ACTS 10: A HEBRAIC VIEW (Part 1 of 2)
Dear Mishpochah (family):
As many of us know who
have grown up in traditional
Christianity, Acts 10 is VERY MISUNDERSTOOD. Many use Acts 10 to
teach that the dietary laws of Leviticus 11 have been changed and
that non-Jewish believers in the Messiah only need to "pray" and they
can eat anything they want. In the article, we are going to examine Acts 10
from a Hebraic View.
ASSUMPTIONS USED TO TEACH ACTS 10
MEANT WE CAN EAT
ANYTHING WE WANT
Assumption #1) When YHVH the Father through Yeshua
gave the dietary
laws in Leviticus 11, He didn't mean for them to be everlasting
commandments
Assumption #2) Jews and non-Jews have a different set of Torah
commandments. Dietary commandments are for Jews. Eating anything you
want (not following the dietary commandments) are for
non-Jews.
Assumptino #3) Non-Jews are being told in the NT that
they can SIN
(break the dietary commandments of Leviticus 11)
and they don't need to follow the dietary commandments
Assumption #4) The NT contradicts the OT and we follow the NT because
the NT is the "greater revelation" because we are living in
a "new dispensation" (YHVH gave up on Plan A and resorted
to Plan B)
Now, let's look at some of the FALLACIES of the above
assumptions.
WHAT
ARE THE DIETARY LAWS OF LEVITICUS 11?
KJV Leviticus 11:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and
to Aaron, saying
unto them,
KJV Leviticus 11:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the
beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
KJV Leviticus 11:3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and
is clovenfooted,
and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye
eat.
KJV Leviticus 11:5 And the coney,
because he cheweth the cud, but
divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
KJV Leviticus 11:6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but
divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
KJV Leviticus 11:7 And the swine, though he divide the
hoof, and be
clovenfooted, yet he cheweth
not the cud; he is unclean to you.
KJV Leviticus 11:8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat,
and their carcase
shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
KJV Leviticus 11:9 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.
KJV Leviticus 11:10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas,
and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living
thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
KJV Leviticus 11:11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye
shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases
in
abomination.
KJV Leviticus
that shall be an abomination unto you.
KJV Leviticus 11:13 And these are they which ye shall have in
abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an
abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
KJV Leviticus 11:14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
KJV Leviticus 11:15 Every raven after his kind;
KJV Leviticus 11:16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow,
and the hawk after his kind,
KJV Leviticus 11:17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the
great owl,
KJV Leviticus 11:18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier
eagle,
KJV Leviticus 11:19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the
lapwing, and the bat.
KJV Leviticus
be an abomination unto you.
KJV Leviticus 11:21 Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping
thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above
their feet, to
leap withal upon the earth;
KJV Leviticus 11:22 Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his
kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his
kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.
KJV Leviticus
four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
KJV Leviticus
toucheth the carcase of
them shall be unclean until the even.
KJV Leviticus
shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
KJV Leviticus
hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto
you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean.
KJV Leviticus
manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you:
whoso toucheth their carcase
shall be unclean until the even.
KJV Leviticus
his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you.
KJV Leviticus
creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse,
and the tortoise after his kind,
KJV Leviticus
and the snail, and the mole.
KJV Leviticus
whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until
the even.
KJV Leviticus 11:32 And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are
dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of
wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein
any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean
until the even; so it shall be cleansed.
KJV Leviticus
falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye
shall break it.
KJV Leviticus
water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in
every such vessel shall be unclean.
KJV Leviticus
carcase falleth shall be
unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for
pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be
unclean unto you.
KJV Leviticus
plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth
their carcase
shall be unclean.
KJV Leviticus
sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.
KJV Leviticus
part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be
unclean unto you.
KJV Leviticus
that toucheth the carcase
thereof shall be unclean until the even.
KJV Leviticus
his clothes, and be unclean until
KJV Leviticus 11:41 And every creeping thing that creepeth
upon the
earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
KJV Leviticus 11:42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly,
and whatsoever
goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet
among all creeping
things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are
an abomination.
KJV Leviticus
creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make
yourselves unclean
with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.
DIETARY LAWS = HOLY LIVING
What is the purpose of
the dietary laws here in Leviticus 11?
It is for the purpose of HOLY LIVING because YHVH I S HOLY.
KJV Leviticus
SANCTIFY yourselves, and YE shall BE HOLY; for I AM HOLY: neither
shall ye DEFILE yourselves with any manner of CREEPING THING that
creepeth upon the earth.
KJV Leviticus
holy.
MAKING A DISTINCTION BETWEEN CLEAN AND UNCLEAN
KJV Leviticus 11:46 This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl,
and of every living creature that moveth in the
waters, and of every
creature that creepeth upon the earth:
KJV Leviticus 11:47 To make a DIFFERENCE between the UNCLEAN and the
CLEAN, and between the BEAST that MAY BE EATEN and the BEAST that may
NOT BE EATEN.
ASSUMPTION #1: ARE THESE DIETARY COMMANDMENTS FOREVER?
The
Torah commandments of YHVH are ETERNAL and
EVERLASTING.
KJV 1 Chronicles 16:15 Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the WORD
which he commanded to a THOUSAND GENERATIONS;
KJV 1 Chronicles 16:16 Even of the COVENANT which he made with
Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac;
KJV 1 Chronicles 16:17 And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a LAW,
and to Israel for an EVERLASTING COVENANT,
KJV Psalm 119:144 The righteousness of thy TESTIMONIES is EVERLASTING:
give me understanding, and I shall live.
KJV Isaiah 24:5 The earth also is defiled under the
inhabitants
thereof; because they have transgressed the LAWS, changed the
ordinance, BROKEN the EVERLASTING COVENANT.
KJV Psalm 119:89 FOR EVER, O LORD, thy WORD is
settled in
heaven.
KJV Psalm 119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all
the day
KJV Psalm 119:44 So shall I KEEP THY LAW continually FOR EVER and
EVER.
KJV Luke
tittle of the LAW to fail.
KJV Luke
not pass away.
CONCLUSION: The TORAH is an EVERLASTING COVENANT and is ETERNAL.
DOES YHVH CHANGE HIS MIND ABOUT THE
COMMANDMENTS?
KJV Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not ...
KJV Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for
ever.
CONCLUSION: YHVH and YESHUA do NOT CHANGE.
ASSUMPTION #2: DOES THE TORAH / DIETARY COMMANDMENTS
PERTAIN TO NON-JEWS ???
ONE TORAH FOR NATIVE BORN AND STRANGER
KJV Exodus
the STRANGER that sojourneth among you.
KJV Leviticus 24:22 Ye shall have ONE manner of LAW,
as well for the
STRANGER, as for one of your OWN COUNTRY: for I am the LORD your God.
KJV Numbers
congregation, and also for the STRANGER that sojourneth
with you, an
ordinance FOR EVER in your generations: AS YE ARE, so shall the
STRANGER be before the LORD.
KJV Numbers
STRANGER that sojourneth with you.
KJV Numbers
ignorance, both for him that is BORN among the children of
for the STRANGER that sojourneth among them.
CONCLUSION: ONE TORAH for NATIVE BORN and STRANGER
IS THE STRANGER TO OBSERVE TORAH
DIETARY LAWS?
KJV Leviticus 17:10 And whatsoever man there be of the HOUSE of
ISRAEL, or of the STRANGERS that SOJOURN among you, that EATETH ANY
manner of BLOOD; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth
blood, and will CUT HIM OFF from among his people.
KJV Leviticus
BEASTS and UNCLEAN, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall
not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner
of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I
have separated
from you as unclean.
KJV Leviticus 17: 14 For it is the life of
all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said
unto the children of
FLESH: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever
eateth it shall be CUT OFF.
KJV Leviticus 17:15 And EVERY SOUL that EATETH that which died of
itself, or that which was TORN with BEASTS, whether it be one of your
OWN COUNTRY, or a STRANGER, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe
himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be
clean.
CONCLUSION: The STRANGER is to observe the dietary laws
DID YESHUA
TEACH AGAINST FOLLOWING
TORAH?
What is sin?
KJV 1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law:
for sin is the transgression of the law.
SIN = BREAKING THE TORAH
Did Yeshua
sin?
KJV 1 Peter
suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should FOLLOW HIS
STEPS:
KJV 1 Peter 2:22 WHO DID NO SIN, neither was guile found in his mouth:
Since Yeshua
DIDN'T SIN (He DIDN'T BREAK THE TORAH) which
meant that He followed the dietary laws. We are told to FOLLOW HIS
STEPS (which mean that since He didn't sin and thus followed the
dietary laws then we shouldn't sin and follow the dietary laws).
KJV 1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth
in him ought himself also so to
WALK, even AS HE WALKED.
HALACHA = WAY ONE WALKS
The Hebrew term for
following the commandments is keeping the
"halacha". The Hebrew word "halacha" comes from the Hebrew word
"halak" which means "to walk"
KJV Psalm 119:1 Blessed are the undefiled in the
way, who WALK
<1980> in the law of the LORD.
1980 %l;h' halak {haw-lak'} akin to 03212, a primitive
root; TWOT - 498; v AV - go 217, walk 156,
1980 = halak = walk = AKIN to 3212
KJV Isaiah 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go
up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and
he will teach us of his ways, and we will WALK <3212> in his paths:
for out
of Zion shall go forth the LAW, and the WORD of the LORD from
Jerusalem.
3212 $l;y" yalak {yaw-lak'} a primitive root [compare
01980]; TWOT - 498; v AV - go 628, walk 122,
KJV 1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth
in him ought himself also so
to WALK, even AS HE WALKED.
CONCLUSION: Messiah DIDN'T SIN (break the commandments) and taught
His followers NOT to sin (keep the commandments).
DID YESHUA TEACH AGAINST THE DIETARY
LAWS?
Many people MISUNDERSTAND Matthew 15
and say that Messiah
taught against the dietary laws. If He did teach against the dietary
laws then He taught people to sin (I John 3:4). Since Messiah did NOT
teach people to sin, what is it that we MISUNDERSTAND about Matthew
15 as it applies to the dietary laws?
KJV Matthew 15:1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were
of
KJV Matthew 15:2 Why do thy disciples transgress the TRADITION OF THE
ELDERS? for they wash not their hands when they eat
bread.
WHAT IS THE TRADITION OF THE ELDERS?
The tradition of the elders is the ORAL LAW. The
Pharisees teach
that the ORAL LAW is ABOVE the WRITTEN LAW. Messiah taught that the
ORAL LAW CANNOT be ABOVE the WRITTEN LAW.
The TRADITION OF THE ELDERS (ORAL LAW) taught that it
is a SIN
if you do
KJV Matthew 15:3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also
transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
The
COMMANDMENTS OF GOD is the WRITTEN LAW.
KJV Matthew 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for
doctrines the commandments of men.
DOCTRINES is HOW you FOLLOW the WRITTEN LAW.
WHAT DID MESSIAH TEACH IS TRUE
DEFILEMENT?
Is TRUE defilement (being unclean) come from NOT
washing your
hands before you eat or does TRUE defilement come from the HEART?
KJV Matthew
Hear, and understand:
Hear and understand what? About true defilement. Is true
defilement not washing your hands before you eat?
KJV Matthew
but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth
a man.
Is has already been established in
Leviticus 11 what is clean
and unclean food. Is Messiah having a discussion in Matthew 15 about
clean and unclean FOOD? NO! He is ANSWERING the question of is it a
sin to NOT wash before you eat. Does this give you a Torah status of
unclean if you don't wash your hands before you eat is what is being
answered by the Messiah.
The GIVEN based upon Leviticus 11 is that
BOTH the native born
and the STRANGER is to eat CLEAN foods.
KJV Matthew
us this parable.
Notice that the SAYING is a PARABLE. In other
words it has a
DEEPER MEANING that what it SEEMS to say at the surface (the surface
meaning is the LITERAL meaning).
KJV Matthew
understanding?
KJV Matthew
in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is
cast out into the
draught?
What is Messiah saying? If you
DON'T wash your hands before
eating and then eat CLEAN foods, your body will take SOME of that
CLEAN food and make it waste (have a bowel movement). Did the bowel
movement (the WASTE from the food) mean that the FOOD is unclean? NO!
The WASTE (bowel movement of the body is a
body).
KJV Matthew
forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
KJV Matthew
adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
In other words, TRUE
UNCLEANNESS comes from having a EVIL /
STUBBORN HEART.
What is an
EVIL / STUBBORN HEART? It is a HEART that WON'T
obey Torah.
KJV Zechariah
shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
KJV Zechariah 7:12 Yea, they made their HEARTS as an ADAMANT STONE,
lest they should HEAR the LAW, and the words which the LORD of hosts
hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets:
KJV Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the
foreskins of your HEART, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem:
KJV Jeremiah 4:14 O Jerusalem, wash thine HEART from
WICKEDNESS, that
thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain
thoughts lodge within
thee?
KJV Jeremiah
unto thee; this is thy WICKEDNESS, because it is bitter, because it
reacheth unto thine HEART.
WHAT WAS MESSIAH'S CONCLUSION?
KJV Matthew
with unwashen hands defileth
not a man.
Was Messiah having a discussion
about FOOD LAWS? Was He
having a discussing about CHANGING the FOOD LAWS in the Torah? NO!
The discussion is about whether you are UNCLEAN if you WASH NOT your
hands prior to eating. The ORAL TRADITION said that you ARE UNCLEAN
if you don't wash your hands before you eat. Messiah disagreed. He
said that TRUE UNCLEANESS comes from an EVIL HEART. Scriptures
indicate that an EVIL HEART does NOT want to obey WRITTEN TORAH.
BACKGROUND TO UNDERSTAND ACTS 10
The order to understand the vison
that was given to Peter in
Acts 10, you need to understand a primary reason why Yeshua
died on
the tree.
According to the words
of the Messiah in John 10:16-17, He
died on the tree to restore and regather both houses
of
KJV John
them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall
be one fold, and one shepherd.
Messiah tells us that He has TWO SHEEPFOLDS that will
become ONE
SHEEPFOLD and have ONE SHEPHERD.
Who are the TWO SHEEPFOLD
that are prophecied to be ONE
SHEEPFOLD?
The TWO sheepfolds are the:
#1) House of Israel (Northern Kingdom)
#2) House of Judah (Southern Kingdom)
The are prophecied to be ONE
in Hosea 1:11.
KJV Hosea
The ONE HEAD is the MESSIAH.
KJV Ezekiel 34:11 For thus saith
the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will
both search my sheep, and seek them out.
KJV Ezekiel 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he
shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he
shall be their shepherd.
KJV Ezekiel 37:24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and
they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my
judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
In order for there to be one
shepherd and one sheepfold,
Messiah said that He needed to die on the tree.
KJV John
life, that I might take it again.
We are told in John 11:49-52 that Messiah died
on the tree to
restore and regather both houses of
KJV John 11:49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being
the high priest
that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,
KJV John 11:50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man
should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
KJV John
that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
KJV John
gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
Who are TWO NATIONS that
are SCATTERED abroad and are the
CHILDREN OF GOD and will be GATHERED TOGETHER into ONE?
The only TWO NATIONS that fit this description is:
#1) House of Israel (Northern Kingdom)
#2) House of Judah (Southern Kingdom)
ONE NEW MAN = MESSIAH RULING OVER A
UNITED KINGDOM
The ONE NEW MAN in Ephesians 2:11-19
is those who are NEAR
and those who are FAR OFF who are ONE in Messiah.
KJV Ephesians
OFF are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
KJV Ephesians
OFF, and to them that were NIGH
Who are those FAR OFF and NEAR?
NEAR = house of Judah in exile
FAR OFF = house of Israel in exile
KJV 1 Kings 8:46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that
sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and
deliver them to the
enemy, so that they CARRY THEM away CAPTIVES unto the land of the
enemy, FAR or NEAR
So, in being taken into exile,
both houses of Israel are said to
be FAR or NEAR
.
KJV Daniel 9:7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto
thee, but unto us
confusion of faces, as at this day; to the MEN of JUDAH, and to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto ALL ISRAEL, that are NEAR, and that
are FAR OFF, through ALL the COUNTRIES whither thou hast DRIVEN THEM,
because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
In being scattered into all nations,
the MEN O F JUDAH are
said to be NEAR. All
Paul used these terms for BOTH
houses of
2 who through the death of the Messiah is to be ONE NEW MAN.
THE SETTING OF ACTS 10
The setting of Acts 10 is that the
Messiah died on the tree
to restore and regather both houses of Israel (John
10:16-17) and
(John 11:49-52) who are said to be "near" and "far off" (I
Kings
8:46, Daniel 9:7) in all the countries where they have been scattered
who are prophecied to have ONE SHEPHERD over a United
Kingdom.
This background is SIGNIFICANT to
understand the vision of
Peter.
So, let's examine the details of Acts 10.
Was Peter given a
vision and told to forsake the dietary laws or was Peter being
communicated something about the restoration and regathering
of both
houses of
KJV Acts 10:1 There was a certain man in
centurion of the band called the Italian band,
KJV Acts 10:2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house,
which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
Cornelius was a non-Jew. When we are told that he is a
"devout man and one that feared God", this is terminolgy
for a
"proselyte".
A
"proselyte" is a non-Jew who has a love for the Jewish
people, the God of Israel and is drawn to keeping the commandments.
CORNELIUS SENDS THREE MEN TO SEE
PETER
KJV Acts 10:3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the
day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
KJV Acts 10:4 And when he looked on him, he was
afraid, and said, What
is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine
alms are come
up for a memorial before God.
KJV Acts 10:5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose
surname is Peter:
KJV Acts 10:7 And when the angel which spake unto
Cornelius was
departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout
soldier of them that waited on him continually;
PETER IS GIVEN A VISION
KJV Acts 10:9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew
nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the
sixth hour:
KJV Acts 10:11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending
unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and
let down to the earth:
KJV Acts 10:12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted
beasts of the
earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
KJV Acts
eat.
This is the vision which many in traditional
Christianity have taught that Peter was told to violate the dietary
laws. Notice Acts 10 is NOT about dietary laws.
Cornelious is sending three men to see Peter.
WHAT
IS THE SHEET KNIT AT FOUR CORNERS?
This is a tallit katan
(sheet / garment) which has
tzi-tzit (fringes / strings) on the each
corner. The children of
fringes on the four corners) in Numbers 15:37-39.
KJV Numbers 15:37 And the LORD spake unto Moses,
saying,
KJV Numbers 15:38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that
they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout
their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a
ribband of blue:
KJV Numbers 15:39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may
look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do
them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes,
after which ye use to go a whoring:
So why was Peter shown a tallit katan
(garment) with
fringes on the corner (knit at four corners) ??
TODAY, a Biblical / Jewish marriage is performed
under a wedding canapy known as a chuppah.
A chuppah has four poles
and on the ceiling / top of the poles is a tallit.
Therefore, this sheet with four corners (tallit katan
with tzi-tzit) also represents a MARRIAGE.
The MARRIAGE is Jew (symbolized by Peter) and non-Jew
(symbolized by Cornelius and the three men) ONE in Messiah.
(End of Part 1 of 2)