True Fasting
Why do I eat the way I do? I am mostly raw and all vegan. Most of the time, when I’m explaining what this means to people, they think me strange, strict, and way too serious. Still, you may be able to think of some reasons for why I eat this way; I mean, it’s ethical, it’s healthy, it’s a wise investment for my health for years down the road, etc. However, to me, these are really awesome side-blessings—not the actual reasons in themselves for why I choose to eat this way. In fact, I’ll even go so far as to say that I see these as merely the blessings of obedience. Yes, you heard me right: I eat this way because my Creator asks me to, and because I’m striving daily to reflect His love for me to Him, I desire to obey Him and heed His commandments.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. So, He asks us to eat this way? Yes, He does; in fact, the Bible even says He proclaims it—specifically for those living here and now. What?! I mean, it’s obvious that, before the fall of man, we were eating a very simple diet of basically fruit from the Garden of Eden, and that, after the redeemed throughout the ages have been reunited with their Lord at His second coming, the new Heaven and the new Earth will be restored to even greater glory than what they were before sin entered. However, Scripture also tells us that there is a special diet for God’s people who are living right now—you and me.
Before we get too deep, let me just explain a few things. We are going to be looking at a Biblical system of types and antitypes, or shadows of things to come and the realities or fulfillments of those shadows. We are going to use both Inspired writings and modern science to back up Scripture’s claims so that, by the end of this article, you can see exactly where I’m coming from and what the Word of God really has to say about our diet. But, before reading any further, I encourage you to pray and ask for God to pour out His Spirit in special measure, as you will be reading and studying His Word.
So, the Biblical type that we are going to open up with is the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. This was a very serious holyday for the children of Israel, one that involved the salvation of their souls. It was greatly revered and strictly observed by all who loved God in the camp of Israel and, consequently, those who did not regard it as specifically as the Lord outlined, were cut off from the camp.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. So, He asks us to eat this way? Yes, He does; in fact, the Bible even says He proclaims it—specifically for those living here and now. What?! I mean, it’s obvious that, before the fall of man, we were eating a very simple diet of basically fruit from the Garden of Eden, and that, after the redeemed throughout the ages have been reunited with their Lord at His second coming, the new Heaven and the new Earth will be restored to even greater glory than what they were before sin entered. However, Scripture also tells us that there is a special diet for God’s people who are living right now—you and me.
Before we get too deep, let me just explain a few things. We are going to be looking at a Biblical system of types and antitypes, or shadows of things to come and the realities or fulfillments of those shadows. We are going to use both Inspired writings and modern science to back up Scripture’s claims so that, by the end of this article, you can see exactly where I’m coming from and what the Word of God really has to say about our diet. But, before reading any further, I encourage you to pray and ask for God to pour out His Spirit in special measure, as you will be reading and studying His Word.
So, the Biblical type that we are going to open up with is the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. This was a very serious holyday for the children of Israel, one that involved the salvation of their souls. It was greatly revered and strictly observed by all who loved God in the camp of Israel and, consequently, those who did not regard it as specifically as the Lord outlined, were cut off from the camp.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. Leviticus 23:26–32
For the purposes of this study, I want to focus in on the ‘afflict your souls’ part, because there actually is a lot that we could delve into in just this one text. So, what does the Bible mean here by the phrase ‘afflict your souls’? Well, in the original Biblical Hebrew, this phrase actually means to fast; the word ‘soul’ is actually referring to one’s appetite in the original Hebrew expression. You can even see a Biblical correlation between these two ideas (of affliction upon one’s soul and fasting) in other places in Scripture, where the modern language brings out the original meaning a little more concretely.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. Ezra 8:21 |
Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? |
Here’s where it starts to get good. First off, how does the type/antitype aspect of the Day of Atonement fit in? Well, we are actually living in the antitypical Day of Atonement, meaning that the day spoken of in Leviticus ultimately pointed forward to our time. And this isn’t just me, Inspired writings confirm the testimony of the prophecies of Daniel which state that today is the antitype, and it was ever since 1844.
We are in the great day of atonement, when our sins are, by confession and repentance, to go beforehand to judgment. You see, back in the year 1844 Christ as our great High Priest entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, to set in motion the work of the investigative judgment. The cases of the righteous dead have been passing in review before God. When that work shall be completed, judgment is to be pronounced upon the living. How precious, how important are these solemn moments! Each of us has a case pending in the court of heaven. We are individually to be judged according to the deeds done in the body. In the typical service, when the work of atonement was performed by the high priest in the most holy place of the earthly sanctuary, the people were required to afflict their souls before God, and confess their sins, that they might be atoned for and blotted out. Will any less be required of us in this antitypical day of atonement, when Christ in the sanctuary above is pleading in behalf of His people, and the final, irrevocable decision is to be pronounced upon every case?
We are in the great day of atonement, when our sins are, by confession and repentance, to go beforehand to judgment. You see, back in the year 1844 Christ as our great High Priest entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, to set in motion the work of the investigative judgment. The cases of the righteous dead have been passing in review before God. When that work shall be completed, judgment is to be pronounced upon the living. How precious, how important are these solemn moments! Each of us has a case pending in the court of heaven. We are individually to be judged according to the deeds done in the body. In the typical service, when the work of atonement was performed by the high priest in the most holy place of the earthly sanctuary, the people were required to afflict their souls before God, and confess their sins, that they might be atoned for and blotted out. Will any less be required of us in this antitypical day of atonement, when Christ in the sanctuary above is pleading in behalf of His people, and the final, irrevocable decision is to be pronounced upon every case?
Why would the ultimate fulfillment of something be any less binding than what was meant to direct minds toward it as a precursor? It wouldn’t, because everything our Father does is so beautifully purposeful. So, how does the affliction of one’s soul fit in this picture? If fasting for a day was to point forward a much larger length of time in the future, spanning years, then that would be impossible! We would all die if we didn’t eat anything, since we were indeed created to eat.
True fasting can be contextually understood to mean an abstinence from all stimulating foods (head over here and here to learn more about this), and the proper use of simple and whole foods, the way our Father created them for us.
True fasting can be contextually understood to mean an abstinence from all stimulating foods (head over here and here to learn more about this), and the proper use of simple and whole foods, the way our Father created them for us.
Now it’s starting to take shape. Fasting is, by definition, a diet composed of only the foods which come straight from God’s hand, in their whole and simple form, and one which is lacking completely in stimulating foods. This right here knocks out a lot stumbling blocks and answers the most frequently asked questions I’ve ever come across—when you understand what stimulating means.
Stimulating foods excite the body’s natural processes to an unnatural level. Physiologically speaking, to stimulate can mean to raise levels or irritate nervous activity within the body. So, what foods are stimulating? You’d probably be shocked to find out that this category of stimulants encompasses way more than the caffeine in coffee or that refined, bleached substance we call sugar. Believe it or not, animal products and byproducts actually contain naturally occurring levels of highly stimulating substances, such as morphine and hypoxanthine, which lend a very real opioid effect to the consumer.
Stimulating foods excite the body’s natural processes to an unnatural level. Physiologically speaking, to stimulate can mean to raise levels or irritate nervous activity within the body. So, what foods are stimulating? You’d probably be shocked to find out that this category of stimulants encompasses way more than the caffeine in coffee or that refined, bleached substance we call sugar. Believe it or not, animal products and byproducts actually contain naturally occurring levels of highly stimulating substances, such as morphine and hypoxanthine, which lend a very real opioid effect to the consumer.
It has been known since antiquity that those who regularly eat meat experience some degree of enervation when they are deprived of this food for some time. This sensation that “something is missing” always results from abruptly removing meat from the diet, even when it is replaced with plant foods and dietary supplements providing as much or even more protein and nutrients as meat.
…That the enervation that some persons experience when they stop eating meat products is not due to a lack of its protein or other nutrients that some consider irreplaceable. It is due to a type of stimulant found in meat. Today it’s known that the muscle cells of meat contain hypoxanthine, which increases in concentration as the meat ages.
Hypoxanthine and other similar substances, such as inosinic acid and guanylic acid, are present in meat. They have a chemical structure similar to that of caffeine in coffee or the theobromine in cocoa, with similar effects. They are central nervous system stimulants. They are addictive.
– George D. Pamplona-Roger, MD, Foods that Heal
Similarly, dairy products, which all begin with milk, contain naturally occurring morphine. The reason behind this is so that the newborn offspring will be encouraged and attracted to feed and receive the critical nutrients they will need to give them a healthy start in life. Human mother’s milk also contains similar opiates, but at much smaller levels. And guess what? In this setting and under these circumstances, it’s perfectly normal and healthy for infants to be consuming these substances. But once weaned, the offspring should remain weaned—from their own species' milk and especially from another species' milk. As God designed it, only during the very beginning stages of life do these opiates have a part to play. At any later time they are unnaturally stimulating and have detrimental effects on your health.
And just to make sure that all bases are covered, there is one more kind of stimulant that needs to be addressed: Complexity. Okay, so, I know one cannot actually eat complexity, but nonetheless it is a characteristic element that causes a food to become stimulating and, thus, not okay with a diet of true fasting. Unfortunately, any food can be made too complex—even foods that were originally created for us by our Creator. In fact, this is often where the biggest problem for people lies, because it’s almost like trickery. The simplest food can become so processed and so denatured, and its composition so enhanced, that it no longer resembles anything close to what it originally used to be. Through the use of excitotoxins, flavor-enhancers, and complex refining, the foods God originally intended for us to be truly fasting on (i.e., plant foods) become stimulating and addicting, and definitely something to avoid. This is why it’s so necessary to preserve God’s foods in their whole and simple forms, free from complicated processing and refinement. Plant foods, in their most natural state, is how we should strive to eat them, as straight from the Creator’s hands.
It has always been important throughout history to eat the diet God originally gave to mankind, the diet He created man to eat. But so especially important is it that God’s people today eat a diet free of any and all stimulating foods, that He commanded it. And as type meets antitype, the seriousness of this reality only becomes deeper. In this antitypical day of Atonement, God’s people are required to afflict their souls through true fasting.
And just to make sure that all bases are covered, there is one more kind of stimulant that needs to be addressed: Complexity. Okay, so, I know one cannot actually eat complexity, but nonetheless it is a characteristic element that causes a food to become stimulating and, thus, not okay with a diet of true fasting. Unfortunately, any food can be made too complex—even foods that were originally created for us by our Creator. In fact, this is often where the biggest problem for people lies, because it’s almost like trickery. The simplest food can become so processed and so denatured, and its composition so enhanced, that it no longer resembles anything close to what it originally used to be. Through the use of excitotoxins, flavor-enhancers, and complex refining, the foods God originally intended for us to be truly fasting on (i.e., plant foods) become stimulating and addicting, and definitely something to avoid. This is why it’s so necessary to preserve God’s foods in their whole and simple forms, free from complicated processing and refinement. Plant foods, in their most natural state, is how we should strive to eat them, as straight from the Creator’s hands.
It has always been important throughout history to eat the diet God originally gave to mankind, the diet He created man to eat. But so especially important is it that God’s people today eat a diet free of any and all stimulating foods, that He commanded it. And as type meets antitype, the seriousness of this reality only becomes deeper. In this antitypical day of Atonement, God’s people are required to afflict their souls through true fasting.