Episode Transcript
Are you ready to experience the amazing love of God and his plan for your life? Are you curious about the fast fulfilling bible prophecies? Amidst the rapidly changing world, secrets of prophecy is your gateway to unlocking these exciting realities. Join pastor David Price on a journey of discovery that will not only transform your life, but will equip you with inner peace and an unshakable hope to face the future. It's my pleasure to welcome you to session number 23 of the secrets of Prophecy Seminar series.
In this exciting session we are going to look at health, diet and nutrition via the secrets from God's Word. Let's dive in now to our five discovery points on living life to the full. Number one, we're going to ask and answer how important is our health and well being? Number two, why did God give His people certain food laws? Number three, how does Jesus want us to live our lives down here? Number four, what does the Bible call our bodies? And number five, what is the Biblical secret to changing our lifestyle? If you would like to download the study guide, it's available online under the Description bar on the online platform that you are viewing this on.
Gracious Heavenly Father, Again we would ask that your guide bless and direct us as we open your word and find amazing things. We thank you for hearing and answering this prayer in Jesus name, Amen. So here we are, session 23 of a 24 session series and we are looking at living life to the full health, diet and nutrition from the ancient Biblical writings.
Let's get started. How would you like to reach the age of 100 and enjoy every moment of living? In late 2005, National Geographic magazine featured an article on longevity and quality of life. The author Dan Butner gathered a team of researchers to scour the world for healthy communities.
His plan was to discover pockets of the globe where people were living measurably better than anywhere else. And what Buettner discovered was quite staggering. Four areas of the world were highlighted as blue zones.
These are communities where people commonly live past the age of 100. The current blue zones are in Okinawa in Japan, Sardinia in Italy, Nicoya Peninsula in the Costa Rica and Loma Linda in California. The research showed that each group has both longevity and vitality of life.
They are fresh, energetic and happy. They seem to die young, at an old age. So let's ask, what is the secret to health and wellbeing? The research uncovered an emphasis on family, on relationships, on a plant based diet and of course, exercise.
But importantly, each group also had its own sense of faith and participates in a spiritual community. The Blue Zone communities are peaceful and content and yet there is a clear sense of purpose. The Costa Ricans call their life purpose Plan Davida.
The Okinawans call it Ikigai, meaning why I wake up in the morning. Here are people who've created an environment for well being. So of the four groups, Buettner refers to the Seventh Day Adventist from Loma Linda as the American All Stars of Longevity.
With an emphasis on whole person health. This group has a much lower than average incidence of lifestyle related illnesses. The secret of vitality for Adventists includes the Sabbath, rest, a sense of community, and according to Dan Buettner, a diet inspired by the Bible.
You can go to www.bluezones.com for extra information. Let me just go into a few more findings that were in that report.
So let's look a look, let's look at more secrets to living longer. To quote the article From 1976 to 1988, the National Institutes of Health funded a study of 34,000 Californian Seventh Day Adventists to see whether their health orientated lifestyle affected their life expectancy and risk of heart disease and cancer. The study found that the Adventist habit of consuming beans, soy milk, tomatoes and other fruits lowered their risk of developing certain cancers.
It is also suggested that eating whole wheat bread, drinking five glasses of water a day, and most surprisingly, consuming four servings of nuts a week reduced their risk of heart disease. They found that not eating red meat had been helpful to avoid both cancer and heart disease. In the end, the study reached a stunning conclusion.
Says Gary Fraser of Loma Linda University, the average Adventist lived four to ten years longer than the average Californian. That makes the Adventist one of the nation's most convincing cultures of longevity. There was a follow up article in National Geographic In 2016, Blue Zones the Science of Living Longer.
And it says on the COVID eat like the World's longest lived People. Discover ways to add life to your years. Make the healthy choice, the easy choice.
So let's now go to some of the actual individuals in the study. Here is a 100-year-old surgeon, a World War II vet who retired at age 95, who shared the secret to his longevity. It's Dr.
Ellsworth Wareham, 1914 to 2018, who died at the age of 104. He was a cardiothoracic surgeon. He retired from surgery at 74, but still assisted surgeons until he was 95.
And this is what Dr. Ellsworth said. My mind is sharp.
I still mow the lawn if I have any problems I'm not aware of them. Tell them I still feel like I'm 20. So here is what the study said in terms of the Seventh Day Adventist in Loma Linda, California.
In that blue zone, they live as much as a decade longer than the rest of us. And much of their longevity can be attributed to vegetarianism and regular exercise. Plus, Adventists don't smoke or drink alcohol.
Let's go a little bit further and dive into the U.S. news and World Report magazine. February 20, 2009.
Here are 11 health habits that will help you live to 100. The byline says you don't need to eat yoghurt and live on a mountaintop, but you do need to floss. Let's quickly go through the 11 health habits.
Number one, don't retire. Be like Dr. Ellsworth and keep working.
Number two, you need to floss your teeth every day. Number three, you need to move around. Just don't be a couch potato.
Number four, to eat fibre rich cereal for breakfast when many people have quit eating breakfast. To get at least six hours of sleep a night. And then number six, to consume whole foods and not use supplements.
Number seven, to be less neurotic. Number eight, to live like a Seventh Day Adventist, the magazine said, which is amazing. Number nine, to be a creature of habit.
Number 10, to stay connected with other people. And number 11, to be conscientious. Let's go and have a little bit more of a look at this article.
The article said Americans who define themselves as Seventh Day Adventists have a average life expectancy of 89, about a decade longer than the average American. One of the basic tenets of the religion is that it's important to cherish the body that's on loan from God, which means no smoking, alcohol abuse or overindulging in sweets. Followers typically stick to a vegetarian diet based on fruits, vegetables, beans and nuts.
And they get plenty of exercise. They're also very focused on family and community. Let's go to Norwegian professor Peter Hort in his book 10 Rules for Good Health, page 8.
And this is what he wrote, quote, I want to add that it should give the scientists both humility and afterthought that the Adventists have found the rules for living in the Bible. And they correspond with the rules for living that the scientists have formed through extensive and costly scientific research. End of quote.
So I'd like to refer you online to the video story called Longevity Secrets of the Loma Linda Blue Zone. You'll find that actually on YouTube and it only goes for three minutes. And 45 seconds.
And I think you'll pick up some extra tips and secrets as you watch that video. I go back to our study guide. We're now going to ask, so what does the Bible actually say about health? Is there any connection between our physical health and spiritual health? Yes, there sure is.
How can we change our health habits? And this study guide will reveal the biblical keys to a happy and healthy life. Now, you know we can't promise you that you will all live to 100, but you should find the experience of living much more enjoyable if you implement some of the biblical guidelines. Let's go straight into question number one in our time together living life to the full session 23 of Secrets of Prophecy.
Question one says, how important is our health? And we go to third John. And verse two, John wrote, beloved, I pray that ye may prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers. Now, you can notice there that John wants believers to be thriving in every area of their life and be well.
And this, of course, will have a positive effect on their spiritual life as their soul prospers. You know, health is one of the most important subjects of the Bible. The reason human beings are an integrated whole of body, mind, heart and spirit.
You know, the apostle John wished his friends to prosper both physically and spiritually. Whatever affects the health of the body will impact on the whole person. This includes the way we feel, think, and interact in our relationships.
So when you nurture your body physically, your mind will also be active. A clear mind helps connect to God spiritually. A spiritual life provides a life purpose to be passionate about.
And these factors will form a platform for true health and happiness. That leads us to question number two. We're asking, why did God give his people laws of health? Because many people believe that these laws have been done away with.
But we're going to discover that these laws were given to Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, thousands of years before there were any Jewish people. And so these are not Jewish food laws. They were restated to Moses, but they were given to Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, the first humans on planet Earth.
Why did God give his people laws of health? We go to Exodus 23 and verse 25, Moses wrote, so you shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from the midst of you. So, friends, God promises to provide and to bless and to prosper the food of his people, to supply them with bread, to make sure They've got enough water and if they follow the food laws, he's going to even remove sickness from them. I want to go to an extra scripture, not in the study guide.
Let's go to Exodus 15 and verse 26. Moses said, if you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you. Friends, God loves us.
He wants us to be well. He wants us to eat healthily and he doesn't want to deny us anything that will be conducive to good health. And that's what we are studying about in this amazing session.
So God gave his people health laws. Why? To protect them from sickness and to keep them from premature and unnecessary death. As the Creator God, he knows what is best for our health.
God gave the prophet Moses a number of principles that are still very important today. So let's have a look at some of these principles. Some of these principles include diet in Leviticus 11, 46, 47, hygiene in Leviticus 14:8, sterilisation in Numbers 31, verses 22 and 23, morality in Exodus 20, verse 14, and rest in Exodus 28 to 11, which is, of course, the seventh day Sabbath, the biblical Sabbath that has never changed.
And finally, quarantine, which is found in numbers 51 to 4. Let's take a moment to ask a question about were the ancients healthy and were they long livers? Did the ancient Egyptian people's diets lead to longevity or did they lead to premature death? I wonder what your answer might be. So let's go to some articles to research this.
So this is Laura Sanders in Science News 11. November 18, 2009. Mummy scans show heart disease was rampant.
Let's understand a little bit more. Among 22 mummies who received full body computed tomography scans, 16 had hearts or arteries preserved enough to study. Of those, nine had evidence of blockage from atherosclerosis.
This disease has been around since before the time of Moses, said Randall Thompson of the St. Luke's Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City. So we know that atherosclerosis is the buildup of fatty deposits in archery walls that restrict the flow of blood.
And you can see how damaging these are and how they can cause a severe event, a health event, or even loss of life. But let's go back to these articles. Here is one by Heather Pringle.
The curse of the mummy's artery. So we're researching whether the ancients lived long lives or whether they lived short lives. To quote the article.
In 2011, a team led by cardiologist Adel Alam of the Al Azhar Medical School in Cairo and Gregory Thomas of the University of California, Irvine, has conducted the broadest and most detailed study yet of atherosclerosis, a hardening of the arteries that causes both strokes and heart attacks among ancient Egypt's upper classes. By performing CT scans of 52 of their mummies in a study presented at the scientific session of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans, the team found that 44 of their mummies still possessed identifiable cardiovascular tissue. And of these, 45% exhibited definite or probable hardening of the arteries.
The article goes on to say, we were a bit surprised by how, just by how much atherosclerosis we found on ancient Egyptians who were young. Now, friends, here's the real shock. The average age of death was around 40.
To back up what was going on in Egypt, let's go to the Ebers papyrus, written around 1500 BC. Wikipedia says it was the most extensive and best preserved record of ancient Egyptian medicine known. Let's have a look at one of their treatments for ancient ailments and see how scientific it was.
One large beetle cut off his head and two wings warming, put into snake fat. Apply him. If then you wish to drive it away, then warm his head and his two wings put into snake fat, warm it and let the man drink it.
Well, that doesn't sound very reassuring to me. But how about this cure for baldness? Take a concoction of fats from a hippopotamus, a crocodile, a tomcat, a snake and an ibex, applying porcupine hair, boiled in water to the scalp for four days, and consumption of the leg of a female greyhound, sauteed in oil, of course, with a side of donkey hoof. End of quote.
Friends, I'm just wondering if that would have been too successful. I don't know what you think, but it sounds quite disturbing and not very hair raising. So now let's reflect on Moses, because Moses had been in Egypt and he was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians.
We find that where Luke writes it down in Acts chapter 7 and verse 22. So we need to ask, did any of this information that Moses was taught in Egypt of these very, very poor remedies for illness, did any of those make their way into the Bible? And the answer is. But not even one of these bizarre, superstitious ancient Egyptian Treatments feature in God's health laws given to us by Moses in the Bible.
I guess when we think back to Moses the great leader, we think of Moses and we remember him as the one who led the children of Israel out of Egypt in the great Exodus. But do you actually think of Moses in this way? This article tells us that Moses was the father of modern medicine, health and disease control. In the article by Frontline magazine on medical science and the law of Moses, also we want to quote from Scientific Foreknowledge and Medical Acumen of the Bible by Kyle Bute.
So let's have a look at a quote. Moses penned the most advanced, flawless medical prescriptions that had ever been recorded. Furthermore, every statement that pertained to the health and medical well being of the Israelite nation recorded by Moses could theoretically still be implemented and be completely in accord with every fact modern medicine has learned in regard to germ spreading, epidemic, disease control, communal sanitation and a host of other medical and scientific discoveries.
End of quote. So friends, the Bible speaks about protocols for anaesthesia, for quarantine, for sterilisation and of course for diet. In the article Medical Science and the Law of Moses, we read by Dr.
William R. Viz, MD in Medical Science and the Bible. As a scientist, Moses rises above all other biblical characters because of his stupendous knowledge of public health and hygiene.
The safeguarding of the people. Israel, under the difficulties encountered, should perhaps rank as the greatest achievement in all medical history. So friends, let's go to question number three.
We're asking how does Jesus want us to live? And we go to John chapter 10 and verse 10. Here Jesus said, I have come that they, the people of earth may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. Friends, health is not just the absence of pain and disease.
It is the presence of vitality. It's an abundant life. Did you know that God's concept of health is an exchange? Something worse for something better, destroying for restoring, hollow for satisfying.
You know, God just wants us to flourish. He wants us to have energy, vitality, radiance, optimism, resilience, enthusiasm, meaning purpose, fulfilment, joy, activation, empowerment, inspiration and satisfaction. Basically, God wants us to just love and enjoy our life.
You know, an abundant life includes the personal presence of Jesus Christ. In fact, a Christless health is really no health at all. Jesus provides us with peace, assurance and hope.
Not just healing and restoration, much more. It's a life of health and happiness beyond our imagination. So let's now ask, what does the Bible call our body? And we go to First Corinthians 6 and verses 19 and 20, Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, therefore glorify God in your body.
So, friends, many people don't realise that our bodies are inhabited by the Holy Spirit. And so we're kind of having bodies on loan from God. It's kind of rent a body.
And I remember one person I studied the Bible says that we need to hand the bodies back in good condition. It's kind of like rent a body. So let's never forget that the Holy Spirit wants to live in us and power us and also cause us to be a blessing to other people.
However, although some people understand their bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and they glorify God in their bodies, some people don't. Some people have the attitude, it's my body, I can do what I like with it. And yes, they have the right to think and believe that.
But the human life is a home for the Holy Spirit. As such, we have a responsibility to nurture and nourish our body to ensure it is in the best possible condition to maintain a loving relationship with God. So if the mind is dulled through sickness, then God's communication is made more difficult and spiritual growth is stunted.
Having vitality and good health helps you understand the Bible and establish a close relationship with God. Number five, what are some practical ways you can enhance your health? In First Corinthians 10:31, we read this. Therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
So, friends, we have to ask ourselves whether in our diet and lifestyle, we are actually good representatives of heaven. Do we actually bring respect and awe to the God of heaven? So let us share now with you 10 practical principles to live a happy, healthy life. All of them are consistent with biblical principles, and many of these points are directly mentioned in the Bible.
Let's start off with item number one, which is to breathe fresh air. You know, pure air in the lungs does wonderful things for our health. Our lungs are cleaned, the blood is purified, and our brain receives a special boost of energy.
Fresh air also soothes the nerves and keeps our mood positive and optimistic. And in the days in which we live, we need to be positive and optimistic, don't we? You know, we spend so much time stuck in the dust and stale air of houses, schools and offices. It's absolutely vital we ventilate our homes and get out into the fresh air, venture out for a morning Walk.
Take a stroll down by the seaside or climb a mountain and take in a deep breath. You will just feel good. You will just feel alive.
So breathe deeply, get fresh pure air and get out and about. Let's go to number two of our 10 principles for vibrant health. Number two is the item about rest.
You know, life today is very hectic, isn't it? The average day is full of multitasking commitments and deadlines to fit everything in. We often lose out on rest, relaxation and sleep. When Jesus said to his disciples, come aside and rest a while.
Mark 6:31, Jesus knew what he was talking about. You see, the batteries of life need to be recharged during rest. The body is restored and rejuvenated.
The mind becomes calmer and becomes clearer. There's nothing better than waking up refreshed after a good night's sleep. So experts provide a number of tips for helping us to get a good night's sleep.
Firstly, ensure the sleep environment has a comfortable temperature, is not cluttered with distractions like tv, radios and screens, and make sure you have a really good mattress. Secondly, avoid having meals, alcohol, nicotine or caffeine just before you go to bed. When you wake up, open the blinds or go out into the sunshine.
We also need to beware the blue light of our media screens that interferes with our melatonin production which allows us to go to sleep. So friends, if life is too hectic, just make sure you take a vacation. And many people today just don't take any holidays.
At the very least, take time to just chill out in nature and relax for a while. Did you remember that Jesus gave us the Sabbath day to rest? This would be a weekly timeout. This is time for our whole person to rest and connect with God, family and friends.
Point number three is that we need to soak in the sunlight. You know, it's important that we get out and we feel the sun. Of course, too much sun can result in skin cancer, so we need to be careful.
But I think we're going in the other direction today and covering up too much. But exposure to sunlight on our skin produces the very necessary vitamin D. Yes, that's right, the sunshine vitamin.
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, which of course strengthens our bones. So up to 15 minutes of sunlight a day boosts the immune system and helps reduce the risk of cancer. Sunlight aids mental concentration, gives more energy and can even lower blood pressure.
Sunlight also nurtures our emotions and mind. Did you know tests have shown that the life giving rays of the sun help people who battle with mood swings and depression. See Dr.
Norman Rosenthal, the National Institute of Mental Health. Let's go to principle number four. We need to just get out and enjoy our life.
You know, our mental attitude to life has a major impact on our overall health. The Bible says a merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. In Proverbs 7, 22.
You know, we need to be optimists and have a good laugh once in a while, don't we? According to author Jane Campsey, adults laugh on average only 15 times per day, while kids enjoy a giggle up to 400 times per day. See de stress in the year 2000. Laughter relieves the symptoms of stress through releasing endorphins from the brain, According to researchers Dr.
Lee Burke and Dr. William Fry from Loma Linda University. Happy, joyful laughter produces measurable changes in a person's immune system.
You know, there are many other ways for you to feel the experience of enjoying life. Try your hand at one of the aunts play, write or sing music, write a poem or a book, create a short film for YouTube or paint a picture, go down to the beach, fly a kite, go shopping with friends, read a good book. Just discover what you are passionate about and do it.
Point number five is to drink pure water. You know, us humans cannot survive very long without water. The body is at least 60% water and is vital for the daily functioning of the body.
Water transports nutrients to the vital organs of the body and cleanses the body of waste. Water also lubricates our joints and aids in digestion. So the benefits of drinking water include less headaches, enhanced memory, replenished skin, improved immune system reduction in the risk of some cancers, and weight control.
Experts suggest we drink at least eight to ten glasses of water per day. But how much is that? Well, a lot of people know that's about two litres a day. So if you get yourself a two litre bottle and you work your way through that water, you will know at the end of that day that you've drunk two litres.
And that's what I do. And that's what our family does, drink lots of water. You know, water can also be an effective natural treatment for illness.
Did you know that hydrotherapy is an ancient form of water treatment that uses the stimuli of hot and cold along with the sensation of water on the skin. This can stimulate the immune system and improve circulation and reduce stress. So I want to ask you now, do you really enjoy pure water? The water that comes out of our tap has chlorine in it.
It has fluoride. It also has certain bugs like cryptosporidium and gardia and other chemicals that are added. So what I do is that I have bought myself a distiller that boils the water for four hours and takes the pure water out of the impurities that are left in the bottom of that distiller and put into a glass jar.
I then run that distilled water which has no minerals in it and is 99.9% pure and I run that through a RE mineralizer which gives us a ph in the water of about seven and that water is absolutely gorgeous and goes through the body flushing out all the waste. So make sure that you are getting pure water and it will really improve your health.
Principle number six is that you and I have to nurture our relationships. At the heart of human need is to love and be loved. People who have quality relationships and regularly experienced social time are likely to be healthier and happier.
To nurture your relationship, you need to spend quality time. Try telling those close to you how much they mean to you. Write them a letter or even a quick SMS message.
And if you have a disagreement, ensure you don't carry around a grudge. Allow yourself to forgive and to be forgiven. Don't also forget the important point of connecting with the community.
This can also enhance your health. Try joining a local community group, volunteer and help others. Why not create a community garden in your area? For the Christian the most precious relationship we have is our friendship with God.
As you spend time with him, you'll find your whole person health and happiness growing. Well, let's go to principle number seven. It's so important to be active and stay active.
In fact, back in creation, God appointed Adam and Eve to do work that involved exercise. See Genesis 2:15. And today, being active provides a variety of very important benefits to our health.
Exercise reduces worry and stress, builds muscle, reduces fat, helps us feel good, and reduces the risk of heart disease. Unfortunately, many of us today have jobs that involve very little exercise. And so it's absolutely vital we make time in our busy bustle to create movement for our body.
If you're just starting, then begin slowly. The aim is to get to a point where your heart rate increases while you exercise. And so walking.
Yes, walking is often viewed as the best exercise with an aim of at least 10,000 steps per day. And I know that some of you watching this will actually be doing that. So good on you.
Exercise is cumulative, so even if you move your body for 15 minutes 2 to 4 times per day you will be gaining the benefits of being active. But most of all, find an activity you really enjoy. You'll not only get fit and healthy, you'll feel good while you do it.
We're going through 10 health principles in our study, Living Life to the Full. So let's now go to principle number eight. This one says to eat well, but that raises the question, what are we going to eat? Let's have a look at the diet that God gave to Adam and Eve and notice what's in it or notice what's not in it.
And God said in Genesis 1:29 to Adam and Eve, see, I have given you every herb that yield seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed to you, it shall be for food. Now I want you to notice there's some very important ingredients from our modern diet that are missing quite apart from processed foods. So firstly, there's no dairy and secondly there is no meat.
They were not eating animals in the Garden of Eden. So the original diet that God gave to human beings revolved around whole plant foods. Isn't that interesting? In fact, the Genesis diet began with fruits, nuts, grains, legumes, and expanded to include vegetables after sin entered.
See Genesis chapter 3, verse 18. Because Adam and Eve were going to need complex carbohydrates to be able to do long hours of physical work in the gardens. So a diet based on colourful fruits, vegetables, seeds, legumes and nuts can be very tasty.
And these foods restore and nourish the body. Unprocessed plant foods have the nutrients that help prevent many chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. They also help maintain a good body weight and they help you to feel good.
So going back in time, back to the Bible, did you know that man's plant based diet lasted for over 1500 years? Throughout that time, the average lifespan was 912 years. I'm going to pause there and give you some extra information. I'm going to ask the question, did the Genesis diet, the original diet given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, did it give long life? And if it did, how could we scientifically justify that? Let's go to Genesis 5, 5:32 and if you go there, and we don't have time to exhaustively investigate it, but we will summ.
Summarise it. We have the average ages of the patriarchs and you can see that listed there in that chart. So let's have a look at man's lifespan.
Before the flood, Adam lived 930 years. Then he died. Seth lived 912, Enos 905, Canaan 910, Mahalaleo 895, Jared 962.
Methuselah was the longest liver at 969. Lamech was 777. And Noah lived 950 years.
And then he died. Add up all of those ages of the nine men. 8,210 years divided by the nine men.
And the average age of those who were living on the meatless diet, who were vegans because there was no Dairy, is 912.22 years. So, friends, many people today believe these ages are myths and legends, but I do not.
I believe these years are literal. Remember, Adam and Eve had come straight off the production line, so to speak, from God. They were the first of his creation and they would have lived forever into eternity.
And so you can see that it took the ravages of sin. And later on we'll discover poor diets to reduce. And through murder and lifestyle, disease and problems in society, it took a long time for mankind's lifespan to actually reduce.
But let's have a look at how it did reduce. So in Genesis 11, verses 11 to 32, we're going to summarise man's lifespan after the flood, after meat eating was introduced, when they came off the ark. Shem lives 600 years.
Arphaxad 438, Selah 433, Eber 464, Peleg 239, Rayu, 239, Serag 230, Nahor 148 and T ra, the father of Abraham, 205. That gives us a total for the nine men of 2,996 divided by the nine men. And we have a score of 332.88
years. So the average age of the clean meat eaters after the flood who are following God's health and diet laws is actually 333 years. That's quite a drop, isn't it? So we're asking, is there any proof that God's Eden diet in Genesis had any amazing advantages? And the answer is, there is.
Have a look at the chart on the screen. Man's lifespan before and after the flood. So before the flood, man ate fruits, nuts, grains, vegetables.
It was a vegan plant based diet with no dairy. And the average age of 9 men was 912 years. What about after the flood? Well, they would have eaten fruits, nuts, grains, vegetables, but then they went on to the clean meats as they were authorised to do after the flood because it was an emergency diet and there was no green food available.
And then many people stayed on that emergency diet. And people are still on the emergency meat eating diet today. So there is the average age of nine men who lived after the flood recorded in Genesis 11 and the score is 333.
So we're comparing here the vegan plant based diet of 912 versus the clean meat eaters of 333. So friends, I want you to notice here that man's lifespan has reduced by 63.5%. It's reduced by two thirds through the advent of men starting to eat dead animals.
So notice here on the chart the men who actually adhered to the Eden diet, from Adam right through to Noah who lived 950 years. And then I want you to notice at the end of the chart we have Shem right down to Terah and Abraham who live 175 and then David who lived just 70 years. So friends, you can see the effect of the emergency diet.
So I hope that was helpful. I just wanted to illustrate a little bit more about how we got the figure. Throughout that time, the average lifespan was 912 years.
So after the flood, plant foods were obviously quite rare. So God allowed meat to be eaten. There were clear guidelines, however, to ensure health was maintained.
God had divided the meats into clean and Unclean in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. And he told his people never to eat the unclean. Also, God stipulated that the blood of the meat should be drained out and no animal fat should be eaten in Leviticus 3:17.
You know friends, some people want to argue the toss over whether this is still a thing today. But you've got to remember that God is the creator of the human body and he would know what fuels it best. Let's have a look at Leviticus 7, verse 23.
God says through Moses to his people, say to the Israelites, Moses, do not eat any of the fat of the cattle, sheep or goats. So this is very instructive, isn't it? So in the Bible, God is specific in terms of which foods are unfit for human eating. And the clean mates are those that have a split hoof and chew the cud.
And so the clean fish are those that have scales and fins. Then meat such as pigs, prawns, rats and rabbits should all be avoided as food. Other meats such as cattle and lambs were approved Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.
God is so serious about this issue that he even says that those who eat swine will be destroyed by fire at the second coming. In Isaiah 66:15 to 17. Let's read verse 17.
They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh. Flesh and the abomination and the mouse shall be consumed together, says the Lord. And he's speaking there about the Second Coming.
I want to now give you some extra information about meat and the Genesis diet. Let's have a look at flesh food and meat versus the Biblical diet. So some of you might be aware about the groundbreaking study, the China Study, Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long term Health by Dr.
T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II.
So this was a remarkable study by Dr. Campbell. Dr.
Campbell's message is as controversial as it is clear. Animal protein consumption is a major contributing cause of cancer, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. The science behind these findings is clear and the results are unmistakable.
We could, simply by changing our diet, dramatically reduce our risk of these major killers. People who ate the most animal based foods got the most chronic disease. This is what the study found.
People who ate the most plant based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease. These results could not be ignored, and that's on page number seven. But many people just plate up a whole plate full of meat and the more bloody and the more red, the better.
And so this article, eating meat increases cancer risk by up to 300%. Might be of interest to you. It says if you step back and look at the data on beef and cancer, the optimum amount of red meat you eat should be zero, said Walter Willett, MD, chair of the Nutrition Department, Harvard School of Public Health, and director of a study of 88,000American nurses that analysed the link between diet and colon cancer.
So let's have a look at the meat cancer connection. This is from the Cancer Council. Meat and Cancer, the World Health Organisation has classified processed meats, including ham, salami, bacon and Frankfurt's, as Group 1 carcinogen.
Which means there's a strong evidence that processed meats cause cancer. Red meat such as beef, lamb and pork, has been classified as a probable cause of cancer. So we need to ask the question, should Christians be eating these red meats and should Christians be eating pork? Well, in the Bible, God is specific in terms of which foods are unfit for human eating.
Meats such as pigs, prawns, rats and rabbits should all be avoided as food. And so he's very clearly given us the clean and unclean animal lists in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy chapter 14. And so we have the plant based approach and we are warned against the unclean animals.
All right, so let's now go to Leviticus 11, 2 and 3 and find out what actually are the rules that God gave. Many Christians know what these rules are, but many people have never heard them. In Leviticus 11, 2 and 3, God gives a rule for which animals are clean and which are unclean.
Speak to the children of Israel saying, these are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud that you may eat. So there is our rule.
A clean animal must have a cloven hoof, meaning a split hoof, and must chew the cud. In terms of unclean animals like the pig, they have a cloven hoof as well, a split hoof, but they do not chew the cud with the repetitive stomachs. So, friends, medical science has confirmed the benefits of this distinction between clean and unclean.
Pig flesh swarms with harmful bacteria and toxins and is often infested with Trichina larvae that are so tiny they can fit on the head of the pin before they grow. Let's have a look at the food laws in regard to the oceans and in regard to seafood. In Leviticus 11, 9, 10, God makes it very clear.
These you may eat of all that are in the water, whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, that you may eat. So there seems to be a general principle. It must have fins and scales.
But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water, or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you. They are a hateful thing. They must not be eaten.
So our rule here that God gave is that it must have fins and scales. So this can be quite distressing to some people as they realise that shark or flake is unclean. Yes, he has fins, but he does not have scales in the normal way.
Also, you need to be careful when you're eating your fish and chips, that your fish is God approved, the Creator approved. So you need to make sure that the fish has actually both fins and scales. That would mean that the shellfish are unclean, the prawns are unclean.
Oysters, calamari, scallops and crabs, et cetera, are all unclean. These are creatures that God uses to clean the oceans. The shark is a great predator and cleans up a lot of refuse in the oceans and so are these bottom dwellers.
People often get sick from eating oysters because they ingest the sewage around them in greater concentrations than the water around them. Friends, we need to also look at the role of diet and fat. Now you would know that, of course, atherosclerosis is caused by hardening of the arteries, and so we must keep our arteries clean.
In the book how not to Die, a New York Times bestseller, Michael Greger, MD wrote the following about atherosclerosis. Quote on page 22, the three boosters of bad cholesterol. In other words, LDL, the number one risk factor for our number one killer, which is heart disease, all stem from eating animal products and processed junk.
So, friends, it's pretty clear now, you may have seen the studies where healthy blood is taken and then separated and then unhealthy blood is taken and separated. Notice on the right, in the unhealthy blood, the fat in the blood. Where is this coming from? Did you know the average meat eating person each 7,000 animals in their lifetime.
That's quite a shock, isn't it? So it averages out to 11 cows, 27 pigs, 2400 chickens, 80 turkeys, 30 sheep and 4500 fish. So somebody out there is eating my share and I really do feel sorry for them. You know, God warned his ancient people in the ancient biblical writings, say to the Israelites, he told Moses, do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or goats.
He said that in Leviticus 7:23, because of the damage it does to the blood, the arteries and of course, the heart. Speaking of the heart, if people today are getting chest pain and strokes and heart attacks, it may be because their arteries are being blocked and they have atherosclerosis. Our modern society does not help with heart attacks, does it? Here is an establishment called the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas in the United States of America.
Now, this is an amazing place. It says there that if you are over 350lb weight that you are able to eat there for free. Notice the sign there on the left.
This establishment is bad for your health. So they give plenty of warnings and they wear it as a badge of honour. The Heart Attack Grill.
Notice the sign on the door, Cash only because you might die before the cheque clears. So they've given a cash machine teller inside where you can get cash out. And they don't hide their mission at all.
In fact, if you have a look at their menu on the left you have the butterfat shake, the world's highest fat content, the coronary dog, the chilli cheese bacon, the double bypass burger, the triple bypass, the quadruple bypass burger. And there the restaurant ladies are actually dressed as nurses so that they can administer maybe CPR if you actually have a heart attack. So people are going in there for the triple bypass burger.
There's the octuple bypass burger, the heart attack grill taste worth dying for. And I want to tell you friends that some people today are actually digging their graves with their teeth. But if you think this is funny, I want to tell you that chest pain is no laughing matter.
People can die. And when people get severe chest pain, they start to panic and they stop breathing. Let's go back in history to find out what is the solution.
Let's have a look at Dr. Paul Dudley White, a Boston heart specialist, who wrote this on December 2, 1955. Quote, it is conceivable that a few years from now, we medical men may repeat to the citizens of the United States of America that advice that Moses was asked by God to present to the children of Israel 3,000 years ago.
Namely, that you must eat no fat of the ox or the sheep or the goat. You may use it in any other way, but by no means eat it. End of quote.
So, friends, the biblical diet, very simply, fruits, nuts, grains and vegetables, no dairy, no meat, means that you shouldn't be eating anything on your plate with a face on it. Now, this causes a lot of controversy because people are going to eat what they're going to eat. But you know what? We need to be aware about what the evidence is about diet and our health and diet and the blood.
I want to quote Dr. Robert J. Huebner, the Chief Laboratory of Technician of the Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health at Bethesda, Maryland.
Quote, there isn't the slightest doubt in our minds that human cancers are caused by viruses to this extent. They are simply infectious diseases, end of quote. The Cancer Council says there's now a clear body of evidence that bowel cancer is more common among those who eat the most red and processed meat.
Processed meat consumption has also been strongly linked to a higher risk of stomach cancer. Also, the World Health Organisation has classified processed meats, including ham, salami, bacon and frankfurt, as group one carcinogens, as we've already shared with you. So there are three diets in the Bible.
Number one, there's wholesome plant based vegetarian food when circumstances permit. There's a backup diet of clean flesh when circumstances don't permit to follow rule number one, but rule number three is that unclean flesh is never ever acceptable. It's just damaging and harmful to the human body and should not be eaten.
It's believed that meat, red meat like pork, can stay in the human system for more than 24 hours and sometimes it's indigestible. That's not going to be good for anybody's health. So in the last days of Earth's history, it still makes sense to eat a plant based diet.
Unprocessed whole plant foods have the nutrition that people require without the harmful effects of meat growing. Plant food also uses less energy and other scarce resources than meat production. They're a smart choice for the environment.
Well, eating is one of the great pleasures of our life, isn't it? And God has given us our senses so we can be fascinated by food. He's given variety in texture, colour and flavour so we can totally enjoy our eating experience. In his book Food Rules, the author Michael Pollan makes an interesting statement and this is what he said.
Eating what stands on one leg like mushroom and spinach is better than what stands on two legs like chicken, which is better than what stands on four legs like cows and pigs. So that's the end of our section number eight, speaking about eating well and following the Genesis diet. Fruits, nuts, grains, vegetables, and this is a very, very important diet to follow.
I can't stress that enough. Let's go to principle number nine, respecting the body. Friends, did you know that God wants us to take care of our bodies and avoid those things that are damaging? You know, God warned us in First Corinthians 3:17, if anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him.
For the temple of God is holy. Which temple you are. So, friends, you can see that this rent a body concept, that the body being the temple, the Holy Spirit is a very important one.
And those who damage the body will snuff out their divine connection. So fitness guru Trevor Romain asked the question, if you don't take care of your body, where are you going to live? That's a good question. If we mistreat our bodies, we may not get a second chance.
Let me illustrate. Suppose you knew you would only ever have one car in your whole lifetime. So the question is, how would you look after it? Would you ensure it received enough good fuel, enough good oil and enough good maintenance? We only ever have one body in this lifetime.
We should care for our body as if it's the most priceless treasure on earth. Now, some of the dangers we need to avoid are like these three popular drugs that follow. Let's have a look at these three popular drugs and number one is alcohol.
Drinking alcohol is unwise and inconsistent with a Christian lifestyle. The wisest man that ever lived wrote in Proverbs 20 and verse 1. King Solomon wrote, wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
So Solomon was trying to tell us that wine deceives us. And often people pulled over at the RBT have been deceived and they've just had one or two drinks and they are over the random breath testing limit by the local police. The scripture also says strong drink or beer is a brawler.
Is there any dispute that beer can lead to brawls and fights and one punch deaths? Let's go to the living Bible. Proverbs 20, verse one, a new translation. Wine gives false courage.
Hard liquor leads to brawls. What fools men are to let it master them, making them reel drunkenly down the street. But friends on the other hand, up against God's word.
There are some studies that suggest positive health benefits from moderate wine consumption. And some of these studies are paid for by alcohol companies. However, many of these same benefits can be gained from other juices and foods.
Also, alcohol can negatively impact on the vital organs of the body. This includes the brain, liver and kidneys. In the year 2005, a local newspaper reported on new research with a headline sobering study says even one drink can do you harm.
The research indicated that even small quantities of alcohol increase the risk of heart disease. And back in the 1990s, researchers discovered that, quote, even just one or two drinks decreases the brain's ability to gather information. It impairs memory, perception and judgement.
End of quote. So with all the attractions and temptations of the world, we need a mind that's clear and in tune with God. Did you know that in the Bible the word wine can mean either fermented wine or the pure juice from the grain? God is so definite in his opposition to fermented wine that he says we shouldn't even look at it.
In Proverbs 23, 29, 32, the wine that Jesus created at the marriage feast was the good wine, the same sort of wine described by the prophet Isaiah as new wine that is found in the cluster Isaiah 65, 8. In other words, fresh grape juice. It's hardly likely that Jesus would create barrel loads of alcohol so that people could get drunk.
Did you know that at the Last Supper, the communion service, Jesus said to his disciples that he would not drink from the fruit of the vine again until they meet again in heaven. You can find that in Matthew 26:29. Once again there will not be fermentation and alcohol in heaven.
Clearly Jesus was drinking the pure grape juice fresh from the vine. Well, we're looking at respecting the body and now we're going to look very briefly at drugs and nicotine. Although cigarettes and contemporary drugs like ice and vaping are not specifically mentioned in the Bible, the principle of not destroying the body is found in the Scriptures in First Corinthians 3:17.
So drugs and cigarettes are major curses to the health of people within our community. The poisons affect the blood and cause a range of life threatening diseases. God created you to be happy and healthy.
The last thing he wants is for you to be smoking or taking drugs. There are many subtle forms of drugs today that are also causing illness. Try drinking some herbal teas as a replacement to tea and coffee or fresh juices as a replacement for eye energy drinks.
Your body will be better off for the change. So let's now take a moment to look at the dark side of coffee. Friends, Coffee is both a stimulant and a poison and Society today is addicted.
10 caffeine withdrawal symptoms the Dark side of Coffee there's headaches, fatigue, reduced energy levels, lack of focus and difficulty concentrating, mental fog, irritability and moodiness, depression, drowsiness, anxiety, flu like symptoms, decreased mental alertness and sharpness. I've heard today about a lot of people actually getting attacks of anxiety. That seems to be a real modern problem.
Let's go to principle number 10 of our 10 principles for health. Let's have a look at Trust in God. Friends, Trusting in God takes the worry and stress out of life.
We know that many diseases originate in the mind. In particular, guilt and fear can affect the whole body. Trusting in God brings inner peace and hope for the future.
Even if we follow the laws of health, it's still God who brings health and healing. In Psalm 103:2 4 we read quote bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies.
End of quote. Notice the link there in verse three that the forgiveness of sin is also linked to the healing of disease. However friends, some may have a chronic illness and see no relief in sight.
If that is you, then Jesus gives you this promise. In Second Corinthians 12, 8, 9. My grace is sufficient for you.
God does not always remove sickness. We live in a world damaged by sin. But if you trust in Jesus, he will sustain you through your challenges.
And do you remember that in the new earth we will have new and perfect bodies and there will be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain in Revelation 21 and verse 4. So that brings us to the end of our 10 biblical health principles. Breathing fresh air, getting rest, soaking in sunlight, enjoying life, drinking pure water, nurturing relationships, being active, eating well, respecting the body.
And then our last one was of course to remember the effect of alcohol and the drugs and nicotine, and finally trust in God. Well, that takes us to question number six, our last question in this study guide. What is the secret to changing our lifestyle? So maybe some of you are convicted that it's time to make a change and that is a very good thing to do.
In Philippians 4:13, where will we get the power? Paul wrote here to the church in Philippi in Greece that we I you can do how many things? We can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me. Friends, the power has to come outside of ourselves because we can't do it ourself. So take your worry, guilt, fear, addictions and bad habits to Jesus Christ.
Today Jesus is waiting for you to come to him just as you are. Ask Jesus for a new heart and the power to break the harmful habits that are holding you back. A happy and healthy life is a journey, isn't it? Why not take the first step today? Well, there are three points we want you to remember from this exciting Bible study.
Number one, God wants us to all to be healthy and happy. His original will in the Garden of Eden was that his ultimate will in heaven is that his permissive will. We don't always understand, but if we follow the health laws as he said in the Old Testament, then he would cause none of these diseases that fell upon the Egyptians to fall upon us.
Friends, it's time to build up our immunity. In these last days we need a really strong immunity, don't we? With all these pandemics and sicknesses and lockdowns and everything that's happening to us. We need a super immunity.
You're going to get that from your plant based diet by staying away from animal products, dairy and the consumption of meat. Point number two, God's original health plan is still the best, isn't it? Absolutely. And number three, through Jesus Christ, God has the power to break any habit.
Well, I'm Wondering what your response is. Let me challenge you. Do you accept that living a healthy life is an important part of a daily relationship with Jesus? And would you like to decide today to grow step by step towards a healthy body, mind and spirit? I'm hoping that you're making the decision to say yes and you want to make some changes to your life.
Let's have a look at a couple of questions. Number one, how do you maintain the balance between adopting a healthy lifestyle and not becoming fanatical or judgmental of others? I think it's really important to teach others and not to preach, to encourage people, but not to coerce, to lead but don't lean on people. And I love Ephesians 4:15.
This is what it says. We are to speak Speak the truth of God's word in love. Speak the truth, but always speak it in love.
Ephesians 4:15. Question number two. What have you found to be the key to overcoming less than ideal health habits? Well, there's two texts that I always refer to.
Philippians 4:13. I hope you know it well. I can do how many things? I can do all things.
I can do everything through Jesus Christ who strengthens me. Another text not so well known is Ephesians 3:19. This is worth claiming too.
And to know the love of Jesus Christ, which passeth all knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. That reminds Me of Colossians 1:27. Jesus Christ living in you through the power of the Holy Spirit, the only hope of your salvation, the only hope of glory.
Let's conclude where we began. We're looking at our five discovery points. Number one, well, how important is our health and well being? Good health is wealth, they used to say.
It's an invaluable gift. And often people don't realise how important it is until they lose it. Number two.
Why did God give his people certain food laws? Was he trying to be hard on them and be mean? No. He wanted to protect them from illness and death, especially premature death like the Egyptians suffered with an average age of 40. Number three, how does Jesus want us to live our lives down here? He wants us to live them to the fullest.
He said, I've come to give you the abundant life which is bursting full of meaning and fullness. Number four, what does the Bible actually call our bodies? Our bodies are actually called the temple, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead. Number five, what is the biblical secret to changing our lifestyle? I like Philippians 4:13, the power has to come outside of ourselves, doesn't it? That we can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens us.
Well, let's go to our quiz. We have some multiple choice answers. Let's get going.
Number one, why is their health so important in 3 John 2? That verse says that our health is a gift from God. B It's linked into our spiritual health. So physical health and spiritual health, soul and body must prosper together.
And C why is our health so important in 3 John 2? Because our health is so easily destroyed. Which one is the biblical answer that applies to 3rd John 2? Lock it in. And your answer is Correct.
The answer is B. It is linked into our spiritual health. In that verse they are linked together.
Poor physical health leads to poor spiritual health. Poor spiritual health leads to poor physical health. Number two, what does the Bible call our bodies in First Corinthians 6:19? I think this is a bit easy useful for worship and service of God.
A To be created by God to see the Holy Spirit's temple. What does the Bible call our bodies in First Corinthians 6:19? Lock it in. And your answer is? That's right.
Correct. It is C. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Let's go to question three. Why did God ban why did God ban eating his unclean animals? A they are injurious to our health B He didn't really mean it Or C they are often animals that clean up the environment. Why did God ban eating his unclean animals? A, B or C lock it in and your answer is A that's right, they were an abomination.
They are injurious. They are dangerous to our health. Let's go to question number four.
Study say there's nothing wrong with drinking some alcohol. So what's the answer? A well if modern scientific studies say that it must be right, B Some studies are funded by alcoholic companies which is self serving, isn't it? OR C Proverbs 23:31 says we shouldn't even look at alcohol. We shouldn't be at by near or with this alcohol.
Don't even look at it. And yeah, it's pretty hard to drink alcohol if you can't even look at it. So let's lock in our answer the Bible.
What does the Bible say here? Studies say there's nothing wrong with drinking alcohol. Our answer is C. Absolutely the Bible says we shouldn't even look at alcohol.
Number five, what's the secret to changing our lifestyle? A Just try harder and you'll get there over time. B, ask Jesus Christ to help strengthen you. Or C, try the latest new psychological strategy or strategies A, B or C, what is the secret to actually changing our lifestyle? And of course the answer is B, asking Jesus to strengthen you.
That is the only way to get power outside of ourselves into our bodies, into our minds, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Well, on our Biblical Wall of Truth and Secrets of prophecy. In session 22 last time we learned why there were so many churches that God had to restore truth gradually because the Christian church went so far into the darkness during the Dark ages.
In session 23, we've learned that God's last day health rules are very important because God wants us strong spiritually as well as physically. If you'd like some more information on the True bluesda channel, then you can go to prophecy seminar lesson number 19 where there is more information. It's called the small test with big results.
So I want to thank you so much for joining us for session 23. I hope it's been interesting. I'm sure it's been challenging and we'd like to close with prayer.
Gracious Heavenly Father, we want to thank you for this amazing Bible study. We've been challenged by the Biblical diet, the Genesis diet of fruits, nuts, grains and vegetables. What a beautiful healthy diet this is.
That will give us a super immunity which is what we need in these last days to be able to survive. Bless everyone who hears this message. May they continue to pray about it, to study your word and seek your will on this matter and to step up to health and happiness.
I pray in Jesus Christ's powerful name. Amen.
Secrets of Prophecy with Pastor David Price has been brought to you by 3ABN Australia radio. For more resource in this series you can visit the YouTube page trueblue SDA all one word that's trueblue SDA.
