Subject: Acts 10: Unclean & clean foods
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 01:48:21 +0000
To: "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>

 

From: David Wyman
Subject: unclean & clean foods commandment
To:  heb_roots_chr@geocities.com

  I  read a book of  Leviticus 11 about food rule. I would like to
follow His way  because  He knows everthing than us.    However I read
book of Act 10 : 10-16

" then  he became very hungry and
wanted to eat ; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and
saw heaven opened   and an object like a great sheet bound at the four
corners,descending to him and let down to the earth.  in it were all
kinds of four feeted animals of the earth , wild beasts, creeping thing,
and birds of the air .and a voice came to him" rise , Peter ;kill and
eat. But Peter said,"Not so, Lord !For I have never eaten anything commom
or unclean " and a voice spoken to him again the second time, "What God
has cleaned you must not call commom" This was done three times . and
the object was taken up into heaven again"

    Is that interpertation ? or Is that God allows  us to eat unclean
animals?

My wife loves seafoods without  fin and scales .  I feel  I must follow
His food rule and believe in His rightious laws. and I read book Isaiah
66:17 about swine/ pig .[ I love ham and bacon] . Should I quit to eat
swine's flesh?  I will .

Please send us list of common foods  and ingredients , we
can eat  .

               Shalom Messiah
               David and Nancy


>From Eddie:
**************

      Over my many years of going to Church, I have often heard 
people quote from Acts 10 as a "proof" that God now allows us to eat 
anything that we want to eat and that the dietary laws were done 
away. Many quote from the scripture above (Acts 10:10-16).

       However, a very elementary rule of interpreting scripture is 
don't take a text out of context. By reading the ENTIRE text of Acts 
10 and understanding the issues involved, it becomes VERY CLEAR that 
the subject of Acts 10 has NOTHING to do with clean/unclean foods. 
This is not even the subject of Acts 10 or the issue in the story. 
With this in mind, let us examine the story and the Hebraic 
background of the story.

        Acts 10 begins by telling us about a man named Cornelius. In 
Acts 10:1-2 it is written:

"There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of 
the band called the italian band, a devout man and one that feared 
God with all his house which gave much alms to the people and prayed 
to God always"

          This text tells us that Cornelius is a non-Jew and he is 
a believer and worshipper of the God of Israel.

          In Acts 10:3-6, Cornelius is given a vision to go to Joppa 
and see Peter. In Acts 10:7-8, Cornelius and two of his men go with 
him. Therefore, the total number of people going to see Peter is 
THREE. 

          As they went on their journey (Acts 10:9), Peter falls into 
a trance and has a vision of unclean animals which he is told to eat. 
Peter said no. This happened three times. (Acts 10:10-16).

          In Acts 17:17, it is written:

"Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had 
seen should mean ..."

           Why did Peter doubt the vision? Peter doubted the vision 
because he was a Torah observant Jew. Being a Torah observant Jew, he 
followed the dietary laws of God as specified in Leviticus 11. Was 
the dream about God now telling Peter that he could eat anything he 
wanted? NO!

             In order to understand why God gave the dream to Peter, 
you need to understand how Peter, a Torah observant Orthodox Jew, 
would have viewed Cornelius and his two friends (being non-Jewish) 
coming to Peter's house or Peter keeping company with them. Even 
today, Orthodox Jews believe that if a non-Jew comes into their 
house, the non-Jew defiles the house of the Jew because they view the 
non-Jew as not following Torah and being unclean. A name often 
associated with the non-Jewish community was "dogs". Therefore, 
according to traditional Halacha (Oral Law), Peter would be forbidden 
to allow Cornilius and his two friends to keep company with him.

However, in order to impress upon Peter to let Cornilius and his two 
friends keep company with him, God gave Peter a dream while 
Cornilius and his two friends were making their journey to see Peter. 
Being Torah observant, Peter obviously knew that God did not want him 
to eat unclean foods from unclean animals. Therefore, he couldn't 
understand the meaning of the vision and this is why Acts 10:17 
states that "Peter doubted what the vision meant". Continuing in Acts 
10:17-20 it is written:

"Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had 
seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had 
made inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the gate, And called 
and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. 
While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, 
THREE men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and GO WITH 
THEM, DOUBTING NOTHING, for I have sent them"

Notice what Peter had to NOT DOUBT. He had to not doubt that it was 
OK with God and OK for Peter to keep company with THREE non-Jews. 
Remember in the vision Peter was told to eat THREE times. One time 
was for each of the non-Jews who came to visit with Peter. 

In Acts 10:21-23 it is written:

"Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from 
Cornelius: and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause 
wherefore ye are come? And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just 
man, and one that feareth God and of good report among all the nation 
of the Jews, was warned from God by a holy angel to send for thee 
into HIS HOUSE and to hear words of thee. Then CALLED HE THEM IN and 
LODGED them ..."

It was because of the vision that God gave Peter and Peter not 
doubting the meaning of the vision that he let Cornelius and the two 
who was with him into his house. Then in Acts 10:28 it is written:

"And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for 
a man that is a Jew to keep company or come unto one of another 
nation (this was/is the teaching among the Orthodox Jews according to 
Halacha) BUT God has showed me that I should NOT CALL ANY MAN COMMON 
OR UNCLEAN"

Therefore, the vision was about God communicating to Peter that he 
needed to change his beliefs about keeping company with non-Jews 
which according to traditional Jewish halacha (Oral Law) were viewed 
as being unclean.  So, God wanted to show Peter that he was not to 
call a MAN common or unclean (a non-Jew) when they believed also in 
the God of Israel.

The story makes much sense when you read the entire chapter of Acts 
10 and understanding the historical Hebraic setting of the situation.

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