in the burning of the Red Heifer should at the very least be a testimony to the presence and provision of God in the worthy activities of men. And, it should also demonstrate the workings of God to reveal Himself in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ down through the history of mankind.

            But we cannot close this segment without considering the need for blood first in the covering and finally in the cleansing of sin. It takes the scarlet red of blood, the holy blood of our Lord Jesus Christ to not just cover, but wash away the scarlet of our sins. What the blood of sacrifices could not do, the blood of Christ can accomplish once and for all just as efficiently today as when it  was offered at Calvary some two thousand years ago.

Storing Ashes outside the Camp

            It should be sufficient to say that the ashes should be stored outside the camp because the Bible commanded it. As we have seen in Jim Long's description of the procedure on page 16, a somewhat elaborate procedure for accomplishing that developed. But the inquiring mind always seeks to understand the why of God's instructions. This is not always profitable because obedience is better even than sacrifice, and it may be that it is more blessed to do things simply because they are pleasing to God than because we understand the reasons perfectly.

            Nevertheless it is the nature of man, perhaps because he is made in the image of God, that he should seek to understand the mind of God in His instructions to men. Since the Lord Jesus Christ is the revelation of that mind, and it is my assertion that the Red Heifer is a testimony to Him, investigation should reveal to us some wonderful truths. In this case the reasons for God's instructions seem to exist in more than one level. The dimensions for the instruction seem to be both practical and spiritual in nature.

            I mentioned as early as page five the parallel of the Lord Jesus Christ sacrificing outside the camp and the heifer must also be prepared outside the camp. Some very astute observers have seen a parallel between the Red Heifer and the great faith chapter of Hebrews 11.[10] They usually see the place of the Red Heifer as being continually without the camp as a testimony to those who did wonderful things in accordance with God's plan outside the camp of Israel, or in spite of the leaders of Israel.

            The extension of this thought would be that the continuing position of the ashes without the camp would also speak to the persecutions experienced by people all throughout the church age. My question concerning this entire idea would be does it add to or detract from the Red Heifer as being a type of Christ? If the reader finds it complimentary, then he would be free to use Hebrews 11 in such an allegorical context surely, but if he sees this idea as a detraction or distraction then they should be careful of promoting the idea. I cannot fail to note the idea's existence for the sake of allowing the reader to give full consideration to the whole matter of the reason for the ashes being without the camp.

            Certainly we can see some vestige of this position of the Red Heifer being without the camp when our Lord spoke in Herod's Temple in Jerusalem:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that that killest the prophets, and stones them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.[11]

Matthew 23: 37-39

            Perhaps there is another reason that the ashes were to be stored without the camp. Were it not for the clear instructions from God in these latter days there would be no resource of ashes preserved to cleanse a site for the preparation of a future Red Heifer. The devout Jews were very justifiably reluctant to follow any instruction from God that ran contrary to His written Word. This is a lesson the modern church would do well to take into their own hearts. Had an instruction tied the ashes of the Red Heifer to a particular place, especially one inside of Jerusalem, it would have been probable that no ashes from the previous nine would be preserved..[12]

            Based on the Word of God given to Jeremiah and the promises that had gone before, he had confidence to buy a piece of land from Hanameel, the son of Shallum, his uncle. The title to that property and other evidences were to be sealed in an earthen jar that they might be preserved for a long time. (Jeremiah 32.) This was important for it provided an indisputable deed to the land that could endure after even many governments had come and gone.

            Finally, we could not close out this section without considering another grand purpose for the reason ashes of the Red Heifer must be placed outside the camp. This is the reason of the relationship of the Lord Jesus Christ to every man and woman that has ever been born since Adam took of the forbidden fruit and bequeathed a fallen nature to all his offspring. If we truly believe that the Red Heifer is symbolically representing our Lord Jesus Christ, then the position of the Savior as the Red Heifer must be complete in all its parts. This is true in seeing the camp as a body and the Red Heifer as Christ standing without to make us clean.

            We remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.                                                                                                   Revelation 3:20

            And could we forget the exchange that took place between the Lord and Simon Peter the night of that last Passover supper before the Lamb gave Himself for the sacrifice for men's sins.[13] Peter did not want the Lord to wash his feet, but the Lord answered him If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. John 13:8. Remember, Peter then wanted to be washed all over, but the Lord said, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all, John 13:10. So it is that the ashes of the Red Heifer does not bathe a person, but is sprinkled upon them or the place being purified.

            The ashes of the Red Heifer are for those who believe and have been made part of the household of God. The ashes of the Red Heifer are for purification, as the continuing process of sanctification and separation from sin by the washing of the water of the Word is for the believer. As the written Word cannot be separated from the Living Word, so the Red Heifer cannot be understood apart from the Messiah Jesus. He is the Red Heifer.

The Red Heifer is a Female Animal

            The introduction of the idea of sacrificing a female animal preceded the command concerning the Red Heifer given in numbers. In Genesis chapter fifteen God made a treaty with Abram. In that treaty preparation specified animals were split in two and laid in a pathway two each side.[14] In the treaty God made with Abram, one of the animals divided was a heifer.[15]

            This was in ancient times a method by which kings or rulers would make a treaty with one another. The treaty would be established and unbreakable once the rulers passed between the animals which had been laid to the sides of the path. When God made His treaty with Abram however, he did not allow Abram to pass between the split animals. This meant that the keeping of the agreement would be based solely upon God's performance.

            This poses a problem when we look at the subsequent Mosaic agreement which required the people to keep the law in order to be the beneficiaries of God's blessing upon them as His chosen people. A balance was needed that set this contradiction in order. There was a sign of this benevolent balance in God's intent in the explanation that Israel was chosen, not because she was great or mighty, but because God chose to set His love upon her. We call this thing which puts things in order under the original agreement God made with Abraham grace or "unmerited favor."[16]

            It is the element of grace that removes the yoke of the law from the people after the Lord's sacrifice. It is also true that the Messiah came to the place of sacrifice willingly and obediently. He did not come as one who had no choice in the matter, under a yoke of obedience. He was free from all men, yet took upon Himself the form of a servant that He might cleanse us from sin. So the Red Heifer comes to the appointed place never having known a burden. It is a nourished and cherished creature.[17]

            When studying the parallels between the Red Heifer and our Lord as the One who purifies and frees us from the bondage of sin, I ran across a statement that stated the price of a female slave was thirty pieces of silver.[18] As a boy in Sunday School, I learned that thirty pieces of silver was the income of a common priest for a year. But as a man studying Hosea, I discovered that fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of barley was the price for the woman named Gomer.[19] Thirty pieces of silver was the betrayal price given for our Lord by the leaders of the Sanhedrin. This link, though somewhat tenuous, perhaps even weak by itself, nevertheless adds to the chain of other evidence that helps us to see the important place of the female symbology in the sacrifice of our Lord, whom the Red Heifer represents.

            Some people have chosen to blind themselves to the use of feminine terminology related to the House of Israel. Many have also ignored or attacked the fact the Church is presented as the Bride of Christ in Scripture. For them the whole issue of why the Red Heifer is a heifer and not a bull must seem unimportant or they must make its meaning distorted.[20] To them I must reply that God does not ever do or say anything carelessly and nothing appears in His Holy Word without significance. Therefore the fact the Red Heifer is indeed female had to be important and connected with the rest of the biblical teaching related to the female principle.

            Since both the Chosen of Israel and the Church are identified in the feminine, and a use of the ashes of the Red Heifer are related to judging a woman in the subject adultery in the physical world, we might reach an important conclusion. The Red Heifer is important to both Israel and Church, and should be understood as such.

            Another point concerning the importance of the Red Heifer in its feminity is the process of sanctification. This is something for the believer in the Church Age that occurs ritually at the time of salvation. We are sanctified or set aside unto God. The believer as the spiritual temple is ritually clean as the Temple sprinkled with the Red Heifer is ritually clean. But sanctification is an ongoing process in the believer as the Holy Spirit works in them. So the believer as a temple is being sanctified even as the Temple is kept in a sanctified in a ritually clean state.

            In the Book of Proverbs, Wisdom is personified as a woman who counsels how one might order their steps. It is the fool, the unclean who will not hearken and become set aside to God through the Spirit of Wisdom, Proverbs 1:20ff. The reason that which cleanses is feminine is because it represents the Wisdom principle that makes us desire to have our way cleansed and ordered by the will of God:

20. Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:[21]

21. She crieth in the chief place of the concourse, in the openings of the gates in the city she uttereth her words, saying.

22. How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

23. Turn you at my  reproof: behold I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my word unto you.[22]

            Clearly at the conclusion of this chapter we have to admit that the importance of the Red Heifer as a female animal is great. The awesomeness of God's ways, provision, and revelation drives us to worship:

                        Great are the ways of our Lord,

                        And He is greatly to be praised!

Conclusion

            We have come to the end. At this point this poor writer would hope his readers were both richer in knowledge and more spiritually minded than when the journey through this booklet was begun. It is also my desire that the objectives outlined to the reader at the beginning might have been accomplished.

            If you believe what has been asserted in this booklet, that the Red Heifer is a type of Christ, a teaching about the work of the Messiah written in the ritual of Israel, then you will be drawn to the inescapable conclusion that the time of the Lord's return is near. Even the appearance of false Red Heifer's prior to the one that will ultimately make it to the time of its burning fits the pattern of typology. If you do not believe these things, I very much doubt you will have made it this far.

            In writing this work, I have laid out a great deal of information. In doing so, something that I did not intend or plan for occurred. I found that the construct of the booklet became such that what is being shown will be plain to those who have a heart for the truths of God and hidden from those of a careless disposition. This is beyond my ability to accomplish and must be attributed to a divine hand that is interested in even my poor undertakings. I hope that this outcome in the booklet will provoke some who read it to a greater and more serious dedication to the things of God.

            The final note at the end is about the struggle to write. It has been my experience that the more important the issue I undertake to communicate about, the harder it is to bring the thing together and accomplish the work. This booklet ranks among those that have consumed the greatest amount of time and seen the most frequent delays and obstacles to completion. If value is determine by struggle, then this is certainly one of the most important things I have done. It is not because what I do is so great or weighty, it is because the Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect Red Heifer.

This booklet is dedicated to the memory of

Dr. Ed Vallowe

Who I first heard preach the truths of God

at Southside Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia

when still a boy in shortpants in the 1950's.

and

Gideon Mel Griffin

Who shared with me his love of prophecy and

expectation of the Lord's return from the early 1970's.

Both went to rest in the Master's presence this year.

Special thanks to

Mrs. Tina Dennis

Who helped me early on with the text,

and who is responsible for me simplifying some of the

words used in the booklet. I wish time had permitted us

further work in this area.

and finally,

Recognition and Gratitude to

Sister Joan Aaron

Who has worked developing the website

needed to expand our outreach and ministry

even to Judah, Samaria,

and the uttermost parts of the earth. 

Jonsquill Ministries

P.O. Box 752

Buchanan, Georgia 30113

phone 770-646-9580

e-mail jonsquillministries@yahoo.com

Please visit our website at

JonsquillMinistries.org

020708002