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He was referring to a possible par–
ticle of dirt which might get on the
food from dirty and unwashed hands
- He was
not
here speaking of clean
or unclean meats at all.
No Change in Structure of Animal
Flesh at Cross
The animals whose flesh properly
digests and nourishes the human
body were so made in the original
creation. No change was ever made
in the structure of men's bodies at the
time of the flood, or at the time of
Jesus' death, or any other time. Nei–
ther did God make sorne sudden
change in the structure of animal
flesh, so that what once was unfit for
food will now digest properly and
supply the body'.s needs.
The unclean animals were unclean
before the flood.
Notice, before the flood, Noah
took into the ark of the clean ani–
mals, to be eaten for food, by sevens;
but of the unclean, of which he was
not to eat during the ftood , by two's
-only enough to preserve their lives.
The inference is inescapable that the
additional clean animals were taken
aboard to be eaten for food while
Noah and his family were in the
ark.
Prior to the flood, clean animals
were usually offered as sacrifices.
Those who ate the sacrifices often
partook of the animal flesh, but
vegetables were the main constitu–
ent of diet. After the flood, God
gave Noah not merely the green
herb - vegetables-as the major
part of diet, but of every
type
of
living creature-clean animals,
clean fish, clean fowl (Genesis 9:3
and Leviticus 11).
Genesis 9:3 does not say that
every living, breathing creature is
clean and fit to eat, but that
"as
the
green herb have l given you all
things." God did not give poisonous
herbs as food. He gave man the
healthful herbs. Man can determine
which herbs are healthful, but man
cannot by himself determine which
flesh foods are harmful. That is
why God had to determine for us in
His Word which meats are clean.
Since the flood every moving
c/ean,
healthful, nonpoisonous type of ani–
mal life is good for food- just as
God gave us the healthful, nonpoi–
sonous herbs.
February 1980
This does not give us permission to
do as we please!
Not Ceremonial Law
The instruction in Leviticus 11 and
Deuteronomy 14, then, is not sorne
ritualistic regulation for the Mosaic
period only. Why do so many people
have the idea that God is sorne great
unfair monster who imposes foolish
hardships on His people? Whatever
God instructs us is for our good, not
sorne nonsensical restriction for one
period to be changed around sorne
different way for other people of a
different period.
Now for sorne specific instruction
concerning mammals: "These are the
beasts which ye shall eat: the ox
[beef], the sheep [lamb], and the
goat, the hart, and the roebuck, and
the fallow deer, and the wild goat,
and the pygarg [antelope], and the
wild ox, and the chamois [mountain
sheep]. And every beast that parteth
the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into
two claws, and cheweth the cud
among the beasts, that ye shall eat.
Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of
them that chew the cud, or of them
that divide the cloven hoof; as the
carne!, and the hare, and the coney:
for they chew the cud, but divide not
the hoof; therefore they ·are unclean
unto you. And the swine [hogs],
because it divideth the hoof, yet
cheweth not the cud, it is unclean
unto you: ye shall not eat of their
flesh .. ." (Deuteronomy 14:4-8).
Horsemeat is not fit for humans
because horses not only do not have
divided hoofs, but they also do not
chew the cud.
Similarly, swine flesh- pork, ham,
bacon, sausage, rabbit meat, etc.-is
simply not fit for human consump–
tion. The same is true with oysters,
lobsters, clams, crabs, shrimp, craw–
fish, dogs, snakes, rats, and skunks.
The ooly seafood fit for food are
fish having
both
fins and scales.
Halibut has both and is clean. Cat–
fish is a skin fish- unclean.
lt's all a matter of what we have
become accustomed to doing. It
seems strange and horrifying to hear
that sorne Or.ientals eat mice as a
delicacy. But many Orientals are
horrified to hear that we eat nasty,
slimy, filthy oysters! But sorne hu–
man grown-ups, like little babies, will
eat anything they can get their
hands on and stuff into their mouths.
At so-called "quality" grocery
stores in large towns and cities, spe–
cializing in rare delicacies, you can
purchase "delicious" canned rattle–
snake- if you care for it.
So far as 1 am concerned, you may
have my portion if you wish to try it .
1 do not care to eat it for the same
reason 1 do not eat slugs, skunks,
cats, or eels-for the same reason l
do not eat poison ivy or weeds. Yes,
and for the same reason 1 do not put
fue! oil mixed with sand in the gas
tank of my car!
The day will come when we will at
last learn that eating greasy hog flesh
and other unfit "foods" has been a
prime cause of cancer and other
deadly diseases.
What About Peter's Visl on?
But what about the sheet containing
unclean animals which was shown, to
the apostle Peter in a vision (Acts
1O)? Did this vision change the entire
composition of all unclean animals,
or of the human apparatus, so that
these unfit things suddenly became
nourishing food?
Not at all!
The purpose of this vision was
NOT
to change GOd's food and health laws
which have been inexorably in mo–
tion from the beginning, but to show
Peter "that 1 should not call any
man
common or unclean"
(Acts 10:28).
Why? Because the Jewish people had
been taught to regard Gentiles like
unclean animals- to have nothing to
do with them.
It is time you fully understood this
vision. lt may well affect your health,
happiness and eternaJ 1ife. Open your
Bible to the tenth chapter of Acts.
Notice that Cornelius was an Ital–
ian soldier- an uncircumcised Ital–
ian- a Genti1e by race. To the strict
Jews, he was to be regarded as an
unclean
man.
But God looks on the
heart. Cornelius gave "much alms" to
the Jewish people (verse 2). God
remembered his alms and revealed in a
vision that he should send sorne of his
servants to Joppa to contact Peter.
In verse 9, we find Peter was a·man
of prayer. While praying on a house–
top, Peter became very hungry. Just
before noon Peter fell into a trance. In
vision he saw heaven opened and a
sheet was let down to the earth. This
(Continued onpage 35)
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