Does the Bible prove there are anachronisms in the Book of Mormon? Acts 10 is another landmark chapter that brings in a very important part of Christian history – especially for the non-Jewish pagan Gentiles – the reception of the Good News.    .   Before this chapter, the Gospel was preached only to the Jews.  God had covenanted with the Nation of Israel and it was through them that the very Messiah would come, and the gospel would be offered to them first.   Back in Acts chapter 9, we read that Peter wound up in a place called Joppa in the house of a man named Simon the Tanner.  Which now takes us to Acts 10:1-2 “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion (a Roman commander of 600 hundred men).  A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.”  Cornelius was a believer in the One True God.  But he did not know Jesus.  Verses 3-4 “He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day (3:00 pm) an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him Cornelius.  And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord (meaning, what is it sir)?  And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.”  Then the angel gives Cornelius instruction.  Verses 5-6 “And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.”  So, Cornelius sent his servants to Joppa.  Verse 9 “On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour (noon):”  While Peter was on the rooftop praying and waiting for lunch to cook – it says Verse 10 “And he (Peter) became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,”  Peter fell into a state of mind where he was absorbed in deep thought.  Verse 11 “And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth.”  This sheet – perhaps a large prayer shawl worn by men during religious devotionals – was a universal symbol of the nations and the animals of these nations upon the sheet represent the gentile world and the non-kosher animals eaten by gentiles.  Verse 12 “Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.”  Peter was hungry and it could be that the Lord uses this moment to teach him a new way about eating which would break down the cultural barrier the Jews had between them and the rest of the world.  Verses 13-16 “And there came a voice to him, ‘Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.’  But Peter said, ‘Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.’  And the voice spake unto him again the second time, ‘What God hat cleasned, that call not thou common.’  This was done thrice (repeated three times): and the vessel was received up again into heaven.”  Now, to put this into perspective, the Law of Moses, reigning for some 1500 years over the Jews, was pretty darn clear regarding what could be eaten and what was not even to be touched.  You can read a little about it in Leviticus 11:1-8.  Peter was faced with a conflict between what was written in the Law and the verbal command of the Lord.  But, the purpose of this vision was to provide direction and meaning to what Peter would be asked to do the next day.  It was to teach Peter that what God called unclean could and would now be seen as clean – the Gentiles and everything about them.  That under the direction of the Spirit, what was written would no longer reign over the hearts of Man – God would (Hebrews 10:16; Hebrews 8:10-11; 2 Corinthians 3:2-3).  

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Verse 19 “Wh