World News and Trends: Famine stalks the earth
From time to time, experts in many different fields and disciplines issue urgent warnings of famines to come.
In fact, hunger remains a disturbing fact of life on more than one of our planet's continents. Yet the general public often views such serious problems as even less important than the latest sports scores and soon-forgotten news in yesterday's newspapers.
Not enough people give much serious thought to the problems of global food supplies, their fast-increasing costs and meeting the challenges of our burgeoning population growth—that is, unless these difficulties affect them personally.
Yet the facts seem to indicate that we are indeed living in the shadow of a global famine. It's not here yet, but there are some ominous signs that its coming could be inevitable.
Time magazine reported: "In a new study the London-based charity Oxfam says ‘the international community is sleepwalking' toward humanitarian catastrophe, as rising food prices threaten to cause a whole range of demographic and social crises. The report, Growing a Better Future, says prices for basic staples may rise 120% to 180% of their current levels by 2030, partly as a result of climate change but also because of poor distribution and unfettered speculation in commodity markets" ("World Faces Epic Food Crisis," June 13, 2011).
The May-June edition of Foreign Policy devoted much of the entire issue to this hungry planet. The editor, Susan Glasser, stated that the cover article, "‘The New Geopolitics of Food,' describes a future of food defined by scarcity, where a world bursting with 9 billion people faces land grabs and political upheaval.'" She notes "the 219,000 additional people the world must feed each night at the global dinner table" and "the massive amounts of grain the United States and other countries are now turning into fuel [ethanol] to feed our energy addiction" ("Letter From the Editor"). She also points out that an increase of 70 percent in food production is projected to be required by 2050.
So-called experts are always suggesting solutions to world dilemmas. Governments try to solve them and end up making matters worse. Sadly, no one seems to ask what our Creator says about them. The Bible is usually the last port of call, if God's Word is consulted at all, as we seek in vain to understand and solve the massive challenges that confront us.
Jesus Christ clearly stated of the time shortly before His return, "There shall be famines" (Matthew 24:7). Yes, we have experienced them in various places for the last nearly 2,000 years. More than one hit Jerusalem before the first century came to an end.
Yet back in the Old Testament, both Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 (the blessings-and-curses chapters of Scripture) foretold that serious famines would visit the descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel in modern times (see our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy).
Moreover, the third of the infamous "four horsemen of the Apocalypse" represents the granddaddy of all famines (Revelation 6:5-6). The last famine to afflict the earth will occur at the time of the end. We could well soon see its beginning stages, unless science very soon comes up with a modern "miracle" of increasing food like the Green Revolution of the latter half of the past century. Famine is an integral part of the picture for the end time, in which conditions will get so bad that were it not for Christ's intervention to stop events of those future days from running their course, all human life would perish from the earth (Matthew 24:21-22).
Food supply issues are no problem for Jesus Christ. More than once He miraculously multiplied several loaves of bread and a few fish into an abundance of food sufficient to feed thousands, with generous leftovers. God miraculously fed the prophet Elijah during a serious famine in ancient Israel. It comes down to our moral behavior gone awry that constitutes the basic problem. When we seek God first in our lives, He will take care of our material needs (see Matthew 6:33).
To better understand the dilemmas mankind now faces and where we are ultimately headed, request or download our free booklet Are We Living in the Time of the End? (Sources: Time, Foreign Policy.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: July - August 2011
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
