Famine is spoken of in the Bible as an increasing and accelerating sign that Jesus is coming soon. We can certainly see it in our news headlines, particularly recent headlines, with the food crisis in North African countries that produced a very poignant plea from the President of Somalia for immediate help. But, there is another famine that is even more deadly coming soon. It’s the famine of the Word of God, which feeds the soul.
The third horseman is riding. “When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius . . . and do not harm the oil and the wine.” (6:5–6 NKJV) The rider of the black horse carries with him famine and economic collapse, signified by the weighing scales and the exorbitant prices for food.”
Imagine, if you can, how famine might affect our own nation. Your worst nightmare could soon be a reality. Intensifying the effects of famine brought on by the galloping of the black horse will also be economic chaos and inflationary prices, which is what is indicated by the phrase “a quart of wheat for a denarius” (Rev. 6:6 NASB). In biblical times, a denarius was equal to a day’s wages. The implication is that we could spend a day’s wages for a loaf of bread.
But there is another kind of famine spoken of in the Bible that will be prevalent in the Last Days that is even more destructive. How can it be more destructive than the famine that kills the body, you may ask. Because the famine I am speaking of can kill not only the body which is temporal but can also kill the soul, which is eternal. The other famine I’m speaking of is a famine of the Word of God.
In the Times we are living in, there is an acceleration of events in the world which are quickly taking away our right to our very expressions of our faith as Christians. These campaigns and events are quickly bringing about an atmosphere of antagonistic persecution of our very right to practice our Christianity. We are being told not to mention the name of Jesus in any speech or prayer or other public setting. Our lawmakers are quickly bowing to the powerful antichrist spirits that are busy influencing the masses to call evil good and good, evil.
“‘Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God , “That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.” (Amos 8:11)
God’s work of proclaiming His Words through His ministers, as well as through the mass media, may one day be prohibited, perhaps through persecution, governmental regulations or a combination of these and other factors.
There’s a reason why the scriptures exhort us to “hide the Word in your heart” and to “eat the Word”. One day there will be a famine of those Words that we take for granted now, and we may have only what we have hidden deep down inside to sustain us through tough times.
Let’s be sure we have the Word of God deep down inside us, where we can carry it with us always and where it can feed our souls in times of famine.
