With all the diets that have come out over the last fifty years are any of them really worth pursuing? I changed my eating habits seven years ago when I realized I needed to start eating real food instead of choosing from the chemical laden, manufactured, mineral deficient food that is so readily available. Once I started feeling better and noticing I was no longer getting sick five or six times a year, I realized I was on to something life changing. A little over a year ago I started looking at some of the diets that are bible based. There is the Daniel diet , which is the diet Daniel chose while being captive in Babylon. Then there are the so called food laws of Leviticus.
Lev 11:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them,
Lev 11:2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, These are the living things that you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth.
This is the supposed “Old Law” we in the New Testament age are no longer supposed to be “under the bondage” of, but what if the lists of animals that were good to eat were just that? What if there are animals that if eaten, will nourish our bodies, and other animals if eaten will cause us harm? What if those that had faith enough in Yahweh, to follow his commandments, ended up having a better life then those who didn’t?
Deu 28:2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.
Deu 28:3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.
Deu 28:4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.
Deu 28:5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
Deu 28:6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
Deu 28:7 “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
Deu 28:8 The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Deu 28:9 The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.
There are not too many people that enjoy eating bat, rat, owl, mouse or eagles, at least in the West. It’s when we start talking about pigs, shrimp and lobster that it starts to hit home. They all have one thing in common though; they are scavengers. They are scavengers that clean up the Earth and store the toxins in their bodies.
The ancient Israelites could go anywhere in the world (which they did), and by following the food guidelines given to Moses by the Word of Yahweh, they could figure out which animals were good to eat and which ones were not. It was Yahweh’s menu. So did these animals that were not created for human consumption all of a sudden become good to eat? They are still bottom feeders and full of toxins, so what changed? Did anything change? A favourite verse to use to argue that Yahweh, the creator of all things, changed his mind about what creatures are good to eat, is found in The Gospel of Mark.
Mar 7:18 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,
Mar 7:19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)
Mar 7:20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.
Mar 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
Mar 7:22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
The above passages are from the English Standard Version. Where did the “thus he declare all foods clean” come from? If we look at the King James Version, we will see it is not there.
Mar 7:19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
The 1560 Geneva translation is the same, as well as the Tyndale and Wycliffe translations.
19 because it entrith not in to his hert but into ye belly: and goeth out into the draught that porgeth oute all meates. (1525 Tyndale)
Most of the newer translations use a different Greek source text than that which the King James Version and earlier English versions used. That is a huge debate and something that is beyond the scope of this blog, but “who added the commentary “ thus he declared all foods clean” ?” is a valid question. Here is another verse to examine in Paul’s first letter to Timothy:
1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
1Ti 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
1Ti 4:4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
1Ti 4:5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
At first glance, a person could read this as all meat has been declared clean, and nothing is to be refused. If you are of the mindset that the so called dietary laws have been done away with, then that is how this will appear. If you believe Yahweh does not change his word, then it will be read as follows: “Commanded to abstain from meats which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth”, meaning those that know the truth, (Psa 119:142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your Law is the truth.), will know that we can eat what God has declared food. These verses are speaking of someone forbidding us to eat biblically clean meat, (“For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer”; sanctified means set apart or made holy by God. There are animals set apart by the word of God that are good to eat. One of my favourite verses comes from Isaiah chapter sixty six, set in the future.
Isa 66:15 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.
Isa 66:16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
Isa 66:17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
Isa 66:18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
Isa 66:19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
Isa 66:20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
Isa 66:21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD.
Isa 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
Isa 66:24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
I wonder if swine’s flesh and mouse make up a modern hot dog? Just a thought. So what do we make of this? Peter had a vision that is often used to say that all meat is clean and good to eat.
Act 10:9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.
Act 10:10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance
Act 10:11 and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.
Act 10:12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.
Act 10:13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
Act 10:14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
Act 10:15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”
Act 10:16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
The first question that comes to mind is if Jesus already declared all food clean in Mark 7:19 discussed earlier, why does Peter say several years later when told to kill and eat, “by no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean”? The next question is; what does Peter take away from this vision?
Act 10:17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate
Act 10:18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.
Act 10:19 And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you.
Act 10:20 Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”
Act 10:21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?”
Act 10:22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.”
Act 10:23 So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
Act 10:24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
Act 10:25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.
Act 10:26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”
Act 10:27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered.
Act 10:28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.
Notice Peter was perplexed at what the vision could mean. He did not immediately think יהוה God was telling him to literally eat meat that was declared unclean. As the events unfolded, he realized that it was about calling people unclean. The Jewish Law forbade Jews from associating with those who were not Jews. This was not God’s Law from the Torah, it was Jewish Law from the Babylonian Talmud. The Talmudic laws are what Jesus referred to as the traditions of men. Christianity has developed traditions of men, just like the Talmud. Here is what the Torah commands:
Exo 12:49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.
Lev 19:33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.
Lev 19:34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
What does God show Ezekiel? It’s a an early conspiracy theory.
Eze 22:25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.
Eze 22:26 Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
Eze 22:27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain.
Eze 22:28 And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
Not teaching the difference between clean and unclean is just one of the items God is angry about here. What has changed? Did God change his mind?
Jer 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.
Jer 16:20 Can man make for himself gods? Such are not gods!”
Jer 16:21 “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the LORD.”
Something that I have pointed out before, and is worth mentioning here, is that Jeremiah did not say “Oh LORD” in verse 16:19. The bible translators used a substitution for God’s name which is יהוה. Here is the explanation from the New International Version Bible preface for this substitution of over 6000 times in the Old Testament.
“In regard to the divine name YHWH, commonly referred to as the Tetragrammaton, the translators adopted the device used in most English versions of rendering that name as “Lord” in capital letters to distinguish it from Adonai, another Hebrew word rendered “Lord,” for which small letters are used. Wherever the two names stand together in the Old Testament as a compound name of God, they are rendered “Sovereign Lord.””
With that in mind, in verse 16:21 it should say the following: “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is Yahweh”, (ee yah oo ah).
I think it is important we know what God’s name is. Here it is telling us to praise the name of the LORD; but how can we do that if no one knows his name?
Psa 113:1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!
If a person does a search on how often we are to declare and praise the name of Yahweh, the list would be very long. Regarding clean and unclean meat, there is another issue I would like to explore. If all scripture is actually not for instruction, then what was Paul referring to when writing to Timothy?
2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
All scripture here is referring to what we call the Old Testament since the New Testament wasn’t compiled yet, but even if we apply it to the New Testament, it still means the same thing. So is he speaking the truth here? Let’s say the Old Testament doesn’t apply to Christians today as dispensationalism claims. What does that do for comforting scripture like Psalm 91:1 or Psalm 103?
Psa 103:1 A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Psa 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psa 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Psa 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Psa 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psa 103:6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
Psa 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
Psa 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
Psa 103:9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
Psa 103:10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
Psa 103:11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Psa 103:13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
Psa 103:15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
Psa 103:16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
Psa 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
This portion of Psalm 103 is easily taken out of context. If we read past the semicolon there is more to learn. Here is the rest of Psalm 103:
Psa 103:18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
Psa 103:19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
Psa 103:20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Psa 103:21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
Psa 103:22 Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.
We really can’t claim the first 17 verses and neglect the rest. Also, notice it makes mention of the angels keeping his commandments, as well as the hosts of heaven. Most of the problems we face today come from these three groups not keeping Yahweh’s instructions: men, angels and heavenly hosts. At the end of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, this was his warning:
2Ti 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Truth in scripture is defined as יהוה God’s law and Jesus himself. This should not be a surprise because Jesus is the Word of יהוה Yahweh who gave the instruction in the first place. Jesus became fully man while remaining fully God יהוה, and kept the commandments perfectly showing us how it is done, sending us the Holy Spirit to circumcise our hearts.
Psa 119:142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your Law is the truth.
Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Joh 4:23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Finally, here is the prayer Jesus prayed before going to the garden where he would be betrayed. I have put in bold print where Jesus speaks of keeping the Father’s word and the importance of declaring the name of Yahweh. After all, how can His name be declared when using a generic substitution? How can we be followers of the Truth, yet deny the substance of the Truth?
Joh 17:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,
Joh 17:2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
Joh 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Joh 17:4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
Joh 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
Joh 17:6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
Joh 17:7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.
Joh 17:8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
Joh 17:9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
Joh 17:10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
Joh 17:11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
Joh 17:12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
Joh 17:13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Joh 17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
Joh 17:16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Joh 17:18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
Joh 17:19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
Joh 17:20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
Joh 17:21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
Joh 17:22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
Joh 17:23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
Joh 17:24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Joh 17:25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
Joh 17:26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Hear the Matter Proverbs 18:13 