The Biblical Truth About 'CLEAN' And 'UNCLEAN'
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth (Leviticus 11:2).
.... all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever.... The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments.... (Psalms 111:7-8; 10).
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD (Psalms 119:1).
God created laws and commandments for the benefit of mankind.'Traditional' doctrines claim that He created them at Mount Sinai, only for the Jews, and that Jesus nailed it all to the cross. I want to clear up a few myths which revolve around this belief.
No one was called a Jew until over 700 years after the Israelites left Egypt (2 Kings 16:6). That's when God had the tribes scattered, after which most of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi banded together; thus forming one tribe which was called 'Jews'; named after Judah. The Israelites that God redeemed out of Egypt consisted of Abraham's descendants plus many Gentiles (Exod. 12:38). All who believe in the God of Abraham are Israelites. (Rom. 10-11; Gal. 3:28-29; 6:16). And God only ever gave one common law to 'all' mankind (Exod. 12:49; Lev. 24:22; Num. 15:16, 29; Rom. 11).
Abraham kept God's commandments 430 years before Moses (Gen. 26:5). Noah kept God's food laws about 300 years before Abraham (Gen. 6;20--7:2). Abel sacrificed animals to God about 1200 years before Noah (Gen. 4). Adam and Eve sinned. Lucifer sinned before Adam. Sin is the transgression of the Law (1 John 3:4; James 2:10). Can't sin without Law (Rom. 4:15; 5:13). Thus, we conclude that God's eternal laws started long before Mount Sinai.
In Exodus chapter 16, God gave the Israelites a double portion of manna on the 6th day so they would have enough also for the 7th day, the LORD's Sabbath, in which they were not to do any work. But some went to look for manna on the Sabbath day, so God asked Moses ".... how long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? Sounds like the commandments and laws already existed, right? God reminded them of His forgotten comamendments and laws, after a few centuries of being enslaved to the hard bondage in Egypt. This was yet about 6 weeks before God re-stated the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai.
Years before they left Egypt, Moses pled with the Pharaoh to let him and the Israelites go and keep God's Feast and sacrifice to the LORD; lest pestilence should befall them (Exodus 5)! Zechariah chapter 14 and Isaiah 56 and 66 give the same warning to the end-time generations of Gentile and Jews; ALL Nations.
In Malachi 4, God warns the end-time generation "remember ye the laws of Moses". These prophesies come from the unchanging God (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8; James 1:17); not from man (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Tim. 3:16); the God of love (1 John 4:16); and to love Him and His children is to keep HIS commandments (1 John 5:2-3); which fulfills the law (Rom. 13:8-10; James 2:8).
Traditions teach that Jesus abolished these laws (compare Matthew 5:17-19; Luke 16:17). In Matthew 15 and Mark 7 the Pharisees charged Jesus and His disciples of defilement by eating with unwashed hands. Jesus excoriates them for using their own commandments wherewith they forsook God's commandments; thus defiling their hearts. Peter had trouble understanding this, so Jesus clarified it: "....to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man." (Matt. 15:20).
Some Bible translators have sub-titled this account as 'Clean and Unclean'; and they conclude that account by adding 'Thus Jesus declared all foods "clean"'; with the implication that the animals which God declared as 'unclean' are now 'clean'. This is understandable, because these Bibles were translated centuries after that belief was already indoctrinated into the traditional Church system; of which these translators were obviously followers. But, as we shall see, this can not be inspired by the eternal God of heaven and earth! It is true, that God made all food clean (Gen. 2:9; 1 Tim. 4); but nowhere does He call anything food which He commanded as 'unclean'! In 1 Timothy 4:3 God specifically speaks to "them which believe and know the truth". A believer of the Truth will understand it from God's point of view, which will never impose any contradictions. Can the eternally unchanging God contradict His own Word?
Strict as the Pharisees held (and still do) to God's food laws; if they had understood Jesus to mean that unclean meat was now clean; they would have immediately set out to stone Him. But there's no indication of such a dispute. Those Pharisees would not miss any opportunity to condemn Him, had there been any hint of that being what Jesus meant by what He spoke; even if it would mean perverting it. But, they couldn't; because Jesus made it too plain; they understood Him. The issue was 'eating with unwashed hands', which was a tradition of the Rabbis and Pharisees; and not a commandment of God! So Jesus used that opportunity to show them that 'their' traditional doctrines were what was defiling their hearts; because that did not come from God, but from their glory-seeking prideful, lustful, adulterous, and covetous hearts! That is why He often called them a 'generation of vipers' (Matt. 12:34; 23:33).
Many years after the resurrection of Jesus, Peter was shown a vision of unclean animals which he was told to eat (Acts 10). He rebelled by stating that he had never eaten anything common or unclean (Greek for common #2839 koinos; something made unclean by profaning or defiling it; ceremonially--unclean); (Greek for unclean #169 akathartos; something unclean or defiled in and of itself; foul--demonic). If Jesus had made 'unclean' animals 'clean' in Matthew 15 and Mark 7; thus violating His own commandments of Leviticus 3:17 and chapter 11, and Deuteronomy 14; Peter would have known it, because he questioned Jesus after that argument whereby Jesus explained what the issue was. That account in Acts 10 was about 10 years after that arguement in Matthew 15. So Peter, by now surely knowing (John 14:26; 16:13), explains that God showed him through that vision that he was not to call any 'man' common or unclean (Acts 10:28), because God had granted repentance unto life also to the Gentiles (Acts 11:4-18).
End-time prophecies warn us about the sins of defilement with unclean animals (Isa. 65:4, 66:3, 66:17). We are warned to avoid this type of unclean (#169) in the New Testament (2 Cor. 6:17; Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5; Rev. 16:13, 18:2), where the word #169 akathartos is used to describe things which are in and of itself, foul, and/or demonic; like the 'unclean' beasts of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.
After miraculously feeding the multitudes, Jesus commanded His followers to gather up the left over food 'fragments' (Matt. 14:20, 15:37, Mark 6:43, John 6:13); so none would go waste (John 6:12). Then in Mark 5:13, He sent 'unclean' (#169, demonic) spirits into a herd of 2000 swine and destroyed them. Think about it, would the Messiah waste 2000 swine if they were food?
I will conclude with an extremely sobering thought; concerning the common 'traditional' law-done-away philosophies. I'll give the believers of these doctrines the benefit of the doubt: Now, for Jesus to qualify as the Messiah who would be able to pay for the penalty for our sins, required of Him to be absolutely sinless and blameless, right (Isa. 53:9; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22; Heb. 4:15; 7:26; 1 John 3:5)? Think about this real sober and hard, with an open and un-biased heart and mind. While Jesus was on this earth, before the crucifixion; the Old Testament "Jewish" Laws (as they are labelled by the law-done-away preachers) were still in full force and effect, right? Now, using that doctrine: if Jesus, who was born a Jew, had violated God's food laws, or profaned the LORD's Sabbaths (as many of these 'law-done-away' believers argue that He did); by breaking just one 'jot' or 'tittle' (Matt. 5:17-19; Luke 16:17); He would have broken God's laws, which is sin (1 John 3:4; James 2:10); thus disqualifying Him to be our saving Messiah. This just may render the preachers and believers of such philosophies Without a TRUE SAVIOUR!! No lies will enter God's Kingdom (Rev. 21:8)! Please don't take this from me, but confirm it in your own Bible!
!! GOD BLESS !!
http://corniebanman.com, 2011, Rev 2012. Scripture quotes from the KJV Bible. 'All' emphasis mine.
Hebrew and Greek references are from STRONG'S Concordance.
Words in [ ] within Scripture quotes added by me.
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