nPeace
Veteran Member
I agree that those Jews who heard and read the letters from the brothers in Jerusalem would have understood what it meant to abstain from blood. After all, they understood the only proper use for blood - namely, atonement for sin.It doesn't have to. We know what they meant. These were Jews who were used to keeping the Law. They were debating whether to tell the gentiles to keep the whole Law or not. They decided that the gentiles only needed to keep a few basic rules. So you should refer back to the Law when you read something like that to get an idea of what they meant.
(Leviticus 17:11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I myself have given it on the altar for you to make atonement for yourselves, because it is the blood that makes atonement by means of the life in it.
(Leviticus 17:13, 14) . . .“‘If one of the Israelites or some foreigner who is residing in your midst is hunting and catches a wild animal or a bird that may be eaten, he must pour its blood out and cover it with dust. 14 For the life of every sort of flesh is its blood, because the life is in it. . . .
They understood clearly what these texts meant.
They understood that these laws were not for dietary reasons.
The blood represented life, and is sacred to the life-giver - Jehovah God. It has atoning value.
So the blood of the creature is the life of the creature, hence God determines how it is used - It's atoning value is in line with the principle - life for life. Genesis 9:5, 6
The Jews clearly understood how serious it was to not have the right view of blood and it's uses.
What of the Gentiles in the Christian congregation... How would they have understood it? They were not under the Mosaic Law, and so this is new to them... but from the scriptures they understood that Christ's blood - his life - made atonement for sin, once for all time - The only proper use of blood in their time.
Animal sacrifice - atonement by means of the blood - life - of the animal, was no longer valid.
So when that letter was read to them, containing the words, "Abstain from blood." They too understood what it meant. They was no need to try to determine what it meant. In the same way there was no need to determine what "Abstain from idolatry" and "Abstain from fornication" meant.
The same is true of us today, who read those letters.
To the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, it simply means what it say - no twisting, no adjusting to suit what we think, in order to fit modern day uses of blood. Simply put, "Abstain from blood".
Everyone else can decide for themselves how they see it.
If "Abstain" to you, means "do not eat", in the case of blood, what does "Abstain from idolatry" and "Abstain from fornication" mean to you?
I really would like to know how you can switch the application without twisting it.