{"id":2355,"date":"2016-08-29T07:04:24","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T12:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/?page_id=2355"},"modified":"2025-08-18T07:11:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T12:11:09","slug":"breadfood-and-wine","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine","title":{"rendered":"Bread, Food, Wine and Oil"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>THREE KINDS OF FOOD<\/strong><br \/>\nBecause food is such a constant in our physical lives, we must work hard to avoid the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-2\">default interpretation<\/a> of thinking of Biblical references to food as physical food. The challenge is to interpret the symbolic meanings of natural foods as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+4:1-4;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+exodus+15:26;+exodus+23:21;+exodus+19:5;+jeremiah+7:23\">spiritual food that comes from the mouth of God <\/a>or as food\/meat\/things <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=genesis+9:4;+leviticus+3:16-17;+leviticus+7:26;+leviticus+17:10-14;+leviticus+19:26;+deuteronomy+12:16-27;+deuteronomy+15:23;+1-samuel+14:34;+psalm+50:13;+ezekiel+33:25;+ezekiel+39:17-19\">with blood in it<\/a> that is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=acts+15:28-29;+acts+21:25;+1-corinthians+8:1;+1-corinthians+8:4;+1-corinthians+8:10;+1-corinthians+10:28;+revelation+2:14;+revelation+2:20\">sacrificed to idols<\/a> that comes from false prophets. This challenge is further complicated with the existence of soulish food that, seems like spiritual food to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=UNDISCERNING&amp;ie=utf-8&amp;oe=utf-8&amp;safe=vss\">undiscerning<\/a> palate but is actually a deceptive imitation of the real thing.<\/p>\n<p>The topic appears often in the Bible, especially in Old\/First Covenant books where the Hebrew word &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/maakal.html\">ma&#8217;akal<\/a>&#8221; appears twenty-nine times and is most often translated into English as meat, food and fruit. A second Hebrew word &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/nas\/lechem.html\">lechem<\/a>&#8221; appears two hundred and ninety-seven times with the most common English translations being &#8220;bread, &#8220;food&#8221; and &#8220;meat.&#8221; In the New Testament, on the other hand, the Greek word &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/trophe.html\">trophe<\/a>&#8221; is the word translated in English as food and it appears only sixteen times as food, nourishment and meat. A second Greek word &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/artos.html\">Arto<\/a>s&#8221; is typically translated as &#8220;bread&#8221; but never as food or meat. These various translations only add to our confusion about the meaning of food.<\/p>\n<p>If we who live in these modern times are confused about what God meant when he included these Hebrew and Greek words in the Bible, we should not be discouraged or embarrassed because the scholars who translated from the original Hebrew and Greek texts were also confused. Thus we find a wide variety of translations of the Hebrew and Greek words in different versions of the Bible. The Greek word &#8220;artos,&#8221; for example translated as &#8220;meat&#8221; in the King James Version and as &#8220;food&#8221; in the New International and Revised Standard versions. What that suggests is that agreeing on a strictly literal interpretation of words translated as food will be difficult and unnecessary.<\/p>\n<p>We dare say &#8220;unnecessary&#8221; because <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\">literal interpretations of the Bible are not important &#8212; <\/a>except that they lead us to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">listening to God&#8217;s voice<\/a> which explains to us the true, symbolic meaning of a word. Therefore, the God&#8217;s spoken word is what we really want and need. Our challenge, then, is to discover (i.e. listen for) the spiritual meanings of the words that are translated as food, meat (e.g quail, animal sacrifices), milk, grain, seed, bread, grain offerings, meat offerings, fruit, honey, manna and wine. Each type of food has its own symbolism that must be understood. We will report our understanding of the spiritual intent of each type of food in some detail in the following pages. But first we must emphasize that God&#8217;s references to food are always spiritual &#8212; whether for good or evil. Here are summary statements that will be explained in later pages:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><strong><a id=\"goodspiritualfood\"><\/a>Good, Clean Spiritual Food<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+4:1-4;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+luke+4:1-4\">Comes directly from the mouth of God.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>May also be served (i.e. spoken) by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">true prophets<\/a>,<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/angels\"> angels<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/messiah\">messiahs<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/the-high-priest\">high priests<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/model-warriors\">warriors<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The bread to which Jesus referred when he said he said he was the bread that came down from heaven.<\/li>\n<li>Also symbolically represented as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/blood\">blood.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Food that God provides supernaturally through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/1-corinthians\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+2:1-15\">power of his Spirit to spiritual people.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/psalms\/23.html\">eaten in God&#8217;s presence by listening to God&#8217;s voice at the table God sets <\/a>in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/place-where-god-will-place-his-name\/4\">heart<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=job+33:4;+ezekiel+37:14;+john+6:63;+romans+8:11;+1-corinthians+15:45;+2-corinthians+3:1-6\">Gives life to the spirit.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/1-corinthians\/2.html\">God&#8217;s wisdom <\/a>revealed to the hearts of people.<\/li>\n<li>Results in positive spiritual growth that results in increased <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+31:31-34;+hebrews+10:15-17;+hebrews+8:7-13\">obedience to God&#8217;s commandments and in increased ability to know God intimately<\/a> and understand <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\">mysteries<\/a> hidden in the Bible.<\/li>\n<li>It is only available to New Covenant disciples (i.e. people who have been <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/the-law-is-a-stumbling-block\/signs-wonders-and-miracles\/5\">born again<\/a>) who <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">listen to God&#8217;s voice.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>It <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+2;+isaiah+64:1-4\">cannot be seen or heard with natural eyes or ears<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>It <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/1-corinthians\/2.html\">cannot be replicated or manipulated by human teachers because it is spiritual<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>It cannot be manufactured, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/proverbs\/23-23.html\">bought or sold<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>It requires no human mediator to teach it or explain it, but <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">True Prophets<\/a> can teach people how to access it.<\/li>\n<li>It <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=psalm+34:8;+psalm+119:103;+hebrews+6:1-5;+1-peter+2:1-3\">tastes sweet, good<\/a> like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=psalm+19:7-11;+psalm+119:97-104;+deuteronomy+32:1-13;+psalm+81\">spiritual honey<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>It <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=psalm+23:1-3;+psalm+19:7;+2-timothy+3\">nourishes the spirits of New Covenant disciples and leads them to righteousness.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Is the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\">fruit<\/a> (i.e. words) of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=proverbs+3:13-18;proverbs+11:30;proverbs+15:4;revelation+2:7\">trees of life<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><strong><a id=\"evilsoulishfood\"><\/a>Evil Soulish Food<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Includes religious teachings, writings and activities that are conceived and implemented by men who practice and promote <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/5#religiouslaws\">religious laws<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Is symbolically eaten by religious people who listen to the words spoken or written by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\">false prophets<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Is based on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\">literal interpretations<\/a> of the Bible.<\/li>\n<li>Is always served by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\">false prophets<\/a> who are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+1:18-27;+1-corinthians+3:18-21;+2-corinthians+1:12;+james+3:13-18;+1-corinthians+2:1-14;+jeremiah+4:19-22;+isaiah+5:20-21;+isaiah+29:14;+isaiah+47:10;+jeremiah+8:9;+proverbs+3:1-7;+romans+1:22\">wise in their own eyes<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=genesis+6:1-5;+genesis+8:21;+ezekiel+13:2-3;+ezekiel+13:17;+deuteronomy+29:18-19;+deuteronomy+31:21;+nehemiah+6:1-8;+proverbs+18:11;+psalm+36:1-4;+jeremiah+3:17;+jeremiah+7:24;+jeremiah+9:13-14;+jeremiah+11:1-8;+jeremiah+13:10;+jeremiah+14:14;+jeremiah+16:11-12;+jeremiah+18:12;+jeremiah+23:16-17;+luke+1:51;+acts+17:29;+jeremiah+27:9-10;+jeremiah+27:14-17;+1-john+4:1;+matthew+7:15;+2-corinthians+11:13-15;+galatians+1:8-9;+ezekiel+13:6;+proverbs+12:6;+proverbs+1:11;+proverbs+1:16;+ecclesiastes+10:12;+jeremiah+23:16;+ezekiel+12:24;+ezekiel+33:31;+revelation+13:1-5;+isaiah+28:7\">speak out of the evil imaginations of their own hearts.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Is typically served and eaten in religious buildings in the context of religious services that include music, rituals and traditions.<\/li>\n<li>Has a <a href=\" https:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/toxicity\/\">toxic<\/a> effect on people who consume it.<\/li>\n<li>Is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-deception\">deceptive<\/a> in its simplicity.<\/li>\n<li>It is only\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\/5\">worldly knowledge &#8212; not Godly knowledge<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>It is the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\">fruit (i.e. words) spoken by Trees of Knowledge of Good and Evil<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Teaching from<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/2\"> unclean animals<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Is<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/6\"> human wisdom &#8212; not Godly wisdom<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Can be seen and heard with natural eyes and ears.<\/li>\n<li>Can be produced, packaged, replicated, transported, bought and sold by anyone.<\/li>\n<li>Is understood by using natural, intellectual abilities of the mind.<\/li>\n<li>Is a source of spiritual death because it does not feed (i.e. give life to) the spirit as only the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:1-3;+deuteronomy+30:15-20;+psalm+119:160;+psalm+119:142;+john+6:63-68;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4;+john+5:24;+deuteronomy+32:45-47;+1-peter+1:22-25;+hebrews+4:12;+1-john+1:1-3;+john+1:1-4\">voice of God can do<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>It tastes good and feels good while producing and consuming it, but it does not feed the spirit.<\/li>\n<li>Only feeds the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/?s=soulish&amp;x=10&amp;y=8\">soulish flesh<\/a> of men (i.e. it makes them feel good and righteous).<\/li>\n<li>Is created by and served by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\">false prophets<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/serpent-devil-satan-adversary-demons-evil-spirits-and-anti-christs\">religious leaders<\/a> for the consumption of religious people.<\/li>\n<li>Is typically distributed through some form of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-commerce\">commercial religion.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Always seeks to advance, protect and preserve religious interests &#8212; especially the interests of religious leaders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><strong>Natural, Physical Food<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>All Biblical references to natural foods are symbolic references to spiritual food and drink.<\/li>\n<li>The Bible uses natural food to communicate spiritual truth through symbolism that follows the &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-2\/2\">first the natural and then the spiritual<\/a>&#8221; principle.<\/li>\n<li>Anyone who interprets references to food and drink as natural food and drink will miss the spiritual meaning that God intends.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>In addition to these distinctions, we must also recognize that natural food can become evil food when it is used for religious purposes in the following circumstances:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/fourth-commandment\/sabbath-fasting-rest\">Fasting<\/a> from natural food as a religious activity.<\/li>\n<li>Eating natural food such as bread in religious rituals (e.g. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Eucharist\">communion\/eucharist<\/a>).<\/li>\n<li>Drinking natural wine as a religious activity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>In these distinctions we see that good spiritual food can only come from God and that empty, evil, unclean, soulish food comes through false prophets who practice, promote and sell religion. These are important distinctions to keep in mind when reading the Bible.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong><a id=\"cleanuncleanholyprofane\"><\/a>DISCERNING BETWEEN CLEAN AND UNCLEAN, HOLY AND PROFANE, SOUL AND SPIRIT, and GOOD AND EVIL (TRUTH AND LIES)<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewfaq.org\/kashrut.htm\">Jews and a few Christians make a big deal out of obeying dietary laws<\/a>. They believe that, by obeying the literal commandments in the Bible about clean and unclean food, they achieve a measure of righteousness. This practice is an excellent example of righteousness gained by works of the flesh (i.e. something done with the physical body), and ignores <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=romans+14:12-17;+mark+7:14-23\">what God has said about all natural foods being clean.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Religious people who subscribe to these practices do not understand that, spiritually speaking, truly clean food only comes directly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=psalm+119:42;+psalm+56:4;+psalm+56:10-11;+psalm+143:8;+proverbs+30:5;+jeremiah+9:20;+isaiah+45:23;+isaiah+55:11;+jeremiah+9:12;+psalm+106:24;+2-samuel+22:31;+psalm+18:30;+psalm+33:4;+deuteronomy+1:32\">from the mouth of God<\/a>. Their only message is that people should <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=exodus+19:5;+exodus+15:26;+deuteronomy+5:1-2;+jeremiah+7:23-26;+jeremiah+11:1-4;+matthew+4:1-4;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+job+22:21-23;+psalm+119:9-13;+psalm+138:4;+isaiah+28:23;+jeremiah+11:1-7;+jeremiah+22:21;+psalm+106:25;+nehemiah+9:29;+jeremiah+11:10;+jeremiah+13:11;+zechariah+7:11;+isaiah+46:12;+matthew+13:15;+exodus+15:22-26\">stop listening to false prophets and return to listening to God for themselves.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Religious people do not understand that unclean food comes from human mediators (i.e. religious leaders\/false prophets) who presume to speak on God&#8217;s behalf and who are accepted as authorities about God and spiritual matters. They do not understand any of the Biblical symbolism regarding clean and unclean food. All they know is food in its literal sense which they wrongly apply to their interpretations of the Bible.<\/p>\n<p>When applying literal interpretations of food to Bible study, religious people fail to understand that all of God&#8217;s biblical warnings about clean and unclean food are his way of teaching his people to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=genesis+22:18;+exodus+23:21-22;+numbers+7:89;+numbers+14:22;+deuteronomy+4:12;+deuteronomy+4:30;+deuteronomy+4:36;+deuteronomy+5:22-26;+deuteronomy+8:20;+deuteronomy+9:23;+deuteronomy+13:4;+deuteronomy+13:18;+deuteronomy+15:5;+deuteronomy+26:14;+deuteronomy+26:17;+deuteronomy+30:20;+joshua+5:6;+joshua+10:14;+joshua+22:2;+joshua+24:24;+psalm+81:11;+psalm+95:7;+psalm+106:25;+jeremiah+3:13;+jeremiah+3:25;+jeremiah+7:23;+jeremiah+7:28;+jeremiah+9:13;+jeremiah+11:4;+jeremiah+11:7;+jeremiah+18:10;+jeremiah+22:20-21;+jeremiah+26:13;+jeremiah+32:23;+jeremiah+40:3;+jeremiah+42:6;+jeremiah+42:13-14;+jeremiah+43:1-7;+jeremiah+44:23;+isaiah+28:23;+isaiah+32:9;+isaiah+55:1-3\">listen to and obey his spoken voice<\/a> only, and\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=ezekiel+14:1-11;ezekiel+20:1-3;ezekiel+20:31;1+timothy+2:1-5\">not to listen to the teachings of false prophets. <\/a>This is the essence of <a style=\"outline: 1px dotted; outline-offset: 0px;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=hebrews+5:11-14;+ezekiel+44:23;+leviticus+10:8-11;+ezekiel+22:26;+1-kings+3:9;+2-samuel+14:17;+leviticus+11:45-47;+leviticus+20:25\">discerning between good and evil, holy and profane, and the clean and unclean animals and things <\/a>which are defined as follows:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Good, holy and clean spiritual <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+32:45-47;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+deuteronomy+30:15-20;+john+6:63-68;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4;+john+5:24\">food that contributes to life, comes directly from the mouth of God <\/a>or from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">true prophets<\/a> who speak for God.<\/li>\n<li>Evil, profane and unclean foods that do not produce life are the words of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\">false prophets <\/a>(i.e. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-sin\/religion-is-idolatry\/10\">idols<\/a>) and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/jeremiah\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+8:1-9\">their writings<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Following these definitions, we can say that food created by religion for consumption by religious people is unclean, evil and profane. Such food is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\">Religion for the following\u00a0 reasons:<\/a><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>It does not originate from God&#8217;s mouth &#8212; unless the person speaking or writing is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/messiah\">anointed to speak for God<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>It is created by man for consumption by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+2:14;+1-corinthians+3:1;+1-corinthians+15:39-49;+jude+1:18-19;+james+3:13-18;+romans+8:9;+john+3:5-6\">natural people &#8212; not spiritual people.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>It is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=colossians+2:18;+jeremiah+27:9-17;+jeremiah+23:16;+jeremiah+28:15;+jeremiah+29:8;+1-john+4:1;+matthew+7:15;+2-corinthians+11:13-15;+galatians+1:8-9;+jeremiah+14:14;+ezekiel+13:1-6;+ezekiel+13:23;+ezekiel+21:29;+ezekiel+22:28;+proverbs+12:6;+proverbs+1:11;+proverbs+1:16;+ecclesiastes+10:12;+ezekiel+33:31;+revelation+13:1-5\">work of man&#8217;s flesh (i.e. intellect, reasoning, speaking, writing)<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\">It is not faith.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>In God&#8217;s view, religious works are like food in the sense that they make\u00a0 people feel good and satisfied. Religion has a way of making people feel as though <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/revelation\/3-1.html\">they are alive, but but they are really spiritually dead<\/a> because it is only their fleshly, soulish senses that are activated through religious activity.<\/p>\n<p>One reason that religion continues to thrive is that people do not understand the difference between soul and spirit. In fact, religious teaching tends to use the two terms interchangeably even though the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=hebrews+4:12;+jeremiah+23:29;+ephesians+5:26;+hebrews+6:5;+1-peter+1:23\">Bible clearly says that they are different<\/a>. Here is the essence of those differences:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/psuche.html\">soul can be observed in the thoughts, words and actions of the physical body<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/pneuma.html\">spirit<\/a> is the essence of God<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=genesis+1:1-2;+john+3:8;+psalm+135:7;+ecclesiastes+11:5;+ezekiel+37:9\"> which cannot be seen with natural eyes or heard with natural ears<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Readers who may not be satisfied with this simple summary of the differences between soul and spirit may choose to investigate the original Hebrew and Greek languages definitions of these very important words:<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<table style=\"border-color: #474062; border-width: 1px; height: 200px;\" border=\"1\" width=\"600\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 26px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062; height: 10px; width: 626px;\" colspan=\"2\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>OLD TESTAMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062; height: 50px; width: 324px;\">Hebrew word translated as &#8220;soul&#8221; in the Old Testament: <a href=\"http:\/\/biblehub.com\/hebrew\/strongs_5315.htm\">Nephesh<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center; border: 1px solid #474062; height: 50px; width: 281px;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Hebrew word translated as &#8220;spirit&#8221; in the Old Testament: <a href=\"http:\/\/biblehub.com\/str\/hebrew\/7307.htm\">Ruwach<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 25px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062; text-align: center; height: 62px; width: 626px;\" colspan=\"2\">\u00a0<strong> NEW TESTAMENT<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 78px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062; height: 78px; width: 324px;\">Greek word translated as &#8220;soul&#8221; in the New Testament: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.studylight.org\/dictionaries\/ved\/s\/soul.html\">Psuche<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062; height: 78px; width: 281px;\">Greek word translated as &#8220;spirit&#8221; in the New Testament: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.studylight.org\/dictionaries\/ved\/s\/spirit.html\">Pneuma<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Most readers who bother to check out these definitions will find that the differences are very subtle and confusing.\u00a0 Nevertheless, the following conclusions can be made:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Spirit is the invisible life of God present in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#newcovenant\">New Covenant<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/#disciple\">disciples<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Soul is the visible and invisible life of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#oldcovenant\">Old\/First Covenant<\/a> religionists.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The real issue is this: What nurtures the life? Does the voice of God produce an inner, invisible life, or does religion produce an outward, visible life of religious activity?<\/p>\n<p>The questions that must be considered are these:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Who provided the seed by which life was inspired?<\/li>\n<li>Was it God who gave spiritual seed? Or,<\/li>\n<li>Was it the seed of false prophets?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\">STUDY TIP: See\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/world\/2#parablesower\">COMMENTARY ON THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER for understanding of seed.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>These questions are important for the following reasons:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>People who hear God\u2019s voice have God as their spiritual father. They have been <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/the-law-is-a-stumbling-block\/signs-wonders-and-miracles\/5\">born again<\/a> in the spirit. Like Jesus, they are sons of God.<\/li>\n<li>People who are fathered by false prophets (i.e. religious leaders) are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/death-resurrection-life\/two-deaths#firstdeath\">spiritually dead<\/a> but their soul is alive. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+8:44;+acts+13:10;+1-john+3:8-10\">devil is their father<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>If soul and spirit were the same, there would be no need for the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/hebrews\/4-12.html\">word of God to differentiate between them<\/a>. But, since God differentiates between soul and spirit, people who imagine themselves to be Godly should do the same. God teaches us how to know the difference in scriptures about clean and unclean things where we learn the following:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"2\"><strong>CLEAN FOOD<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Comes from the mouth of God and his true prophets.<\/li>\n<li>Focuses on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/5#spirituallaw\">spiritual laws<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Cannot be seen or heard with natural eyes or ears.<\/li>\n<li>Is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#goodspiritualfood\">good, spiritual food<\/a> that cannot be seen or heard except by New Covenant disciples who <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/how-to-hear-gods-spoken-voice\">listen to God&#8217;s voice<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"2\"><strong>UNCLEAN FOOD<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilspiritualfood\">evil, soulish food that\u00a0<\/a>comes from the speaking and writings of unclean animals (i.e. false prophets\/religious leaders).<\/li>\n<li>Focuses on obedience to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/5#religiouslaws\">religious laws<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Can be seen with natural eyes and heard with natural ears by anyone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>New Covenant disciples<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/romans\/14.html\"> do not make religion<\/a> out of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/leviticus\/11.html\">scriptures about clean and unclean foods<\/a> or about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=leviticus+12;+leviticus+13;+leviticus+14;+leviticus+15\">unclean people<\/a> because they know how to interpret the Bible symbolically. Furthermore, they <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/ezekiel\/passage\/?q=ezekiel+44:15-23\">teach others how to interpret and apply the symbolism in their own lives<\/a> so they also will not use the literal Bible to create religion. This contrasts with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#oldcovenant\">Old\/First Covenant<\/a> religionists who <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/ezekiel\/passage\/?q=ezekiel+22:24-29\">fail to make any distinctions between clean and unclean food or people and do not teach others to know the difference<\/a>. Instead they interpret scriptures about clean and unclean things literally and create <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/5#religiouslaws\">religious rules, doctrines<\/a> and traditions out of those interpretations.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=isaiah+28:1-18;+matthew+15:1-6;+mark+7:1-13;+colossians+2:8;+isaiah+29:1-14\">God warns about adopting religious rules, doctrines and traditions <\/a>in many ways. Prohibitions against <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/asv\/passage\/?q=romans+15:1-3;+1+corinthians+10:1-7;+exodus+32:1-6;+exodus+32:17-19;+numbers+25:1-3;+ezekiel+33:27-33;+jude+1:1-19;+james+3:13-17;+colossians+2:16-23;+2+peter+2;+colossians+3:1-7;+revelation+18:1-9;+isaiah+47:1-8\">personal pleasures, sensuality and lust <\/a>are among those warnings. These prohibitions are commonly interpreted to include sex, greed and various kinds of immorality which religious people include in their <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/6#religiouslaws\">religious laws<\/a>. But God uses these terms symbolically to describe the fleshly excitement of mind and emotions that repetitive religious activities, both private and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dictionary.com\/browse\/communal\">communal<\/a>, arouse when religious people gather for what they call worship. It is worship only in their eyes. In God&#8217;s eyes is<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/flesh\"> flesh in motion<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/3#adulteryandprostitution\">this link for understanding of how God uses the imagery of sex to represent spiritual intimacy.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\"><a id=\"psychologyofreligion\"><\/a>See the following links for more about the psychology of religion:<\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 484px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 6px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 47.95px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 363.05px;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span id=\"joh7-9\"><span id=\"mt24-23\"><span id=\"mt24-27\"><span id=\"mr13-23\"><span id=\"lu17-26\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catherine_Bell_(religious_studies_scholar)#Ritual_Theory,_Ritual_Practice\">Interactive Ritual Theory <\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catherine_Bell_(religious_studies_scholar)#Ritual_Theory,_Ritual_Practice\">Ritual<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/press.princeton.edu\/titles\/7769.html\">Interaction ritual chains \/ Randall Collins<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catherine_Bell_(religious_studies_scholar)#Ritual_Theory,_Ritual_Practice\">Sub-Cultural Identity Theory<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catherine_Bell_(religious_studies_scholar)#Ritual_Theory,_Ritual_Practice\">Religiosity<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catherine_Bell_(religious_studies_scholar)#Ritual_Theory,_Ritual_Practice\">Religious Preferences<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catherine_Bell_(religious_studies_scholar)#Ritual_Theory,_Ritual_Practice\">Religious Behavior<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Catherine_Bell_(religious_studies_scholar)#Ritual_Theory,_Ritual_Practice\">Attachment Theory <\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Religious activity (e.g. speech, behavior, practicing traditions, etc.) satisfies (i.e. feeds) the fleshly cravings of an<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/place-where-god-will-place-his-name\/4#evilimpureheart\"> evil, impure heart<\/a>. Religion is nothing more than a collection of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/pride\/making-a-name-for-yourself\/9\">religious language<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/circumcision\">rituals and traditions<\/a> that people repeat over and over again. Religious people who practice these traditions, sing the songs, repeat the rhetoric and listen to the music do it because it stirs their emotions. It gives them a sense of security and belonging when they do these things with others whom they consider to be spiritual. They think they also are being spiritual when they do these things, but they are really only exercising their souls through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+6:7;+ecclesiastes+5:2-3;+ecclesiastes+5:7\">meaningless repetitions of words and traditions.<\/a> They think that what they do pleases God. but actually<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenants-part-2\/4#godhatestradition\"> he hates it all.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Music, singing and dancing are, perhaps, the best examples of soulish religion. If the benefits of religious practices could be measured, we might find that these common activities are even more important than religious teaching and fellowship to religious people. The reason they are so important is found in the intoxicating effects that any kind of music can have on people.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/music-singing-and-dancing\">Music, Singing and Dancing<\/a> for more about soulish religious activity.<\/p>\n<p>Religious people call the many things they do worship because they are convinced that their religious activities and behaviors please God. They will be surprised to learn that only they and their religious companions are pleased with their religious worship. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=isaiah+1:10-17;+amos+5:20-23;+isaiah+43:24;+isaiah+66:3;+jeremiah+14:12;+hosea+2:11;+amos+4:1-6;+amos+6:1-8\">God actually hates all religious assemblies, offerings, prayer and so-called sacrifices of worship<\/a>. He even calls <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=isaiah+1:13;+isaiah+41:24;+isaiah+44:19;+proverbs+15:8-9;+proverbs+16:5;+proverbs+21:27;+proverbs+28:9;+jeremiah+6:10-20;+jeremiah+32:35;+ezekiel+5:11-15\">religion an abomination<\/a>, and considers it to be <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-sin\">sin<\/a>. And while religion is attractive to people who share a particular religious tradition, we only need to look at all the religious strife in the world to see that religion is actually offensive to other people who do not subscribe to a religious person&#8217;s particular <a href=\"http:\/\/thewayweseereligion.blogspot.com\/2012\/03\/religious-ornaments-and-labels.html\">brand of religion<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-the-enemy\" aria-haspopup=\"true\">\u00a0Religion is the Enemy,\u00a0<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-the-enemy\/gods-at-war\">Gods at War<\/a> and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-the-enemy\/sibling-warfare\">Sibling Conflict<\/a> for more about religious strife.<\/p>\n<p>The reason God hates religion is that religion is a fleshly, soulish activity that anyone can do regardless of the condition of their heart. Even people who have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/place-where-god-will-place-his-name\/4#evilimpureheart\">evil, impure hearts<\/a> can <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/fakefaith\/2018\/02\/18\/making-a-name-for-yourself\/\">dress up and look good doing religion<\/a>. Religious worship, which is marketed as a unique religious activity, is exercised with the soul (i.e. mind, emotions and will) and physical body (i.e. flesh) does not happen in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/place-where-god-will-place-his-name\/4#goodpureheart\">clean, pure hearts<\/a>. People who have clean, pure hearts have no need to prove anything to God through religious activity because they trust that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=1-samuel+16:7;+jeremiah+3:17;+jeremiah+7:24;+jeremiah+9:14;+jeremiah+11:8;+jeremiah+11:20;+jeremiah+16:12;+jeremiah+18:9-12;+deuteronomy+29:19;+1-kings+8:33-39;+1-chronicles+28:9;+luke+16:15;+proverbs+21:2;+romans+8:27;+revelation+2:23;+2-chronicles+6:29-30;+proverbs+15:11\">God knows the condition of their heart and that he does not look at what they do with their physical bodies.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Worship, as it exists in all religions, is unclean food that feeds the soul because it can be seen, heard, and otherwise experienced with the physical body. It is not a matter of spiritual worship which happens exclusively in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=1-kings+8:35-39;+jeremiah+17:10;+psalm+44:20-21;+proverbs+15:11;+1-samuel+16:7;+1-chronicles+28:9;+2-chronicles+6:28-31;+psalm+44:21;+acts+1:24\">heart that only God can see<\/a>. Spiritual worship, on the other hand, is clean food that feeds the spirit because it is purely a matter of faith which does not require any external, physical activity that can be seen or heard.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\" aria-haspopup=\"true\">Religion is not Faith <\/a>for more about the differences between soulish worship and spiritual worship.<\/p>\n<p>With these understandings of what God means by clean and unclean food, we can see that the state of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/mark\/passage\/?q=mark+7:14-16\">uncleanness is what comes out of people (i.e. words and behaviors) &#8212; not in what they eat physically<\/a>. With these understandings we learn to recognize <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilspiritualfood\">evil food<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=galatians+5:19-22;matthew+15:17-20;romans+13:9-14\">personal uncleanness through fleshly, soulish cravings that people have for evil, religious food<\/a> as the food served by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#oldcovenant\">Old\/First Covenant<\/a> religions.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><br \/>\n<strong>DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOOD AND THEIR SPIRITUAL MEANINGS<\/strong><br \/>\nIt is beyond the scope of this page to discuss all the symbolic references to food found in the Bible.\u00a0 Nevertheless, here are a few of the most common references:<\/p>\n<table style=\"table-layout: fixed; width: 101.516%; height: 4089px;\" border=\"2\">\n<colgroup>\n<col width=\"150\" \/>\n<col width=\"450\" \/><\/colgroup>\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 52px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%; height: 52px;\"><strong>TYPE OF FOOD<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%; height: 52px;\"><strong>SPIRITUAL MEANING<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 331px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%; height: 331px;\"><a id=\"animalsbirdsfish\"><\/a>Animals, birds and fish<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%; height: 331px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3\">Animals, birds and fish typically symbolize people<\/a>. And, like all other symbols in the Bible, there are two opposing meanings of Biblical references to these creatures: One is<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\"> good and life-giving<\/a>, and one is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\">evil<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The general principle behind the list of clean and unclean animals\/birds\/fish is this: Use <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/2\">discernment<\/a> to identify whether Bible teachers are serving <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#goodspiritualfood\">good, clean spiritual food<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilsoulishfood\">evil, soulish food<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>To make his point about what foods (i.e. teachings) can be eaten (i.e. absorbed into the mind and heart), God uses the natural characteristics of natural animals\/birds\/fish to teach about spiritual truth. It is an example of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-2\/3\">&#8220;first the natural and then the spiritual&#8221; principle.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>With this principle in mind, God forbids the consumption of animals with the following natural characteristics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Scavengers and carrion eaters (e.g eagles, vultures, hawks, etc.) that eat other animals.<\/li>\n<li>Animals such as pigs, bears, vultures and raptors that eat decaying flesh.<\/li>\n<li>Predators (e.g. wolves, lions, leopards, cheetahs, etc.) that prey on weak and\/or diseased herd animals.<\/li>\n<li>Bottom dwelling sea animals (e.g. lobsters and crabs) that scavenge for dead animals on the sea floor. Shellfish (e.g. oysters, clams and mussels) that consume decaying organic matter, including sewage, that sinks to the sea floor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These creatures are identified as &#8220;unclean&#8221; food because they all eat dead things. Symbolically,\u00a0 the command to not eat these foods means that religious people should not feed their hearts and minds on the teachings of religious leaders because religious leaders are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\">Trees of Knowledge of Good and Evil<\/a> who serve<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilsoulishfood\"> evil, soulish food\/fruit<\/a> (i.e. false teachings) to spiritually dead religious people who focus on the natural words of the Bible. From God&#8217;s perspective, the situation looks like this: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/death-resurrection-life\/two-deaths#firstdeath\">spiritually dead<\/a> religious leaders feed on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/pride\/2\">praise<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-commerce\/examples-of-business-and-commerce-in-religion\">finances<\/a> of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/death-resurrection-life\/2#spiritualdeath\">spiritually dead<\/a> religious followers, and the religious followers feed on the words of the religious leaders. There is no life in these relationships because <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/faith-grace-mercy-peace-love-heart-glory-blessing-spirit-and-truth\/oil-water-face-hands\">God&#8217;s spoken word<\/a> is not part of the equation.<\/p>\n<p>God&#8217;s message in his command to not eat unclean animals\/birds\/fish is not about eating the natural animals\/birds\/fish. The command is that his people should not listen to the teachings of the religious leaders who feed on death and serve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=proverbs+18:20-21;+proverbs+13:2;+proverbs+11:30;+ecclesiastes+10:12-14\">words of death<\/a> to others. This command is nothing more or less than his command in Genesis to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The religious leaders are symbolically represented as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\">trees of knowledge of good and evil. Their teachings (i.e. their spoken and written words) are evil, soulish fruit.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Part of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-injustice-and-slavery\">injustice<\/a> of this relationship is that religious leaders prosper themselves financially and emotionally through their relationship with religious followers. They are the beneficiaries of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-commerce\">commercial religion<\/a> system that is financed by religious people who ignorantly pay financial <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/sacrifices-tithes-and-offerings\/2593-2\">tithes<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/sacrifices-tithes-and-offerings\">offerings<\/a> to the religious leaders and the ministries they lead. In Bible language, religious leaders feed (i.e. live, support, sustain themselves in terms of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/pride\/2\">pride<\/a> and income) on the ignorance of followers who are deceived into thinking that giving money to them is the Biblically correct thing to do. They do this because they do not understand the truth about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/sacrifices-tithes-and-offerings\/2593-2\">tithes<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/sacrifices-tithes-and-offerings\">offerings<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 26px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/sadeh.html\">Field<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%; height: 26px;\">See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/land-and-earth\">Land and Earth<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 219px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/kalos.html\">Good <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/sperma.html\">Seed<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%; height: 219px;\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/matthew\/passage\/?q=matthew+13:36-43\">Spirit that God has sown into people who will mature into grain\/wheat that can be harvested, threshed, winnowed, kneaded and baked into tasty spiritual bread for God and others.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/matthew\/passage\/?q=matthew+13:36-43\">Sons of the Kingdom of God (i.e. <\/a>New Covenant disciples).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 219px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a id=\"grainwheat\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/sitos.html\">Grain\/Wheat<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%; height: 219px;\">\n<ul>\n<li>People in whom spiritual seed has been sown, mature into <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/place-where-god-will-place-his-name\/5\">God&#8217;s image<\/a>, and have been harvested so that they will provide spiritual food for God and others.<\/li>\n<li>Note: God is spirit, and he is nourished by spiritual food just like people who are flesh are nourished by physical food.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 195px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/leviticus\/passage\/?q=leviticus+6:14-23;leviticus+23:17-20;leviticus+24:5-9\">Grain Offerings<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%; height: 195px;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/psalms\/passage\/?q=psalms+51:16-17\">Sacrifices made by New Covenant disciples who offer themselves wholly to God as a spiritual sacrifice<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Disciples whom spiritually mature people offer to God as a sacrifice.<\/li>\n<li>See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/sacrifices-tithes-and-offerings\" aria-haspopup=\"true\">Sacrifices, Tithes and Offerings<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 139px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/zizanion.html\">Tares<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%; height: 139px;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Religion: A<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/zizanion.html\"> grain that looks like wheat but is black.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Tares are the fruit of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\">Trees of Knowledge of Good and Evil<\/a>, that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/genesis\/3.html\">appears to be<\/a> the fruit of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\">Trees of Life<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Tares are religious food that looks like it is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#goodspiritualfood\">good spiritual food<\/a> but is actually <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilsoulishfood\">evil, soulish food.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/matthew\/passage\/?q=matthew+13:36-43\">Sons of the evil one sown by the devil.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#oldcovenant\">Old\/First Covenant<\/a> religionists.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 219px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\">Bread offered to God<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%;\">\n<ul>\n<li>A higher form of offering made from grain\/wheat.<\/li>\n<li>It is more mature than harvested wheat because it has been winnowed, ground into flour, kneaded and baked in a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/study\/study-for-discipline\/7\">refining process<\/a> that yields a tasty spiritual food for God and for the people who eat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+7:24-26;+john+14:10;+john+3:34;+john+5:19;+john+7:14-18;+john+14:24;+matthew+24:35;+mark+13:31;+luke+4:32-36;+luke+6:47;+luke+6:46-49;+luke+9:26;+luke+21:15;+john+4:41;+john+6:63;+john+6:68;+john+7:38-39;+john+12:47-50;+john+15:7;+john+17:8;+1-peter+4:11;+exodus+3;+exodus+4:1-12\">God&#8217;s words spoken by them<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 191px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/kjv\/passage\/?q=matthew+4:4;deuteronomy+8:3\">Bread given by God to his people<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%; height: 191px;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Spiritual <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">words: God&#8217;s voice<\/a> to<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/kjv\/passage\/?q=isaiah+6:10;matthew+13:15;acts+28:27;proverbs+8:5;daniel+10:12;mark+8:17;john+12:40;psalm+10:17;proverbs+2:2;proverbs+18:15;proverbs+22:17;jeremiah+11:8;1+corinthians+2:9\"> man&#8217;s heart<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Spoken by God directly or through messengers (i.e. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">true prophets<\/a>,<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/angels\"> angels<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/messiah\">messiahs<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/the-high-priest\">high priests<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/model-warriors\">warriors<\/a>) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+3:34;+jeremiah+26:1-5;+ezekiel+2:1-7;+2-chronicles+36:15;+acts+3:26;+revelation+1:1;+deuteronomy+18:18;+isaiah+51:15-16;+john+17:1-8;+isaiah+59:21;+deuteronomy+32:1;+job+22:22;+psalm+19:14;+proverbs+12:6;+jeremiah+1:9;+jeremiah+5:14;+hosea+6:5;+daniel+9:9-11;+2-peter+1:19-21\">he sends to speak for him<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 163px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=proverbs+31:27;proverbs+4:12-17;isaiah+30:15-22\">Bread of Wickedness, Adversity and Affliction<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%; height: 163px;\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilsoulishfood\">Evil, soulish food<\/a> served by religious leaders.<\/li>\n<li>Religion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 135px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/proverbs\/31.html\">Bread of idleness<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%; height: 135px;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Spiritual <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/atsluwth.html\">sluggishness, laziness<\/a> (i.e. produces no good spiritual fruit) that is found in religion.<\/li>\n<li>Religion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 282px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a id=\"unleavenedbread\"><\/a>Unleavened Bread<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%; height: 282px;\">\n<ul>\n<li>New Covenant disciples.<\/li>\n<li>People who have been harvested, threshed, and processed into unleavened (i.e. sin-free) bread so that they provide good spiritual food for God and others.<\/li>\n<li>Bread (i.e. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#goodspiritualfood\">good spiritual food<\/a>) that comes directly from the mouth of God or through <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">true prophets<\/a> he<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+3:34;+jeremiah+26:1-5;+ezekiel+2:1-7;+2-chronicles+36:15;+acts+3:26;+revelation+1:1;+deuteronomy+18:18;+isaiah+51:15-16;+john+17:1-8;+isaiah+59:21;+deuteronomy+32:1;+job+22:22;+psalm+19:14;+proverbs+12:6;+jeremiah+1:9;+jeremiah+5:14;+hosea+6:5\"> sends to speak for him<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\">Fruit of the tree of life<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 258px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a id=\"leavenedbread\"><\/a>Leavened Bread<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Religious teaching and rituals contaminated with the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+16:1-12;+mark+8:1-21;+luke+12:1\">leavening of the pharisees<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Fleshly teaching served to Old\/First Covenant religionists by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\">False Prophets <\/a>(i.e.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/kings-queens-and-princes\"> Kings, Queens and Princes,\u00a0<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/pharisees-and-scribes\">Pharisees and Scribes<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/serpent-devil-satan-adversary-demons-evil-spirits-and-anti-christs\">, Serpent, Devil, Satan, Adversary, Demons, Evil Spirits, Anti-Christs,<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=zechariah+10:2;+zechariah+11:15;+jeremiah+10:21;+jeremiah+12:10;+jeremiah+13:17;+jeremiah+23:1-2;+ezekiel+13:3;+zechariah+11:17;+jeremiah+50:6;+ezekiel+34:1-5;+numbers+27:16-23;+john+10:8;+john+7;+john+10:26;+psalm+74:1;+2-chronicles+18:16;+matthew+9:36;+mark+6:34;+matthew+26:31;+mark+14:27\"> foolish, worthless, stupid shepherds).<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilsoulishfood\">Evil, soulish food<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\">Religion<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 52px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+16:1-12;+mark+8:1-21;+luke+12:1\">Leavening of the Pharisees<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%;\">Religion as taught and practiced by Old\/First Covenant religious leaders.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 191px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\">Meat\/Food<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%;\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/1-corinthians\/2.html\">Spiritual words spoken by<\/a> God and his agents (i.e.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">true prophets<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/angels\">angels<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/messiah\">messiahs<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/the-high-priest\">high priests<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenants-part-2\/7#witnessdefined\">witnesses<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/model-warriors\">warriors<\/a>) is clean food for<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/kjv\/passage\/?q=isaiah+6:10;matthew+13:15;acts+28:27;proverbs+8:5;daniel+10:12;mark+8:17;john+12:40;psalm+10:17;proverbs+2:2;proverbs+18:15;proverbs+22:17;jeremiah+11:8;1+corinthians+2:9\"> man&#8217;s heart,\u00a0<\/a> OR,<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/6#religiouslaws\">Religious laws<\/a> and false teachings (i.e. unclean food) based on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\">literal words of the Bible<\/a> spoken by false prophets to Old\/First Covenant religionists.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 78px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=acts+21:25;+1-corinthians+10:14-29;+1-corinthians+8:1-12\">Meat Sacrificed to Idols<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/6#religiouslaws\">Religious laws<\/a> and false teachings based on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\">literal words of the Bible<\/a> spoken by false prophets to Old\/First Covenant religionists.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 325px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a id=\"fruitwords\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/kjv\/passage\/?q=proverbs+12:14;+proverbs+13:2;+proverbs+18:20-21;+hebrews+13:15;+proverbs+10:31;+hosea+10:13\">Fruit<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Spiritual produce &#8212; whether for good (i.e. from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#newcovenant\">New Covenant<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/#disciple\">disciples<\/a>) or evil (i.e. from Old\/First Covenant religionists) that grows from spiritual seed.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+13:18-23;+mark+4:13-20;+luke+8:4-15\">Words. God&#8217;s spoken words are good fruit.<\/a> Words spoken by false prophets are bad fruit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/wood-gold-silver-stone\">TREES ARE PEOPLE<\/a> for understanding about good fruit and bad fruit.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 370px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a id=\"treeoflife\"><\/a>Fruit of\u00a0 Trees of Life<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Fruit (i.e. words) that grows from the spiritual seed that comes from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">God&#8217;s spoken word<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#goodspiritualfood\">Good, spiritual food<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=revelation+2:7;+proverbs+12:14;+jeremiah+2:7;+matthew+3:10;+matthew+7:17-19;+matthew+12:33;+matthew+13:23;+mark+4:20;+luke+3:9;+luke+6:43;+luke+8:15;+colossians+1:9-10\">Spiritual fruit<\/a> that is produced by New Covenant disciples (i.e. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">True Prophets,\u00a0 <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/angels\">angels<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/messiah\">messiahs<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/the-high-priest\">high priests<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/model-warriors\">warriors<\/a>) who <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/matthew\/passage\/?q=matthew+28:16-20\">make disciples<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/genesis\/passage\/?q=genesis+1:11-12\">after their own kind <\/a>(i.e. in God&#8217;s image).<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/galatians\/passage\/?q=galatians+5:22-25\"><span id=\"ga5-22\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"> Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, <\/span><span id=\"ga5-23\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\">gentleness, self-control.<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/4#hiddenmanna\">Hidden manna<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>It <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=proverbs+16:23-24;psalms+19:7-10;proverbs+24:13-14;psalms+119:103;song+of+songs+4:11;song+of+songs+5:1\">tastes sweet like honey<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 462px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a id=\"treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\"><\/a>Fruit of Trees of Knowledge of Good and Evil<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Fruit (i.e. words) that comes from spiritual seed that does not proceed from the mouth of God but from the mouths and writings of religious leaders (e.g. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\">False Prophets, <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/apostles\">Pastors, Priests, Rabbis, Apostles, Bishops, Elders, Deacons, Overseers, Rabbis, Priests, Pastors, Popes, Missionaries and Evangelists,<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\">\u00a0<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/serpent-devil-satan-adversary-demons-evil-spirits-and-anti-christs\">Satans and Antichrists.)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilsoulishfood\">Evil, soulish food<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/#definitionofsin\">Unrighteousness\/sin<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/galatians\/passage\/?q=galatians+5:15-21\"><span id=\"ga5-19\"> Deeds of the flesh: immorality, impurity, sensuality, <\/span><span id=\"ga5-20\"> idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, <\/span><span id=\"ga5-21\">envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-injustice-and-slavery\">Injustice, Slavery, Oppression and Affliction <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/fourth-commandment\">Murder<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\">Religion <\/a>in all of its many forms.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/5#puredefiledreligion\">Defiled religion.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#oldcovenant\">Old\/First Covenant<\/a> religion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 78px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\"><a id=\"milk\"><\/a>Milk<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%;\">There are two kinds of milk. First, there is ordinary milk for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=hebrews+5:13;+1-corinthians+3:1;+1-corinthians+14:20;+1-peter+2:2\">spiritual infants<\/a> who receive religious instruction from human teachers. This is the milk that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\">false prophets<\/a> serve to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#oldcovenant\">Old\/First Covenant<\/a> religionists. Then there is pure milk which is the words spoken by God to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#newcovenant\">New Covenant<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/#disciple\">disciples<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 78px;\">\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\">Honey<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%;\">Nourishment for spiritual adults who receive <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+31:31-34;+1-thessalonians+4:9;+1-john+2:27;+john+14:11-17;+john+14:26;+1-corinthians+2:12;+hebrews+8:10-11\">instruction about God directly from the spirit of God<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 13.7048%;\">Manna<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #2a2130; width: 83.3041%;\">See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/4#commonmanna\">common manna <\/a>and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/4#hiddenmanna\">hidden manna<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3\">.<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><!--nextpage--><br \/>\n<strong>MANNA<\/strong><br \/>\nFor those who attended Sunday school, manna in the Wilderness is one of the first Bible stories we read. It has great imagery and, along with the crossing of the Red Sea, is one of God&#8217;s great miracles. Through this teaching, the concept of manna was and is wrongly represented as miracle in which God provided daily, physical food to Israel. This interpretation misses the symbolic meaning of bread.<\/p>\n<p>Only two kinds of food are important in the Bible: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#goodspiritualfood\">Good spiritual food<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilspiritualfood\">evil soulish food<\/a>. Literal interpretations of the Bible always interpret bread and manna as a natural food. When it is interpreted as a natural food that is eaten for religious purposes (e.g. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Eucharist\">communion\/Eucharist<\/a>, etc.), bread becomes an evil food because the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/romans\/14-17.html\">kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking natural food.<\/a> But, when interpreted spiritually, it is good spiritual food.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible differentiates between good spiritual food and evil soulish food with the terms <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/2\">clean and unclean<\/a>.\u00a0God instructs people to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/2\">discern between the two kinds of food.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In Biblical symbolism, food that is gathered by others and distributed by others is unclean food. Religious teachers (i.e. false prophets) gather, chew up and regurgitate unclean food for mass consumption. Such food comes through a human mediator through speech and writing and does not come directly from the mouth of God. The reason it is unclean is that physical work is necessary to obtain it and that man &#8212; not God &#8212; has produced it.<\/p>\n<p>Clean food, on the other hand, is not handled or manipulated by others. It comes directly from God without a human mediator &#8212; unless that mediator is a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">true prophet<\/a>. Clean spiritual bread contains God&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/6#spirituallaws\">spiritual laws<\/a>. It is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+31:31-34;1+thessalonians+4:9;1+john+2:27;john+14:26;1+corinthians+2:12\">New Covenant food because no man is involved in the teaching<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/numbers\/11.html\">story in Numbers reports<\/a>, Israel was not satisfied with manna and pleaded to have meat because<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=exodus+16:3;+numbers+11:18\"> meat was readily available<\/a> in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/egypt-and-babylon\">Egypt<\/a>. God gave them meat, but he also brought a plague on Israel because it was not satisfied with the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#goodspiritualfood\">spiritual food<\/a> that came from God&#8217;s mouth. The lesson in this story is that we should be satisfied with the spiritual food that God provides. We should not want for heavy meals (i.e. quail)\u00a0 that are offered by religious institutions and teachers. Such food is unclean because it is gathered by others and distributed by others. They have chewed it up and regurgitated it for mass consumption.<\/p>\n<p>Clean food, on the other hand, is not handled by others. It comes directly from God through true prophets who <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+12:49;+john+17:1-8;+john+7:16;+john+8:26-28;+john+8:38;+john+14:10;+john+14:24;+john+14:31;+mark+13:11;+luke+12:11-12;+matthew+10:20;+luke+21:15;+acts+4:8;+2-corinthians+13:3\">speak for God<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Many <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=hebrews+4:12;1+peter+1:23;deuteronomy+8:3;matthew+4:4;deuteronomy+32:44-47;john+11:25;john+14:6\">scriptures appear to equate The Law of Moses, Jesus, and indeed the entire Bible, to life. <\/a> When these are interpreted literally, however, they become <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/the-law-is-a-stumbling-block\">a stumbling block<\/a> to true, spiritual life. The message to us from these scriptures is that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+4:1-4;deuteronomy+8:1-3;luke+4:1-4\">God&#8217;s word spoken to our ears (i.e. heart) is critical to a healthy, productive spiritual life<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Spiritual adults (i.e. New Covenant disciples) are responsible for feeding themselves. Unlike spiritual children (i.e. Old\/First Covenant religionists), they do not depend on someone else to feed them spiritual food. Because it is life-giving for them, they want to share what they learn with others.<\/p>\n<p>Spiritual children, on the other hand, are dependent on someone (e.g.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/apostles\">Pastors, Priests, Rabbis, Apostles, Bishops, Elders, Deacons, Overseers, Popes, Missionaries and Evangelists<\/a> authors, musicians, prophets, etc.) to feed them warmed over, regurgitated, religious food. If they want to mature spiritually, they must repent of being dependent on others who effectively function as other gods to feed them. For most people who are firmly rooted in the cultures of Judaism and Christianity, maturity depends on separating from their religions and all other proxy spiritual leaders who have been their source of religious food.<\/p>\n<p>Manna is a tricky concept to understand. There are actually two kinds of manna. The first manna was introduced to Israel while in the wilderness:<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-color: #474062; border-width: 1px; height: 166px;\" border=\"1\" width=\"422\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062; text-align: center;\"><strong><a id=\"commonmanna\"><\/a>COMMON MANNA FOUND IN THE DESERT<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062;\">People had to work (i.e. search for it and pick it up) for it and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/numbers\/passage\/?q=numbers+11:7-9\">work with it to make it edible<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062; text-align: left;\">It tasted like something made with olive oil.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062; text-align: left;\">It became <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/exodus\/passage\/?q=exodus+16:19-21\">old, stale, and would not last<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062;\">It was available for six days but not on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/fourth-commandment\">seventh day<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062;\">It was not available to people who entered the Promised Land. This means that it is the food eaten who live in the wilderness of religion but is not eaten by New Covenant disciples who live in the Promised Land.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062;\">People got tired of manna and desired meat.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062;\">Many <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+6:49;+1-corinthians+10:1-8;+numbers+14:29;+numbers+26:65;+hebrews+3:17;+jude+1:5;+john+6:26-36\">people died in the wilderness<\/a> even though <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/exodus\/passage\/?q=exodus+16:13-18\">they had a reliable supply of common manna.<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062;\">This desert manna is the common, everyday kind of bread\/food that is found in Old\/First Covenant religion that is based on the literal words of the Bible.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062;\">Desert manna is the symbolic representation of the literal Bible. It has these characteristics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>You must work it (i.e. read it) to get anything of value from it.<\/li>\n<li>It is good for food in the sense that it satisfies human intellect, but it does not have the same spiritual value as God&#8217;s spoken word.<\/li>\n<li>People who only eat common manna (i.e. read the literal Bible) and never eat (i.e. listen to God&#8217;s spoken voice in their hearts), and never listen to God&#8217;s voice while reading, always remain Old\/First Covenant religionists.<\/li>\n<li>People who only read the Bible and listen to preachers who teach the literal Bible never enter the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/land-and-earth\/3\">promised land<\/a> where they hear God&#8217;s spoken voice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Although desert manna did not have any similarity to natural bread that is mixed up, kneaded and baked, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/search\/?q=manna+bread\">it is typically equated with natural bread.<\/a> But, even though manna is also called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/1-corinthians\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+10:1-4\">spiritual food<\/a>, neither the colorful Sunday School books nor the teachers, nor the pastors for that matter, ever get around to explaining the symbolic meaning of manna.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore we tend to think of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/search\/?q=manna\">manna<\/a> as the miraculous physical bread God provided for Israel in the desert where people were instructed to get out of their tents and go search for manna every morning. We get the impression that it was the only food Israel had, even though the Bible clearly tells us that it had a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=exodus+20:24;exodus+23:18;exodus+29:36;exodus+29:41;exodus+34:25;leviticus+9:4;leviticus+14:30\">variety of animals<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/search\/?q=grain offering* drink&amp;t=niv&amp;s=Bibles&amp;c=law&amp;ps=10&amp;p=2\">grain and grapes for offerings<\/a>. It is not clear if Israel ate these other foods regularly or if they were just available for offerings, but we do know that Israel brought animals and grain from Egypt and raised them while in the wilderness.<\/p>\n<p>Even if we allow that Israel had these other foods to eat, we assume that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/1-corinthians\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+10:1-7\">Manna was spiritual food <\/a>for Israel. They needed it for a healthy spiritual life &#8212; not for their physical bodies. It was the model for the Bible as a source of spiritual food. Therefore, just like Israel in the desert, we are trained to regularly (preferably daily) get out of the relative comfort of our lives to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/numbers\/passage\/?q=numbers+11:7-9\">search for it and work with <\/a>it to make it into something that is tasty and spiritually nourishing.<\/p>\n<p>Good as this common manna may be, however, we must remember that the people who made it through the wilderness of religion to the promised land<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=joshua+5:11-12;+exodus+16:35\"> stopped eating this kind of manna<\/a> when they entered the Promised Land. The reason they stopped gathering it and manipulating it so they could eat it is that common manna symbolically represents the kind of food found in the literal Bible. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/5\">As a symbolic reference to the Old\/First Covenant, common manna is good enough, but it is not the best. The best manna, the hidden manna, comes directly from the mouth of God and is available only to New Covenant disciples.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>When Israel entered the Promised Land, they did not need to work for their spiritual food any more because they had learned to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/fourth-commandment\">rest from their religious activity<\/a>. When they entered the Promised Land, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:1-3;+deuteronomy+30:15-20;+john+6:63-68;+john+6:45;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4;+john+5:24;+deuteronomy+32:45-47;+1-peter+1:22-25;+hebrews+4:12;+1-john+1:1-3;+john+1:1-4;+jeremiah+31:31-34;+1-thessalonians+4:9;+1-john+2:27;+john+14:11-17;+john+14:26;+1-corinthians+2:12;+hebrews+8:10-11\">God fed them himself through his spirit speaking to their hearts. <\/a>He fed them with hidden manna.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"hiddenmanna\"><\/a>Hidden manna that is only available to New Covenant disciples who receive their instruction about God from the spirit of God:<\/p>\n<table style=\"border-color: #474062; border-width: 1px; height: 166px;\" border=\"1\" width=\"422\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062; text-align: center;\"><strong>HIDDEN MANNA<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062;\">It is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/revelation\/2-17.html\">hidden from sight<\/a> in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/place-where-god-will-place-his-name\/4\">secret place of the heart<\/a> of New Covenant disciples.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062; text-align: left;\">It is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/revelation\/2-17.html\">available only to people (i.e. New Covenant disciples) who have a new name (i.e. character) written on their hearts.<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062; text-align: left;\">It is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:1-3;+deuteronomy+30:15-20;+john+6:63-68;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4;+john+5:24;+deuteronomy+32:45-47;+1-peter+1:22-25;+hebrews+4:12;+1-john+1:1-3;+john+1:1-4\">food that comes directly from the mouth of God <\/a>without the assistance of a human mediator, but it may also be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+2;+john+7:16;+john+12:49;+john+14:10;+john+14:24-31;+john+16:13;+psalm+143:10;+luke+12:11-12;+matthew+10:17-20;+mark+13:11;+1-thessalonians+2:13;+exodus+4:12;+deuteronomy+18:18;+john+5:19;+matthew+26:39;+john+5:30;+john+6:38;+john+6:68;+john+8:28\">spoken by the spirit of God through true prophets.<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062;\">It <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/1-peter\/passage\/?q=1-peter+1:22-25\">endures forever<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062;\">It <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/1-corinthians\/2.html\">cannot be heard with natural ears or read with natural eyes because it resonates in the heart<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #474062;\">It is the perfect <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/2#cleanuncleanfood\">clean food <\/a>because it comes from God&#8217;s mouth and through anointed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+2;+john+7:16;+john+12:49;+john+14:10;+john+14:24-31;+john+16:13;+psalm+143:10;+luke+12:11-12;+matthew+10:17-20;+mark+13:11;+1-thessalonians+2:13;+exodus+4:12;+deuteronomy+18:18;+john+5:19;+matthew+26:39;+john+5:30;+john+6:38;+john+6:68;+john+8:28\">true prophets (i.e. New Covenant disciples) who speak for him<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>When we recognize the significance of hidden manna, we must not make the mistake of thinking that the manna we find in the Bible is the ultimate spiritual food. The ultimate, perfect source of spiritual food is the spoken word of God &#8212; not the written words of the Bible. The differences between everyday manna and hidden manna are clear: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/4#commonmanna\">Common, everyday manna can be seen and manipulated by anyone,<\/a> while <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/4#hiddenmanna\">hidden manna is invisible and heard<\/a> only by people who have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/place-where-god-will-place-his-name\/4#goodpureheart\">clean, pure hearts<\/a>. These distinctions are discussed in detail in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">God\u2019s Written Word and God\u2019s Voice.<\/a> <!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>WE CHOOSE THE FOOD WE EAT<\/strong><br \/>\nThere are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=ezekiel+16:19-20;ezekiel+22:9;ezekiel+23:37;acts+15:20;acts+15:29;acts+21:25;1+corinthians+8:1-7;revelation+2:14;revelation+2:20\">several scriptures that discuss food sacrificed or offered to idols<\/a>. These are very difficult scriptures to understand in these modern times because we do not have physical idols to which material offerings of any kind are made. Nevertheless, if we subscribe to the truth that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/2-timothy\/3-16.html\">all scriptures have value for training in righteousness<\/a>, we must contend with the difficulties to discover what value these scriptures have for us. And since we know that the Bible is full of mysteries told in parables, we must dig beneath the literal text to get to those hidden meanings.<\/p>\n<p>As we explained above, symbolic food may be good spiritual food or evil spiritual food. Beginning with those facts, we can quickly come to the conclusion that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilsoulishfood\">food sacrificed to idols is evil<\/a> and not good. That part is the easy part. The next discoveries are much harder.<\/p>\n<p>Not surprisingly, we get our first and best clues from the creation story in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/kjv\/genesis\/passage\/?q=genesis+2:8-17\">Genesis 2:8-17<\/a> where we find the principle that food is either good or evil:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.<\/p>\n<p>Reading carefully, we find that every tree (including the tree of knowledge of good and evil) in the garden is both pleasant to the sight and good for food. This awareness challenges our understanding of God as a good God who wants the best for his children. But there it is, two trees, both attractive and good for food. It is hard to accept, but we must accept that this was the proposition for Adam and Eve and that it is the proposition everyone since them have faced. The proposition, of course, is that we have free will to choose what we may eat.<\/p>\n<p>Such a choice would be easy to make, of course, if the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil looked ugly and tasted foul. But the scripture says that all the trees were pleasant in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/mareh.html\">appearance<\/a> and good for food. Lacking anything visually distinctive to steer them from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, all Adam and Eve had to go on was what God said about it in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/kjv\/genesis\/2-17.html\">Genesis 2:17<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">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 .<\/p>\n<p>What we have here is a proposition in which God tests Adam and Eve to see if they will trust him and obey his commandment. They were living in paradise (i.e. the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/land-and-earth\">Promised Land<\/a>) as New Covenant disciples who had <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns#rewards\">abundant spiritual lives<\/a> &#8212; as long as they did not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Their consequence for eating of that tree was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/death-resurrection-life\/2#spiritualdeath\">spiritual death<\/a> &#8212; not physical death.<\/p>\n<p>We see in this story the seductive power of religion. Even though Adam and Eve had it all in terms of their relationship with God, they lost it all when they choose to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This story is a caution about the need to always listen carefully to God&#8217;s spoken voice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 160px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\">this link for understanding of trees of knowledge of good and evil<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\">this link for understanding of trees of life<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>FAMINE (HUNGER)<\/strong><br \/>\nFood in many forms is one of the most common symbols found in the Bible. Bible readers must therefore be careful to understand this symbolism. That is why God makes a point of teaching about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/2#cleanuncleanfood\">clean and unclean food.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>God uses the concept of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#goodspiritualfood\">good spiritual food<\/a> to represent his<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/faith-grace-mercy-peace-love-heart-glory-blessing-spirit-and-truth\/oil-water-face-hands\"> spoken word.<\/a> And he uses the concept of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilsoulishfood\">evil, soulish food<\/a> to represent the words of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\">Trees of Knowledge of Good and Evil<\/a>. The concept of famine, therefore, represents the condition of religious people who, having consumed a steady diet of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilsoulishfood\">evil, soulish food<\/a>, are hungry, or famished for lack of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#goodspiritualfood\">good spiritual food<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the best way to adjust our idea of food from natural food to spiritual food is to look at the issue of famines. Scripture also clearly tells us that famines are not physical but spiritual:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/amos\/8-11.html\">Amos 8:11 RSV <\/a>&#8220;Behold, the days are coming,&#8221; says the Lord GOD, &#8220;when I will <span class=\"Highlight\">send<\/span> a <span class=\"Highlight\">famine<\/span> on the land; not a <span class=\"Highlight\">famine<\/span> of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>There are several incidences of famine in the Bible where we find that God actually creates it:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul id=\"Page-1\">\n<li>\n<p class=\"QuickLinks\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/jeremiah\/24-10.html\">Jeremiah 24:10 RSV <\/a>And I will <span class=\"Highlight\">send<\/span> sword, <span class=\"Highlight\">famine<\/span>, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their fathers.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"QuickLinks\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/ezekiel\/5-17.html\">Ezekiel 5:17 RSV <\/a>I will <span class=\"Highlight\">send<\/span> <span class=\"Highlight\">famine<\/span> and wild beasts against you, and they will rob you of your children; pestilence and blood shall pass through you; and I will bring the sword upon you. I, the LORD, have spoken.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"QuickLinks\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/ezekiel\/14-13.html\">Ezekiel 14:13 RSV <\/a>&#8220;Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it, and break its staff of bread and <span class=\"Highlight\">send<\/span> <span class=\"Highlight\">famine<\/span> upon it, and cut off from it man and beast,<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ResultTitle\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/ezekiel\/14-21.html\">Ezekiel 14:21 RSV <\/a>&#8220;For thus says the Lord GOD: How much more when I <span class=\"Highlight\">send<\/span> upon Jerusalem my four sore acts of judgment, sword, <span class=\"Highlight\">famine<\/span>, evil beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>We might be surprised that God would actually send a spiritual famine until we learn that he does it to discipline Israel for its sin:<\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/1-kings\/passage\/?q=1-kings+8:30-40\">1 Kings 8:30-40<\/a>: <span id=\"1ki8-30\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\">And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant and of thy people Israel, when they pray toward this place; yea, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place; and when thou hearest, forgive. <\/span> <span id=\"1ki8-31\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">31<\/span> &#8220;If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath, and comes and swears his oath before thine altar in this house, <\/span> <span id=\"1ki8-32\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">32<\/span> then hear thou in heaven, and act, and judge thy servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct upon his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span id=\"1ki8-33\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">33<\/span> &#8220;When thy people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against thee, if they turn again to thee, and acknowledge thy name, and pray and make supplication to thee in this house; <\/span> <span id=\"1ki8-34\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">34<\/span> then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again to the land which thou gavest to their fathers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">COMMENTARY: This says that Israel is not able to defeat its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-the-enemy\">Religious Enemies<\/a>\u00a0because of sin. The scripture also prescribes the cure that will lead to forgiveness:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/shuwb.html\">return to God (i.e. repent)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/yadah.html\">acknowledge<\/a> God&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/shem.html\">name<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/palal.html\">pray<\/a><\/li>\n<li>make <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/chanan.html\">supplication<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span id=\"1ki8-35\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">35<\/span> &#8220;When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against thee, if they pray toward this place, and acknowledge thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them, <\/span> <span id=\"1ki8-36\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">36<\/span> then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, thy people Israel, when thou dost teach them the good way in which they should walk; and grant rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people as an inheritance. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">COMMENTARY: The clear message here is that God uses famine to discipline people who <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-sin\">sin by practicing religion<\/a>. When applying this truth, it is important to remember that this principle is applied to individuals &#8212; not just to groups of people like Israel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">God restates what the sinner must do to receive forgiveness:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/palal.html\">pray<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/yadah.html\">acknowledge<\/a> God&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/shem.html\">name<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/kjv\/shuwb.html\">return to God (i.e. repent)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span id=\"1ki8-37\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">37<\/span> &#8220;If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besieges them in any of their cities; whatever plague, whatever sickness there is; <\/span> <span id=\"1ki8-38\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">38<\/span> whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by any man or by all thy people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house; <\/span> <span id=\"1ki8-39\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">39<\/span> then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and render to each whose heart thou knowest, according to all his ways (for thou, thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men); <\/span> <span id=\"1ki8-40\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">40<\/span> that they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest to our fathers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>God uses the imagery of food famines to convey spiritual famines. Thus we should interpret the famine in Canaan as a spiritual famine because Canaan was occupied by pagan nations whose religious practices were not spiritually nourishing. They fed the flesh and the soul but not the spirit. They are the substance of religion.<\/p>\n<p>Only the spirit of God can nourish the spirit of man. But, because people have great difficulty distinguishing between spiritual food and soulish food, they are confused by what is good for them and what is not. This is another example of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=hebrews+5:11-14;+ezekiel+44:23;+leviticus+10:8-11;+ezekiel+22:26;+1-kings+3:9;+2-samuel+14:17;+leviticus+11:45-47;+leviticus+20:25\">difference between Old\/First Covenant and New Covenant<\/a>. Old\/First Covenant religion appears to be good and appears to be nourishing, but it is not the same as the New Covenant. These differences are explained further in Two Covenants.<\/p>\n<p>The challenge to differentiate between the two covenants is the same problem that Adam and Eve had in the garden. There were two trees from which they could eat: Tree of Life and Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/genesis\/passage\/?q=genesis+2:8-9;genesis+3:1-7\">Both trees were <span class=\"versetext\"> pleasing to the sight and good for food.<\/span><\/a> But, although they were free to eat from both trees, they were told that they should not eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/wood-gold-silver-stone\">Wood (trees), Gold, Silver, Stone <\/a>for understanding of the symbolism of trees.<\/p>\n<p>The two trees represent sources of spiritual food or soulish food. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=proverbs+15:1-4;+proverbs+18:21;+proverbs+12:13;+proverbs+13:3;+proverbs+18:4-7;+proverbs+10:20-21;+proverbs+11:30;+proverbs+21:23;+hosea+10:13;+matthew+12:35-37;+2-corinthians+2:15-17;+ephesians+4:29;+colossians+4:6;+titus+1:10-11;+james+3:1-9;+2-peter+2:18\">The power of the tongue can lead to either life or death. Trees of Life (i.e. New Covenant disciples) speak words (i.e. tongues) that are life-giving spiritual food. Trees of Knowledge of Good and Evil (i.e. Old\/First Covenant religionists) speak words (i.e. tongues) that lead to death.<\/a>\u00a0These two kinds of tongues describe <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">true prophets<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\">false prophets<\/a>. They also describe the basic <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/2-corinthians\/passage\/?q=2-corinthians+3:1-11\">differences between the Old\/First Covenant and the New Covenant.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>When we understand the two covenants, we begin to see the symbolism of famine:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Spiritual famine is the condition of people who listen to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\">trees that speak of the knowledge of good and evil<\/a> (i.e. False Prophets).<\/li>\n<li>Religious people are in a state of perpetual famine because they do not<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=exodus+15:22-26;+exodus+23:20-25;+exodus+19:1-5;+jeremiah+7:23-26;+jeremiah+11:1-4;+matthew+4:1-4;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+job+22:21-23;+psalm+119:9-13;+psalm+138:4;+isaiah+28:23;+jeremiah+11:1-7;+jeremiah+22:21;+psalm+106:25;+nehemiah+9:29;+jeremiah+11:10;+jeremiah+13:11;+zechariah+7:11;+isaiah+46:12;+matthew+13:15\"> listen to God&#8217;s voice<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>People who do listen to God&#8217;s spoken voice and New Covenant disciples (i.e. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">True Prophets<\/a> who are Trees of Life) receive good spiritual food that produces spiritual life in them and others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Essentially, Old\/First Covenant religious people eat from trees of knowledge of good and evil while New Covenant disciples eat from trees of life. Religious people <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=psalm+118:8;+2-chronicles+32:7-8;+psalm+40:4;+psalm+56:4-11;+psalm+108:12;+isaiah+31:1;+isaiah+31:3;+isaiah+57:13;+jeremiah+17:5;+psalm+146:3;+isaiah+2:22;+isaiah+30:1\">put their trust in men<\/a> (i.e. trees\u00a0 of knowledge of good and evil, while New Covenant\u00a0 disciples exercise <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\">faith<\/a> in God&#8217;s voice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/wood-gold-silver-stone\">Wood (trees).<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>WINE<\/strong><br \/>\nLiteral interpretations of the Bible always interpret wine as a natural food product made from grapes. When it is interpreted as a natural food that is drunk for religious purposes (e.g. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Eucharist\">communion\/Eucharist<\/a>, etc.), it becomes an evil food because the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/romans\/14-17.html\">kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking natural food.<\/a> But, when interpreted spiritually as God&#8217;s spoken word, it is good food.<\/p>\n<p>Not all wine is the same. In the natural world, old wine is preferred. It has better taste but is more expensive. Newer wines, on the other hand, are cheaper and generally considered to be of lesser quality than the old.<\/p>\n<p>In Biblical language, however, new wine is better than old wine.<br \/>\nWine that leads to joy is Spiritual wine consumed by New Covenant disciples. It is the product of the Holy Spirit working in and through people. New wine is the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">spoken word of God<\/a>. Symbolically speaking, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+2:1-10;+proverbs+3:10;+proverbs+9:5;+mark+2:22;+luke+5:38\">Jesus brought new wine<\/a> to Israel because<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=john+7:16;+john+12:49;+john+14:10;+john+14:26;+john+16:13;+1-john+2:27;+1-john+2:20;+1-corinthians+2:12;+psalm+143:10;+luke+12:11-12;+matthew+10:17-20;+mark+13:11;+1-thessalonians+2:13;+exodus+4:12\"> the words he spoke were God&#8217;s words.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 160px;\">STUDY TIP: See\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-commerce\/jesus-and-the-money-changers-in-the-temple-2#weddingincana\">this link for discussion of the story of the wedding in Cana.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>New wine is fruit of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\">Tree of Life<\/a>. God is the tree of life. The fruit of the tree of life is wine which symbolically represents God&#8217;s spoken voice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+15:1-8;+genesis+40:1-10;+ezekiel+17:1-8\">this link for scriptures about trees of life represented as a grape vine<\/a>. God is the ultimate tree of life.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">\u00a0True prophets<\/a>,<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/angels\"> angels<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/messiah\">messiahs<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/the-high-priest\">high priests<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/model-warriors\">warriors <\/a>are the branches of the vine. The fruit of the tree of life (i.e. God) is grapes which are converted into wine through a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/study\/study-for-discipline\/7\">refining process<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Old wine leading to drunkenness is Old\/First Covenant religion. It is <a href=\" https:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/toxicity\/\">intoxicating<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=leviticus+10:9;+numbers+6:1-3;+deuteronomy+29:6;+judges+13:1-14;+proverbs+20:1;+proverbs+31:1-5;+isaiah+28:1-13;+isaiah+5:1-22;+isaiah+24:9;+isaiah+29:1-9;+isaiah+56;+ezekiel+44:15-23;+hosea+4:11-18;+luke+1:15;+ephesians+5:18;+1-timothy+3:1-3;+titus+1:7\">strong drink<\/a> produced by man&#8217;s efforts to create and consume <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\">religion<\/a> out of their <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\">literal interpretations of the Bible.<\/a> Religious leaders are most vulnerable to addiction to this kind of drink, but anyone can become <a href=\" https:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/toxicity\/\">addicted to its toxic influence<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>CLEAN AND UNCLEAN FOOD <\/strong><br \/>\nThe <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=genesis+7:2;genesis+7:8;genesis+8:20;leviticus+11\">books of the Law of Moses have much to say about clean and unclean food<\/a>. The New Testament has little to say about clean and unclean food except that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=acts+10:15;matthew+15:6-16;luke+11:41;acts+11:4-9;romans+14;1+corinthians+10:23-30;1+timothy+4:1-4;titus+1:1-15\">all foods are clean for those who are pure and that it is permissible to eat any food. <\/a>These seemingly contradictory scriptures pose a problem for understanding to Old\/First Covenant religionists, but are clear to New Covenant disciples.<\/p>\n<p>God uses the symbolism of some foods being clean and others unclean to point out the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=hebrews+5:11-14;+ezekiel+44:23;+leviticus+10:8-11;+ezekiel+22:26;+1-kings+3:9;+2-samuel+14:17;+leviticus+11:45-47;+leviticus+20:25\"> difference between good and evil. <\/a>People who do not know the difference will fall for temptations to eat unclean food. They do not know the difference because they do not listen to God&#8217;s voice.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">True prophets<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/angels\">angels<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/messiah\">messiahs<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/the-high-priest\">high priests<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenants-part-2\/7#witnessdefined\">witnesses<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/model-warriors\">warriors <\/a>listen to God&#8217;s voice so they are not tempted to participate in evil. Their job is to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=ezekiel+3:17;+ezekiel+16;+ezekiel+22:1-3;+ezekiel+23;+ezekiel+33:1-3;+jonah+1:2;+micah+3:8;+ezekiel+20:4;+ezekiel+24:6;+ezekiel+24:9;+1-timothy+5:20;+ezekiel+8:9-17;+matthew+23;+matthew+6:1-5;+matthew+6:16;+matthew+13:15;+matthew+22:23-46;+mark+12:13-40;+luke+11:37-54;+luke+20:45-47;+luke+6:24-26;+luke+14:1-8\">warn religious people that religion is evil food,<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/god-is-calling-people-out-of-religion\">call them out of religion<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/teach\">teach<\/a> them <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/how-to-hear-gods-spoken-voice\">how to hear God&#8217;s spoken voice<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A good way to describe the difference between clean and unclean is to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/5\">compare Old\/First Covenant with the New Covenant<\/a> and to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+1:18-27;+1-corinthians+3:18-21;+2-corinthians+1:12;+james+3:13-18;+1-corinthians+2:1-15;+jeremiah+4:19-22;+isaiah+5:20-21;+isaiah+29:14;+isaiah+47:10;+jeremiah+8:9;+proverbs+3:1-7;+romans+1:18-25\">compare worldly wisdom with Godly wisdom<\/a>. Old\/First Covenant religionists consider what the Old\/First Testament says literally. That is why many Jews and Messianic Christians try to observe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org\/overview-of-jewish-dietary-laws-and-regulations\">dietary laws.\u00a0<\/a>New Covenant disciples, however, have Godly wisdom that interprets the law of Moses symbolically and do not observe dietary laws. New Covenant disciples know that the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=romans+14:12-22;1+corinthians+8:8\">kingdom of God is not a matter of what they eat and drink<\/a> (i.e. religious regulations), but a matter of having the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+31:31-34;+jeremiah+32:39-40;+jeremiah+33:14;+jeremiah+24:7;+ezekiel+37:26;+ezekiel+39:29;+luke+22:20;+1-corinthians+11:25;+2-corinthians+3:1-6;+hebrews+8:8-12;+hebrews+10:16-17;+psalm+40:8;+psalm+37:31;+genesis+17:7-13\"> law written on their hearts.<\/a> <span id=\"ro14-17\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\">Therefore, they do not follow religious <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=isaiah+29:13-14;+matthew+15:1-9;+mark+7:1-13;+colossians+2:1-8;+colossians+2:20-23;+titus+1\">rules and traditions of any kind<\/a> &#8212; including prohibitions against eating certain kinds of food.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The main thing to understand about Biblical references to clean and unclean things is that God is only concerned with spiritual food &#8212; natural foods. As he does with all other Bible <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\">symbolism, <\/a>God <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-2\/3\">introduces a spiritual principle with a natural object<\/a> (e.g. food, fruit, animals, birds, fish, bugs, etc.) with which people are familiar. And the spiritual principle he is always trying to make is this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=exodus+15:22-26;+exodus+23:20-25;+exodus+19:1-5;+jeremiah+7:23-26;+jeremiah+11:1-4;+matthew+4:1-4;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+job+22:21-23;+psalm+119:9-13;+psalm+138:4;+isaiah+28:23;+jeremiah+11:1-7;+jeremiah+22:21;+psalm+106:25;+nehemiah+9:29;+jeremiah+11:10;+jeremiah+13:11;+zechariah+7:11;+isaiah+46:12;+matthew+13:15;genesis+22:18;+exodus+23:21-22;+numbers+7:89;+numbers+14:22;+deuteronomy+4:12;+deuteronomy+4:30;+deuteronomy+4:36;+deuteronomy+5:22-26;+deuteronomy+8:20;+deuteronomy+9:23;+deuteronomy+13:4;+deuteronomy+13:18;+deuteronomy+15:5;+deuteronomy+26:14;+deuteronomy+26:17;+deuteronomy+30:20;+joshua+5:6;+joshua+10:14;+joshua+22:2;+joshua+24:24;+psalm+81:11;+psalm+95:7;+psalm+106:25;+jeremiah+3:13;+jeremiah+3:25;+jeremiah+7:23;+jeremiah+7:28;+jeremiah+9:13;+jeremiah+11:4;+jeremiah+11:7;+jeremiah+18:10;+jeremiah+22:20-21;+jeremiah+26:13;+jeremiah+32:23;+jeremiah+40:3;+jeremiah+42:6;+jeremiah+42:13-14;+jeremiah+43:1-7;+jeremiah+44:23;+isaiah+28:23;+isaiah+32:9;+isaiah+55:1-3;daniel+9:9-11\">Do listen to his voice<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+27:9-16;+jeremiah+23:16;+jeremiah+23:25;+jeremiah+23:32;+jeremiah+29:8;+ezekiel+14:1-12;+ephesians+5:6;+zechariah+10:2;+jeremiah+14:14\">Do not listen to the voices of false prophets. <\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This principle is summarized neatly and concisely in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/genesis\/passage\/?q=genesis+2:8-17\">God&#8217;s command to Adam and Eve regarding the two trees. <\/a>They were free to eat <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\">fruit from the tree of life<\/a>, but warned that they would die if they ate <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\">fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. god says the same thing in scriptures about clean and unclean food.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Do eat (i.e. consume, take into your heart and mind) the\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#goodspiritualfood\">good,clean spiritual food<\/a> that comes from the mouths and writings of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">true prophets<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/angels\">angels<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/messiah\">messiahs<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/the-high-priest\">high priests<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenants-part-2\/7#witnessdefined\">witnesses<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/model-warriors\">warriors. <\/a>These people are symbolically called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\">Trees of Life.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Do not eat (i.e. consume, take into your heart and mind) the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilsoulishfood\">evil,\u00a0 soulish food<\/a> that comes from the mouths and writings of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\">false prophets<\/a> (i.e. religious leaders,<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/giants-and-nephilim\" data-slimstat=\"5\"> Giants and Nephilim, <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/kings-queens-and-princes\" data-slimstat=\"5\">Kings, Queens and Princes,\u00a0<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/pharisees-and-scribes\" data-slimstat=\"5\">Pharisees and Scribes,\u00a0<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/serpent-devil-satan-adversary-demons-evil-spirits-and-anti-christs\" data-slimstat=\"5\">Serpents, Devil, Satans, Adversaries, Demons, Evil Spirits and Anti-Christs.<\/a> These are symbolically called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\">Trees of Knowledge of Good and Evil.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Knowing what to eat (i.e. God&#8217;s voice) and what not to eat (the words of false prophets and religion) is the basic story of the Bible. When people eat God&#8217;s voice (i.e. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=romans+10:8;+luke+8:15;+psalm+119:11;+psalm+119:161;+deuteronomy+30:14;+luke+8:12;+jeremiah+20:9;+hebrews+4:12\">hear it and consume it in their hearts<\/a>), they are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/#rewards\">rewarded with spiritual life<\/a>. When people listen to false prophets and participate in the religion that false prophets teach and promote, they earn the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=romans+6:23;+proverbs+10:16\">wage of sin<\/a>: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/death-resurrection-life\/2#spiritualdeath\">spiritual death<\/a>. These are the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+30:15-20;+genesis+2:16-17;+deuteronomy+11:26-27;+jeremiah+21:8\"> life or death consequences of choosing<\/a> to listen to God&#8217;s voice or not.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 160px;\">STUDY TIP: See<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/death-resurrection-life\"> Death, Resurrection and New Life<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/death-resurrection-life\/two-deaths\">Two Deaths<\/a> for discussion on these life or death consequences. Also see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/death-resurrection-life\/2#spirituallife\">this link<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/#rewards\">this link<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/study\/click-the-links\/2#morerewards\">this link<\/a> for discussion on the rewards of hearing God&#8217;s spoken voice.<\/p>\n<p>One way that God represents the choice to listen to his voice or not is in scriptures about clean and unclean foods. It is necessary, therefore, to understand the spiritual meaning of these scriptures. People who try to understand and obey the literal meanings will disobey the spiritual meaning. That is why spending time on the spiritual meaning is so necessary.<\/p>\n<p>God knows full well how the life and death consequences of listening to his voice affect people. That is why he warns them to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/2\">be very discerning about the kind of food (i.e. teaching) that they take into their hearts and minds.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"whyuncleanfoodtastesgood\"><\/a>In general, unclean food is any religious activity that feeds the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/psuche.html\">soul<\/a> of religious people. To understand this, we must first understand that the Biblical concept of &#8220;feeding&#8221; is not about eating natural food. Rather, Biblical feeding and eating exists in the following truths:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li>Involvement in religious thinking and religious activity makes religious people feel like they are connected with God. They think that the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/music-singing-and-dancing\/6\">good feelings they get in their bodies<\/a> while worshiping, singing, and speaking in tongues are feelings generated by God for their personal pleasure to let them know that they are connecting with him. This thinking is all wrong. It is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/fakefaith\/\">fake faith<\/a>. What they feel is the same kind of fleshly response that people get when they sing the Star Spangled Banner in a large group gathering.\u00a0 The truth is that they are only connecting with other people by joining with them in religious activity. The cues for all of the religious things that they do come directly from other people &#8212; not from God. Someone says let us pray and they pray. Someone says let us sing and they sing. Someone says stand up or sit down and they stand up or sit down. Someone says worship God at a certain time in a certain location and they worship at a certain time in a certain location.<\/li>\n<li>Religious people believe that they show trust in God by being faithful members of a religious community and by following <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/6#religiouslaws\">religious rules<\/a>. The truth is that their security exists in being part of a religious community. The truth is that their religious activity shows that they trust the teachings, rules and regulations of the religious community to direct and control their religious life &#8212; not God.<\/li>\n<li>Religion makes people feel good, satisfied, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/pride\/2\">proud<\/a> and fulfilled while practicing rituals, singing songs, praying, enjoying fellowship, eating natural food (i.e. fellowship), and listening to Biblical teaching in a community setting. The truth is that these are all soulish activities that activate human emotions and create a general feeling of well-being. The Bible calls all of these religious activities &#8220;flesh&#8221; because they all involve using the physical body in some way. They are not spiritual activities because <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+3:8;+hebrews+11:1-3;+ecclesiastes+11:4-5;+ecclesiastes+1:13-17;+ecclesiastes+3:10-11;+ecclesiastes+8:16-17\">spiritual activity cannot be seen or heard with natural eyes or ears<\/a>. Because these soulish activities do make people feel good, satisfied, proud and fulfilled, people make a habit of doing them repeatedly and regularly. In Biblical terms, they feed their souls on regular religious activity just like they feed their physical bodies on natural food.<\/li>\n<li>Religious people believe that they must belong to and participate in the activities of a religious community (i.e. institution) to feel good, satisfied, proud and fulfilled about their relationship with God. This is the substance of their soulish life. The truth is that their soulish life &#8212; not their spiritual life &#8212; is based on the opportunities offered to them by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=isaiah+29:13-14;+matthew+15:1-9;+mark+7:1-13;+colossians+2:1-8;+colossians+2:20-23;+titus+1:15-16\">man-made, human institutions, based on false doctrines<\/a> &#8212; not by God. It does not occur to religious people that they can feel, good, satisfied, proud and fulfilled only through faith in a God that they cannot see without being part of a religious community. The truth is that they feed their souls and create internal security for themselves by joining themselves to man-made religious institutions. This is not the same as trusting a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/hebrews\/passage\/?q=hebrews+12:18-24\">God whom they cannot see with natural eyes, whom the cannot see with natural ears, and who cannot be touched.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Religion offers opportunities for people to be loved, accepted and even honored by others who share their religious beliefs. Religious people have a difficult time living without all of these soulish benefits that religion provides. Thus they are willing to work, follow religious rules and pay <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/sacrifices-tithes-and-offerings\/2593-2\">tithes<\/a> for the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/pride\/2\">love, acceptance and honor they receive from their religious community<\/a>. The truth is that religious people value the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+12:42-43;+john+5:41-44;+matthew+23:1-7;+1-samuel+15:30;+romans+2:29\">praise,<\/a> love and acceptance of their religious <a href=\"http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/cohort\">cohorts<\/a> more than they value the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/faith-grace-mercy-peace-love-heart-glory-blessing-spirit-and-truth\/oil-water-face-hands\/love\"> love<\/a> that is available to them from God who has no religious rules, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/fourth-commandment\">requires no work<\/a>, and requires<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=romans+6:23;+2-corinthians+9:15;+john+4:10;+1-peter+4:10;+1-peter+3:7;+acts+8:20;+ephesians+2:8;+matthew+19:11;+acts+1:4;+romans+4:16;+romans+5:17-18\"> no money<\/a> from them. Thus it can be said that religious people feed their need for love, acceptance and honor through their membership in a religious community.<\/li>\n<li>Religion makes people feel good, satisfied, proud and fulfilled when they meditate on their faithfulness to follow religious rules and regulations. Whatever confidence they have about their relationship with God is based on two factors: 1) Their assessment of how well they do in following those rules and regulations. 2) The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+12:42-43;+john+5:41-44;+matthew+23:1-7;+1-samuel+15:30;+romans+2:29\">praise<\/a> &#8212; positive or negative &#8212; they receive from their religious cohorts about their faithfulness to follow religious rules and regulations. The truth is that their security is based on the opinions and judgements other people make about their conformance to man-made rules and regulations. The truth is that they trust men more than they trust God. For that reason they become <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=galatians+1:10;+1-thessalonians+2:1-4;+colossians+3:22;+ephesians+6:6;+matthew+23:1-5;+matthew+6:1;+matthew+6:5;+matthew+6:16;+luke+6:26\">people-pleasers<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Religious people are deceived into believing that the good feelings they have while doing religious things alone, or especially with others, are spiritual feelings. The truth is, however, that the feelings they have are soulish &#8212; not spiritual. Physical manifestations of the flesh (e.g. tingling excitement, trembling, shaking, tears, extreme happiness or physical joy, compulsion to jump, compulsion to clap hands, compulsion to raise and wave hands, etc.) are evidence of the soul being <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-deception\/4\">activated by communal religious activity<\/a>. They are not evidence of connection with God. Being physical and observable, they cannot be spiritual because <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+3:8;+hebrews+11:1-3;+ecclesiastes+11:4-5;+ecclesiastes+1:13-17;+ecclesiastes+3:10-11;+ecclesiastes+8:16-17\">spiritual things cannot be observed<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>We find this kind of food introduced in the Garden of Eden where food that feeds the soul is identified as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=genesis+2:9;+genesis+3:1-6\">Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil which seemed to be good to eat. <\/a>Such trees are found in the Garden along with the Tree of Life. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\">Religion provides food that seems good to eat<\/a> but is actually <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine#evilsoulishfood\">evil, soulish food<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The reason religion is so strong and pervasive around the world (i.e. the garden) is that it seems good. It seems good and logical because it is based on the literal words of the Bible. The reasoning goes like this: If it is in the Bible, it must be good because the Bible is God&#8217;s word. This is wrong thinking, of course, because <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">God&#8217;s written word and God&#8217;s spoken word are not the same<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/genesis\/passage\/?q=genesis+2:1-9\">Both trees are attractive and appear to be good for food<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/genesis\/passage\/?q=genesis+3:1-7\">people are free to choose to eat from any tree &#8212; even the tree that produces the forbidden fruit<\/a>. But, if they eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (i.e. false prophets and religion), they will <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/death-resurrection-life\/2#spiritualdeath\">die spiritually (i.e. be separated from God)<\/a> for lack of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:3;+matthew+4:4\">good spiritual food that comes by hearing the spoken word of God<\/a> which gives them <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns#rewards\">spiritual life<\/a>. It is critically important, therefore, to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/2\">know the difference between the two kinds of trees<\/a>. One is clean and all the others are unclean.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><br \/>\n<strong>LEAVEN PART ONE<\/strong><br \/>\nLeaven can be a confusing Biblical term because it can have both positive and negative meaning and because it is generally interpreted to symbolically represent sin. Sin, of course, inspires fairly clear associations for most people across the religious spectrum and even in the non-religious community. But, the way we see it, the fact of universal agreement about its meaning is a clear indicator that it is interpreted with Old\/First Covenant, literal understanding and not with a spiritual New Covenant understanding. So that is the focus of this series of pages.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">God\u2019s Written Word and God\u2019s Spoken Voice<\/a><\/p>\n<p>We begin by looking at the Hebrew and Greek words that are translated as leaven or yeast.<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #41364e;\"><strong>English words NIV<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #41364e;\"><strong>English Word NAS, RSV, KJV<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #41364e;\"><strong>Hebrew<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #41364e;\"><strong>Greek<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #41364e;\">with yeast<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #41364e;\">leaven<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #41364e;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/nas\/chametz.html\">Chametz<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #41364e;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/zume.html\">Zume<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #41364e;\">without yeast<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #41364e;\">unleavened<\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #41364e;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/hebrew\/nas\/matstsah.html\">Matstsah<\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"border: 1px solid #41364e;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/azumos.html\">Azumos<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>These definitions hold no surprises or nuances that affect our understanding of what leavened and unleavened bread are. There is nuance, however, in the understanding of how leaven\/yeast works. In this <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Leavening_agent\">Wikipedia article we learn that leaven as a noun is a chemical, mechanical or biological agent that lightens or softens a dough or batter.<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/leaven\">Merriam Webster says that leaven is <span class=\"ssens\">a substance (such as yeast) used to do one of the following:<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/leaven\"><span class=\"ssens\">produce fermentation in dough or a liquid<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/leaven\"><span class=\"ssens\">produce a gas that lightens dough or batter<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"ssens\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/leaven\">modifies or lightens another substance in which it is mixed<\/a> <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>What we know from these definitions and our practical experience in cooking is that leaven has the effect of making things puff up and be lighter than they would otherwise be. This is the essence of leaven that God has in mind when he uses it to describe spiritual bread.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ssens\">Merriam Webster also says that leaven can be used as a transitive verb where an action that <\/span><span class=\"ssens\">makes the thing to which it is applied less serious and often more exciting. Here is a quotation by <\/span>William McIlvanney that uses &#8220;leaven&#8221; in this way:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\"><em>&#8220;Good lies need a leavening of truth to make them palatable.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This quotation is especially instructive in our quest to understand the spiritual meaning of leavening in the Bible. It is especially instructive when we consider it alongside the following scripture:<\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/1-corinthians\/passage\/?q=1-corinthians+8:1-12\">1 Corinthians 8:1-12<span id=\"1co8-1\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><\/span><span id=\"1co8-1\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"> <\/span><span id=\"1co8-1\" class=\"versetext highlightThenFade\"> <\/span><\/a><span id=\"1co8-1\" class=\"versetext highlightThenFade\">Now concerning <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/eidolothuton.html\">food offered to idols<\/a>: we know that &#8220;all of us possess <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/gnosis.html\">knowledge<\/a>.&#8221; &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/gnosis.html\">Knowledge<\/a>&#8221; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/phusioo.html\">puffs up<\/a>, but love builds up. <\/span> <span id=\"1co8-2\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">2<\/span> If any one imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. <\/span> <span id=\"1co8-3\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">3<\/span> But if one loves God, one is known by him. <\/span> <span id=\"1co8-4\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">4<\/span> Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that &#8220;an idol has no real existence,&#8221; and that &#8220;there is no God but one.&#8221; <\/span> <span id=\"1co8-5\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">5<\/span> For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth&#8211;as indeed there are many &#8220;gods&#8221; and many &#8220;lords&#8221; &#8212; <\/span> <span id=\"1co8-6\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">6<\/span> yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. <\/span><span id=\"1co8-3\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\"><span id=\"1co8-1\" class=\"versetext highlightThenFade\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/gnosis.html\">Knowledge<\/a> in this scripture is not spiritual. It is natural, human knowledge that is available to everyone. Acquisition of this kind of <\/span><span id=\"1co8-1\" class=\"versetext highlightThenFade\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/gnosis.html\">knowledge <\/a>tends to make people proud of what they know and their ability to apply it. People who have such knowledge think that they know something, and indeed they do know something but what they know is not from God. It is human wisdom taught by men who admire and value such knowledge because having it makes them feel superior to others and it creates envy on the part of those who do not have it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">COMMENTARY: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\/5\">Two Kinds of Knowledge<\/a> for more about knowledge that puffs up those who think they have it.<\/p>\n<p>This kind of human knowledge is the leavening agent by which the truth of God&#8217;s laws are interpreted. Well-meaning but deceived religious leaders fill themselves with the literal words of the Bible thinking that they have all the truth they need for righteousness. They wrongly believe that the Bible in its written form is what God wants them to learn and obey. While it is true that the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/2-timothy\/3.html\">written Bible does have value for training in righteousness, <\/a>it is also true that<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/kjv\/2-timothy\/3-7.html\"> learning to increase knowledge of the written word alone will not bring anyone to spiritual knowledge of the truth.<\/a> The perfect kind of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/epignosis.html\">knowledge<\/a> that God wants his people to seek is learned only by listening to the voice of God through his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nkjv\/passage\/?q=john+14:26;john+16:13;1+john+2:15-20;1+john+2:27;jeremiah+31:31-34\">Spirit speaking truth<\/a> to the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=ezekiel+3:10;isaiah+6:10;malachi+2:2;psalm+49:3\"> hearts of men with true understanding.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\" aria-haspopup=\"true\">God\u2019s Written Word and God\u2019s Spoken Voice Part 1<\/a>\u00a0for more about God speaking to the heart.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><br \/>\n<strong>LEAVEN PART TWO<\/strong><br \/>\nLeaven has an important place in Judaism because it is appears so many times in Torah where it is generally associated with sins of any kind. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishencyclopedia.com\/articles\/9694-leaven\">The Jewish Encyclopedia discusses it in this link. <\/a>Christians, not surprisingly, fail to consider leaven seriously in their doctrines except to represent corrupting sin in all its forms. While associating leaven with sin is not a wrong interpretation, it is an incomplete interpretation because sin itself is not understood correctly.<\/p>\n<p>The first fact to recognize is that in both natural and spiritual terms, leaven exists in the context of bread. Knowing that, we find a clue that we must understand bread before we understand leaven.<\/p>\n<p>The second fact to keep in mind regarding leaven is that it can be both good and bad. Many <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/search\/?q=unleavened&amp;t=kjv&amp;s=Bibles&amp;ps=10&amp;p=1\">scriptures about eating unleavened bread in ceremonial circumstances<\/a> strongly indicate that unleavened bread is preferred to leavened bread. Considering that bread symbolizes an offering to God, leavened bread constitutes a bad or unacceptable offering, while unleavened bread is a good or acceptable offering. The fact of double meanings is best portrayed in this scripture:<\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/1-corinthians\/5.html\">1 Corinthians 5<\/a>: <span id=\"1co5-1\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"> It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father&#8217;s wife. <\/span> <span id=\"1co5-2\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">2<\/span> And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. <\/span> <span id=\"1co5-3\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">3<\/span> For though absent in body I am present in spirit, and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment <\/span> <span id=\"1co5-4\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">4<\/span> in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, <\/span> <span id=\"1co5-5\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">5<\/span> you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. <\/span> <span id=\"1co5-6\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">6<\/span> Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? <\/span> <span id=\"1co5-7\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">7<\/span> Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed. <\/span> <span id=\"1co5-8\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">8<\/span> Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. <\/span> <span id=\"1co5-9\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">9<\/span> I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with immoral men; <\/span> <span id=\"1co5-10\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">10<\/span> not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. <\/span> <span id=\"1co5-11\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">11<\/span> But rather I wrote to you not to associate with any one who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber&#8211;not even to eat with such a one. <\/span> <span id=\"1co5-12\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">12<\/span> For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? <\/span> <span id=\"1co5-13\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">13<\/span> God judges those outside. &#8220;Drive out the wicked person from among you.&#8221; <\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"VerseResultsSortBy\" class=\"SortBy\">Leavened bread as something to be avoided is introduced in the story of Israels flight from bondage in Egypt as reported in these scriptures:<\/div>\n<ul id=\"Page-1\" style=\"display: block;\"><\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a id=\"\" title=\"Go to Exodus 12:1-39 (Standard View)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/exodus\/passage\/?q=exodus+12:1-39\">Exodus 12:1-39: <\/a><span class=\"versetext\">The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">2<\/span> &#8220;This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">3<\/span> Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers&#8217; houses, a lamb for a household; <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">4<\/span> and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbor next to his house shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">5<\/span> Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">6<\/span> and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">7<\/span> Then they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">8<\/span> They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">9<\/span> Do not eat any of it raw or boiled with water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">10<\/span> And you shall let none of it remain until the morning, anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">11<\/span> In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD&#8217;s passover. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">12<\/span> For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">13<\/span> The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">14<\/span> &#8220;This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">15<\/span> Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses, for if any one eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">16<\/span> On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly; no work shall be done on those days; but what every one must eat, that only may be prepared by you. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">17<\/span> And you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt: therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as an ordinance for ever. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">18<\/span> In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, and so until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">19<\/span> For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses; for if any one eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">20<\/span> You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.&#8221; <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">21<\/span> Then Moses called all the elders of Israel, and said to them, &#8220;Select lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the passover lamb. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">22<\/span> Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood which is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">23<\/span> For the LORD will pass through to slay the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to slay you. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">24<\/span> You shall observe this rite as an ordinance for you and for your sons for ever. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">25<\/span> And when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">26<\/span> And when your children say to you, &#8216;What do you mean by this service?&#8217; <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">27<\/span> you shall say, &#8216;It is the sacrifice of the LORD&#8217;s passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he slew the Egyptians but spared our houses.'&#8221; And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">28<\/span> Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">29<\/span> At midnight the LORD smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the first-born of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of the cattle. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">30<\/span> And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where one was not dead. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">31<\/span> And he summoned Moses and Aaron by night, and said, &#8220;Rise up, go forth from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as you have said. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">32<\/span> Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also!&#8221; <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">33<\/span> And the Egyptians were urgent with the people, to send them out of the land in haste; for they said, &#8220;We are all dead men.&#8221; <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">34<\/span> So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their mantles on their shoulders. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">35<\/span> The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked of the Egyptians jewelry of silver and of gold, and clothing; <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">36<\/span> and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they despoiled the Egyptians. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">37<\/span> And the people of Israel journeyed from Ram&#8217;eses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">38<\/span> A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very many cattle, both flocks and herds. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">39<\/span> And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any provisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/deuteronomy\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+16:1-8\">Deuteronomy 16:1-8<\/a>: <span id=\"de16-1\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"> &#8220;Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover to the LORD your God; for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. <\/span> <span id=\"de16-2\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">2<\/span> And you shall offer the passover sacrifice to the LORD your God, from the flock or the herd, at the place which the LORD will choose, to make his name dwell there. <\/span> <span id=\"de16-3\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">3<\/span> You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction&#8211;for you came out of the land of Egypt in hurried flight&#8211;that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. <\/span> <span id=\"de16-4\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">4<\/span> No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days; nor shall any of the flesh which you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning. <\/span> <span id=\"de16-5\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">5<\/span> You may not offer the passover sacrifice within any of your towns which the LORD your God gives you; <\/span> <span id=\"de16-6\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">6<\/span> but at the place which the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the passover sacrifice, in the evening at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt. <\/span> <span id=\"de16-7\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">7<\/span> And you shall boil it and eat it at the place which the LORD your God will choose; and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. <\/span> <span id=\"de16-8\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">8<\/span> For six days you shall eat unleavened bread; and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD your God; you shall do no work on it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>We see further proscriptions against eating leavened bread in these scriptures.<\/p>\n<div class=\"NavBar PassageNavBar\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a id=\"\" title=\"Go to Exodus 13:7 (Standard View)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/exodus\/13-7.html\">Exodus 13:7<\/a>:<span class=\"versetext\">Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory. <\/span><\/div>\n<div id=\"PassageNav\" class=\"PassageNav\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"NavBar PassageNavBar\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a title=\"Go to Deuteronomy 16:3 (Standard View)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/deuteronomy\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+16:3-4\">Deuteronomy 16:3-4: <\/a><span id=\"de16-3\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"> Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction,<a name=\"1\"><\/a> because you left Egypt in haste<a name=\"2\"><\/a>&#8211;so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.<a name=\"3\"><\/a> <\/span> <span id=\"de16-4\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">4<\/span> Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening<a name=\"4\"><\/a> of the first day remain until morning.<\/span><\/div>\n<p>The negative aspect of leaven is confirmed again in these New Testament scriptures:<\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/kjv\/matthew\/passage\/?q=matthew+26:26-27\">Matthew 26:26-27 KJV: <span id=\"mt26-26\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"> <\/span><\/a><span id=\"mt26-26\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"strongs\">And<\/span> as <span class=\"strongs\">they<\/span> were <span class=\"strongs\">eating<\/span> , <span class=\"strongs\">Jesus<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">took<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/artos.html\">bread<\/a>,<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">and<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">blessed<\/span> it, and <span class=\"strongs\">brake<\/span> it, <span class=\"strongs\">and<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">gave<\/span> it to the <span class=\"strongs\">disciples,<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">and<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">said<\/span> , <span class=\"WordsOfChrist\"><span class=\"strongs\">Take<\/span>, <span class=\"strongs\">eat<\/span>; <span class=\"strongs\">this<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">is<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">my<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">body.<\/span><\/span> <\/span> <span id=\"mt26-27\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">27<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">And<\/span> he <span class=\"strongs\">took<\/span> the <span class=\"strongs\">cup,<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">and<\/span> gave <span class=\"strongs\">thanks<\/span>, and <span class=\"strongs\">gave<\/span> it to <span class=\"strongs\">them,<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">saying<\/span>, <span class=\"WordsOfChrist\">Drink <span class=\"strongs\">ye<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">all<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">of<\/span> <span class=\"strongs\">it;<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">COMMENTARY: The context here is the Passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples before the day of his crucifixion. The bread of this meal is specified in <a id=\"\" title=\"Go to Exodus 12:1-39 (Standard View)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/exodus\/passage\/?q=exodus+12:1-39\">Exodus 12:1-39<\/a> where God lays out his commandments regarding Passover.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Title TitleSmall\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/matthew\/passage\/?q=matthew+13:31-35\">Matthew 13:31-35<\/a>: <span id=\"mt13-31\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"> Another parable he put before them, saying, &#8220;The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; <\/span> <span id=\"mt13-32\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">32<\/span> it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.&#8221; <\/span> <span id=\"mt13-33\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">33<\/span> He told them another parable. &#8220;The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.&#8221; <\/span> <span id=\"mt13-34\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">34<\/span> All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed he said nothing to them without a parable. <\/span> <span id=\"mt13-35\" class=\"versetext\" style=\"display: inline;\"><span class=\"versenum\">35<\/span> This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet: &#8220;I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.&#8221; <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 160px;\">COMMENTARY: Flour symbolizes people. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#oldcovenant\">Old\/First Covenan<\/a>t religionists are unleavened bread. The way we see it, the symbolism of leaven should be specifically applied to the sin of Old\/First Covenant religion which is the religion of the Pharisees and Saducees that Jesus warned the people about in these scriptures:<\/p>\n<p class=\"PassageTitle\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a id=\"\" title=\"Go to Matthew 16:6-12 (Standard View)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/matthew\/passage\/?q=matthew+16:6-12\">Matthew 16:6-12:<\/a><span class=\"versetext\"> Jesus said to them, &#8220;Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sad&#8217;ducees.&#8221; <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">7<\/span> And they discussed it among themselves, saying, &#8220;We brought no bread.&#8221; <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">8<\/span> But Jesus, aware of this, said, &#8220;O men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">9<\/span> Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">10<\/span> Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">11<\/span> How is it that you fail to perceive that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sad&#8217;ducees.&#8221; <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">12<\/span> Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sad&#8217;ducees.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 160px;\">COMMENTARY: The leaven of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/pharisees-and-scribes\"><span class=\"versetext\"> Pharisees and Sad&#8217;ducees<\/span><\/a> is religion. They create <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#leavenedbread\">leavened bread<\/a> (i.e. false teachings) and serve it to religious people who don&#8217;t know the difference between <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\">Trees of Life<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeofknowledgeofgoodandevil\">Trees of Knowledge of Good and Evil.<\/a> Religious people don&#8217;t know that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">God&#8217;s written word and God&#8217;s spoken word are not the same. <\/a>The teachings of the <span class=\"versetext\"> Pharisees and Sad&#8217;ducees <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=genesis+2:9;+genesis+3:6\">seem to be good food<\/a>, so religious people consume it, unaware that it leads to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/death-resurrection-life\/2#spiritualdeath\">spiritual death<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 160px;\">The teachings of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/pharisees-and-scribes\"><span class=\"versetext\">Pharisees and Sad&#8217;ducees<\/span><\/a> are based on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\">literal words of the Bible.<\/a> These teachings are sin because they do not speak for God.\u00a0 Unleavened bread is God&#8217;s word spoken by prophets\/messiahs whom God anoints with oil to speak for him. People who listen to (i.e. consume) their teachings are satisfied with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/time-hours-days-weeks-and-ages\/eternity\">eternal life<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a id=\"\" title=\"Go to Mark 8:13-19 (Standard View)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/mark\/passage\/?q=mark+8:13-19\">Mark 8:13-19:<\/a><span class=\"versetext\"> And he left them, and getting into the boat again he departed to the other side. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">14<\/span> Now they had forgotten to bring bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">15<\/span> And he cautioned them, saying, &#8220;Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.&#8221; <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">16<\/span> And they discussed it with one another, saying, &#8220;We have no bread.&#8221; <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">17<\/span> And being aware of it, Jesus said to them, &#8220;Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">18<\/span> Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">19<\/span> When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?&#8221; They said to him, &#8220;Twelve.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 160px;\">COMMENTARY: See commentary above about the leavening of the Pharisees. Also see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/prayer\/prayer-2\/public-prayer#feedingfivethousand\">this link for commentary about the feeding of the five thousand.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a id=\"\" title=\"Go to Luke 12:1-4 (Standard View)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/luke\/passage\/?q=luke+12:1-4\">Luke 12:1-4:<\/a><span class=\"versetext\"> In the meantime, when so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they trod upon one another, he began to say to his disciples first, &#8220;Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">2<\/span> Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">3<\/span> Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. <\/span> <span class=\"versetext\"> <span class=\"versenum\">4<\/span> &#8220;I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 160px;\">COMMENTARY: ***<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><br \/>\n<strong>THE BREAD IN THE PASSOVER MEAL BEFORE JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED<\/strong><br \/>\nIt is important to recognize that the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+26:17-29;mark+14:12-26;luke+22:7-20;1+corinthians+11:17-34\">bread Jesus and his disciples ate at the so-called &#8220;last Passover&#8221; or the &#8220;Lord&#8217;s Supper<\/a>&#8221; was &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/artos.html\">artos<\/a>&#8221; &#8212; not &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/azumos.html\">azumos<\/a>&#8221; &#8212; bread. In other words, Jesus was breaking the law regarding the Passover feast as described in <a id=\"\" title=\"Go to Exodus 12:1-39 (Standard View)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/exodus\/passage\/?q=exodus+12:1-39\">Exodus 12:1-39 <\/a>and in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/deuteronomy\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+16:1-8\">Deuteronomy 16:1-8. <\/a>The bread they ate and the bread Jesus served was bread with yeast &#8212; not unleavened bread as prescribed by the law.<\/p>\n<p>Our first thought about this fact is that something must be wrong with the translation or the original Greek. Since Jesus was a Jew, we would expect him to faithfully observe the all the rules of Jewish festivals. The truth is, however, that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+12:1-14;+matthew+15:1-10;+mark+7:18-23;+luke+6:1-10;+luke+13:10-17;+luke+14:1-4;+mark+2:18-20;+john+5:5-18;+john+7:19-26;+john+8:1-11;+john+9:19-27\">Jesus was a lawbreaker with respect to matters of the written laws and traditions <\/a>that Jews observed.<\/p>\n<p>So we naturally wonder how Jesus could serve leavened bread instead of the customary unleavened bread at such an important festival as Passover. The simple answer is that because Jesus&#8217; inner life of the heart fulfilled the law, he was no longer compelled to fulfill Jewish religious laws. As the interpreter of the New Covenant, Jesus no longer needed to fulfill any of the rules and regulations of the written law in his flesh (i.e. through bodily actions) because the law was written on his heart as provided in the terms of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+31:31-34;+1-thessalonians+4:9;+1-john+2:27;+john+14:11-17;+john+14:26;+1-corinthians+2:12;+hebrews+8:10-11\">New Covenant<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">STUDY TIP: See <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#newcovenant\">New Covenant<\/a> for details.<\/p>\n<p>Since Jesus was not required to do any of the works of the law, it is also true that other New Covenant disciples also are not required to perform any of the literal prescriptions (i.e. things that must be done) or proscriptions (i.e. things that must not be done) outlined in the Law of Moses. Believing that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+7:24;+isaiah+11:3;+john+8:15;+1-samuel+16:7;+romans+2:28;+luke+16:15\">God always looks at the condition of a man&#8217;s heart, and not at what man does with his natural body (i.e. his mind and flesh)<\/a>, New Covenant disciples are not motivated at all to do anything religious. They walk by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\">faith that cannot be seen &#8212; not by religion that can be seen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><br \/>\n<strong>NATURAL BREAD AND SPIRITUAL BREAD<\/strong><br \/>\nIt is important to recognize that the bread that Jesus fed to the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/matthew\/passage\/?q=matthew+15:29-39\"> four thousand<\/a> and the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/john\/passage\/?q=john+6:1-14\"> five thousand<\/a> was &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/artos.html\">artos<\/a>&#8221; &#8212; not &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/azumos.html\">azumos<\/a>&#8221; &#8212; bread. The distinction between artos and azumos is the same as between the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/4#commonmanna\">common manna<\/a> eaten by the Israelites in the wilderness and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/4#hiddenmanna\">hidden manna<\/a> eaten\/heard by New Covenant disciples.<\/p>\n<p>The difference between the two kinds of bread is that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/artos.html\">artos<\/a> has leavening in it and that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/azumos.html\">azumos<\/a> is unleavened. The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+16:1-6;+mark+8:15;+luke+12:1\">leavening is the distorting influence of the teaching of Pharisees (i.e. religious leaders) on God&#8217;s words. <\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the Bible, leaven (i.e. yeast) is most commonly a reference to sin. We find this introduced in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/exodus\/passage\/?q=exodus+12:14-20#\">Passover story where the exhortation to eat unleavened bread for seven days<\/a> is a symbolic reference to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+31:31-34;+1-thessalonians+4:9;+1-john+2:27;+john+14:11-17;+john+14:26;+1-corinthians+2:12;+hebrews+8:10-11\">New Covenant where people listen to God&#8217;s voice with their hearts. <\/a>This contrasts with Old\/First Covenant religion in which people use their natural, fleshly abilities (i.e. eyes and ears) to listen to the voices of false prophets (i.e. Pharisees, religious leaders) in the context of religion. The symbolism, therefore, is that people must stop feeding on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=romans+2:27-29;+romans+7:1-6;+2-corinthians+3:1-6;+colossians+2:8-14\">religion that brings death<\/a>, and instead feed themselves on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:1-3;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4\">God&#8217;s spoken word which brings life<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The command to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=genesis+22:18;+exodus+23:21-22;+numbers+7:89;+numbers+14:22;+deuteronomy+4:12;+deuteronomy+4:30;+deuteronomy+4:36;+deuteronomy+5:22-26;+deuteronomy+8:20;+deuteronomy+9:23;+deuteronomy+13:4;+deuteronomy+13:18;+deuteronomy+15:5;+deuteronomy+26:14;+deuteronomy+26:17;+deuteronomy+30:20;+joshua+5:6;+joshua+10:14;+joshua+22:2;+joshua+24:24;+psalm+81:11;+psalm+95:7;+psalm+106:25;+jeremiah+3:13;+jeremiah+3:25;+jeremiah+7:23;+jeremiah+7:28;+jeremiah+9:13;+jeremiah+11:4;+jeremiah+11:7;+jeremiah+18:10;+jeremiah+22:20-21;+jeremiah+26:13;+jeremiah+32:23;+jeremiah+40:3;+jeremiah+42:6;+jeremiah+42:13-14;+jeremiah+43:1-7;+jeremiah+44:23;+isaiah+28:23;+isaiah+32:9;+isaiah+55:1-3\">listen to God&#8217;s voice is reinforced many times in the Old Testament. <\/a>In the New Testament, however, we do not find God speaking directly to people the way he does in the Old Testament. What we find in the New Testament is God speaking through Jesus, Paul, and a few disciples as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">True Prophets <\/a>who speak with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+6:63-68;+john+12:49;+john+17:1-8;+john+7:16;+john+8:26;+john+8:28;+john+8:38;+john+14:10;+john+14:24;+john+14:31\">life-giving<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/1-corinthians\/2.html\">spiritual words<\/a>. They are empowered by God to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+12:49;+john+17:1-8;+john+7:16;+john+8:26-28;+john+8:38;+john+14:10;+john+14:24;+john+14:31;+mark+13:11;+luke+12:11-12;+matthew+10:20;+luke+21:15;+acts+4:8;+2-corinthians+13:3\">speak for him <\/a>because they are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+31:31-34;+hebrews+8:10-11\">New Covenant disciples who have God&#8217;s spiritual laws written on their hearts<\/a>. That is what qualifies them to speak for God. Old\/First Covenant religionists do not have these qualifications.<\/p>\n<p>The stories of the so-called miracles of feeding the multitudes are not about natural miracles. If they were about natural miracles, they would violate what God has said through Jesus about <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/the-law-is-a-stumbling-block\/signs-wonders-and-miracles\">Signs, Wonders and Miracles<\/a>. Rather, these stories are parables that symbolically represent how God feeds spiritual food to his people.<\/p>\n<p>When we look at the stories symbolically, we see Jesus as a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">True Prophet <\/a>and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/the-high-priest\">High Priest <\/a>who teaches people through<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/1-corinthians\/2.html\"> spiritual words. <\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\"><a id=\"spiritualwords\"><\/a>COMMENTARY ON SPIRITUAL WORDS: Pentecostal and Charismatic religions believe that the physical sounds they make with their natural voices are spiritual. Jews and Christians in general believe that recitation of the literal words of the Bible is a spiritual activity. They are all wrong in the belief that literal sounds and literal words are spiritual.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">The principle that confirms whether anything (e.g. people, places, things, sounds, words, etc.) is spiritual always rests on whether or not it can be seen with natural eyes, heard with natural ears, tasted with the natural tongue, smelled with natural senses or touched with natural senses. Things that can be seen, heard, tasted, smelled or touched are only physical things. They cannot be spiritual things because <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+3:8;+psalm+135:7;+ezekiel+37:9;+ecclesiastes+11:1-5;+1-timothy+1:17;+romans+1:20;+colossians+1:15;+hebrews+11:27;+isaiah+64:1-4;+1-corinthians+2:1-9;+isaiah+65:17\">spiritual things are always invisible to natural senses.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">What makes natural words spiritual is the presence of the holy spirit of God speaking through New Covenant disciples. When Jesus told his disciples that the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+12:49;+john+17:1-8;+john+7:16;+john+8:26-28;+john+8:38;+john+14:10;+john+14:24;+john+14:31;+mark+13:11;+luke+12:11-12;+matthew+10:20;+luke+21:15;+acts+4:8;+2-corinthians+13:3\">spirit spoke through him and that the spirit would speak through them<\/a>, he did not mean that the literal words they spoke were spiritual. He meant that God&#8217;s spirit infused <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/1-thessalonians\/1-5.html#\">natural words spoken by men with God&#8217;s spiritual power<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">The critical factor that enables human words to become spiritual words is the condition of the human heart. The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+31:31-34;+1-thessalonians+4:9;+1-john+2:27;+john+14:11-17;+john+14:26;+1-corinthians+2:12;+hebrews+8:10-11;+john+16:13;+psalm+25:4-5;+1-john+2:20\">heart of the speaker must have God&#8217;s laws written in it.<\/a> This\u00a0is the definition of a New Covenant disciple. Old\/First Covenant religionists can say the same words with all sincerity, but those words will lack spiritual power because their hearts are full of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/5#religiouslaws\">religious laws<\/a> &#8212; not God&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/5#spirituallaw\">God&#8217;s spiritual laws<\/a>. The spiritual principle at work here is that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=zechariah+7:8-13;+hebrews+3:7-16\">what a person speaks reflects what is in his heart\/her heart<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">Evidence of spiritual power is found in the way the words are received. Just as the ability to speak spiritual words depends on the condition of the heart, the ability to hear spiritual words depends on the condition of the heart of the hearer. Religious people with hard hearts full of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/5#religiouslaws\">religious laws<\/a> will only hear natural sounds (i.e. words, noises) that make no spiritual sense. In the Bible, this phenomenon is called speaking in tongues.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">Biblical references to tongues are wrongly interpreted by Old\/First Covenant religionists. In particular, Pentecostals and charismatics have made speaking in tongues a main feature of their religion because they interpret scriptures literally. Thus they believe that they are filled with the spirit of God because they speak unintelligible noises\/words. The right interpretation is that the words are unintelligible because the hearers lack the ability to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=exodus+15:22-26;+exodus+23:21;+exodus+19:5;+jeremiah+7:23-26;+jeremiah+11:1-4;+matthew+4:1-4;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+job+22:21-23;+psalm+119:9-13;+psalm+138:4;+isaiah+28:23;+jeremiah+11:1-7;+jeremiah+22:21;+psalm+106:25;+nehemiah+9:29;+jeremiah+11:10;+jeremiah+13:11;+zechariah+7:11;+isaiah+46:12;+matthew+13:15\">hear God&#8217;s voice<\/a> when it is spoken directly by God or by one of his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">true prophets<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">True prophets <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/1-corinthians\/13-1.html\">speak with tongues of angels<\/a>. That means they speak spiritual words that are not understood by religious people who have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=psalm+95;+hebrews+3;+hebrews+4\">hardened their hearts so they cannot hear God&#8217;s voice.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">New Covenant disciples spoke with spiritual power to Old\/First Covenant religionists (i.e. the Jews), but what the Jews heard was a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/glossa.html\">foreign language (i.e. tongue).<\/a> The New Covenant disciples were not confused about what they were saying because God&#8217;s laws were written on their hearts, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+12:49;+john+17:1-8;+john+7:16;+john+8:26-28;+john+8:38;+john+14:10;+john+14:24;+john+14:31;+mark+13:11;+luke+12:11-12;+matthew+10:20;+luke+21:15;+acts+4:8;+2-corinthians+13:3\">God told them what to say and when to say it <\/a>in a way that is seamless and not observable to them or those who heard them.\u00a0 What they spoke was a new language for them because they were recent converts, but they understood the spiritual content of their human words because <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+12:49;+john+17:1-8;+john+7:16;+john+8:26-28;+john+8:38;+john+14:10;+john+14:24;+john+14:31;+mark+13:11;+luke+12:11-12;+matthew+10:20;+luke+21:15;+acts+4:8;+2-corinthians+13:1-3;+luke+1:70;+acts+3:18-26;+hebrews+1:1;+james+5:10\">God was speaking through them just like he has always been speaking through true prophets. <\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">The confusion about what they were saying was in the fact that the Jews did not, and could not, understand the spiritual content of the human words. Thus what they heard was like a foreign language.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">It is the spirit that gives spiritual meaning to natural words. It is not the spoken words themselves just like it is not the written, literal words of the Bible that have power. It is always the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:1-3;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4\">spoken words of God that have power to give life.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">This dynamic relationship between the spoken or written natural words of man and the spoken spiritual words of God is evident in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-2\/3\">&#8220;first the natural and then the spiritual&#8221;<\/a> principle.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+32:45-47;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+deuteronomy+30:20;+john+5:24;+acts+13:48;+philippians+2:15-16;+1-john+1:1\">Words spoken or written in the power of the spirit have the power to give life.<\/a> These are clean words spoken by New Covenant disciples (i.e. True Prophets) and they are consistent with symbolic interpretations of the Bible. Unclean words based on literal interpretations of the Bible that are spoken or written by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenantspart1\/2#oldcovenant\">Old\/First Covenant<\/a> religionists have power to produce death. This is evidence of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=proverbs+15:1-4;+proverbs+18:21;+proverbs+12:13;+proverbs+13:3;+matthew+12:37\">power of the tongue (i.e. the human organ with which people create words) to yield life or death.<\/a> It is also evidence of the fact that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+32:45-47;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+deuteronomy+30:20;+john+5:24;+acts+13:48;+philippians+2:15-16;+1-john+1:1\">religious scribes write lies.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 150px;\">The truth of what God says, whether spoken by God directly or through True Prophets registers in the hearts of hearers to whom <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+29:1-4;+matthew+13:13;+acts+28:26-27;+romans+11:1-9;+isaiah+6:1-10;+ezekiel+12:1-2\">God had given the ability to hear with spiritual ears<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The fish and loaves of bread, therefore, represent God&#8217;s life-giving words spoken through Jesus, and the real miracle in the story is that people who listen to God&#8217;s spoken voice, whether directly from God or through a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">True Prophet <\/a>or a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/the-high-priest\">High Priest,<\/a> bring <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=proverbs+4:10;+revelation+2:7;+ezekiel+37:14;+john+5:39-40\">spiritual life to the hearer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><strong>OIL<\/strong><br \/>\nOil is mentioned one hundred and ninety-nine times in the NASB. Typically, the oil is from an olive tree and is used for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/search\/?s=bibles&amp;q=oil+anointing&amp;t=kjv\">anointing (i.e. rubbing, smearing, pouring on the body)<\/a> of people whom God chooses to serve him.<\/p>\n<p>Oil symbolically represents God&#8217;s spoken word. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/messiah\">Messiahs<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\">true prophets<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/angels\">angels<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/the-high-priest\">high priests<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/two-covenants-part-2\/7#witnessdefined\">witnesses<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/model-warriors\">warriors<\/a> who are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/messiah\">anointed<\/a> with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/kjv\/passage\/?q=hebrews+4:12;+psalm+29:4;+psalm+68:33;+deuteronomy+5:24;+1-corinthians+14:11;+job+37:4;+isaiah+40:9;+1-corinthians+2:1-4;+hebrews+1:3;+acts+19:20;+job+40:9;+revelation+1:10\">God&#8217;s word (i.e. oil) that empowers<\/a> them to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=john+7:16;+john+12:49-50;+john+14:10;+john+14:24-31;+john+16:13;+1-corinthians+2;+psalm+143:10;+luke+12:11-12;+matthew+10:17-20;+mark+13:11;+1-thessalonians+2:13;+exodus+4:12;+deuteronomy+18:18;+john+5:19;+matthew+26:39;+john+5:30;+john+6:38;+john+6:68;+john+8:28;+acts+4:29-31;+1-peter+4:10-11\"> speak for God.<\/a> When God&#8217;s representatives <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+7:24-26;+john+14:10;+john+3:34;+john+5:19;+john+7:14-18;+john+14:24;+matthew+24:35;+mark+13:31;+luke+4:32-36;+luke+6:47;+luke+6:46-49;+luke+9:26;+luke+21:15;+john+4:41;+john+6:63;+john+6:68;+john+7:38-39;+john+12:47-50;+john+15:7;+john+17:8;+1-peter+4:11;+exodus+3;+exodus+4:1-12;+isaiah+59:21\">speak for God,<\/a> they speak with the same<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=zechariah+4:6;+1-corinthians+2:1-4;+1-corinthians+4:20;+acts+19:20;+2-corinthians+6:1-7;+1-thessalonians+1:5;+hebrews+1:3;+luke+4:36;+luke+4:32\"> authority<\/a> that God has when he speaks to people directly.<\/p>\n<p>The person doing the anointing is always someone who was already anointed. That means the one who does the anointing has God&#8217;s<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/6#spirituallaws\"> spiritual laws<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+31:31-34;+jeremiah+32:39-40;+jeremiah+33:14;+jeremiah+24:7;+ezekiel+37:26;+ezekiel+39:29;+luke+22:20;+1-corinthians+11:25;+2-corinthians+3:1-6;+hebrews+8:8-12;+hebrews+10:16-17;+psalm+40:8;+psalm+37:31;+genesis+17:7-13;+2-kings+18:11-12;+exodus+19:3-6;+judges+2:16-23;+deuteronomy+5:1-4\">written on<\/a> their <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/place-where-god-will-place-his-name\/4#goodpureheart\">clean, pure hearts<\/a> which is their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=luke+6:45;+deuteronomy+30:14;+job+22:22;+psalm+19:14;+psalm+49:3;+romans+10:8-10;+psalm+37:30;+job+33:3;+job+33:33;+psalm+45:1;+proverbs+16:23;+proverbs+4:23;+matthew+12:34\">qualification to speak for God. <\/a>Symbolically speaking, when people are anointed with oil, the one doing the anointing smears God&#8217;s words over the hearts of the one who is anointed. When this happens, God does the miracle of changing their heart from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/place-where-god-will-place-his-name\/4#evilimpureheart\">evil and impure<\/a> to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/place-where-god-will-place-his-name\/4#goodpureheart\">clean and pure<\/a>. Symbolically speaking, they are spiritually <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/the-law-is-a-stumbling-block\/signs-wonders-and-miracles\/5\">born again<\/a>. At that point, they become <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\">Trees of Life<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Oil is used to consecrate sons of Aaron (i.e. High Priests and utensils (i.e. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/servants\">servants<\/a>) and the altar (i.e. heart) used in the tabernacle.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 160px;\">STUDY TIP: See\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/messiah\">Messiahs<\/a> for commentary on Moses anointing priests.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=exodus+29:1-7;+exodus+29:21;+exodus+30:30;+exodus+40:12-15;+leviticus+8:12;+leviticus+8:30;+numbers+3:2-3;+numbers+35:25;+ruth+3:3;+1-samuel+9:16;+1-samuel+10:1;+1-samuel+15:1;+1-samuel+16:12-13;+2-samuel+2:4;+2-samuel+2:7;+2-samuel+5:3;+2-samuel+5:17;+2-samuel+12:20;+2-samuel+19:10;+1-kings+1:34;+1-kings+1:39;+1-kings+1:45;+1-kings+19:15-16;+2-kings+9:1-3;+2-kings+9:6;+2-kings+11:12;+2-kings+23:30;+1-chronicles+11:3;+1-chronicles+29:22;+2-chronicles+23:11;+psalm+89:20;+mark+6:13;+mark+14:3-8;+luke+7:38;+luke+7:46;+john+11:1-3;+john+12:3;+james+5:14;+2-corinthians+1:21;+hebrews+1:5-9;+1-john+2:20;+1-john+2:27;+matthew+6:17;+revelation+3:18;+acts+10:38;+luke+4:18\">Oil was used to anoint kings, priests, prophets and the sick<\/a>. It was also used to anoint tabernacle utensils which symbolically represent <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/servants\">servants whom God sends to speak for him.<\/a> And it was used to anoint <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/tabernacles-temples-altars-high-places-and-pilgrimages\/5\">altars which symbolically represent hearts<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Oil (i.e. God&#8217;s word) was also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/search\/?s=bibles&amp;q=oil+light&amp;t=kjv\">used for shedding light<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/search\/?s=bibles&amp;q=oil+flour&amp;t=kjv\">mixing with\u00a0 flour<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=exodus+35:8;+exodus+35:28;+exodus+37:29;+ezekiel+16:18\">incense (i.e. prayer.)\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The olive tree symbolically represents a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/wood-gold-silver-stone\">Tree<\/a> of Life.<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/3#treeoflife\"> The olive and oil extracted from crushed olives are the fruit of trees of life.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/kjv\/genesis\/2-9.html\">Genesis, God symbolically represents himself as a tree of life<\/a>. He commands that people <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+15:16;+revelation+10:9;+job+23:12;+psalm+119:103;+ezekiel+2:8;+ezekiel+3:1-3\">come to eat his spiritual fruit (i.e. his words) so that they might have spiritual life.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>He populates his vineyard with more trees of life by planting spiritual seeds. He does this through his spoken word. His word is spiritual seed.<\/p>\n<p>God <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+3:34;+jeremiah+26:1-5;+ezekiel+2:1-7;+2-chronicles+36:15;+acts+3:26;+revelation+1:1;+deuteronomy+18:18;+isaiah+51:15-16;+john+17:1-8;+isaiah+59:21;+deuteronomy+32:1;+job+22:22;+psalm+19:14;+proverbs+12:6;+jeremiah+1:9;+jeremiah+5:14;+hosea+6:5;+daniel+9:9-11;+2-peter+1:19-21\">sends people<\/a> who are anointed with spiritual oil from olive trees to spread spiritual seed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 80px;\">STUDY TIP: See The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/world\/2#parablesower\">Parable of the Sower.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The fruit of God&#8217;s seed (i.e. his spoken word) is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/kjv\/psalms\/passage\/?q=psalm+1:1-3\">more trees of life who sow more spiritual seed<\/a> (i.e. God&#8217;s spoken word).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>THREE KINDS OF FOOD Because food is such a constant in our physical lives, we must work hard to avoid the default interpretation of thinking of Biblical references to food as physical food. The challenge is to interpret the symbolic <span class=\"excerpt-dots\">&hellip;<\/span> <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\"><span class=\"more-msg\">Continue reading &rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1687,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2355","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2355"}],"version-history":[{"count":172,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14187,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2355\/revisions\/14187"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}