God Jehovah has had a preoccupation, if not an obsession with meat. Although Cain worked hard to produce an offering of vegetables, it was rejected because it was not meat. Priests were instructed to save certain cuts of meat for Jehovah, the fatty portions. (Not my personal preference, but then I'm not Jehovah.) At times the Watchtower has tried to explain away certain actions attributed to Jehovah as anthromorphic, that is, human traits attributed to a deity. Jehovah is really not "hurt" by human actions, nor does he really crave meat, they imply.
Jehovah made specific rules about the eating of meat. At first(until the flood) no meat could be eaten. Interesting that righteous Abel offered essentially illegal contraband, meat, even "their fatty pieces" and it was readily accepted by Jehovah. After the flood "every flying creature, every moving animal and fish" became fair game so to speak. With the Mosaic Law Jehovah greatly limited the types of meat that could be eaten. Watchtower publications hint strongly that preventing diseases like trichinosis may played a part in Jehovah's new meat rules. Its a shame that Jehovah wouldn't have moved to protect his "friends" Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or ancient greats like Job and Melchizadek from trichinosis. Later on Jehovah used quail meat to punish ungrateful Israelites who tired of manna. He made them eat quail till it came out of their noses. You can get tired of something, if it served too often.
Will new meat rules be part of the "new scrolls" Jehovah will unfurl in the new world? Perhaps. One thing is certain. Animals will lose their carnivoristic predisposition. Isaiah tells us in prophecy: "the lion will eat straw just like the bull." Before this genetic change takes place Jehovah has scheduled one final meat lovers "Evening Meal of God" to consume all the dead carcasses from Armageddon. Presumably birds of prey and other still carnivorous creatures will enjoy Jehovah's Great Meat Dinner. After that, only the carcasses of animals who die a natural death will be consumed. Animals will then immediately revert back to their post-Armageddon vegetarian state of mind.
Although the Watchtower has given us a beautiful picture of paradise, many questions remain unanswered. Will new world fish distinguish between animal, bacterial and plant plankton? Will purple martins still consume 600 mosquitoes an hour? What will ant eaters use their snouts for?
Humans may be able to satisfy their cravings by eating "well-oiled dishes filled with marrow.", not really meat, but close. Housecat Tabby will no longer stalk her prey, but innocently frolic along with a large rat population, her former enemies.
tms