Are spiritual Shadows outdated | nazareneisrael2house

Are Spiritual shadows outdated?

In order to counteract the backlash expected as a result of our last sermon, I propose to show by this revamp previous sermon, that Spiritual shadows in the Scriptures are by no means outdated. For example: Our shadows are perfect images of our silhouettesoutlined on the ground; it isa reflection of ourselves etched onto whatever is behindus. By looking at your shadow someone can tell that you are lean or chubby, with long or short hair and if you have a big nose and ears or not. However, even though those who look at your shadow can see your physical features and mannerisms, they cannot see what your character traits are like – as your shadow isn’t you.

I am discussing our shadows here, simply to demonstrate that where Rav Shaul wrote in Colossians 2: 16 & 17 regarding the food or drink we consume, or the Scriptural Festivals or new moons or the Sabbath day that we keep as ‘things which are a mere shadow of what is to come’, he did not say that these observances are outdated and not required any longer, but from a Hebrew perspective, that they are rehearsals in preparation of things to come in the future. A case in point being where we read from Exodus 31: 13, “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel (meaning both houses in this case), saying, ‘You shall surely observe My Sabbaths: for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations (meaning forever), that you may know that I am YHVH who sanctifies (set-apart) you.’’’ Note that YHVH spoke about His Sabbaths not only His Sabbath, meaning that not only is the weekly Sabbath a sign between YHVH and His people, but also His annual Sabbaths or Feast Days. We the remnant of the lost ten tribes of Israel together with the house of Judah are therefore obliged to keep the weekly and annual Sabbaths commanded in Leviticus 23: 1 – 4, as follows: ‘YHVH spoke again to Moses, saying, (2) “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘(YHVH)’s appointed times (feasts)which you shall proclaim as holy (set-apart) convocations-- My appointed times (feasts) are these: (3) ‘For six days work may be done; but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy (set-apart) convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath to YHVH in all your dwellings. (4) These are the appointed times of YHVH, holy (set-apart) convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them.”’ There are two important Hebrew words in this section of Scriptures, which are translated as appointed times (or feasts) and convocations. The word feast comes from the Hebrew word transliterated as ‘mo’ed’ meaning an appointment, which involves a fixed or set time. We see from verse 2 of Leviticus 23 that the Sabbath is also a Set-apart convocation, which is the Hebrew word transliterated as ‘miqra’, meaning an assembly or rehearsal. YHVH is therefore telling His people that the Sabbath is an appointed time during which He wants us to assemble to rehearse what His word teaches about His coming kingdom and our redemption through the Messiah and the Messianic age.

However, when we tell our Christian relatives and friends that we keep Elohim’s scripturally ordained Set-apart Days and the Sabbath, they usually argue that these ‘Old Testament’ laws need not be kept any longer, as they are only shadows of things Messiah fulfilled for us and are no longer required for spiritually minded believers. They insist that as believers in Messiah, we should lift ourselves above the earthly representations of Elohim’s spiritual truths, in the understanding of the truth itself. Such believers insist that physical representations are made void by the greater spiritual truths which they represent. Ever since the canonization of the Renewed Covenant, referred to by Christianity as the ‘New Testament’, students of the Scriptures have discussed the validity of the so-called ‘Old Testament’ in the lives of believers in Messiah. Some hold that believers in Messiah have moved away from the ‘Old Testament’ age of law to the age of grace. Even so, there are others who believe that the ‘Old Testament’ moral laws are still applicable to believers in Messiah as a general guide to life. The first group believes that unless the ‘New Testament’ restates an ‘Old Testament’ law, it has become obsolete and disappeared with the so-called old covenant. The second group believes that unless the ‘New Testament’ annuls an ‘Old Testament’ principle, it should be considered as still binding. But, both these groups are of the opinion that a section of the law was purely ceremonial or ritual in nature and therefore merely a shadow of a greater reality. In addition, most such believers assume that all that may be called a ‘shadow’ are ceremonial and is of no importance to believers in Messiah any longer. Besides quoting Colossians 2: 16 & 17, Christians often quote Hebrews 10: 1 as a second Scriptural ‘witness’ to their claim, as follows: ‘For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near.’

Considering the two Scriptures quoted by Christians to show that ‘Old Testament’ legislation is positively not applicable for modern believers in Messiah, their claims appear valid at first. But, if we need not sacrifice for sin any longer because such sacrifices were merely a shadow of Messiah’s sacrifice for the sins of the world as explained in Galatians 3, then shouldn’t we be consistent and do away with all the so-called ceremonial aspects of the Law? This last named view of sacrifices may be found in a number of Christian books regarding the subject, one example being statements in the footnotes of The MacArthur Study Bible (based on the New American Standard Bible) on Colossians 2: 16 & 17, as follows: ‘2: 16 food or drink. The false teachers sought to impose some sort of dietary regulations, probably based on those of the Mosaic Law (cf. Lv 11). Since they were under the New Covenant, the Colossians (like all Christians) were not obliged to observe the OT dietary restrictions (cf. Mk: 7: 14 – 19; Ac 10: 9 – 15; Ro 14: 17; 1 Co 8: 8; 1Ti 4: 1 – 5; Heb 9: 9, 10 (Refer Author’s end-notes about the Renewed Covenant Scriptures often quoted to challenge the clean food laws discussed in the Torah teachings of Elohim, as well as suitable answers to these erroneous beliefs)[1].Festival. The annual religious celebrations of the Jewish calendar (e.g., Passover, Pentecost, or Tabernacles (Booths); cf. Lv 23). New moon. The monthly sacrifice offered on the first day of each month (Nu 10: 10; 28: 11 – 14; Ps 81: 3). Sabbath Day. The weekly celebration of the seventh day, which pictured God’s rest from creation. The NT clearly teaches that Christians are not required to keep it (See notes on Ac 20: 7; Ro 14: 5, 6). 2.17 shadow….substance. The ceremonial aspects of the OT law (dietary regulations, festivals, sacrifices) were mere shadows pointing to Christ. Since Christ, the reality has come, the shadows have no value. Cf. Heb 8: 5; 10: 1.’Wow – what a mouth full of religions verbosity, especially if one considers Yahshua’s words in Matthew 5: 17 – 20, as follows: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. (18) For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. (19) Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (20) For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” In fact this footnote in The MacArthur Study Bible makes any suggestion that Elohim requires us to do anything physical, equivalent to belittling the tenets of our Nazarene Jewish faith.

In agreement with what a Messianic visitor to our services insinuated a while back, saying that we cannot judge a starving person for killing rats for food, the Christian argument goes: “people are dying by the thousands from starvation, and since J*e*s*u*s* told us to love our neighbor, we should not quibble over religious trivialities like what food is lawful to eat, we should get out there and put food in the mouths of the starving, rather than being overly concerned with ‘Old Testament’ food laws and the Sabbath and other observances.”Such reasoning is loaded with emotion and overlooks the basic Scriptural principle that it is not within man to determine what is right and wrong, as we cannot on our own determine what is important to Elohim and what is not, as we read from Proverbs 14: 12, in this way: ‘There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.’ A second witness comes from Matthew 7: 13 & 14, where Yahshua himself said: “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. (14) For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.” We as Nazarene Israel are ambassadors of Elohim’s future kingdom on earth, and as such we should be examples for people in the world (but at this time, especially fellow Israelites who still believe that they are Gentiles) how to live according to the Laws that are applicable in the Kingdom of Elohim, currently in heaven, but which will be established on earth when Messiah returns to rule the world from Jerusalem. We should not believe that we are doing good deeds by giving fellow Israelites and others whom we are teaching unclean food to eat, since that remains detestable to Elohim, whichever way we look at it.

Many similarly argue that if you observe the Sabbath and other Set-apart Days; we are a ‘legalist’. The best way to respond to such reasoning is to return to Colossians 2: 16 & 17, since critics of Sabbath-observance use these verses to commence their reasoning that since the reality has now come, the shadows have disappeared. As we have seen earlier, this interpretation of this passage is not new, as religious writers have interpreted it this way as far back as the second century CE. But, what must be remembered is that Rav Shaul wrote the book of Colossians to Nazarene believers in Messiah, who lived in Colossae. These believers were like Rav Shaul part of the Nazarene sect of the Pharisees who believed in Messiah, as may be read from Acts 24: 5, 14 as well as Acts 15: 5. Yes these believers were definitely not Christian as may be seen from the fourth century Christian “Church Father’s” description of the Nazarenes, in this way: ‘But these sectarians…did not call themselves Christians – but “Nazarenes,”…However they are simply complete Jews. They use not only the New Testament but the Old Testament as well, as the Jews do… They have no different ideas, but confess everything exactly as the Law proclaims it and in the Jewish fashion except for their belief in Messiah, if you please! For they acknowledge both the resurrection of the dead and the divine creation of all things, and declare that G-d is one, and that his son is Y’shua the Messiah. They are trained to a nicety in Hebrew. For among them the entire Law, the Prophets, and the …Writings… are read in Hebrew, as they surely are by the Jews. They are different from the Jews, and different from Christians, only in the following. They disagree with Jews because they have come to faith in Messiah; but since they are still fettered by the Law…circumcision, the Sabbath, and the rest...they are not in accord with Christians…they are nothing but Jews…. They have the Goodnews according to Matthew in its entirety in Hebrew. For it is clear that they still preserve this, in the Hebrew alphabet, as it was originally written.’

Rav Shaul was addressing false teachers in Colossae who asserted that worship through Messiah was not enough, as they taught that believers also had to work through angels as intermediaries as may be seen from what he wrote in Colossians 2: 18, in this way: ‘Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.’ (This calls to mind the Roman Catholics who pray to Mary as a mediator to their G-d.) But, these false teachers in Colossae taught that the way to true spirituality also requires prohibition of tasting and touching (in verse 21) and severe treatment of the body (in verse 23). Those who read verses 16 & 17 in the same light as verses 18 – 23, do not understand that in verses 16 & 17 Rav Shaul was telling Nazarene believers that the body of Messiah[2], meaning the congregation of which Messiah is the head, should be the judge as to what we eat or drink, or in respect to the festivals, new moons or Sabbath Day observances, and certainly not outsiders, as may be understood from reading the same from the King James Version, as follows: ‘Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: (17) Which are a shadow of things to come: but the body is of Messiah.’ (The underlined words are printed in italics in the KJV, indicating that they were added to make the passage more understandable and were not part of the original text.) The mistake in The MacArthur Study Bible commentators’ interpretation (and that of Christianity in general) lies in assuming that the topic in question was whether we should be concerned about clean and unclean meats—and the observance of the Set-apart days and the Sabbath or not. But, the Colossian heretics were criticizing believers for eating and drinking during their festival celebrations. The question was not whether these believers should observe Set-apart Days or the Sabbath – it was a matter of how they observed these festivals.

Yahshua was our perfect example and we need to follow Him in everything He taught and did during His lifetime. We need to be mindful of Rav Shaul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 11: 1, where he said: “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Messiah.” Rav Yochanan said the same thing in 1 John 2: 6, in this way: ‘The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.’ If Yahshua kept the Scriptural Feast Days, then we ought to do the same. However, similar to the way the shadow of yourself does not reveal everything there is to know about you, so spiritual shadows do not tell us everything there is to know about what is to come. The Sabbath, as well as the Feast of Tabernacles should be a shadow of the coming kingdom of Elohim and as I said at the beginning, we keep the Feast Days of Elohim to rehearse for this blessed future event. Rav Shaul simply encourage Colossian believers not to listen to such criticism and continue to enjoy their eating and drinking during their religious celebrations, since it was the function of the body of Messiah or the congregation, to judge believer’s behavior in general. Why don’t Christian teachers who espouse this erroneous view, stop to ask why Rav Shaul did not include sacrifices in the list of shadows in verses 16 & 17 of Colossians 2, if the point of these verses were to show that believers need not keep such things any longer? The question is: Are shadows outdated? I would like to encourage those who believe so, to consider Yahshua who is the ultimate example of how we as believers should live our lives. We need to realize that Yahshua did not take shadows lightly. We have an example in the Renewed Covenant where Yahshua marched into the temple in Jerusalem and took sweeping action, despite the fact that the temple was only a shadow as may be read from Hebrews 8: 5. Yahshua became angry when He saw this shadow desecrated. We read Yahshua’s reaction from Mark 11: 17, in this way: ‘And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS? But you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN.”’ Yahshua risked His personal safety when He angrily rebuked those who disregarded the spiritual significance of a physical location in which the priests performed physical sacrifices.

Messiah’s example showed that we must not ignore the shadows that the Scriptures specify. To treat these shadows lightly will result in our missing out, as Yahshua taught in Matthew 5: 19, saying: ‘Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’ To label attempts to keep the laws given in the Tanach observed by both Yahshua and His early Nazarene followers as Judaizing or legalistic, contradicts Yahshua’s own words and examples. The point is that the Renewed Covenant reveals a number of shadows that we should keep, conclusively putting the anti-shadow argument to bed. The most obvious ones are water immersion, which is a symbol or shadow of Messiah’s death and His memorial Passover in remembrance of His death. The bread and wine that we partake of during the Passover are representative or shadows of Yahshua’s body and blood sacrificed for the sins of the world. Then there are such shadows as the laying on of hands in Hebrews 6: 2; anointing with oil in James 5: 14; foot-washing in John 13: 14 commanded to assist in our spiritual understanding, as we perform them. The point is, if the Passover and immersion are worth keeping, should we dare to label others as worthless. Colossians 2: 16 & 17 certainly does not say any such thing. Consider for a moment what Rav Shaul teaches in 1 Corinthians 5: 7 – 8. Whereas Nazarene believers see this as simply an instruction to de-leaven their homes during the Days of Unleavened Bread, but also understand the deeper meaning that we should also spiritually clean up our lives, by repenting and returning to Torah obedience. Whilst Christianity believes that this passage has nothing to do with de-leavening, but only with spirituality. The point of what Rav Shaul is saying here is that since Messiah has been sacrificed for us, we need to keep the feast of Unleavened Bread, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. This passage tells us to keep the feast of Unleavened Bread literally and spiritually. But this is also saying that we as believers should clean up our lives on a daily basis. From reading 1 Corinthians 16: 8, we see that Rav Shaul also kept Pentecost the same year that he wrote about Passover (in 1 Corinthians 11) and the Days of Unleavened Bread (in 1 Corinthians 5), as follows: ‘But I shall remain in Ephesus until Pentecost.’

We should not be concerned about those in other religions making judgments about the Feast Days that we keep and foods we eat, since as Rav Shaul wrote in verse 17 of Colossians 2, the body of Messiah, meaning the congregation of Elohim, of which Yahshua is the head, should judge the way we obey these Torah commands. Other than what Christianity teach, not one of the covenants made with our forefathers in the Tanach have been abolished. A prime example being the rainbow – why if any of the original covenants were abolished do we still see the rainbow after a rainstorm? The covenant that YHVH made with Abraham is still valid, since we as his descendants (even if it is only because we belong to Messiah and are not bloodline descendants) are still looking forward to inherit the Promised Land eternally, when Messiah returns. So the last thing that we should be concerned about is what Christian believers say and understand from the word of Elohim. We know that one day YHVH will personally open the books of the Scriptures to all those blinded to His truths at this time, as is confirmed in Isaiah 25: 7 – 9, as follows: ‘And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. (8) He will swallow up death for all time (we know from Revelation 20: 14, that this will only happen after the Great White Throne Judgment), and YHVH Elohim will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for YHVH has spoken. (9) And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our Elohim for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is YHVH for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”’ We are looking forward to that blessed day. HalleluYah!

Author’s end-notes about Renewed Covenant Scriptures often quoted to challenge the clean food laws discussed in the Torah teachings of Elohim, as well as suitable answers to these erroneous beliefs:

The first Scripture usually mentioned by Christians to refute the kosher food laws comes from Acts 10: 15, in this way: ‘And again a voice came to him a second time, “What Elohim has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”’ This verse is erroneously interpreted as if YHVH has cleansed all meats in the Renewed Covenant Era. To understand this verse and Rav Kepha’s vision surrounding it is to understand the context of the entire chapter. At the beginning of this passage we read about a Gentile named Cornelius. He is an army captain who is righteous and well respected by all those around him, including the Jews. YHVH sends an angel to deliver a message to Cornelius, saying in verse 5 of Acts 10: “And now dispatch some men to Joppa, and send for a man named Simon, who is called Peter (Kepha).” Cornelius a man, who fears Elohim, did as instructed by the angel. Before Cornelius’ men arrive, Kepha goes onto the housetop to pray and whilst there he becomes hungry. As he prays he falls into a spiritual trance through which YHVH reveals a message that will change true worship forever. In his vision Kepha sees a great sheet coming down from the sky and on the sheet he saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air. Next, Kepha hears a shocking statement; a voice saying: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

Rav Kepha could not believe what he heard. He was confused and mystified by this instruction. It is repeated three times by the angel before the sheet and its contents are taken away. Kepha argues that he has never eaten anything unclean (verse14), not even 10 years after the death of Yahshua. Surely if the laws of clean and unclean foods had been done away with since the Savior’s death, Rav Kepha, one of the greatest apostles of the Renewed Covenant would have known about it soon after Yahshua’s death? In addition Rav Kepha was filled with the Set-apart Spirit, which was supposed to lead the apostles into all truth (John 14:26). After the vision the men sent by Cornelius find Kepha and he returns with them to meet Cornelius. Once there, Kepha explains the meaning of his vision of the sheet, in Acts 10: 28, as follows: “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet Elohim has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.” Thereafter Cornelius became the first Gentile convert to the Nazarene Jewish faith. In Acts 10: 28 we have the simple explanation of this vision from the mouth of Rav Kepha himself: Gentiles, once considered unclean, may now enter the Covenant of promise. YHVH simply used unclean food to symbolize "unclean" Gentiles, who are now allowed to follow the Master Yahshua and enter the Promises. In Acts 10: 35, Kepha summarizes the lesson of his vision that he received in Joppa on the rooftop of the house of Simon the Tanner, as follows: ‘but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him.’ Clearly the vision seen by Kepha was to show him in a very profound way that Gentiles, who were once considered unclean, were now permitted into Elohim’s covenant. Nowhere in this passage are Elohim’s clean food Laws discussed or repealed. Kepha himself rejects the idea of ever eating anything that conflicts with the clean food Laws given by YHVH in His Torah.
A second Scripture that Christians usually site to ‘refute’ the kosher food laws, comes from Mark 7: 18, as follows: ‘And He (Yahshua) said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him?’ This verse is erroneously interpreted as if Yahshua was condemning the Scribes and Pharisees for their strict laws, decreeing many foods to be unfit for human consumption. However, we find by reading the entire passage, that this was not the issue under discussion. At the beginning of the passage, we find Yahshua’s disciples eating with unwashed hands in plain sight of the Scribes and Pharisees. The Scribes and Pharisees had many rabbinical traditions that had been handed down through the ages, and one of those were ceremonial washing of hands before eating. We read accordingly in verses 3 & 4 of Mark 7, "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; (4) and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.” When the Scribes and Pharisees saw Yahshua’s disciples eating before washing their hands, they accused Yahshua and His disciples of breaking their traditions. Yahshua was not pleased with their condemnation, but in turn accused them of placing their own man-made traditions above the commandments given by Elohim (see Mark 7: 6 – 9).Yahshua did not condemn them for compliance with the kosher food Laws found in the Scriptures, but condemns them for their doctrines of men.

These doctrines were not part of the Torah teachings of YHVH, but were laws established by Jewish leaders through many generations. This section has nothing to do with the kosher food laws to be found in the Scriptures. In fact we read according to verses 18 & 19 of Mark 7, ‘And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him; (19) because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean).’ The bracketed section was added by the Authors of the NASB to show that it is their personal interpretation. A similar sentence is added in most Christian Bibles. We read about the misinterpretations and additions to the word of Elohim, in Jeremiah 8: 8 – 9, as follows: “How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of YHVH is with us?” But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie. (9)The wise men are put to shame, they are dismayed and caught; behold they have rejected the word of YHVH, and what kind of wisdom do they have?” Yahshua taught in verse 18 of Mark 7 that ingesting some dirt from unwashed hands will not defile them, but evil thoughts will defile because they come from the heart, as we read from verses 21 – 23, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, (22) deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. (23) All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” Yahshua did not even make mention of the kosher food laws in Mark 7; He simply taught that we are to observe Elohim’s physical Laws without neglecting His weightier (Spiritual) Laws. Ceremonial washing, as distinct from washing for cleanliness was one of the traditions of the Jews. However, as believers we should always wash our hands after working outside or after going to the toilet, as Rav Yaa’cov wrote in James 4: 8, saying, ‘Draw near to Elohim and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.’ Yes, Rav Yaa’cov meant that we should clean ourselves up spiritually, but because of the duality principle that runs throughout the Scriptures; he also implied that we should clean ourselves up physically.

A third verse used to discredit the Scriptural kosher laws, is in Colossians 2: 16, as follows: “Therefore let no one act as your judge in regards to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day.” This is erroneously interpreted to say that we should not judge people in regard to the freedom that we now have in Messiah. However, Rav Shaul is speaking to the congregation (or Body of Messiah) and not to the world in general. If he was speaking to a pagan world that has neglected Elohim’s Word, then it would only make sense to conclude that Rav Shaul is saying that we are no longer under ‘Old Testament’ regulations and must not be judged by such matters. However, Rav Shaul is speaking to an obedient congregation of called out believers. Verse (17) is the key to understanding this, stating: ‘things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Messiah.’ This is essentially saying that those of us following Messiah should be judged by Him, or by His congregation and not by outsiders. It has nothing to do with the kosher food laws found in the Scriptures. However to understand this misconception better, we need to be familiar with the following two scriptural concepts, namely (a) a shadow and (b) a type:

A shadow: A shadow points to the reality, but does not do away with it. Elohim’s Feast Days are shadows of things to come according to Colossians 2: 17. These Feast Days were introduced by YHVH in Leviticus 23 and relates His plan of salvation for all humankind, to us. We keep these Feast Days yearly to rehearse Elohim’s plan of Salvation, so that we as first fruits will be able to teach the same as well as the rest of Torah to our siblings during Yahshua’s millennium rule. Even though Passover, including the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost has already been fulfilled, the last four Feast Days namely Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles and the Last Great Day will only be fulfilled at, and after Yahshua’s return one day.
A type: The sacrificial laws were types and after Yahshua became the sacrifice for our sins, He effectively did away with the sacrificial requirements of the Law in respect of sin. Since Yahshua fulfilled the Sacrificial Law, by becoming the sacrifice, there is no longer a need to sacrifice animals, each time we sin (transgress the Torah).

A fourth verse used by Christianity to refute the Scriptural kosher laws is in 1 Timothy 4: 4, in this way: ‘For everything created by Elohim is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude;’ This is erroneously interpreted that it is acceptable to eat anything, as long as you are thankful for it. However, to fully understand what this portion of the Scriptures is saying, we have to read the very next verse (5), which reads like this: “for it is sanctified by means of the word of Elohim and prayer.’ The question to answer here is: What is sanctified by means of the word of Elohim? The word sanctified simply means to set-apart or made ‘holy’. So the question is what foods are set-apart by the word of Elohim for use as food by mankind. The answer is obviously to be found in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. Rav Shaul was definitely not promoting the eating of ceremonially unclean animals. The point is that most people will agree that rats, bats, lizards, scorpions and skunks are definitely not good for food? The food YHVH has set-apart in the Torah for those called out to follow His way, remains so.
Finally Christianity uses Romans 14: 14, to refute the Scriptural kosher laws, as follows: ‘I know and am convinced in the Master Yahshua that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.’ Does this mean that he abandoned the laws of clean and unclean foods discussed in Torah? We know that Rav Shaul did not change or abandoned any command given by YHVH in the Torah, and to explain this particular verse from the Scriptures, we need to familiarize ourselves with the different Greek words used in the Renewed Covenant, to fully understand what Rav Shaul was actually saying regarding food in Romans 14. The Greek word used by Rav Shaul in Romans 14, was ‘koinos’ meaning common or ordinary. The word ‘koinos’ is also used in Acts 2: 44 (‘And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common.’), Acts 4: 32, Titus 1: 4; and Jude 3 (‘Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation…). The same word was also used for things considered polluted or defiled. This word is also used in its form as a verb, namely ‘koinoo’ in Mark 7: 2, as follows: ‘and had seen some of His disciples were eating their bread with impurehands, that is, unwashed.’ These two words (‘koinos’ and ‘koinoo’) are in fact used throughout the Renewed Covenant to refer to ceremonially uncleanness, and not to unclean meats or animals. Therefore something could be common or ceremonially unclean, yet be in the prescribed list of ‘Kosher’ foods given in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. The very same word used in the Septuagint version of the Torah, namely ‘akatharos’ is also used in the Greek translation of the Renewed Covenant for unclean meats. In Acts 10 both the words ‘koinos’ and ‘akatharos’ describe Rav Kepha’s vision of the sheet filled with all kinds of animals of the earth. Rav Kepha distinguished between the two concepts of unclean by using both words in verse 14 of Acts 10. Most translations of the Scriptures distinguish between the meanings of the two words used here. Rav Kepha used the same terminology (namely unholy {koinos} or unclean {akatharos}) in verse 28 and again in Acts 11: 8 indiscussing his vision.

Where Rav Shaul said in Roman 14: 14, ‘I Know and am convinced by the Master Yahshua that nothing is unclean in itself’, he was in fact making the same point as he did in 1 Corinthians 8. Here in Corinthians Rav Shaul explained that even if clean meat was offered to idols, the so-called pagan god had no bearing on whether the meat was suitable to be eaten or not. But what was Rav Shaul’s point in Romans 14? He was essentially saying that depending upon their consciences, early believers had several options open to them whilst traveling or living in certain communities. If they did not want to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols, they could choose to eat only vegetables. However, if there was not a regular source of kosher meat available, believers could eat meat slaughtered by Moslem butchers, since they also know how to bleed the animal, in the prescribed way, even though they offer such meat up to their deity. Romans 14 is about a person’s conscience within the framework of the Torah. Rav Shaul was not here discussing Scriptural kosher laws, but as we see from verse 20 where the word clean is ‘katharos’ , i.e. free from impure mixture, spotless. The word ‘katharos’ is used in the Scriptures to describe all kinds of cleanliness, including clean dishes (Matthew 23: 26), clothing (Revelation 15: 6; 19: 8 & 14), and pure religion (James 1: 27). We need to understand that in both verses 14 and 20 of Romans 14, the word food or meat was not in the original wording. In fact no specific entity is mentioned relative to clean or uncleanness. These verses are simply stating that ‘nothing is unclean (‘koinos’ - common or ceremonially unclean) in itself’ and ‘all is clean (‘katharos’ – without blemish or spot).’ Rav Shaul was essentially saying that any association of food with idolatrous activity had no influence on whether the food was suitable for eating.

[1] Brackets and Authors end-notes added.

[2]As believers we are all aware that the body of Messiah refers to the congregation of called out believers, as witnessed in Ephesians 4: 11 – 16 as follows: ‘And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Messiah; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Messiah. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Messiah, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.’