Acts 10:9–15 Proves That God Has Permitted the Eating of Pork and All Forbidden Foods Priests and custodians of Christian forums exploit this vision of Peter to claim that the deity of the church has permitted the eating of pork and forbidden foods in general — citing the voice that said: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat” and “What God has made clean, do not call common.”
The verse mentioned has nothing to do with the permissibility of forbidden foods in general and pork in particular. The very next verses of the same chapter — beginning with verse 28 — provide the interpretation of the vision in Peter’s own words. The animals were symbolic. The subject of the vision was people, not food. This is confirmed not by Muslim scholars, but by Christian interpreters speaking from what they claim to be the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The Text Under Study
Acts 10:9–15 (NKJV) “Now the next day, as they journeyed on their way and drew near to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. And he was very hungry and desired to eat. And he saw heaven opened, and a vessel descending upon him, like a great sheet, tied by the four corners, and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, saying, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ Peter said, ‘Not at all, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean.’ Then a voice came to him a second time, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’”
The Interpretation Is Given in the Same Chapter — Verse 28
The verse mentioned has nothing to do with the permissibility of forbidden foods in general and pork in particular. The next verse — verse 28 of the same book — provides the clarification directly, in Peter’s own words:
Acts 10:28 (NKJV) “Then he said to them, ‘You yourselves know how it is forbidden for a Jew to associate with or come to a foreigner. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.’”
The animals mentioned in the text are only symbolic. Peter himself explains the vision: God was showing him that he should not consider any man unclean — meaning the Gentiles. The vision was about opening the Apostle Peter’s eyes to serve the nations. It had nothing to do with food.
Christian Interpreters Confirm the Same
Here is the evidence from the mouths of the interpreters of the Christian Holy Book — who speak, according to Christians themselves, with the guidance, inspiration, and direction of the Holy Spirit:
Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty
Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty wrote under the title: “Opening the Eyes of the Apostle Peter to Serve the Nations.”
— Commentary on Acts 10 Peter’s vision was an opening of his eyes to serve the Gentile nations — not a ruling on permissible foods. The vision prepared him to enter the house of Cornelius, a Roman officer, without considering him unclean.
Source: st-takla.org — Acts 10, Commentary on the Book of Acts, Chapter Ten
Father Antonius Fikry
Father Antonius Fikry also gives the following explanation in his study of Peter’s case:
— Commentary on Acts 10 “It was about 30 miles from Joppa to Caesarea. The vision that Peter saw was appropriate to his situation, as it was about eating while he was hungry and thinking about food.”
A Note on Peter’s Condition
The Christian sources note that Peter was very hungry and had gone up to the roof to pray — he had not eaten and was in a state of physical need. The vision came to him in this condition. Father Antonius Fikry‘s own commentary acknowledges that the vision was shaped by his hunger and his thoughts about food — which is precisely the point: it was a vision, a symbol, not a dietary legislation.
Do Christians take their doctrine from visions experienced by hungry men thinking about food? And do they build from such visions a ruling that overturns the dietary laws of Moses?
Acts 10:9–15 does not permit pork or any forbidden food. The interpretation is provided by the same chapter in verse 28, where Peter himself explains that God was showing him not to call any man unclean — meaning the Gentiles. Both Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty and Father Antonius Fikry — Christian interpreters speaking from what Christians call the inspiration of the Holy Spirit — confirm that the vision was symbolic and was about opening Peter’s eyes to serve the nations, not about food. The animals in the sheet were symbols of people. The priests who use this passage to permit pork are contradicting their own interpreters.
