Ahh yes - "exegesis" - good.
If by "believer" you mean Jew and by non-believer in Isaiah 66 you mean non-Jew then a few "inconvenient details" come up.
Steaver; No, by "believer" i mean anyone who trust in God whether Jew or Gentile.
1. It is not clear that no Jew ever worshipped a false god or idol
2. It is clear that all the Jews in the Context of Is 66 - knew that Lev 11 was "the Word of God" and if they chose to rebel against God's Word - they did so knowingly.
Steaver; 1) I believe it is most certainly clear that many Jews worshipped false gods. 2) In the context of Is 66 it matters not anything about Lev 11. Anyone who "sanctifies themselves" apart from a commandment from God to do so is not a believer in God but rather believes in a false god.
In Isaiah 66 - we have the judgment of God at the end of the world - judgment by fire and God says that those who eat "mice and detestible things" come to an end in that fiery post-cross NT day of judgment.
Is 66
15 For behold, the LORD will come in fire And His chariots like the whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For the LORD will execute judgment by fire And by His sword on all flesh, And those slain by the LORD will be many.
17 ""Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, Following one in the center, Who eat swine's flesh, detestable things and mice[/b], will come to an end altogether,'' declares the LORD.
18 ""For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.
Steaver; The text says nothing of those who eat swine for supper. It explicitly says "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens". A "detail" you love to omit in your boast of "context and detail" rants.
"For I know their works and their thoughts". Eating supper is not a work or thought to be judged unless it invovles sanctifying oneself by a false god.
Romans 14 does not say "go ahead and eat meat offerred to idols".
Steaver; It does say eat the food offered if you want for an idol is nothing to a believer. The believer eats for food, not to sanctify themselves by the idol it has been offered to.
Romans 14 talks about those gentiles who are weak in the faith and who "eat vegetables only" in order to avoid meats offerred to idols.
Steaver; Correct, because they are afraid like you that Is 66 means supper time. Paul says for a believer the meat offered to the idol means nothing, go ahead and eat it if you are mature enough in your faith to accept the truth of the matter. Otherwise eat fruits and veggies.
And remember - in Acts 15 gentiles are specifically told NOT to eat meat offerred to idols - so those who "eat vegetables only" in order to steer clear of that problem may be sort of "weak in the faith" by 1Cor 8 and 10 standards - but they are doing so in the spirit of "following orders".
Steaver; Yes, not because of eternal condemnation, but because they are weak in the faith right now. Paul made it clear in Cor 8&10 that the eating of the meats did not matter to the one who did the eating unless he was making his brother stumble. "Details" you like to leave out.
God said -
16 For the LORD will execute judgment by fire And by His sword on all flesh, And those slain by the LORD will be many.
17 ""Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, Following one in the center, Who eat swine's flesh, detestable things and mice[/b], will come to an end altogether,'' declares the LORD.
Steaver; An "inconvenient detail" for you is "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, Following one in the center" (Hint; this is not supper time)
Let the unbiased objective reader decide for themselves.
Steaver; Yes, I believe the unbiased objective reader won't find it hard to see "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, Following one in the center" is whom the text is speaking of. Not those having a dinner.
But go ahead and continue to boast of your detail searching, context keeping and of your unbiased objective exegesis work.
in Christ,
Bob