What does EGW write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "It concerns the Letter to the Colossians, 2:16 food and drink, which is interpreted as the addition to the sacrifices as food and drink offerings. However, Paul's letter is addressed to the congregation in Colossae, where no sin offerings and burnt offerings were presented, only in the temple of Jerusalem. Therefore, this food and drink refer to the purity rules concerning eating that were imposed by Judaism."
Answer
The biblical passage in Colossians 2:16, according to Adventist interpretation, refers to the ceremonial provisions of the Mosaic Law that pointed as a shadow to Christ and ended with His death on the cross. While the moral commandments of the Decalogue remain valid, the ritual regulations concerning food, drink, and festivals that were part of the “handwritten statutes” have been abolished. Nevertheless, the apostles adhered to certain health and moral restrictions, such as abstaining from blood and idolatrous meat, to preserve the fellowship between Jews and Gentiles and to protect biblical principles of purity.
Distinction between ceremonial and moral laws
»Under the “handwritten statutes” it is clearly understood to mean the ceremonial law—not the Decalogue or the moral law. The latter is never characterized as “handwritten statutes.” Therefore, the “blotting out,” “removing,” and “nailing to the cross” spoken of have no relation to this law but to the Mosaic ritual. ... The Sabbaths referred to are obviously those that are found in the same context as food and drink, festivals, and new moons and that had the same general character. The weekly Sabbath is therefore not affected at all by their abolition.«
Regulations for Gentile Christians and the ceremonial law
»The Council of Jerusalem deliberated on the question of ceremonial requirements and prohibitions and decided that strictly ceremonial features of the Old Testament era were no longer binding. ... Far from saying that what the Gentiles ate had no relation to a proper way of life, the council explicitly imposed certain restrictions: “That you abstain from idolatrous sacrifices, from blood, from strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”«
Principles of purity and health
»The distinction between foods as clean and unclean was not a purely ceremonial and arbitrary regulation, but was based on sanitary principles. The adherence to this distinction can be largely credited for the wonderful vitality that has characterized the Jewish people for millennia. ... Appetite should always be subordinate to moral and intellectual forces.«
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Original Sources (English)
