Temple Institute entrance
(*Photo by Bob Thiel*)

The Temple Institute had the following in a newsletter today:

Adar 17, 5783/March 10, 2023
As we begin this week’s Torah reading … This Shabbat is also habbat Para, in which we also read from Numbers, chapter 19, verses 1-22, which discusses the red heifer (para aduma).

Then it had a link to the Temple Institute’s Facebook page which had the following:

*Photo from Temple Institute’s Facebook page*

SHABBAT PARASHAT PARA – THE RED HEIFER! March 8, 2023
This coming Shabbat we read in synagogues around the world, the third of the four special (additional) Torah readings that are read during the month of Adar, in anticipation of the upcoming holiday of Passover. Parashat Para, (Numbers 19:1-22) presents the chok (statute) of the Red Heifer (Para Aduma). This serves as a reminder that the ashes of the red heifer are necessary for the purification of Passover pilgrims heading to the Holy Temple with their Passover offerings. Tum’at met – the impurity contracted by contact with a corpse – must be remedied by the sprinkling of the ashes of the red heifer before the Passover pilgrim can ascend the Temple Mount with his offering.
Since the destruction of the Holy Temple 2,000 years ago, parashat Para has been read during the month of Adar as a reminder of what used to be. But today, following the ingathering of the exiles, as prophesized by the Hebrew prophets of old, the establishment of the independent state of Israel, and the liberation of the Temple Mount, parashat Para also serves as an urgent reminder as to what needs to be done in anticipation of the rebuilding of the Holy Temple and the renewal of the Passover offerings, may it be soon!
The five red heifer candidates that were greeted at Ben Gurion airport this past summer, we are happy to relate, are healthy and thriving. One of the five, unfortunately, has grown some non-red hairs and is therefore disqualified from becoming the red heifer which can provide the much longed for ashes. The remaining four, however, are still viable candidates. https://www.facebook.com/templeinstitute/posts/10151800892524969

It should be noted that the Temple Institute only needs ONE, not five, red heifers. And since they believe that there have only been nine in recorded history, at least three of the remaining heifers will some day be disqualified.

That is consistent with something I posted here last September:

That said, presuming the rabbis do not disqualify all of them, because of Jewish tradition it would seem like 4 of the 5 of the heifers will be disqualified. If a cow gets hurt, gets bred, or “too many” white hairs come, those factors would disqualify a cow.
This red heifer matter is a BIG DEAL to various Jews, such as those in the Temple Institute. The group also has some political influence and may point to having at least one red heifer as a Divine sign that the Jews can re-implement regular sacrifices.
In the past, at its Facebook page, the Temple Institute posted:
RED HEIFER UPDATE … we see the great challenge of raising a perfectly red, unblemished red heifer. But this is a challenge given to us by G-d, and, as we all know, there is no greater occupation in life the trying to fulfill the challenges that G-d has set before us. We remain confident that we will meet the challenge at the proper time and proceed toward our goal of acquiring the ashes of the red heifer. We remain confident that we will meet the challenge at the proper time and proceed toward our goal of acquiring the ashes of the red heifer.
No, getting a red heifer was not nor is not the greatest occupation anyone needs to have.
The Temple Institute believes that for certain prophecies to be fulfilled, they will end up with an acceptable red heifer. In essence, the Temple Institute also believes that the blood of a red heifer will provide the way for the most thorough cleansing to allow for a ‘third temple,’ whereas Christians point to the blood of Jesus to cleanse, therefore we do not need animal sacrifices (Hebrews 9-10). (Thiel B. Temple Institute reports ‘5 perfect, unblemished red heifers’ arrived in Israel–this could be a BIG DEAL! COGwriter, September 16, 2022)

The fact that there are still four considered acceptable would suggest that the Temple Institute is more and more believing that one of the four candidates will ultimately be acceptable.

Here is something from the Temple Institutes’ Facebook page regarding its views on red heifers:

September 22, 2023
Five perfectly red heifers, required for the ritual purification of those who have touched a dead body, arrived in Israel from a ranch in Texas on Thursday, as the Temple Institute continues preparations to lay the ground for the construction of the Third Temple in Jerusalem.
The heifers are all under one year old and if they remain 100% red and avoid any blemishes which would disqualify them, they will each be eligible to be used to create the ashes required by Jewish law to purify those who have been in contact with a dead body, explained the Temple Institute on Monday. This level of purification would be needed in order to allow the kohanim (priests) to carry out their work in a future Temple.
The prized cattle were immediately transported to Haifa where they will sit in quarantine for no less than seven days, in accordance with the regulations of the Israel Veterinary Authority. …
What is a red heifer?
The red heifer is first mentioned in the Book of Numbers 19:3, when God tells Moses and Aaron “This is the ritual law that God has commanded: Instruct the Israelite people to bring you a red cow without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which no yoke has been laid.”
The Torah goes on to explain how the heifer is processed and burnt and its ashes mixed into sanctified water. Those who became impure due to touching a human corpse would be purified by having the water mixed with the ashes sprinkled on them twice: once three days after they came in contact with the corpse and a second time seven days after contact.
The Torah relates that a red heifer was brought to Elazar the Priest, the son of Aaron, and was processed for its ashes for the ritual. According to the Talmud, those ashes were used from that moment until the end of the First Temple period. During the Second Temple period, another five to seven red heifers were burnt for their ashes. Maimonides wrote in his compendium of Jewish law, the Mishneh Torah (Laws of the Red Heifer, 3:4), that the next red heifer will be brought by the Messiah.
Why is the red heifer important?
In the modern day, all Jews, including kohanim, are assumed to be impure with the impurity imparted by a corpse. While in everyday life in the modern day this status does not have much of a practical effect, those impure with this type of impurity are prohibited from entering the Temple.
Kohanim impure with this type of impurity are thereby prevented from conducting the services required in the Temple and would need to be purified with the ashes of a red heifer before being able to serve again, making the creation of such ashes a necessary requirement for any attempt to reestablish the Temple in Jerusalem. (One exception is the Pascal sacrifice, which can be offered even by those who are impure with the impurity imparted by a corpse, as long as the majority of the Jewish people are impure with this type of impurity). https://www.facebook.com/templeinstitute/posts/10151740340689969

As far as the red heifer goes and the Temple Institute’s teachings go, a while back we put together the following video:

17:34
Red Heifers and the Fate of the World
The Temple Institute has claimed that the fate of the world depends on something called a red heifer. What is a red heifer? Is it mentioned in the Bible? Could one be tied in with end of the world prophecies? Will animal sacrifices resume in Israel? Is a red heifer or a ‘third temple’ needed for this? What does the Bible teach about such things? What have representatives of the Temple Institute and Sanhedrin told Dr. Thiel? How many red heifers have there been claimed to be? Do Christians need the ashes of a red heifer? Must Numbers 19, Daniel 12 and Isaiah 1 tie together as proof of the need for a red heifer? Can prophecy be fulfilled for the Messiah without a red heifer? Dr. Thiel answers these questions and also explains Who, according to Jesus’ words, the fate of the world really depends on.

Here is a link to that video: Red Heifers and the Fate of the World.

Notice also the following:

Chanan Kupietzky, an Orthodox Jewish resident of Efrat … pointed out … ” … 5783, the year in which the ceremony of the Red Heifer will be performed. This is an acronym for תהיה שנה פרה גאולה (It will be a year of the Red Heifer of redemption).”…
According to Jewish tradition, there will only be ten red heifers in human history with the tenth heifer ushering in the Messianic era. Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides), the most renowned medieval Jewish scholar known by the acronym Rambam, wrote in his explanation of the mitzvah that “the tenth red heifer will be accomplished by the king, the Messiah; may he be revealed speedily, Amen, May it be God’s will.” https://www.israel365news.com/274830/watch-red-heifers-arrive-in-israel/

Let me clearly state that the current year is not 5783 anno mundi, despite Jewish claims. Jewish scholars know full well that their ‘year count’ is off by over 200 years. For details, check out the article, Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?

We will see what “redemption” ceremony Jews may or may not perform this year (which for the Jews, the current year ends at sunset on September 15, 2023). While the Temple Institute has information about a Levitical priest conducting a red heifer sacrifice ceremony (see https://templeinstitute.org/red-heifer-the-ceremony/), despite the statement from Chanan Kupietzky, I have not seen anything from the Temple Institute suggesting it is about to have one of the red heifers killed soon.

However, it is likely that if one red heifer is still acceptable to the Temple Institute–hence the last and tenth one to come according to Jewish tradition–this sacrifice will happen in 2023 or 2024 as they do not want to have the red heifer be too old.

Why? Because if one truly is the tenth, the Jews will have a dilemma, the Jews cannot wait for the Messiah to do it because that is not something Jesus will do upon His return.

That said, regarding redemption, notice also the following:

11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:11-15)

Christians do not need any heifer, but certain Jews who reject Jesus’ sacrifice think that they do.

While Jesus DID NOT specifically mention a ‘red heifer’ as a sign to look for in Matthew 24, He did refer to the Book of Daniel, which discusses sacrifices being stopped (Daniel 9:27; 11:31). In order for them to be stopped, they first must be started. And if the Jews who want to re-institute animal sacrifices do not believe that they can without a red heifer, then having one would seem to be of prophetic significance.

Related to those five red heifers that arrived in Israel last September, we put out the following short video:

15:19
5 Red Heifers and Year 5783?
The Temple Institute announced that “5 perfect, unblemished red heifers arrived in Israel from the USA” on September 15, 2022.. Chanan Kupietzky, an Orthodox Jewish teacher, pointed out that last year was 5781 in the Jewish calendar, pointing to the year these red heifers were conceived, 5782 is when they were to arrive in Israel, and that the year beginning sunset September 25, 2022 is supposedly 5783, which is supposed to be the year of red heifer redemption. Is that the correct year anno mundi (year of the earth) or is 5989 to 5992 more in line with history? What about the claimed Shemitah year? Might the appearance of a proper red heifer encourage the Sanhedrin to begin regular animal sacrifices? Might political considerations result in the resumption of animal sacrifices? Does the Bible show that animal sacrifices in Israel will be stopped? Does possibly having a red heifer mean that a massive Jewish temple is about to be rebuilt in Jerusalem? Do Christians need the sacrifice of Jesus or the blood of a red heifer to be purified? How close do we seem to be for Daniel 9:27b to be fulfilled?

Here is a link to our video: 5 Red Heifers and Year 5783?

While the fate of the world does not depend on red heifers, Jewish attitudes of prophecy seem to–hence having an acceptable red heifer looks to have prophetic ramifications.

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