Last fall, I posted a short video discussing what was described as a practice run of a red heifer sacrifice that took place in Israel in July 2025.

But now evidence is surfacing that it may not have been a practice run, but an actual sacrifice where the ashes were and will be used to purify priests.

The red heifer sacrifice, mentioned in Numbers 19, is a necessary purification ritual for the priests. The ashes from the sacrificed heifer are mixed with water and sprinkled on the priests cleansing them for work in the temple. Without this, they would be unable to perform the sacrifices.

Typically, the ashes from one heifer is sufficient for decades of purification rituals.

It was initially reported that this was only a practice ceremony because the heifer was disqualified because of imperfections.

It seems that the animal was one of the five red heifers originally brought over to Israel from Texas in September 2022 to serve as potential sacrificial animals.

As soon as I posted that short video, several commenters suggested that this was not a practice run:

@kevinvassago — Someone present at the ceremony has recently come out and said that it wasn’t a mock sacrifice at all, and they just misinformed everyone to keep it silent. What do u think about that? You think he’s telling the truth? The farmer from Texas who shipped the hiefers also has said that they were shipped without spot or blemish

At that point, I didn’t really know what to think,.

But now Israel365 News, an orthodox Jewish website based out of Israel, is reporting the same thing.

It went one step further and said that the ashes from this sacrifice were recently used to purify individuals so they could perform the priestly rituals, if a temple is ever constructed.

“Controversy erupted when one of the red cows was burned in what some rabbinic authorities claimed was a practice event, while others insisted it was an actual burning, resulting in ashes that could be used to purify hundreds of thousands of people,” explained Adam Berkowitz in his Israel365 article. “One activist took another step forward when he enlisted a Kohen to mix the ashes with spring water, making it suitable for use, heating up the controversy that surrounds the ashes.”

The Kohen mentioned by Berkowitz refers to individuals within the Jewish tribe of Levi who are descendants of Aaron. He was Israel’s first High Priest. While, every priest has to be a member of the tribe of Levi, not every Levite can serve as a priest. That is reserved solely for Aaron’s descendants.

In the article, Berkowitz referenced a YouTube video posted by Adam King. It showed an Orthodox Jewish priest mixing the ashes from the sacrifice with water. He then this on what appears to be a priestly candidate.

When the sacrifice was first reported last year, a spokesperson with the Temple Institute stated that there were several reasons that it did not qualify for the red heifer sacrifice.

• First, it was not performed on the Mount of Olives. Note this is not a Biblical requirement;
• Secondly, the priest was not properly purified before he performed the ritual; and
• Finally, there were questions about the legitimacy of the red heifer that may have been used in the sacrifice. There is one missing from the original five. But it had been disqualified because of a broken tail and warts on the neck.

The video was widely circulated among orthodox Jews and Evangelicals who believe that the construction of a third Jewish Temple is necessary for the fulfillment of End Times prophecy.

It reveals that there are divisions within Judaism on who is final authority in these matters. While the Temple Institute claims this sacrifice was not legitimate, other Jewish priests apparently believe it was.

I am also not convinced that a physical Jewish temple is necessary to fulfill end times prophecy. Both Jesus’ body (John 2:19-21) and the church are referred to as the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Secondly, I also believe Jesus cursed the temple and in so doing ensured that it would never be rebuilt: