Deceitful spirits, doctrines of demons, and hypocrisy

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.

1 Timothy 4:1-3

Marriage bans are demonic

“Shun, shun, shun, avoid” do not come from Jesus. It sounds Jewish and appears only in Israel’s approach to Canaan. Only blindfolded people can come up with “” as the foundation of God’s kingdom. Only the trapped deceiver can come up with “God is checking your diet to find you a place in his family”. Someone in the modern era counselling against marriage is obviously trying to be more Jewish than the Jews, like this vicious plagiarist who wrote the following.

I would warn you [Counsel to a young woman.] to be guarded as to where you bestow your affections…. Remember that your life belongs to Jesus, and that you are not to live for yourself alone. You are not to enter into the marriage relation with an unbeliever; for in so doing, you do exactly contrary to that which Jesus has commanded. Shun those who are irreverent. Shun one who is a lover of idleness; shun the one who is a scoffer of hallowed things. Avoid the society of one who uses profane language, or is addicted to the use of even one glass of liquor. Listen not to the proposals of a man who has no realization of his responsibility to God. OHC 257.

Taste, touch, and handle not are dead in the water

[since you died] with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)–in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?

Colossians 2:20-22

When did Jesus ever put forth prohibitions on marriage?  The instructions given to Israel in the desert and in early Canaan are not applicable to believers.  If someone tries to convince you that the instructions given to the journeying Israelites are also the instructions of Messiah to his disciples you should remember that Yeshua is not Moses, and Moses was never his teacher. The biases of Israelites against Gentiles are going to destroy the paths of God’s great love and peace. They will shatter the foundations of the human family, debilitate both the redeemed and the lost. We can hardly ignore the marriages of Abraham, Joseph, David, and we cannot pretend that the conversion of thousands of persons to the Way without their spouses are a necessary part of Christian growth. Is there no grace for keeping married people together?  Was love not the glue of Gentile and unbeliever weddings? Shunning people who have not been moved to accept the gospel would be as misguided as Ezra’s dissolution of Jewish marriages to Gentiles. Shunning is just bad advice especially when love has entered the picture. The righteousness of love has clearly gone over a lot of people’s heads.