A handful of barley

“You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths.  You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord.”  (Leviticus 23:15–16)

The building of the Third Temple seems to be drawing ever closer; and with it, perhaps, the return of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah).

This Passover, on the same day on which the Omer offering was performed in Temple times (Nissan 15 on the Jewish calendar), the Temple Institute re-enacted the Omer offering in preparation for the Third Temple.  (Arutz 7)

The Omer is a Biblical unit of measure involving the offering of barley at the Temple.

A measure of barley was offered in the Temple each day between Nissan 15 and Shavuot (Pentecost), the holiday that commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, culminating with a measure of wheat being offered on the fiftieth day.

The audible counting of each of the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot is commanded in the Torah.  It represents a spiritual preparation in anticipation of the remembrance of God’s gift of the Torah.

The re-enactment was held as a part of Temple Institute activities that prepare for the renewal of formal services in the Third Temple.  (Arutz 7)

The offering of the Omer is not the only service connected to the rebuilding of the Temple for which careful attention and planning is underway.  There is also an active search for the Biblically required Parah Adumah (Red Heifer), which must be found before a rebuilt Temple goes into active use.

The Red Heifer is of importance to the Temple rites in that its ashes are used to purify the Temple vessels, priestly garments, and even the priests and Temple themselves so that services may be performed.

While one potential candidate was recently disqualified when white hairs appeared on its coat, another may have been discovered on a small farm outside of Lakewood, New Jersey.

A potential candidate for the Parah Adumah (Red Heifer) has been discovered in Howell, New Jersey.  (YouTube capture)

This all red, two-year-old heifer with no two hairs of another color is an extremely rare phenomenon.  Many breeders have tried to genetically manipulate such results, but this red heifer has brownish red eyes and horns without genetic manipulation.

Since the animal has already turned two, it can now be inspected by Israeli rabbis for any blemishes and that would disqualify it.  The animal would be eligible for sacrificial service if it is confirmed that it meets all the requirements.  (BIN)

“This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come.”  (Numbers 19:2)

The owner, Herbert Celler, claims that he has already been offered a million dollars for the animal.

“Somebody from Brooklyn called and offered me one million dollars for her, but I told him that she’s not for sale.  This is a gift from HaShem [YHWH],” he said, adding, “When he asked what I’m going to do with her, I told him that I’m going to be the first in line when Moshaich (the Messiah) comes.”

Celler said that the cow was born during Passover in 2013 and that he has been extremely vigilant to keep the heifer safe from performing any duties that might disqualify her.

New Jersey farmer Herbert Celler (YouTube capture)

“My workers know that no one is allowed to even touch her,” he said.

Many consider the appearance of the red heifer will be a sign that the Messiah is about to return.  Celler said its message is for Jew and Gentile to “get ready.”

Before Messiah returns, however, the Third Temple will be rebuilt.

According to Rabbi Chaim Richman, the Temple Institute’s international director, that Third Temple will be built when “the world will want us to build the temple.”  (Times of Israel)

But that doesn’t mean waiting for that approval, apparently.  A statement made by the Temple Institute during its Third Temple blueprint fundraising campaign last year said there is a duty to build it as well:

“It is not enough to wait and pray for the Third Temple.  It is a Biblical obligation to build it.”