In Brief...World News Review: Famine Stalks Africa
The black horse of Revelation already riding in Africa.
Clearly world hunger is rising again, much of it afflicting the African continent, especially the sub-Saharan area. But more generally, according to the Los Angeles Times, "Every year about six million children under the age of 5 die as a result of hunger and malnutrition, says a UN study released Tuesday. That's as if all of California's children in that age group—more than twice over—starved to death" (Oct. 16, 2002).
This increase in world hunger is due primarily to a combination of wars, droughts, floods and shortfall in donations from the developed nations. The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) "puts the number of undernourished people at 840 million—roughly 15% of the world's people. After some progress in the 1990s, the rate has returned to levels of a decade ago" (Los Angeles Times).
The Independent on Sunday's environment editor, Geoffrey Lean, further explained that "this year's total world harvest will fall for the fifth year in succession, while the global population continues to grow" (Oct. 27, 2002).
More specifically, famine has returned to Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. Nearly six million people are in desperate need of emergency food supplies in order to avert starvation. Perhaps another million require immediate help in Eritrea. Also Sudan, Kenya, Somalia and other African nations are experiencing severe food shortages.
Lesotho is another case in point. Too much rain devastated crops and people are dying. Poor mountainous roads are a difficult barrier to getting aid supplies through to the population. A Times (London) feature article stated that "crop production has declined sharply over the past three decades and is expected to cease altogether over large swaths of arable land because of soil erosion and declining soil fertility" (Nov. 9, 2002.). Also, a 31 percent HIV-AIDS infection rate complicates matters even further.
Bible prophecy is being fulfilled. The book of Revelation clearly reveals the identity of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. The black horse symbolizes hunger and famine (Revelation 6:5-6). It is already riding in Africa.
—Sources: The Independent on Sunday, The Times (both London), Los Angeles Times.
An Article from:
World News and Prophecy: December 2002
Course Content
R. J'Non Whitlark
Born and raised in southern Oklahoma, J'Non (Hamill) Whitlark earned a B.A. in English and M.A. in Composition. She and her husband David have two small children, Frederick and Racheal. She stays busy managing their household and small cattle farm near Dallas, TX, and savors time spent writing on topics connecting the modern day Christian to the teachings found in the Bible!
Jim Tuck
Jim has been in the ministry over 40 years serving fifteen congregations. He and his wife, Joan, started their service to God's church in Pennsylvania in 1974. Both are graduates of Ambassador University. Over the years they served other churches in Alabama, Idaho, Oregon, Arizona, California, and currently serve the Phoenix congregations in Arizona, as well as the Hawaii Islands. He has had the opportunity to speak in a number of congregations in international areas of the world. They have traveled to Zambia and Malawi to conduct leadership seminars In addition, they enjoy working with the youth of the church and have served in youth camps for many years.
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.
