Topics Menu
We are a Christian Fellowship meeting in North London with a strong interest in teaching the Bible and understanding our time in
the light of Bible prophecy
You are what you eat
In 1 Timothy 4.1-5 we read, Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter
times some will depart from the faith, giving head to deceiving spirits and
doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience
seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from
foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who
believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing
is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the
word of God and prayer.
What foods can we eat and what does this scripture say about vegetarianism?
Is this a doctrine of demons?
If vegetarianism is linked to the Hindu concept of re-incarnation (therefore
animals may be not be eaten because they might be reincarnations of dead
relatives) or that animals are sacred or part of the inter-connected divine
being (pantheism) it does have a demonic origin.
However if a person prefers not to eat meat out of concern for animal
welfare or any reason apart from the ones mentioned above, that is a
personal choice and no one can object to it. In the light of food scandals
like BSE and alarming reports in the papers about artificial growth hormones
put into chickens and other meat products by today’s food industry, there is
good reason why many people might want to avoid meat eating. It can also be
said that factory-farming methods are cruel, violating the principles God
laid down in the Bible about humans taking care of creation (Genesis 1.26-7,
Psalm 8).
What does the Bible say about food?
If we look at the Bible as a whole we find that changed conditions on the
earth and different dispensations affected what was permissible to eat. The
basis of this view is the understanding that the Genesis account is the true
history of our origins, not the theory of evolution.
The original creation was clearly vegetarian. Plants were given for food
(Genesis 1.30) and the earth was very good, therefore the process of
killing involved in meat eating for humans and animals was not part of Gods
perfect world. Even after the fall Adam and Eve were to eat the plants of
the field (Genesis 3.18), not animals, although animals were offered in
sacrifices (Genesis 3.21, 4.4).
The earth would have been much more fertile in that period with an equitable
climate all year round created by the canopy of water (Genesis 1.7) which
surrounded the earth. This screened out harmful rays of the sun and created
a benign greenhouse effect causing luxuriant growth all over the planet.
It is interesting that there are fossils of coral found near the North Pole.
Coral can only grow where the temperature is always above 70 degrees
Fahrenheit. This points to the existence of a previous climate, quite
different from our present one, giving constantly warm weather all over the
earth. This also explains the long lives of the patriarchs who lived before
the Flood.
The Flood was caused by this canopy of water above the earth and the waters
beneath the earth being broken up: On that day all the springs of the great
deep burst forth; and the floodgates of the heavens were opened (Genesis
7.11). This caused the creation of fossils and the deposits of coal and oil,
as billions of creatures were suddenly killed by the surging waters and
mudslides of the flood. Creatures dying in normal conditions do not leave
behind fossils or turn into fossil fuels, but decay in the ground or are eaten.
After the Flood we have the first mention in the Bible of cold and heat,
winter and summer (Genesis 8.22). The water canopy of Genesis 1.7 was
replaced with the much thinner atmosphere we now have on the earth,
resulting in a speeding up of the aging process (hence the drastic reduction
in the life span of humans) and the earth becoming much less fertile with
great differences in temperature according to location and season. It is
interesting that most of the worlds oil deposits are in desert areas of the
Middle East today. At some time they must have been very fertile regions in
order to produce fossil fuels. Britain’s oil reserve is in the North Sea,
which was probably dry land connecting this country to the European
continent before the Flood.
It is also after the Flood that we have the first mention of eating animals:
Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you
the green plants, I now give you everything (Genesis 9.3). The one
prohibition was on eating meat with its lifeblood still in it. In a world
that was less than ideal God now permitted a practice that is less than
ideal, the killing of animals for food. The changed conditions on earth
meant that the plant life was no longer sufficient to provide for human needs.
It is significant that Flood stories exist in almost every culture on earth,
pointing to the fact that there was a great Flood, which changed the world.
This is just one of many pieces of evidence that there was a worldwide flood
as described in Genesis.
The kosher food laws given in Leviticus 11 reinforce the fact that God
permitted meat eating from this point on. Here God distinguishes between
land animals, birds, fish and insects which are fit to eat and those, which
are not fit to eat. If God objected to meat eating in principle he would not
have said which animals could be eaten and which could not.
In the New Testament we find that Jesus and the Apostles relaxed the kosher
food laws. In Mark 7.14-22 Jesus declares that it is not what goes into us
in the form of food which makes us unclean, but what comes out of us evil
thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from
inside and make a man unclean. The Gospel adds In saying this Jesus
declared all foods clean (kosher) (Mark 7.19).
Peters vision of Acts 10 involves him, as an observant Jew, being commanded
by the Lord to kill and eat unclean animals. When Peter objects, the Lord
says, Do not call anything impure that God has made clean (Acts 10.15).
The occasion of this vision is a Roman soldier summoning Peter to come and
explain to him the meaning of the Gospel. God was showing Peter that he as a
Jew could go into this Gentile home and confirmed this by pouring out the
Holy Spirit on Cornelius and his household as Peter explained the Gospel. If
the Jewish disciples had been bound by the kosher food laws, it would have
been much more difficult for them to have gone to the Gentiles to spread the
Gospel.
In Romans 14 Paul teaches that what we eat or do not eat is a matter of
personal choice and should not be an issue bringing division or condemnation
among followers of Jesus. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating
or drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans
14.17). He gives people the option to be vegetarian or meat eating, and also
by implication to keep kosher or not to do so. He goes on to say that if
what we eat or drink causes offence to a fellow believer or someone we are
trying to win for the Lord we should not eat it in their presence: It is
good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your
brother stumbles or is made weak. Romans 14.21.
However since meat eating is less than ideal, all this will change when
Jesus comes again. During his reign on the earth in the Messianic Age, or
Millennium (1000 years) there will be an amazing transformation of the
earth. Satan will be bound and unable to influence people, with the result
that there will be no wars and human energy will be directed to providing
food and creating an ideal society (Isaiah 2.4).
The change will affect the animal kingdom which will return to being
vegetarian. Even poisonous snakes will become harmless: The wolf shall lie
with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the
yearling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow will feed
with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat
straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra and the
young child will put his hand into the vipers nest. They will not hurt or
destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11.6-9).
In that glorious time we will all be vegetarians. In the present age that
choice is up to us. What we decide about meat eating or vegetarianism does
not affect our standing with God. What we decide about Jesus does. Make sure
that you have a place in Messiahs coming kingdom by accepting his offer of
salvation now! The following is a prayer you can pray in order to do this:
Dear God, I admit that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe
that Jesus the Messiah died in my place paying the penalty for my sins. I am
willing right now to turn from my sin and accept Jesus the Messiah as my
personal Saviour and Lord. I commit my life to you and ask you to send the
Holy Spirit into my life, to fill me and to take control and to help me
become the kind of person you want me to be. Thank you Father for loving me.
In Jesus name, Amen.
