Unclean Meat

Are Christians that eat or touch unclean animals breaking the old covenant Mosaic law? And if they eat unclean meat are they unclean and do they need to perform the ceremonial ritual to become clean? Does the old covenant law of eating unclean animals apply to Christians?

This command forbidding eating unclean meat is found ONLY in the Mosaic Law.

Lev 11:2 - 31 (NIV) ¹The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ²“Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: ³You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.

⁴“‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a split hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. ⁵The coney, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁶The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁷And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. ⁸You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.

⁹“‘Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. ¹⁰But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to detest. ¹¹And since you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must detest their carcasses. ¹²Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.

¹³“‘These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, ¹⁴the red kite, any kind of black kite, ¹⁵any kind of raven, ¹⁶the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, ¹⁷the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, ¹⁸the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, ¹⁹the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.

²⁰“‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be detestable to you. ²¹There are, however, some winged creatures that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. ²²Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. ²³But all other winged creatures that have four legs you are to detest.

²⁴“‘You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. ²⁵Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening.

²⁶“‘Every animal that has a split hoof not completely divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean. ²⁷Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. ²⁸Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening. They are unclean for you.

²⁹“‘Of the animals that move about on the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, ³⁰the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. ³¹Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you.

Being unclean is not about being dirty such as having to take a bath. A person that was ceremonially unclean could not participate in the sanctuary service and with other members of the community till they went through the ceremonial ritual to become clean.

Do you wear gold, even gold can be unclean: Ezek 7:19 (NIV) ¹⁹They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be an unclean thing.

Noah was allowed to eat "everything that lives and moves" after the flood as he was not under the Mosaic Law.
Gen 9:3 - 5 (NIV) ³Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. ⁴“But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. ⁵And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.

1Tim.4:4 Paul repeats that every creature is good for food and nothing to be rejected because it is consecrated by the word of God (Gen.9:3 sanctifies all meats as good for food) and prayer. However, man is not to eat the blood of the animal. This commandment is again repeated in Acts 15:29 from blood and strangled. Meaning improperly drained meats containing blood (Gen.9:4).

1 Tim 4:4 - 5 (NIV) ⁴For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

Ellen G. White the Seventh-day Adventists prophetess contradicts God by saying that God gave Noah permission to eat only the clean animals and that a meat diet was not the healthiest.

1864 Sp. Gifts IV, 120, 121

639. God gave our first parents the food He designed that the race should eat. It was contrary to His plan to have the life of any creature taken. There was to be no death in Eden. The fruit of the trees in the garden, was the food man's wants required. God gave man no permission to eat animal food until after the flood. Everything had been destroyed upon which man could subsist, and therefore the Lord in their necessity gave Noah permission to eat of the clean animals which he had taken with him into the ark. But animal food was not the most healthful article of food for man.

EGW admits that there is no command in the New Testament to tithe, keep the Sabbath. She should have added forbidding eating unclean meat. She says this is "assumed" therefore EGW is not following the new covenant as taught by the Apostles. This is heresy and a false gospel which is no gospel at all and makes her a false prophetess.

Why was forbidding eating unclean meat not an issue in the new covenant church?

Ceremonial uncleanliness was never and issue in the new covenant. We know that the Gentile converts coming into the early church were eating all kinds of unclean animals. Was there any reprimand by the Apostles decrying their practice of eating unclean meat? NO. Were some of the Jews upset these Gentiles were not following the Mosaic law? Yes they were. It created such confusion that the Jerusalem Council was convened to make clear what was to be imposed on the Gentiles and not imposed on them that accepted the new covenant.

The Mosaic Law required not only the Jew but the Gentile to be circumcised before they could be a part of the old covenant. The Jews (Judaizers) in the early church were attempting to impose the old covenant Law of Moses on the Gentiles in the new covenant church contrary to the message of the gospel.

The Jerusalem Council:

The Judaizers arguments: Acts 15:1 - 2 (NIV) ¹Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” ²This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. Acts 15:4 - Acts 15:5 (NIV) ⁴When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.⁵Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”

Peter's argument: Acts 15:8 - 11 (NIV) ⁸God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. ⁹He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. ¹⁰Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? ¹¹No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers: Acts 15:22 - 29 (NIV) ²²Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. ²³With them they sent the following letter:

²⁴We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. ²⁵So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul—²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. ²⁸It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: ²⁹You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

The Jerusalem Council's decision made it clear Gentiles were not required to obey the Mosaic Law which would include circumcision, Sabbath keeping, paying tithe and forbidding eating unclean meat. The exclusions were to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, meat of strangled animals, and sexual immorality. It is sad that here 2000 years later we see Judaizers still attempting to impose the Law of Moses on Christians. The Torah has 613 commands. The modern day Judaizers attempt to impose three of these laws on Christians which are Sabbath keeping, paying tithe, and forbidding eating unclean meat while ignoring the rest of the law.

Paul tells us that God cancelled "the written code with it's regulations.
Col 2:13 - 17 (NIV) ¹³When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.¹⁶Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

These "shadow laws" are NOT to be enforced on Christians as they were shadows of things that were to come and the reality found their fulfillment in Christ. Why live in the shadows of the old covenant and deny the fulfillment of Christ that is found in the new covenant?

We have, in Colossians 2:14-17, a statement by Paul that Jewish dietary laws, the annual Jewish feast days, the monthly Jewish feast days, and the Weekly Sabbaths are not to be made a test of belief for the new converts coming into the Early Church. This statement is worded as a command with the clear intention of establishing belief and practice for Christianity until the end of time. Those who were judging these Gentiles in Colossae were the Judaizers who were demanding these things of the Gentiles.

Notice that Paul's letters to the Corinthians, Colossians, Romans and Ephesians were addressed to the churches in general and not just to Gentile converts which shows the Jewish converts were no longer under the Mosaic law forbidding the eating of unclean meat or keeping the Sabbath.

Paul says to eat anything sold in the meat market or at an unbeliever’s table. The unbelieving Gentiles would be serving unclean meat. 1 Cor 10:25 - 27 (NIV) ²⁵Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, ²⁶for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” ²⁷If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.

Paul declared no food is unclean all food is clean:
Rom 14:13-14 (NIV) ¹³Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. ¹⁴As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

Paul declared all food is clean:
Rom 14:20-21 (NIV) ²⁰Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. ²¹It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.

God abolished the old covenant commandments and regulations at Calvary. Which in the past was the dividing wall between Jews from the Gentiles now united them both equally for salvation.
Eph 2:14 - 15 (NIV) ¹⁴For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.

The point in time that the written code was canceled, (old covenant) was when Jesus died on the cross. (Mark 15:38 NIV) "The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."

When a member of the covenant agreement dies in this case Jesus, then the covenant is cancelled such as a marriage covenant. Rom 7:2 - 4 (NIV) ¹Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? ²For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. ³So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man. ⁴So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.

The Jews died to the Mosaic law (old covenant) through baptism and became a member of the body of Christ.

What about Peter refusing to eat unclean meat that God declared clean in Acts 10:9-17?
While food is discussed, the purpose of Peter's vision was to show that Gentiles were not unclean and the new covenant Jews can now enter their homes and eat with them. Acts 10:28 (NIV) ²⁸He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.

What about Jesus declaring all foods clean in his controversy with the Pharisees? The context of Mark 7 is dealing with Jewish traditions of eating with unwashed hands and not that of making unclean meat clean. This was still taking place under the old covenant. Mark 7:2 - 4 (NIV) ¹The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and ²saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were “unclean,” that is, unwashed. ³(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. ⁴When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles. ) Mark 7:14 - 15 (NIV) ¹⁴Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. ¹⁵Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’”Mark 7:18 (NIV) For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")

Robert D. Brinsmead makes this observation on the meaning of Jesus declaring all foods clean. Then Mark (or an early church redactor) adds this comment, which appears in the most reliable manuscripts: "In say this, Jesus declared all foods 'clean'" (Mark 7: 18, 19). It is clear that Jesus did not make Mark's editorial comment, for it is well known that even after Pentecost the Jewish Christians continued to observe the Mosaic food laws (Acts 10:14). Mark was probably written for a Gentile audience, and here Mark (or a very early redactor) drew from Jesus's saying the conclusion that Christians were not bound by the Mosaic food laws. http://www.quango.net/brinsmead/JesusandtheSabbath.htm

Jesus was still under the Mosaic law when in context of Mark 7. Jesus was ending Jewish traditions and not ending the old covenant Mosaic law. This came later under the new covenant when sabbath keeping, tithe paying, and forbidding eating unclean meat ended.

Counsels on Diet and Foods, page 373, paragraph 1

Chapter Title: Flesh Meats (Proteins Continued)

1864 Sp. Gifts IV, 120, 121