Christian Churches of God
No. 216
Messiah and the Red Heifer
(Edition 1.0 19970705-19970705)
Modern Judaism has commenced to speak of the Red Heifer and have artificially
inseminated a beast with an embryo that produced a red heifer. This act was then taken to
be a miracle which, of itself, is held to justify the rebuilding of the Temple. What is the
significance of the Red Heifer and how does it relate to Messiah and his sacrifice? The
answers are surprising.
Christian Churches of God
PO Box 369,
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AUSTRALIA
Email: secretary@ccg.org
(Copyright © 1997 Wade Cox)
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Page 2
Messiah and the Red Heifer
Messiah and the Red Heifer
The following article appeared in the Wichita
Eagle, Sunday, June 1, 1997 with a photo of
Rabbi Shmaria Shore stroking the nose of
Melody, a 10-month-old heifer which happens
to be red. The appearance of a red heifer is
believed by some Israeli religious groups to be
a sign from God that it’s time to rebuild the
Jewish Temple of Jerusalem, destroyed by the
Romans nearly 2,000 years ago. The article
read:
Sign of the heifer?
Holy Land’s first red cow in 2,000 years creates a
theological sensation. By Dina Kraft Associated
Press
KFAR HASIDIM, Israel -- Some claim she is a
harbinger of the Messiah. Some call for her
destruction. Others find the attention she is getting
ridiculous.
Ten-month-old Melody, believed to be the first red
heifer born in the Holy Land in two millenniums,
seems happy just lying around in the shade. But the
debate over her theological import is one of the
more bizarre signs of the growing rupture between
religious and secular Israelis.
“The red heifer is one of the most important signs
that we are living in a special time,” says Gershon
Solomon, head of a group dedicated to rebuilding
the ancient Jewish Temple, destroyed by the
Romans in 70 A.D.
In ancient times, the ashes of a red heifer were
mixed with spring water to purify high priests
before they entered the temple. There are fears that
some extremist groups might interpret Melody’s
birth as a sign that the time is right to rebuild the
temple on the site that now houses some of the
holiest shrines in Islam.
Asked whether his group advocated that, Solomon
would say only that he believed the Dome of the
Rock and al-Aksa Mosque could be dismantled and
moved to Mecca -- a move that could hurt if not
destroy prospects for regional peace.
Even though mainstream religious groups have not
rallied around the cow, some secular Israelis see
her as a threat. “The potential harm from this heifer
is far greater than the destructive properties of a
terrorist bomb,” the liberal Haaretz newspaper
wrote recently, recommending Melody be shot.
Menachem Friedman, an expert on religious affairs
at Bar-Ilan University, said Melody’s birth created
“a very delicate situation.”
“We don’t know how radical groups ... will use it,”
he said. “People are looking for those signs, and
talking seriously about it.”
Melody’s birth 10 months ago caused a flurry of
media interest, coinciding with a religious revival
and coming shortly after an election in which
religious parties posted a record showing.
Shmaria Shore, the rabbi of this agricultural village
in northern Israel, said hundreds have flocked to
catch a glimpse of Melody.
Shore said pure red heifers seem to have died out in
Israel since the post-Temple period, and that it is
rare to see a red heifer without white or black spots.
He took pains to point out that Melody may not be
the genuine article because of several
imperfections. Shore, who immigrated to Israel
from New Haven, Conn., 24 years ago, hopped into
Melody’s pen and, magnifying lens in hand, coaxed
her over.
“Here, you see some white hairs,” he said, pointing
to the tail. “And here -- her eyelashes only start off
as red, but turn to black!”
Melody’s mother is from a group of visually
unremarkable black-and-white cows; but she was
artificially inseminated with sperm taken from an
anonymous bull in Switzerland.
A single gene is responsible for color in cattle, and
mutations in either of two places can change the
color from black to red, said Jerry Taylor, a
professor of genetics in the animal science
department at Texas A&M. Both parents must
carry the red mutation and both must contribute it
to the offspring, he said.
Shai Ryter, a graphic artist from Tel Aviv, said all
the noise about the cow was absurd.
“Of course it’s crazy,” he said. “If you have to
make decisions according to these signs, I’d be
very worried.”
What is the significance of the red heifer and
more importantly how does it relate to the
Messiah and the Temple? Let us examine the
Bible texts on the matter.
Jeremiah 48:10 Cursed is he that does the work of
the Lord with slackness; and cursed is he who
keeps back his sword from bloodshed.
It is right to determine the work of God with
zeal. However, it must be correct.
Numbers 19:1-13 Now the LORD said to Moses
2
and to Aaron, “This is the statute of the law which
the LORD has commanded: Tell the people of
Messiah and the Red Heifer
Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in
which there is no blemish, and upon which a yoke
3
has never come.
And you shall give her to
Elea’zar the priest, and she shall be taken outside
4
the camp and slaughtered before him;
and
Elea’zar the priest shall take some of her blood
with his finger, and sprinkle some of her blood
toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times.
5
And the heifer shall be burned in his sight; her
skin, her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall
6
be burned; and the priest shall take cedarwood
and hyssop and scarlet stuff, and cast them into the
7
midst of the burning of the heifer. Then the priest
shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water,
and afterwards he shall come into the camp; and the
8
priest shall be unclean until evening. He who
burns the heifer shall wash his clothes in water and
bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until
9
evening. And a man who is clean shall gather up
the ashes of the heifer, and deposit them outside the
camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the
congregation of the people of Israel for the water
10
for impurity, for the removal of sin. And he who
gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his
clothes, and be unclean until evening. And this
shall be to the people of Israel, and to the stranger
11
who sojourns among them, a perpetual statute.
“He who touches the dead body of any person shall
12
be unclean seven days; he shall cleanse himself
with the water on the third day and on the seventh
day, and so be clean; but if he does not cleanse
himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he
13
will not become clean. Whoever touches a dead
person, the body of any man who has died, and
does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of
the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from
Israel; because the water for impurity was not
thrown upon him, he shall be unclean; his
uncleanness is still on him. (RSV)
The purpose of the Red Heifer was to cleanse
the tent of meeting. It was to bear sin and the
impurity of Israel. The ashes were to be
gathered up and stored in a clean place outside
the camp. They were kept for the people of
Israel for the water for impurity. Thus, this
object was the source of the material used for
the sanctifying waters that purified Israel. This
whole structure was to combine to make the
sacrifice of purification. It is followed
immediately by the rite of the cleansing of
those that were impure by reason of their
handling a dead person.
All of these times and events relate back also
to the Passover Sacrifice. Christ is widely
understood to have been the Passover Sacrifice
and, by his death on 14 Nisan, he saved and
Page 3
sanctified Israel. He required, however, to
fulfil a number of other sacrifices at the same
time to enable the all saving aspect of the
redemption to take effect. All those that buried
Messiah were held to be unclean for seven
days. In other words, they were unclean up
until the last Holy Day of Unleavened Bread.
On the Passover, therefore, they had to see the
corpse down off the cross before sundown so
that the people were not unclean. Given some
of the rabbinical views, they would have been
unclean for the entirety of the feast. However,
the Dead Sea Scrolls show that the later
interpretations were wrong. They took the
body down before dark so that they did not
profane the first Holy Day. This Holy Day
commenced on the Wednesday evening at
nightfall. The Red Heifer was the instrument
that sanctified the people in this circumstance.
It was not the Passover lamb that performed
that function initially. It was for this reason
that Messiah had to be placed in a clean tomb
that had borne no other corpse. This was
symbolic of the remains of the heifer. Messiah
had to remain uncontaminated until his
ascension. His death satisfied multiple and,
indeed, the entire sacrificial requirements of
the Temple once and for all.
He was buried at sunset and his resurrection
was widely accepted in the early centuries as
being in the evening at sunset. Thus he was
three full days in the tomb from sunset to
sunset. The ancient letter of Pilate to Tiberius
Caesar (in the first Greek form) says:
And on the evening of the first day of the week
there was a sound out of the heavens, so that the
heaven became enlightened seven-fold more than
all the days. And at the third hour of the night also
the sun was seen brighter than it had ever shone
before, lighting up all the heaven.
The second Greek form (whether one or both
are genuine or not) states the following:
And on the first of the week, about the third hour of
the night, the sun was seen such as it had never at
any time shone, and all the heaven was lighted up
... (ANF, Vol. VIII, pp. 460-463).
Pilate was held to have later become a
Christian. The letter seems to indicate that the
darkness that covered the earth on the
Page 4
crucifixion was understood to have been
replaced by light at the resurrection which was
signalled by light up until the third hour or
9 pm. This was understood as being
accompanied by the heavenly Host and a
number of resurrections from the dead. Some
manuscripts detail 500 resurrections took
place (ibid.).
The purpose, here, is to note the texts as
understanding the resurrection to have taken
place at the beginning of the evening of the
first day of the week. Thus, Messiah was in the
tomb three days and three nights. This clean
receptacle was symbolic of the receptacle for
the remains of sanctification.
This sacrifice was also the mark of salvation
and the inheritance of Israel given to Abraham.
Genesis 15:1-21 After these things the word of the
LORD came to Abram in a vision, “Fear not,
Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very
2
great.” But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what wilt
thou give me, for I continue childless, and the heir
3
of my house is Elie’zer of Damascus?” And
Abram said, “Behold, thou hast given me no
offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my
4
heir.” And behold, the word of the LORD came to
him, “This man shall not be your heir; your own
5
son shall be your heir.” And he brought him
outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and
number the stars, if you are able to number them.”
Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants
6
be.” And he believed the LORD; and he reckoned
7
it to him as righteousness. And he said to him, “I
am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the
8
Chalde’ans, to give you this land to possess.” But
he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I
9
shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a
heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a
ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young
10
pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them
in two, and laid each half over against the other;
11
but he did not cut the birds in two. And when
birds of prey came down upon the carcasses,
12
Abram drove them away. As the sun was going
down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread
13
and great darkness fell upon him.
Then the
LORD said to Abram, “Know of a surety that your
descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not
theirs, and will be slaves there, and they will be
14
oppressed for four hundred years; but I will bring
judgment on the nation which they serve, and
afterward they shall come out with great
15
possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your
fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old
16
age. And they shall come back here in the fourth
generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not
Messiah and the Red Heifer
17
yet complete.” When the sun had gone down and
it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a
18
flaming torch passed between these pieces. On
that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from
the river of Egypt to the great river, the river
19
Euphra’tes,
the land of the Ken’ites, the
20
Ken’izzites, the Kad’monites,
the Hittites, the
21
Per’izzites, the Reph’aim,
the Amorites, the
Canaanites, the Gir’gashites and the Jeb’usites.”
(RSV)
God told Abraham he would receive an
inheritance. Eliezar of Damascus was his heir
at that time. He was also told to sacrifice a
heifer, a she-goat and a ram all three years’ old
with the dove and the pigeon.
This sacrifice pointed towards the heir and the
replacement of the priesthood symbolised by
Eliezar with the sons of the promise of the
priesthood of Melchisedek. The sacrifices
were three years old, seemingly symbolising
the witness of the ministry of Messiah and
John the Baptist (see the papers The Sign of
Jonah and the History of the Reconstruction
of the Temple (No. 13) and Timing of the
Crucifixion and the Resurrection (No. 159)).
The sun was dark at the evening as it was with
the crucifixion and, at evening when it was
dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch
passed between the pieces of the sacrifices
which had been split in two. The birds were
not so split signifying the Holy Spirit and its
role in the process. The presence of God is
symbolised here passing between the pieces
which was identified with the establishment of
His covenant. This process involved the
promise of the birthright and the redemption
of the nations of Abraham within Israel which
would bear the messianic promise. This act
looked towards the covenant that would be
fulfilled in Messiah.
The sacrifice of an unyoked heifer also
involves guilt and judgment.
Deuteronomy 21:1-9 “If in the land which the
LORD your God gives you to possess, any one is
found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not
2
known who killed him, then your elders and your
judges shall come forth, and they shall measure the
distance to the cities which are around him that is
3
slain; and the elders of the city which is nearest to
the slain man shall take a heifer which has never
been worked and which has not pulled in the yoke.
Messiah and the Red Heifer
4
Page 5
And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer
down to a valley with running water, which is
neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the
5
heifer’s neck there in the valley. And the priests
the sons of Levi shall come forward, for the LORD
your God has chosen them to minister to him and to
bless in the name of the LORD, and by their word
6
every dispute and every assault shall be settled.
And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain
man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose
7
neck was broken in the valley; and they shall
testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, neither
8
did our eyes see it shed. Forgive, O LORD, thy
people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and set
not the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of thy
people Israel; but let the guilt of blood be forgiven
9
them.’ So you shall purge the guilt of innocent
blood from your midst, when you do what is right
in the sight of the LORD. (RSV)
which was given as the distance of the tribes
from the Ark of the Covenant on the march.
The cities then had a thousand cubits for the
Levites as pasture grounds and then the outer
areas from the wall were also two thousand
cubits (see Num. 35:1-5). The law forbade
anyone but the sons of Aaron to camp in the
east of the tabernacle and anyone who came
into that area was to be put to death (Num.
3:38). This applied also to Jerusalem. Then the
sons of Aaron sanctified the Kohathites (Num.
4:19ff.) and so on down to each level of the
priesthood and of the nation. Thus, the
sacrifice and sanctification process began at
the high priest and worked through the orders
of the priesthood and the nation.
In this way also, the guilt of innocent blood
was purged from Israel. The unyoked
requirement signifies freedom from slavery to
another religious system.
The sacrifices were understood according to
the Mishnah as follows:
1. Jerusalem did not have to bring a heifer
whose neck is to be broken (9.2. H Neusner
Mishnah, Yale University Press, p. 462).
2. A blemish does not invalidate the heifer for
the blood guilt (9.5.C, ibid.).
3. The elders of the town wash their hands in
the place where the heifer’s neck was
broken saying: Our hands have not shed
this blood (9.6.A & B, p. 463). Pilate did
this for them in the case of Messiah.
4. The priests say Forgive O, Lord your
people Israel whom you have redeemed,
and do not allow innocent blood in the
midst of your people Israel (Deut. 21:8;
9.6.F). They did not have to say: And the
blood shall be forgiven them (Deut. 21:8)
because it is a function of God through
Messiah and not of the priesthood.
5. The red heifer is traditionally slain in a
rugged valley (9.5.D). (Hence across the
Kidron.)
6. If the neck of the red heifer is broken and
then the murderer is found, then the
murderer is to be put to death in its place. If
he is found before the heifer is killed then
the heifer is not required to be killed and
goes to pasture. However, Messiah died for
the sins of the world and the blood guilt
was on Israel and could not be removed
except through his sacrifice.
7. If murderers became many then the rite of
breaking the red heifer’s neck is cancelled
The power of judgment also passed into the
kingship. Thus, judgment also rested with
Messiah, again symbolised by this form of
sacrifice.
1Samuel 16:1-5 The LORD said to Samuel, “How
long will you grieve over Saul, seeing I have
rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your
horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the
Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king
2
among his sons.” And Samuel said, “How can I
go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the
LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I
3
have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ And invite
Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you
shall do; and you shall anoint for me him whom I
4
name to you.”
Samuel did what the LORD
commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of
the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do
5
you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably; I
have come to sacrifice to the LORD; consecrate
yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.”
And he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited
them to the sacrifice. (RSV)
The sons of Jesse were both the sacrifice and
the guests. Messiah was of the line of David
through Nathan and also secondarily of Levi
through Shimei (see the paper Genealogy of
the Messiah (No. 119)).
The red heifer was sacrificed outside of the
camp. This could not be closer than the one
thousand yards from the Ark of the Covenant
Page 6
(9.9.I.A). This cancellation was based on
Hosea 4:14.
The composite rules of the Mishnah regarding
other sacrifices and red heifers are:
A. The red heifer is not to be kept waiting
unless a hair turns black [and] it should not
[otherwise] become unfit (1.1.E.2; pp.
1012-1035).
B. If there were on it, two black hairs or white
ones inside a single follicle it is unfit
(2.5.A, p. 1015).
C. If they were in two hollows or opposite
[adjacent] to one another, it is unfit. R.
Aqiba says Even four even five, and they
are scattered about - let one uproot them.
Eliezer says even fifty but Joshua b. Beterah
says even one on its head and one on its tail
it is unfit.
The Midrash has conflict in the interpretation
and thus the red heifer now in Israel would be
unfit, but Aquiba would root them out and this
is no doubt what will be done. When two
rabbis disagree, who is right? The answer
would be given both of them. So it will be the
case here.
Seven days before the burning of the cow they
bring the priest from his house to the chamber
and bring him into the north-east corner of the
Temple building called the stone house
(3.1.A). He is purified with the waters of
purification. He is sprinkled every day for
seven days (3.1.B). However, it is only to be
done on the third and the seventh days
according to R. Yose (3.1.C) and this applies
to the one for the Day of Atonement.
Messiah and the Red Heifer
(Lev. 16:5) were all borne from the funds of
the heave offering of the [sheqel] chamber
(Div. 2, Sheqalim 4.2, ibid., p. 256). The ramp
for the red cow was at the high priest’s
expense according to Abba Saul (ibid., 4.2.C).
The cow went alone (Div. 6, ibid., 3.7, cf.
Num. 19:3).
The elders of Israel preceded them on foot to
the Mount of Olives where there was a house
for immersion (3.7.F,G). They rendered the
priest who burns the cow unclean because of
the Sadducees (3.7.H) (i.e. the literal intent of
the Bible) so that they could not say that it was
done by one on whom the sun has set (3.7.I).
So they immersed him once here before the
sacrifice (3.8.A-C, cf. Neusner, ibid., p. 1017).
The high priest was immersed there and the
logs of wood were laid out for a fire. It was
made into a kind of tower and windows were
in it facing westward (3.8.A-D) – in other
words, back to the Temple Mount.
Water was taken from the pool at Siloam by
youth detailed for the task.
The heifer was bound and laid with its head
southward and its face westward (3.9.A). The
priest stood on the east and slaughtered the
animal with his right hand facing towards the
west and received the blood in his left hand.
He then dipped his finger in the blood and
sprinkled seven times, once for each dipping,
towards the house of the Holy of Holies
(3.9.B-G).
The Mishnah records that there were
courtyards in Jerusalem built on rock which
had hollows under them so that there could be
no grave beneath for these purification rites.
Having completed sprinkling, he wiped his
hand on the body of the animal. He then
descended and kindled the fire, which Aqiba
says were the dry branches of palm trees.
(These were waved before Messiah the
previous first day of the week or Sunday,
perhaps symbolically.)
The priest proceeds from the Temple Mount to
the Mount of Olives. A cup, with stones, is
filled from the pool of Siloam (Div. 6, Purities
3.3, pp. 1015-1016). They made a causeway
from the Temple Mount to the Mount of
Olives with arches (ibid., 3.6). The costs of the
Red Heifer, the Azazel goat and the red thread
The heifer was burnt and cedar hyssop and
scarlet wool were bound together and thrown
into the fire and the beast was then beaten with
rods and crushed with stone hammers and
stone sieves. The ashened cinders and the bone
Messiah and the Red Heifer
are crushed and the rest is left (3.10; 3.11.AE).
The ashes are divided into three parts – one is
placed on the rampart (3.11.G), one is placed
on the Mount of Olives (3.11.H) and one is
divided among all the priestly watches
(3.11.I).
The act is done in white garments and it must
be aimed directly at the Holy of Holies (4.1 to
4.2). The regulations concerning the mixing of
the waters of purification are extensive and
quite too tedious to be concerned with here.
The red heifer is required for the purification
of those who were unclean because of dead
bodies and other matters. We see from the
Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q, 276-277, Frag. 1) that
they were only considered unclean until the
evening from and by this process (see Wise,
Abegg and Cook, The Dead Sea Scrolls: A
New Translation, Hodder and Stoughton,
1996, pp. 284-285). However, the sun must set
on them for this purpose (4QMMT:4Q394399, Section B5, ibid., p. 360, cf. Num. 19:210; Mishnah Parah 3.7; 4.4)
The tenth heifer
Much has been made about the heifer now in
Israel being the tenth heifer. This number
sequence is thought by Judaism to have a
specific application to Messiah and to the
establishment of the Temple.
The explanation of this thinking is found in
the Mishnah (Parah 3.5). The numbering of
the significant heifers prepared under the law
is taken from this text as being prepared by the
following people in the restoration of the
tabernacle or temple system:
 The first was prepared by Moses.
 The second was prepared by Ezra.
 Five were held to have been prepared from
Ezra onwards (according to R. Meir 3.5.D).
Seven were prepared from Ezra onwards
according to the sages (3.5.E).
The seven were held to have been prepared as
follows:
Page 7
 Simeon the Righteous and Yohanan the
High Priest did two each.
 Elyehoenia b. Haqqof, and Hanamel the
Egyptian, and Ishmael b. Phiabi did one
each. The Ishmael b. Phiabi here is the first
who was high priest circa 15-16 CE. He
was appointed by Valerius Gratus (15-26
CE). Ishmael b. Phiabi II was high priest in
circa 59-61 CE. He was appointed by
Agrippa II and was seemingly executed at
Cyrene. Many at this time had gone over to
the Romans including the high priests
(Josephus, Wars, VI 2, 2; see Shurer,
History of the Jewish People in the Age of
Jesus Christ, Vol. II, pp. 230,231,234).
The concept is that the great periods involving
the Temple had one of the Great High Priests
preparing it. The tenth red heifer is to be done
to herald the reconstruction of the Temple and
the last and greatest High Priest, namely
Messiah. The argument rests on the process of
the restoration and the views of the rabbinical
authorities during the Temple Period and the
commentators on the law.
Messiah was the last red heifer, the Passover
and High Priest designate all in one. The Jews
are essentially correct in their understanding of
the significance but refuse to accept that it has
already happened.
The high priest in the year of the sacrifice and
dedication was Joseph surnamed Caiaphas (Jn.
18:24; cf. Schurer, ibid.). He was high priest
from 18-36 CE. He prophesied the year of the
crucifixion that Jesus was going to die for the
nation (Jn. 11:51).
The trial of Christ before Annas mentioned in
John 18 was not a formal trial and could only
have been a preliminary hearing to commit
him to trial. Annas could only have been a
divisional or deputy high priest and not the
high priest as we know from the text. He then
sent Christ to the high priest (Jn. 18:24) who,
as President of the Sanhedrin (beth din), could
only try Christ on a capital charge with the full
seventy one, or the subdivision of twenty
three, of the Sanhedrin to hear it (see Mishnah
Sanhedrin 1.1.E-F; cf. Schurer, ibid., p. 225).
Page 8
Annas is mentioned as high priest with
Caiaphas in Luke 3:2 in the fifteenth year of
Tiberius, i.e. 27/28 CE. He may have been the
Ab-beth-din or the President of the Sanhedrin.
Schurer holds that the terms Nasi and Ab-bethdin were only used of the ruler or actual head
of state and his deputy exclusively until postMishnaic times. The title Rosh-beth-din has
the same significance (mR.Sh. 2.7; 4.4; cf.
ibid., p. 217). Schurer understands the high
priest as being the Ab-beth-din. Schurer holds
that the term Nasi is not applied until Judah
ha-Nasi at the end of the second century CE
(see Schurer, ibid., p. 217 and n. 72). Mantel
shows the various theories that the practice
came in the first century CE (Gamaliel II or
Yohanen b. Zakkai, cf. ibid.).
The New Testament seems to be evidence that
the practice was introduced from this period in
the long reign of Caiaphas and that Schurer is
wrong. However, there is no evidence that the
terms were used outside of the ruling
Sanhedrin.
In terms of tenure, Joseph Caiaphas was at
least equal with the former high priests
mentioned – although the Mishnah makes
more of Ishmael for whatever reason.
The ninth and tenth heifers were already
sacrificed long ago. If the ninth heifer was
sacrificed by Ishmael ben Phiabi as the
Mishnah claims, then that was in 15/16 CE
and was coincidental with the Messiah
achieving adulthood under the law at 20 years
of age.
Messiah and the Red Heifer
The tenth heifer was sacrificed in 30 CE by
and under the high priesthood of Joseph
Caiaphas and Annas as seen above. This tenth
heifer symbolised the sacrifice of Messiah and
the dedication of the new Temple in 30/31 CE
built not of human hands but with the Holy
Spirit and which was composed of blocks of
living stones.
The tenth heifer was thus already long gone
before the destruction of the Temple. The
symbolism built up to Jesus Christ who was
Messiah. This new attempt is like trying to reinvent the wheel. It is a specific attempt to
deny Messiah in the face of the entire evidence
that substantiates his authenticity and the
dedication of the spiritual Temple built with
the Holy Spirit and power of God.
Judaism is without excuse in its rejection of
Messiah. The Temple was destroyed because it
had to be destroyed in order to be replaced by
a spiritual edifice not built by human hands.
The tenth heifer sanctified a new priesthood of
the order of Melchisedek which replaced the
old order of Aaron.
We now turn to the site and the sacrifice
which occurred at the Mount of Olives. What
is the significance of the matter to the ministry
of the Messiah? This is examined in the paper
Golgotha: the Place of the Skull (No. 217).
q