Dietary Laws

These are just some of the health related problems associated with improper diet and eating habits. Why are these illnesses befalling our people? Simple! The Biblical Dietary Laws are not being followed. The Most High prescribed dietary laws to His people to keep us healthy and away from sickness. When we go away from the dietary laws, we find ourselves unhealthy, out of shape, sick, and most importantly, sinning against the Most High YHWH!

Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 give guidelines for our food intake. Certain creatures were not created to be consumed for food like pig, shrimp, crab, lobster, and catfish just to name a few. These animals were created to be scavengers to clean the earth, lakes, rivers, and seas of waste keeping the environment in a pristine and pollution-free condition for the clean animals we are permitted to eat.

When you study the dietary habits of the scavenger animals, you’ll see that their diet primarily consists of the waste of the animals that surround them. For example, pig eats the waste (feces) of farm animals. When you eat pig, you are eating feces! Think about it! Same is true when eating crab, lobster, clam, squid, and shrimp! These animals feed on waste and the carcass of dead creatures. Their sole purpose is to keep the waters clean.

Laws Regarding Sea Creatures

Leviticus 11:9-12 describes the creatures that live in the waters, rivers and seas that we can and cannot eat.

“These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.” Leviticus 11:9

Fish considered clean and fit for consumption by the Children of the Lord, must have both fins and scales. Examples of clean fish which possess these characteristics are salmon, red snapper, and whiting. Fish not having both fins and scales are considered unclean and are not permitted to be consumed by the Children of the Lord. Examples of unclean fish include catfish, shark, crab, lobster, shrimp, and oysters. (Leviticus 11:10)

Laws Regarding Land Animals

Land animals need 3 attributes to be considered clean and fit for consumption by Israel.

“Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.” Leviticus 11: 3

Clean land animals MUST have all 3 of the following attributes: (1) a parted hoof, (2) be cloven footed, and (3) feed on vegetation (chew the cud). Any creature that lacks any one of these attributes is not suitable for food.

“Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.” Leviticus 11:4

The dietary laws are not optional. If these laws are broken the person who breaks them is committing sin!

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4

Christ also makes it clear that if you desire to show your love for Him, we must keep the laws.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15

Christians teach false doctrines and proclaim that the dietary laws have been done away with. However, Christ himself disproves that theory. Christ states that none of the laws are obsolete and that they must still be kept even unto today:

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (18) For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
Matthew 5:17-18

A man must decide if he will obey God or obey the teachings of mankind (Acts 5:29).

Beware because Christian preachers falsely teach that the laws were only to be followed until the death of Christ. In the book of Acts, we see an example of the mind state of the disciples after the death of Christ. Were they still keeping the dietary laws?

“But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.” Acts 10:14

Even years after the death of Christ, it is clearly seen that Peter still kept the dietary laws as commanded.

Many scriptures are used to form false doctrines about the dietary laws. False teachings use little understanding to formulate a theory, for instance:

“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. (4) For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:” 1 Timothy 4:3-4

This scripture DOES NOT tell us it is now okay to break the dietary laws and sin? But without proper instruction and studying you may be swayed to believe otherwise. Let’s get some understanding:

First, it is important to understand one important fact -- the audience Paul is addressing in this scripture is to those who know and keep the law!

“Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?” Romans 7:1

Paul is not teaching against the law in 1 Timothy 4:3-4. We are told that GOD has created certain meats to be received with thanksgiving by them which (1) believe and (2) know the truth. What is the truth?

“Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.” Psalms 119:142

The laws/commandments of YHWH are the truth.. Certain meats are to be received in thanksgiving by those that know the (dietary) laws of God. The laws of God are to govern the meats that you consume.

Secondly, there are two variations of the word received used in verses 3 and 4. The first word “received” in verse 3 (metalēmpsis) means to be received for food. The second word “received” in verse 4 (lambanō) does not mean to be eaten; it means to be taken up to carry away. Key to properly reading/studying the Bible includes looking up even common words in a Concordance like Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, so that you may understand the word’s true meaning in the context it is written in.

All creatures of the Lord are good and not to be refused for the purpose in which they were created. Some for food and some to be used to keep the earth clean. The law will outline the difference. Read Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.

A Closer Look At Swine/Pork

In the book of Isaiah 65:2-6, God calls us “… a rebellious people, …” “Which remain among the graves, …” (walking dead) “…which eat swine’s flesh, …” “… for I am holier than thou …”The Most High God is angry at these people. In Isaiah 66:15, the Lord states that he “… will come with fire … to render his anger … with flames of fire.” The Lord referred to is Christ Jesus, because in the book of II Thessalonians 1:6-8, it states that the Lord Jesus, together with his angels, shall take vengeance by flaming fire against those who do not obey the gospel. In Isaiah 66:15-17, God states that he will “… come with fire …” to render his anger with flames of fire. Those of us who continue to eat swine’s flesh will be put to death!!

Think about this -- in Leviticus 26:44-46, we are told that Moses gave us the Lord God’s statutes, judgments, and laws at Mount Sinai, as it is also recorded in Exodus 13:21 and Nehemiah 9:12-14. However, in I Corinthian 10:1-4, we are told that the Cloud that followed the Children of Israel was and is Christ, who gave all of us the laws, statutes and judgments (St. John 1:1 and 17; Exodus 20:1-24). Who gave us the Ten Commandments? Christ did, of course, just as he did give us the dietary laws (Matthew 5:17-19).

Read Joshua 1:18 to confirm that whosoever rebels against the commandment of the Most High God shall be put to death. See Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8 and understand that God and Jesus have never changed and will never change.

After reading and comparing the scriptures mentioned in this article, you should now understand that it is YHWH’s will that we obey all His commandments, including the commandment to eat only certain beasts, fowl, fish and insects. To do otherwise, would be to make ourselves abominable and unclean (Leviticus 11:43-47).

As Isaiah 42:23 states: “So who among you will give ear to this? Who will hearken and hear for the time to come?” Matthew 15:10 tells us: “And he (Christ) called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand.”

This whole world has been deceived by Satan and Christian preachers (Revelations 12:9). Do not be deceived by the lies!!