Red Heifer
Friday, July 22, 2005
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
So, now, what does this have to do with us? As we read in Numbers 19, the Red Heifer is to be taken to a place outside the camp, verse 3, and be slaughtered there. Verse 4 tells us that some of the blood is to be taken and sprinkled toward the front of the tent of meeting. Then the cow is to be burned; it's skin, flesh, hide, dung and blood. It is to be burned with cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet stuff and cast them into the midst of the fire. The fire would have to be built and continued to burn the whole cow into ash. This would create a fairly large quantity of ash. Again from rabbinic sources, we are told that there were several portions of ash that were collected. This ash was mixed with water to create the water of purification and was used to cleanse those who came into contact with the dead or were otherwise defiled
Ashes of the Red Heifer
By Stephen M. Yulish Ph.D.
According to an article in The Mid-East Dispatch, issue 237, the 16th of March 1997, the birth of a red heifer in Israel is being hailed by religious Jews as a sign from God that work can soon begin on building the Third temple in Jerusalem.
The report stated that a team of Rabbinical experts confirmed that the animal, born six months ago on a religious kibbutz, Kfar Hassidim, near the northern Israeli port of Haifa, meets the Biblical criteria for the red heifer needed for purification of those who wish to rebuild the temple.
As stated in the fourth book of the Torah, Numbers Chapter 19, an unblemished red heifer in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed, is to be slaughtered and burned and its ashes made into a liquid paste used in the ceremony for purification from sin.
Since Herod's Temple was destroyed by the Roman emperor Titus in AD 70 no flawless red heifer has been born within the Biblical land of Israel according to Rabbinical sources. Besides, the Jewish people did not see the re-creation of the State of Israel until 1948, nor the recapturing of Jerusalem until 1967.
The birth of the animal to a black and white mother and a dun colored bull is being hailed as a miracle by Jewish activists who want to rebuild the temple and prepare the way for the Jewish Messiah's entry into Jerusalem. "We have been waiting for 2000 years for a sign from God", one of them said. "and now he has provided us with a red heifer."
Christians also view the rebuilding of the Temple as an important sign of the return of the Messiah. In Matthew 24:2, Jesus accurately predicted that Herod's Temple would be destroyed. When He was asked by His Disciples what would be the sign of His return and the end of the age, Jesus responded that when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of by the prophet Daniel standing in the Holy place(Temple). This could not take place in Herod's Temple because it would be destroyed and it was ( in 70 A.D.). One cannot have a desolation of the Temple as in the days of Antiochus Epiphanies without a Temple. The red heifer is but another piece in the prophetic timetable which is moving closer to the end of the age and the return of Messiah.
Muslims are incensed by this notion of rebuilding the temple on one of Islam's holiest sites. The current fight for Jerusalem as capital of a new Palestinian state as opposed to being the capital of Israel, the Temple rebuilding notwithstanding, is all over the evening news. Just as the prophet Zechariah said that it would be 2500 years ago, Jerusalem is a cup that causes reeling to all peoples and is a heavy stone for all peoples who lift it (Zechariah 12:2-3). The Mid-East Dispatch stated that the Faithful will have to wait until the heifer is at least three years old ( 2000 A.D.) before it can be used in a ritual sacrifice.
Jesus, in speaking of His return said in Matthew 24:33-34 that "when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door...truly I say to you this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." Biblical prophecy is fulfilling itself right before our eyes.
Ashes of the Red Heifer
Red Heifer
Friday, January 02, 2004
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Book Description
What caused the apostle Paul to condemn both male and female homosexuals? This former Jewish Pharisee renounced the legalism of the Old Testament. The misshaped follower of Christ proclaimed all men and women were equal in the new kingdom set up by the followers of Christ. Why did he place a curse on bisexuals, lesbians and homosexuals that threatens to divide modern Christianity? Was there a character flaw in Paul's life? In his youth, did he experience a traumatic experience that caused him to place a stigma on at least ten percent of the United States' population? Read the Red Heifer to receive provocative answers to these questions.
"Red Heifer is an astounding book. Butler has an impressive sense of revisionary storytelling, and this enormous saga is great reading!" -- Steven LaVigne in White Crane, A Journal of Gay Men's Spirituality
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SITE INDEX
1.MYTHS AND HISTORY IN RED HEIFER, A NOVEL BY LUTHER BUTLER
Browse Before You Buy http://books.iuniverse.com/viewbooks.asp?isbn=1583481060
¶ 9:39 AM
¶ 8:50 AM The novel Red Heifer is the result of years of studying about why the Apostle Paul condemned same sex relations.
ARCHIVES
01/01/2004 - 01/31/2004 /
Red Heifer is fiction, but the material I used to create this novel is listed on this site.Before the 80's I never heard homosexuality discussed in the church. When I joined the Navy in 1952, we were let known that homosexuality was not an accepted practice in the Military. In 1954 when I was stationed at Anacostia Naval Receiving Station, a Captain in the Navy Medical Corp was housed in the brig awaiting trial for a homosexual act with an enlisted man. While I was on duty at night, he poured lighter fluid on himself and burned to death. Since then I've given the subject some serious thought. At Southern Baptist Theological Seminary we kicked the subject around in class. In 1986 I received an MA in English from Tarleton State University (Texas A and M system) where a poetry teacher dealt with the subject. Around that time a rash of suicides in a Texas high school was traced to how homosexual behavior was dealt with. The novel, Red Heifer, is an out growth of these experiences. The main question that is examined, "Was the Apostle Paul bi-sexual, and did he have an experience that caused him to take the stand he did on same sex relations? If you believe that the Bible was dictated verbatim by God and the author's experiences had nothing to do with what he wrote, this question cannot be asked. I'd like to have some feed back on this book at lbutler@erath.net. Notice that the book can be read online for free. Luther Butler
Thursday, July 07, 2005
