Red Heifers Arrive in Israel

Last week some interesting news broke from Israel - five red heifers arrived by airplane at Ben Gurion International Airport. This was a day of celebration for The Temple Institute, a Jewish organization in Israel whose focus over the past 30 years has been to establish the Third Temple in Jerusalem.

Why are these animals so important? Because Jewish priests serving at the Temple must present themselves in a state of ritual purity before they can perform their duties. Numbers 19 records the incredibly intricate details for this purification process which requires the ashes of a red heifer.

“Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come…and it shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered…the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. And the heifer shall be burned in his sight” (Num. 19:2-5).

If you keep reading this passage it says that the only way the priests could be cleansed from impurity was to be washed with water mixed with the ashes of a red heifer, but not any red heifer would do! She must be young, less than 3-years-old with no defect, on which no yoke was ever placed.

According to rabbis, only nine red heifers were ever found in the entire history of Israel, so it goes without saying that they are extremely rare and valuable. For the past decade, the Temple Institute had been searching and trying tirelessly to breed a perfect red heifer specimen. They were unsuccessful until last year when they came into contact with a Texas rancher who had figured out a way to breed five. A team of rabbis from the Temple Institute flew to Texas to inspect the calves last year and deemed them worthy of meeting the biblical requirements.

So why should Christians care? Because these events hint at prophetic significance. The Bible predicts that during the future Tribulation period, there will be a Jewish temple standing in Jerusalem. In Rev. 11:1 John is told, “Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there.” Daniel, Jesus and Paul all prophesy that at the midpoint of the Tribulation period, the Antichrist will enter this temple, desecrate it and declare himself to be God (Dan. 9:27, Mat. 24:15, 2 Thess. 2:4).

The Temple Institute has been diligently working to make the third temple a reality. Many of the utensils, such as the golden menorah, the priestly garments and vessels used to store the blood of sacrifices, have already been created. A computer database of the eligible priests has also been put together, complete with their genealogical records. And now one more critical piece for resurrecting temple worship is within their grasp – the red heifer. Now all they need is a piece of land on the Temple Mount upon which to build.

How exactly the Jews will be allowed to rebuild in the most hotly contested piece of real estate on earth, we don’t know and the Bible doesn’t say. But prior to 1948 it looked like it would be impossible for the Jews to ever have their own nation, but look what God did on the world stage. We don’t know how God will fulfill His Word, but believe it friend - every jot and tittle will come to pass.

All this points to another prophetic sign that indicates events are moving exactly in the direction God said they would as the world nears the return of Jesus. Until He comes, we can rejoice in Heb. 9:13-14 which assures us that the sacrifice of Jesus is superior to that of the red heifer: “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” -DM

Jesus and Elton John

 

British pop legend Elton John is no stranger to the provocative, just look at some of his wild fashion and his openly gay lifestyle before there was a modern LBGT movement. John also has a colorful opinion of Jesus. He said in separate interviews that “Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man” and that Jesus would “be in favor of gay marriage.”

It makes you wonder if he was going for the world record for the most heretical statements in one breath. As outlandish as it might sound, there are many LBGT affirming churches today that aren’t far from the same message as “The Rocketman”. It’s a sad and strange day when the preacher and the pop star are saying the same thing about Jesus to support their sin. In fact, I recently heard a man defending the gay lifestyle say, “Well, Jesus never condemned homosexuality, so Christians shouldn’t either.”

How should we respond to that claim biblically? First, it is true that Jesus never condemned homosexuality in the Gospels, however He certainly never condoned it either. Those making this argument are actually committing a fallacy known as the “argument from silence.” That’s when someone wants to make case based on what’s NOT been said, which requires no evidence at all.

Are we to believe that any action is permissible unless Jesus specifically forbade it? The goal of the Gospels was not to give us a comprehensive list of sinful activities, and there are many obvious sins that are not found in the “red letter” sections of the Bible. Kidnapping, for example. Jesus never specifically said that kidnapping was a sin, yet we know that stealing children is wrong. Drug use is another one.

Second, it’s clear that Jesus affirmed the Genesis model of marriage and sexuality between one man and one woman. In Mark 10:6-9 and Matt. 19:4-6 Jesus quoted from Genesis, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Third, Jesus condemned ALL sexual immorality which falls outside the confines of God’s intended design in marriage. In Matt. 15:19-20, Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” Sexual immorality here in this verse is an umbrella term which would include – adultery, fornication, homosexuality, porn and any other sexual sin. Moreover, these specific sins are condemned and listed in other passages (see 1 Cor. 6:9-10, Rev. 21:8, Rom. 1:24-31, Lev. 20:10-13, and Gen. 19).

There is simply no way the LGBT lifestyle can be supported by the Bible. With that being said, there is a tendency in the church only to hammer down exclusively on homosexuality, when all forms of sexual perversion are equally sinful and destructive. We would do well in the church to remember we all stand equally condemned as sinners, even if our sexual sin of choice isn’t homosexuality. At some point, we’ve all looked lustfully upon another and according to Christ that makes us adulterers at heart (Matt. 5:28).

God loves the homosexual. Jesus reached out to the five-times divorced woman at the well who was shacking up with another man (John 4). The Lord has the power to set free and save the porn addict. If you are trapped in a sexually immoral lifestyle – it’s time to repent, turn to Christ and be cleansed. The love, healing and fulfillment you are seeking is found only in Jesus. He will save you from yourself.

Is Evangelism Harder Today?

 

“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” (Mat. 10:14)

In 1957, Billy Graham held his longest running crusade ever in New York City. The meetings began on May 15 and ended on Sept. 1 – extending a total of 16 weeks! Over that summer, 2,397,400 persons attended the meetings and 61,148 made decisions for Christ. The crusade kept gaining momentum, so it was moved from Madison Square Garden to Yankee Stadium (when the boys in pinstripes weren’t playing), and finally culminated in Times Square with an estimated 125,000 in attendance!

Thinking back to that summer 65 years ago, it seems impossible that something like that could happen in America today. Especially, when you consider that church attendance in the US has hit record lows. According to a recent Gallup poll, “Americans’ membership in houses of worship continued to decline in 2021, dropping below 50% for the first time in Gallup's eight-decade trend. In 2021, 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999.”

As many experts have noted, we are now living in what has been called a “post-Christian” society, one in which Christianity is no longer the dominant religion and where most of the culture is secular.

This got me thinking – if Billy Graham lived today and tried to have a crusade in NYC in 2022 would he have the same results? Maybe, there’s no way we could answer that question, but we can definitely say that American culture is much different now than what it was in 1957. Back then, school days were started with prayer and Bible reading. Back then, church attendance was at an all-time high. Back then, people believed there were only two genders and TV was just beginning to appear in homes.

I would say that given the moral abyss we are sliding into, Billy would have a harder time today. This difference is illustrated in the book of Acts between the response Peter received preaching on the Day of Pentecost verses the response Paul got preaching in Mars Hill.

According to Acts 2, when Peter preached the Gospel “the people were cut to their heart” and “those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” Meanwhile, according to Acts 17, when Paul preached to the intellectuals in Athens, “some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject’ and some of the people became followers of Paul and believed.”

What was the difference? Why did Peter enjoy a massive harvest, while Paul only a few converts? In Acts 2 Peter primarily had Jewish audience, who were steeped in the OT Scriptures and possessed a theistic worldview. While in Acts 17 Paul had a Greek audience who was steeped in paganism, Epicurean and Stoic philosophy, and possessed a secular worldview. Paul had a much harder time reaching the Greeks because the cultural divide was so much wider.

This is important for us to remember today. We are living in an America that much more resembles Acts 17 than Acts 2. This is why its harder to do church, reach the lost and have a lasting impact. Christians are no longer the majority in this culture. It doesn’t diminish the power of the Gospel, but it does mean our work is cut out for us! All we can do is share Christ faithfully and leave the results up to God. -DM