| Dietary Law Continued Another passage of scripture that is used to permit believers to eat unclean meat is the passage in Matthew 15:11 "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." In context this verse is dealing with a rabbinic tradition of washing the hands, not eating meats or anything else since the rabbis asked Rabbi Jesus: "...Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." Matt 15:1-2 The readers should realiize that most of what people have come to know as "Jewish laws" are not the laws of Moses but "rabbinic traditions" also known as "the works of the law". In Leviticus 11:43-44, God states this concerning unclean things: "You shall not make yourself abominable with any creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them. For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy. Rabbi Shaul (Paul) states this passage again to the non-Jewish believers in Corinth after dealing with the sinfullness of the world, he notes in 2 Cor 6:16-18: "...For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be My people'. Therefore 'Come out from among them and be seperate, says the Lord. DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN, and I will receive you'. 'I will be a Father to you and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty'. IF ALL OF THIS IS NOT ENOUGH.... Lets look at an end times prophecy of the Lord coming back to bring judgement on the earth. Lets see if God intends for the last days non-Jewish believers to be free from judgement for disobeying His dietary laws. "For behold, the Lord will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the Lord will judge ALL FLESH; and the slain of the Lord will be many. Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, to go to the garden after an idol in the midst, EATING SWINE'S FLESH and the abomination and the mouse, SHALL BE CONSUMED TOGETHER, says the Lord". This is prophesied in the book of Revelation as the account of the Lord coming back to render judgement (Rev 19:11-21). I wonder how many christians realize that one of the things that causes Jesus to kill the people with "the sword of His mouth" is the people eating pigs and other unclean meats (Isa 66:17) It is interesting to note that one of the major scriptures used in the church about God is in Mal 3:6 "For I am the Lord, I do not change..." Back to Articles |