Clean & Unclean Foods
God gave specific instructions about which animals are fit for food, not as arbitrary rules, but as health-protective wisdom. These distinctions appear from Genesis (Noah) to Revelation (Isaiah's end-time prophecy).
"Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean" (Leviticus 20:25)
A Note on Interpretation: Christians differ on whether these dietary distinctions remain binding today. Many cite Mark 7, Acts 10, or Romans 14 as evidence they were abolished. This study presents the case that:
- The distinction predates Moses by 1,600 years. Noah knew clean from unclean (Genesis 7:2)
- Peter hadn't eaten unclean food 9+ years after the cross (Acts 10:14)
- Isaiah prophesies judgment on swine-eaters at Christ's return (Isaiah 66:17)
- Mark 7:19 translation note: The KJV renders this verse "purging all meats," describing the digestive process. Modern translations (NIV, ESV) add the parenthetical "(In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean)," an interpretive addition first appearing in the 1881 Revised Version. The Greek participle (καθαρίζων) is grammatically ambiguous. Metzger's Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (1994) notes this difficulty. A 2024 New Testament Studies article argues the phrase describes digestion purifying food from ritual impurity, not a declaration abolishing dietary law. Compare the KJV (Mark 7:19) with modern translations yourself.
We encourage you to study Scripture prayerfully and reach your own conviction.
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Clean
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Unclean
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Objections Addressed
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