First Timothy 4 says that there will be the teachings of demons that forbid marriage and command abstaining from foods (vv. 1, 3). D. M. Panton has shed some clear light on this. He said that only by abstaining from marriage and foods can one’s soul power be developed. We must realize that we are not those who abstain from meat. In the last days there will be such things as abstinence from foods. This is the teaching of demons; it is not the teaching of the Lord. Some abstain from meat because they do not know the Christian principle of life through death. Eating only vegetables means that one’s life is maintained by the vegetable life alone and that he has no need of a Savior, no need of death, and no need of salvation. We must be clear about this principle.
Second, there is one thing which Christians should not take—blood.
Abstinence from blood is a consistent teaching throughout the Bible. When God spoke to Noah in Genesis 9, He forbade men from taking the blood of the animals (v. 4). Taking blood was something forbidden by God.
Leviticus 17:10-16 clearly and repeatedly says that man should not eat the blood of any beast. God did not allow His people to eat animal blood. Whoever ate blood would be cut off by God; He would not recognize such a one as one of His people.
In the New Testament we find the record of the first council in Jerusalem in Acts 15, in which the church met to settle the great issue of the law. James, Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and other apostles of the Lord decided that God’s children should be free from the law, but at the same time that they should abstain from sacrifices offered to idols, from fornication, and from blood.
Blood is something that bears a great significance, not only during the time of Noah and in Leviticus, but also at the time of the book of Acts. In the dispensation of the patriarchs, God forbade Noah from taking animal blood. In the dispensation of the law, God spoke through the mouth of Moses and forbade the same thing. In the dispensation of grace, God banned the same thing through the apostles. This matter is forbidden in all three dispensations. Blood is not to be taken in the dispensation of the patriarchs, the dispensation of the law, or the dispensation of grace.
There must be a reason for this observance. Men of the past did not understand this, but one day God’s Son came to the world and pronounced that He was the bread from heaven and that He came to be man’s food. Many did not know what He meant. He said that His flesh was true food and His blood was true drink. The Lord repeated over and over again in John 6 that His blood was the true drink and that a man must drink His blood before he can receive His life. He also said that unless a man drank His blood, he would not have life in himself. Those who drink His blood will be raised up in the last day and will receive life from Him. The Lord repeated this many times.
This is a marvelous thing. All three of the basic dispensations in the Bible forbid the eating of blood. Yet Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, said, “My blood is true drink” (v. 55). He charged men to take His blood. Do you see this? God forbids us from eating the blood of animals, yet those who take the Lord’s blood are saved. What does this mean? This means that after one takes the Lord’s blood, he cannot take any other kind of blood. There is only one kind of blood which we can take.
In other words, God’s ordinance regarding abstinence from blood tells us that there is only one redemption and one salvation. We cannot have another redemption besides this one. We cannot have another salvation besides this one. Only the blood of Jesus of Nazareth can be taken. All other blood is forbidden. The Lord’s blood signifies redemption. It also signifies salvation. Rejecting other kinds of blood means that we reject other kinds of salvation. I know of no other salvation except the salvation of Jesus. There is only one kind of blood for me, not two. Only one kind of blood can save me. I will not accept any other blood.
This may be a small thing to you, but it is one of our many crucial testimonies. As Christians, we bear many testimonies. This is one of them. Other religions may ask why we do not take animal blood. We have to tell them that we have already taken blood. By not taking other blood, we make a strong testimony before men. We do not take other blood because we have taken one kind of blood. We have taken this blood; therefore, we cannot drink any other blood. The blood of Jesus of Nazareth is our only redemption. We can no longer accept any other redemption. We have already accepted the Lord’s redemption, and we have rejected all other ways of salvation. This is why we do not take animal blood.