Another Fowl Sign

What does the Bible have to say about famine in the last days?

America’s food supply is under attack! There are shortages in so many areas that we can only scratch the surface of discussing this problem. Let’s look at another “fowl” sign of the times.

The Perfect Storm

Tim Moore: The Lord says through His Scripture that there will be many signs of the end times that will point to Jesus Christ’s soon return. They can be broken down into various categories, with one of those categories being the Sign of Nature: disruptions, earthquakes, tornados, cataclysms, and so on. Within these end times sign of nature that we are witnessing today includes a short-fall of food.

Nathan Jones: Of the ten signs that Jesus gave in Luke 21 that point to His soon return, famine is one of the major signs. I read this article titled “18 signs that indicate that food shortages are only going to get a lot worse in the second half of 2022,” specifically focusing on the second half of 2022. The article was written on May 9th by Michael Snyder of the Economic Collapse Blog. The article points out the fact that the world is facing a serious problem with our food distribution systems.

Snyder notes that global food supplies are getting tight right now, but that we are only at the beginning of the real problem. We are merely a few months out because this year’s crops have suffered. I was shocked to learn that 14% of the world’s food comes out of Russia and Ukraine. America is boycotting Russia, and Ukraine obviously isn’t growing or producing many crops due to the Russian invasion, so those supplies have become unavailable.

Snyder calls this one-two punch to our food production “a perfect storm” of things to come. He lists 18 signs that food shortages will get a lot worse as we head into the second half of 2022.

For one, the largest fertilizer company in the world is publicly warning that severe distribution issues could last well past 2022. Fertilizer prices have skyrocketed. After all, who knew that so much fertilizer comes out of Ukraine?

Global grain reserves have reached extreme lows. Exports out of Ukraine have totally been paralyzed.

We are reading about how 40% of baby formula has not been available for much of this year. People have been trying to make their own homemade baby formulas.

Needy people are also looking at bare food banks as they’ve dropped to historically low supplies.

Then there’s bird flu going around. Over 54 million chickens and turkeys have been killed this year. I went to buy frozen chicken recently and a bag skyrocketed to $10 more than it used to be just a week ago.

Extreme droughts broil California, which is the breadbasket of the United States.

Steak prices have gone through the roof! Fruit harvests in Spain are down.

Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kentucky reports, “The Ukraine-caused worldwide famine will affect us over the next two years.”

And then, with the lockdown in Shanghai earlier this year, all of the goods and supplies that ship out of China aren’t coming to the United States.

Snyder points out that all of these shortages will hit the fan all at once in the Fall of 2022.

Tim Moore: Concerning the bird flu, here in America we have moved towards poultry, chicken, and turkey are our predominant sources of protein and meat intake. As a matter of fact, the average America eats 113 pounds of chicken a year, which exceeds both beef and pork combined. That number has been growing for the last seven years. We have been moderating our diets towards more white meat.

Our society has demonstrated a great fondness for chicken products. And so, the bird flu epidemic has greatly impacted chicken production here in the United States. The price of eggs, for example, recently went up to about 150%. I could buy a dozen eggs for about ten cents each and now they are closer to a quarter in most stores. So, dramatic increases!

There are other causes for food supply disruptions. You mentioned all of the food that formerly came from Ukraine. Places like Egypt bought the majority of their wheat and grain from Ukraine. With Ukraine collapsed in terms of its ability to produce and transport food, places like Egypt are going to be very disruptive, for when there are disruptions in food supplies, all sorts of bad things begin to happen. I think the world is in for some traumatic experiences not far ahead.

Nathan Jones: Europe hasn’t been getting their usual levels of natural gas and oil due to Russia cutting back their production in order to punish the European nations for aiding Ukraine. Our current U.S. administration has been shooting ourselves in the foot by limiting fracking, and so we are not producing sufficient levels of oil, which raise transportation costs. The price of diesel fuel is well over $5 per gallon. That makes food prices significantly rise. And now we have food shortages on top of all of these issues that continue to make prices climb even further.

In Luke 21:10, as Jesus went through His list of end times signs, He declared, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,” that means wars. “And there will be great earthquakes,” and we are certainly seeing those. “And in various places famines and pestilence, fearful sights and great signs from heaven.” Those are merely a sampling of the signs of the end times Jesus said would increase in frequency and intensity the closer we got to the Lord’s return.

We’ve experienced pestilence with the COVID-19 pandemic over the past few years. We’ve seen wars break out and continue to grow worse. But, I think a lot of us in the West never consider famine. For those of us living in first-world countries, we don’t worry too much about not having enough food. We may not be getting as many choices, but we have no fear of starvation. But, in third-world countries, when food prices go up and you are on subsistence living, and what you make is barely able to feed you and your family, then all of the sudden prices skyrocket. The third world is facing mass starvation.

Real-life famines are on the horizon! Food shortages then become a huge problem and a clear sign of the end times.

Tim Moore: They sure do. Look to South America. We’ve all witnessed countries that were formally food and energy producers but have collapsed due to embracing Socialism. It’s called the Socialist Diet. People have lost several pounds just because food is not readily available in places in South America that recently used to be prosperous. If the West adopts Socialism, the same rapid decline could come here. We could be experiencing the same dramatic loss in our supply chains if we continue on this crazy course toward Socialism.

There are people on the Left who want to increase the cost of fuel and fertilizer because they actually don’t want us to produce as much food. Why? Because they want to squeeze the world population down to a more “manageable number.” Such an idea is horrific in the eyes of God!

Revelation 6 foretells of the Second Seal Judgment leading to war, followed by the Third Seal Judgment leading to famine. War and famine are tied together. War leads to famine, and as we’ve seen too many times in history, famine oftentimes leads to war. This will be the indication that we are living in the end times when famine, wars, and rumors of wars increase in both frequency and intensity. This is certainly happening in our day.

How to Prepare

Nathan Jones: So, knowing that a massive global famine is potentially coming on the world, and things are indeed getting much worse, what does the Bible say that we should do? How do we prepare for a global famine? Or, do we even need to prepare?

Tim Moore: We don’t become preppers in the sense of storing up food for ourselves and hoarding it, but there are reasonable precautions that we should take. I think everyone should put a little away in case of an emergency.

But, what we must always do is place our hope in Jesus Christ, then we seek to help and serve others. There are people in our communities I’m sure who are suffering because of the downturn in the economy. They do not have enough food or income, so we can help one another. Especially in the context of our churches, we can minister to those in need. But, again, we primarily place our hope in Jesus Christ.

Also, even as these food shortages are happening, don’t be overwrought by fear and anxiety. Trust in Christ! Though the oceans rage and rush into the sea, we Christians shall not fear.

Nathan Jones: Excellent advice! Let’s pray to be wise and discerning of the times in which we are living. And, always make sure that you have enough supplies for your family and to help others in preparation for times of crisis.

Also, remember how during the worst times of famine and disaster throughout Church history, it was Christians who stood up and helped those in need. And so, let’s get together and support our local church and food banks to aid those in need. In doing so, we share God’s love with the desperate.

God often uses disasters to drive people down on their knees and give their lives to Jesus Christ. If Jesus is tugging on your heart, then surrender your life to Him. Pray from your heart in faith and repentance something like, “Dear, Jesus, please forgive me of my sins and be my Lord and Savior.” Jesus will save you from the penalty of your sins, your guilt will be washed away, and you will inherit a new life with Him forever. You will become a child of God, and you will have hope for today and a bright future for tomorrow.