Are We Allowed to Eat Things Sacrificed to Idols?

(All verses KJV unless otherwise noted.)

Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
(Man's first sins were to believe the devil over & above God, & choose to decide for themselves what's right & wrong, and to disobey God via eating what was forbidden.)

Exodus 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: 15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;

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If only online, I encourage you to please open your bible and read these verses both on our website and in your bible. There is power in reading the real bible. Also, did you pray before beginning to read about this specific subject today? If not, I encourage you to take the time now to pray for understanding of truth.

Numbers 25:1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. 2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.

Psalm 106:28 They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. 29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.

Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

Jeremiah 16:18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.

Acts 15:29 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.

Acts 21:25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

1 Cor. 8:1-13
1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods many, and lords many,
6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.
9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.
10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;
11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.

1 Cor. 10:19-33
19 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
24 Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.
25 Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake:
26 For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.
27 If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.
28 But if any man say unto you, this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof:
29 Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?
30 For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?
31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Rev. 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. (Points to Numbers 25:1-2 & 31:16)

: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.

Did Paul Teach That We Can Knowingly Eat Things Sacrificed to Idols?

In a way, it does seem that way. But if he did teach that, we have the words of Jesus Himself who refutes such doctrine. Paul was not God on Earth, but Jesus is God, and I trust the words of Jesus more! Paul was only human and fully capable of making mistakes. But Jesus is not capable of making mistakes! Not only do we have the words of Jesus but we also have the words of the Jerusalem council. So we have more passages which completely refute the possibility that we are allowed to eat things sacrificed to idols, than the number of bible passages where it seems to teach that we are allowed to eat those things sacrificed to idols.

The main point that Paul was trying to make is that if we do not know where the meat came from that we are to have a good conscience toward God that food is nothing and no evil thing has power over us, therefore we are to eat it in good conscience.

In Paul's lifetime, he didn't have the Halal Mark like we do today. The Halal Mark openly tells us that the product is sacrificed and dedicated unto Satan, not just to lifeless idols. The Halal Mark is much different than what Paul was dealing with. Paul was dealing with the situation of meats being sold in the market that had not been labeled and was not yet under Islamic Sharia Law. Those sacrifices may have been a foreshadowing, but they were not yet the full fulfillment of what we are dealing with today in the sense of the Mark of the Beast. So in our situation in modern times, dealing with the Mark of the Beast and things sacrificed to the devil, no, we are not allowed to knowingly and willingly eat things sacrificed to idols, nor to the devil. I trust the words of Jesus on this, both in Paul's lifetime and in our lifetime, and regardless of any confusion of what Paul meant and didn't mean. I trust the words of Jesus!

Objection: It's only a matter of conscience. If we are eating that food in the partaking of purposely eating unto idols, only then is it sin. It's not a sin if we are not eating it for the purpose of idol worship.
Answer: If this objection is correct, then the same must be true also of Christmas and Easter. Yet we know that Christmas and Easter are both demonic holidays and sin regardless of whether or not you celebrate them to Satan, because the truth is, these ancient Assyrian pagan holidays are to Satan regardless of what the person is doing with their conscience. People excuse their pagan worship by saying that it's only a matter of the heart and mind, your intent, your conscience. The same objector will say that Christmas & Easter is totally different because it's not food, and because the Christmas & Easter worshipper are doing things in a religious context of worship, whereas the modern person who eats things sacrificed to idols is not doing so in a religious context. But this excuse does not hold water, because my point is still true that it's not a matter of what your intent is, something that is defiled is still defiled regardless of intent. Instead of focusing totally on Paul's confusing statements, we must focus on the words of Jesus Himself who made no exceptions! The words of Jesus weren't confusing at all, and did not conflict with the statement of the Jerusalem council. Paul could have been wrong, or misunderstood, but Jesus cannot be wrong, and His words in Rev.2:14,20 cannot be misunderstood. So on this topic, I trust fully in the words of Jesus Himself. If the words of Jesus and Paul seem to contradict, the words of Jesus are more authoritative. The words of the Jerusalem Council are also more authoritative than the words of Paul. The words of Paul do not supersede the words of the Jerusalem Council and Jesus.

Objection: Jesus said in Matthew 15:11 "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."
Answer: This is generally true that what we put in our mouth cannot spiritually defile us. But it's not always true without exception. We know that the bible also says in 1 Cor. 6:10 "Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." Very clearly, alcohol has defiled some people to the extent that they cannot enter the kingdom unless they repent & are delivered. We also know that drug addicts will also not enter the kingdom for the same reason that they have allowed things that entered their mouth & bloodstream to corrupt them. But with alcohol, it doesn't defile the person with just one drop unless you are already an alcoholic. But with illegal drugs, they do defile the person immediately because they are making extremely foolish decisions that are going to result in their destruction. With eating things sacrificed unto idols, it eventually leads the person & the people around them, to purchase & eat Halal Marked foods, thus submitting to Islamic Sharia Law of buying & selling in partaking in the Mark of the Beast. Acts 15 & 21 and Revelation 2 are very clear that eating things sacrificed unto idols is forbidden. We cannot allow Paul's confusing words to mislead us toward disobeying Jesus or to teach other people doctrines that will lead them to partaking in the mark of the beast. How can we tell someone that eating foods sacrificed to idols is acceptable this week, but in 6 months or a year from now that it's not acceptable due to new local enforcement of Islamic Sharia Law? Is it Sharia Law that regulates whether or not that we can eat things sacrificed to idols or is it the bible that regulates it? Why is it not sin one month, but it is sin another month?

Objection: It's impossible that Paul could have been wrong because the bible says that all scripture is inspired of God and the entire bible is the word of God which is all true.
Answer: 2 Tim.3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Official Edict of the End Time Church In Paul's lifetime, there was the Jerusalem Council that made official declarations. In our lifetime, Apostle Zimmerman has the same authority to make declarations. Soon, Apostle Zimmerman will step aside, as the 2 Witnesses will take his place as the main apostles of the end time church. Apostle Zimmerman will remain an apostle and continue his ministry in private, but will no longer be available to the general public. This is what Jesus has ordained and is not Apostle Zimmerman's choice or decision to make. He must pass the baton to the 2 Witnesses.

Edict #1: Any person who teaches that we are permitted to knowingly eat things sacrificed to idols, or to Allah, must be cast out of the church until they repent. In this day of the Mark of the Beast, such a dangerous doctrine cannot be tolerated. So be it, in Jesus' Name.

Please click to learn about the Halal Mark of the Beast

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Are We Allowed to Eat Things Sacrificed to Idols? Copyright 2018 I Saw The Light Ministries