Possible location of the ashes of the red heifer.In the Book of Numbers are instructions for a sacrifice which was unique in the Old Testament. All the others were repeated over and over, but the sacrifice of the red heifer took place just once. Moses and Aaron commanded the people to bring an unblemished red heifer on which no yoke had been placed. The animal was given to the priest, Eleazer, who slaughtered it outside the camp. With his finger he sprinkled the blood seven times on the front of the tent of meeting. Then the animal was burned. Finally, the ashes were gathered and stored in a kalal, a clay and dung pot.
According to the Law of Moses, whenever a person came into contact with a dead animal or human corpse, he became ceremonially unclean. That meant he could have no part in the organized worship of God. The remedy was washing in water which contained a pinch of the ashes from the kalal.
Eventually the supply of ashes ran low, so another red heifer was burned outside the north gate of the Temple. The old kalal with the remaining ashes was also tossed into the fire. Afterwards, those new ashes were gathered and stored in a fresh kalal. In this way, there was an unbroken line of ashes back to the one-time sacrifice by Eleazer. According to an account in one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a red heifer was sacrificed shortly before the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. That kalal (and its ashes) was buried before the fall of the city, and the location recorded on a copper scroll. So far, efforts to uncover the last kalal have been unsuccessful.
What do those ashes have to do with rebuilding the Temple? For the priests to conduct the ritual sacrifices they must be ceremonially clean. Without the ashes of the red heifer, that is impossible. Some think sacrifices can begin with the location of a new red heifer, even if the old ashes aren't found. Most Jews, however, reject that idea. Because John's vision includes an altar (for sacrifices), it means some provision for purification of the priests will have been made. Does that mean they will find a new red heifer? Or perhaps discover the remains of the last one? Time will tell. But if they find either, the discovery could kindle a tremendous surge of interest in the Temple. Then, thanks to the preparation already done by Jewish Temple organizations, worship in a tabernacle (a portable temple) could begin hours after locating the ashes of the red heifer.