Sentiment for rebuilding the Temple is growing in Israel, sparked by the birth several months ago of a red heifer -- an unusual cow necessary, according to Scripture, for purification rites.
Even the secular magazine Newsweek acknowledged the significance of the heifer in a full-page story in its "Millennium Notebook" in May.
"Her name is Melody, and she whiles away her days oblivious to the controversy that surrounds her," the column said. "Some would like to put a bullet in her head. Others want to burn her to cinders. But the greatest troubles Melody knows are the flies that swarm about her pen. Melody, a red heifer, was born on an ordinary farm in northern Israel last year. But to observant Jews, there is nothing ordinary about her. A couple of millenniums ago, in the era of the first and second Jewish Kingdoms, the ashes of a red heifer, butchered in her third year, were mixed with water and used to purify Jews before they could approach the Holy Temple on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Not since the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in A.D. 70, however, has a red heifer been born in Israel, Judaic scholars say. Some Israelis have greeted Melody's arrival as a wondrous portent for the new millennium; others view her as an ominous threat to Middle East peace."
More and more devout Jews are beginning to see the extraordinary birth as a sign from God that the coming of the Messiah is near. On the other hand, enemies of the state of Israel are concerned that the animal's presence will serve as a precursor to the rebuilding of the Temple -- on a site now occupied in part by two Muslim shrines, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosques. Passions are running high.
"The potential harm from this heifer is far greater than the destructive properties of a regular terrorist bomb," wrote journalist David Landau in Israel's leading newspaper, Ha'aretz.
Gershon Solomon, head of the Temple Mount Faithful, sees Melody as an omen -- as a "sign that we are very close to the rebuilding of the temple." He expects the animal to serve as a rallying cry for thousands of Orthodox Jews to join in the campaign to "liberate the Temple Mount."
The preparations for renewing the Temple traditions -- including animal sacrifices -- are already well under way in Israel. At the Temple Institute, rabbinic scholars and artisans have been studying Scripture and rabbinic traditions so they can meticulously replicate the ritual objects for use in the Third Temple, which clearly must be in place before the endtime events that trigger the return of Jesus.
According to Revelation 11:1-2 and II Thessalonians 2:3-4, a Jewish Temple will be fully functioning at the time Jesus returns. In addition, according to Daniel 9:27, ritual animal sacrifice must be resumed by that time.
Dozens of implements, such as a silver shovel to be used by priests to remove ashes left after an animal sacrifice, have already been produced and are currently on display in the Jewish state. Recently, Religious Affairs Minister Shimon Shetreet met with Pope John Paul II to ask the Vatican for help in finding the 60-kg gold Menorah from the Second Temple that was brought to Rome by Titus in 70 AD.
The rebuilding of the Jewish Temple is one of the few major prophecies yet to be fulfilled before the return of Jesus to reign as King of Kings for a thousand years of earthly history. But, keep in mind, Jesus will come to remove His church seven years before that time. Thus, the rebuilding of the Temple could conceivably occur after that momentous and glorious event. Are you ready for takeoff? We are ever so close -- and Melody, the red heifer, is just the latest sign of the times.
Consider also the fact that Scripture requires the red heifer be sacrificed at the age of three. Could Melody's ashes be used for Temple purification ceremonies as early as 2000? (Psalm 2:6, Jeremiah 3:17, Matthew 5:35, Luke 1:32-33)
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