Of red cows, the Third Temple, and a dangerous end times prophecy: an update
May 11, 2025
The following is an update to an article written in June of last year: Of red cows, the Third Temple, and a dangerous end times prophecy. If you need to know why I'm nattering on about an archaic Bible prophecy, you might want to take a quick look at the information there.
The TL;DR version goes something like this:
American Christian fundamentalists don’t just believe the world will end. They hope it will end *soon*.
This belief has already led to consequences for Americans and the world, particularly with regard to climate change.
Israel plays a crucial role in this eschatology. That's why Trump recognized Jerusalem as capital of Israel in 2017, having been influenced by his Christian fundamentalist advisors.
To fulfill Biblical prophecies, a Third Temple must be built, and not just anywhere. It must be built in Jerusalem, on the site currently occupied by the Al-Aqsa Mosque. No doubt, you can understand why this will be a problem for the rest of us....
The temple's construction must be preceded by the sacrifice of an unblemished red heifer.
Christian fundamentalists believe the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack was a precipitating event that will lead directly into fulfillment of the prophecy. Meanwhile, Hamas considered the September 2022 importation of five red heifers to have been a provocation.
At this stage of the game, everything is ready. The heifers are lavishly ensconced and closely-monitored to prevent the slightest damage. Although the location of the ceremony is still TBA, a young Jewish "priest" is practicing the rituals. Even the robes and other accoutrements are on standby.
Crucially, none of this has anything to do with support for Jewish people. Only Israel matters, and only for its role in bringing about the apocalypse. Believers in this eschatology know, without doubt, that few will survive. Some will be Jews — yes, but only if they convert while there's still time.
American far right Christian Nationalist/fundamentalists are doing everything they can to hurry this process along. If they succeed, they could easily precipitate the long-anticipated war in the Middle East — and, given their expectation that such a war will engulf us all? This is a problem, and we need to pay attention to what they're doing.
I wrote my original red heifer post in Oct. 14, 2024. By then, my research had convinced me I was on the right track. But it still sounded so fantastical that I chose to slip it into my page through my favorite back door. I replaced an older, out-of-date post with the red cow information — thereby avoiding its inclusion in the site's main feed. For months afterward, I still felt awkward about it.
But in the aftermath of the election, I've only become more convinced that this Christian Nationalist eschatology poses a serious threat to our country's health and safety — and indeed, to the world's, as well.
Lately, I've been cross-posting all my political posts over to this Substack, so it seemed like a good time to hunt down some updates.
To my surprise, several books have been published in the last year. All of them are the work of true believers, including the American who facilitated the delivery of the red heifers to Israel. So, rather than adding a few new links to the original post, I found myself elaborating....
Having read the newer information, I find myself neither discouraged, nor relieved. Progress has been made toward conducting the necessary sacrifice. But at the same time, there are still hindrances. The organizers feel undeterred. One way or the other, "a pure, unblemished red heifer" will be consumed in a bonfire, its ashes will purify an as-yet unbuilt temple and its priests, and the world will enter unto a new age.
Or at least, that's the plan.
Update: March 11, 2025
We start with the most recent book to land on Christian bookstore shelves: End Times Prophecy: What the Red Heifers Mean for the Future, by Mondo Gonzales, Charisma News, Mar. 5, 2025. (Gonzales recently joined the staff of The Prophecy Watchers, an organization that was founded "to correctly and clearly expound Bible prophecy.")
There's no question about Gonzalez's belief in the prophecy.
As author of The Mystery of the Red Heifer (released Mar. 4, 2025), Gonzales argues that biblical references to the sacrifice are not figurative. "The interpretation that a temple will be rebuilt in the future is based on a logical deduction from the text itself and is grounded on the conviction that when God gives a prophecy, it absolutely must come to pass—or else God is a liar. Even though we might not understand the how nor think it is possible, God cannot fail.”
In Red Heifers 101: Responding to FAQs, he's exultant: "We are living in exciting times, as we haven’t seen even a preliminarily qualified red heifer in 1,900 years! Jesus is coming soon, and He will fix the world and all its mess. The world will be filled with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14). God’s presence will no longer be in the shadows, and the whole world will give Him the rightful glory He deserves.
"After nearly 2,000 years, we certainly seem to be on the cusp of Bible prophecy in the 70th week of Daniel. We are witnessing the preparations being set in place for the purification of the Temple Mount and construction of a third temple, which thereby sets the stage for events in the seven-year tribulation. We live in exciting times—and heartbreaking times; it is exciting to realize we may be the generation to witness the Lord’s return, while also heartbreaking to consider the deception, persecution and destruction that are coming on the earth."
"The increased interest in the upcoming red heifer ceremony is positive in that it has drawn more people into the understanding that we are living at the end of the age.
Gonzalez believes "the ceremony could not be done in secret [because of] the geography of the precise locations on the Mount of Olives. If you look at that map, you will see that these two locations are within the boundaries of eastern Jerusalem and hardly in a remote location. We must remember that the red heifer ritual ceremony essentially involves a large bonfire that could not be hidden in such a populated area. A fire of this size would produce major amounts of smoke and attract the attention of the fire department and police. In addition, ever since Hamas brought attention to the red cows in January 2024, the Arab people are also aware of these developments.
"Back in the fall of 2023 I had the opportunity to interview Byron Stinson. He was preparing various logistics for the red heifer ceremony, which was potentially planned for April or June of 2024. Obviously when this window passed, they did not suggest another time frame.
Gonzalez has friends who claimed to see the cows during a June 2024 visit to the Shiloh visitor center. "I am skeptical that the real qualified cows from Texas are accessible to the public at Shiloh. It seems likely that at least a few of them are decoys."
"Based on the latest news from December 2024, only two red heifers of the original five flown to Israel in September 2022 remain preliminarily qualified. Remember that any cow that is preliminarily qualified must be examined and requalified immediately prior to the ceremony. "
Shira Schechter also reports the heifers " have since developed non-red hairs, rendering them unfit for the ritual—at least for now." Source
Still, in his review of Gonzalez's book, James Lasher notes: "The only thing missing? Political will. ... The Temple Institute and other groups have already fabricated the implements for temple worship, including the golden menorah. Yet, rebuilding the temple remains a politically sensitive issue, with secular and religious factions within Israel holding differing views."
Quoting Gonzalez, he adds: “Most people in Israel… it’s mostly secular. They don’t even really care about a temple… there’s actually a lot of groups in the secular part of Israel that are very hostile to the idea of a temple being built.”
Gonzalez's book isn't the only recent release about the red heifer prophecy.
In Hunt For The Red Heifer: A Texas businessman's journey to find and deliver a Perfect Red Cow to Israel, Byron Stinson describes his "journey of faith [which] connects his Christian beliefs to the biblical search for the red heifer, vital for the Third Temple."
Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz's The Return of the Red Heifers: Paving the Road to Redemption is another recent release.
As mentioned above, Stinson is the believer who brought "five red heifers from Texas to Jerusalem in hopes that the prophetic ceremony would soon take place, in preparation for the ushering in of the Third Temple." Source
“In Numbers 19, there’s a law that says you are to bring this red cow, and the red cow is the offering or ceremony of purification. And what you do is you take the ashes of this cow and you mix it with the living water from the Gihon Spring and it brings purification, physically away from death,” Stinson explains. “Everyone’s suffering under death. Anything you can see, touch, smell, anything, it’s death.”
Despite the white-hairs setback, plans are still under way.
"The prospects for the priest, or cohen, necessary to complete the ceremony are also looking viable, as there is one young man in particular who appears to meet the requirements to complete the ceremony.
“'He is actually practicing, and it’s moving forward,'” Stinson says. “'There’s…a lot of logistics around it that have to be done in preparation… but it is moving forward.'”
But if this quote from Gonzalez's book is any indication, the Christians behind this plan are barely considering Jewish interests or culture: “At the end of the day… we are so foreign from thinking like a rabbi… but for them, all they have is Moses. They don’t have the New Covenant yet, which I believe they will in the future—but not yet.”
"Regardless of where one stands, it’s clear that the pieces are moving," Lasher writes. "The red heifers are in Israel. The temple implements are ready. The Jewish religious leaders are actively preparing. And prophecy watchers around the world are paying attention.
"The question isn’t whether these events are happening—it’s whether we are ready for what comes next.
"It’s easy to get caught up in politics, speculation and debate over the meaning of these developments. But one thing is clear: The Bible’s prophetic roadmap continues to unfold before our eyes.
"If we truly believe in God’s Word, we should be paying attention."
To which I say: "Amen."
We should all be paying attention.