If you are an Israelite and you truly believe that you are required to obey all of the laws that have since been added to the Laws of Moses; through the teachings in the Talmud, the Mishnah, the Gemarah, and the Commentaries of the Chumash by the rabbis; then please consider the following words of Isaiah, in the Tanakh:
My Lord said: Because that people has approached [Me] with its mouth and honored Me with its lips, but has kept its heart far from Me, and its worship of Me has been a commandment of men, learned by rote—truly, I shall further baffle that people with bafflement upon bafflement; and the wisdom of its wise shall fail, and the prudence of the prudent shall vanish.
Isaiah 29:13-14 (Tanakh)
In other words: I will give you rules upon rules and laws upon laws, until you have lost your senses. For example: toilet paper verses tissue paper.
If you are a Christian and you believe that you are saved by grace; then, please consider the following words of Jesus, in the Word of God:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:17-20 (NIV)
For generations, some people have been adding laws and traditions to the Word of God; while others have been altering or abolishing the law altogether. The Lord warned the children of Israel, a multitude of times through the prophets, to repent, and he warned them that if they did not; then he would curse them with various afflictions and diseases. It was not until later, when the Lord fulfilled his threat and destroyed the first temple, and sent the children of Israel into captivity that they began to listen to the Lord, and take his word to heart. Influenced by fear and sorrow, the teachers of the law began re-examining and redefining the law, and adding additional laws to the Laws of Moses. When the second temple was destroyed, they became even more zealous for the law. However sincere the hearts of the teachers may have been, they were still wrong, when they did this. Since then, so many laws have been added to the original Laws of Moses; the laws have become a much greater burden for the people to obey, and the laws are much more cumbersome than the Lord ever intended. For example: The last day of the week was sanctified and became a holy day. The Sabbath day was set aside so that we would honor the Lord, and recognize his power and authority; however, the Lord also created this law for another purpose. The Lord knew that as human beings, we were frail, and when he commanded us to rest; he gave us an opportunity to refresh ourselves, and regroup for whatever may be required of us during the following week. The Lord created the laws of the Sabbath day, so that we would remember his greatness, as well as our weakness. Because so many of us have forsaken this commandment, many of us have become ill and even died prematurely. So many laws have since been added to the laws of the Sabbath day or removed that the true purpose of this day has been forgotten, and the joy of the Sabbath day has been forsaken. Another good example is the law governing meat and dairy products. We were instructed that it was unlawful to cook meat in its mother’s milk. (Exodus 23:19) Most of us who have studied the Word of God, know that Abraham developed a long and personal relationship with the Lord, and was a man after his own heart. Abraham knew the laws, before they were given to his descendants on Mount Sinai. When the Lord and two of his angels visited Abraham; Abraham asked the Lord if he would stay, and allow him to prepare a meal for them. The Lord granted Abraham permission and Abraham served his guests calf meat, curds, milk, and bread. (Genesis 18:1-8) Some of the sages of Israel teach that the three guests of Abraham only pretended to eat; while other sages teach that Abraham offered his guests meat and dairy products, so that they could choose which foods they would prefer. The Lord is not inconsiderate and he would not have had Abraham prepare a meal that he had no intention of eating. If Abraham served meat and dairy products together, in error; then the Lord would have corrected him. Please remember, Abraham did not cook the meat in its mother’s milk. However, Abraham served all of this to the Lord. Many people believe that the Lord and the angels in heaven do not eat. However, in the Word of God, the Lord mentions dining with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8:11)
When you study the New Testament, please do not believe everything you see, because the early church added scriptures to the Word of God, because of the hardness of their hearts. For example, in the book of Mark:
Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’” After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. “Are you so dull?” He asked. “Do not you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.”
Mark 7:14-19 (NIV)
Immediately after this verse it states:
“(In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)”
Mark 7:19 (NIV)
This statement was added by an early church leader. Jesus did not declare all foods clean. Jesus said that it is not what you consume, but what comes out of your mouth that consumes you. You will be judged by your words, for they come from the heart and not from the stomach.
In the book of Acts, chapter 10:9-15, Peter saw a vision of unclean food.
Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
Acts 10:13 (NIV)
However in Acts 10:28 the vision is correctly interpreted. The Word of God never states that Peter ate unclean food. The law was not canceled and it is still unlawful to eat food that has been declared unclean in the Laws of Moses. (Leviticus 11:1-23)
If you study the history of the Word of God and those who contributed to it, you will notice that there are conflicting teachings within the books of Paul. They are not consistent with the Laws of Moses, the teachings of the prophets, Jesus Christ, or even with Paul’s other lessons. Within Romans, First Timothy, and Galatians; in particular, one can find many inconsistencies. Please keep in mind that Paul was not the Son of God and he was not
crucified for our sins, and Paul’s teachings do not supersede the remaining teachings in the Word of God, if they contradict the rest of the Word of God.
If you fail to observe faithfully all the terms of this Teaching that are written in this book, to reverence this honored and awesome Name, the LORD your God, the LORD will inflict extraordinary plagues upon you and your offspring, strange and lasting plagues, malignant and chronic diseases.
Deuteronomy 28:58-59 (Torah)
Some religious authorities have used their position of power, in order to serve their own purpose and lord over others. They have commanded their followers that what they teach is absolute and inspired by the Lord, and they have used fear, humiliation, and intimidation as weapons; to control those, whom they have authority over. However, there are many principalities, powers, and dominions, and more than one spirit that teach or entice men. The Spirit of the Lord is one spirit, but there are many other spirits that may be used, in order to try our hearts. There is no such thing as “the oral teachings of Moses” or “black fire and white fire.” You are not required to have “a special code” and you do not need to “read between the lines,” in order to understand the Word of God or to obey his laws.
Whether we are Jewish or Gentile, it is time for us to re-examine everything that we have been taught, and study the Laws of Moses for ourselves. Some of the following laws are examples of what is written in the Word of God, what has since been added, or what has been removed. Let your heart be the judge, because it is not a great mystery―what is right or what is wrong.
God made the two great lights, the greater light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night, and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that this was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
Genesis 1:16-19 (Torah)
The Sabbath day begins at sunset on the sixth day of the week and ends on the seventh day at sunset. If you practice the Sabbath day in any other way, it is unlawful.
It is unlawful to chop and gather wood or use a flint rock, in order to kindle a fire on the Sabbath day. It is to exhausting! (Exodus 35:3) However, it is not unlawful to transfer energy from one source to another. For Example: If you are outdoors, camping, and you have a camp fire burning and your neighbor’s fire goes out; you can carefully take one of your logs and lay it over their prepared wood to transfer the fire for them. You have not created a new fire; you have simply transferred the energy. Therefore you are not required to leave the electric stove, the slow cooker, or the hot plate on; in order to re-heat your food on the Sabbath day. An exception to this would be if you have a gas burning stove that does not work properly, so that you have to strike a match in order for it to ignite. Another exception would be if the gas burning stove or outdoor grill has a mechanical igniter to create the flame. (You would hear a tick, tick, tick, tick)
You are not supposed to cook meat in its mother’s milk. (Exodus 23:19)
You do not have to have two refrigerators, two stoves, or two sinks in order to keep your meat and dairy products separate. If I plan to consume meat, I set it in a non-porous dish while it is thawing, so that the blood does not drain on another product in my refrigerator.
You do not need six different sets of dishes or silverware.
Poultry and fish do not nurse their young; therefore, you can prepare either of them in a recipe with dairy products.
You are not suppose to eat a food product that is served, store bought, prepackaged, or frozen; with meat and cheese ingredients combined together, unless the meat happens to be poultry or fish. An exception to this would be if you are ordering red meat at a restaurant and you want cheese on top. Ask the cheese to be placed on the side, so that you know it hasn't been melted on the meat, while it was cooking.
It is alright to serve mashed potatoes, made with a dairy product, along with red meat; as long as you do not reheat them together, so that the milk and/or butter from the potatoes run into the meat. (Genesis 18:1-8)
It is unlawful to consume blood, so please do not eat any meat that is raw.
(Leviticus 7:26-27)
You do not have to eat fish and meat on a separate plate.
It is alright to eat fish, as long as they have fins and scales; therefore, cat fish is unlawful to eat.
It is unlawful to eat any form of pork product or crustaceans.
It is alright to eat buffalo and deer meat; however, it is unlawful to eat ostrich meat.
If you truly want to walk according to the Word of God: Please keep in mind that it is unlawful to eat bread or parched grain or fresh ears (wheat, rice, or corn, etc...), until the priesthood becomes active, and the first sheaf of the grain harvest has been presented with thanks giving to the Lord. This means that any form of *bread is unlawful to eat at this time; except during Passover, when we are commanded to eat unleavened bread. (Exodus 12:14-20 and Leviticus 23:9-14)
*I have found some bread that is sold at the health food store that is made with almond flour and other ground nuts, without any form of grain. The loaf is small and expensive. However, it is possible to prepare a sandwich with it. I have also found pizza dough, crackers, and cookies made without any form of grain. Some bagels and English muffins are also made without grain; however, I do not personally care for them. I have learned how to make my own “Paleo” flour, using almond flour, coconut flour, and tapioca starch. There are some things that you can bake using this. (This can be purchased in the store as well, but it is more expensive.)
Please review the laws concerning clean and unclean food in Leviticus 11:1-23 and Deuteronomy 14:3-21 or review the chapter, “Words to Live By.”
