The Herbivore Family
Introduction to Biblical Veganism
Hi, a year and a half ago I decided to stop eating meat for uh for health and spiritual and ethical reasons um and then I’ve seen things online uh about you know the Bible and veganism and vegetarianism and a lot of those discussions online when the Bible gets brought up uh turned into debates and then uh dissolve into arguments so I wanted to do my own research on what the scriptures have to say uh about eating animals and diet and uh so I did a lot of research and I wanted to share that research with you hopefully this is uh an objective look at what the Bible has to say.
The Original Diet: Genesis
all right I going to try and make this as systematic as possible so if uh you’re into scriptures uh grab a Bible follow along and uh you can see where I’m getting my information uh first stop is uh Genesis uh 1:29 so we’re going to go there and what we read about diet first off uh and God said behold I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of the Earth and every tree with seed in its fruit you shall have them for food and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth everything that has the breath of life I have given every green plant for food and it was so and God saw everything that he had made and behold it was very good all right so first things you know first thing off the bat God makes it extremely clear um in his perfect world and his design and man in his perfect form he gave the green plants for food uh in some translations like King James they take the word food and translate it into meat so when you’re reading along in in King James and it says you know and they ate meat or I’ve given them meat um if you really go back and look up the exact word you know in in the Greek and Hebrew it’s the word is actually food and food according to God is is defined as the seed bearing plants so just wanted to clear that up so first thing his world God’s perfect world was vegan.
The Prophetic Vision of a Peaceable Kingdom
and then in end times you know with uh when the new kingdom is established on Earth uh Isaiah says this about it uh in Isaiah 11:6 uh the wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat and the calf and The Lion and the fatted calf together uh and the little child shall lead them uh the cow and the bear shall gra and their young shall lie down together and the lion shall eat straw like an ox the nursing child shall Play Over the Hole of the Cobra and the wean child shall put his hand on the in the adder’s den and shall not hurt or destroy they shall not hurt or destroy in all my Holy Mountain so as it seems it looks like in the end times everything will be restored back to its original design a vegan World in Isaiah 3218 um my people will abide in a peaceful habitation and secure dwelling and in a quiet resting place it will hail when the forest falls down and it and the city will be utterly laid low but happy are you who sow beside all Waters who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free and in Hosea 2:18 says I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens and all the creeping things of the ground and I will abolish the bow The Sword and War from the land and I will make you lie down in safety so God is even saying that he will make a covenant with the animals you know that they will not suffer harm that they will live without fear and that you know when remember Isaiah said you know happy are you who let your ox and your donkeys ran free free so he’s describing a world that is peaceful and in harmony with animals and humans all living in peace in a vegan world that describes a perfect vegan World.
Redefining Dominion as Stewardship
okay and I’ve heard it said that well we have a dominion over the animals so you know that gives us a right to you know use them for food but if you really look at scripture honestly and you look at Jesus’s life and you listen to him this is really what he has to say about Dominion um Jesus was the perfect example and he considered himself the Good Shepherd um and right here we got John 1011 it says I am the Good Shepherd and the Good Shepherd lays his life down for his sheep it’s not the other way around it never has been and it never will be so stewardship and Dominion really means caretaking uh he gave adam a description to um let’s go back to Genesis uh Genesis 2 15 the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to keep it and the Lord God commanded the man saying you may surely eat of every tree of the garden but of the tree of the of Good and Evil you shall not eat um he asked Adam to work the ground man is supposed to work the ground produce life not kill remember the Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep not the other way around however he says in John I mean what he says right before that was I am the door if anyone enters by me he will be saved and go in and out and find pasture the thief comes only to steal kill and destroy.
The Temporary Concession for Meat
you know I’ve also I’ve heard it said that uh you know God commanded man to eat meat that’s not necessarily the case it was uh many many generations even after the fall and it was only after the flood when all the vegetation was destroyed God gave Noah permission to eat meat for survival and it had that came with very strict parameters and we have to remember that that provision was a temporary provision because we know in the end when the world is restored it goes back to a vegan world so if you are contending with the fact right now if you’re you know a friend of Jesus and and a Believer and you insist that eating meat is you know God’s command remember that in the end according to Isaiah and Hosea uh that you will be a vegan so uh we have to remember that the provision uh given to Noah was a temporary one.
Provisions for the Hardness of Heart
um you know I mean the obvious question is you know why would God give you know a temporary provision you know if it wasn’t his perfect ideal and if it wasn’t his will you know why would he do that uh we learn a little bit more I mean Jesus gives us some insight on that you know why laws were made uh as a provision for man during what Paul calls you know this evil age uh you know when the Pharisees were challenging Jesus about about divorce and and they said to him you know why then did Moses command one uh to give a certificate of divorce and send her away and he said to them Jesus uh because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives but from the beginning it wasn’t so Jesus had a heart for the beginning and the original design but it was because of the hardness of man’s heart that these Provisions were given.
The Lesson of Manna and Quail
one of my favorite stories uh in history was when God intervened and actually miraculously fed his people and he chose to feed them you know a plant-based food so he served them Mana um and you might say well you know he gave them quail too but if you read in more detail in numbers you you get the behind the-scenes story on God’s heart uh he chose to give them Mana but the people you know argued and they cried out you know we want meat what is this Mana it’s not good enough for us we want meat um so his anger burned against him and here’s how the story goes so in numbers 11:33 while the meat was yet between their teeth before it was consumed the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people and the Lord struck down the people with a very great plague therefore the name of that place was called kirbo hativa because they buried the people who had the craving uh God’s ideal was to give them Mana but they demanded meat and then God’s anger was kindled and they ended up with a plague that is God’s heart for when he wanted to serve dinner to his people.
The Breath of Life in All Creatures
I’ve heard I’ve heard people argue that you know animals uh you know don’t have feelings or they don’t matter they’re um you know they can’t be saved they don’t have souls um you know but okay what does Scripture say about animals um and plants you know let’s find out the difference um you know in Genesis 1111 about plants God says let the Earth Sprout vegetation plants yielding seed fruit trees bearing trees in which there is seed each according to its kind on the earth um and it was so so you know the Earth sprouted veg a but then in Genesis 1:24 God said and let the Earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds so pay attention to that word living creatures um because we’ll read when the account of when uh God created man in Genesis 27 says then the Lord God formed the man of dust and from the ground breathed into his nostrils and you know if you’ve ever been a student of Genesis you know you know breathed into his nostrils is God gave his Spirit you know to man at that point um you know breathed into his nostrils the Breath of Life or the spirit of life and the Man became a living creature the same description of living creature is given uh to man as it is to animals so we know that both animals and man have you know God’s spirit and a soul um Solomon who you know is considered the wisest man that ever lived uh we read in Ecclesiastes what 319 uh for whatever happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts are is the same as one dies so dies the other they all have the same breath and man has no advantage over the Beast for all his vanity so even Solomon understood that animals have the breath which is the spirit of God.
God’s Covenant with Animals
so you know since we know they have you know life you know given from God um we also find out that he cares for them uh that he has feelings toward them uh it’s true God was created Man was created in God’s image not animals but yet that life Spirit still has Val enough value to God for him to have a covenant with the animals directly um you know we find out in uh you know Genesis 9:9 uh where are we uh behold I establish my Covenant with you and your Offspring after you and with every living creature that is with you the birds the livestock and every beast of the Earth with you as many as came out of the Ark uh it is for every beast of the earth so God is making covenants uh with the beasts of the earth uh we have Hosea 218 uh and I will make for them a covenant on that day with the Beasts of the field the birds of the heavens and the creeping things of the ground and I will abolish the bow The Sword and War from the land and I will make you lie down in safety so God clearly uh has a relationship and even a covenant with the animals uh assuring them of their future safety so it’s clear that God cares about the life of his animals and about about the lives of his creation.
Stewardship vs. Idolatry
um and I’ve heard the argument that um you know being an environmentalist um and putting so much concern for the environment and animals is just idolatry you know we should be just worshiping God alone and it doesn’t really matter anyway because God one day will make everything new so who really cares um that is a very very very immature uh perspective to have because we have been given dominion over the Earth as caretakers and we are to be the Good Shepherd uh being a caretaker is his mandate uh it is not idolatry you know I mean that classic verse Matthew 5:7 uh blessed are the merciful you know for they shall receive Mercy you know he said uh if we are faithful with a little he will give us much Matthew 2523 uh Jesus says in a parable uh his master said to him well done good and faithful servant you have been Faithful over little I will set you over much enter into the joy of your master so far being from being idolatry to take care of what he’s given us he when we he promises us a reward for being faithful with a little so far be it from being idolatry to be faithful with what we’ve been given remember what Adam’s original charge was you know in uh Genesis 2:15 the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to keep it um not to come in to steal and kill and destroy.
Choosing Life Over Destruction
should we be concerned you know about the environment uh about other living beings um you know Jesus in a parable said in John 1010 the thief comes only to steal kill and destroy I came that they may have life and have it abundantly Jesus is a lifegiver and we are to be you know likewise uh he’s a lifegiver and he considers the person that comes to steal kill and destroy describes them as a thief very clearly so we’ve been given charge over the creation and men that uh overuse resources that kill animals for food they don’t need uh and that deprive future generations of resources that they desperately need uh those people have their mind Mind Set On Earthly things not on things above and they’re considered thieves who have come to kill and destroy Paul describes them in Philippians uh Philippians what 3 19 their end is their destruction their God is their belly and their glory is their shame so all their appetites he’s saying you know their God is their stomach their God is their appetites and their glory is their shame that’s not how our focus is to be our focus is to be on service to be on mercy and to be on caretaking not coming to use up all the resources because God thinks you know because we think God is going to make everything new so if we are given charge to be caretakers of our our environment uh of vegan diet and lifestyle uh is the most sustainable lifestyle and really the only solution for sustaining the world’s resources uh so it is far from idolatry and it’s actually um being obedient and listening you know to the charge Jesus gave to us.
The End of the Sacrificial System
and a side note um The Prophet Daniel you know and many others uh had a vegan diet and they are praised as you know Heroes of the faith and really they left us an excellent example um I’ve also heard you know but the argument of didn’t God tell us uh to sacrifice animals and didn’t God himself you know kill animals and to that you know I’ll say uh Jesus ended the very temporary sacrificial system uh there’s no reason reason that the sacrificial system should be going on today I want to side note and say you know God was the one that gave life he is the reason for every animal uh that every animal has life he is the reason that you have life and I have life uh it is his authority that allows him to take the life of a person or an animal for his own purpose and for his own reason it’s his life that he’s put into his creation and he has that right to bring that life back to himself but us on the other hand you know did not create life uh and we do not have the right to take the life of another you and getting back to the sacrificial system the sacrificial system was a representation of Jesus’s death uh the most horrific event in all of mankind was us you know Killing Jesus um the animal sacrifices represented something very horrific and something very very dark you know in the human spirit that he needed to draw out and to show and display to us that that kind of Darkness that kind of um you know sickness was in us that kind of sin you know we were capable of and all those sacrifices were pointing to Jesus they were not encouraging us you know to go kill and have barbecues you know and Jesus ended you know that sacrificial system so that system was very temporary and has been over for over 2,000 years and it represented the depravity of man and it never gave us permission uh to have factory farms and to kill whenever we want a snack.
Fishers of Men
I’ve heard people say oh but the apostles were fishermen uh they ate fish they fished for a living uh they did let’s look at U Matthew 4:20 when Jesus found them fishing and called them to be Fishers of Men so and he said to them follow me and I will make you fishes of men and immediately they left their Nets and followed him.
The Vegetarian Passover
you know I’ve also heard it said you know Jesus ate the Passover meal so shouldn’t we be eating meat um historically it’s an interesting situation that happened at the Passover meal uh if you want to do more research on it you should uh there’s plenty of information out there um an interesting thing Jesus had Passover the Passover meal with his disciples the day before Passover you remember he he was sacrificed on the official Passover so he had his Passover meal the day before and we know in history that the as scenes you know John the Baptist was in aene uh the ases were a group of Jews that did not eat meat and they disputed the Jewish calendar uh and they believe that the Passover meal should be eaten the day before you know the rest of the Jews so they ate their meal the day before the official Passover date so Jesus ate with the Asen or ate an aen Passover meal which did not include any meat they were all vegetarian.
Interpreting Peter’s Vision
now I’ve also heard it argued uh didn’t God tell Peter to go kill and eat you know in Acts 1011 because Peter was on on the roof of a house and he went into a trance and was given a vision you know acts 10:11 you know he saw the heavens open in something like a great sheet descended being let down by its Four Corners upon the Earth and in it were all kinds of animals and reptiles birds of the air and there came up voice to him rise Peter kill and eat um and Peter gives an explanation of that Vision so it’s a very esoteric vision and he gives his interpretation what he understood what God was telling him and how he should apply that in his life uh in Acts 10:28 and he said to them you yourselves know how unlawful it is for a you to associate with or to visit anyone of another Nation but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean so when I was sent for I came without objection I asked why you sent for me so Peter actually explains his vision and his Revelation um about what the sheet with the animals meant and had nothing to do with going to kill reptiles and going to eat them uh God was accepting the Jews and considering them unclean Jews would consider Gentiles you know beasts and reptiles and uh unclean in the same way Peter considered those animals to be unclean so God was trying to tell Peter you know that the Gentiles will be entering the kingdom.
Christian Liberty and the Path of Mercy
and also it says you know but Paul said we can eat meat and it’s true we can eat meat uh it is not God’s ideal but we do have permission to eat meat and God’s unconditional love transcends our diet anything we can do say you know or think God loves us unconditionally Paul did not want diet you know to be to to split the church Paul had a message that message was anyone you know who’s ever done anything wrong can be reconciled with God through the gospel you know and to make uh an issue that uh something could come you know between that you know like Diet like you know what you wore what you said what you did yesterday uh you know that any of those things could inter fear with that reconciliation Paul didn’t want that cuz the idea of the Gospel is you come to God and you get your heart right with him and then everything becomes right in your life it’s receiving his Spirit first and then living according to his spirit and his heart see it’s like this book is not a rule book and a lot of people want to make it a book of rules it was never intended to be that and it’s not that it’s Drawing Near to God him Drawing Near to you being right with him and then you look at your life you look at your behavior you look at you know the future and your eternity with them and you decide you know if day by day you know how it’s best to walk with him you know walk in his Mercy walk in his grace walk in in his love so he gives you that choice daily you know if you will show Mercy as he’s shown you Mercy do we have the freedom to eat meat yes we do do we have the freedom from eating meat yes we have that freedom and we should really be taking that path of Mercy because he first showed us Mercy.
A Call to Walk Worthy
and it’s been widely documented uh in history that a lot of the Apostles um were a vegan um a lot of early church fathers were vegan one was quoted as saying you know do not make your body a graveyard you know of dead animals uh so the issue of veganism has been you know entrenched in the church you know since its very early Beginnings um it is not a new debate but one thing we keep in mind is that God’s perfect world in the beginning was vegan and in the end when he returns it will be vegan so if even after the study you’re still opposed to veganism just know that one day you will be vegan all right uh and I want to close you know with what with Paul’s wish and prayer for the the church and you know Colossians 1:9 and so from the day we heard we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God you know so do not let your stomach be your god um but be light in the world be salt be a LIF Giver a life bringer bring in the spirit of God and do not be one you know who comes to steal and kill and destroy so Jesus came to bring life life more abundantly and when you walk into a room and I walk into a room we want to be in that same Spirit to bring life and to bring it in abundance so God bless you thank you for you know doing this study with me uh it’s been you know enriching for me and I hope it’s helped you in your walk with God and helps you to make you know the choices that you need to make in your life and in your diet and how you treat the people and the animals around you you.
