© Copyright Double Portion Inheritance, March 2012
Scripture tells us that after YaHuWaH brought Yisra’el into the Promised Land, they were to slaughter the Passover Lamb only in Jerusalem, “Where he has chosen to place his name.”
Thus, there are two altars in Jerusalem:
This is precisely why the veil in the temple was torn in half, at the precise moment when our Messiah drew his last breath, thus giving up his spirit (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). The Mount of Olives is also where Yahuwshuwa prayed the night before his crucifixion (Luke 22:39; John 8:1).
This would explain why Pope Benedict conducted a Roman Catholic Mass at the base of the Mount of Olives in 2009!
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 9:6 Whoso sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of Elohiym made he man.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:1 After these things the word of YHWH came to Abram in a vision, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:10 And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see you to it.
Most people are familiar with the concept of our Messiah as “The Passover Lamb” in the Briyth Chadashah (New Testament) Scriptures. I will now cite every place in Scripture (from Genesis to Revelation), where our Messiah is described as the Passover Lamb.
Aleph Qorintiym (1st Corinthians) 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Messiah our Passover is sacrificed for us.
Chazown (Revelation) 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Yahuwchanon (John) 1:29 The next day Yahuwchanon (John) saw Yahuwshuwa (Jesus) coming unto him, and said, Behold the Lamb of Elohiym, which takes away the sin of the world.
Yahuwchanon (John) 1:36 And looking upon Yahuwshuwa (Jesus) as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of Elohiym!
Maaseh Shlichiym (Acts) 8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.
Aleph Keefa (1st Peter) 1:19 But with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
Chazown (Revelation) 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of Elohiym sent forth into all the earth.
Chazown (Revelation) 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Chazown (Revelation) 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.
Shemoth (Exodus) 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats.
For those who believe in the validity of the New Testament Scriptures aka the Briyth Chadashah, it is apparent that the Messiah of Yisra’el fulfilled the pattern of the Passover Lamb. However, for a Yahuwdiy (Jew) who does not believe that Yahuwshuwa (Jesus) is the Messiah of Yisra’el, the concept of him as the Passover Lamb presents a problem from the Mosaic Law (Towrah).
For those who believe in the validity of the New Testament Scriptures aka the Briyth Chadashah, it is apparent that the Messiah of Yisra’el fulfilled the pattern of the Passover Lamb. However, for a Yahuwdiy (Jew) who does not believe that Yahuwshuwa (Jesus) is the Messiah of Yisra’el, the concept of him as the Passover Lamb presents a problem from the Mosaic Law (Towrah).
One such problem is that the Passover Lamb was to be sacrificed in the Temple, just like every other animal sacrifice (Deuteronomy 16:5-6). The only sacrifice that is to be done “outside the camp,” or outside the city limits of Jerusalem, is the Red Heifer (Numbers 19:3).
And since our Messiah was not sacrificed in the temple, many Yahuwdiym (Jews) disqualify him as the Messiah and the Passover Lamb. What they fail to see, is that he was also fulfilling the pattern of the Red Heifer, in addition to the Passover Lamb. Stay with me, and you will see the prophetic patterns that Yahuwshuwa fulfilled as the Red Heifer.
What is the Significance of the Red Heifer?
What does a red heifer have to do with the end times? Before we explore that question directly, it is important to understand the significance of a red heifer in Scripture. To meet the requirements of the Towrah, a red heifer was needed to help accomplish the purification of Yisra’el from uncleanness—specifically, the ashes of a red heifer were needed (see Numbers 19).
Because red heifer ashes were necessary for the purification rites held at the temple, many have regarded the appearance of a red heifer today as heralding the construction of the third temple and the return of Messiah.
According to rabbinical tradition, there have been nine red heifers sacrificed since Moses’ time. Since the destruction of the second temple, no red heifers have been slaughtered. The rabbi Maimonides (1135-1204 A.D.) taught that the tenth red heifer would be sacrificed by the Messiah himself (Parah Adumah, chapters 3-4).
The Temple Institute, (a group advocating the construction of a third temple), reports that five flawless red heifers from Texas arrived in Israel on September 15, 2022, and they were accessed on 9/22/22:
Many people view this event as a fulfilment of prophecy, since the acquisition of a red heifer is a major step forward in plans for a new temple. The Mosaic Law (Towrah) specified that the red heifer was to be “without defect or blemish,” and to “have never borne a yoke” (Numbers 19:2). This explains why our Messiah described his “yoke” as being easy and light (Matthew 11:30).
The sacrifice of the red heifer was unique in that it uses a female animal, and it was sacrificed away from the entrance to the tabernacle; and it was the only sacrifice in which the color of the animal was specified.
The slaughtering of a red heifer is described in Numbers 19:1-10. Eleazar the priest was to oversee the ritual outside the camp of Yisra’el. After the animal was killed, Eleazar was to sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tabernacle seven times (verse 4).
What is also interesting, is that the name “Eleazar” means “Elohiym is my help.” This is an allusion to the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) who was sent by our Messiah to be our “helper” (John 14:26).
Then he left camp again and oversaw the burning of the carcass of the red heifer (verse 5). As the red heifer burned, the priest was to add “some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool” to the fire (verse 6). The ashes of the red heifer were then collected and stored “in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp.”
To learn the prophetic significance of the cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool, see my other blog: The Yom Kippur Twin Goats Fulfilled in Messiah
The ashes were used “In the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin” (Numbers 19:9). The Towrah goes on to detail when and how the ashes of the red heifer were used in purifying those who came in contact with a dead body:
“Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days. They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean” (verses 11-12).
The purification process involved the ashes of the red heifer in this way:
“Put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle . . . anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death” (verses 17-18).
The commands concerning the red heifer were yet another foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Messiah for the uncleanness of Yisra’el---specifically the sin of shedding innocent blood.
Our Messiah, Yahuwshuwa was “without blemish,” just as the red heifer was to be. As the heifer was sacrificed “outside the camp” (Numbers 19:3), Yahuwshuwa was crucified outside of the city limits of Jerusalem (Hebrews 13:11-13).
And, just as the ashes of the red heifer cleansed people from the contamination of death, so the sacrifice of Messiah saves us from the penalty and corruption of death. The red heifer ritual, as established in the Mosaic Law (Towrah) was fairly simple; in the interval since that time, Judaism has added many standards and extra criteria.
Talmudic tradition speaks of the type of rope the red heifer was to be bound with, the direction it was to face when being slaughtered, the words spoken by the priest, the wearing of sandals during the ritual, etc.
The rabbinical rules listed many things that would disqualify a red heifer from being sacrificed:
1.) If she had been ridden or leaned on.
2.) If she had a garment placed over her.
3.) If a bird had rested on her.
4.) If she had two black or white hairs.
These and many other conditions not found in the biblical text, have made the qualification of the Red Heifer very stringent.
According to the prophesies in Daniel, and Revelation, there will indeed be a third temple of Elohiym in Jerusalem. This is where “The Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition,” shall defile and desecrate the temple, thereby causing Jerusalem to become desolate (see Daniel 8:11; 11:31; 12:11; Matthew 24:15-21; 2nd Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 11:1-2).
Assuming those who dedicate the end-times temple follow the Towrah, they will need the ashes of a red heifer, mixed with water, for the ceremonial cleansing. If a blemish-free red heifer has truly been found in Yisra’el, that could be one more piece falling into place for the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
Our Messiah taught us in Matthew 24:15-21, that the great tribulation cannot begin until we “See the Abomination of Desolation standing in the holy place.” This language is describing the inner sanctuary of the temple, where the False Messiah will erect a graven image to the beast:
Scripture explicitly compares the red heifer ceremony with the greater sacrifice of Messiah:
“The ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to Elohiym, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living Elohiym.” (Hebrews 9:13-14).
Scripture tells us that after YaHuWaH brought Yisra’el into the Promised Land, they were to slaughter the Passover Lamb only in Jerusalem, “Where he has chosen to place his name.”
Where & When Does Towrah Command That We Kill the Passover?
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 16:2 You shall therefore sacrifice the Passover unto YHWH your Elohiym, of the flock and the herd, in the place which YHWH shall choose to place his name there.
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 16:6 But at the place which YHWH your Elohiym shall choose to place his name in, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at evening, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you came forth out of Mitzrayim (Egypt).
Where Has YaHuWaH Chosen To Place His Name?
Aleph Melekiym (1st Kings) 11:36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that Dawiyd (David) my servant may have a light always before me in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.
Beyth Melekiym (2nd Kings) 21:4 And he built altars in the house of YHWH, of which YHWH said, In Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) will I put my name.
Beyth Melekiym (2nd Kings) 21:7 And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which YHWH said to Dawiyd (David), and to Shelomo (Solomon) his son, In this house, and in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), which I have chosen out of all tribes of Yisra’el, will I put my name forever.
Beyth Melekiym (2nd Kings) 23:27 And YHWH said, I will remove Yahuwdah (Judah) also out of my sight, as I have removed Yisra’el, and will cast off this city Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.
2nd Chronicles 6:6 But I have chosen Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), that my name might be there; and have chosen Dawiyd (David) to be over my people Yisra’el.
2nd Chronicles 33:4 Also he built altars in the house of YHWH, whereof YHWH had said, In Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) shall my name be forever.
2nd Chronicles 33:7 And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of Elohiym, of which Elohiym had said to Dawiyd (David) and to Shelomo (Solomon) his son, In this house, and in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), which I have chosen before all the tribes of Yisra’el, will I put my name forever.
Since our Messiah was slaughtered outside the city limits of Jerusalem (at the Place of the Skull), many Yahuwdiym (Jews) disqualify him as the Passover Lamb. What they fail to recognize, is that our Messiah was killed in the very same place where Abraham offered up his son, Yitzchaq (Isaac) on Mount Moriah!
Since our Messiah was slaughtered outside the city limits of Jerusalem (at the Place of the Skull), many Yahuwdiym (Jews) disqualify him as the Passover Lamb. What they fail to recognize, is that our Messiah was killed in the very same place where Abraham offered up his son, Yitzchaq (Isaac) on Mount Moriah!
1.) In the Temple, where all the animal sacrifices are to be offered.
2.) At the Mount of Olives where the Red Heifer is to be offered outside of the city.
Rico Cortes explained in one of his lectures, that Yitzchaq (Isaac) was offered up by Abraham on Mount Moriah, which today, is located at the base of the Mount of Olives. In other words, the altar that redeems the first-born sons of Yisrael, is not in the temple!
This is because the blood of bulls and goats never took away sins in the first place! They were always meant to portray a shadow of our Messiah, Yahuwshuwa, who is also “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Hebrews 4:3; 1:20 & Revelation 13:8).
The Towrah teaches that the “altar” sanctifies the sacrifice:
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 23:19 You fools and blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
Shemoth (Exodus) 40:10 And you shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.
As previously noted, in Numbers 19 there is an ordinance for the Red Heifer sacrifice to be killed, whenever the altar in the temple had become defiled. A perfect Red Heifer was to be escorted outside the city walls of Jerusalem, and then killed by the priest. Afterward, the ashes of the Red Heifer would be used to cleanse the altar, and the articles of the temple.
Now we understand why our Messiah had to also perform the role of the Red Heifer. He was escorted outside the city limits of Jerusalem (to the place of the skull). There, he was killed, and his remains served as an offering to cleanse the altar in the temple!
This means that the “Holy Place” (where the Abomination of Desolation will be seen), may not necessarily be on the Dome of the Rock as many have speculated. It could effectively be on an altar built at the base of the Mount of Olives!
Is it possible that the Vatican knows that our Messiah was sacrificed in the same place where Isaac was offered up? Perhaps they were marking their so-called “territory” for the future Abomination of Desolation!
Since it is the sacrifice that sanctifies the altar in the temple, the altar had become defiled on the day of our Messiah’s crucifixion. This is because the Jewish Sanhedrin, whipped up the crowd to shout “Crucify him!” This was the precise moment that they had
shed innocent blood from their hearts. It was this act that brought the guilt of innocent blood upon the nation.
The penalty for the sin of shedding innocent blood, is that the person who shed the blood must be killed. And since it was the Kingdom of Yahuwdah (Judah) who shed innocent blood, this is one of the many reasons why our Messiah had to be born into the Tribe of Judah. In other words, he came to take the place of the guilty part (Judah) by dying in their place. And only those who later repented (such as the Apostle Shaul/Paul) would be cleansed of this blood guilt.
Yahuwshuwa also willingly offered up his own life as a ransom for the nation of Yisra’el, and because of this, he bore the sins of the guilty party, thus becoming “The scapegoat.”
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 9:6 Whoso sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of Elohiym made he man.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 35:33 So you shall not pollute the land wherein you are: for blood it defiles the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.
Mark 15:13 And they cried out again, Crucify him.
Mark 15:14 Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil has he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
Luke 23:21 But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.
Luke 11:50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation.
Luke 11:51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zachariah which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
As you can see, that generation from the Kingdom of Yahuwdah (Judah) disqualified themselves when they unanimously shouted “Crucify him, crucify him!”
As you can see, that generation from the Kingdom of Yahuwdah (Judah) disqualified themselves when they unanimously shouted “Crucify him, crucify him!”
The ashes of a Red Heifer was the only thing that could cleanse the altar in the temple that year, so that the Passover Lamb was acceptable to the Father in heaven.
Messiah Seen as the Red Heifer
Abriym (Hebrews) 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh.
Abriym (Hebrews) 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to Elohiym, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living Elohiym?
Abriym (Hebrews) 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to Elohiym, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living Elohiym?
As we delve into the significance of the Red Heifer, (and how it relates to the Messiah and the temple), we should examine the biblical texts on the matter.
1 Now YHWH said to Mosheh and to Aharown (Aaron),
2 This is the statute of the law which YHWH has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and upon which a yoke has never come.
*Note: This gives meaning to what Yahuwshuwa said in Matthew 11. The yoke is a symbol of slavery to a man-made religious system.
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 11:
28 Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:3 And you shall give her to Elea’zar the priest, and she shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered before him;
Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:4 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.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:5 And the heifer shall be burned in his sight; her skin, her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall be burned;
Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:6 And the priest shall take cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet stuff, and cast them into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterwards he shall come into the camp; and the priest shall be unclean until evening.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:8 He who burns the heifer shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until evening.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:9 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 Yisrael for the water for impurity, for the removal of sin.
*Note: The word “clean” in the above passage is the Hebrew word “tahor” which means “Ceremonially, or ritually clean.”
This is borne out in the fact that Joseph of Arimathea donated his brand new tomb “Wherein no dead body had ever been laid” according to John 19:41.
Additionally, Joseph of Arimathea was a righteous Pharisee, who would have been “Ceremonially, or ritually clean,” since he was a follower of our Messiah. Our Messiah had already pronounced his followers “Clean, through the word which he had spoken to them” (John 15:3).
Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:10 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 Yisrael, and to the stranger who sojourns among them, a perpetual statute.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:11 He who touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days;
Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:12 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 will not become clean.
*Note: Our Messiah was crucified on the 4th day of the week (what we today call Wednesday). He resurrected “After three days and three nights” (on the third day). The duration of that week of Unleavened Bread lasted for seven days according to Exodus 12:15.
*Note: Our Messiah was crucified on the 4th day of the week (what we today call Wednesday). He resurrected “After three days and three nights” (on the third day). The duration of that week of Unleavened Bread lasted for seven days according to Exodus 12:15.
This ordinance in Numbers 19 is meant to point us to the week of Unleavened Bread, wherein our Messiah was sacrificed on Passover. He was resurrected “on the third day,” (following his crucifixion) which was also “on the seventh day of the week” (just before sundown). It was after this, that he appeared to his disciples before the completion of the week of Unleavened Bread.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 19:13 Whoever touches a dead person, the body of any man who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of YHWH, 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.
The purpose of the Red Heifer was to cleanse the tent of meeting. It was to bear sin, and the impurity of Yisrael.
The ashes were to be gathered up and stored “Outside the camp, in a clean place” (Numbers 19:9). The phrase “Outside the camp,” is known to be the Mount of Olives, according to the Jewish Talmud, and the Targums. This is important to understand, because it is also the place where Isaac was offered up by Abraham.
What is the significance of the place for the ashes being stored as being a clean, or unused place?
Mark 15:43 Yahuwseph (Joseph) of Arimathea, an honorable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of Elohiym, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Yahuwshuwa.
Yahuwchanon (John) 19:38 And after this Yahuwseph (Joseph) of Arimathea, being a disciple of Yahuwshuwa, but secretly for fear of the Yahuwdiym (Jews), besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Yahuwshuwa: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Yahuwshuwa.
Yahuwchanon (John) 19:41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
Yahuwchanon (John) 19:41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.
The ashes of the Red Heifer were kept for the people of Yisra’el for the water of impurity. Thus, this object was the source of the material used for the sanctifying waters that purified the nation. This whole structure was 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. This means that those who had taken down our Messiah’s body from the cross, and buried him, had been made clean by virtue of his portrayal of the Red Heifer, and the blood and water which came forth from his side (John 19:34).
All these times and events relate back also to the Passover Sacrifice. Messiah is widely understood to have been the Passover Sacrifice and, by his death on 14th of Abib/Nissan, he saved and sanctified Yisra’el. He fulfilled a number of other sacrifices at the same time to enable the all-saving aspects 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 fourth day of the week, (what we today call Wednesday) in the 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. However, his role as the Red Heifer, is what qualified his role as the Passover Lamb. In other words, if he had not performed the pattern of the Red Heifer first, his role as the Passover Lamb would also have been disqualified, since the entire nation became guilty of innocent blood!
Our Messiah had to remain uncontaminated until his ascension. His death satisfied 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 Gospel of Matthew makes it clear that the resurrection took place before the sun went down on the seventh day of the week (what we today call Saturday). It was approaching the end of the Sabbath, which means Saturday evening before the sun went down. To learn more see my other blogs:
The word used in the King James Version is “dawn” (epiphosko) which can also mean “dusk” as the literal meaning is “a mixture of light and darkness.” It also means “to draw on.”
Luke 23:54 uses the same word “epiphosko” in this way: And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on [epiphosko].
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 28:1 In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn [draw on] toward the first [day] of the week, came Miryam (Mary) Magdalene and the other Miryam (Mary) to see the sepulchre.
*Note: The word “day” is italicized in the above passage in the King James Version, indicating that it was added by the English translators. This was not the daylight hours. This was approaching sundown on the Sabbath, which commences the first calendar date of the week. Thus, Saturday at sundown officially begins the first calendar day of the week.
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 28:2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the malak (angel) of YHWH descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 28:4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 28:5 And the malak (angel) answered and said unto the women, Fear not you: for I know that you seek Yahuwshuwa which was crucified.
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Master lay.
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 28:7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there shall you see him: lo, I have told you.
The resurrection of many righteous souls took place at the same time of Messiah's resurrection:
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 27:
50 Yahuwshuwa, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up his spirit.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the set-apart ones which slept arose,
53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
The purpose here is to note the texts as understanding the resurrection to have taken place at the end of the Sabbath. In other words, it was approaching the beginning 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 Yisra’el given to Abraham.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:2 But Abram said, “O Master ELOHIYM, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Elie’zer of Damascus?”
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir.”
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:4 And behold, the word of YHWH came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir.”
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:5 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 be.”
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:6 And he believed YHWH; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:7 And he said to him, “I am YHWH who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:8 But he said, “O Master ELOHIYM, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:9 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 pigeon.”
*Explanation: Our Messiah had a ministry that lasted for three and a half years (see Luke 4:25-26). All three of these sacrifices point us to him:
1.) The Red Heifer is for the cleansing of the altar.
2.) The she-goat is for Yom Kippur to make atonement for both Houses of Yisra’el (both brides of Jacob).
3.) The Ram is the substitute offering for the first-born sons of Yisra’el, which is done at Passover (Pesach).
These three sacrifices were divided in half, because later-on in history, Yisra’el would be divided as a nation, and become “Two Houses of Yisra’el.” The turtledove and pigeon are for sin offerings (Leviticus 12:6), therefore they were not divided in half.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:10 And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:11 And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and great darkness fell upon him.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:13 Then YHWH 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 oppressed for four hundred years;
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:14 but I will bring judgment on the nation which they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 15:18 On that day YHWH made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates...”
Elohiym 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.
These sacrifices pointed towards the heir, and the replacement of the priesthood symbolized by Eliezar with the sons of the promise of the priesthood of Melchizedek. The sacrifices were three years’ old, symbolizing the witness of the ministry of Messiah and John the Baptist, as well as the Two Witnesses in the future (Revelation 11:3).
The sun was darkened at the evening of Messiah’s crucifixion, just as it was dark as smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between the pieces of the sacrifices which had been split in two.
The presence of Elohiym is symbolized 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 Yisra’el 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 cleansing Yisra’el for the shedding of innocent blood:
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 21:
1 If in the land which YHWH your Elohiym gives you to possess, any one is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him,
2 Then your elders and your judges shall come forth, and they shall measure the distance to the cities which are around him that is slain;
3 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.
*Explanation: Our Messiah's yoke is easy and light, because he did the majority of the work for us, by dying the worst death anyone could ever suffer. The elders of Jerusalem were ruling in the Kingdom of Judah, and our Messiah was nearest of kin to them, because he born into the Tribe of Judah (Hebrews 7:14 & Revelation 5:5).
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 21:4 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 heifer’s neck there in the valley.
*Explanation: Even though our Messiah’s neck was not broken, the neck is symbolic of laying down one’s life for another (See Romans 16:4). We have all heard the expression. “I stuck out my neck for you.”
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 21:5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come forward, for YHWH your Elohiym has chosen them to minister to him and to bless in the name of YHWH, and by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled.
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 21:6 And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 21:7 And they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, neither did our eyes see it shed.
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 21:8 Forgive, O YHWH your people Yisra’el, whom you have redeemed, and set not the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Yisra’el; but let the guilt of blood be forgiven them.
9 So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of YHWH.
It has been rumored that Pontius Pilate later on became a believer in Messiah because of his wife Claudia who had foreboding dreams about the Messiah. Perhaps him washing his hands of innocent blood was a witness to the Red Heifer?
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 21:1-9 is an ordinance that was done to remove the guilt of innocent blood from Yisra’el. The unyoked requirement signifies freedom from slavery to another religious system. The power of judgment also passed into the kingship. Thus, judgment also rested with Messiah, again symbolized by this form of sacrifice.
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, 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 Numbers 35:1-5).
The Mosaic Law (Towrah) 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 (Numbers 3:38). This explains why our Messiah was put to death there, as this applied also to Jerusalem.
Then the sons of Aaron sanctified the Kohathites (Numbers 4:19) 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.
Update as of September 2022
I see many ignorant people (who claim to obey Towrah) acting like the Red Heifer ordinance is evil. However, as we have already seen, the prophetic significance of this ordinance is meant to point us to our Messiah, Yahuwshuwa!
The Red Heifers will be 3.5 years old in the Spring of 2024. I suspect that they Sanhedrin will slaughter a Red Heifer in Jerusalem, and this will open the eyes of many people to see a prophetic picture of their Messiah.
Our Messiah, Yahuwshuwa does not change, for he is he is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Many Hebrew Root’s & Natzariym (who claim to believe in Towrah), are now going back to the ideology of the Roman Emperor Constantine in their thinking.
The attitude that I see mirrors that of Constantine’s “Replacement Theology,” and the abolition of the Mosaic Law, aka “All things Jewish.”
To learn more, see my blog: The Constantine Creed
None of the animal sacrifices ever superseded “THE LAMB SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD!”
It has always been understood that animal sacrifices are a prophetic picture and reminder of our Messiah--- not a substitute for his blood atonement.
It is when “The Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition” takes away the daily sacrifices, and erects an “Abominable Image to the Beast,” this is when we can begin to count 42 months, or 1,260 days for “The Great Tribulation!” (Daniel 8:11; 11:31; 12:11 & Revelation 13:14-15).
Until then, the Temple in Jerusalem will serve as a prophetic picture of our Messiah, Yahuwshuwa!
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