Colin Wong Supporter Founder, eBible.com

In the beginning, all animals was blessed for consumption. 

However, during Moses' time (Leviticus 11), God set the Israelites apart as a holy nation unto God, by giving them special rules regarding "clean" and "unclean" animals. Here are some examples:

 3 Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. 4 Nevertheless, among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. 5 And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you.

It is important to note that these rules only applied to the Jews. After Jesus came to fulfill the law, the purpose of setting the Israelites apart ended. In Mark 7:18-20, Jesus said:

18 And he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" 6 (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him."

In Acts 10:13-16, the apostle Peter received a dream from God.

And there came a voice to him: "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." 14 But Peter said, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean." 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, "What God has made clean, do not call common." 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

Now while the true meaning of this dream is really in reference to Gentiles being accepted into the kingdom of God, its literal meaning nevertheless still holds. When you accept Jesus, God has made you "clean", unto him. What you eat does not make you unclean. What goes into your heart is what may defile you.

Therefor focus instead on keeping your heart clean and holy. We are clean by grace, through faith.

May 14 2013 • 0 responses • Remove Vote • Share • Report

Kelli Trujillo Supporter Loving Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Teacher, Musician

Mark 7: 1-23 is a great passage about this issue. Notice verses 14-23: 

14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.16 [“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]

17 When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable.18 And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,

19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) 20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,

22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23“All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

The question of clean and unclean foods is still hotly debated today, and there are plenty of reasons to support the abstinence from the foods that were originally declared unclean by God because from a nutritional standpoint, there can be many health risks associated with eating them.

However, when it comes to these foods being spiritually unclean, this passage and many others free us from abstaining from them (see Acts 10: 9-16 and Romans 4: 4-17). We are no less or more pure in the eyes of God if we eat them or don't eat them.

Ultimately, God is much more concerned with our hearts being pure than what we put into our bodies, which Jesus tells us in Mark 7: 14-23.

May 16 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Doe Supporter

In Genesis 6: 13 God said  "I have determined to make an end of all flesh," but He did not make an end to all flesh because there where people and animals on the ark. Personally I think the word all and everything (depending on translation) is translated wrong in these two cases ( Gen 6:13 and Gen 9:3)

May 16 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Doe Supporter

God gave the commandments to the ISRAELITE'S in Leviticus 11; not only to the Jews, the Jews were a tribe, one of the 12.

Before Moses Noah already knew what was "clean" and "unclean" (Gen 7)

And then Mark 7!!! If you read it in context, you will see it is about clean hands that are not washed before eating which was a TRADITION OF MEN (Verse 3, 5 and 7).

If you read the hole of Acts 10; till the end, you will see that Peter himself said "and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean" Verse 28.So the dream he had was about MEN not food. I guess God has a sense of humor.
 
And why +- 10 years after Jesus left the earth did Peter still not eat anything "unclean"? Verse 13-16. 

Why did Jesus not tell His apostles "listen boys, I died a few days ago and you can eat what ever you want, even a poisons rattle snake. Just remember to pray over it, surly you will not die".

God made pigs, lobster, prawns ex. to clean the earth, not for us to eat. The other animals, fish, birds that we are not aloud to eat, trust God and don't eat it. You WILL be more healthy, that I and my family of 6 people can testify to, after eating all that stuff.
Alexander if you want a good teaching on this go to you tube and look "to eat or not to eat" Jim Staley
ENJOY

May 16 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Doe Supporter

Mark 7 v 2-5, 8-9 from the NASB
and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) 5 The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?"
8 "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men." 
9 He was also saying to them, "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. 
The tradition of men and elders was to wash your hands before you eat. They saw it as a law of God, but nowhere in the Law does it say that (although it is a good idea and we still do it today). And the Pharisees, scribes and Jews also had a law that said that if you eat with unwashed hands you make the food that you touch “unclean”, which by now we see was a tradition of man. So that is what this whole part is about.
18 And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,

19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Also understand that they ate bread and not meat here, (verse 2), and that pork was not considered food for a Jew, and till today it’s not food. That’s why this is about clean food that they ate with dirty hands) 

20 And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.

May 16 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Doe Supporter

Another argument that Jesus did not declare all food clean in Mat 7 is Acts 10. This is about 10 years later,  Acts 10:14 But Peter said, "By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean." Do we think that Peter did not get the memo, or was he not one of the disciples present when Jesus spoke about this in Mark 7?? To me Jesus did not talk about clean or unclean meat.

May 16 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Doe Supporter

Isaiah 66, the end times, the final judgment and glory of the Lord, 16 For the LORD will execute judgment by fire And by His sword on all flesh, And those slain by the LORD will be many.

17 "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, Following one in the center, Who eat swine's flesh, detestable things and mice, Will come to an end altogether," declares the LORD. 
This is also clear that the Lord wants us to eat clean.

Also think of it this way, 
1) Before Moses people could eat pork ex, 
2) before Jesus we not aloud to eat pork ex,
3) After Jesus we could eat pork ex again
4) Then when He comes again He is going to kill us, because we where not suppose to eat it.
This also sounds like a God that is not the same yesterday, today and tomorrow

May 16 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Teresa alene King Supporter

The New Testament food rule is somewhere in Acts.  It says not eat anything sacrificed to idols, not to eat blood, and not to eat anything that has been strangled.  This is a paraphrase.  Dad explained to me that if you don't drain the blood out of slaughtered animals by hanging them up with their heads down, you are strangling them.  When you see a chicken in the store with a bruise on it, it has been strangled!

May 19 2013 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report