Peter's vision of the sheet was God's way of telling Peter that the clean and unclean distinction now applied to people, not just food, and it prepared him to go to the Gentile household of Cornelius.
The sheet contained all kinds of animals, and Peter was told to rise, kill, and eat. When he refused, God replied, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." Peter later told Cornelius that God had shown him not to call any man common or unclean. Les Feldick stresses that without this vision Peter would never have gone to Cornelius, and the event opened the door for the Gentile mission.
Acts 10:9–16 — Contains the actual vision of the sheet, with clean and unclean animals and God's instruction to call nothing common that He has cleansed.
Acts 10:28 — Peter applies the vision to people, declaring that God showed him not to call any man common or unclean.
Acts 10:44 — Records the Holy Ghost falling on Gentiles as Peter preached, confirming the vision's purpose.
The Bible records that while Peter was on the housetop in Joppa, he fell into a trance 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." Inside the sheet were "all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air" (Acts 10:10–12). A voice said, "Rise, Peter; kill, and eat," but Peter answered, "Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean." The voice replied, "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common" (Acts 10:13–15). This happened three times before the vessel was received back into heaven. Later, when Peter stood before Cornelius, he applied the vision to people: "God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean" (Acts 10:28). While Peter was still speaking, "the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word" (Acts 10:44). Years later in Jerusalem, Peter referred back to this same event, reminding the church that God had chosen him to bring the word of the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 15:7).
Les Feldick repeatedly frames the vision as God's necessary preparation for the Gentile mission. "God gives Peter a vision to prepare him to be ready to go long back, otherwise he'd have never gone," he says. He stresses that Peter would have been more obstinate than Jonah and that God forced the issue—there were "heel prints in the sand from Joppa to Caesarea." Les also connects the vision's clean and unclean wording directly to people, not animals. At Cornelius's door Peter announced that God had shown him not to call any man common or unclean, and Les points out that Peter had no idea God was now turning to the Gentile world. The experience, Les says, opened Peter's eyes to the fact that Gentiles could be saved by simply believing. Finally, Les uses this event to explain how the door opened for Paul. If Peter had not had that eye-opening experience at the house of Cornelius, "Paul would have never gotten off the hook. Christianity would have never gotten off the ground." A dozen years later, Peter's testimony in Acts 15 spared Paul's ministry.
The Bible records that the sheet contained "all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air" (Acts 10:12). Les Feldick simply describes the vision as the sheet coming down with "all manner of living things in that sheet," and he connects it directly to God preparing Peter before the messengers from Cornelius arrived.
Peter's immediate response was "Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean" (Acts 10:14). Les explains that Peter was a law-keeping Jew and was not about to break the Law by eating something that was not kosher. When the Lord said "Rise, Peter, kill, and eat," Peter's reaction was effectively "No way, Lord!" because he had never touched unclean food.
At the house of Cornelius, Peter revealed the vision's real meaning: "God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean" (Acts 10:28). The Holy Ghost then fell on all the Gentile hearers as Peter spoke (Acts 10:44). Les teaches that Peter had no idea God was turning to the Gentile world, but this eye-opening experience later protected Paul's ministry; as Les puts it, had Peter not had it, "Paul would have never gotten off the hook."
God Forced Peter to Go
Les says that without God's direct pressure and proof, Peter would never have agreed to go up to Caesarea; he was more obstinate than Jonah, so the vision and the command to go were necessary.
Vision Prepared Peter
According to Les, the vision was God's way of preparing Peter so he would be ready when the men came from Caesarea; Peter had to be forced to go, and the sheet vision was the drastic measure that made it possible.
Distinct Divine Purpose
Les points out that Peter knew it was unlawful for a Jew to enter a Gentile's house, yet he went because "God hath shewed me"—and Les stresses that Peter could not see that God was now moving out to the Gentile world.
The Vision Applied to People
Les highlights Peter's own statement that God showed him not to call any man common or unclean, and then shows how the Holy Ghost falling on the Gentile hearers confirmed the meaning.
Peter Defended the Gentile Mission Years Later
Les uses this clip to show that Peter's experience at Cornelius's house became the foundation for his defense of Paul in Acts 15, when he reminded the church that God chose Peter to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Opened Peter's Eyes to Gentile Salvation
Les says this experience opened Peter's eyes to the fact that Gentiles could be saved by believing, and that had Peter not had it, Paul's ministry and the spread of Christianity would have been stopped.
Law-Keeping Barrier and the Turning to the Gentiles
Les explains that Peter's refusal to eat non-kosher food came from his law-keeping mindset, and that after the vision he told Cornelius God had shown him something new—God was now turning to the Gentiles.
Peter's Reaction of 'No Way, Lord'
Les describes Peter as shaking at Cornelius's door, and when the sheet came down, Peter said in effect "No way, Lord" because as a law-keeper he had never eaten anything unclean.
Acts 10:12: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
Describes the contents of the sheet in Peter's vision.
Acts 10:13: And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
The divine command that Peter initially refused.
Acts 10:14: But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
Shows Peter's law-keeping objection to eating unclean animals.
Acts 10:15: And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
The central lesson of the vision: God's cleansing changes what is common.
Acts 10:28: And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
Peter applies the vision to people, not just animals.
Acts 10:44: While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
God's confirmation that the Gospel was now opening to the Gentiles.
Acts 15:7: And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Peter's later defense of the Gentile mission, rooted in his Cornelius experience.
In the vision, the sheet contained all manner of animals, and Peter refused to eat because he was a law-keeping Jew. But when he stood before Cornelius, Peter explained that God had shown him not to call any man common or unclean. Les Feldick emphasizes that the vision's real purpose was to prepare Peter to go to Gentiles, so it was ultimately about people, not just dietary rules.
Peter had never eaten anything common or unclean; he was a law-keeper. Les teaches that he was shaking at Cornelius's door and that this law-keeping mindset was exactly why God had to take drastic measures with the vision.
Les notes that 12 years later in Acts 15, Peter defended Paul against Jewish believers who objected to Paul's Gentile mission, reminding them that God had chosen Peter's mouth long before to take the Gospel to Gentiles. Les says had Peter not had that eye-opening experience, Paul would never have gotten off the hook and Christianity would not have gotten off the ground.
Watch the Teaching: Was Cornelius Really Saved? Acts 10 Explained Verse by Verse