The Temple Institute in Israel announced that a red heifer was born a couple weeks ago on August 28. Websites from the Temple Institute to CBN and other Christian news sites are now abuzz saying the birth of a red heifer signals the end of days, and the building of the third Temple.
The newly born red heifer calf. Photo from the Temple Institute.
From the Signpost perspective the general picture is the same—yes, a red heifer signals a third Temple may be built soon. However, with the Signposts in mind the course of events by which the third Temple is built changes greatly.
Numbers 19 and Red Heifers
Numbers 19 tells us the ashes of a perfect red heifer is to be used to purify the area of the Tabernacle (or Temple) to make the area ritually clean, so sacrifices can be offered. A heifer, for those who don’t know, is a cow that has not borne a calf and is under the age of three.
According to the Temple Institute, a Jewish organization ready to build the Temple, nine red heifers have appeared over the course of Jewish history. So they are very rare. It is believed a tenth red heifer will be used to purify the grounds for the third Temple.
If this little red calf is the red heifer, it must be burned within the next three years to collect its ashes. This would also suggest the ashes would be needed and used, i.e. to build and consecrate the third Temple.
The Popular Picture
Popular premillennial theology says the third Temple will be built at the beginning of the seventieth week, i.e. the seven-year Tribulation. The idea is that it would be okay for the Jews to build their Temple because the Antichrist will sign a peace treaty with Israel.
As I write about in Chronicles, and have written about on this website, the real picture may be very different. Because most prophecy students only have the Tribulation in mind, and not the Four Signposts, everything is pinned to the Tribulation. Everyone is missing the Second Signpost and the crazy world that will ensue starting with that prophesied event. It will occur years before the Tribulation begins.
The More Likely Picture
We know how the Signposts are derived from Scripture (its written about in detail in Daniel Revisited). We see signs of the coming Second Signpost seemingly from all over the Middle East—in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. In the middle of the chaos that will be the Iranian regime’s attempt to spread its Revolution to other Muslim countries, I believe the Psalm 83 war (if it is to really happen) can really only occur during the Second Signpost. Psalm 83 tells us Israel will win a great victory. Daniel 11:41 suggests when Antichrist invades Muslim countries to build his empire, the western half of Jordan—containing the peoples listed in Psalm 83—will escape his grasp, possibly due to Israel having conquered that region during the Second Signpost.
It is at that time, there would be nothing to stop the Jews from building the third Temple. The local Muslim peoples would have been defeated in the Psalm 83 war, and the Muslim peoples further away from Israel will be occupied fighting the great Sunni-Shia War of the Second and Third Signposts.
Connecting the Dots
You should be able to see, now, how the red heifer could be related to the Second Signpost. It’s a series of things to be connected.
If the Second Signpost is soon, and the Psalm 83 war accompanies that Signpost, the third Temple will be built during or after the Second Signpost. In other words, the third Temple will be built soon.
And—oh look!—there’s the red heifer needed to consecrate the new temple area!
God is indeed in control.
Categories: In The News, Signpost #2: Iran, The Signpost Perspective
THE FOUR SIGNPOSTS 
Wow! Mark! You have put this in whole biblical picture of Daniel 8 (2nd Signpost), Psalms 83 war (Israel wins a major military campaign), probably construction of the 3rd Jewish Temple with the birth of a perfect red heifer (burned for the ashes by the summer of 2021 to consecrate and build the Temple) into a real time scenario that could truly be possible!!!!
Just by my own knowledge of other trans-humanist efforts including the real possibility of merging very high tech AI with the human genome (DNA) to extremely lengthen our mortality to the point that their goal is never to die removing the curse on humanity and God’s authority…this fits perfectly and dovetails with Revelation exactly!
Truly, and my own humble opinion…I see God’s Kingdom and the Millennial reign of Jesus happening by 2040 as an outside date. Likely sooner than later at the rate the trans-humanists are working to achieve their evil goals.
Blessings!
The Jerusalem Temple cannot be built without having a site to build it on. Previous Temples in Jerusalem were built over Gihon Spring, the only spring in the area. Gihon spring is a few hundred feet south of the so-called Temple Mount. The whole history of the Temple site was laid out in the 2000 book “The Temples That Jerusalem Forgot” by Ernest l. Martin. It is not an easy read. A more engaging book on the subject is “Temple: Amazing Discoveries that Change Everything About the Location of Solomon’s Temple” (2014, 2017) by Robert Cornuke. Not as engaging, but important from a practical point of view is the 2015 book “Jerusalem’s Temple Now: Political, Military, Economic, and Religious Implications” by Norman H. Andersson, who accompanied Robert Cornuke during some of his investigations at the Gihon Spring site.
It is now possible for a new Jerusalem Temple to be peacefully built without need for Islamic control of the so-called Temple Mount to be relinquished.
In 2017 a new translation of “The Jewish War” by Josephus appeared in Oxford World’s Classics. Here are a couple of quotes:
7:376
Where has it gone, that city of ours which was believed to have God as its founder? It has been torn up by the roots and swept away. The only memorial left of it is the camp of those who destroyed it, still quartered in the ruins.
7:379
If only we had all been dead before we had to see that holy city razed by enemy hands, that sacred temple so profaned and ripped from the ground!
Matthew 24:1-2 KJV
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple; and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Ernest L. Martin, the discoverer of the true Temple site, estimated that in the walls surrounding the so-called Temple Mount are about 10,000 stones still in their original positions. Luke 19:41-44 shows that Jesus taught that not one stone would be left upon another in the entire city of Jerusalem. Since the Roman fort Antonia was not part of Jerusalem, its walls were left intact by the Romans soldiers who were stationed there.
Prismsplay,
Amen
The seventh book of “The Jewish War” by Josephus opens with an order by Caesar for the Roman army to raze to the ground the city of Jerusalem, and to have the Tenth Legion remain encamped at fort Antonia (to prevent Jews from rebuilding). According to “The Temples That Jerusalem Forgot” by Ernest L. Martin, the Tenth Legion stayed at fort Antonia from 70 C.E. until 289 C.E., when it moved its base to Eilat on the Red Sea (page 105).
Since Roman Legions employed several thousand soldiers and support staff, there is no way a legion could dwell between the walls of what is now called the Temple Mount for 219 years without leaving tangible evidence of it, but the Islamic authorities over the Haram esh-Sharif do not allow any archaeological digs there.
Prisms,
Yes, in my own research I found the Tenth Legion was stationed in Syria for 70 years prior to AD 70, having Syrian men as its soldiers (the ruler of the people who will come). After the destruction of Jerusalem, its new base was Jerusalem.
I can personally attest (as many others) having visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel that spiritually speaking…it truly is Ground Zero for spiritual warfare like no other on earth. That tension filled space was breath-taking in spiritual oppression unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed in my life. It was truly an unforgettable experience as a believer in Yeshua. My personal opinion only, this is where God’s Mount of Assembly was likely located on earth, where Armageddon will be fought and won by Yeshua, and where the original Garden of Eden was located.
Blessings!
Amen, Julie!
For me the surest sign that the Temple is about to be built would be the State of Israel slapping eminent domain on Silwan Village, which is on the east side of Kidron valley, moving its residents out and demolishing it. From that place missiles could be directed to strike the Temple across the Kidron Valley.
In his 2016 book “Golgotha: Searching for the True Location of Christ’s Crucifixion,” Robert Cornuke showed that within Silwan Village, which he found extremely dangerous to enter, are the true sites of both the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those living there are Muslims who have been taught that Jesus was not crucified.
Ever since the invention of photography, visitors to Jerusalem have captured images of the hill upon which Silwan Village was later built. Many of these images were taken looking south down the Kidron Valley with the place of the crucifixion, according to Cornuke, to the east.
1844 photo by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey
1854 photo by Auguste Salzmann
circa 1870 photo by Félix Bonfils
recent photo of Silwan Village
It seems that the 1260 day countdown starts when Israel is surrounded by armies (or peoples ??) & then attacked on all sides – “flee to the mountains”. My thought is that when Gaza eventually overruns the border there will be only a day at most to flee. The only people able to get out easily will be to the south – the middle & north will be cut off from escape unless done quickly that day. The rampaging “Gazans” will then probably set up some victory monument on the temple mount to show they have retaken “palestine”. The two witnesses should show up right about that point in time. This is my working theory…….
Steve,
There may be only one hour to flee – this is why Jesus said to not go back into the house to get your coat, and to as you say, flee to the mountains. Its all about haste.
http://www.templeinstitute.org/red_heifer/ceremony.htm
This article states that there was a bridge across the Kidron Valley to where the Red Heifer was sacrificed on the Mount of Olives. That spot was directly east of the Temple.
Temple Institute illustration:
The above illustration incorrectly shows Herod’s Temple on the “Temple Mount,” rather than its true location over Gihon Spring to the south.
illustration by Lydia Cooper based on Ernest L. Martin’s research:
Although the above illustration correctly shows Herod’s Temple over Gihon Spring, it incorrectly shows the Red Heifer bridge out of alignment with the spot on the southern ridge of the Mount of Olives where a Red Heifer would be sacrificed.
Hebrews 13:11-12 links the Red Heifer sacrifice to the crucifixion. That the crucifixion site was also due east of the Temple is proven by Matthew 27:50-54. The only way for the centurion and those with him to watch the veil of the Temple torn in two was if the crucifixion site was directly east of the Temple.
The Red Heifer bridge was probably the same structure referred to in Luke 19:37 as “the descent of the mount of Olives” (KJV) or “where the road goes down the Mount of Olives” (NIV).
Let me tell you, having been at the Temple Mount (TM) and being aware of the red heifer sacrifice being east of the Jewish Temple would have been…it is true. I studied this as best I could the summer prior to going to Israel. The Dome of the Spirits (DotS) is where the Holy of Holies would have stood within the Temple on the Temple Mount but only as stated as DotS and you can read between the lines there of what it really is because the TM is Arab controlled, obviously. The Arab police followed around all the tour groups to monitor what was said to the tours.
Directly across from the DotS is the Golden or Eastern Gate that is cemented up and beyond the Kidron Valley is the Mount of Olives. If you make an imaginary line from the DotS through the Golden/Eastern Gate you can certainly see where sacrifices could have taken place there! The priest who was performing them had to have direct sight to the Holy of Holies to make proper sacrifices at just the right time. When I saw this visually in person it as though the light bulb went on and how the veil was rent as there were no longer any need for further sacrifices at a the time of Christ’s death! It became crystallized for me at that very moment!
Such a surreal moment for me as I stepped away from the tour group to begin connecting dots from my summer study!
Blessings!