Hello Firestorm:
This is part two of the post concerning Halal foods in America. The information coming forth is not meant to bring fear to anyone, but to call your attention to the fact that American mindsets, policies, choices and procedures regarding the processing of our meats are radically being changed.
In looking at Halal meat and foods, consumers are seeing an eye catching array of terms surrounding the products such as: 100% natural, anti-biotic free, veggie-fed, all natural, Certified Humane, Gluten Free organic and many more terms used to pull in the New Move of Trendy Americans conscious of being healthy through their food choices, to buy Halal.
The advertising campaigns are catching the eyes of affluent and well educated consumers in the know, who are willing…and can “pay up” meaning, spend more money to get the best and most healthy products supposedly on the market.
The package sounds healthy. The only thing missing on the catchy and enticing Halal labels will be…
This animal/meat has been slaughtered sacrificially to the god Allah. May you bless and acknowledge him as you eat, knowing he has provided this food and that Allah is great.
I am sure many of you either gasped in horror and/or tell me to chill out, no way, you’re kidding and or a lot of other comments hinting, I should just go on and get over it, it’s no big deal and maybe the last one…
What is it with you?
To which I guess I could say, what is it with you?
Why does this bother me and not you?
The first thing might be that I have not been walking with the Lord as long as many of you and I know, I have a lot to learn. Also…I mean no disrespect in saying, I did not grow up in the church system, schools, courses, doctrines and/or programs, so I have not gone through what many of you have experienced.
But, I am filled and “Born Again” into Christ, I am in Him and He is in me. Surely if I can hear His Voice and speak prophetically to His Church, I am able to sense His Heart and know what He feels about things.
Isn’t that the way it should work?
Deep to deep and Spirit to spirit is a relationship, a friendship where the communication lines are open between He and I. If He is sad, I should feel that sadness, If He is joyful then I should feel His Joy. Likewise, if I am hurting…He is hurting and feeling my pain. His Spirit comforts and encourages me and I Worship, Praise and Adore Him.
The Spirit of Christ dwelleth in us, He is our Teacher and Alarm system. We are connected to the spirit realm through Him. If you sense a warning in your spirit, it’s Him. Do not ignore Him.
Whoever doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ doesn’t belong to him. 10 However, if Christ lives in you, your bodies are dead because of sin, but your spirits are alive because you have God’s approval. 11 Does the Spirit of the one who brought Jesus back to life live in you? Then the one who brought Christ back to life will also make your mortal bodies alive by his Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:9-11.
In reading about the Halal issues and seeing how it has been silently slithering into our Nation, my spirit rose up sounding the shofar. I believe the fire I feel inside is the Lord quickening and warning me to warn you. For surely Halal is an affront to Him and to His Church.
I can smell “danger” in my spirit because, I am alive in Him and He is alive in me. I am not passive, I am passionate and that is because of His Presence in me.
Neither God nor Jesus is “passive.” They are passionate, alive and full of fire, seeking to move through us in delivering and healing those in need. I see and feel a God who cares and watches over us, who does not slumber. He who is Faithful is also True.
I find it hard to believe that God is not looking at the perversity and evil we are allowing to blatantly slither into The Church and not be sending out the Word to all of us to rise up. Then again, maybe He is and we are just not hearing or reading His Word.
Revelation 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
It doesn’t sound as if the Lord is happy with His servants who are committing fornication and eating things “sacrificed to idols” in this last book of the Bible.
Interesting, don’t you think, especially since halal meat, sacrificed to Allah is being sold in grocery stores, fast food chains and restaurants right here America and we don’t even know it or the depth of what it represents.
Try Hosea 4:6. My interpretations, three if you will.
My people perish for lack of knowledge.
My people perish because they don’t know Me.
My people perish because you priests won’t tell them what is happening
Can you hear me now!!!!
Where is the knowledge about eating foods sacrificed to idols in the Bible? Is this just an Old Testament Issue? Some say there are no warnings about eating food sacrificed to idols in the New Testament. Everything is clean. No problem!
In the OT, if anything was unclean and we touched it, we were unclean. But, in the NT, if something is unclean, we can pray, bless it and make it clean. Everything is peachy keen, no problems. We can “pig out.” Anything goes…down the hatch!
Is that true? Is that Scriptural?
I’m heading to Mark 7:18-19
[18] And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
[19] Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
From my studies, Jesus is speaking these Scriptures and pointing out that whatever that comes from the “outside” cannot defile him for it does not go into his heart, but into the draught (“sewer”) in his stomach and then is eliminated.
But, does this mean that bodily function spiritually purifies all foods? No.
The subject Jesus was talking about here was in reference to verse 2, not in regard to which meats could be eaten.
2) And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
The purification of food Jesus was talking about refers to the way the body’s digestive process removes “minor” impurities that might be present from eating with unwashed hands.
We are cautious about this today. We have quick wipes at the grocery stores for shopping carts, in our purse, anti-bacterial hand soap every where to kill bacteria and in many health clinics and schools, you are taught to use the bacteria killing soap many times each day. Interesting.
Did you know that when God created our bodies He gave us “good” bacteria on our hands/bodies that kill bacteria, germs, virus’ and fungus organisms. When bacterial soaps are used, they kill ALL bacteria, including the good, leaving us wide open for anything that comes down the pike and contributing to super strains of disease. Selah
In the scriptures here in Mark, Jesus is talking about spiritual defilement. He made no reference to ‘clean’ or ‘unclean’ foods, except to say that the man is not defiled by what goes into his mouth, but what comes out of it. The whole argument started with an objection to some of His disciples eating bread without washing their hands. If you take this passage to mean that it is all right to eat unclean foods, you have missed the point.
Jesus is virtually saying that whatever a man decides to eat, it will not defile him spiritually. This is totally consistent with the earlier reference to Noah being allowed to eat all things. It is also consistent with the food laws being guidelines for good health.
The Pharisees, like Jesus and His Disciples, ate “only” meat specified as clean in the Pentateuch. The Jewish law regarding unclean meat and the words of Peter to the Gentiles regarding abstaining from meats dedicated to idols, did not change because of this event.
Again, the objection here was the fact that Jesus and His Disciples did not go through the “Pharisees’ customary ritual of meticulously washing up to the elbows before eating, which was their doctrine and their law.
The Hands of Jesus were sufficiently clean for eating, even, if not sufficiently clean according to the Pharisees’ humanly devised standards. Jesus is saying that the human body was designed to handle any minute particles of dust or dirt that happen to enter it.
He continues to suggest to the Pharisees that if they are serious about wanting to obey God they need to revise their priorities. Cleansing one’s thought is more important spiritually than washing ones hands. (Verses 20-23)
NOTE: Most of my studies are from the King James Bible. I do check other versions, many of which err in their translation, from the original text. Be careful.
In reading these verses in Mark, I am having trouble understanding how the NIV renders the latter part of verse 19 with their own added interpretation in parenthesis: “(In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean) and the New American Standard Bible similarly offers: (Thus He) declared all foods clean.)
These translations are in contrast to the King James and New King James versions, which indicate that the bodily digestive process purifies food as opposed to Jesus making a pronouncement reversing God’s laws on which meats to eat.
Notice that in both the NIV and NASB the latter part of verse 19 is placed in parentheses, as though Mark were explaining Jesus Christ’s words. This is clearly an “interpretation” of the original wording of Mark’s Gospel, NOT scriptural truth.
In the original Greek, the words “In saying this, Jesus declared” (NIV) and “Thus He declared” (NASB) are not present; translators have added them to try to explain what “they think” Mark intended and as a result have placed their own mistaken interpretations on Jesus’ words.
I do not agree that these two scriptures give us liberty to eat meats that are unclean and/or “dedicated to idols” such as halal meat.
Next, Acts Chapter 15.
I would ask that you read Acts Chapter 15 from the beginning to get an idea of the arguments and debates the disciples are dealing with in Jerusalem regarding what the laws are going to be for the Gentiles, that would be us.
Men from Judea had come forth and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved,” it’s The Law.
The disciples and the church officials all came together to meet and discuss and debate and decide what to do with the Gentiles. And Peter rose up and said, “Brothers, you know that some time ago God chose me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear The message of the gospel and believe.
And God, who knows the heart, has testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us and he made no distinction between them and us, cleansing their hearts by faith.
So now why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?
You just gotta love Peter. Thank You Lord! Notice, according to Peter, God gave the Gentiles, that’s me and you, the Holy Ghost just as He did the Jews, making no distinction between us and cleansing our hearts by faith.
He continues…..On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they are.
As I continued to read, I see where Peter, Barnabas, Paul, James, Judas, Silas John (Mark) and Simeon were all were speaking out to help the Gentiles and speaking forth what God had shared with them through His Spirit.
(Note: They were moving by what they were hearing in their spirit from Yahweh. He was directing them on what they were to tell the Gentiles was required of them in the church)
In verse 19 Wherefore my sentence is that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God.
Here it comes, what Peter said Gentiles have to do:
Verse 20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
The meeting continues and the all seem to agree with what the plan is now for the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cillicia:
24) They even sent out letters saying: Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law, to whom we gave NO SUCH COMMANDMENT.
There were those who were trying to put the law of Moses on the Gentiles, but by the Spirit of God the disciples knew better. It was the battle between the flesh/doctrines of man and the Spirit of God over the Gentiles. Peter continues:
25) It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26) Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27) We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
28) For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you NO greater burden than these NECESSARY THINGS.
(And this is what is necessary for us Gentiles per the Holy Spirit of God given through the disciples)
29) That ye abstain from MEATS OFFERED TO IDOLS,
and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
HALLELUJAH!!!!!!
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I leave you with Revelation 2:14 to ponder:
I can already hear you, “What about Peter’s Vision in Acts chapter 10.” That is coming in Part 3.