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 Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 2:21 am
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Quote: God's anger does not last forever. Ps.30:5; Jer.3:12; Mic.7:18 God's anger does last forever. Jer.17:4; Mt.25:46
Explanation:
The duration of God’s anger depends on many factors. God is a God of mercy, and a God of love, yet He is also a God of justice- Who hates sin.
To those people who are His followers (such as David in Psalm 30), then His anger only lasts a short time if they are truly repentant. When the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before reaching Canaan, it was because they had been bickering with Moses, and affronting God’s Sovereignty. Therefore, in His anger, God delivered a decree, or punishment, that they should be “homeless” for that long. He was angry for a short time, but he also delivered a sentence to match the crime.
Jeremiah 17:4 is misunderstood by the skeptic. The verse actually illustrates God’s justice more than His anger. The verse in its entirety: “And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.”
The tribe of Judah was flagrantly disobedient, so they lost their inheritance from God, and served their enemies. This “fire” can be interpreted as a burning of their inheritance, which would be perpetual. God still has not technically given them their inheritance back(Zionists [Illuminists] founded and are in control of today’s “Israel”), and only the repentant, Christ-believing Jews will receive a future inheritance in the Heavenly Kingdom. Essentially, God became angry - the consequence being that Judah’s land was forever torched metaphorically.
God will forgive sin and no longer be angry at penitents, yet He also leaves them to the consequential punishment of their actions. The key is: God will not condemn them to Hell, but rather bring them back into fellowship with Him.
Jeremiah 3:12 in its entirety illustrates this point:
“Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep mine anger for ever.”
Here we see that God’s favor is conditional: “Return, ... and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you”. If they do this, then God “will not keep [his] anger for ever”. This last part of the verse might also be revealing that God foresees Israel’s future repentance. Repentance is always required by God for forgiveness. ( see my article The Issue of Forgiveness )
Micah 7:18 describes what would happen when Israel repented of her sins.
The two remaining verses referenced by the skeptic pertain to God’s Justice. God is Holy and Just, as well as Loving and Merciful. Sin brings punishment. That’s why God the Father sent His Son Jesus as a sacrifice: so that as many as would except the sacrifice would be legally brought back into communion with Him. God has decreed that sin from unrepentant sinners must be punished, and God’s Word is unchangeable and unbreakable. As a result, Satan and his angels, and the wicked of mankind, will receive punishment that has been foreordained.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 2:24 am
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Quote: The earth was established forever. Ps.78:69; Ecc.1:4 The earth will someday perish. Mt.24:35; Mk.13:31; Lk.21:33; Heb.1:10,11; 2 Pet.3:10
The context of the Ecclesiastes passage is revealed in the previous verse which says, "What advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun?" In other words, the perspective of Ecclesiastes is from a completely human standpoint. The same is occurring in the Psalms passage, a description from a human perspective. Therefore, the writers will see the earth abiding forever because that is exactly how it appears. But, in Isaiah 65:17 and 2 Peter 3:10 the contexts are altogether different. They are speaking of the time in the future when the new heavens and new earth will be made. Take a look at 2 Peter.
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells," (2 Peter 3:10-13).
Since sin is in the world, the earth and all its works will be destroyed and cleansed, and a new heavens and new earth will replace them.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 3:15 am
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Quote: Wisdom makes a man happy. Prov.3:13 Seek wisdom. Prov.4:7; Prov.19:8 God gives wisdom. Jms.1:5 Wisdom is foolishness. 1 Cor.1:19,20; 1 Cor.3:18-20
You can make anything seem like a contradiction by taking it out of context. If you briefly pass over these verses it could seem like our objector caught God contradicting Himself. However if we go more in depth we will see that these verse deal with different kinds of wisdom. Wisdom aligning itself with God, and wisdom the world thinks is wisdom but is rather useless and will in the end lead no where.
1 Corinthians 1:21
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
James is speaking of spiritual wisdom, and spiritual maturity. We see that when we read the verse in context;
James 1:2-5
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
Proverbs 3:13
Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding,
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Real lasting knowledge is centered around the Lord. Not centered around human philosophies.
1 Corinthians 3:18-20
Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”
The standards of this age are clearly not God's standard of wisdom.
Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 1:01 pm
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 1:10 pm
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 1:12 pm
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Quote: God made the wicked to be destroyed. Prov.16:4 God deceives the wicked so they will be destroyed. 2 Thes.2:11,12 God wants all to be saved. 1 Tim.2:3,4; 2 Pet.3:9
John Gill observes on the phrase “yea, even the wicked for the day of evil”
This is added to illustrate the general proposition in the preceding clause, and to obviate an objection, that might be taken from the destruction of the wicked, against all things being for the glory of God; for even the destruction of the wicked, which is under a divine appointment, is for his glory. It is not the sense of this text, nor of any other passage of Scripture, that God made man to damn him; nor is this to be inferred from the doctrine of predestination: God made man, neither to damn him, nor to save him, but for his own glory; and that is secured, whether in his salvation or damnation; nor did or does God make men wicked; he made man upright, and he has made himself wicked; and, being so, God may justly appoint him to damnation for his wickedness, in doing which he glorifies his justice.
To paraphrase: every man, even those who have become wicked, were created by God. God made man so he would glorify him. But the wicked choose not to, but God is still their creator.
From: Proverbs 16 – Skeptic's Annotated Bible answered
God does allow strong delusions to come to those who have rejected the truth. If you reject the truth there is not much left for you than a lie.
Those is 2 Thessalonians 2: "refused to love the truth and so be saved." |
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 1:15 pm
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 1:48 pm
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Quote: Some sow wheat but reap thorns. Jer.12:13 Some will sow but never reap anything. Mic.6:15 Some will never sow but will still reap. Mt.25:26; Lk.19:22
Jeremiah is talking to God, and God is telling him what He intends to do with the rebellious nation of Israel.
Jeremiah 12:7-12
7 “I will forsake my house,
abandon my inheritance;
I will give the one I love
into the hands of her enemies.
8 My inheritance has become to me
like a lion in the forest.
She roars at me;
therefore I hate her.
9 Has not my inheritance become to me
like a speckled bird of prey
that other birds of prey surround and attack?
Go and gather all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.
10 Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard
and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
into a desolate wasteland.
11 It will be made a wasteland,
parched and desolate before me;
the whole land will be laid waste
because there is no one who cares.
12 Over all the barren heights in the desert
destroyers will swarm,
for the sword of the Lord will devour
from one end of the land to the other;
no one will be safe.
In Micah 6 He is again dealing with Israel.
Micah 6:9-16
Israel’s Guilt and Punishment
9 Listen! The Lord is calling to the city—
and to fear your name is wisdom—
“Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.
10 Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures, you wicked house,
and the short ephah, which is accursed?
11 Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales,
with a bag of false weights?
12 Your rich people are violent;
your inhabitants are liars
and their tongues speak deceitfully.
13 Therefore, I have begun to destroy you,
to ruin you because of your sins.
14 You will eat but not be satisfied;
your stomach will still be empty.
You will store up but save nothing,
because what you save I will give to the sword.
15 You will plant but not harvest;
you will press olives but not use the oil,
you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.
16 You have observed the statutes of Omri
and all the practices of Ahab’s house;
you have followed their traditions.
Therefore I will give you over to ruin
and your people to derision;
you will bear the scorn of the nations.”
We are on to an entirely different subject in Matthew 25 than grain for food.
Matthew 25:24-27
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 1:55 pm
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Quote: The Law was not good. Ezek.20:25 The Law was good. Rom.7:12; 1 Tim.1:8
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
The laws they were given in Ezekiel 20 are not to be understood as the Mosaic law. The “statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live,” cannot be the same with those described in Ezekiel 20:11 as “judgments which, if a man do, he shall even live in them.” Neither is it a sufficient explanation to say that God gave them what was intrinsically good, but it became evil to them through their sins; such a view of the law is emphatically discarded in Romans 7:13. The statutes of the Mosaic law are not intended here at all, as is plain from the particular instance of the consecration of children to Moloch in the next verse. These evil statutes and judgments were those adopted from the heathen whom they had suffered to dwell among them, and from the surrounding nations. But how can the Lord say that He gave these to them? In the same way that it is said in Isaiah 63:17, “O Lord, why hast thou made us to err from Thy ways, and hardened our heart from Thy fear?” So also St. Paul says of the heathen (Romans 1:21-28.) that God “gave them up to uncleanness,” “unto vile affections,” “to a reprobate mind;” and of certain wicked persons (2Thessalonians 2:11-12) “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believe not the truth.”
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 10:21 pm
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 10:36 pm
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 10:51 pm
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Quote: Jesus lists "defraud not" as one of the commandments. Mk.10:19 There is no such commandment. Ex.20:3-17
What is defrauding? Is it not another way of saying stealing?
Merriam Websters dictionary defines it as; to trick or cheat someone or something in order to get money : to use fraud in order to get money from a person, an organization, etc.
In the context it was given here the young man was likely to say that he had not stolen anything from anyone because most people tend to justify their sins. Jesus likely defined stealing in a way that was meant to convict the man of sin.
Mark 10:17-27
The Rich Man
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” |
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 10:57 pm
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 11:04 pm
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 12:24 pm
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Certain assumptions (from the skeptic) are not even true.
I'll highlight three that I noticed.
For instance:
1. Commands About Interest
First half of the statement:
Garland-Green Quote: It is wrong to lend money with interest. Lev.25:36, 37; Ex.22:25; Deut.23:19, 20; Ezek.22:12; Neh.5:7,10 It is wrong to lend money without interest. Mt.25:27; Lk.19:23-27
Overgeneralized. That's not what the law is saying.
YHWH commanded not to charge interest on your fellow Israelites (believers). That's the only prohibition against interest collecting there is; it's not an all out ban on collecting interest of any kind. The very laws they cited reveals as much:
Leviticus 25:35-37 (NIV)
35 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support
themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger,
so they can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest or any
profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live
among you. 37 You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food
at a profit.
Exodus 22:25 (NIV)
25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy,
do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest.
Deuteronomy 23:19-20 (NIV)
19 Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or
anything else that may earn interest. 20 You may charge a foreigner
interest, but not a fellow Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless
you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to
possess.
Nehemiah 5:7 (NIV)
7 I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials.
I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!” So I called
together a large meeting to deal with them
So, YHWH can, and does, command his servants to charge interest without violating his law, because he allowed us to charge foreigners interest—charge people not in covenant with YHWH, not living amongst us, and are merely business relations. (Foreigners permanently dwelling in Israel are considered Israelites the same as native-born Israelites, ergo the distinction between the foreigners in Leviticus 25:35-37 and Deuteronomy 23:19-20).
Exodus 12:49 (NIV)
49 The same law applies both to the native-born
and to the foreigner residing among you.”
Nothing in the parable, in the gospels, suggested taking interest from fellow Israelites in debt. Why are they assuming YHWH is violating his law when he could just as easily be referring to collecting interest on foreigners who don't live amongst us? And that's what Jesus would be referring to since that's the only kind he allowed.
Second-half: the group of people YHWH prohibits collecting interest from in the law is not the same group of people being charged interest in the parable.
Quote: Quote: It is wrong to lend money with interest. Lev.25:36, 37; Ex.22:25; Deut.23:19, 20; Ezek.22:12; Neh.5:7,10 It is wrong to lend money without interest. Mt.25:27; Lk.19:23-27
The ones whom the servants will collect interest from are the bankers; they're not in lack nor struggling to make ends meet.
Matthew 25:27 (NIV)
27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
The whole intention behind the interest-collecting laws: do not cripple the needy in your own nation even more (which is what was happening in the chapter of Nehemiah that he/she quoted from, and thus the actions Nehemiah was condemning. The governors were being ruthless). The reason your fellow Israelite took a loan in the first place is because they can't make ends meet. Do not charge them interest on top of that. Your intention is to see them prosper, and get them out of debt, back on their own two feet, not sink them into a deeper hole and stay indebted to you. The only person they should be indebted to is God. That's why he even provided the year of cancelling debts and the Jubilee year. He doesn't want his own people enslaved to other people at all. That's why YHWH delivered the Israelites out of the house of bondage in Egypt. That's why God delivers us from the bondage to our sinful, fleshly nature. So that we have no master but Him, be indebted to no one but him.
Why can we charge foreigners interest then? Because if foreigners want to benefit, like us (those in covenant) then they need to join the nation of Israel (enter covenant). Only then would there be no needy person being charged interest! And in order to join Israel and live amongst us, they need to leave their Gentile ways behind, they need to leave the slavery to the world and the world's ways behind, they need to leave the lies / false forms of worship behind. You can't have God's benefits and your pagan, Gentile, worldly ways at the same time. It's either one or the other. He's not your friend with benefits / with no strings attached. No extra-marital affairs / extra-covenant affairs will be going on over here. You want the rewards of being an Israelite (of one married to YHWH) then marry YHWH. Wanting to receive marital benefits without being married to YHWH is nonsensical. Not happening. No one should expect to be treated at the same level as a wife, if they're not married to the husband. That's not favoritism (he invited everyone) but not everyone wants to marry him, and be with him exclusively. Even when Israel, who was in Covenant with YHWH, started cheating, and joined herself to another, YHWH divorced Israel. We need to be loyal to the marriage vows (the covenant). So yeah, no favoritism (if you obey like someone faithfully/loyally married to God, get treated like you're married to God; if you disobey God, get treated as someone not married to God). A wife is not treated the same as some common prostitute on the street willing to sleep with anyone who will benefit her. So you'll be charged interest (like a prostitute) unlike an Israelite (a wife).
And he outright promised, only those who obey get these certain blessings:
Deuteronomy 28:12-13 (NIV)
12 The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain
on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend
to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The Lord will make you the head,
not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that
I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top,
never at the bottom.
You're not getting those specific blessings any other way.
Side note: after writing that out, I realize Satan is trying to undo all the prophetic pictures YHWH instituted to help us understand him and what being in covnenant with him is like. (messing up family, definitions of marriage, God's interest laws, etc...) Sigh.
Granted, believers / those seeking covenant should be seeking God to discover who he is, for who he is, not merely for what they can get out of him / the benefits he brings, like some golddigger. That's why I don't like talking too much about "getting things" from God. Though it's difficult to avoid when we're talking money and collecting interest lol.
As far as the parable goes, however, what explicitly needs pointing out is this:
God wasn't lending money to people in debt (he was leaving his servants in charge of his resources). And on top of that, he did not tell his servant to go charge interest on poor Israelites in debt. God said that he would have preferred that his servant, instead of doing nothing with the money, leave his money at the bank / with the bankers to accumulate interest. Bankers are not poor and needy.
Secondly, even if the verses had been about debt, like I mentioned, YHWH commands not to charge interest on his own people, but we can with foreigners (of those not in covenant with the Holy God of Israel). What, pray tell, in Mt.25:27; Lk.19:23-27, suggests that he told his servants to charge interest on his own people? Nothing. Had he done so, then you could call God a sinner / a violater of his own law. But that's not the reality. YHWH does not contradict his law. He acts according to it.
So, not only are these verses in the gospels not dealing with poor people in debt (but collecting interest from bankers), but even if they had been dealing with people in debt, as long as the person they charged interest from was a foreigner—someone not in permanent covenant with God, ergo not living among them—it's not a transgression of the law (a sin) for God to say "charge interest on them".
---
2. Commandments About Defrauding
Quote: Jesus lists "defraud not" as one of the commandments. Mk.10:19 There is no such commandment. Ex.20:3-17
Actually, there is such a commandment, explicitly using the word "defraud", even in the KJV:
Leviticus 19:13 (KJV)
13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
Leviticus 19:13 (NIV)
13 “‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.
“‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.
Jesus expected people to keep more than just the Ten Commandments.
The assumption here is that Jesus only refers to the Ten Words written on the stone tablets as commandments, as what we are to keep. He taught us to keep way more than that.
Including:
Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)
18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your
people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
Not found on the stone tablets, but in the rest of God's laws.
---
3. Paul Twisting
Quote: Quote: The Law distinguishes between clean and unclean foods. Lev.10 and 11; Deut.14 Paul says that all foods are clean. 1 Tim.4: 1-4 Jesus speaks of the permanence of the Law. Mt.5:17-19; Lk.16:17 Matthew 5:18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. There must be a time where everything is accomplished. How permanent is it? I would suggest not as permanent as the critic thinks. Psalm 102:25-26 "Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. "Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. Isaiah 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
@ the bold: they're falling into the same twisting of Paul that most Christians fall into: ignoring the verse right next to it (verse 5). And defining "food" in ways Jesus and Paul did not define "food". First, quoting the ignored verse:
1 Timothy 4:3-5 (NIV)
3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods,
which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe
and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing
is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is
consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
...Consecrated by the word of God AND. Not "or", but "and".
The Word of God has to consecrate it. "Food" is not synonymous with "animal" in the Word of God. Nowhere in Leviticus or Deuteronomy, in any of what God or Moses actually spoke, does he say "unclean foods" vs "clean foods". It says, "unclean animals" and "clean animals". All food (what YHWH consecrated / set-apart for human consumption) is clean. But certain people will try (and have always been trying) to forbid the eating of clean animals (like vegans who try to forbid the eating of cows even though it's a clean animal).
The Pharisees too. The Pharisees started declaring food (what YHWH set-apart for human consumption) as unclean if a person did not do the ceremonial hand washing ritual prior to eating. Eat with unblessed / unwashed hands, you defile the food (what YHWH set-apart for human consumption) and thus yourself for eating it. These are Pharisees; they're not going to crazily start putting pork on the table and say, ah! unclean!. This is about the ritual and how, in their minds, if you didn't partake of their man-made ritual, the food (what YHWH set-apart for human consumption) was no longer clean to eat because you defiled it with your hands.
And by yoking their tradition to God's Law as if it were on par with God's Law, that led to this dangerous error: taken in light of what the Law says in Numbers 19:22 and what the prophets like Haggai 2:12-13 say, then it would logically lead them to conclude: ah, defiled hands will defile this clean meat, and if you eat this clean meat after touching it with unblessed hands, you defile yourself for eating it:
Numbers 19:22 (NIV)
22 Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”
Haggai 2:12-13 (NIV)
12 If someone carries consecrated meat in the fold of their garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?’”
The priests answered, “No.”
13 Then Haggai said, “If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?”
“Yes,” the priests replied, “it becomes defiled.”
But these verses don't actually aid the Pharisee's cause because there's no such thing, according to God's Law, as defiled hands for not doing a blessing / hand-washing ritual beforehand. They made that up. Ergo, nullifying God's commands by their traditions and for the sake of their traditions. Thus, Jesus having to come and say, no, what my Father declared as food is clean. Stop nullifying what he said in his Law. (That, and how defiling thoughts in the heart is where defilement starts. That's what truly defiles. So, disagreeing with God, before man ever actually commits the things YHWH prohibited, is what defiles man e.g. disagreeing with his clean and unclean distinctions defiles a person before they ever eat a piece of pork; the Pharisees were defiled for disagreeing with God).
Like Paul said, God has given these foods for those who know the truth. And what is the truth?
John 17:17 (NIV)
17 Sanctify them by[a] the truth; your word is truth.
Footnotes:
a. John 17:17 Or them to live in accordance with
Psalm 119:43 (NIV)
43 Never take your word of truth from my mouth,
for I have put my hope in your laws.
The Law, what God spoke and commanded, is the truth.
This is the same concept as someone taking clean animals, blessing them in the name of an idol, and someone thinking it's no longer clean to eat. It's still clean to eat. Just pray over it, because your prayer, and the Word of God, consecrates that clean animal as clean to eat. Again, not either or, but both. IF the Word of God, his Law, does not consecrate it, set it apart as food, then it is not clean to eat. It is not food, according to God. But if the Word of God consecrates it as clean, then what's stopping you? Just pray over it and don't eat it in front of anyone who has a weak conscience and still thinks it's been dedicated to insert deity's name here.
inb4: distinction between animals, clean and unclean, is not fulfilled by Gentiles coming into covenant with God under the new covenant, because Gentiles like Noah, Abraham, Ruth, and Rahab have been covenanting with God ever since the Old Testament, under different covenants. And Noah still made distinctions between clean and unclean animals.
Genesis 7:1-2 (NIV)
7 The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family,
because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you
seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one
pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,
God consecrated Noah. God set him apart from all the rest. There was no Israel in his time. There was no Moses. No Mosaic covenant. And Noah, as his little Gentile self lol, is obeying these clean and unclean distinctions, way before the Mosaic covenant, before there was a set-apart nation (there is no spiritual fulfillment of these laws that once fulfilled renders the literal application null and void; these laws are still in effect). These are the same ones God would later reveal to the Israelites who were coming out of the world. To be set apart. Like Gentile Noah. Noah is in agreement with God and God's Law, not just in his mind, but walking in agreement with God too. So he wasn't defiled.
Rats, human, pork, dung, and all the like, are still not clean to eat. They're not food. Neither is blood.
It's unstable to say, "the prohibitions against eating blood is still a dietrary law we're to keep, but don't keep the others". What's keeping humans from eating humans? YHWH's dietary laws ingrained in their conscience if they still have one. And in places where they don't obey YHWH and repress that knowledge, that's exactly what they do: they eat human.
Quote: Cannibalism (from Caníbales, the Spanish name for the Caribs,[1] a West Indies tribe that formerly practiced cannibalism)[2] is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh or internal organs of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy. A person who practices cannibalism is called a cannibal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism
Not just individuals:
Cannibals: Creepiest modern-day human flesh eaters: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/cannibals-creepiest-modernday-human-flesh-eaters/story-fnixwvgh-1227005018460
But whole cultures:
5 Recent Cases Of Cannibal Cultures: http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-shocking/5-recent-cases-of-cannibal-cultures/
In a nutshell: there's way more evidence that those laws are still in effect and would still result in blessing for people if they were to obey it. We're still on this cursed earth. Nothing has changed outwardly. Thus, why creation is still groaning.
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