Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update IX) — The Black Horse
Breaking news that’s unfolding could be the sound of the black horse of Revelation preparing to ride. Jesus spoke of the terrible events that precede the end of days, including wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, and troubles, calling them "the beginnings of sorrows." Famine, one of the sorrows listed, is a punishment that comes upon nations as a result of the grievous sins of the people. A devastating famine seems very unlikely in the U.S., but just as nearly all were blindsided by the near total collapse of the world’s economy, widespread famine could well be lurking in our future.Audio Options: | MP3 |
Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update IX) — The Black Horse
The world is in very bleak times. The forecast for the future is wars, and rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, waves raging, men’s hearts failing for fear, the soon-to-come great tribulation period, Armageddon, and the finally the grand finale when this world is destroyed with a loud sound and a fervent heat. It sounds ominous and it is, even beyond our imaginations. But in the midst of this appalling forecast, there is very good news for those who are in the world but not of it. Hebrews 11:10 speaks of Father Abraham:
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Don’t set your sights on the world’s prospects, but look forward and inward—inward to the development of the Kingdom of God that dwells within the believer, and forward to the battle for the souls of men and the great taking up of the church to meet Jesus Christ in the clouds. I Thessalonians 4:17-18:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
It appears that transition time is very near.
Dear reader, have you made your peace with God? Have you sacrificed your life and your aspirations unto the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you been born again—born a second time? Would you like to have your sin and shame expunged from your life’s record? Would you like today to be the best day of your life and for tomorrow to be better? Come on in. Click onto “Further With Jesus” for childlike instructions and instant entry into the Kingdom of God. Welcome to GodSaidManSaid. We’re so glad you’ve come. NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.
GOD SAID, Mark 13:1-8:
1 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!
2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
MAN SAID: These foolish doomsday prophets make me laugh. There is no end to this world, and certainly no judgment day!
Now THE RECORD. The exact day and hour of our Lord’s return for His church and the soon thereafter end of this world as we know it is unknown to man, unknown to the angels, and even unknown to the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark 13:32:
But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
The day and hour is not known, but Jesus gives very clear warning signs that describe the condition of the world at His return. Be assured the red lights are flashing and alarms are sounding. But, as in the days of Noah, most are willingly oblivious. Click here to review the “Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday” series titles as well as all their companion articles. Prepare to be shocked.
In Mark 13 above, Jesus, speaking of the terrible events that precede the end of days, including wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines and troubles, calls them “the beginnings of sorrows.” Famine, one of the sorrows listed, is a punishment that comes upon the nations as a result of the grievous sins of its people. Ezekiel 14:13-14:
13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
A devastating famine seems very unlikely in the U.S., for instance, and also many parts of the world, but just as nearly all were blindsided by the near total collapse of the world’s economy, so it could well be lurking in the matter of widespread famine.
During the final years of time, a great food shortage (a famine) will occur. Revelation 6:1-8:
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
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.
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Note that a measure of wheat sold for a penny. A Bible measure is one quart of dry measure. So then, a quart of wheat sold for a penny. That sounds cheap until you consider that in the Bible a day’s wages was one penny and the work day was 12 hours (Matthew 20:1-16). If you compute agricultural wages at $8.00 per hour, a quart of wheat would cost $96.00.
Breaking news that’s unfolding could be the sound of the black horse of Revelation preparing to ride. Global situations are lining up for this addition to the “Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday.” Consider the following six points:
(1.) Rice shortages are alarming world markets. China, the nation with the world’s largest appetite, is attempting to avert a 20% shortfall in needed rice production. Keep in mind that rice is a major staple in the diet of nearly half the world. Food riots have already occurred in Egypt and Haiti. The following paragraphs are from Wikipedia:
In March to May 2008, some national governments began restricting exports of rice and some retailers began rationing sales, due to fears of insufficient global supplies of the grain, thus becoming another key aspect to the 2007–2008 world food price crisis. In late April 2008, rice prices hit 24 cents a pound, twice the price that it was seven months earlier.
While no one single cause is blamed, the dependency of rice supply on oil prices and six years of drought in Australia's rice-growing regions appears to have tipped the scales toward a worrisome reduction in global rice supplies, and the commensurate rise in global prices. [End of quote]
Headlines:
• New York Times – March 29, 2008 – “High Rice Cost Creating Fears of Asia Unrest”
• World News Australia – April 24, 2008 – “Global Rice Shortage Sparks Panic”
• New York Times – April 17, 2008 – A Drought in Australia, a Global Shortage of Rice”
• Canadian Globe and Mail – April 24, 2008 – “From Wal-Mart Quotas to a ‘Frenzy’ in Vancouver, Asia’s Rice Crisis Goes Global”
This global food crisis is affecting the supply of a critical staple and causing a dramatic spike in prices. The directly affected countries will be forced to draw (through importing) on the world’s food resources, seriously increasing demand. This should continue to spike food prices and reduce food supply in general.
(2.) Discover magazine, January 2009, headline: “Baffling Bee Die-off Continues.” The following excerpt is from that article:
The mystery affliction called CCD, or Colony Collapse Disorder, continues to harm honeybees, threatening pollinator services and the crops that rely upon them. According to a survey published in May by the Apiary Inspectors of America and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 38 percent of beekeepers reported the deaths of colonies with a symptom of CCD between September 2007 and March 2008. Overall, beekeepers in this group lost 41 percent of their colonies. Losses were reported among four species of native bumblebee as well.
The cause of CCD remains unknown. Lead investigator Dennis van Engelsdorp, acting state apiarist for Pennsylvania, says, “The bees have nearly every disease going, so their immune response seems to be compromised.” [End of quote]
(3.) I don’t recall the exact source of this piece of information, but a major disappearance of the ladybug is being reported. This little creature is part of the world’s food chain and will have its effect.
(4.) Science News, August 2, 2008 headline: “Feminization Blamed on Farming.” The following paragraphs are from that article:
Among toads living in farm country, gents tend to resemble the gals—both inside and out. This doesn’t bode well for the hoppers impressing local ladies, much less fathering their tadpoles.
Like the human appendix, a toad’s Bidder’s tissue normally has no function. However, if males lose testicular function, a Bidder’s organ may suddenly mature into an ovary, observes wildlife endocrinologist Louis Guillette, a coauthor on the new study. His team found that Bidder’s organs in males from the agricultural regions were sometimes chock full of eggs (although their viability was never checked).
But malformed organs or a feminine appearance aren’t the only obstacles to mating, Hayes points out. Behavior can also be affected by chemical exposures. “Out of every trial we’ve done,” he says, “only two atrazine-treated males were ever able to even copulate.”
A paper by Martin’s team in the July 30 Aquatic Toxicology makes a similar link between a region’s agricultural intensity and the feminization of local male amphibians—in this case northern leopard frogs. [End of quote]
Science News, November 22, 2008 headline: “Farm Chemicals Can Hammer Frog Populations.” A short excerpt follows:
Amphibian populations around the world have been declining recently, with many species on the brink of extinction. Infection with trematodes, tiny flatworms, can trigger debilitating limb deformities, and severe infections can kill the amphibians.
Researchers wanted to know why high rates of those deformities began showing up in the mid-1990s. The study suggests that one answer lies in atrazine’s quick rise to dominance in U.S. agriculture. [End of quote]
(5.) “The Rise of Slime” is the headline in the January 2009 issue of Discover. The following passage if from that feature:
More than half the fish that people hunt in the sea are gone, more than half the corals are gone too, and pollution is strangling the vast stretches of seafloor. Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last August, marine ecologist Jeremy Jackson of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography sounded an ominous tone: “Mass extinction of multicellular life will result in profound loss of animal and plant biodiversity, and microbes will reign supreme.”
As excess plant matter sinks to the seafloor, microbes rot it and suck oxygen out of the water in the process. The hypoxia suffocates seafloor animals. In summer, the Chesapeake Bay becomes a “dead zone.” So does the Gulf of Mexico where the Mississippi dumps into it.
Some 400 regions of the world are now afflicted, permanently or occasionally, with dead zones, according to a report published in Science in August. When seafloor animals die off, the energy in the ecosystem flows into microbes and jellyfish, a trend Jackson refers to as “the rise of slime.” If we do not alter the way we fish, farm, and generate electricity, he predicts, similar dead zones will spread across continental shelves all over the world. [End of quote]
(6.) One thing is relatively certain: in the very near future we will see a spiraling upward in food prices driven by shortages caused by drought, other related weather issues, disease, etc. Now add colossal inflation, which will likely strike the U.S. economy as a result of printing money that has no sweat behind it, and we could see food prices in the stratosphere. Food one day will be worth more than its weight in gold.
The Oxford Analytica posted the following statement on April 15, 2008:
Since 2005, the rise (in real terms) in the price of almost every food item has revived fears of a return to global food insecurity. [End of quote]
Joel 2:1:
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
Is it possible that famine is knocking at the door? GodSaidManSaid’s advice is that every believer should begin to prepare by storing up at least a year’s supply of appropriate foodstuffs, and not just for themselves. When this situation occurs, many of your relatives and neighbors will be unprepared. There are many websites that give sound wisdom on how to create your own food store. Regardless of exactly when the famine occurs, with prices spiraling upward due to demand and inflation, your food store may in fact produce the very best return-on-investment the world’s market has to offer.
Serve the Lord with your might. Whether or not you have the means to create a food store, or if the church will even be here to see this famine, God’s promise to His children stands sure. Psalms 33:18-20:
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
GOD SAID, Mark 13:1-8:
1 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!
2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
MAN SAID: These foolish doomsday prophets make me laugh. There is no end to this world, and certainly no judgment day!
Now you have THE RECORD.
References:
Authorized King James Version
“Food Crisis Represents Long-term Shift,” Oxford Analytica, April 14, 2008
Glausiusz, J., “Baffling Bee Die-off Continues,” Discover, January 2009, p47
Kunzig, R., “The Rise of Slime,” Discover, January 2009, p24
Raloff, J., “Farm Chemicals Can Hammer Frog Populations,” Science News, November 22, 2008, p12
Raloff, J., “Feminization Blamed on Farming,” Science News, August 2, 2008, p9
“2008 Global Rice Shortage,” Wikipedia.org
Additional Audios
- Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update XXVIII -- Word Changing and 666 Are Ready for Prime Time)
- Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday Series
- Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update XXXIX)—The Chip Comes Knocking at Your Door)
- Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update XXVII -- 666)
- Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update XLIX -- Wormwood Updated)
- Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update XXXI -- The Image of the Beast)
- Eternal Punishment and Hell
- Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update XXIX) -- Four Blood Moons
- Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update XXXV)—Figs and Wormwood
- Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update LIV--Has the Tribulation Begun?)
- Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update LXIII--The Red Heifer is On the Ground)
Power Verse
Acts 1:8 (KJV)
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.