After a walk on the Mediterranean beach front followed by a night of MUCH needed sleep, our bus tour headed north from Tel Aviv to the town of Caesarea. This should not be confused with another town known as Caesarea-Philippi. The former is a town on the Med between Tel Aviv and Haifa, almost solely built by Herod the Great as a summer retreat. The latter is in the northern territory near the Golan Heights.
After personally viewing the ruins of this Roman architecture, there was no doubt in my mind Herod was a master builder. He had literally built his palace out in the Med to more effectively capture the refreshing afternoon breezes--pleasant indeed with the blistering summer temperatures of the region. He had even built a fresh water swimming pool inside his palace and lavish quarters for his guests.
Herod gained much of his vast wealth as a perfume trader. I observed evidence of a massive man made bay capable of harboring large ships from the waves along the sea coast. The ancient loading docks were massive, rivaling many large truck loading docks of our day. Ruins of Roman aqueducts remain to this day as a memorial to the genius of Herod in providing life giving water to a very dry region.
Entertainment was a top priority for the Romans. Nestled directly upon the beach front was the "Circus"--for chariot races. Horses drew their chariots on a man made track overlooking the beach, with grandstands affording an unobstructed view of the Med. It was also here for pure amusement followers of Yeshua were thrown to hungry lions.
For our day, I found one distressing reality for Israel, and a possible personal destiny when I enter His land for good. The ONLY golf course in the entire country is located in Caesarea, built by the Rothchilds family. I don't know how many golf courses Israel could accommodate, but I KNOW it could handle more than one. When time comes to GO HOME, are there any brothers among my readers that would like to help me build some courses?
Aside from all the Roman history of this ancient port city, Caesarea plays a big role in Biblical history as well. With Yeshua and the apostles ministering throughout the land, it is no wonder His gospel of redemption had spread to this city--a center of Roman culture. Not only were Jews in Caesarea among the number of believers. Romans were also included in that number.
Acts 10 speaks of a high ranking officer of the Roman military, Cornelius, as being "a devout man and one who feared YHVH with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to YHVH always", v. 2. It is with the story of this Godly man I wish to expose a great lie perpetrated from within modern Christianity.
Within the Torah of Moses, one can find a detailed list of clean and unclean foods. In regards to dietary commands spelled out in Leviticus, modern teachers use Acts 10 to specifically debunk these Mosaic precepts. They do so by taking out of context what actually happened--in this case, not reading the entire chapter.
Beginning with v. 9, Peter found himself very hungry while on a housetop praying. While others below were making ready for their supper, Peter "fell into a trance". During this encounter, Father gave him a vision of a varied array of birds and animals and told him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat". As a side note, this is the same Peter to whom Yeshua told "Feed My sheep".
This is precisely where modern Christianity stops, so putting forth the lie. If the entire account was read--in context--even a novice student of Yah's Holy Word would realize "food" was NOT the underlying message Father wanted to teach Peter. If the message was a simple message of food, then Father would not have needed to relay the message three times to Peter, v. 16. It seems Peter was still a little slow at "catching on". Remember, Yeshua had to tell Peter three times to "feed My sheep".
It seems strange to me that so called "veterans" of His Word can readily assume this vision repealed the dietary commands of Moses when Peter--the recipient of the vision--didn't even understand the message, v. 17. I don't think Peter would have EVER understood what Father intended if not for a knock on his door at the precise time the vision was concluded, for the third time.
Father clearly understood Peter's confusion and gave him the answer to his question in vv 19-20 when He said, "Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them." Father didn't need to show him the vision a fourth time. It did take three times, but he clearly understood the message.
Upon arrival in Caesarea with his personal escort, he was greeted with a personal invitation from Cornelius to enter his house and preach whatever Father had placed upon his heart. Peter's clear understanding of the vision is recorded in v. 28-29a. "Then he said to them, you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for..."
There you have it! Food is NOT and NEVER was the subject of Peter's vision. Those that support this despicable lie undermine and do away with the very redemption we have in Yeshua. There are those among Jewish circles--and even some Messianic groups--that exclude all gentiles from the blessings of Torah and benefits of redemption. Without this vision of Peter, myriads of millions might have been denied redemption to this day.
Clearly from the beginning, YHVH is the Savior and Messiah of all mankind, not just Israel. As with the rest of Torah, His dietary commandments are still valid. Even if impossible in our days of poisoned and contaminated food, we should do our best to keep these dietary commands, out of our health considerations and pure respect for Father's unchanging precepts. Father says in varied ways more than once, "If you will keep my commandments (Torah), I will not put upon you the diseases of Egypt". Don't let Him have to tell you a fourth time!
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