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 19:2
Headline news in Israel in November 2018 proclaimed that a calf was born that met the stringent requirements to qualify as the red heifer identified in today’s text. Apparently it was the first such calf identified in the past two thousand years. Another such calf has been born since. Those calves are products of a special breeding program by Israeli cattlemen. The goal is to produce red heifers that qualify for the special purification ritual for the temple as described in Numbers 19. The red heifer must not only be red in colour but must also have no more than two black hairs on its entire body. The fact that there are red heifers available is exciting to the Jews seeking to purify the temple for worship. But, you say, there is no temple to purify. Not yet!
There have been nine red heifers in Jewish history, the first one being used by Moses and Aaron’s son Elazar for the purification of the Tabernacle in the wilderness at its inauguration. And there is at least one more to come, according to the prophecy of Ezekiel, which records the Messiah entering in triumph into the temple. The Messiah, the Lord Jesus, did enter Herod’s temple during His earthly ministry, but the Jews rejected Him at that time. But prophecy will be fulfilled. Ever since the Romans destroyed the temple in AD 70, the Jews have known that it will someday be replaced and that their Messiah will enter it. For now, the site is occupied by Islam’s blasphemous Mosque of Omar. But the appearance of candidates for a red heifer to purify the new temple is giving hope to both Jews and Christians alike that we are on the brink of the fulfillment of prophecy.
Christians are unlikely to see the erection of the new temple or the restoration of Jewish worship in it because that will occur shortly before or during the early years of the great tribulation, which we know comes after the Rapture of the saints. Obviously we can’t know for sure that the appearance of qualified red heifers now means the new temple will be built soon. But it could mean that. And if so, it means the Rapture is very near. Nobody is date-setting. But the Lord Jesus told us to be working, waiting and watching for His return. And watching the red heifer situation in Israel is giving us cause to rejoice in the reality of the imminent return of our Lord.
Red heifer or no, our Lord is coming back for us. The possibility that it could be very soon should fill us with joyful expectation. – Jim MacIntosh