Hebrews 13: 10 We have an altar from which those who serve in the Tent are not permitted to eat. 11 For the cohen hagadol brings the blood of animals into the Holiest Place as a sin offering, but their bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 So too Yeshua suffered death outside the gate, in order to make the people holy through his own blood.

Yeshua must fit the above, or He cannot be the Messiah. This is a contention of many Jewish people today who understand this very difficult and hard to understand requirement. At the same time, many Christians do not realize that the Jewish people are right. If the Messiah did not fulfill this particular requirement, He cannot be the Messiah.

"Outside the gate", and "outside the camp" are Hebrew idioms in the Bible for the Mount of Olives.

2 Samuel 24: 20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. 21 And Araunah said, wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing floor of thee, to build an altar unto YHWH, that the plague may be stayed from the people. 22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. 23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, YHWH thy Elohim accepts thee. 24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto YHWH my Elohim of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And David built there an altar unto YHWH, and offered burnt offerings and peace/shalom offerings. So YHWH was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

The number fifty represents freedom that is related to the sign of the year of Jubilee. Silver allegorically speaks of redemption. David insisted that he must pay the price of Messiah, who had to pay the price for our redemption. Yahweh cannot just look the other way when it comes to sin. Justice must be done and the punishment must be set. Both of these were reconciled at the cross, the punishment for sin is death, which actually means going to hell.

Romans 6: 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of Elohim is eternal life through Yahushua the Messiah our Master.

Sin can only lead to the Lake of Fire. You can, in fact, have the free gift, but for that you have to repent and OBEY Yeshua's words and walk in obedience.

1 Chronicles 21: 24 And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for YHWH, nor offer burnt offerings without cost. 25 So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.

600 gold shekels here are related to divinity.

There were two altars in play here: One on the Temple Mount and one on the Mount of Olives.

Mount of Olives Altar for redemption

Temple Mount Altar for the Shechinah, or Divine Presence. Let us look at the Red Heifer.

We should not make the mistake of taking the Jewish people to be without intelligence or common Torah sense. Unfortunately many Christians are what I call "microwave Christians" - cooked fast with very little understanding of Scripture. Some of the Jewish people simply reject Yeshua on technical grounds. The argument goes like this: "Since He did not fulfil the ordinance of the Red Heifer, He cannot be the Messiah." Many of you probably never even heard of this difficult to understand requirement and you will be absolutely thrashed by the Jewish people when witnessing if you are not aware of how Yeshua fulfills this key requirement. Please know that Yeshua absolutely fulfilled this requirement completely - Baruch Ha Shem Yahweh!

So, let's get into the nitty-gritty: Before any sacrifices on the Temple Mount area can start, we have to understand and remember that, as things now stand, it is a defiled place due to sin and Islam's heathen shrines. Before anything holy can begin it requires a cleansing and thus we are at an impasse.

The question is: How can the Jewish people start any sacrifice on an altar in the Temple Mount without the cleansing of the Temple Mount?

Enter the Red Heifer

The details of the Red Heifer sacrifice are provided in Numbers 19-1-10. Remember this is fulfilled in Messiah. Anytime Scripture mentions the words Le-olam Va-ed or le-olam in Hebrew it means "FOREVER". It means the commandment of the Red Heifer stands for ALL time.

Numbers 19:1-10: And YHWH spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, This [is] the ordinance of the law [Torah] which YHWH hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein [is] no blemish, [and] upon which never came yoke: And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and [one] shall slay her before his face: And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times: And [one] shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast [it] into the midst of the burning of the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even. And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even. And a man [that is] clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay [them] up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it [is] a purification for sin. And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute forever.

After examining these Scriptures, we find at least two witnesses in Scripture for this ordinance that would be fulfilled, or should say have been fulfilled in King Messiah Yeshua.

Proof One: Our Messiah sprinkles nations for forgiveness of sins just like the Red Heifer sprinkling.

Isaiah 52: 15 So shall He [King Messiah] sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

Proof Two: We also find this requirement illustrated by Ezekiel who gave the prophecy of the Messiah's sprinkling and cleansing from sin:

Ezekiel 36: 24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Most of the Bible is quite clear in its instructions of what to do and how to do it. However, the Red Heifer sacrifice is a little different from the rest - and some strange things happened which the Jewish sages cannot really explain. Remember, in this difficult ordinance the one who is doing the sacrifice becomes unclean in the process.

Numbers 19: 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the evening.

The Messiah Himself became unclean because He sat with all sorts of people who were sinners. Remember, the concept in Biblical faith of ritual purity is a real one. During Tabernacles and Temple times, people had to be careful about whom they would meet or not meet with. Even shaking hands, or greeting people who were unclean would make one spiritually and ritually unclean. Remember too, that the Messiah healed lepers and even in that process, He also became unclean. So, we find the symbols and items used in the RED Heifer sacrifice all apply to our Messiah. Let's not forget that being ceremonially unclean is not a sin. It only affects one's ritual purity, or standing within the community.

Let us consider these points:

(1) The ashes of the Red Heifer remove the most severe of all impurities. Yet those involved in its preparation become ritually impure themselves. (Messiah became impure for us. But, as I mentioned above, impurity does not imply sinfulness, as the two are mutually exclusive).

Luke 5: 13 And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

Just like in the sacrifice of the Red Heifer, the priest became unclean. But yet, the Heifer cleansed the person. Yeshua being a High Priest in the order of Melech-Tzadek (Melchizedek) took on the uncleanness to cleanse the leper; thus fulfilling an important Messianic prophecy.

(2) The Red Heifer must be completely red, a color which is symbolically related to sin. Yet it must also be "perfect, without blemish." (Messiah carried ours sins for us, shedding His red blood, yet He was perfect, without blemish).

(3) The Bible commanded the Red Heifer to be sacrificed outside the gate in total contrast to the altar in the Temple courtyard. Here we have our TWO ALTARS. The Heifer was to be sacrificed outside the gate (Mount of Olives) but in sight of the Holy of Holies. The term "outside the gate" refers to the Mount of Olives, where there was indeed a second altar. That is why King David bought both fields for two altars. Our Saviour Yeshua hung on a tree OUTSIDE THE GATE, on the Mount of Olives!

The Mount of Olives has been a special place of interest. It is a mountain east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. I believe this is the proper site of the crucifixion where the Roman Centurion saw the Temple veil rent in two (Matthew 27:50-54). The site that most people believe for the crucifixion of Yeshua does not fit the pattern. To start with, it is lower than the Temple Mount region; thus, you cannot see the Temple veil rent from either of the two traditional sites. I have been there and actually questioned one of the tour guides to explain this dilemma and she could not explain it. It is reasonable to assume this because a blasphemer had to be put to death facing the Holy of Holies and this was the charge that the Jewish people brought against Yeshua (Matthew 26:65-66).

Therefore, Yeshua was hung on a tree in the Garden of Gethsemane facing the Temple Mount fulfilling the appropriate qualifications for the Lamb of Elohim, as well as for the Red Heifer. On this Mountain summit in the village of Beth Page (in Hebrew it means the "House of Figs") just to the West is a very old altar, the Miphkad altar, where the Sanhedrin (Elders of the Temple) would have executed judgment on Yeshua for blasphemy. Here, the Red Heifer was burned so that its ashes could purify the Temple.

Do you see the connection with the Messiah and the Red Heifer? The word "Miphkad" means" numbering" or "counting" (and in this case it meant counting the heads of persons who were Israelites, firstborn ones, Levites, or Priests). So this is known as the "numbering" altar, this place was also known as Golgolet Area, "Golgolet" means head/skull. This is the place where people were numbered, or counted so it is known as "Golgotha" because it is the proper place of the crucifixion site.

(4) The two main components of the purifying mixture, ashes and living spring water, represent two contradictory forces. One represents death-ashes; and the other, water, represents clean/new life from death. (Yeshua our Messiah died that we may have life). Baruch Hashem Yahweh!

Leviticus 4: 21 And he shall carry the bull OUTSIDE THE CAMP, and burn him as he burned the first bull; it is a sin offering for the congregation.

We must remember Yeshua was without sin or blemish and was anointed with the Spirit of Yahweh. He was never influenced by the teachings of men, but only taught the words that the Father gave Him. He was tried and sacrificed OUTSIDE THE CAMP, which is the Mount of Olives.

He was given the sour vinegar on a branch of hyssop (also used in the Red Heifer sacrifice) to fulfill the Torah exactly.

Matthew 5: 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, [finish the Torah] or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil [To make proper understanding and fortify it].

As important as this was in the time of Moses and Messiah, I believe that this sacrifice has a very important significance for the future.

Eleazar oversaw the Red Heifer sacrifice - but remember, he was not the high priest, unlike Aaron. Caiaphas oversaw the crucifixion of Yeshua, but again, he was not a legitimate high priest, since he bought his position within the Roman political system. So, I believe that the anti-Messiah will perhaps covenant to allow another Red Heifer sacrifice.

During my study on this I found that the Jewish sages have questioned the purpose of the true meaning of the Red Heifer sacrifice and the sprinkling of the waters of purification. One needs to pause and think about this sacrifice and its purpose. Without an understanding of the requirement of the Messiah to take on uncleanness in order to purify the sinner, the truth is veiled. I believe Isaiah the prophet somehow addressed this when he said:

Isaiah 44: 18 They have not known nor understood for he hath shut their eyes that they cannot see; [and] their hearts that they cannot understand.

The best of theologians, even today, have a problem understanding this eternal requirement.

The Psalmist wrote of the Messiah's great suffering on the tree and the relationship of the Red Heifer:

Psalms 69: 29 But I [am] poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O Elohim, set me up on high. I will praise the name of Elohim with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. [This] also shall please YHWH better than an ox [or] bullock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall see [this, and] be glad: and your heart shall live that seek Elohim.

The following quote regarding the Red Heifer was taken from "Judaism 101" an online encyclopedia of Judaism:

Parah Adumah - The Red Heifer - Some time in 1997, a red heifer was born in Israel. This birth received quite a bit of press coverage, and I received many questions asking about the significance of it. The ritual of the Red Heifer sacrifice (in Hebrew, parah adumah) is part of one of the most mysterious sacrifices described in the Torah. The purpose of this ritual is to purify people from the defilement caused by contact with the dead. The ritual is discussed in Numbers 19. If you find it difficult to understand, don't feel bad; the sages themselves described it as beyond human understanding. What is so interesting about this ritual is that it purifies the impure, but it also renders the pure impure (i.e., everybody who participates in the ritual becomes impure). It is believed by many that the Messiah will perform this ritual when He comes, because we have all suffered the defilement of contact with the dead. Thus, the existence of a Red Heifer is a possible, but not definite, sign of the Messiah. If the Messiah were coming, there would be a Red Heifer, but there could be a Red Heifer without the Messiah coming. Copyright 5756-5760 (1995-1999), Tracey R Rich.

It is believed by many, that the Messiah will perform this ritual when He returns. In that scenario, perhaps the anti-Messiah comes to the realization of this and decides to make a move to challenge Yahweh. But, time will tell as we are fast approaching the hour. For a full discourse on who is the anti messiah and what he will do, please see my book "World War III - Unmasking the End Times Beast" which can be purchased from Amazon.Com - Search under Simon Altaf.

Returning to the Book of Numbers again:

Numbers 19:17-22 And for an unclean [person] they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel: And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip [it] in the water, and sprinkle [it] upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave: And the clean [person] shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even. But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of YHWH. The water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he [is] unclean. And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even. And whatsoever the unclean [person] toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth [it] shall be unclean until even.

There were four main essentials to completing the Red Heifer sacrifice.

• The Sacrifice
  
  
• Scarlet (wool)
  
  
• Wood
  
  
• Hyssop

These are the same four elements found in the Passover Lamb sacrifice of the Passover in Egypt and on the Mount of Olives for the Red Heifer sacrifice, perfectly pointing to the Messiah.

Exodus 12:21-22 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the Passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip [it] in the blood that [is] in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that [is] in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.

• The Sacrifice - Lamb
  
  
• Red Scarlet - Blood of the lamb
  
  
• The Wood - The door lintel posts
  
  
• The Hyssop Branch

John 19: 28 After this, Yahushua knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. 29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. 30 When Yeshua therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.

Note Yeshua said, "It is finished" - the requirement for ALL sin sacrifices. There was no more need of any other persons coming proclaiming their own way, or ideas concerning salvation. The word that is used in Hebrew for finished is Kala, meaning He was calling out to His bride Israel to return through Him. "In the Greek He is saying, "It is finished." But in the Hebrew there is another significant utterance that many have missed: In the Hebrew the word for "finish," or "is finished" is kala, also meaning bride.

These words uttered by Yeshua prior to His death was a cry for His kala to return and be cleansed and forgiven, showing that even while dying He had Yisrael on His mind and in His heart. In essence by crying for the kala, or the congregation/bride of Yisrael, He is displaying the true reason He hanged Himself on the tree. An alternative word for finished is neshalem, whose root word is shalom. Combining these two variations in Hebrew, we get Shalom My bride; be made whole! Yahweh has only one bride and the Son was sent to fetch that wandering bride, even as Eliezer was sent to fetch a bride for Isaac. That one word kala is the message of the kingdom in a nutshell.

Psalms 69: 21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

What does this indicate? This means that Messiah Yeshua fulfilled all these Scriptures of Numbers 19, Exodus 12 and Psalms 69 perfectly, thus fulfilling the Red Heifer offering fully. He died, therefore, revealing the mysterious link between both the Passover and Red Heifer sacrifices.

Yeshua came not only voluntarily as the Lamb of Yahweh for a redemption offering, but also as a sin atonement offering - i.e. the Red Heifer. This was clearly prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 11: 19 But I [was] like a lamb [or] an ox [that] is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, [saying], let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.

We remember what Abraham told Isaac - More accurately the Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition Study Bible says: Genesis 22: 14 And Avraham called the name of that place YHWH-Yireh: as it is said to this day, on the Mountain YHWH is seen.

Yahweh is seen on the Mountain as Messiah!

<b>Genesis 22: 8 And Abraham said, My son, Elohim will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

It literally reads Yahweh Himself will become the LAMB at the end of days!

Abraham was shown something marvelous by Yahweh many millennia ago. Isaac was revealing a future prophecy of the incredible sacrifice of Messiah to be seen uplifted on the tree on the Mount of Olives and seen from the Temple on Mt. Moriah, the Mountain of Yahweh. Meaning, from the Temple Mount the Lamb's sacrifice/YHWH will be seen! The Messiah, the Lamb of Elohim was hung on the wood with a crown of thorns, just as the ram's head was hung in the thicket (thorns) in Genesis 22. Yahweh provided Himself as the Lamb and just as with Isaac, the son of Abraham, we as believers (sons of Elohim) are saved from death.

Adapted, with permission, from Rabbi Simon Altaf's book, Feasts of YHWH, the Elohim of Israel.