The Mystery of Solomon’s Chok!

As with all posts this subject cannot be taken as a separate focus, as everything is connected.

Other facts and information have to be included in order to make sense of it all as we fit all the seemingly unrelated pieces of this puzzle together. Having said that, before we look at the reason behind Solomon’s Chok, included is a brief pictorial recap. on the fact that Messiah Jesus/Yeshua, is typified as the Alef.

See the last post for reference to the Hebrew Alef Bet (Alphabet). Click links below.

NAIL I AM

https://www.minimannamoments.com/alef-bet-alphabet/

Each area we look at is like the Word itself, it cannot be contained within finite parameters and it is a huge challenge to condense all the relevant material for one area of focus, into a single meal! If anything is left out it’s due to lack of space and not to the lack of its importance.

This is part 1 of 2, to allow us to take time to absorb the pictures and text, which will enhance our understanding of both the seriousness and the joy, with which our Messiah fulfilled His destiny; and gave us the perfect WAY back to Himself.

Jesus/Yeshua is the Aleph-Bet (Alphabet).The beginningand the end

The Alef/Aleph and the Tav  Alpha and Omegathe First and the Last.He IS the first from Genesis to the last in Revelation.The alef or first letter is an OX head in the pictograph and as mentioned that Jesus/Yeshua is not only symbolized in scripture by a Lamb and a Nail and a Lion and Fire but also as the Red Heifer.There is also the reference in Ezekiel to the Red Heifer/Ox/Bull with the Four Faced Man. 

Ezekiel 10:14 Describing the cherubim each had 4 faces. 

“… And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.” (Ezekiel1:5). “Four” is the number of creation and signifies the world.

Also each of the 12 tribes of Israel positions in the wilderness. (Again, everything is connected).

The Four Faces of A Spiritual Man exemplified in Jesus/Yeshua

 Ezekiel: He is the “Wonderful Four-Faced Man” (Ezekiel 1:5-6)

In Daniel: He is the “Fourth Man in the Burning, Fiery Furnace” (Daniel 3:25)Ezekiel 1:10″As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle”. Both the bull and the ox are ‘cattle’, (heifer and cow).

Having established Yeshua is typified as Alef/Ox/Red Heifer.. (it was also referenced in the last post;)

..here is the unusual ritual law of the parah adumah (red heifer) and it is identified as the subject of Solomon’s Chok.

In fact, the Talmud states that of all the taryag mitzvot (613 commandments), this is the only one that wise King Solomon could not figure out.

This ritual is considered “chok” within the Jewish tradition, meaning that it defies rational sense. It is a Hebrew word meaning beyond the range of human reason, though some of the sages speculate that although the priest obediently offered the sacrifice as demanded by God, Solomon apparently did not understand why Numbers 19 declared that the priest would be “unclean until evening.”

Chok from Chukkim (חֻקִּים) are statutes divine decrees given without a reason.

These laws can seem irrational to human reason!

Mishpatim (מִשְׁפָּטִים) are laws given for a clearly specified reason (i.e., logical laws, for the prohibitions against theft and murder.)

Note: eidot (עֵדוֹת) are testimonials (from the root ‘ed, “witness”) that commemorate or represent something, they commemorate or symbolically represent something, (e.g. to wear tzitzit, eat matzah on Passover) the eidot occupy a sort of “middle ground” between the rationally understandable mishpatim and the supra-rational chukkim.

The Scriptures are filled with various imperatives of one kind or another. The Hebrew word mitzvah (מִצְוָה) generally means “divine commandment” (mitzvot is the plural form). The various mitzvot found in the Torah may be further divided into the subcategories of chukkim u’mishpatim (Deut. 4:5):

Why was this sacrifice so puzzling to King Solomon and the Jewish sages? Well, the sacrifice of the red cow just doesn’t fit the pattern of any of the other sacrifices given in the Torah.It’s a paradox, a puzzle, a question…

Here is the hidden mystery in the symbolism of the red heifer for its meaning is a clear foreshadowing of the sacrifice of the Jesus the Messiah /Mashiach Yeshua to deliver us from death and here are 8 reasons why:1 It was the most unique sacrifice in the Torah. Unlike other animals that could be offered to the Lord, a completely red cow was extremely rare and one of a kind.

2 The red heifer (Parah Adumah) had to be a perfect specimen that was completely red, without blemish in which there is no defect. (Possibly alluding to uncorrupted DNA; Yeshua the Last Adam = to First Adam, whose DNA was also perfect and uncorrupted.) The rabbis interpreted ‘without blemish’, as referring to the color, that is not having so much is a single white or black hair.This is the only sacrifice in the Torah where the color of the animal is explicitly required. Furthermore the parah adumah was never to have had a yoke upon it, meaning that it must never have been used for any profane purposes. Yoke also alludes being in captivity and in bondage to a master who placed the yoke upon the subject as slavery.  3 It was the only sacrifice where all the rituals were carried out outside of the camp (and later, outside the Temple precincts).

Unlike all of the sacrifices that were offered at the brazen altar, the parah adumah was taken outside the camp to be slaughtered before the priest, took some of its blood and sprinkled it seven times before the Mishkan, that by designating it as a purification offering.

That is, the “blood applications” of this sacrifice occurred in a location apart from the Levitical altar.

Then the red heifer would be burned in its entirety unlike other Levitical sacrifices including the fact that all the blood of the sacrifice was to be burnt in the fire as well.

4 It is the only sacrifice of blood in the Torah of Moses. In other words, the blood of the red cow was not drained out but rather was burned in the fire.(All the items that God required them to use were significant and heavy with meaning that would only be fulfilled and make sense when Messiah, Jesus fulfilled them in every detail.)

5 It was the only sacrifice in Torah that ritually contaminated the priest who offered it, but made the one who was sprinkled by it clean and that explicitly cleansed from the contact with sin and death. Anyone or anything that came into contact with a corpse, (the embodiment of sin and death) was required to be purified using the water of separation.The purification procedure took seven days, using stalks of hyssop dipped into the water and shaken over the ritually defiled person on the 3rd day and then again on the 7th day. After the second sprinkling the person undergoing the purification process would be immersed in a mikveh (water) and then be unclean until the following evening.

Purification on Third and Seventh Days Required In order to be fully purified from contact with a dead body, a person had to be sprinkled with the ashes of the Red Heifer (mixed with water) on the third and seventh days: Numbers 19:11-13

 

Based upon the understanding that the Biblical Holy Days, (the Appointed Times of the Lord, Leviticus 23), provide the prophetic pattern and timetable of God’s Master Plan of Redemption pointing to the true Messiah; we can see that Yeshua’s death and resurrection follow this detailed prophetic timetable. 

There may also be a prophetic connection between the 3rd and 7th days for purification with the ashes of the Red Heifer and the 3rd and 7th days of the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread prophetic cycle.

In the Spring: 

Passover – (Death of the Lamb) (Deliverance of Israel)

Feast of Unleavened Bread – (Yeshua, the Bread of Heaven was without sin.) 

         Firstfruits – (The Risen Christ was presented in Heaven before His Father.)

Pentecost – (The Spirit was poured out. 

            Messiah began to write His Law on the hearts of Israel.)

     In the Fall: 

Feast of Trumpets – (Warnings of Judgment Day approaching) 

Day of Atonement – (Judgment Day) 

Feast of Tabernacles – (We will tabernacle with Him.) 

In preparation for Passover, purification from sin was necessary.

For those who had been in contact with the dead, purification by the sprinkling of the ashes of the Red Heifer was the only way purity could be restored.

According to this prophetic picture, Yeshua, as God’s Red Heifer, provides the purification necessary to partake of Messiah Yeshua as God’s Passover Lamb.

According to this prophetic timeline, Yeshua was crucified on the day that the Passover Lambs were sacrificed (14th of Nisan) and He resurrected on the third day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (17th of Nisan). The Feast of Unleavened Bread covered a period of seven days from the 15th through the 21st of Nisan, the first and seventh days being days of holy convocation, annual Sabbath days when no work was to be done. 6 The items used to cleanse tzaraat (“leprosy”) were burned along with the sacrifice. In other words, the sacrifice would incorporate the means of cleansing from defilement and uncleanness.

It was the only sacrifice that paradoxically contaminated the priest who offered it, that made the one who was sprinkled by it clean.

7 It was the only sacrifice with the ashes were preserved and used (all of the sacrifices required at the ashes be disposed of outside the camp).

8 It was the only sacrifice in Torah that explicitly cleansed from the contact with sin and death. Anyone (or anything) that came into contact with a corpse (the embodiment of sin and death) was required to be purified using the mei niddah/‘water of separation’.

Hyssop (ezov, in Hebrew,) (symbol of humility); a Scarlet thread, (symbol of blood that ties everything together); (the scarlet thread dye color came from the crimson worm!)

a cedar stick,(that pierced Messiah side would then be thrown upon the burning parah adumah (these were the same items used to cleanse tzara’at). In other words the blood was assimilated into the ashes of the sacrifice, which were then gathered and mixed with water to create the, ‘water of separation’ mei niddah, for the Israelite community.

The life is in the blood to deliver from death and why Jesus/Yeshua had to die and shed His Blood to give us life.The word separation harkens to Zechariah 13:1 ‘on that day there shall be a fountain open for the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and from niddah.’ It means moved, (i.e. separated), and generally refers to separation due to ritual impurity. Medieval Biblical commentator Abraham ibn Ezra writes that, the word niddah, is related to the term menadechem (מנדיכם), meaning those that cast you out.

According to Jewish tradition this sacrifice was to atone for the sin of the Golden calf, though the Torah it self does not make this Association.

The Lord Jesus/ Messiah Yeshua is the perfect fulfillment of the parah adumah, since He was completely without sin or defect. 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 8:46.

He was sacrificed outside the camp. Hebrews 13:13.

He made Himself sin for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21;

The sprinkling of His blood makes us clean, (1 Peter 1:2; Hebrews 12:24; Revelation 1:5;) and the water of separation that His sacrifice created, is the means by which we are made clean from the impurity of sin. Ephesians 5: 25– 26; Hebrews 10:22In learning that the sacrifice of the red heifer was meant to create the “waters of separation” (i.e., mei niddah: מֵי נִדָּה) for the community.

The sages state in this regard: “God created the cure before the plague,” meaning that His love is the foundation of all things: עוֹלָם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה / Olam chesed yibaneh: “steadfast love built the world” (Psalm 89:2).Just as God created mankind only after He created the pathway of repentance (i.e., the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”: Eph. 1:4, Heb. 4:4, Rev 13:8), so the purification from death was likewise foreseen and provided. 

The “waters of separation” ultimately refer to our purification (i.e., identification) with the death of Yeshua (Rom. 6:3, 1 Cor. 10:13; Gal. 3:27).

There were four types of sin offerings. Three of these were killed or slaughtered at the slaughtering arenas within the temple proper, “before the presence of the Lord. (Lev 4:4) All three had their blood sprinkled seven times before the Inner Curtain which veiled the Holy of Holiest. All three sin offerings had their bodies carried out of the camp to be burned to ashes on the altar outside the camp.By understanding the crucifixion of Jesus with all the shadow-pictures of the Hebrews, we seeJesus as the fulfillment of the sacrifice of the Red Heifer.  

The Holiest of all the sin offerings was the sin offering of the Red Heifer.

The red heifer, offered as a sin offering for purification of the collective congregation of Israel was slaughtered according to the dictates of the Lord of Hosts to Moses outside the camp of Israel. (Numbers 19:3)The blood of the red heifer was sprinkled outside the camp, the body burned to ashes, and then the ashes through some mystical process, (chokthat transcended even the wisdom of Solomon, when it was mixed with pure spring water, it bestowed holiness and purification as it was sprinkled over not only people, but over the land.  They purified the temple with it. They could purify the entire city of Jerusalem if needed or the entire Land of Israel.  

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, our way to holiness would come only through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus/Yeshua, the Son of God.  It was Jesus/Yeshua, who was sacrificed as a ‘sin offering’ not only to bring holiness for His brethren the Jews and the “Lost Sheep of the House of Israel” but to all people.  It was they, who by belief in the sacrifice of the blood of Yeshua are “adopted” and “grafted” into the literal and spiritual House of Israel.    

SYMBOLISM:

Yeshua (Jesus) IS the red heifer. His blood (the scarlet) is cleansing when applied by Yeshua Himself (the “clean man”) using the water (Holy Spirit) and Hyssop (a symbol of cleansing).

During the 3rd millennium, from the first sin, the LORD made a promise covenant with with Abraham concerning his “seed”. All of the faithful ARE children of Abraham (Gal. 3:29)

It is interesting that the LORD commanded Abram to bring a heifer, as one of the animals to be sacrificed for the covenant ceremony (Gen. 15:9). The ashes of the red heifer, would one day be used for cleansing.  Four hundred thirty years later (to the day) the Children of Israel left Egypt, at midnight on the 15th of Nissan – after a meal of unleavened bread (Exo. 12:41).  This means the LORD entered into covenant with Abraham on the night which would later see the Passover Meal – The Feast of Unleavened Bread. 

During the 7th millennium, Yeshua will “sprinkle” us (cleanse us) while we spend a thousand years with Him. At the end of this 7th day – we (redeemed Israel) will be “clean” of the harmful effects of our life on this earth, where we have all “touched death.” 

NOTE: Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus were not able to keep the Passover after touching the body of Jesus. They would have kept the “Passover” 30 days later, as prescribed by the Law (Num. 9:10-12). Today is the 30th day of the Omer and Pesach Sheni—a Second Passover! Pesach Sheni 2018 is observed on April 29 (14 Iyar).

The holiest of all the sin offerings, was the fourth sin offering, the Red Heifer.

Unlike the other sin offerings, the Red Heifer was walked over to the Altar on the Mount of Olives (outside the camp of Israel/Jerusalem) and there burnt in its entirety.

The difference of the red heifer and the other sin offerings was that the other three were absolving sin, giving the recipient freedom from sin or in a sense, salvation.  On the other hand, the ash of the red heifer was to bring purification and holiness. 

Just as the Red Heifer was sacrificed “outside the camp” in contrast to all other sacrifices that took place in the Tabernacle or Temple, Jesus was sacrificed outside the city of Jerusalem. In contrast to the normal male animals sacrificed, the Red Heifer was the only female animal the Law commanded to be sacrificed. Significantly, our Lord was betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, the price of a female slave.”

Alfred Edersheim gives this explanation of the deep meaning of the Red Heifer.

“As the first manifestation of sin which separates man from God, defilement by the dead required a Sin-offering, and the ashes of the red heifer are expressly so designated in the words: “It is a sin-offering.” (Num. 9:17) But it differs from all other sin-offerings. The sacrifice was to be a pure red color; one “upon which never came yoke; and a female, all other sin-offerings for the congregation being males….

But what distinguished it even more from all the others was, that it was a sacrifice once for all, (at least so long as its ashes lasted); that its blood was sprinkled, not on the altar, but outside the camp towards (westward) the sanctuary; and that it was wholly burnt, along with cedar wood, as the symbol of imperishable existence, hyssop, as the of purification from corruptions, and “scarlet” which from its colour as the emblem of life.

Thus the sacrifice of Highest Life, brought as a sin-offering, and, so as far as possible, once for all, was in its turn accompanied by the symbols of Imperishable existence, freedom from corruption, and fullness of life, so as yet more to intensity its significance. But even this is not all. The gathered ashes with running water were sprinkled on the third and seventh days on that which was to be purified. Assuredly, if death meant “the wages of sin,” this purification pointed in all its details, to “to the gift of God,” which is “eternal life” through the sacrifice of Him in whom is the fullness of life.” (The Temple, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Michigan. 1987, pages 348-349)

View towards Temple Mt from Mt of Olives.

Jerusalem showing location of Red Heifer Bridge.

THE MOUNT OF OLIVES ALTAR FROM THE TIME OF ADAM

Most Jewish scholars believe that from Adam to Abraham (Genesis 22:2) this particular altar was located on Mount Moriah (Temple Mount). According to The Torah Anthology, Adam constructed the first sacrificial altar vs.16 and it was successively rebuilt by Abel, Noah (or his son Shem), and Abraham. But it is essential to understand that there were TWO altar sites in Jerusalem of central importance to God’s Master Plan of Redemption: the altar on Mount Moriah which is profoundly significant in God’s plan of redemption.

The Lord told Abraham to take his “only son, whom you love” and offer him as a burnt offering: Since Isaac was no longer a child, as is generally depicted, but rather a young man in his thirties, it is clear that he voluntarily allowed his father to bind him for the sacrifice. v21This picture foreshadows the willing sacrifice of Yeshua in accordance with His Father’s will. And like Abraham laid the wood for the sacrifice on his son Isaac, the crossbar for His crucifixion was laid on Jesus/Yeshua’s shoulders to carry to the place of sacrifice:

They took Jesus [Yeshua] therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross[bar], to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha (John 19:17).

“YOU HAVE NOT WITHHELD YOUR SON, YOUR ONLY SON, FROM ME” (Genesis 22:11-12), The translation that can be made from the original Hebrew of Genesis 22:8, regarding Abraham’s reply to Isaac concerning the lamb for the sacrifice.The conventional translation is: And Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:8a).

The alternative translation is:
“God will provide Himself AS the Lamb for the burnt offering…” vs.23. Wow!

What a profound prophecy regarding the promised Lamb of God, Messiah Yeshua, who offered Himself in our place as the atonement sacrifice for our sins!

The lamb is described as a burnt offering, meaning that the entire lamb was to be burned as an offering to God.

A burnt offering also represents complete submission to God’s will.In prophetic fulfillment, Yeshua totally submitted Himself to the will of Father God, offering Himself entirely as the sacrifice required to pay the price for all humanity’s sins.

As YHVH-Yeshua (pre-incarnate) provided a ram in place of Isaac, YHVH-Yeshua (incarnate) provided Himself, the Lamb of God, as the sin atonement sacrifice for each and every human being. Note that a ram was provided in place of Isaac, not a lamb (Genesis 22:13). This seems to confirm the true meaning of Abraham’s words as a prophecy about the Lamb of God, Messiah Yeshua.

As the ram’s horns were caught in a thicket (interwoven branches of a bush), vs.24. Yeshua’s head was caught in a crown woven out of thorn branches:

24 The Hebrew word sobek (Strong’s #5441) refers to “branches interwoven, a thicket” (William Wilson, New Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies, p. 443; Spiros Zodhiates, The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, p. 81).

Here, the Temple was built, where the Shekinah (Divine Presence) manifested inside the Holy of Holies above the Ark of the Covenant. And here, the Messiah will seat Himself on His throne in His Temple during the Millennial Kingdom; AND equally important is the altar on the Mount of Olives.

The site for the sacrifice and burning of the Red Heifer, and the burning of the Day of Atonement bull and goat sin offerings. It is believed that it was here that the first altar for, sin sacrifice, was established at the place where Adam and Eve first sinned; and it was here, Messiah Yeshua offered Himself as the ultimate sin sacrifice for the atonement of the sins of all humanity.David went to the summit of the Mount of Olives, the place “where God was worshipped”. Not until David’s son, Solomon, was the Temple and its altar built on Mount Moriah. This clearly shows the summit of the Mount of Olives as a place of worship prior to the Temple and such a place of worship would have included an altar for sacrifice. 2 Samuel 15:30, 32

As previously explained, it is highly probable that the altar on the Mount of Olives goes back to the time of Adam, when the first animal sacrifice for sin was made. David was shown a vision of the crucifixion (which he recorded in Psalm 22) at the very place where his descendant, Messiah Yeshua, would be crucified, on the summit of the Mount of Olives.

The Mount of Olives is frequently mentioned in the New Testament. Yeshua spent much time with His disciples on the Mount of Olives (Luke 21:37; 22:39; John 8:1).It was on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Temple Mount, that Yeshua wept over the city of Jerusalem and prophesied concerning the destruction of the Temple, the end of the Age, and His Second Coming (Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:3-4).

It was over the Mount of Olives that Yeshua rode on the donkey foal during His entry into Jerusalem, crossing over the Kidron Valley to the Temple Mount (Matthew 21:1; Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29, 37).

Yeshua spent His last night on the Mount of Olives prior to His arrest (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; Luke 22:39).

And Yeshua was crucified, buried, and resurrected on the Mount of Olives (Hebrews 13:11-13).

The Word of God shows that the Gate of Heaven is located above the Mount of Olives. This is place of Jacob’s Beth-el; where the angels ascended and descended from the Heavens.

Here the prophet Ezekiel had a vision of the Shekinah (Glory Cloud) leaving the Temple and moving to a position above the Mount of Olives before it disappeared into Heaven (Ezekiel 10; 11:23).

Messiah Yeshua ascended into Heaven from the Mount of Olives (Luke 24:50-52 Acts 1:9-12).

Therefore, logically as there is no co-incidence with God; it would follow, that the altar on the Mount of Olives was located directly under the Gate of Heaven.

Somewhere on the top of the Mount of Olives was once located the Red Heifer altar. No ruins of the altar remain, unless buried deep under cement or buildings.

This is probably the best EXAMPLE of what the Red Heifer Altar might have looked like on the Mount of Olives.

In 1980 by Adam Zertal uncovered an altar at Ebal Israel believed to be the altar of Joshua, with a later altar built over it.This altar had been purposely covered with stones to either hide it, or preserve it. It is 10 feet high and  around 25 x 30 feet in width and length.  The walls are 5 ft thick with a fill to make it flat on top. There is a 23 x 3 foot wide ramp leading up to it with the same ledge and smaller ramp along side the larger one. Beneath this altar is another smaller, 6.5 ft round, altar built on the bedrock. The smaller altar is thought by many to be the altar of Joshua that we read about in the scripture. It was built around 1250 BC. The larger, rectangle, altar above it is dated to around 1400 BC.The front portion of this altar had two large stalls where the animals were kept. Also different compartments were found within the stalls was used to contain the items needed for the sacrificing of the animals.When the Temple was built in Jerusalem the altar on Mt Ebal was abandoned.  

The Red Heifer sacrifice was performed on the summit of the Mount of Olives in a direct line of sight to the entrance of the Temple on its eastern side. The animal was placed on its left side, head toward the south, and face turned westward toward the entrance to the Temple.

According to the Mishnah, the High Priest who sacrificed and burned the Red Heifer was able to look directly into the entrance of the Temple when the blood was sprinkled (Middot 2.4):

All the walls that were there [on the Temple Mount] were high, with the exception of the eastern wall, so that the [High] Priest who burned the [red] heifer stood on top of the Mount of Olives and was able to see directly into the entrance of the Sanctuary [Temple] when the blood was tossed. vs.3 God gave the commandment regarding the Red Heifer sacrifice:

Based upon God’s instructions, the Red Heifer (Hebrew parah adumah):… refers to a red-brown, unblemished, and unworked cow that was sacrificed and burned (Num. 19:1-8); its ashes were then kept “for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin” (v. 9). The cleansing in view had to do with corpse contamination (vv.11-22). This ritual included several unusual features, such as the requirement that the slaughtering take place OUTSIDE THE CAMP (instead of on the altar [of the Temple])… (emphasis added). The Red Heifer had to be entirely red (reddish-brown); at least three years old, although an older animal was acceptable; perfectly free of any physical blemish or defect; and never previously yoked or used for physical labor (Numbers 19:2).

The Red Heifer Bridge

Several references are quoted confirming the same details.

(Significantly, during the second Temple. The high priest performed the ceremony facing the temple while on top of the Mount of olives). (the Talmud recounts that the high priest performed the blood applications of the red heifer while gazing out the temple and at the holy of holies from a mountain opposite the temple mount.)Yeshua was led like the holiest sacrifice, the Red Heifer, from the Temple Mount through the Eastern Gate along the ritually clean, arch-over-arch causeway/ramp that connected the Temple Mount to the summit of the Mount of Olives.

This was the only path from the Temple to the summit that afforded ritual purity necessary for an acceptable sacrifice.

From the summit of the Mount of Olives, there was a clear view into the Temple. Just as the Red Heifer’s head was turned to face the Temple as it was sacrificed, so too Messiah Yeshua faced the Temple as He was crucified – the ultimate and holiest of all sacrifices for the atonement of humanity’s sins.

This heifer must be brought to the “Mount of Anointment”, A PRECISE LOCATION ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, OPPOSITE THE EASTERN GATE OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT. There the heifer must be slaughtered and burned. Afterwards, its ashes are mixed together with natural spring water. It is this solution, called by the Bible “the waters of sanctification,” which is used to sprinkle on those who are impure (emphasis added).5

During the Second Temple period, the Red Heifer was led out of the Temple area through the Eastern Gate, over the Kidron Valley and up to the summit of the Mount of Olives via a ritually clean, stone arch-over-arch causeway/ramp. The Eastern Gate: There was no need to change this system during the Herodian period [the time of Messiah Yeshua], so it can safely be assumed that it would have been through this gate that the Red Heifer was led out to the Mount of Olives during that time period as well.As previously explained, the Red Heifer was sacrificed “outside the camp”, “outside the gate”, meaning outside the Eastern Gate of the Temple Mount. Certain other sacrificial animals were also burned at the same site, but the Red Heifer was the only animal actually sacrificed at this location.

Certain instructions were given to Moses concerning the sacrificial altar of the Red Heifer. It was to be built “outside” the city. Outside the city was given as 2000 cubits (2,916 ft @ 17.5 cu) to the east from the tent tabernacle. It was to be made of un-hewn natural stone from the immediate area and have four walls, filled in with layers of stone until it had a flat surface on top. It must have a ramp, not steps, and a ledge around the altar on three sides and along the ramp down one side.  From the altar the priest was to sprinkle the blood seven times towards the tabernacle.The place “outside the camp” was 2000 cubits (3000 feet) east of the city, according to God’s commandment for marking city limits:

“You shall also MEASURE OUTSIDE THE CITY ON THE EAST SIDE TWO THOUSAND CUBITS, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, with the city in the center. This shall become theirs as pasture lands for the cities” (Numbers 35:5, emphasis added).

What does “outside the camp” mean?

Conclusion coming in part 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mysteries and Miracles

One mystery miracle that is sometimes overlooked is:

The Rending or Tearing of the Temple Veil.

Recorded in three places in the gospels of Matt 27:51,

“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His Spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

The earth shook and the rocks split.

The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life” (Matt.27:50-52 NIV). 

Luke 23:45 and Mark 15:38 “Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”

In the Temple, The Holy of Holies is also called the Most Holy Place, inner sanctuary, oracle, and inner house and represented the dwelling place of God here on Earth, or the Throne of God.

It was only to be entered once a year, on the Day of Atonement, and only by the High Priest.

In Solomon’s Temple, the Holy of Holies was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high.

(Note: A cubit is approx. 18 inches, so the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple would have been about 30 feet by 30 feet by 30 feet in today’s unit of measurement.) The height of a 6ft man = 4 cubits.

The temple complex was huge and to understand the scale of it, makes the torn veil of greater significance. To get a better idea compare the size of the people.

Entrance into the Holy of Holies.

To enter into the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple, the High Priest had to pass through a curtain, or veil (2 Chr. 3:14), gold chains (1 Kgs. 6:21), and two doors (1 Kgs. 6:31).

The veil separated the Holy Place or Temple, where the High Priest made the sacrifice and the Holy of Holies or Most Holy Place.

The sacred veil or curtain, called the peroketh, represented an inter-dimensional veil that shielded the Unseen, Unfathomable Lord of hosts, from the rest of His creation. 

The curtain in Solomon’s Temple is in 2 Chronicles 3:14: it was described as a “veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work and worked cherubim on it” which separated the Holy of Holies, the Kodesh Hakadashim, from the rest of the Temple.

This is very similar to the description of the veil leading into the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness.

Exodus 26:31 “And thou shalt make a vail [of] blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:”

The veil was then hung on four pillars like the

 Throne of God which rested on the four cherubim in heaven.

The Curtain of Separation

History seems to indicate that there were two curtains in Herod’s Temple: One at the huge gated entry into the Temple and the other separating the Holy of Holies and the main sanctuary.

God Himself thought so much of the importance of the type, as shown by the tearing of the veil:

Matt 27:50-51 “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.”

If we don’t understand the meaning in Scripture of the Holy of Holies and the veil, we miss out on extremely significant information concerning exactly what Messiah’s death meant to sinful mankind.

To comprehend why it was a miracle we need to understand that the curtain separated the Holy Place from everyone but the High Priest.

The Holy Place was where the presence of God dwelled on the mercy seat.

The curtain was a constant reminder to the Israelites that their access to God depended on another physical human, and that this access was only granted through the physical works of the sacrificial system. 

Exodus 26:31 – “You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen.  It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim.

You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold.  Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver.  And you shall hang the veil from the clasps.” 

At the Moses tabernacle replica the high priest worships just outside of the Holy of Holies.

“Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil.  The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place the Most Holy.  You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy.”

According to Israelite Hebrew teachers /rabbinic sources, the Sacred Veil that was made for the Temple of Solomon was actually made by layering multiple sheets of colored linen together.  The curtains overall thickness was said to be over three feetThe highest and most Holy of days in the life of a Israelite/Hebrew, is the Day of Atonement, on this day, the Lord of hosts left His throne of justice and moved to the seat of mercy to meet with the Tzaddik of Israel, the High Priest as he entered the Most Holy Place.

One can only imagine the High Priest blindly navigating through the maze of thirty layers of linen sheets, together with the censor smoking incense in one hand and the blood of the ram in the bowl in the other hand.

As his world became darker and darker, he soon found himself standing in the presence of the Lord in complete darkness.

Without any sensory sight to help him, standing in the presence of the Lord would have been very disorientating.  He had to lean on faith and trust explicitly on the Lord to shield and protect him, for to touch the ark of the Lord would mean instant death. Then as the Lord promised the High Priest, “I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat”.

In the temple of Herod, (in Jesus’ day), the massive temple veil(s) were 60 feet long, 30 feet wide with multiple woven layers the thickness of a man’s hand (approx. 4”).

(See account of Historian Josephus at the end.)**

These curtains/veils were not the flimsy material we have as window dressings today.  

It was woven in 72 squares and was so heavy that over 300 priests were needed to move or change the squares.

The curtain itself was hung in the Temple on a huge stone lintel. It was over thirty feet long and estimated to weigh about thirty tons (60,000 pounds).

In a Letter to Hedibia, the early church father, Jerome, wrote that the during the rending of the temple Veil, the lintel that held the Veil was splintered, broke up and fell to the ground.

The lintel was an enormous stone, being at least 30 feet long and weighing some 30 tons!

Though this event was in the midst of a great earthquake, the portents to the High Priest and the Sanhedrin occurring at the moment of the death of Jesus/Yeshua were ominous.  Even with the collapse of the lintel, the huge curtain would have fallen to the ground, but the historical testimony states that “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom”. (Matthew 27:51)

The unseen Hand of the Almighty One sent a message to Caiphas, Ananias and all the other temple rulers.

The curtain being torn from top to bottom was a foreboding omen, indicating that God’s hand had torn it in two and that His presence was leaving that Holy place.

The judgments of God, as portrayed over the preceding three hours as Jesus hung on the cross, would be visited upon His own temple, His own people, and upon the evil followers of the temple rulers.

The rending of the veil is recorded in the gospels as if it were observed from the site of the execution of Jesus.  It seems the only place in the vicinity of the Temple of Herod, that had a visual view of the Eastern Gate looking down upon the temple, with a view of the veil in front of the Holy of Holiest, was on the western slopes of the Mount of Olives near the Miphkad Altar, where the ashes of the red heifer were burnt.

Consistent with the Gospel accounts of the death of Jesus and the independent testimonies of the Hebrew Talmud, Josephus, Tactitus, and early ante-Nicean fathers of the Christian Church, the final moments of the life of Jesus were surrounded with cataclysmic events and fateful portents.  These portents shadowed the esteemed high priest’s family, the House of Ananias and the temple hierarchy all the way to the final destruction of that glorious temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. 

It is also significant how the natural world was rent and torn, while the agony of the Suffering Servant was demonstrated on that cross before the Jewish people.  We must understand again, that the death of Jesus was not a human event but a cosmic event.  The Book of Job gives us a heavenly scene where in the Council of heaven the ‘sons of God’ met and deliberate.  It was here in this council that Satan went to represent this earth.  How?  There in the Garden, when Adam chose to disobey God, Satan wrestled away from ‘this’ son of God his dominion as ruler of this planet and his role to sit in that cosmic council in heaven.  There Satan known as ‘HaSatan’, which translated means ‘the Accuser’, has been representing this planet before the throne of God.

It was not just the followers of Jesus, the rulers of the temple and the Roman soldiers that watched the unfolding of this great “Drama of the Ages”. The other dimensional hosts in the universe; the sons of God and the angelic hosts all watched with bated breath and horror as the Son of God gave up His life. This was evident in the darkness of those hours.

Here, was THE moment of time, when Jesus/Yeshua cried out again with a loud voice, “It is Finished and bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (John 19: 30) or as Luke testified, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” (Luke 23:46) and “yielded up His spirit”.  (Luke 27:50)

“It records the rending of the Temple-Veil in two from the top downward to the bottom; as the second, the quaking of the earth, the rending of the rocks and the opening of the graves . . . while the rending of the Veil is recorded first, as being the most significant token to Israel, it may have been connected with the earthquake, although this alone might scarcely account for the tearing of so heavy a Veil from the top to the bottom.” 

The only place where a Passover (Pesach) lamb could be killed was in 
Jerusalem (Yerushalayim).

Mount Moriah, the exact same place where Abraham and Isaac had been willing to offer his life.

On the fourteenth of Nisan, at the third hour of the day (9:00
a.m.), the high priest (Cohen
 HaGadol) took the lamb and ascended the altar so he could tie the lamb 
in place on the altar. Exactly the same time on that day, Yeshua was tied
 to the tree on Mount Moriah (Mark 15:25).

The time of the evening 
sacrifice was (3:00 p.m.) for Passover (Exodus [Shemot] 12:6), the high 
priest (Cohen HaGadol) ascended the altar, cut the throat of the lamb
 with a knife, and said the words, “It is finished.”

(These are the
 exact words said after giving a peace offering to G-d.)

At this same 
time, Jesus/Yeshua died, saying these exact words as recorded in John (Yochanan) 19:30.
 Yeshua died at exactly 3:00 p.m. (Matthew [Mattityahu] 27:45-46,50). 

 

Roman time was calculated on 6 a.m. as the first hour of the day, as day breaks. Jesus/Yeshua died at the ninth hour, which is 3 p.m.

Between the evenings (Plural) is when the Passover lamb was killed.

This is a Jewish term. There are two evenings in the Jewish day. The first is the beginning of the suns waning, which is Noon. The second is the beginning of the darkness as the new day begins, avg. 6p.m. (Don’t think this strange, for in most of the western world the day begins at midnight, in the middle of the darkness.) Between the evenings as given in Exodus means 3 PM.


Picture Jesus’ loud and painful cry “it is finished” (Jn.19:30), as the Roman solder plunges a spear deep into His side and His life Blood drains to the ground.

At the same instant, the Temple veil tears apart as a powerful earthquake shakes Jerusalem.

Furthermore, picture the high priest who, having just condemned Jesus to death the night before, was splashing the blood of Passover lambs against the altar of God.

When Jesus cried out “it is finished” and the curtain tore, the relationship between God and humanity was altered forever. The tearing of the curtain of separation from top to bottom, forever opens the way for all humanity to eventually fellowship directly with God the Father. 

The significance that Jesus/Yeshua dies at the same moment that the lamb in the temple was killed cannot be over emphasized. It was God’s perfect timing, because it was at this point the earth quaked and the veil tore right where the High Priest was standing.

Their shock and astonishment was understandable.

   None of these events ‘just happened’, it was all part of God’s plan and His plan is still in motion.

The colors of the veil are very significant and are the same colors that are used in the garments of the High Priest.

Blue: We have learned about the significance of the color blue representing the Law of God.

Red: The color red represents the blood of Jesus Christ as our Passover sacrifice. It also represented the red ribbon of Rahab, which pointed to the inclusion of the Gentiles in salvation.

Purple: The color purple, which combines both blue and red, points us to the Royal Priesthood, which combines both the salvation given to us through the sacrifice of Jesus and our love of God shown through our obedience to the Law.

White: on the High Priest’s garments represents our clean garments as we prepare ourselves as the Bride of Christ and also the perfection of Jesus Christ.

Gold: To these four colors was added gold. In the Tabernacle in the Wilderness we see that the Ark of the Covenant located in the Holy of Holies was also made of gold. God’s presence was in the Ark and it was also the receptacle of the Holy Spirit. As the High Priest symbolizes the living Holy Holies/ Sanctuary, that we are today, the gold represents the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit in us. Just as the gold was interwoven amongst all the other strands of material, so too Holy Spirit ties all the members of the Body of Messiah together.

Therefore, by passing through the four-colored veil, it was looking forward to our perfect High Priest, Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah.

The symbolism of the veil was, that it was there to exclude all mankind, UNTIL the sacrifice of Jesus as High Priest. Jesus the Messiah could enter once and for all with His own blood to provide access for us, so that Holy Spirit, as the tangible power of God, could dwell among men.)

When Jesus died and the veil in the Temple was torn in two it ensures that we all may boldly approach the Throne of God in prayer, through our High Priest, Jesus the Messiah (Heb. 4:14-16).

Consider the enormous significance of this monumental and historical event in the following references:

This is the moment in time that Jesus spoke of to the woman of Samaria when he foretold that the existing worship system would be abolished, and that those who wanted to worship God would no longer need to travel to a specific location to worship:

“The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is necessary to worship. Jesus said to her, Woman believe me that an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem . . .. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (Jn.4:19-23 Para.).

No longer would a physical man be required to offer animal sacrifices for sins. Any who truly worship the Father can now stand before him and present their own cause to him, knowing that he will hear and consider their prayer because of the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ.

With the tearing of the curtain, all who worship God, whether Jew or Gentile, have access to the throne of mercy by the one and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

See Heb.4:15-16; 6:18-19; 9:1-15; 10:19-22.

“For through him we both have access by one spirit to the Father. Now therefore you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Eph.2:18-19 KJV).

 

Historical References of interest:

** “Josephus reported that the veil was 4 inches thick, was renewed every year, and that horses tied to each side could not pull it apart.  It barred all but the High Priest from the presence of God, but when it was torn in two at the death of Jesus of Nazareth (see Mark 15:38), access to God was made available to all who come through him.”  (Even at face value, this is an enigmatic note, in that Exodus 26 describes the Tabernacle, and the veil that was torn in two was part of Herod’s Temple.  Ryrie’s representation of “the veil” certainly implies that the veil that Exodus describes is the veil that Josephus describes, which is to be identified with the veil that was torn in two.) before these doors there was a veil of equal largeness with the doors. It was a Babylonian curtain, embroidered with blue, and fine linen, and scarlet, and purple, and of a contexture that was truly wonderful. Nor was this mixture of colors without its mystical interpretation, but was a kind of image of the universe; for by the scarlet there seemed to be enigmatically signified fire, by the fine flax the earth, by the blue the air, and by the purple the sea; two of them having their colors the foundation of this resemblance; but the fine flax and the purple have their own origin for that foundation, the earth producing the one, and the sea the other. This curtain had also embroidered upon it all that was mystical in the heavens, excepting that of the [twelve] signs, representing living creatures. (Historian Josephus Wars of the Jews: Wars 5.5.4)

Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.

The Veils before the Most Holy Place were 40 cubits (60 feet) long, and 20 (30 feet) wide, of the thickness of the palm of the hand, and wrought in 72 squares, which were joined together; and these Veils were so heavy, that, in the exaggerated language of the time, it needed 300 priests to manipulate each.  If the Veil was at all such as is described in the Talmud, it could not have been rent in twain by a mere earthquake or the fall of the lintel, although its composition in squares fastened together might explain, how the rent might be as described in the Gospel.

Maurice Henry Harris, Hebraic Literature (M. Walter Dunne, 1901).

Three hundred priests were told off [sic; the idea is that they were designated] to draw the veil (of the Temple) aside; for it is taught that Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel declared in the name of Rabbi Shimon the Sagan (or high priest’s substitute), that the thickness of the veil was a handbreadth. It was woven of seventy-two cords, and each cord consisted of twenty-four strands. It was forty cubits long and twenty wide. Eighty-two myriads of damsels worked at it, and two such veils were made every year. When it became soiled, it took three hundred priests to immerse and cleanse it.     Chullin (Harris, pp. 195-96)

The veil was one handbreadth thick and was woven on [a loom having] seventy-two rods, and over each rod were twenty-four threads.  Its length was forty cubits and its breadth twenty cubits; it was made by eighty-two young girls, and they used to make two in every year; and three hundred priests immersed it.