FIVE RED HEIFERS: THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN OXYMORON

On the 25th of September Israel365 announced the news that five red heifers landed at Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel. The heifers were discovered and brought to Israel with the help of the Boneh Israel (Building Israel) and its founder/team leader Byron Stinson. Stinson is an American Christian who describes himself as a "Judeo-Christian believer". {1}

In the Old Testament, the red heifer was essential for ritual purification resulting from proximity to, or direct contact with, a dead body. (Numbers 19:1-22). Since the destruction of the second temple in 70AD, the cessation of ritual sacrifices, and the absence of a red heifer, all Jews are presently considered ritually impure. The red heifer is therefore a critical component for Orthodox Jews and their hope to reinstate the Temple Service and their plan to rebuild the Third Temple on the Temple Mount. The quest for an unblemished red heifer has been underway for about a decade, with hopes raised and dashed during the process. According to 12th-century Jewish scholar Rambam, the rebuilding of the third temple will be a major sign that humanity has reached the End of Days. {2} 

Stinson: “We are not just Christian as a nation. It is Judeo-Christian. I believe that there is a bloodline for many Christians that calls us by the Spirit to be part of this land. I believe I am one and these people who are called to this, their hearts make them come.” {3} 

John Enarson, the non-Jewish Christian Relations Director for Cry For Zion, believes that reinstating the Red Heifer and Temple service would be a positive step for Christianity. Cry for Zion is a movement of Jews and Christians for Jewish sovereignty and freedom on the Temple Mount (Zion). {4} Enarson acknowledges that this is a controversial subject and that many Christians view the arrival of the red heifers and the prophetic establishment of the Jewish Third Temple with apprehension. {5}

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 19:2).

 

In common with Orthodox Jews, many Christians view the building of a literal temple as a critical eschatological event. However, a significant number of Christians view the Third Temple negatively due to the prophetic material in Daniel 9 repeated by Jesus. (Matthew 24:15). Paul confirms both Daniel and Jesus in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). We therefore have strong evidence that the Antichrist will defile the temple at the close of the present age. 

Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” (Daniel 9:24-27). 

According to Daniel, the Third Temple sacrifices will occur during the first half of the period known as "the 70th week of Daniel" (a week of years i.e. seven years). (Daniel 9:27). The above passage describes the destruction of the second temple by Titus in 70 AD. (Daniel 9:26). Daniel goes on to describe a particular individual (the Antichrist) who will make and break a strong covenant with many for one week". The short, but devastating reign of the Antichrist will commence with the event known as "the abomination of desolation" at the midpoint of the 70th week. (Matthew 24:15). Daniel 9:27 is a critical verse that indicates that temple sacrifices will be reinstated at the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel and that the Antichrist will put an end to them at the midpoint of the week. This ties in with the Olivet discourse and Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians which describes the "man of lawlessness" (the Antichrist) who will take his seat in the temple of God and declare himself to be God at the midpoint of the 70th week of Daniel. 

So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house. And let no one in the field return for his cloak. How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath. For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible. See, I have told you in advance. (Matthew 24:15-25).

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

A covenant with death and hell. (Isaiah 28:14-18). These verses probably refer to Judah's covenant with Egypt (eighth-century BC). However, it does tie in with Israel's ultimate covenant with the Antichrist in the middle of the 70th week. (compare Isaiah 28:15; Daniel 9:27).

Red heifer typology

The sacrificial law of the red heifer is a type and shadow of the atonement of Jesus Christ. The children of Israel became ritually clean following contact with a corpse through the ashes of the red heifer. However, it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that it is possible to be cleansed from sin and death. (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Jesus' prayer in the garden at Gethsemane took place on the Mount of Olives where the red heifer sacrifice took place. In the Old Testament, the red heifer was the only sacrifice that was offered "outside the camp". (Numbers 19:3,9). Jesus Christ suffered outside the gate.. 

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. (Hebrews 13:12-13).

And it shall be a statute forever for them. (Numbers 19:21).

Gill: And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them,.. To the children of Israel, throughout their generations, unto the coming of the Messiah, when the ceremonial law, which stood in divers washings and purifications, was abolished: {6} 

(4) Is the Third Temple the Temple of the Antichrist? - YouTube

The above video gives some insight into the thinking of John Enarson, and presumably other Christian supporters of the Third Temple. 

The group of three men discussing this subject are Josh Wander (Jewish author), Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz (Israel365 News), and John Enarson. Enarson begins by stating that the Antichrist or "the ultimate false Messiah" is not a concept known within mainstream Judaism. This is a very significant point that effectively positions the Jews in an extremely vulnerable position. 

Enarson claims to understand the prophecies of both Jesus and Paul regarding the defilement of the future temple as explicit references to the Jewish story of Hannukah in Maccabees i.e. the Jewish revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes IV (167 BC). Enarson: "Both Jesus and Paul say something like the Hannukah story will repeat itself". Most New Testament scholars agree that Antiochus Epiphanes IV is a significant type of the Antichrist. (Daniel 11:21-35). A number of teachers believe that Daniel 11:36-45 goes beyond Antiochus and refers to the future Antichrist. (Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; Revelation 13:1-18; Daniel 10:14; 12:1).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown: "The wilful king here, though primarily Antiochus, is antitypically and mainly Antichrist, the seventh head of the seven-headed and ten-horned beast of Revelation 13:1-18, and the 'beast' of Armageddon (Revelation 16:13, 16; 19:19)."  {7} 

Enarson views the belief that the Third Temple will be "the temple of the Antichrist" as a misconception even though he admits that both Jesus and Paul anticipate a repeat of the Hannukah story.

Enarson: "It is the temple of God, it is holy to the God of Israel, the God of the bible not say that it is a temple of antichrist that will be built for the antichrist! The “man of lawlessness” can only defile something that is holy to God." {8}

Paul speaks about "the temple of God" without any other qualification in 2 Thessalonians 2:4. It appears that the Third Temple will ostensibly be "God's temple". The concern that many Christians have is that the Antichrist will initially deceive the Jews into thinking that he is their powerful ally. He will make a "strong covenant with many" (including or primarily Israel) for seven years, and he will probably facilitate the construction and function of the Third Temple. However, halfway through this period he will put sacrifice and offering to an end. (Daniel 9:27). At the midpoint of the week, the Antichrist will reveal his true agenda and will openly blaspheme God and he will exalt himself against every so-called God, including false gods with the true God. (1 Corinthians 8:4-6). My present view is that the Antichrist will not be Jewish since he will rise up from the sea i.e. the nations. (Revelation 13:1).

Enarson: "The New Testament in the book of Hebrews says clearly that the temple on earth.. and all the sacrifices there, were never meant to save your eternal soul for the world to come. It served a different function..    Unless you make personal shuva (repentance) then the sacrifice is meaningless." 

The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were used to offer atonement for sins, albeit they were a temporary covering until Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. The animal sacrifices foreshadowed the complete, perfect sacrifice of the blood of Jesus. It is regrettable that Enarson did not explain this clearly to his Jewish friends during the discussion. 

Enarson submits that just as it was God's mandate for the Jews to rebuild the Second Temple (Haggai 2:1-5; Zechariah 4:8-10); Nehemiah 1:9), it is unequivocally God's mandate for the Jews to build the Third Temple. In other words, the prophetic mandate to rebuild the Second Temple has been reapplied in order to justify the existence of the Third Temple. There is a mountain of evidence in the New Testament to refute this view. Jesus' prophecy concerning the destruction of the Second Temple and the establishment of the new covenant in His blood absolutely negates the necessity for a Third Temple and the reinstatement of the Mosaic system.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matthew 23:37:39).

But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”(Matthew 24:2).

These appear to have been the last words Jesus spoke as he left the temple, never to re-enter it again. Jesus abandoned the temple following his denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees earlier in chapter 23 and their fate is duly sealed. The only future hope for Israel from now on is the time when they repent of their rejection of Jesus Christ, their Messiah.  

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10 cf. Hosea 3:4-5).

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture).. (John 19:28).

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. (Matthew 27:50-51).

by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, (Ephesians 2:15)

Strongs: "I make idle (inactive), make of no effect, annul, abolish, bring to naught, (b) I discharge, sever, separate from." {9}

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthains 11:25 cf. Hebrews 9:15-22).

Reinstating animal sacrifices and rebuilding the temple is viewed by many Christians as tantamount to rejecting what has been accomplished on the cross by Jesus Christ. Technically the Mosaic Law has been fulfilled i.e. it has been rendered inoperative and its requirements no longer apply. For all practical intents and purposes, the Mosaic Law is therefore abolished. (Romans 3:31). 

Jesus Christ declared himself to be the completed, atoning sacrifice: It is finished. (John 19:30). 

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve tee living God. (Hebrews 9:11-14 cf. 1 Peter 1:2)).

Ezekiels Temple - Ezekiel 40-48

The proposed Third Temple should not be confused with the Millennial Temple i.e. Ezekiel’s Temple. The book of Revelation speaks of vast topographic changes on the earth when the seventh angel pours out his bowl. The "great city" is probably Jerusalem. (Revelation  16:19; 11:8).

The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. (Revelation 16:1-720).

The land area dedicated to the Millennial temple and to its service will be one-mile square. It appears that the temple will be situated on Mount Zion and will measure approximately one mile in height. The land surrounding the Millennial temple will measure approximately 52 miles long and 21 miles wide. The proportions of the proposed third Jewish temple have not been divulged, but clearly, the Third Jewish Temple will not be remotely comparable to the vast proportions described by Ezekiel. 

The reinstatement of animal sacrifices during the Millennium is a subject that has puzzled many bible scholars. (Isaiah 56:6-7; 60:7; Ezekiel 43:18-27; 45:17-23; Zechariah 14:16-21). Some hold the view that Millennial sacrifices will be a memorial in much the same way that the Lord's Supper is a memorial. An interesting theory is that animal sacrifices during the Millennium will serve as ritual purification. Mark Hitchcock: "During the Millennium, a holy God will be dwelling on earth in the midst of people in their glorified bodies but also in the midst of sinful people living in natural, unglorified bodies. These sacrifices prevent these worshippers from defiling God’s holy Temple when they come to worship Him. It is a matter of ritual purification. Sacrifices during the Millennium will not be a substitute for Christ’s atoning work. Instead, they will provide ritual purification for unglorified people on earth who approach the holy God in worship." {10} 

John Enarson's skewed logic. 

Berkowitz points out that even if the Third Temple is a setting for the Antichrist, it is not something that Christians should "prevent" because it is actually part of the prophecy. Enarson: "If you are working for the ultimate redemption to bring it closer, then are you thereby bringing something bad into the world by troubles that are promised to come? 

This is tantamount to saying "The end justifies the means". 

And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just. (Romans 3:8 cf Romans 6:1,15).

I do not imagine that Christians can prevent the construction of the Third Temple. However, we would be remiss if we fail to warn the Jewish people that their present course of action will lead to the devastating time known as "Jacob's Trouble". (Jeremiah 30:7 cf. Zechariah 13:8-9). Christians who actively support the Third Temple are facilitating Satan's ultimate plan to deceive the Jews, and ultimately the entire world. (Revelation 13:3).     

 

Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes. (Matthew 18:7).

The mandate given to believers is to make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19). 

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. (1 Corinthians 15:1-7).

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16).

1. ISRAEL365 EXCLUSIVE: Red Heifers arrive in Israel [WATCH] (israel365news.com)
2. Will God or the Messiah Build the Third Holy Temple? - Israel News (israel365news.com)
3. Christians weigh in on the relevance of the red heifer (israel365news.com)
4. Temple Mount | Cry For Zion
5. Christians weigh in on the relevance of the red heifer (israel365news.com)
6. Numbers 19 Gill's Exposition (biblehub.com)
7. Daniel 11 Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary (biblehub.com)
8. What About the Temple of Antichrist? (cryforzion.com)
9. Strong's Greek: 2673. καταργέω (katargeó) -- to render inoperative, abolish (biblehub.com)
10. Millennial Sacrifices - (apologeticanswers.org)