Are any foods prohibited from consumption by the New Testament?  I once visited a church where the members were debating whether eating rare beef was prohibited because of the presence of blood.  Is this splitting hairs?  Is it merely cultural that we do not eat certain animals such as horses, or is there Biblical basis in this?  I believe I’m recalling Old Testament Law which specified eating only animals with “cloven hooves”?

Sincerely,
Nom Nom Nom

Dear Nom Nom Nom,

The Old Testament laws concerning what could and could not be eaten can be found in Lev. 11, but there is only one type of food that christians cannot eat – blood (Acts 15:29Acts 15:29
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
29 that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well.  

WP-Bible plugin).  When an animal is killed, some cultures will strangle the animal so as to keep the blood in the meat, as opposed to draining the blood out.  It is probably a misunderstanding on what it means to eat the meat with the blood that caused the discussion that you mentioned over rare beef.  Things like blood sausage, blood soup, blood stew, etc. are popular dishes in some countries, but eating them is wrong.  All meat is clean for New Testament christians (Mk 7:19Mk 7:19
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19 because it goeth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught? [This he said], making all meats clean.  

WP-Bible plugin), but blood is not.

Why did God state “I relent making man”… and then the Flood?

Sincerely,
Waterlogged

Dear Waterlogged,

Mankind broke God’s heart in the days preceding the Flood (Gen 6:6Gen 6:6
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6 And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Every thought and intention of that generation was on violence and evil (Gen 6:11Gen 6:11
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11 And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Everyone had become corrupt (except Noah), and God decided to destroy them and start over with Noah (Gen 6:12-13Gen 6:12-13
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12 And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. ¹³ And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.  

WP-Bible plugin).  God repented (‘repent’ means ‘change your mind’) from blessing mankind because He saw that their wickedness was so great (Gen 6:7Gen 6:7
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7 And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them.  

WP-Bible plugin).  God promises us He will never destroy the world with water again (Gen 9:13-16Gen 9:13-16
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13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, ¹⁵ and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.  

WP-Bible plugin).  The next time God destroys the world, it will be burned up in fire at the second coming of Christ (2 Pet 3:102 Pet 3:10
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10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up.  

WP-Bible plugin).

In Exodus 20:8-11Exodus 20:8-11
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8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹ for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.  

WP-Bible plugin, the fourth commandment says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you will labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God.  For in six days, the Lord made all the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.  Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day and hallowed it.”

Why don’t all Christians observe and worship Him on the Sabbath, which would be the seventh day, which is Saturday?  Also, when did this change to worshipping our Lord on Sunday happen, and who changed that?

Sincerely,
One Day At A Time

Dear One Day At A Time,

The Sabbath was a holy day for the Jews, not for Christians.  The Old Testament has a myriad of laws that are no longer binding in the New Testament: animal sacrifice, clean and unclean foods, and various festivals… just to name a few.  2 Cor 3 is an entire chapter devoted to explaining how the Old Law has been surpassed by the New Law.  2 Cor 3:32 Cor 3:3
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3 being made manifest that ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables [that are] hearts of flesh.  

WP-Bible plugin especially clarifies the issue when it states that our law is “not in tables of stone”, a direct reference to the Ten Commandments that were written on stone tablets.

Gal 3:24-25Gal 3:24-25
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24 So that the law is become our tutor [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now faith that is come, we are no longer under a tutor.  

WP-Bible plugin makes it clear that the Old Law was a tutor to bring mankind to Christ, but now that Christ has come, we are no longer under that tutor.  The Sabbath is a part of that Old Law.  In the New Testament, christians meet on the first day of the week to worship, take the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7Acts 20:7
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7 And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight.  

WP-Bible plugin), and take up a collection (1 Cor 16:1-21 Cor 16:1-2
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16 ¹ Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye. ² Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.  

WP-Bible plugin).  In short: different covenants, different days.

The Old Testament law given by Moses was a covenant with the Jews (Deu 5:1-5Deu 5:1-5
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5 ¹ And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and observe to do them. ² Jehovah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. ³ Jehovah made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. ⁴ Jehovah spake with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, ⁵  saying,  

WP-Bible plugin).  The New Testament law given in Christ is for all of mankind (Acts 2:38-39Acts 2:38-39
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38 And Peter [said] unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him.  

WP-Bible plugin).

Who changed the law?  God did.

When did it change?  When the church began.

I have a friend who speaks about the Bible having figurative language in it.  How would you respond to this comment?

Sincerely,
Mr. Metaphor

Dear Mr. Metaphor,

The Bible does use figurative language, but so do you.  Every time you say, “I’m dead on my feet”, “That guy really missed the boat”, or “I’m as happy as a lark” – you are using figurative language.  Figurative language is a normal part of human conversation.  The Bible uses it just like you do.  The important thing to remember is that speech can only be considered figurative in certain circumstances.

1. If the writer or speaker specifically tells you that the language is figurative.  For example, Rev 1:1Rev 1:1
   English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
   The Revelation to St. John ^{1 1} The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show unto his servants, [even] the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his servant John;  
   
   WP-Bible plugin says that the things in the book are ‘signified’, a word in Greek that means ‘symbolized’.
2. Context demands that it be considered figurative… like when Jesus says that we are “the salt of the earth” (Matt 5:13Matt 5:13
   English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
   13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men.  
   
   WP-Bible plugin).  It wouldn’t make sense if He were trying to say that people are literally made of salt.

Bible writings should be considered literal unless there is a reason to believe otherwise – just like normal writings.  There is nothing wrong with saying the Bible uses figurative language; it is just important that we don’t assume something is figurative.  Always assume literal unless proven otherwise.

Did Jesus modify the Old Law, the Ten Commandments, and the Torah when He said, “I have come to fulfill the law {the ten commandments}”?

Sincerely,
Pending Change

Dear Pending Change,

Jesus didn’t modify/change the Old Testament – He fulfilled it (Matt 5:17Matt 5:17
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17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are the fulfillment of everything of which the prophets of old spoke (1 Pet 1:10-121 Pet 1:10-12
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10 Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that [should come] unto you: ¹¹ searching what [time] or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them. ¹² To whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they minister these things, which now have been announced unto you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven; which things angel desire to look into.  

WP-Bible plugin, Acts 3:20-21Acts 3:20-21
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20 and that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, [even] Jesus: ²¹ whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets that have been from of old.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Moses said that there would come a day when a Messiah would come… and that when He came, the Jews were to follow Christ instead (Acts 3:22-24Acts 3:22-24
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22 Moses indeed said, A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me. To him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you. ²³ And it shall be, that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. ²⁴ Yea and all the prophets from Samuel and them that followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament by being the Messiah and paying the price for mankind’s sins.  The Old Testament was a tutor to lead us to Christ (Gal 3:24Gal 3:24
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24 So that the law is become our tutor [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  

WP-Bible plugin), but now that Christ is here, He has fulfilled the law, and we are no longer bound by its laws (Gal 3:25Gal 3:25
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25 But now faith that is come, we are no longer under a tutor.  

WP-Bible plugin).

I am confused on the story about the missing day.  I heard that there is a story about God stopping the sun for a day, so that someone (sorry I am not sure who it was; Joshua, I think) could win a battle.  I have read that NASA has confirmed that it is true that they have found what they have called a “missing day” which would prove the story to be true.  I am confused about this story and the NASA findings.  If you google NASA and the lost Bible day, you will see what I am talking about; thanks for the help.

Sincerely,
Marking Time

Dear Marking Time,

The Bible story is found in Josh 10:12-13Josh 10:12-13
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12 Then spake Joshua to Jehovah in the day when Jehovah delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon. ¹³ And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.  

WP-Bible plugin, but the NASA story is an urban legend.  As unbelievably cool as it would be if it were true, NASA never found that the solar system was missing a day in its rotations.  The whole story is based off of scientists finding an error while calculating the positions of the sun, moon, planets, etc.  The story has an exciting ring to it, but it is false.  Christians are supposed to love the truth (2 Thess 2:102 Thess 2:10
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10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  

WP-Bible plugin) and only speak the truth (Eph 4:15Eph 4:15
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15 but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, [even] Christ;  

WP-Bible plugin).  As appealing as it might be to tell you this story is true, we here at AYP have to be honest and tell you that it is a hoax.  The sun really did stand still for Joshua, but this urban legend isn’t proof.