Acts 10 Controversy

part 1


This past Shabbat, I had the incredible opportunity to spend several hours with Avi ben Mordechai (author of Messiah volumes 1-3). He is probably the one of the deepest individuals I have ever been blessed with the opportunity to meet. We discussed very intensely Acts chapter 10, and I would like to present these ideas to you.

Of course many of you know that Acts 10 has been used by the ch-rch to prove that G-d did away with Kashrut (Kosher) mitzvot (laws). And amongst some messianic circles (the observant anyway) it is taught that this idea is wrong because HaShem gave the interpretation to the dream, and that interpretation is that the gentiles are clean. However, I will present the more mystical ideas behind the reasoning WHY HaShem presented Kepha with that conclusion, as well as clarify the conclusion itself (which I believe is slightly misconstrued).

Let's start with Act 10:

"9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance."

There is some type of a reoccuring theme of hunger. If any of you have an insight into this, please share...

"11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners."

Now this is interesting...
It actually says in the Greek, that the "heavens" not heaven opened. This is in reference to mystical esoteric Judaism, but we will not go too deep into that aspect. Suffice it to say that in Midrash Rabbah Ecclesiastes 9:8 (a parable about wedding garments) we can determine that this "something like a sheet" is a tallit, as we can see it has four courners.
But, back to the meat of the subject... (sorry for the rabbit trail)

"12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air."

This is where I believe the heart of the matter lays within.
What are these four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds? What do they represent? Why specifically are these creatures listed?

Let us first turn to Tehillim (psalms) 115:1-8

"1 Not to us, O L-RD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.
2 Why do the nations say, "Where is their G-d?"
3 Our G-d is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.
4 But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see;
6 they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell;
7 they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. "

Take special note of vs. 8...
They will become like that which they worship. Now turn with me to Romans 1

"18 The wrath of G-d is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness..."

Just a note: in order to suppress the truth, you must first have the truth. So this is speaking of those who have had the truth, but now suppress the truth.

"19 since what may be known about G-d is plain to them, because G-d has made it plain to them.
20 For since the creation of the world G-d's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

One way in which we interpret (well, this should be the only way) the Brit Chadasha is by using the Tanach as our dictionary. Interestingly, in the Hebrew Brit Chadasha the word behind "men" in vs. 20 is "adam" not "ish". Adam (man) is ONLY used in reference to Yisra'el, never to refer to gentiles... never.
It is a term soley used for referal to Yisra'el only.

Now, if you also look at Zech. 10 you will see the story of Ephraim, or the dispersed of Yisrael. These are the Jews who were a dispersed (now of the diaspora) group among the nations, or Jews who blended into the secular world by not returning after the release from Babylon. There are many many prophecies of the regathering of Yisra'el. In fact, it is this group which Y'shua was primarily interested in reaching:

Mattiyahu 15:25 "I was sent ONLY to the Lost Sheep of Yisrael."

(to be continued...)

continued...)

So, here (rom. 1) we have a group that is clearly referred to as Yisra'el, yet has forsaken Torah... a group I think is obviously the dispersion (or any of Yisra'el unfaithful to Torah, but mainly in reference to the dispersion as so many prophecies are in alignment).
Let us continue in Rom.1:

"21 For although they knew G-d, they neither glorified him as G-d nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal G-d for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles."

AHA! Here we are...
so, this group that was given Torah, but has forsaken (or suppressed) Torah has fallen into worship of: birds, animals, and reptiles....
remember psalms 115? They became what they worshipped?
Let's continue...

"24 Therefore G-d gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
25 They exchanged the truth of G-d for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen."

Here we have it! They WORSHIPPED these created beings, as opposed to the Creator Being.
Now let's take a look at Ezekiel 34

"7 `Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the L-RD:
8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign L-RD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock...
11 "`For this is what the Sovereign L-RD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them....
28 They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid.
29 I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.
30 Then they will know that I, the L-RD their G-d, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign L-RD.
31 You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign L-RD.'"

and Hosea 2 (which many of you are familiar with):
"23 I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called `Not my loved one. ' I will say to those called `Not my people, ' `You are my people'; and they will say, `You are my G-d.'"

Now, according to 1st century Halacha, those of the dispersion were called not His people... even though Jewish by birth, they were rejected as being Jews. We know this is the dispersion because chapter 1 says:
"10 "Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, `You are not my people,' they will be called `sons of the living G-d.'
11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel."

We can even tie this in even tighter... look again at ch. 2:18
"In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety."

So, it is with the people who had Torah, who WERE a part of Yisra'el, who suppressed or rejected Torah, that HaShem is now making this covenant with! The people who are called birds, beasts, and reptiles!

We even have final proof from Acts 10 as well...
"28
He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But G-d has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean..."

Again, the word in the Hebrew texts is "adam", not "ish"... thus Cornelius was a part of the dispersion. Maybe he didn't know it, but he WAS! Maybe many of you who are turning to Torah (and I'm not saying this as factually) are a part of the dispersion. Many many people who have been empassioned to follow Torah in these times have looked through their family history and have found that they do in fact have Jewish blood. Now, I am not in support of the 10 tribes theories, replacement theology, or any of that nonesense. But it is very likely that if your heart has been captured for Torah that you are a part of Yisrael's bloodline and do not know it.
Again, specifically we can see that this is speaking of the Diaspora because in first century Judaism there was no halacha against a Jew associating with a gentile. However, the half-breed Jewish/gentiles (samaratins) or any Jew who had left Yisra'el, was to be considered as dead. A Jew was strictly not allowed to associate with such people. Since Kepha states clearly that it was against their law (halacha) to associate with Cornelius, we can see that he is making a reference to the halacha against the dispersed Jews.
Now, gentiles have always been allowed to join themselves to Yisra'el either through conversion, or what is known as a righteous gentile (and there was even a specific place in the Temple set aside for the righeous gentile). Thus, I am in no way excluding gentiles from the kingdom, the door has always been open, and always will be. But in acts 10, something very different was going on.

Finally, the statement made in the vision:
"Get up, Kepha, Kill and eat." vs. 13

there is also something else going on behind these scenes. If Ha Shem desired Kepha to actually eat unclean food, you would have seen that as:
1) the conclusion of the dream
2) a HUGE ordeal made about unclean animals now food...
yet, neither are EVER addressed... ever.

So what does it mean to kill and eat?
Is anyone here familiar with Zevach Shalamim? This is what is called the peace offering.
This is where one side of the two parties makes a sacrafice, then they eat the sacrafice together. This can be seen in Bere****h (gen.) 31:51-54

What I believe Ha Shem was showing was that Kepha was to go and make peace with those who were cut off from being called G-d's people. In other words, to make a Zevach Shalamim... or Shalom.
We can also see this as a continual struggle for Kepha, when we read on into Gal. 2.

Again, maybe someone has an insight into this "hunger" thing that came up in the beginning. I'd like to hear some ideas on it!

Hopefully, the waters are clearer and not muddier concerning Acts 10.

PLEASE share your thoughts, and tell me what you think of all this.

Shalom to you as you weigh this out in your minds,
Japheth

p.s. I owe many of the ideas presented to Avi ben Mordechai. He revealed much of this to me in our discussions. I consider him a dear friend... shalom achi Avi!!!

I'll take a look.

Oh, and btw, how do I load an avatar from my computer onto this site for my profile? I found where I could choose one from a list, but not where I could load one.

The points system was kinda confusing, but I took some quizzes just to get a signature... lol...

Heh, I am not SDA. I am Jewish, and purely Jewish in theology. and no, not messy in theology.

Well, the Aliyah thread gives more of a background to the 'not messianic' comment, but that's aside from this topic....

The SDA's teach that the Acts 10 passage was referring to the halachah being torn down concerning the gathering of Gentiles and Jews.

However, in the first century no such halacha existed... at least in the traditional understanding of 'gentile'. What it does in fact refer to is that Jews were not allowed to associate with a Jew who had left the Torah and became a part of the Diaspora. The Jews that had become a part of the Dispersion were then viewed as 'gentiles' and the halacha towards not associating with a 'gentile' is directed towards that specific group of people.

Granted, one who is not familiar with Jewish Mishnaic oral tradition would not understand this aspect. What the essence of my post thrusted towards was the fact that Cornelius was actually a part of the dispersed Jews. We can see this through the prophetic language used, through the symbols in the vision, and even through the region he was located within...

but we can discuss more of that when people ask questions.

Shalom Ratioann,
Yafet.

There is another huge discussion to be had concerning the word "hellen" in the Greek Brit Chadasha.

Before I post more on that I need to check with the Aramaic (and possibly see if there's a hebrew equivalent) Brit Chadasha to confirm some new ideas.

shalom,
Yafet.

I've got quite a huge study I'm going to post very soon on "hellen"... I just didn't want anyone to think I forgot about it...

well, not exactly a 'study' but rather some intersting thoughts from my Greek classes.

Shalom,
Yafet.