For centuries, certain Jewish people have awaited the birth of a specific “red heifer” that would fulfill certain aspects of their End Times prophecy, and one Jewish group says that calf was born last month.

The Temple Institute announced last week that a “perfectly red heifer” was born in the land of Israel, and that it will be “raised and specially cared for” as part of the group’s program based on Jewish prophecy. The birth of the calf “brings the promise of reinstating Biblical purity to the world,” according to their YouTube announcement.

Specifically, the ancient Jewish prophecy is supposed to trigger the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, which is a key prerequisite before the much-anticipated end of the world.

The sacrifice of a red heifer is essential to the construction of a third temple in Jerusalem, which would bring the coming of the Messiah and the final judgment. The Temple of Israel wrote, “The heifer is currently a viable candidate and will be examined [to see] whether it possess[es] the necessary qualifications for the red heifer.”

I’ve always found this prophecy interesting, ever since I learned about it in 2013 from South Park.

In the cartoon’s 17th season, it featured a “ginger cow” that was fraudulently created as part of a prank by Eric Cartman. In the show, all religions unite behind the (fake) ginger cow and claim it’s a symbol of peace on earth. (Graphic images below.)

It’s possible that, like Cartman’s ginger cow, this red heifer is a plant. There doesn’t seem to be any more information on whether the heifer was genetically engineered, and the Temple Institute was seeking funding for such an endeavor as recently as August of 2015.

Every few years, the Temple Institute announces that they’ve found a candidate, only to discover that it has too many non-red hairs or a job on its resume. Since nature has not provided, the organization has turned to science. They want to implant Red Angus embryos into Israeli cattle, improving the odds that a red heifer will be born in their own backyard. But engineering a miracle cow is expensive. It takes more than embryo implantation and a comfortable barn. So they’re doing some fundraising.

As ironic and hilarious it would be if Orthodox Jews had to resort to science to force a religious “miracle,” it’s unclear if that’s what happened here. There were some problems with the technology in 2015, so we don’t know if this is a natural birth.

What we do know is that, if this heifer is deemed to be the heifer of legend, then a major religious group will believe the End Times are that much closer. That cannot be a good thing.

(Thanks to Randy for the link)

