THE ANATOMY OF FAMINES - by Dr. Muttoo -

In the Old Testament, we are given vivid pictures of Famines, the reasons for

Famines, and their devastating consequences. One shudders when reading

about such occurrences. And the obvious question is:

How can a Good God of love, act in such a cruel and ungodly manner? The

answer is simple, when given some thought, bearing in mind that God would

never deny His inalienable characteristic of Justice and Love.

Because of man’s sinfulness - being born in sin, and given the status of a free

moral agent - to choose good from bad, he became subjected to both Physical,

Natural, and Spiritual Laws. He was now blessed with a ‘Free Will.’ God has

requested, that man must choose the Way to follow. He said:

“See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I

command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep

his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord

your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.”

“But if your heart turns away, and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn

away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day,

that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are

crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I have set before you Life and Death,

blessings and curses. Now choose Life, so that you and your children may live,”
(Deut.30 15-19).

And this is so true! Time does not permit to elaborate on this, but the Theology
is correct.

There are several types of Famines in the Bible - Physical (Gen. 12:10); Punitive

(Deut.28:49-58);Prophetic(Matt.24:7;Rev.6:5-8;2Chron.15:3);and SPIRITUAL,

(Amos 8:11; 2Chron. 15:3).

Physical, punitive, and prophetic famines are understandable, and evident. But

Spiritual Famine is so easily undetected, unless attention is directed to it and its cause.

The prophet Amos, in his denunciation of the sins of the people of his day, clearly

prophesied that such a famine - Spiritual Famine, will certainly plague this world,

as never before..

Already we read about large- scale flooding, and massive crop failure in North

Korea, and they are playing havoc with the country - producing unprecedented

famine conditions. KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN ON THE DEVASTATION THAT’S

COMING, BECAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING.

In his novel ‘NO BLADE OF GRASS, John Christopher, captures the attention of

his readers with “a destructive virus which attacks the grasses of the world. Not

just the grasses on lawns, but all grasses, including wheat, barley, rye, oats and

rice. In a matter of months the world is plunged into Famine, and its brutal

companion, VIOLENCE. People begin by fighting and then killing.”

REASONS FOR FAMINES

Among the many reasons that cause Famines, these stand out: War, Hailstorms,

Storms (severe flooding), Insects, destruction of Environment (Ecological),

punishment for disobedience, and blatant denial of God. And we can unapologetically,

add GLOBAL WARMING to this list.

Are you thinking the way I am thinking right now? Yes, Famines are at our

doorsteps. Climatologists and Meteorologists are not only confused, but are

desperately searching for answers to the sudden change in the climates of the world.

WATCH OUT!

The prophet Amos in his book, prophesied: “The days are coming, declares the

Sovereign Lord, when I will send a Famine through the land - not a famine of food

or thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the Words of the Lord. Men will stagger

from sea to sea, and wander from North to East, searching for the Word of the

Lord, but will not find it,” Amos 8:11.12.

In the Book of REVELATION, St. John the Divine, on the Isle of Patmos,

recorded his visions. In Chapter 6, we are given the graphic picture of the

APOCALYPSE. First, we are told, that, as the seven seals are opened, the first four

give a gruesome scenario of things to come. John saw a WHITE HORSE, which

symbolizes RELIGIOUS DECEPTION, Rev. 12:9, that the dragon, who is Satan,

will do untold damages. Are you wondering why the intelligentsia, and a large

percent of the academia are so deceived, that they are doing exactly what the Bible

tells- calling right wrong, and wrong right? Is. 5:20; Ps. 94:94:21; Rom. 1:22,25.

It’s all Prophecy being fulfilled. The whole Human race is now tobogganing at an

unstoppable speed, ushering in the coming of our Lord. YOU DON’T BELIEVE?

What a pity!

The Apostle Paul says: “The god of this world (Satan), has blinded their eyes,”

2Cor.4:4.

The second Horse is RED in colour.This symbolizes WAR, that has wreaked havoc

on mankind, and still ravaging the world.

The third horseman on his BLACK HORSE, symbolizes FAMINE.

And then comes the PALE HORSE, the symbol of PESTILENCE etc.

From the booklet: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: “ As with the two

previous horsemen, this THIRD horseman of the FAMINE, will have a specific

fulfillment. It is ready to gallop into our immediate future with an impact far beyond the

historic and present-day occurrences of localized Famines……that will strike this

Earth with frightening force and fury.”

“We have not even factored in the effects of NUCLEAR WAR, should our

economic sparring with any of our trading partners, come to blows.”

“Our land could be contaminated by radiation that nothing would grow for quite

some time. And even if it did, would it be safe to eat?” Leviticus 26: 34, implies

that people would be so discouraged, that they would not want to Farm.”

“According to Habitat For Humanity, 20 million people world-wide die annually

from malnutrition and starvation, and related causes; 13 million of those are

children! World population continues to mushroom. The number of births continues to

surpass deaths. To break this down even further, that is over 35,000 children, and

not adults, who die from MALNUTRITION every day!

What is a Famine? It is the extreme scarcity of food, caused by droughts, insects,

plant and animal diseases, wars, and now GLOBAL WARMING, and Ecological

conditions.

The Prophet Amos announces a different kind of Famine than that of the Physical,

but one that is Spiritual. Is the WHITE HORSE plaguing your home with

DECEPTION? How much have you been aggressively attacked by the spirit of

deception, insomuch, that you have been defeated? Have you fallen prey to the

Societal Pressures? Anything less than standing up for the Word of God and its

disciplines, is DEFEAT.

Note: SCARCITY OF FOOD

Evidences of Scarcity of the Word of God(Spiritual Food), are staring us in the

eyes. And if you think that this is bad, you are in for gut-wrenching experiences, if you

neglect the Word of God. God’s Word must be clearly taught, and must be obeyed,

in order to prevent SCARCITY. If not, we shall see, some horrendous happenings

in our life time.

Manifestations of the Scarcity of the Word in our lives:

Is there a Famine in our homes? No Bible reading, no family Altar (reading and

praying together) whenever possible? What about our Schools, Society, Church

and Government. How have we been reacting to such a dramatic CHANGE, that

has taken place in this generation? How can you stand the total abandonment of

TRUTH, and fall for the total annihilation of the ABSOLUTES? What a mutilation!

What about your heart? Is there a Famine for the Word of God in your heart?

Then FEED I! How? By diligently reading, studying and living by it, being ever mindful

of your responsibility to the Lord. AVERT THE FAMINE! Fall in love afresh with

JESUS!

The Psalmist declares: “Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin

against you.” Ps. 119: