Yeshua says that in the end times there will be many pestilences (or plagues). This can include viruses and all manner of diseases, including literal plagues.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 24:7
7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”
We are also told that antibiotics are starting to fail.
So, if we are entering a time of pestilences, diseases, and plagues, it only makes sense to boost our immune systems as much as we can.
While we cannot possibly cover every topic in a short article like this one, what we want to do here is to give you some awareness and some tools to boost your immune system both physically, and spiritually. We will start with the physical foundation first.
Physical Factors: Plants and Animal Proteins
The first time we see food mentioned in Scripture, it is a diet of plants which bear seeds (both vegetables and fruits).
B’reisheet (Genesis) 1:29
29 And Elohim said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”
The Law of First Mention tells us that any time something appears in Scripture, this sets the main standard. While this standard can be modified later, it will always be the original standard. While Yahweh later said that we can also eat clean meats and milk products, clean fish, and honey, the fact that these were added later means that they should not be primary components of our diet (but secondary components). That is, our diet should consist mainly of plants, with some clean animal products.
If you are very active physically (meaning you work in construction, or you are a soldier, or an athlete, etc.), you may want or need more animal proteins (to boost stamina, and speed tissue repair). However, if you have an office job, or you sit a lot, or you do not do much physical labor, too much protein is probably bad for you, and studies show that too much meat can cause cancer.
The Levites ate a lot of meat, but we should remember that Yahweh commanded the Levites to eat meat as a means of atoning for the sins of the people.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 10:17
17 “Why have you not eaten the sin offering in a set-apart place, since it is most set-apart, and Elohim has given it to you to bear the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before Yahweh?”
The Levites also did a lot of physical labor in the temple, with heaving the heave offerings, the animal sacrifices, and chopping wood, etc., so a diet rich in meat made sense for them. It does not make sense if we sit at a desk all day. If we sit at a desk all day, what makes sense is mainly a plant-based diet with some meat or fish.
(Some people can be vegetarian, but not all can. Also, Yeshua ate fish, and also ate meat, at least at the feasts. So if you are a vegetarian, and that works for you, then praise Yahweh for it. However, we are not inclined to mandate vegetarianism for anyone, as that goes against Scripture.)
Gluten and Wheat
Bread is an integral part of Scripture. It might seem incomprehensible that there could be anything wrong with eating bread. Only, there are many dietary issues with eating wheat in the 21st century, as opposed to the 19th century and before.
Today there is a great controversy about gluten, which is a type of protein found in wheat. Gluten is what makes bread rise, and gives it its puffy texture. Many sources say that the amount of gluten has risen dramatically over the past hundred years, while other sources refute this. Whether or not it is attributable to gluten, there is a rise in Celiac Disease, so-called gluten intolerance and other wheat sensitivities, such that today some 8-10% of the population has problems when eating wheat.
Some suggest the difficulty has to do with the fact that almost all bread used to be sourdough, which modifies the proteins, and makes them easier to digest. Others believe it has to do with the modern milling process, which yields a flour very different than the ancient milling process. Whatever the case, today some 8-10% of the population has a medical reaction when eating wheat.
If you eat wheat and you have gas, bloating, or diarrhea, you may have a sensitivity to wheat. Many people who have wheat sensitivities can digest other ancient forms of wheat (such as spelt and einkorn) well, while others also have difficulty with spelt and einkorn. If you have these sensitivities then perhaps you should only eat a small amount of wheat on the Sabbath and festivals, as it can disrupt the beneficial bacteria in your gut (which as we will see can cause all sorts of problems).
Another problem with modern wheat farming is that farmers have taken to spraying glyphosate (Roundup) on the crops a few days before harvest, to make it so that the wheat ripens uniformly. Roundup is a known carcinogen. amd is related to Agent Orange. It has been reported to have many bad effects on human and animal health. Because of this, it is best if you can obtain organic or natural bread (without chemicals).
Organic, Natural, Fresh, Local, and In Season
I do not know any rational people who argue that organic food is not better for you, and does not taste better. If you have access to organic food, and you can afford it, it is clearly better for you.
When I was a child we put pesticides on our food, to stop insects from eating them. Then we saw that it said not to throw the empty canister in the trash, but to take it to a special hazardous waste facility that was three cities away. It was then that I began to realize that if the empty can was so toxic that it had to be disposed of in a special way, it made no sense to put the powder right on our food, and into our soil. (A health alternative is food-grade diatomaceous earth.)
I know I feel better when I eat organic and natural food. Only, I do not have access to organic food where I live now (in southern Chile). While they grow a lot of organic food for export to the US and Europe, most Chileans do not have enough money to buy it. Also, I do not have time to garden. I am under a fairly brutal schedule seven days a week, so I need to find other ways to stay healthy. Thankfully, there are other ways.
One way is to cut out any and all sugar, and junk food. If you are eating anything that Scripture does not speak of as food (i.e., refined sugar, candy, ice cream, etc.), stop it immediately. Get rid of it, and throw it out. Refined sugar is a kidney and liver toxic poison, and it causes all sorts of problems with gut and immune health. It can cause severe behavioral and developmental problems in adults and children.
In Chinese medicine they call the gut the “second brain”, and modern western medicine is just now beginning to recognize the importance of the microbiome, which is the healthy bacterial that is supposed to live in your gut. Any time you eat refined sugar, you throw “gut bombs” at your microbiome that can cause serious damage to your and your family’s health.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 3:16-17
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of Elohim, and that the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you?
17 If anyone defiles the temple of Elohim, Elohim will destroy him. For the temple of Elohim is set-apart, which temple you are.
Shaul tells us that our bodies are the interim temple of the Set-apart Spirit. Would you bring poisons to the temple, to sacrifice them to the priests? If not, then neither should you put poisons in your body (for Elohim will destroy it). This must be taken 100% seriously in these end times.
It is sometimes said that eating what is fresh, local, and in season is even more important than organic. Obviously, if you can eat both organic and fresh, local, and in season, that is better still—but if you cannot find organic, or cannot afford it, at least try to eat what is fresh, local, and in season. That means eating what grows in your area, whether it comes from your garden, or from the farmer’s markets, or even from the store. The produce from farmer’s markets often has less pesticides than food from the big commercial farms. It pays to ask the farmers.
I once read a study where most commercial farmers surveyed said that they would not eat their own crops!
Maintaining Your Gut Microbiome
In Chinese medicine, Indian Ayurveda, ancient Greek medicine, and every other form of natural medicine I know of, there is a consensus that the health of the gut is paramount. There is a saying common to all of these medical systems, which is that “All health or disease begins and ends in the stomach.” This means that if you take good care of your stomach health, then in time the rest of your body will likely also be healthy—but if you do not take good care of your stomach then in time your body will probably become unhealthy.
The average gut microbiome consists of approximately 100 trillion live beneficial symbiotic bacterial microbes that help our food digestion, nutrient absorption, mental health, and immune function. When we take care to populate our stomach with these beneficial organisms, our digestion, our brains, and our bodies work right. We also have much stronger immune systems, and we feel better.
We have already talked about eating a primarily plant-based diet, and about avoiding sugar and pesticides as much as possible. Another thing we can do to help our gut microbiome is to eat probiotic and prebiotic foods.
Probiotic capsules are alright, but live probiotic foods are much better. Examples of live probiotic foods are live yoghurts (without sugars), live kefirs, live sauerkraut, live pickles and fermented foods (such as pickled vegetables and kimchi). Live olives are also good. All of these have the right kinds of beneficial microbes that help us break down and absorb foods the right way.
Prebiotic foods work together with probiotics. They are essentially foods with a lot of fiber to them, including oats, beans, apples, asparagus, spinach, onions, leeks, garlic, etc. Their soluble fibers effectively feed the good probiotic microbes, and also help to heal any damage to the stomach walls.
Allium and Pungent Foods
Not only are onions, leeks, garlic, shallots, and chives, etc., all prebiotics, they are also members of the Allium family. Allium foods are very pungent, and they make us want to breathe. As we will see in the section on mental and spiritual factors, this is of extreme importance in immune resistance, especially in the face of plagues and pestilence.
Mental and Spiritual Factors
One time I had a doctor tell me about his experiences with immunity. He said, “When I first started medicine, I had my own family practice. You would treat all kinds of people with all kinds of diseases. Kids would cough right in your face. My immune system was bulletproof, just because it had to be.”
Did you catch that? He was saying was that his immune system was under the control of his human will. He decided he could not afford to let himself get sick, so he did not. And in my experience, it also works like that. That is, our physical health depends a lot on our mental, emotional, and spiritual state.
Breathing, Sickness, and Colds
With studying natural medicine, over the years I have learned to pay a lot more attention to my internal state, and in my experience, every time I have caught a cold it has always been because I felt sad or bad inside about something. Whenever I felt down, or despaired, I would catch a cold. It had less to do with a cold or flu virus than with my internal state. That is to say, when my attitude went down, so did my immune system.
My experience also is that whenever I have become ill, it has been because Yahweh was trying to get my attention. He would try to get my attention about some matter, but I would not stop and listen. Yet since Yahweh does not contend with man, into the sickbed I would go. Then when I finally learned the lesson He wanted to show me, I would start to get well. This is good news, because the closer I come to Yahweh, and the more I pay attention to Him, and hear what He has to say, the less prone I am to catch a cold, or get sick.
Shemote (Exodus) 15:26
26 …and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of Yahweh your Elohim and do what is right in His sight, shema [hear and obey] His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am Yahweh who heals you.”
Yahweh is not a mean Elohim. Rather, He is a loving Father. He does not want to punish the sons of men for their disobedience. Rather, He only wants them to turn back to Him, and obey Him. And if we will do that, then He has no need to let us get sick. It is only when we will not stop and listen to Him that He allows us to get sick (so that we will stop and listen).
Spiritually Aware Breathing is Key
Spiritually aware breathing is a key to good physical and spiritual health. What do we mean by that?
In our studies, we show how the Hebrew word for the Spirit is the same as the word for breath (ruach). And in our studies on Yahweh’s Name, I explain how the Divine name probably represents the sound we make when we breathe. When we breathe in, it sounds like “Yah…”, and when we breathe out, it sounds like “Weh…” Alternately, when we breathe in it can sound like “Yeh…”, and when we breathe out it can sound like “Shua…” This is no accident. There is great symbolism here.
Throughout our day, we should always have our inward focus on Yahweh-Yeshua. If ever we lose this focus on Him, the connection is broken, and are cut off from the Vine. When that happens, nothing good can happen. For anything good to happen, we must maintain this focus, and this connection.
Yochanan (John) 15:4-7
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
In my experience, when I breathe and stay focused on Yahweh-Yeshua, I do not get sick, and I do not catch colds. It is only when I pay attention to something other than Him that I either get sad (and catch a cold), or I fail to hear what He is saying because I am focused on something else (and so He has to put me down into a sickbed). But as long as I stay focused on Him, and do what He says, He does not need to put any of the diseases of the Egyptians on me, to get my attention (because He already has it). And from what I have seen, the key to this is to breathe, and stay focused on Him, and value my relationship with Him more than literally anything else that happens.
Romim (Romans) 8:18
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
It is easy to grumble because we have only manna to eat. It sustains us, and is delicious, but there is little variety. We could have more variety if we stopped following Yahweh and went back to Egypt (Yahweh forbid!). And if we did not value our relationship with Him more than the things of the world, we could do that (Yahweh forbid!). Only, that would mean losing our relationship with Him—and that is clearly not worth it.
It is easy to focus on the afflictions of the narrow and afflicted path. It is easy to get depressed because we have family members who are lost, or because we had to give up things we wanted in order to follow Yahweh. Only, if we take a great big balance, and put Yahweh on one end of the scale, and put everything we want in life on the other side of the scale, the scale will always tip in favor of Yahweh, because nothing is so valuable as our relationship with Him. Yet it can be easy to forget that at times, because of our lusts and desires.
Yochanan Aleph (1 John) 2:16
16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
I do not catch a cold or get sick very often anymore, but when I do I always ask myself what it is that Yahweh wants to show me. And without fail, I always find that I am chasing after something. There is always something that would please my flesh, or my eyes, or which would make me feel good about myself. And usually these things also seem noble, like when I am preoccupied with helping someone repent, and come to the knowledge of the truth. Only, what I have to realize is that it is not up to me who comes to repentance—that is His election. If I try to take that on myself, then I have effectively put an idol before His face—and then I have to repent. And as soon as I repent, I start to get healed, because there is nothing more that is separating me from the love of Elohim.
Romim (Romans) 8:35-39
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Messiah? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor messengers nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of Elohim which is in Messiah Yeshua Yahweh.
There is nothing that can separate Elohim’s love from us. Only, we have to make sure we do not value anything more than Elohim’s love (which separates us from Him).
Don’t Hold Your Breath
In Hebrew, the breath is the Spirit. To hold your breath is to quench the Spirit. Don’t do that. (Ever.)
Thessaloniquim Aleph (1 Thessalonians) 5:19
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
When there is something we want, we get tense. And when we get tense we stop breathing. And when we stop breathing, we quench the Spirit. This separates us from Messiah Yeshua Yahweh. So do not do that. This is a discipline.
This discipline does not require a lot of intelligence. It is something that anyone who is disciplined can do. Only, it takes a lot of discipline to do it, because it typically requires kicking demons, unclean spirits, and unclean desires out of ourselves. We have to pay strict critical attention to ourselves to notice what needs to get kicked out. But if you find yourself sick, or nervous, or anxious, or with tight breathing, ask yourself what it is that you are worried about. Then ask yourself if it is taking your inward focus off of Elohim. If it is, put Elohim in one end of the giant balance, and then put this concern in the other. Then you will know what earthly desire Elohim wants you to rid yourself of.
If we will do this faithfully, we will find that it relieves a great many worries.
Worries and the Stomach, and Immunity
In Chinese medicine, worry is related to the stomach. When we are worried about something, it damages our stomach, our digestion, and our immune system. This is precisely because it damages our ability to focus on Yahweh Elohim. Once again, when we identify whatever it is that we are worried or preoccupied about, we need to put it on one side of a giant balance, and then put our eternal salvation in Messiah Yeshua on the other side of the balance, and decide which is more important to us.
It is a brutal discipline, but when we say we are dead to our flesh, and are immersed into Yeshua’s death, we are saying that nothing of this life matters to us anymore. That is when Elohim blessed us with good health, because there is no longer anything separating us from Him.
The Life Is in the Blood
When we want something, our bodies become tense. When our bodies are tense, our muscles contract, and this drives the blood out of the muscles. If they relax, new blood can flow into the muscles, oxygen is delivered, and all is well.
However, if we stay tense (perhaps over something we want, or some emotional issue), then our tissues do not relax. New blood cannot flow into the tissues, and the tissues can die, because they cannot receive the life-giving oxygen that is in the blood. That is why it is said that the life is in the blood.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 17:11
11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”
When we trust Yahweh, we are not tense, or nervous, or anxious. No matter what happens, we trust that He is in charge, and that whatever happens, it is His will. When we have this kind of faith, we can breathe easily, and our body is relaxed. The blood circulates freely, and our tissues are well-oxygenated.
It also helps to eat pungent foods, such as those from the Allium family (onions, garlic, leeks, etc.).
Essential Oils and the Plague
If you have troubles breathing or staying relaxed, or if you are exposed to strong viruses, sometimes essential oils can help. The ones that help each person might differ from person to person, but they definitely have powerful medicinal effects.
The smell of decaying human flesh is one of the most putrid of all odors, and this kind of distraction can make us fear death. Such fear is the opposite of Elohim’s love, and it separates us from Elohim (destroying our immune system). The main thing is our faith, and if your faith is strong enough you do not need the essential oils (but essential oils can sometimes help).
During the time of the Black Plague in the Middle Ages, grave robbers infamously used combinations of strong herbs to overpower the stench of decaying human flesh so they could rob the graves, and not catch the plague. There are several variations of this formula, but most include clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus, rosemary, and other strong pungent oils that cause one to breathe. You can buy these oils with names such as Health Shield, Germ Fighter, etc. Put a little coconut oil on your skin first, as it is very strong, and can irritate your skin.
For a large batch (whether for the aroma or perhaps for a natural hand disinfectant), you can use the following formula:
1 cup Jojoba or Almond Oil
2 tsp eucalyptus
2 tsp rosemary
1-3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp lemon
1 tsp clove
1/2 tsp lavender
1/2 tsp tea tree
1 tsp myrrh
There are other formulas. The main thing is not the oils. The main thing is to continue to breathe, and maintain your connection to Yahweh-Yeshua. Any oil formula that helps you to do that is the formula you need.
Coronavirus-Specific Issues
At the time of this writing, the world is undergoing what is called the coronavirus pandemic. This and a nuclear war may be the combination that is used to usher in the New World Order. In addition there is also Agenda 2030, which is the Illuminist plan to reduce earth’s population by 94% over the next 10-30 years. Not coincidentally, when we study the plagues in the book of Revelation we see at least a 2/3 reduction in human population (maybe more) over the next 30 years, so there will undoubtedly be more pestilences and plagues (because Scripture says so). So as unpleasant as it is to think about, having essential oils on hand to deal with the smell of dead bodies may be a benefit. Be sure to store your essential oils in a cool dark place, away from direct sunlight.
With regard to the Covid 19 coronavirus, it has been reported that almost all coronavirus victims had very low levels of zinc in their bodies. Zinc deficiency decreases immunity, and makes one susceptible to viruses.
Certain foods have more zinc in them than others. Clean foods with zinc include beef, beans, dark chicken meat, pumpkin seeds, yoghurt, cashews, cheese, oatmeal, wheatgerm, and almonds. If you keep your zinc intake up you are less susceptible to the coronavirus.
Also, if you should happen to catch the coronavirus, it is said that hydroxychloroquine (HCL) can help transport zinc to the affected cells. Hydroxychloroquine is an anti-malarial agent, and apparently countries which use it as a prophylactic against malaria (such as Uganda) have reported very low incidences of coronavirus. Quercitin is a natural alternative, which also transports zinc to the cells.
Other researchers such as Andreas Kalcker tell us that chlorine dioxide (NaClO2) can heal coronavirus issues. We have not had time to research it, but pass it along for your information, and prayerful research.
Conclusion
If you only take one thing from this article, remember that maintaining your connection with Yahweh-Yeshua is paramount.
If you take two things from this article, remember that it is your aware breathing even in the face of challenges that helps you to maintain your connection with Yahweh-Yeshua.
If you take three things from this article, remember that aware breathing is a discipline, and a skill that can be learned. All you have to do is to remember to apply it, and when faced with a choice between what you want, and your connection to Yahweh, choose Yahweh (every time).
If you take four things from this article, remember that Yahweh is fully and completely in charge, and He can save us from the fiery furnace of fire, and from the lion’s den. But before He will do that, we must truly remain with Him at all times.
Yochanan (John) 15:4-7
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
To remain with Yahweh-Yeshua’s Spirit, we must not quench the Spirit. We must remain breathing at all times.
Thessaloniquim Aleph (1Thessalonians) 5:19
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
Because Yahweh loves us, He will show us many things that are getting in the way of our being faithful to Him. We must choose Him over the things we desire in the world.