The Red Heifer Ritual
Many times, I have referenced Jesus as being the only perfect sacrifice that the Father would ever accept to cover for all our sins. Hebrews 10:10-11“By His will, we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all. And every priest stands day after day serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again – sacrifices that can never take away sin.” Hebrews 10:14 “For by one offering, He has perfected for all time, those who have been made holy.” Finally, Hebrews 10:17-18 “…then He says, their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no longer. Now, where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.” (All Emphasis Mine.)
Hebrews 9:13-14 “For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow (red heifer) sprinkled on those who are defiled, consecrated them and provided ritual purity, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works, to worship the Living God?”
Hebrews 9:22, 28 “Indeed, according to the law, almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness… so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly await Him, He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring Salvation.”
Numbers 19 tells about a red-heifer ritual. The Israelites were to bring a red heifer to the Tent (Temple) without blemish, which has no defect and has never carried a yoke. In the news today, it is believed a young red heifer has been born in Israel which would fulfill a requirement that would be used to cleanse the Temple, which means the new Temple could be ready to be built.
There have been candidates for the “perfect red heifer” in the past; however, all have been found to have either too many off-color hairs or blemishes and were disqualified. Part of the requirement is very strict that the heifer has no more than 2 non-red hairs, and there can be no off-color spots or any blemishes of any kind. It can never have been mated or have performed any kind of labor which would require a yoke being placed on it.
When the red heifer is found that can pass a Levitical Priest exam, it is to be sacrificed “outside the gates” of Jerusalem, and some of the blood from the heifer is to be sprinkled 7 times in front of the Tent (Temple). Afterward, the heifer is to be burned and the ashes saved. The main Temple Priest had to witness the entire sacrificial procedure.
The red-heifer ritual started anytime from 1,200 to 1,500 years before our Messiah walked on this earth. Jesus was without blemish spiritually as He never sinned. (Believe it or not, there are some Evangelical preachers that are saying He probably sinned at least once.) He never married; and other than possibly learning the carpenter trade from Joseph, He did not use manual labor to earn a living. He was crucified outside the Gate of Jerusalem, and bled from 7 places on His body – both wrists, both feet, His back from the scourging, His head from the crown of thorns, and His side where the spear pierced Him.
God showed through His death that Jesus – the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Sacrificial Lamb of God – fulfilled all requirements when the veil of the Temple was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51 and Mark 15:38). Also, the absolute Top Priest of all time – the Heavenly Father – witnessed the entire sacrifice and declared it to be complete. When Jesus said, “It is Finished!” He was proclaiming on behalf of the Father that everything necessary had been done with this one final sacrifice. All before this, and all that has happened and will happen since the crucifixion, are for ritual purposes only.
Someone might find it hard to believe that a part of the Creator of this world would go through such agony for sinners such as we all are (Romans 3:23). John 3:16-18 tells us God loves us with a love we can only imagine, but it is only valid for those who accept His Son. Romans 5:8 tells us that “while we were yet sinners,” which means He knew we could not provide the necessary requirements. Myself? I definitely could not be certified or perfect in any manner, shape or form, and no matter what, could not buy even one second of time in Heaven. I rely on My Jesus and His sacrifice to cover my sins in the eyes of the Father.
God knew when He first made His creation in Genesis 1:1 that He would someday have to provide the means to save us. Some people actually believe Jesus was “created” by God to come when He did, just to be our sacrifice. Satan is a creation; Jesus is God!
How about John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by Him, and apart from Him, not one thing was created that has been created.” To speak as plain as possible – Jesus is also God (John 10:30) and is not a created being.
We see love in a very different way than the Father does. His love is for our eternal souls, and He is truly concerned about where we will end up (2 Peter 3:9). He also loves us so much that He does not force us to love or accept Him or His Son, but leaves it to us to come of our own “free will.” That is a pure form of love that could never happen if it were forced. He also allows us the free will to reject Him and His Son, but lets us know the consequences will be fully our own (Revelation 20:11-15).
Jesus says we are to love everyone, but this is not a sexual thing. It was to be a love of everyone’s souls that were created by Our Heavenly Father, as all are our Brothers and Sisters. He knows there will be people we don’t like, as He had some serious problems with the religious leaders of the day. He loved them in spite of themselves; and if they ever repented and accepted Him after the crucifixion, we will see them in Heaven. If not, He will still love them, but sadly allow them to take their place in the Lake of Fire.
God has provided all we need in the Bible to understand what He has done to try to make sure everyone has the chance to be with Him and Jesus forever. Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13 says that ALL who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.
It’s up to us to decide. He will turn no one away who truly accepts Jesus and His sacrifice that He made for us. The day will come when Jesus calls all the true believers to meet Him in the air/clouds (Rapture), and after that it will be harder to turn to Him. Anyone who accepts Jesus during the Tribulation will be almost certain to be martyred as there will be no tolerance for any Christian. By the way, that day is very near as we are definitely in the season spoken of by Jesus and others in the Bible.
Today would not be too early to come to Him. Putting it off could be the worst mistake you could ever make. Satan’s biggest lie is that there is “plenty of time” to accept Jesus later. We are not guaranteed even the next hour, much less plenty of time. He is waiting, listening and hoping for your call. You will be welcomed to His family, and He will prepare a place for you to be with Him forever.
Maranatha