Pastor Doug: We're going to try line number one now. Doc, are you on the air?
Doc: Yes I am Pastor Doug.
Pastor Doug: Hi, thank you and your call tonight?
Doc: It has to do with the food laws. This time of the year, there's a lot of get-togethers and a lot of stuff laid out on the table. Tonight I even saw something I've never seen before, a double egg with a crispy piece of bacon sticking out of it. I haven't read Leviticus and there was a pork and shellfish and knowing something about biology that all these animals are scavengers and if it was toxic back then, it stands a reason to me that it's toxic now and when I try to bring this Leviticus up they say that had to do with the Jews and that Paul changed all that. I don't think Paul changed the biology of these animals, so I don't know what to say to these individuals scripture-wise.
Pastor Doug: Let me give you a couple of thoughts, Doc. First of all, the distinction between clean animals and unclean animals goes back before the Jews. You remember that when God told Noah to take the animals on the ark, everybody sings a song that they came two by two but if you read it in the Bible it says the unclean animals came by two, the clean animals came by sevens.
Doc: Yes, I've read that.
Pastor Doug: Now, was Noah Jewish? Because everybody in the world is related to Noah today, right? The whole world is repopulated by Noah and his family. God even told Noah there's a distinction-- What's that?
Doc: The three sons and the daughter-in-laws.
Pastor Doug: That's right, and so everybody is related to Noah. If God made a distinction between clean and unclean for Noah, then you will, you would think that it still applies today. There's another verse you can read in Acts Chapter 10 where when Peter has his vision and this sheet full of unclean animals comes down from heaven and God says, "Arise, kill and eat," Peter says, "Not so Lord, I've never eaten anything common or unclean."
This is three and a half years later after Christ has died, Peter still says we've never eaten anything unclean and he never does take anything from the sheet. Later God shows him the vision is because he should not call the Gentiles unclean and Peter says God has shown me not to call any man, commoner, unclean. The vision had nothing to do with food and yet Peter says, "I've never eaten anything unclean."
You can read in Isaiah chapter-- I think it's chapter 66. It says, "For with fire and with my sword, I will plea with all flesh and the slain of the Lord will be many in that day." It says, " Those that sanctify themselves and purify themselves behind a tree, eating the abomination, the mouse and the swine are going to be consumed by the Lord when He comes." Here it's saying that it's comparing eating pigs with eating rats or mice.
They're scavengers in spite of what some people say that you can just prayer over it now, in the New Testament whatever you pray over is clean that's really not a very strong argument because no parent would accept that from their child. Their child cannot eat ice cream Sunday for breakfast and say but I'm just going to pray over it. We all know that you can't mock God, you're going to sow what you reap and whatever you eat, there's consequences for what you eat.
The verses where Paul talks about praying over your food, it has nothing to do with pork, pork is never mentioned in those verses. Paul is talking about things sacrificed to idols, we don't have to worry about that. If you eat food in a Chinese restaurant, they got a Buddha statue in the restaurant doesn't mean your food is going to suddenly be spirit possessed. That's what Paul is talking about, they had those concerns back then.
You're on the right track. Hey, you know, I've got a study I can send you Doc for free and it's called God's Health Plan and it's got all the verses that you're looking for in one study. Would you like a copy of that?
Doc: I sure would.
Pastor Doug: Just dial this number, it's separate from this studio number. It's an 800 number 835-6747, 800-835-6747, ask for God's Free Health Plan, they'll send it to you for free and nobody will pester you.
Doc: God bless, thanks for your ministry.
Pastor Doug: I appreciate, thank you for your call.