In the sixth chapter of the Book of Revelation we find the Almighty speaking to the Apostle John about  the distant future, a time when the so-called “four horsemen of the apocalypse” would finish their long rides and, having saved the bulk of their “cargos,” would unleash them in terms of false religion (white horse), war (red horse), famine (black horse) and disease (pale horse). Let it be known that the dreaded horsemen will have been riding for thousands of years, spreading their misery in little bits here and there as they continue to gallop across the history of mankind. God warns about them in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, as well as in Matthew 24. In Revelation 6 He symbolizes the end of their rides during the final days of this era in terms of seals that will be “opened” during the final days of man’s horrendous control of the world. Their ride will culminate in the earth’s final demise as man sins it into chaos, death and destruction, the likes of which, as Jesus said, will be like nothing man has ever experienced. It will be so deadly that only His return will stop man from wiping his species off the face of the earth. Though there have always been false religions, wars, famines and diseases, the Lord says the past will pale into nothingness when compared to what is soon to come on this earth.

Let us be reminded that, as a previous series noted, God intended for man to have the best of everything, but only if man obeyed Him. Man instead embraced the rider on the white horse–false religion. In church circles false religion takes the form of Catholicism/Protestantism, which opened the door for the other three horsemen to increase their speed, spreading ever more death and destruction throughout the world. As man grew farther away from God, the horsemen unleashed more and more of their cargo upon him. This is the ultimate example of the Lord’s “sowing and reaping” program. Simply put: the worse man gets (wind), the worse God curses him (whirlwind). The problem lies in the fact that Satan has blinded man’s eyes to the sin-curse connection. Church people refuse to believe what God says in His Word about sin and the curses it brings on the sinner. Believing themselves to be “Sinners Saved By Grace,” they assume that they are immune to God’s Word. And Satan smiles.

Let it be noted that God has stood at the ready to halt the rides of all three horsemen if they would repudiate the first horseman (false religion), turn from their wicked ways and embrace Him. But like Adam and Eve, man has chosen to heed the advise of Satan who promises that, because they are supposedly “saved,” they can sin and get away with it. As Jude (4) says, they have awarded themselves a license to sin. The world, especially the Christian world, is about to feel the effects of its “I sin and grin, for in the end, I still win. Pie in the sky, sin ’till I die, for in the sweet bye and bye, I still get to fly” theology. And Satan laughs.

I began this series I began with a discussion of the fourth horseman who has spread sickness and disease in ever-increasing doses during his long ride. In this posting we will examine the effects of the third horseman–famine. A great deal of research has been done of late by people who have access to information that I cannot retrieve on my own. To these people I send a heart-felt thanks for their efforts and their unselfishness in allowing people like me to freely use the results of their labors for the greater good.

Alex de Waal wrote a book in 2008 titled MASS STARVATION: THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF FAMINE. Before beginning to gather information for the book de Waal took the stand that famine was basically a thing of the past–history. However, he soon recognized the error in his thinking. Famine, he learned, was making a comeback and had a most horrendous future. Over the past 150 years approximately 100 million people have starved to death world-wide, most of them children. Evidence reveals that, as the world’s population is increasing (mostly in the poorest areas), the world’s food production is decreasing. Michael Watts of the University of California describes the famine that is claiming ever more lives as “silent violence.” He notes that some 70% of the 100 million starvation deaths could have been prevented if man had the mind-set to do so. We will not get into the geo-political problems that have caused most of the world’s starvation deaths. I will say only that in every case where mass starvation has occurred, the governments have been dictatorial, having absolute control over the populace. To emphasize the rapidity of the rise in human food deprivation, I will quote these statistics. Between 2014 and 2017 the estimated number of undernourished people on earth increased from 783 million to 820 million. By combining those incredible numbers with the fact that the world’s population is increasing while its food production is decreasing and one finds himself looking at a recipe for global disaster. Another fact that must be understood is that the more of the starving we save results in more people reaching adulthood, which results in more children being born while food production is decreasing. This inevitably leads to more people starving to death. It is a viscous cycle that is growing worse each day. But God’s saints are not surprised by this situation. Because of their knowledge of and belief in God’s Word, they saw it coming. L.J.