On April 6, 1997, a front page article on the Boston Globe focused on the seemingly endless mounting tension in the Middle East. This time the subject was not a territorial dispute, the increase of terrorist acts, or the threatening presence of a new Israeli housing development in east Jerusalem. The center of controversy was the birth of a red heifer.

"That cow represents the risk of a massive religious war," said Avraham Poraz, a member of Parliament from the leftist Meritz Party. Since the ancient temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, (a fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy in Matthew 24), the dispersed Jews have hoped and prayed for the eventual recovery of this chosen place of worship in Jerusalem. For centuries, prayer, study of the Torah, good works and synagogue assembly have substituted for temple worship, where favor and forgiveness would be sought through the ministry of priests and animal sacrifice. After Israel's reconstitution as a nation in 1948 and the reclamation of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967, orthodox Jews have made preparations for the rebuilding of the temple and the restoration of temple worship.

The Boston Globe reports, "For the workers at The Temple Institute, on a cobblestone alley inside the rebuilt Jewish quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, the arrival of the heifer is an inspiration. The Institute recreates the implements of the Temple, from the pale flaxen robes worn by the priests to the golden incense jars and lyres used at prayers."

"For us, the heifer is a milestone," said Rabbi Menachem Makover, deputy director of the Institute. "During the Diaspora, everything was missing. No one knew about the crown worn by the high priest, for example. Now we see that everything that was gone is slowly coming back. We used to say, 'We don't have this,' or 'We don't have that,' but that is no longer an excuse. We still have political problems with the Arabs. But from above someone is leading us to these tools. We didn't ask for the red heifer. Suddenly it came."

"It is written that it is the 10th heifer that the Messiah will discover and here we have the 10th heifer. This is a clear sign that the Messiah is near," said Rabbi Ido Weber Erlich of Jerusalem in an interview on Israel Radio. Many orthodox Jews have taken the appearance of the red heifer as a clear sign that the time has come to rebuild the temple. If this is the red heifer Orthodox Jews are looking for, it is to be sacrificed three years from now. Arabs and Israelis fear the tension this will bring. Presently the Islamic Mosque of Omar stands on the reputed temple site.

The red heifer has always been a rarity. The Old Testament has only one reference to 'the red heifer' (Numbers 19:1-10). It has come to signify a 'one of a kind' offering; one necessary for the purification of the people of Israel.

Christians understand the 'red heifer sacrifice' as a prophetic type of the unique 'once and for all' sacrifice of Christ (Hebrews 7:27; 9:12, 26; 10:2,10). The heifer is to be found by God's people, be without defect or blemish and is never to be under the yoke (never subject to the bondage of sin). It is to be of reddish skin- outwardly identified with sin ( "though your sins be red like crimson" - Isaiah 1:18) although inwardly pure from sin (2Corinthians 5:21). It is to be sacrificed in its third year (Jesus was sacrificed in his third year of ministry). The blood is to be sprinkled before the altar by the finger of the high priest seven times (the word seven implies 'enough', 'sufficient' satisfactory and perfect). The sacrifice of Christ is all-inclusive, representing the old creation that fell under sins bondage. Cedar, hyssop and scarlet wood are to be put on the burning sacrifice. (Cedar and hyssop are representative of the old creation, the plant world in particular, 1Kings 4:33; Romans 8:19-22). The ashes represent the proof that an effectual sacrifice has been made. These would be taken by a clean man to a ceremonially clean place where it would be used in the water of cleansing, for the purification from sin. The proof of Jesus' perfect once and for all atoning sacrifice for sin is His resurrection. Jesus takes this proof of victory, His resurrection body, with Him in the ascension. The reality of His once and for all victory is ministered to us through the water of cleansing, His Word (Ephesians 5:26; John 15:3). In order to receive this cleansing we must mix faith with His Word (Hebrews 4:2; Romans 10:17; Hebrews 11:6, 1 John 1:9). Our cleansing is appropriated by faith. Our faith is based upon the established fact (the ashes) of His historical sacrifice for our sins.

Believers value the lasting purification brought by the 'red heifer'. But what of this tenth red heifer that has appeared in Jerusalem? To some it is an omen of apocalyptic disaster. For others it is a sign of messianic hope. Presently this six month old heifer is being watched over by armed guards who feel the tension that this appearance has brought to the Middle East.

The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Him once again,