This is a rather long post. Lots of things in these 2 chapters. Feel free to break it up or maybe settle in with a cup of coffee. ☕️

Here we go…

Just in case any of you, dear readers, are not familiar with the difference between a heifer and a cow, cows have had a calf. Heifers have not. Nor are they pregnant. The Hebrew word pahrah (paw-raw), isn’t actually that specific. It just means female bovine. But if it is to be unblemished and never yoked, the assumption is that it would be young and never used for work or breeding. So – a heifer.

You may be aware that there are now 5 red heifers in Israel. They arrived from Texas in 2022 and they are now 3 years old which is the age requirement for sacrifice (given by rabbis I think, because I didn’t see that detail anywhere in chapter 19).

There was talk of the Temple Institute in Israel actually holding the red heifer ceremony back in March of this year (2025) or around Passover time. And boy did it get people worked up.

The Sanhedrin announced that people should expect the 3rd Temple to be built soon. Christian Bible teachers and prophecy experts wrote articles and made breathless videos about it all.

The ceremony did not happen – most likely due to how it would further aggravate relations between Israel and its Arab citizens and neighbors who understand the significance of such an event. It would be one of the final prerequisites to building a new temple.

The significance of the heifers is not lost on Muslim extremists. On the 100th day of the Israel-Hamas war, a Hamas leader, Abu Obadiah had this to say in a speech posted on social media:

“We look back 100 days to remember the educated, the complicit, and the incapacitated among the world powers governed by the law of the jungle, reminding them of an aggression that reached its peak against our path (Al-Quds) and Al-Aqsa, with the start of its actual temporal and spatial division, and the ‘bringing of red cows’ as an application of a detestable religious myth designed for aggression against the feelings of an entire nation in the heart of its Arab identity, and the path of its prophet (the Night Journey) and Ascension to heaven.”

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The rabbis involved have come up with reasons why they cannot do the ceremony yet. The most recent information I can find online is that the five heifers have been quietly disqualified. (The link above will take you to a detailed description of the ceremony by the Temple Institute. It’s pretty fascinating if you have the time.)

It should be noted that Orthodox Rabbis and scholars are not in favor of building a temple until Messiah comes. And secular Jews aren’t in favor of it either. What the Temple Institute is doing is not supported by most Israelis. Most of the financial and moral support for them comes from American Evangelicals.

I’ll be honest – I don’t get too excited about 3rd Temple-related things. I’m interested, of course, but it’s not for me. Like – I’m not planning to go visit if they build it. It’s not like Jesus would be there. As far as I’m concerned, Christ and His Body, the Church, are the 3rd (and final) legitimate Temple on earth. And I’m a living stone in it. (See 1 Pet. 2:5 and also Rev. 21:22)

But Lacy, what about Ezekiel’s Temple? We haven’t seen that yet. Don’t you think that has to happen?

Here’s a 7-minute video that shares a perspective on that. (Totally optional)

I’m not convinced that a brick and mortar temple in Jerusalem is strictly required for prophecy to come to pass. That whole text about the antichrist taking a seat in the temple of God claiming to be God (2 Thess. 2:4-5), could be referring to deception within the Church and apostasy. And we sure do see a lot of that these days. In fact, the more that New Age self-worship creeps into the Church, the closer we may be to fulfilling that antichrist prophecy. New Age already teaches the humans are divine. There are already apostate church leaders preaching heresy like this from their pulpits. The spirit of antichrist that John talked about is already in the temple of God proclaiming himself to be divine. So we’re already there in a way.

If a physical temple does get built, and a political or religious figure enters it and claims to be God, well, I won’t be surprised. I’ll be watching for that too. My eschatology is as flexible as a Chinese contortionist.

I’m doctrinally prepared for anything – pretrib rapture, mid-trib, post-trib, literal millennium followed by a new creation or a conflation of millennium and the new heavens and earth – just… all the things.

If a trumpet blows tomorrow and the dead in Christ rise… cool. That’ll be the most exciting thing I’ve done since…I rode this thing at Fiesta Texas 20+ years ago.

If I live to see all the things I’ve heard many Bible teachers say that Christians “won’t be here for” – I’m fine with that too. I’ll get to watch prophecy unfold before my very eyes. How cool is that? See? Flexible is good.

(And I’m SUCH a Bible geek that even if I was hauled up to some post-apocalyptic guillotine to be beheaded, I’d probably be grinning as I ponder the reality that I’m fulfilling prophecy and I’m gonna get to be one of the souls under the altar in Rev. 6:9). 🙃

(hmm… this: 🙃 now looks disturbingly like a decapitated head rolling away…) 😆

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Back to red heifers.

Why would I get worked up about red heifers when we have this:

“Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭9‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The red heifer was replaced with the far superior offering of Jesus.

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COMPLAIN-O-METER 13

🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣🪣

13 Empty Buckets

Miriam has died.

They have made a lap (or 2) around the desert and are now back in the wilderness of Zin where they were when the scouts went to check out the land. And as usual, more complaints.

“Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord’s people into this wilderness to die, along with all our livestock? Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this terrible place? This land has no grain, no figs, no grapes, no pomegranates, and no water to drink!” Numbers‬ ‭20‬:‭4-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

🚫 No Grain 🌾

🚫 No Figs 🍐

🚫 No Grapes 🍇

🚫 No Pomegranates 🍅 (yes I know it’s a tomato emoji, closest thing I could find)

🚫 No Water 💦

🚫 No Shirt 👕

🚫 No Shoes 👞

🚫 No Service ✋🏽

🚫 No WiFi 🛜

🚫 No Cell Signal 📶

It’s the WORST. 🤬

We’re all gonna die! 💀⚰️🪦

Did you notice how they reframed the Exodus? “Why did you make us leave Egypt?” Excuse me? Nobody made you do anything. As I recall, they were very happy to leave Egypt.

Then they refused to go in and conquer the land out of fear. They could be drinking from lovely springs and wells now. But no. They’re in a waterless waste. Now they are blaming God and complaining to Him about the consequences their own choices have brought about. We would never do that, right?

Right? 😏

In the verses above I hear a distinct lack of faith in God to provide. Do they not remember what happened the last time they had a water problem?

“Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭17‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

You may recall that striking the rock was a prophetic picture of the Rock – Jesus Christ – being struck at His crucifixion where out of His side flowed water and blood. 💧🩸

This time God tells Moses something different:

“Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the staff and summon the community, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will give water. Bring out for them water from the rock, and let the community and their livestock drink.”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭20‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭LEB‬‬

But that’s not what Moses does. He strikes the rock, not once but twice. 💥💥🪨

This striking violates the prophetic plan of God. The Savior will only be struck once, not twice. We need only speak to the Rock in prayer when our souls are thirsty and water will flow freely. But instead of performing this prophetic act, Moses turns it into a spectacle of his frustration with the people’s dependence on him. It is THIS, not the simple matter of wrong procedure that brings a heavy sentence from Yahweh.

“But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Since you did not trust in Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, for that reason you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭20‬:‭12‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

If speaking to the Rock points to prayer, what might we make of Moses’ little speech before striking the Rock?

“and Moses and Aaron summoned the assembly in front of the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭20‬:‭10‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Here’s that final phrase in NLT:

“Must we bring you water from this rock?”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭20‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This kinda has burned out minister vibes. I oughta know. Been there. Allow me to paraphrase a few ideas. I may or may not have thought and prayed along these lines at some point:

Moses: Ugh! You people! It’s not enough that I teach you God’s Word and lead you week in and week out. Now I have to ask the Rock to give you water too? What’s next? Change your diaper and burp you? Do you even know that you’d all be little cinder-crisps TWICE if I hadn’t interceded for you?!

Moses: God, I am SO DONE with this. If these rebels won’t grow up and start taking some personal responsibility for their relationship with you… well… I’m just over it. I’m tired of feeling like the only spiritual grown-up in a daycare of 600,000 babies!

But yes, Moses. You must get them water because God said to. And here’s the point – Moses (and Aaron, note the “we”) are kinda taking credit for giving the people water instead of giving the glory to Yahweh.

THAT is VERY dangerous territory. I don’t care who you are. Not even Moses – who hung out with God til his face glowed – may take liberties like that an go unscathed.

“I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭42‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This incident will hereafter be called “The Waters of Meribah” – meaning the waters of contention.

“Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, As on the day of Massah in the wilderness, When your fathers put Me to the test, They tested Me, though they had seen My work. For forty years I was disgusted with that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. Therefore I swore in My anger, They certainly shall not enter My rest.” Psalms‬ ‭95‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

The writer of Hebrews frames this as a warning to be on guard against developing a disbelieving heart hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3). God is faithful. Disbelief is a slap in His face.

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After this, Moses seeks permission (in a very nicely-worded message) for them to pass through the territory of Edom. The response was an army of Edomites. So they have to turn back and take the long way out around the whole territory of Edom.

Here’s possibly what that would’ve looked like on a map.

Notice Mount Hor near the border of Midian. This is where Aaron dies. Aaron’s death feels a bit like a riddle:

Moses and the High Priest and a son go up a mountain. Moses and the High Priest and the son return but one of them has died.

This somehow gives me Abraham offering Isaac on Mount Moriah vibes.

Hor is a variant of Har which is the Hebrew word for mountain. It’s literally Har-Hor. Mount Mountain. Not a very creative name.

But it lets me share a very interesting name – Har Mowed. You might recall the word mowed (mo-yade, not like I mowed the yard), from our trip through Leviticus and the appointed times.

So Har Moade (or Har Mowadah) would be Mount of Assembly. The Mount of Assembly would be a reference to the mountain where God meets with His people; a place that is both a geographic location and a spiritual location – Mount Zion.

In the Bible, Zion gets talked about sometimes as if it’s on earth and sometimes like it’s an eternal place.

👀

Exactly.

But Lacy, I’ve been reading the Bible for years, and I don’t remember any mountain called Har Moed or Mowyedah.

That’s probably because it doesn’t appear in the Hebrew text. It’s a place with a Hebrew name that got transliterated into Greek. Transliteration is when you spell how a word from one language sounds as best you can in another language- usually with a different alphabet.

There’s a place in the New Testament – the site of a battle…

“And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called HarMagedon.” Revelation‬ ‭16‬:‭16‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

This word has been transliterated (not translated!) from Hebrew into Greek. Meaning – they took the sounds of the Hebrew and put it into Greek letters.

There is no har (mountain) in the plain of Meggido. Cause it’s a plain.

But because wars were fought there in history, people keep repeating the idea that it’s the site of the future great battle. And because the word HarMagedon looks kinda like Meggido. Sorta.

No, I think it’s possible that the site of the final battle is Har Moyedah (Har Mo-yay-dah). Say it fast a couple times. See how close it sounds so Armageddon? Again- we’re talking transliteration, not translation.

If this is correct, then the future “battle of Armageddon” is actually supposed to be the “battle of Har Moyedah.” It isn’t just natural. It’s also supernatural. Mankind will literally attempt to access the spiritual realm to overthrow God at His Mount of Assembly – Zion. (Zion is somehow both physically and spiritually Jerusalem and New Jerusalem.)

“And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse, and against His army.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭19‬:‭19‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

It could be that the “Mount of Assembly” is only referring to the assembly of the kings of the earth. But the text above is wild. The armies of earth gather to attack Christ and His heavenly army. Think about that.

How? By what technology?

They are not so foolish as to stand out in a field swinging swords at the air or firing rockets into an empty sky.

So how do humans attack a heavenly army? Spiritual beings? What makes them think that’s not only possible but they’ve actually amassed an army to do it?

Somehow, by this time, humanity has weaponized the spiritual realm and turned into a theater of war. People already know how to access this realm. That’s nothing new. Shamans, witch doctors, occultists, and New Agers have been astral projecting and “remote viewing” for millennia. It’s only been since the late 20th century that governments have secretly been attempting to weaponize this “space.”

Sound crazy?

Check out this jaw-dropping video.

Note that this video is 8 years old. Just wait until A.I. and Quantum Computing are added to this cocktail.

I won’t be one bit surprised when technology and the spirit realm collide. It really already has, but this post is too long already to open that can of worms. 👀

Y’all… the future is gonna be BIBLICAL.