Lay it to Heart

Should We Eat Pork?

People may enjoy pepperoni on pizza and ham sandwiches but is it really right? God forbade people from eating it. So what about today?

What Was God's Original Commandment?

Leviticus 17:
	1	And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
	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.
	3	Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
	4	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.
	5	And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
	6	And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
	7	And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.

What About Acts?
People have looked at Peter's vision in Acts chapter 10 and said that that shows us it is ok to eat pork today. What is Acts chapter 10 about? It is about the acceptance of Gentiles into the Kingdom of God. It is not about a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Acts 10:28 says, "And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean." The reason for the vision is to show that Gentiles were acceptable, not pigs.

What about the footnote in the Bible that says that is alright to eat these meats now? That footnote does not come from the reliable copies of the original scripture but is instead based on the intentionally errant corrupted texts and even then it comes from a footnote of a copyist and not from the alleged text of the Bible. In all honesty, such a note cannot be taken as the word of God.

What Did Jesus Say?

Matthew 5:
	17	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.
	19	Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Heaven and earth have not passed away yet so why would God change his rules about food?

What Would Jesus Do?
To know what Jesus would do, ask the question, "What did Jesus do?"

Mark 5:
	1	And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
	2	And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
	3	Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
	4	Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
	5	And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
	6	But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
	7	And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
	8	For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
	9	And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
	10	And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
	11	Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
	12	And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
	13	And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

When the demons asked to enter the pigs, Jesus let them. If Jesus thought eating unclean meats was acceptable would he have allowed the living of the pig herders to be devastated? The Bible doesn't record Jesus eating pork but it does record him allowing for its destruction.

What Will Happen in the Future?
Jesus is coming back. Isaiah chapter 66 refers to his second coming.

Isaiah 66:
	15	For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
	16	For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
	17	They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
	18	For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

The time period here is in New Testament times. It is when grace applies. Yet when he comes back, those who eat swine's flesh or pork will not be thought well of. Why? Well, because it was a sin in Old Testament times, Jesus didn't change it and it is still a sin in New Testament times.

What About Human Flesh?
Would you eat the flesh of a man? (Yuck! That is sick.) Why not? If there is no longer a prohibition against pork why should you hesitate to eat human flesh? (Double Yuck!!) If the passages against unclean meat have been eliminated then there is nothing in the Bible to prevent the consumption of people who have already died. Is that gross or what? Think about the consequences of saying all meats are now clean.

Conclusion
Jesus didn't eat pork. Eating pork is a stumbling block to the Jews and Muslims. As a Christian do you care if the Jews and Muslims repent of their sins and trust in Jesus as their saviour? Eating pork is something that is against God's commandments. Eating people is wrong. So is eating pork.