Dear Gilbert
Thank you very much for having invited me to your ministry base … last weekend. It was a pleasant revelation for me encountering what I did. In concurrence with your words in your letter, I also believe that it was the Almighty's intervention that brought about our meeting.
Your words that "God is going to do something mighty in your life in Jesus name. And when the blessing comes you won't have enough to keep it" is confirmation of communication the Almighty had previously given me. Your additional word, "I believe that God is going to answer your prayer Request for your son Christopher in Jesus name", is NEWS to me! For currently I have only daughters and no son. And I did not specify a particular prayer request. It therefore seems that this is a prophetic word to me that I will indeed have a son named Christopher! Halleluyah!
In weighing up some of the various words we conversed on, the following came to mind. I understood you to teach that those who do not tithe rob God, basing your teaching on Malachi 3. I also understood you to teach, in the context of marriage, adultery and divorce, that laws that applied prior to Christ were superseded by Christ's words when he came, with his words in Matthew 19 being what should govern conduct today in this area of life.
The Coming Of The Messenger Of The Covenant
Malachi 3 reads,
3:1"Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!" says Yahweh of hosts. 3:2"But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap; 3:3and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to Yahweh offerings in righteousness. 3:4Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to Yahweh, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. 3:5I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me," says Yahweh of Hosts. 3:6"For I, Yahweh, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed. 3:7From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my ordinances, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says Yahweh of Hosts. "But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 3:8Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. 3:9You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation. 3:10Bring the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this," says Yahweh of hosts, "if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough for. 3:11I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field," says Yahweh of Hosts. 3:12"All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land," says Yahweh of Hosts.
The Time Setting Of The Book Of Malachi
The time context or setting of Malachi is, as seen from 3:1-2, the day of the Lord's coming. It is the time when the Lord comes and purifies the sons of Levi, after which they offer to Yahweh offerings in righteousness, and not offerings in unrighteousness as they were offering to Yahweh prior to their purification by the Lord, as seen from Malachi 2. And these offerings in righteousness that the purified sons of Levi will offer on behalf of Judah and Jerusalem will indeed be pleasant to Yahweh, even as they were in the days of old, prior to the time the sons of Levi profaned themselves.
An Example Of The Profaneness Of The Sons Of Levi
Malachi 2:13-16 gives an example of how the sons of Levi profaned themselves, causing Yahweh not to regard their offerings, even though they offered offerings to Yahweh. It reads,
2:13This again you do: you cover the altar of Yahweh with tears, with weeping, and with sighing, because he doesn’t regard the offering any more, neither receives it with good will at your hand. 2:14Yet you say, ‘Why?’ Because Yahweh has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion, and the wife of your covenant. 2:15Did he not make one, although he had the residue of the Spirit? Why one? He sought a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. 2:16For I hate putting away," says Yahweh, the God of Israel, "and him who covers his garment with violence!’ says Yahweh of Hosts. "Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you don’t deal treacherously.
In Malachi 3:6 Yahweh confirms that he doesn't change. The way he was in the days of old, in the ancient years, at the time he gave his laws and ordinances to the sons of Jacob, is the very same way he still is at the time of the coming of the messenger of the covenant - the Lord, the time of the purification of the sons of Levi. His laws and ordinances that were applicable in the ancient years are still applicable at the time of the purification of the sons of Levi. Among these laws and ordinances that have not changed from the days of old, the ancient years, are his words against treachery, sorcery, adultery, perjury, oppression, injustice, fearlessness of Yahweh and robbery in tithes and offerings. Therefore just as the sons of Jacob were required to observe these words of his in the days of old, in ancient years, so are they required to observe them at the time of the coming of the messenger of the covenant, the Lord, the time of the purification of the sons of Levi. In fact, purification of the sons of Levi entails their cessation of sin and commencement of observing Yahweh's words that he gave them in the days of old, in ancient years, seeing he does not change.
Do You Accept The Present Applicability Of The Whole Of The Book Of Malachi?
Seeing that it is your teaching that in the present day those who do not bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in Yahweh's house, rob Yahweh, and basing this teaching on Malachi 3, it appears to me that you accept the rest of Malachi 3, and indeed the whole of Malachi, as applicable to the present day. In other words, seeing that Yahweh does not change, the word that he gave the sons of Jacob in the days of old, in ancient years, is just as applicable today as it was then. In other words, these words that he gave to the sons of Jacob in the days of old did not stop being applicable to them at the time Christ - the messenger of the covenant - came, died and rose from the dead. For just as it was robbery for them not to wholly tithe prior to Christ's coming, so also it is robbery for them not to wholly tithe today, subsequent to Christ's resurrection and ascension. And, in the same vein, it appears to be your teaching that just as Yahweh was against treachery, sorcery, adultery, perjury, oppression, injustice and fearlessness of Yahweh in the days of old, the ancient days, so also he remains against these attributes in the present day.
Are Christ's Followers Prohibited From Living In Polygyny?
In the context of marriage, adultery and divorce you read portions of Matthew 19. You did so in an effort to try to show that even though Yahweh permitted polygyny in the days of Abraham, Jacob and David, in the current period after Christ's coming and ascension Christ's followers are not allowed to live in polygyny. And seeing that Christ's followers must abide by his words, whatever his words are on polygyny are what his followers should live by.
Should We Add To Yahweh's Words Or Omit Therefrom?
Is it right for us to add to Yahweh's words or omit from them?
In Deuteronomy 4:1-2 Moses spoke to the children of Israel,
4:1Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and to the ordinances, which I teach you, to do them; that you may live, and go in and possess the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, gives you. 4:2You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you.
He reiterated the same in Deuteronomy 12:32,
12:32Whatever thing I command you, that shall you observe to do: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Does Christ Have Laws Different From Those Of Yahweh?
The view or teaching that Yahweh the Father has one set of laws and ordinances, and Christ the Son has another set of laws and ordinances, is one that is NOT in harmony with Christ's own words. And the view or teaching that Christ's followers are not to follow Yahweh's laws but are to follow Christ's laws implies that there is a distinction between Yahweh's laws and Christ's laws. And that Christ's laws are better than Yahweh's laws, seeing that it is Christ's laws that his followers are to follow, and not the Father's laws!
Are Christ and his Father divided? Is Christ's law superior to that of his Father?
Christ's Works Were By The Father's Authority
John 10:25-38 reads,
10:25Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you don’t believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify about me. 10:26But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you. 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 10:28I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 10:29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 10:30I and the Father are one."
10:31Therefore Jews took up stones again to stone him. 10:32Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?"
10:33The Jews answered him, "We don’t stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy: because you, being a man, make yourself God."
10:34Jesus answered them, "Isn’t it written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods?’ 10:35If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken), 10:36Do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’ 10:37If I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me. 10:38But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works; that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."
Is A Messenger's Word Superior To That Of His Sender?
Christ testifies that the Father is greater than all - including greater than Christ! As the Father is greater than Christ, can the word of Christ - Christ's laws - really be greater or better than the word of Yahweh - Yahweh's laws? Can the word of him who is sent be greater than the word of him who sends?
Christ also testifies that he and the Father are ONE! As he and the Father are one, can there really be any distinction in the teachings of Yahweh and the teachings of Christ? For if they are truly one there really can exist no distinction in their teachings - their words being exactly the same! Therefore the word of Yahweh is also the word of Christ, for Yahweh and Christ are one!
Christ Performed The Father's Works
Christ also testifies that the works that he did were the Father's works, additionally testifying that the Father is in him and he is in the Father. Seeing that Christ performed his Father's works, and his Father abided in him and he abided in his Father, it is indeed observed that he and his Father are truly one - in unity and harmony. There is no variation between them. There is no distinction between Yahweh the Father's word and Yah'shuah (Jesus) the Christ's word. Their words are one and the same - flowing from the Father, who is greater than all!
Christ Is In The Father And The Father Is In Him
John 14:5-14 reads,
14:5Thomas says to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?"
14:6Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. 14:7If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him."
14:8Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us."
14:9Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ 14:10Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works. 14:11Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. 14:12Most assuredly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these will he do; because I am going to my Father. 14:13Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14:14If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.
The Words Of Christ And Those Of The Father Are One And The Same
Seeing that Christ clearly and repeatedly testified that he and the Father are one, such that anyone who sees him effectively sees the Father, seeing that he speaks the Father's words and not his own, and does the Father's works and not his own, and the Father lives in him and does his (the Father's) works, it should indeed be concluded that there is absolutely no variation or difference between the Father's words and Christ's words. Their words are one and the same. And the reason they are so is because the Father lives in Christ and undertakes his works through Christ's person. Christ therefore allows himself to be used by the Father to perform the Father's works and to speak the Father's words.
Christ's Words Were Not Different From Those Yahweh Spoke In The Days Of Old
Earlier on we saw from Malachi 3:6 that Yahweh does not change. The way he was in the days of old, in ancient times, when he gave his word to the sons of Jacob, is also the way he still is at the time of the coming of the messenger of the covenant - Christ the Lord. And seeing that when Christ came on earth the Father was abiding in him and speaking his words through him and doing his works through him, it is indeed concluded that the words Christ spoke were NOT different from the words Yahweh spoke in the days of old. Christ's works, as seen from Yahweh's words in Malachi, were works of purification - removing the impurities - sin - in us, and returning us to Yahweh's way of righteousness. And the righteous standard Christ returned the sons of Jacob to was the very righteous standard Yahweh gave the sons of Jacob in the days of old, the ancient years.
Christ's Words On Marriage Were Not Different From Those Of Yahweh Spoken In The Days Of Old
Therefore, in the context of polygyny, Christ's words in Matthew 19 could not have been any different from Yahweh's words spoken to the sons of Jacob in the days of old. Whatever words Christ spoke in Matthew 19 in the context of marriage, adultery and divorce simply affirmed the words Yahweh previously spoke to the sons of Jacob! And therefore, if Yahweh permitted the sons of Jacob to live polygynously, then Christ continued to permit them to live polygynously. And if Yahweh forbade them to live polygynously, then Christ also forbade them to live polygynously.
Is It Lawful For A Man To Divorce His Wife For Any Reason?
Matthew 19:3-9 reads,
19:3Pharisees came to him, testing him, and saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?"
19:4He answered, "Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, 19:5and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall join to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh?’ 19:6So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, don’t let man tear apart."
19:7They asked him, "Why then did Moses command us to give her a bill of divorce, and divorce her?"
19:8He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so. 19:9I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her when she is put away commits adultery."
Christ's Words On Divorce Are The Same As Yahweh's Words On Divorce Spoken In The Days Of Old
It should be noted that Matthew 19:3-9 speaks not about polygyny, but about divorce. In essence Christ affirmed that it is not lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason, but only for the reason of porneia (Greek), translated into English as sexual immorality, fornication, prostitution, etc. In other words, Christ affirmed that divorce based on porneia is lawful while divorce not based on porneia is not lawful! In these words Christ spoke as Yahweh instructed Moses to speak. For in Deuteronomy 24:1-2 we read,
24:1When a man takes a wife, and marries her, then it shall be, if she find no favor in his eyes, because he has found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a bill of divorce, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 24:2When she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.
The Hebrew word translated "unseemly thing" in 24:1 is ervah, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance reference No. 6172. Strong defines its English meaning as follows: "ervah, er-vaw; from 6168; nudity, lit. (espec. the pudenda) or fig. (disgrace, blemish):- nakedness, shame, unclean (-ness)." Strong renders word No. 6168 as follows: "arah, ar-raw; a prim. root; to be (caus. make) bare; hence to empty, pour out, demolish:- leave destitute, discover, empty, make naked, pour (out), rase, spread self, uncover."
The "unseemly thing" in the verse quoted above is therefore concerned with nudity, or nakedness, or being bare. In other words, some sexual uncleanness, even as the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, (c) 1994, clarifies: "pu.den.dum n, pl -da [NL, sing. of L pudenda, fr. neut. pl. of pudendus, gerundive of pudere to be ashamed] (1634): the external genital organs of a human being and esp. of a woman--usu. used in pl. -- pu.den.dal adj".
In other words, Yahweh, through Moses, allowed Israelite men to divorce their wives only for sexual sin. Christ, in Matthew 19, affirmed Yahweh's words in men being allowed to divorce their wives only for sexual sin. It is therefore seen that Christ's word and Yahweh's word on divorce are one and the same!
In Matthew 19:8 Christ shows that divorce is allowed because of hardness of heart, implying that in a situation where hardness of heart is lacking divorce would not have been allowed or would not be allowed. In the beginning of human existence, at the time of the creation of male and female, there was no hardness of heart. Hardness of heart came later through human conduct in sin. But prior to sin there was no hardness of heart, and therefore no reason for allowing divorce or for divorcing.
Hardness Of Heart Exists Where Divorce Is Allowed
In the cases whereby divorce is allowed it is evident that hardness of heart exists. For the wife has committed adultery - sin - thereby giving her husband the opportunity of divorcing her. And the man with whom she commits adultery also engages in sin. Hard heartedness is equated with sin, and lack of hard heartedness is equated with a situation whereby sin does not exist. This is affirmed in Ezekiel 36:16-32, which reads,
36:16Moreover the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 36:17Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their way and by their doings: their way before me was as the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. 36:18Therefore I poured out my wrath on them for the blood which they had poured out on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols; 36:19and I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. 36:20When they came to the nations, where they went, they profaned my holy name; in that men said of them, These are the people of Yahweh, and are gone forth out of his land. 36:21But I had regard for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations, where they went. 36:22Therefore tell the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I don’t do this for your sake, house of Israel, but for my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations, where you went. 36:23I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am Yahweh, says the Lord Yahweh, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 36:24For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. 36:25I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 36:26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 36:27I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my ordinances, and do them. 36:28You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 36:29I will save you from all your uncleanness: and I will call for the grain, and will multiply it, and lay no famine on you. 36:30I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that you may receive no more the reproach of famine among the nations. 36:31Then shall you remember your evil ways, and your doings that were not good; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. 36:32Not for your sake do I this, says the Lord Yahweh, be it known to you: be ashamed and confounded for your ways, house of Israel.
Did Christ's Words In Matthew 19:4-6 Exclude Polygyny?
In Matthew 19:4-6 Christ shows that a man and his wife should join together and become one flesh, seeing that this is what Yahweh said should happen at the time he created male and female. Some suggest that because Yahweh said "the two" shall become one flesh, he necessarily excluded polygyny at the time that he made the first human male and female - the beginning.
What Does "The Two Shall Become One Flesh" Mean?
What is the meaning of the phrase "the two shall become one flesh"?
In 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 Paul explains the meaning of this phrase. He says,
6:15Don’t you know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ, and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! 6:16Or don’t you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? For, "The two," says he, "will become one flesh." 6:17But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. 6:18Flee sexual immorality! "Every sin that a man does is outside the body," but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 6:19Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own, 6:20for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
"The Two Shall Become One Flesh" Means Sexual Union Is To Take Place
It should be clear from Paul's words that the phrase "the two shall become one flesh" means sexual union is to take place! And just as it is possible for a man to be sexually united with his wife, so also it is possible for a man to be sexually united with a prostitute who is not his wife. In other words, even though Yahweh has said that sexual union should take place only between a man and his wife, human beings, disregarding Yahweh's word, engage in sexual union outside the husband and wife relationship, as it is physically possible for them to do.
Yahweh's Words Quoted In Matthew 19:4-6 Neither Affirm Nor Deny Polygyny
Christ's words in Matthew 19:4-6, quoting Yahweh's words at the time of man's creation, simply say that Yahweh said that a husband and wife should sexually unite because he made them male and female. These words of Yahweh neither affirm nor deny that a man should be married to only one wife. All they say is that a woman a man has sex with should be his wife.
It should also be noted that it is physically impossible for a man to be sexually united with more than one woman at any given point in time. Sequentially he can. At the same time he cannot. A sinful husband can therefore be sexually united (one flesh) with his wife and then later sexually united (one flesh) with another man's wife. But he cannot be sexually united with both these women at the same time, as it is physically impossible for a man to be sexually united with more than one woman at the same time.
Righteous polygynous men, such as Abraham, Jacob and David, were sexually united with each of their wives sequentially. At each such time it was a case of "the two shall become one flesh", even as it is the case of "the two shall become one flesh" when a sinful Christian man sexually unites with a prostitute. It should therefore be seen that the phrase "the two shall become one flesh" DOES NOT prohibit polygyny, but is simply a phrase meaning sexual union.
Do Christ's Words In Matthew 19:8 Mean That A Man Should Not Have More Than One Wife?
Some interpret Christ's words in Matthew 19:8 to mean that human beings should live life in the manner they did at the time of their creation - the beginning, prior to their sin. To them this means that as Yahweh created only one man and one woman and brought them together as husband and wife, a man should not have more than one wife. For the experience of the beginning does not show the first man having more than one wife, especially prior to their sin.
Yahweh's Original Dietary Word For Humans
Genesis 1:26-30 reads,
1:26God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 1:27God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 1:28God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." 1:29God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. 1:30To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food." And it was so.
Yahweh's Dietary Word For Humans In Noah's Day
Genesis 9:1-6 reads,
9:1God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. 9:2The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that the ground teems with, and all the fish of the sea are delivered into your hand. 9:3Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As the green herb, I have given everything to you. 9:4But flesh with the life of it, the blood of it, you shall not eat. 9:5I will surely require your blood of your lives. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, I will require the life of man. 9:6Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man will his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man. 9:7Be fruitful, and multiply. Bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it."
Returning To The Original Dietary Standard For Humans Demands Vegetarianism
It is clear from these quoted scriptures that human beings were basically vegetarians from the time of their creation until after the time of the flood, at which time they began to eat flesh.
If human beings are to live life in the manner life was lived by our first parents at the Garden of Eden then no human being should eat flesh, all being vegetarians! But do we see all who profess to follow Christ being exclusively vegetarians, not eating any flesh? And in this vegetarianism to the exclusion of eating flesh, are they following Christ or are they propagating their own teaching out of harmony with Christ and Yahweh's words?
Yahweh Ate Flesh In Abraham's Day
Genesis 18:1-8 reads,
18:1Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. 18:2He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood opposite him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth, 18:3and said, "My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don’t go away from your servant. 18:4Now let a little water be fetched, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 18:5I will get a morsel of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant."
They said, "Very well, do as you have said."
18:6Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Quickly make ready three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes." 18:7Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant. He hurried to dress it. 18:8He took butter, milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them. He stood by them under the tree, and they ate.
It is here clearly observed that when Yahweh visited Abraham he ate the flesh of the calf! Yahweh's eating habits are therefore not exclusively vegetarian!
Christ Gave People Flesh For Food
Mark 6:34-44 reads,
6:34Jesus came out, saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things. 6:35When it was late in the day, his disciples came to him, and said, "This place is a desert, and it is late in the day. 6:36Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages, and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat."
6:37But he answered them, "You give them something to eat."
They asked him, "Shall we go and buytwo hundred denarii worth of bread, and give them something to eat?"
6:38He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go see."
When they knew, they said, "Five, and two fish."
6:39He commanded those that all should sit down by companies on the green grass. 6:40They sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties. 6:41He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves, and he gave to his disciples to set before them, and he divided the two fish among them all. 6:42They all ate, and were filled. 6:43They took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and also of the fish. 6:44Those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
It is clear that Yah'shuah (Jesus) himself gave other humans flesh for food, in this case the flesh of fish.
Christ Did Not Teach That It Is Sin To Depart From The Original Human Standard
A follower of Christ cannot therefore refuse to eat flesh, or require that other followers refuse to eat flesh, on the rationale that Christ requires human beings, especially his followers, not to eat flesh on the basis that human beings should live life in the manner that our first parents did at the Garden of Eden prior to their sin. For Christ's conduct clearly shows that his followers are permitted to do things that our first parents did not necessarily do at the Garden of Eden, and that it is not sin to do such things. Christ's conduct is also seen to be in harmony with Yahweh's conduct during Abraham's time. For just as Yahweh ate flesh in the days of Abraham, so also did Christ eat flesh when he came as a human being.
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