By Nathaniel Akers
In the Book of Revelation, God reveals to His servant John
One of the primary criticisms of Jezebel given in Revelation was that she misled people into sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. (Revelation 2:20) It’s no wonder the focus has been on the first of those two. Sex sells, after all, and not many people have to worry about temptation to idol worship in modern America
Food sacrificed to idols created considerable problems in the early church, even though Christians did not participate in the sacrifices themselves. At the council of Jerusalem, one of the four things the apostles determined they should tell new Gentile Christians to avoid was “food sacrificed to idols.” (Acts 15:29) Paul devoted three chapters of 1 Corinthians to the subject. Clearly it was considered a most important topic.
Most of Paul’s discussion addressed the freedom believers had in Christ and when to decline exercising that freedom for the sake of another person’s conscience. He began by acknowledging that idols were nothing, there being only one real God. Therefore, eating meat that had been sacrificed to an idol had no significance in terms of one’s faith. (1 Corinthians 8:4-6)
However, before their conversion, some believers had worshiped those idols and might find any kind of association with their old lifestyle either offensive to their new faith or a temptation to return to the old. Paul recommended shunning such meals in order to avoid causing problems for these new believers. (1 Corinthians 8:7-13) In chapter 10, he further elaborated by suggesting that when a Christian was invited to dinner, he should simply not ask where the meat came from. Just quietly enjoy the meal. However, if someone pointed out that the food had been sacrificed to an idol, that would be an indication that the person might have a problem with it, and you should decline to eat it. (1 Corinthians 10:23-30)
Food Sacrificed to idol:
1. represented the old practices [the unchanged mind and practices of the old man (carnal man- carnal mind)] that worshiped things other than the true and living GOD...stay away from you old practices of worshiping what GOD despises; food prepared contrary to GOD's dietary laws.
Paul’s treatment of the subject raises a few questions. In 8:10, he referred to “eating in an idol’s temple.” Why would a Christian ever be in a pagan temple, eating or otherwise? Also, if eating food sacrificed to idols was nothing, why did the apostles place such great emphasis on abstaining from it, and why did Jesus reprimand those in both Pergamum (Revelation 2:14) and Thyatira for the practice? Was Paul establishing criteria different from the rest of the church?
As might be expected, there is more to this food than is readily apparent. Several types of meals made use of food sacrificed to idols, and not all were harmless fellowship. The meals ranged from simple dinners in private homes to lavish banquets and public religious rituals. Even private dinner parties had the potential to involve idol worship in some form.
“Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience.” (1 Corinthians 10:25)
The evidence suggests that there were two kinds of meat available when a person went shopping. Varro, writing about husbandry in the first century B.C., identified two different destinations for cattle. Some were intended for normal butcher shops and others were “being fattened for the public sacrifices.” (Varro, Rerum Rusticarum 2.1) Butchers who bought cattle for normal sale were more concerned with the health of the animal. “Those who buy for the altar do not usually stipulate for health in their victims.” (Rerum Rusticarum 2.5) Though it wasn’t directly stated, meat offered to idols and resold in the marketplace would be less expensive, but there was also less assurance of quality.
2. These sacrifices apparently did end up in the marketplace, sold at a discount and the proceeds considered part of the income for the priest or for the temple. STARVING THOSE IN THE PRIESTHOOD AND REJECTING GOD'S LEVITICUS CODE.
Emoluments having shares in the sacrifices: “Likewise they remit to holders of honorable offices, or of posts as prophet or scribe, or of other sacred offices in the temples, the arrears owed in the temples for the emoluments demanded on certain occasions.”
WE will give to pagans, demons, the fallen what belongs to the prophet, priest, or King.
Sometimes it is better to not know where the food came from.Paul believed that the sacrifice did not make the meat any better or worse than other food. He advocated not even asking where the meat came from. This seems to be the type of food intended in 1 Corinthians 8, the discounted meat sold to the public after it had been sacrificed.
Eating foods sacrificed to idols was almost like a public consent. Stop publicly consenting to things that you know are not GOD.
Unfortunately for early Christians, meals often had overt connections to idol worship, and this was the type of meat that concerned James and the other apostles. Public sacrifice to pagan gods usually involved a banquet. The feast was an integral part of the ritual and was often spoken of in ancient literature. ( Memorable Deeds and Sayings 2.2.9; 2.4.5; Ovid, Fasti 2.512-532; 6.169-182; Livy, The History of Rome 25.12; to name a few.Religious implications spilled into private meals as well. Describing the way a family sacrifice should be made...
Eating sacrificed meat meant consuming what is offered as a sign of solidarity, stop taking what the Devil has offered your appetite.
It also meant taking the practices of what you have been taught. RITUALS AND CEREMONIES NOT TAUGHT BY GOD. Religious implications spilled into private meals as well. Describing the way a family sacrifice should be made, Cato the Elder spoke of the importance of the meal. “After the ceremony is over,” he instructed, “consume the offering on the spot at once.”
NOTE: In the book of Enoch GOD is very upset that Semaja (the leader of the run away angels, who ran to human women out of lust) and the other run away's have come and taught mankind all kinds of seducing and destructive arts.
Clearly such a meal carried religious implications a little different from simply getting together with friends. Added to that was the fact that many dinner gatherings were held in temples.
Banqueting halls were built for religious banquets and used for feast celebrations of all kinds, not unlike the way church reception halls are used for things like wedding receptions or anniversaries today.The idea of meals being shared with a god permeated most of Roman society. Simple dinner invitations often alluded to the presence of gods. “The god calls you to a banquet,” read one such invitation. (P.Köln I 57) In another, Chaeremon invited his guests to “dinner at the table of the lord Sarapis,” a Greek-Egyptian god. (P.Oxy. I 110) To the Roman mind, every time a meal was prepared, it commemorated a relationship to the gods.
Paul and James were aware of these other aspects of food sacrificed to idols. “Flee from idolatry,” Paul wrote. (1 Corinthians 10:14) One who ate the sacrificial food in the context of worship participated in the altar to which the food was sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 10:18) Which meant association with demons.“The sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.” (1 Corinthians 10:20).The term for these sacrificial offerings was eidolothutos. The history of this word, however, indicates nuances of meaning slightly different in the first century than the modern meaning. he Latin word for “sacrifice,” sacrificare, was not limited to the act of slaughtering an animal. It referred to any act by which something was put into the possession of a god. (Greek and Roman Animal Sacrifice: Ancient Victims, Modern Observers, pp. 92-93)On the surface, Paul appears to have taken two views on the subject. On the one hand, food offered to idols was nothing and could be eaten with a clean conscience, as long as it did not offend others. On the other hand, eating sacrificial meat was participating in the altar of demons. Underlying his comments in 1 Corinthians is the implication that motivation matters. Many considerations might prompt Christians to participate in various meals with their pagan friends or associates. It might be good for business to network with others. It might enhance social standing and prestige to be seen with the “right” people. Some might have craved the entertainment of Roman banquets.
Your participation in the rituals and ceremonies of those that worship demons and are against GOD. It is clear that the teachings, rituals, and belief was at the center of what GOD was talking about in the bible in the sacrifices of thins sacrificed to idols. TACID APPROVAL
The term “food offered to idols” also appears in 1 Corinthians 8:1,1 Corinthians 8:4,1 Corinthians 8:7,1 Corinthians 8:10 and 1 Corinthians 10:19 (some manuscripts include it in 1 Corinthians 10:28 ). At Corinth, Paul had plunged into the pagan world in an attempt to bring them the message of Christ. Probably most of his converts were acquainted with the practice of using the leftover portions of a sacrifice for sale or celebration. It is not difficult to imagine a problem emerging as to whether a Christian was doing wrong by the public or private use of food that had been devoted to a pagan deity.
Can a persons faith be put on display by what he or she eats or drinks whether in private or in publc, it is the practice that GOD is concerned with, the rituals was are counter intuitive to everything instructed in Leviticus and practice first hand by JESUS CHRIST.
Causing a weaker brother to sin. In 1 Corinthians 8:4-13, Paul clarifies the teaching on this subject. First, he says that eating meat offered to an idol is not immoral, because “an idol is nothing at all.” An idol is an inanimate object. “Food,” he says, “does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.” The meat itself is amoral. However, there is more to consider, namely the brother with a weak conscience. Some believers, especially those with a background of idol worship, were still very sensitive concerning this issue and considered it morally wrong to eat meat sacrificed to idols. Under no circumstances, Paul says, should a believer encourage another believer to violate his conscience. To the pure, all things are pure (Titus 1:15), but to one with a weak conscience, meat taken from pagan temples was spiritually defiled. It would be better never to eat meat again than to cause a believer to sin against his conscience.
Why is it that the deepest revelation comes at a time when a person is experiencing great personal persecution. There is something about intense human suffering that opens the soul to divine understanding. GOD in HIS perfect timing rescues the psyche with hope even though the body might remain in peril or trouble. There is always a breaking before the making it is when this process is completed that GOD begins to use what's inside. Like the cracking of an egg the outer shell is only the protection for what's inside. Treasures lie within the earthen vessel. Revelation therefore is not just a future hope it is the 'crescendo' of GOD's plans for humanity.Paradise is no longer a garden, but a kingdom; Man is not just man but a priest; time is no longer limited but eternal, and JESUS is not just a risen savior but a conquering KING!
Revelation carries a double blessing (Duo-Baracah):
1. reading it aloud to give HOPE to the believes, those suffering for the sake of the gospel.
2.To those who do what they hear in this prophecy
Take the iron of righteous to your wrinkles of sin . For the churches in Revelation represents the spirit of the people. Even though GOD offers mankind a eternal kingdom, Christ's takes great effort in making sure John records the results of HIS disapproval for the action that get's churches( a person) removed from the lamb's book of life and their lights put out. There is hope for the future and also responsibility for the believers to maintain there believers status. This directly contradicts the once saved always saved doctrine (see Ezekiel 33). Revelation therefore written for the believer to find hope in the coming kingdom. Stand firm in a glorious hope and a victorious end. Knowing that CHRIST has conquered all should encourage the saints to hold on to a steadfast faith. One day those clouds won't be a rainstorm they will be the coming of the LORD. The curtain will be pulled back and all the world will see HIM. And even the ones that pierced HIM will behold the coming of the King. No longer these corrupt earthly governments and rulers to a righteous king. No longer tainted with the bloodlines of earthly kings but a divine spiritual bloodline of Christ.
Today most of us have got the church part perfected, the shout, the dance, the praise, the worship in song even our giving and our labor, but where we fail as the church and even as individuals is in PATIENT ENDURANCE. The staying power when things may not play out like we like. The ability to do GOD's will when the only reward is the coming kingdom and a future hope. In the age of prosperity we want it now. Becoming an instant, microwave society where there is no such thing as delayed satisfaction but instant gratification. I am not in authority to criticize, but a observation I can make based on the word of GOD. Our best is yet to come don't become ENAMORED by this world and the lies and seductions that it presents. For instance owning a wonderful home is great but the scriptures teach us that in Christ's FATHERS's house (our GOD) their are many mansions. Just remember we have to be what the Son can take home to His Father as a bride. And let us not be fooled JESUS will say to those who do not follow His commands -I can not take you to my Father for you have worked iniquity.
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