Leviticus 11 is the premiere text that the Seventh-Day Adventist Church will point to to support the idea of Christian’s being forbidden from eating unclean meats. The problem is their handling of the scriptures, not the scriptures themselves.
Leviticus 11 laid out the dietary prescriptions for the nation of Israel, not the New Testament Church. The purpose of the dietary laws was to make the Israelites a distinct nation from all others. After this purpose had ended, Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19).
With the death of Christ on the cross, the Old Testament Law was fulfilled (Romans 10:4, Galatians 3:24-25, Ephesians 2:15) which included the laws regarding clean and unclean foods.
The Adventist Church’s application of Leviticus 11 to all people is a misapplication of descriptive historical narrative which is laying out prescriptive commands for national Israel, not universal transcendent commands for all people at all times. This interpretation and application creates contradictions in the Bible—such as Genesis 9:1-3, 1 Timothy 4:1-4, Mark 7:14-23, and Romans 14:1-4.
