BibleFacts

Pork and the Sabbath

 On Bible Studies

The Sabbath
Some say Christians must observe the Sabbath. Others say it is a Jewish festival and is not binding on Christians.

Jesus said:
Matthew 12:5,8 Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Mark 2:27 And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: (KJV)
Romans 14:1-23 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. 2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables.

5 Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. 6 Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord... 22 The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve. 23 But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (NRSV)

The Sabbath is no longer observed but Paul warned us to go to church for our own protection.
Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Jubilees 2:28 And the Creator of all blessed it; but he did not sanctify all nations and peoples to observe the Sabbath on it, only Israel alone.

The Sabbath, with all the rituals, was not kept until Moses.
Genesis 2:2-3 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. (NRSV)

Moses is saying, from this point on, under this covenant the ritual of observing the festivals including the Sabbath will start. The Sabbath is now set apart by God and is based on the seven days of creation. The Sabbath did not begin until the giving of the Law on mount Sinai. Jesus fulfilled the mosaic law perfectly. He always kept the Sabbath in the way it was meant to be kept.

Matthew 5:19 whoever breaks the least commandment will be called least in heaven (NRSV)
James 2:10 if you fail to keep any small part of the law you are guilty of breaking all of it.

If you are going to observe the Sabbath you must:
have a woman present to do the ritual of lighting the Sabbath candles, learn and recite the proper prayers in Hebrew, sing the proper Psalms, not cook or light a fire, not go anywhere, not leave your home between 7PM Friday and 7PM on Saturday, have the Havdalah service and ritual on Saturday night.

See Exodus 20:10,35:3; Numbers 15:32; Jeremiah 17:21; Amos 8:5

People meet on the Sabbath for teaching in Acts 17:1,2, and both Jews and Greeks in Acts 18:4, but believers meet on the first day of the week in Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-2.

1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made
Some have taught that this was a special trip not a worship service. Why not give money when you come to a service, and save a trip?
Saul preached on the Sabbath to the Jews and their converts, but when he went to the gentiles he changed his name to Paul (easier for the Gentiles to pronounce) and meet whenever and where ever they meet to preach to them. Preaching at Mars’ hill is one example.

What remains of the Sabbath in the Age of Grace?
Hebrews 4:9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
Hebrews 4:11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

Paul here is stating that we have a partial rest now, from works, because we belong to the Messiah. But the Sabbath represents the rest we will have in the resurrection in the Millennium. We are to be careful to continue in the Faith so we will obtain that rest.

Errors
Some have taught that the prophecy of Daniel 7:25 was fulfilled when the Roman Catholic Church changed the times and seasons from the Jewish festivals the Pagan holidays.

This prophecy; however, clearly states that the Antichrist will cause the Jews in the Holy Land to stop the sacrifices when and where they do them. He will succeed three and one half years into the tribulation period.

Some teach that in A.D. 336, the Council of Laodica officially replaced the Sabbath with Sunday worship.

Isaiah 66:23 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the LORD. (NRSV)
This will be fulfilled in the Millennium. The Sabbath will only be brought back, with the other rituals, as a memorial of what the Messiah has accomplished. The nations will not be required to observe them except when their delegates are sent to Jerusalem. The priests, who have to eat anyway, will continue to sacrifice as a memorial.

Unclean food
Some say Christians shouldn’t eat Pork or other things the Jews were forbidden to eat in the old covenant.

Jesus said:
Mark 7:18-20 "Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? 19 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.")

20 He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ 21 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’"

Paul said:
Romans 14:1-23 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. 2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables.

6... Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 17 For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat; 21 it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble. 22 The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve. 23 But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (NRSV)

1 Corinthians 10:23-32 "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. 27 If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake — 29 the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? 31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God.

You offend the church of God by trying to put it back under the Mosaic law!
Deuteronomy 14:7-8 However, of those that chew the cud or that have a split hoof completely divided you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the coney. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a split hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. 8 The pig is also unclean; although it has a split hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.
Deuteronomy 14:21 Do not eat anything you find already dead. You may give it to an alien living in any of your towns, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. But you are a people holy to the LORD your God.

If I sold drugs only to pagan kids and not to Christians kids would that be all right? If we, gentiles, could eat it then with God’s blessing , we can now.

What about the letter written to gentile converts in Acts 15, stating not to eat blood or things strangled? This was in conjunction with the practices of idolatry in the pagan temples.

Some have taught that the reason for the prohibition of pork was for health reasons. It is true that pork has parasites and bacteria in it so you must cook it well done or it can cause a disease called trichinosis. Beef is the only meat that can be eaten rare with little chance of food poisoning. Lamb has also been found to contain a certain type of bacteria called campylobacter jejuni which if not cooked well done can cause a serious illness called camphylobacterosis. If the dietary laws were for health reasons why would God have commanded not to eat pork, which may be bad for you, and commanded to eat lamb, which can also be bad for you. One can see plainly that these dietary laws were for ceremonial purposes.

The Epistle of Barnabas, which is now classified as a writing of the early church fathers, but in the Codex Sinaiticus it is included in the cannon of scripture between Hebrews and James, states Gods reason for giving the dietary laws was that they teach symbolically what we are and are not supposed to be like. In our society today chicken means a coward, pig means gluttonous, bitch, the female dog, means to be promiscuous, and fox means clever or sexy.

In chapter 10 of his epistle, Barnabas gives the following definitions:
Swine represents people who come to God when they need something, but they forget God when things are OK.
Eagle, Hawk, Raven represent those who steal food from others (scavengers) instead of working for it.
Fish without scales represent those who live at the bottom of the waters, living in all kinds of filth.
The Hare represents those who corrupt boys (Homosexuality) as an act of worship to a Canaanite God.
The Hyena represents those who commit adultery (sexual impurity)
The Weasel represents those who in the worship of a Canaanite God, practice oral copulation.
Dogs represent those who have multiple sexual encounters. The terms "bitch" and "S.O.B." are still used today as an insult.
The Cloven-hoofed represent those who walk in this world but look forward to the Holy state.
The cud chewing represents those who are meditating on the word of God (their mind is stayed on God). This is the opposite of the pig.

Satan would like you to not know these things. That would keep you from being constantly reminded of how God wants you to act. Satan would really love for you to not eat these things, thinking they are for health reasons, and miss the whole point. It is the ultimate insult to God, for Satan to get Christians dwelling on things that should teach them how to be closer to God but instead they become the very things that pull Christians away from God.

Conclusion
Colossians 2:16 Therefore 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.

 

 

All quotations taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted.

 

www.biblefacts.org Date: 8-1994