(April 23, 2008) Worldwide food prices and shortages continue to increase. As a result of this, a Washington Times article states that some Americans have resorted to hoarding food: “Farmers and food executives appealed fruitlessly to federal officials yesterday for regulatory steps to limit speculative buying that is helping to drive food prices higher. Meanwhile, some Americans are stocking up on staples such as rice, flour and oil in anticipation of high prices and shortages spreading from overseas.” (Americans hoard food as industry seeks regs)
The New York Sun newspaper is reporting that some retailers in America are limiting consumer purchases of some food staples: “Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.” (Food Rationing Confronts Breadbasket of the World)
In San Francisco, at least one store is asking customers to limit their rice purchases. (Bay Area Shoppers Asked To Limit Rice Purchases)
Sam’s Club and Costco are limiting sales of rice because of food shortage fears. (Sam’s Club, Costco Limit Rice Purchases)
Across the Pacific, Japan’s food problems are increasing. (Japan’s hunger becomes a dire warning for other nations)
The British newspaper, The Times is reporting that high food prices are here to stay, “Families have been warned that the prices of basic foods will rise steeply again because of acute shortages in commodity markets. Experts told The Times yesterday that prices of rice, wheat and vegetable oil would rise further. They also forecast that high prices and shortages — which have caused riots in developing countries such as Bangladesh and Haiti — were here to stay, and that the days of cheap produce would not return. Food-price inflation has already pushed up a typical family’s weekly shopping bill by 15 per cent in a year.” (Era of cheap food ends as prices surge)
The problems facing the world’s food supply are not going away. According to the Bible, one day in the future there is going to be a global famine which may lead to the rise of the Antichrist.
“4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:4-8)
“5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:5-6)
In the first passage Jesus predicted famines in the end-times. In the second passage the equivalent to a day’s wages will be necessary to pay for food staples at some point in the future. Out of this famine a global leader will arise and seem to have all of the answers to the world’s problems including the economic woes of the people. Just such a scenario played out in the 1920s and 30s when Adolph Hitler used the people’s suffering to rise to power. So too will the Antichrist.
