God created our first parents to be happy. He never intended that they should know disappointment, loneliness, embarrassment, pain, suffering, sickness, or death. These are all a part of the consequences of sin—the consequence of their disobedience of God’s explicit command not to eat of the tree in the midst of the garden. They ate of the forbidden fruit, a representation of the knowledge of both good and evil. Since then, good and evil have been mixed together, and we all have eaten of its fruit.
Because of sin, we all experience suffering—sickness and pain, death and strife, divorce, bankruptcy, and all the different problems mankind must deal with in this world. But, even in this sin-marred world, we find that a person’s best chance to find physical, mental, and spiritual health is to follow as closely as possible the original plan that God instituted at Creation.
So, let’s see what the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy say regarding God’s original plan.
In Jesus’ time, there was a teaching that a man could divorce his wife for any reason, but some of the Jewish leaders disagreed with this teaching. They didn’t believe that a man should be able to just abandon his wife. They would debate on the question again and again, until they finally presented it to Jesus as a test, thinking that they had a question that would be too hard for Him to answer.
“The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?’ And He answered and said to them, ‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning “made them male and female,” and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?” [Genesis 2:23, 24.] So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.’ They said to Him, ‘Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?’ He said to them, ‘Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.’ ” Matthew 19:3–9
God created one man and one woman, thus making very clear the divine order for the social relations of the human race. He instituted marriage in the garden of Eden and made no provision for divorce, polygamy, fornication, or homosexuality.
“For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce … .” Malachi 2:16, first part
“Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
“Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
“For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” Romans 1:22–32
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10
It is interesting, isn’t it, how people so glibly, nonchalantly, and deliberately do something that God says He hates, something that will keep them out of the kingdom of heaven? You would think that they would be afraid to do that, but they are not. We live in a time when people no longer fear God. This is one of the indicators that we are living in the last days. (See Psalm 36:1; Romans 3:18.)
Mankind’s Health in Eden
Whatever we are looking at—our lifestyle, our diet—we can see God’s original pattern from the garden of Eden.
Did God create man to just sit? In the garden of Eden, God had a mind for man’s physical health. He created him to spend most of his life outdoors. Adam was given active work and exercises to perform. He trained and nurtured the garden. He named every plant, tree, and flower, and the animals who dwelled on the earth, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea.
The same is true of his diet. God withheld the one tree in the midst of the garden, the tree that was called the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16, 17). But otherwise, Adam and Eve were able to eat “every herb that yields seed” and “every tree whose fruit yields seed.” Genesis 1:29. Grains and nuts were added later. But God did not give them flesh foods to eat.
Many people today are wondering what is the most healthful diet. When you want the best advice, you turn to the person who knows the most about the subject. In this case, the One who created Adam and Eve and every single one of us down through history, knows what is best to keep the bodies He created in peak health.
It is interesting to see what is contained in God’s original diet. We are finding that the original diet contains more health-promoting qualities and characteristics than we knew even a few years ago. Popular belief used to say that the original diet was not good enough. If you really wanted to be healthy, you needed to add eggs, milk, cheese, red meat, and other flesh foods. They believed that you could not find quality protein in just fruits, grains, herbs, and nuts.
However, we now know that adding these foods to the original diet results in the potential of consuming too much protein. In fact, this is one of the reasons that we see such a huge epidemic of osteoporosis among nations where large amounts of these foods are eaten. God knew when He created man just what he required in his diet so that he could have optimum health.
You may remember, after man sinned, God told Adam that he would eat by the sweat of his face. When we sweat we lose salt, so God altered man’s diet to include celery, spinach, Swiss chard, beets, and carrots, all of which contain more sodium than the foods of the original diet. But most people, for thousands of years, have been, and are today, unwilling to follow the original diet.
Health throughout History
In the time of Noah, and after the Flood—over 1,600 years after man was created, God gave man permission to eat certain flesh foods, those considered to be clean meats. (See Genesis chapters 7, 8, and 9. Also see Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 where God later listed clean and unclean meat.) But most of the people alive then were doing what they wanted to do, and that included eating flesh foods long before He gave man permission to do so. It was only after the flood when every green thing on earth had been destroyed, and it had to recuperate and replenish itself, that God gave man permission to eat clean meat. But this lesson had to be, and will continue to be, repeated over the course of time, until He has a people who have returned to the original diet.
When God took His people out of Egypt and through the desert to the promised land, it was meant as an example of the spiritual journey that God’s spiritual children take, in all ages, to leave this world of sin behind and arrive in the spiritual promised land.
All through the desert wilderness, God kept the children of Israel on a vegetarian diet—almost entirely vegetables, as you can read in the Bible. They also had food from heaven—angels’ food according to the Bible.
“Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day … .” Exodus 16:4
“Yet He had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven, had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them of the bread of heaven. Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to the full.” Psalm 78:23–25
Sadly, the children of Israel were not satisfied with the food of angels. They said, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full!” Exodus 16:3, first part
“Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: ‘Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!’ ” Numbers 11:4–6
Their diet of angels’ food was so good that the Psalms tell us there was not one feeble person among all their tribes. They were all healthy. But here we find them, not longing for the promised land, but whining for the flesh pots of Egypt.
God heard their cries and gave them what they desired—quail, hundreds, thousands of them. Many of the people indulged their food lust and ate until they were stuffed. What was the outcome? Those who yielded to their craving for meat, while it was still between their teeth, were struck with a great plague and they died and were buried in the wilderness. (See Numbers 11:31–33.) However, they were not done complaining about their food, as you can read in Numbers 21.
Next, we see that while God allowed them to eat flesh foods, He put strict prohibitions on the foods that they could eat. He told them they were not to eat any blood or fat, and that certain meats were dangerous. The Lord said these meats were unclean, and that they would be defiled by them. This is not talking about ceremonial defilement, but defiling your body by consuming something that would have a destructive effect on it. The Lord told them not to eat these unclean foods.
But, the Devil …
Satan loves to get people to do anything that God has said not to do. He is totally against your soul. He is responsible for making the very foods which the children of Israel were forbidden to eat—unclean foods as identified in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14—the most popular foods the world over. But Paul tells us that the experiences of the children of Israel in the wilderness were meant to be an example for those of us living right now, at the very end of the world.
“These things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.” 1 Corinthians 10:6. Then, in verses 10 and 11, he says, “Nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”
Paul was living in the end of the ages, as far as the ancient world was concerned, but he was making a prophetic statement about the end of all ages. To put it very plainly, God will have a people who are following Him out of Egypt [the world] to Canaan [heaven]. These people will have adopted the original diet, just like He gave to the children of Israel in the wilderness. It is a clear prediction that God will lead His people back to the original diet in the last days.
An Example
“Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” Daniel 1:8
“Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before you. … And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.” Verses 12, 13, first part, 15, 16
What was the result? “Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king.” Verse 19
Over 2,500 years ago, this group of young men had adopted the original diet given by God to Adam and Eve and were prospering with it. When taken captive to Babylon, they remained firm in adhering to it, even against the direct command of the king. This example of following God’s “owner’s manual” for the bodies He created, and the courage to do it against the most difficult circumstances, is our examples for the last days.
Let me share with you some reasons to adopt a vegetarian diet, not when you get to heaven, but right now. This is not at all an exhaustive list.
- Those who regularly consume flesh foods have been shown to have six to seven times greater risk of cancer compared to those who do not. There are many reasons for this.
- Vegetarian diets greatly reduce the risk of heart attacks by lowering cholesterol and other factors.
- If you want to avoid plugged or blocked arteries, the best diet is one with zero cholesterol, zero animal protein, and zero caffeine. You also will want a high fiber intake and a high polyunsaturated to saturated fat ratio, and a high amount of complex carbohydrates. Achieving this is impossible with a meat diet, but almost automatic with a diet—from natural food sources—of whole grains, fruits, and nuts at breakfast, and grains, vegetables, and legumes or nuts at lunch. And do not try to live on chocolate, coconut, or cashew nuts.
- The diet that God gave to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden was a low-sodium diet. He increased their sodium intake by modifying their diet after they sinned. The Bible says that both salt and sugar are good, but they are only good when used in moderation. This diet, along with a physical exercise program, would solve, for many, the problem of high blood pressure.
- A vegetarian diet is high in fiber.
- Meat contains too much of the wrong kind of fat, too much protein and iron, but is deficient in fiber.
- A low-protein diet tends to arrest kidney failure, reduces urine protein, and increases blood protein in diabetics, and helps to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. This, of course, is easily accomplished on a diet of plant food, and leaving off of meat.
Whether you are talking about heart disease, cancer, blocked arteries, diabetes, high blood pressure, or cholesterol levels, a vegetarian diet is the best therapeutic answer. Did God know what He was doing when He gave to man a plant-food diet? Did He know what He was doing when He altered the diet slightly after sin entered the world? Can we improve on this diet? No! Man has not evolved into a creature that is healthier on a carnivorous diet. Rather, the evidence has become overwhelming that God’s original diet is superior to every other diet developed by man.
This will be the diet of the saved in heaven. Would you like for your whole life to be changed, to come into harmony with the rest of the universe of God?
Out of the myriad of worlds that God has made, with all their inhabitants, this world is the only one in rebellion. This world chose to forsake the tree of life and eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and we have all eaten of this tree. Evil is about to destroy this world. We are living in the midst of an epidemic of crime, war, strife, disaster, and sickness that has thinking men and women aghast all over the world, asking, “What will happen next?”
The darkest period of earth’s history is fast approaching. But in this darkest period, Christ will return to take His children out of this place. If you are going to be ready, you need to be willing to surrender your heart to Him and follow His teaching exactly in your life, your diet, your speech, your thoughts. Your entire life must be in harmony with His laws.
Jesus is coming, and He will take His children out of this evil world. However, every child of God will be without spot or blemish, living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Will you be one of them? The choice is yours.
Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at 316-788-5559.