WAR UPDATE: Why Hamas Hates the Red Heifer | Read | Messiah Online | FFOZ
WAR UPDATE: Why Hamas Hates the Red Heifer | Read | Messiah Online | FFOZ
Nine red heifers were prepared in keeping with this commandment until the destruction of the Second Temple. Moses our Teacher prepared the first one. Ezra prepared the second. There were seven between Ezra and the destruction of the Temple. The tenth will be prepared by King Messiah; may he be revealed soon! Amen, let it be his will! (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Parah Adumah 3:4)
When Abu Obeida, a military spokesman for Hamas, began his televised speech marking 100 days since the October 7 attack, most of what he said followed the familiar mantra of praising Hamas' military resistance and calling for all Muslims to rise against Israel. But as he began listing the motives for the October 7 massacre, he said that the aggression against "our path and Al-Aqsa" reached its peak with the "bringing of red cows." To much of the world, such a statement sounds strange, but to a Messianic believer, the charge is loaded with Messianic implications. The "bringing of red cows" Obeida referred to was the 2022 arrival of five red heifers to the Temple Institute, a Jewish organization focused on establishing the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The site, currently occupied by the Al-Aqsa Mosque, is an Islamic holy site and is continually the center of tension in the region.
But why was the arrival of red heifers so offensive? The rare animal is the main component in a ritual purification ceremony for cleansing ritual impurity from proximity or contact with a dead body. Since the destruction of the Second Temple, all Jews today are considered ritually impure, thereby preventing the return of the Temple service. Securing a potential unblemished red heifer is key to the first steps of restarting the Temple service, which implies the removal of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, rebuilding the Temple, and, ultimately, the return of the Temple Mount into Jewish control.
The current effort to rebuild the Temple is not supported by Israel's government or universally supported within Judaism, but the step toward performing the arcane red heifer ceremony doesn't just imply a return to the Holy Temple service; it points to the nearness of Messiah and the ultimate redemption of Israel. From the belief that Messiah himself will prepare the tenth red heifer to the ceremony's hinting at the resurrection of the dead, it's no surprise that the current turmoil in the Holy Land can be traced to the preparation of the red heifer.
WAR UPDATE: Why Hamas Hates the Red Heifer | Read | Messiah Online | FFOZ
Nine red heifers were prepared in keeping with this commandment until the destruction of the Second Temple. Moses our Teacher prepared the first one. Ezra prepared the second. There were seven between Ezra and the destruction of the Temple. The tenth will be prepared by King Messiah; may he be revealed soon! Amen, let it be his will! (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Parah Adumah 3:4)
When Abu Obeida, a military spokesman for Hamas, began his televised speech marking 100 days since the October 7 attack, most of what he said followed the familiar mantra of praising Hamas' military resistance and calling for all Muslims to rise against Israel. But as he began listing the motives for the October 7 massacre, he said that the aggression against "our path and Al-Aqsa" reached its peak with the "bringing of red cows." To much of the world, such a statement sounds strange, but to a Messianic believer, the charge is loaded with Messianic implications. The "bringing of red cows" Obeida referred to was the 2022 arrival of five red heifers to the Temple Institute, a Jewish organization focused on establishing the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The site, currently occupied by the Al-Aqsa Mosque, is an Islamic holy site and is continually the center of tension in the region.
But why was the arrival of red heifers so offensive? The rare animal is the main component in a ritual purification ceremony for cleansing ritual impurity from proximity or contact with a dead body. Since the destruction of the Second Temple, all Jews today are considered ritually impure, thereby preventing the return of the Temple service. Securing a potential unblemished red heifer is key to the first steps of restarting the Temple service, which implies the removal of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, rebuilding the Temple, and, ultimately, the return of the Temple Mount into Jewish control.
The current effort to rebuild the Temple is not supported by Israel's government or universally supported within Judaism, but the step toward performing the arcane red heifer ceremony doesn't just imply a return to the Holy Temple service; it points to the nearness of Messiah and the ultimate redemption of Israel. From the belief that Messiah himself will prepare the tenth red heifer to the ceremony's hinting at the resurrection of the dead, it's no surprise that the current turmoil in the Holy Land can be traced to the preparation of the red heifer.
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