Cornelius, the Returning Gentile Ephraimite
Up until Acts Chapter Ten, the disciples had been permitted to take the Good News to Jews only. They took the Good News to all different kinds of Jews, (including gentile converts to Judaism such as Simon the Canaanite, listed at Mark 3:18): However, in all cases they had taken the Good News to Jews only.
By Acts Chapter Ten, however, the Good News had already been taken throughout Judea, and it was time to extend it to the Gentiles of Ephraim. For this reason, we are introduced to Cornelius:
1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a (Roman) centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,
2 a devout man and one who feared Elohim with all his household, who gave alms generously to the (Jewish) people, and prayed to Elohim always.
3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of Elohim coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!"
4 And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it, Master?"
So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before Elohim. 5 Now send men to Joppa (Jaffa), and send for Shimon whose surname is Kefa (Peter).” [Ma’aseh (Acts) 10:1-5]
Cornelius was a devout man who feared Elohim, and did good deeds towards the Jews. However, despite his good deeds, Cornelius did not convert to Judaism; and was therefore reckoned as a Gentile.
As a general rule, religious Jews do not consider themselves free to associate with Gentiles any more than they are free to associate with Samaritans; and at this early stage, the Nazarenes still obeyed this rule. However, just after Cornelius was told to seek out Kefa, Kefa was also given a vision which told him that it would be all right to preach to Gentiles. The Church, however, misunderstands this vision:
9 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Kefa went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour.
10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.
12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13 And a voice came to him, "Arise, Kefa! Slay and eat!”
14 But Kefa said, "Not so, Master; for I have never eaten anything common, or unclean!"
15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What Elohim has cleansed you do not call common.”
16 This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.
17 Now while Kefa wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate. 18 And they called and asked if Shimon, whose surname was Kefa, was lodging there.
19 While Kefa thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are seeking you.
20 Arise therefore, go down, and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.” [Ma’aseh (Acts) 10:9-20]
The Church tells us this vision means that after Acts Chapter Ten, the clean food laws in the Torah suddenly became null and void; and that it is now lawful to eat snakes, slugs, pigs, caterpillars, and whatever else one wants to eat. This, however, is not what Kefa said the vision means.
As Kefa meditated on the vision, the Spirit told him to go and take the Good News to Cornelius. This is why Kefa realized that all of the many different animals in the vision were a reference to all the many nations of the world. What this vision meant was that he was no longer supposed to call another human being common, or unclean:
28 Then he said to them, "You know how it is unlawful for a Jewish man to keep company with, or go to one of another nation. But Elohim has shown me that I should not call any man common, or unclean.
[Ma’aseh (Acts) 10:28]
Notice, however, that Kefa’s statement is confusing. The Torah does not prohibit preaching to those of another nation; but actually encourages it. Therefore, what is the ‘law’ that Kefa refers to here?
Notice also that Kefa’s vision was not about food, but about people. The vision only included food because Elohim was overruling the man-made rabbinical laws regarding eating and fellowship.
Scripture suggests that one tends to become like the company one keeps. Those who make friends with the world also tend to wind up cursed (e.g. Proverbs 13:20, and others). For these reasons, one can easily infer from Scripture that it is a wise general policy not to relax around those who do not worship Elohim.
Particularly in Hebrew culture, eating and fellowship tend to be highly social activities. Therefore, as a good general rule, one should avoid making a habit out of eating (i.e. fellowshipping) with non-believers, lest one become like them. One hates to make a solid rule out of this, however, because it is not difficult to imagine certain situations where the Good News might be advanced if one were to go and eat with those who do not believe.
The rabbis, however, took a good general rule and made it into a traditional law for all those of the Southern Kingdom. Rather than simply educating their people not to relax around the wrong sorts of (other) people, the rabbis issued a blanket policy saying that the Jews were not permitted to eat with non-Jews, period. This traditional rule is still in place today.
Notice, however, that for Kefa to continue on in this man-made rabbinic law would have meant that he would not have been free to take the Good News to non-Jews. It would have prohibited Kefa from fulfilling the Great Commission:
18 And Yeshua came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, immersing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” [Matthew 28:18-20]
It did not matter how many good deeds Cornelius had done for the Jews: Since he had never officially converted to Judaism (but remained a Roman) the man-made rabbinic laws prohibited Jews such as Kefa from eating or fellowshipping with him. This rabbinic law did not cause a problem so long as the Good News was only to be preached in Judea. However, once the Jews had been preached to, this rabbinic addition now stood in the way of the Great Commission; and therefore it had to go.
At the level of Divine Providence, there was a reason this passage was so easily misinterpreted. Elohim wanted the Good News to be spread to the four corners of the earth just as quickly as possible, so that Salvation could be extended to all of Adam’s fallen children. The nations of the world would not have been very likely to accept the Good News if it meant they would have to follow the whole Torah right from the start. Therefore, Elohim inspired the Apostles to write the Good News in such a way that the Church could easily water it down, so that people would more readily accept His Son’s sacrifice. Then, two thousand years later, one by one, YHWH Elohim would slowly start awakening the House of Ephraim to the whole Truth.