Author: Dr. Bob Thiel

CNN posted the following:

Tunisian food crisis worsens as Russia holds grip on Ukrainian grain exports
July 11, 2022
Tunisia, rocked by last decade’s Arab spring, faces an ever-worsening food crisis as Russia’s blockade on grain from Ukraine drives up prices. https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2022/07/11/tunisia-food-crisis-russia-grain-pkg-mckenzie-ovn-intl-ldn-vpx.cnn

One of the things Russia blames is Western sanctions:

Sanctions imposed on Russian and Belarusian fertilizer producers are akin to weapons of mass destruction in the scale of the damage they will likely cause over the next few years, the founder of chemical giant EuroChem has claimed.
“The EU sanctions mean suffering, famine and migration flows for many hundreds of millions of people,” Andrey Melnichenko said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Die Weltwoche on Thursday.
“Sanctions targeting food and energy are economic weapons of mass destruction. They hit innocent people the worst. I have no doubt that billions of people will feel its effects,” he warned.
Suffering people will want to hold those responsible accountable, and the EU won’t be able to shift its culpability, the businessman added. …
“The G7 countries, with their one billion citizens, see themselves as the world’s moral leaders. But they have overridden the interests of the other seven billion people,” he said.
Russia and its ally Belarus, another target for Western sanctions, account for 17% of global fertilizer supply, the tycoon said. Should that supply disappear from the market, the world “will lose food for almost 750 million people after just a few harvests,” he warned. Exports from those two countries already dropped by 30-40% amid the stand-off with the West, and it’s the most vulnerable people who are paying the price, Melnichenko added. 07/08/22 https://www.rt.com/russia/558640-eu-sanctions-global-famine/

As long-term readers of this COGwriter Church of God News page are also aware, I have warned for years that there were costs and unintended consequences related to sanctions. It is interesting that UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed is basically saying that the world needs to drop sanctions on Russia to at least assist with world fertilizer production. That would tie in with Russia’s official position related to grain and other food shortages.

Furthermore, a couple of weeks ago, NewsMax reported the following Russia position:

Russia: West Is Spreading Lies About Causes of World’s Food Crisis
June 22, 2022
Russia on Wednesday said the West was spreading lies about the causes of the global food crisis which Moscow said was being stoked by the sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and European Union due to the invasion of Ukraine. …
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in Moscow she was dismayed by repeated Western statements that Russia was to blame for the global food crisis.”It is a lie – such accusations are complete lies,” Zakharova said. “So the West can supply all these arms to Ukraine but for some reason nothing can be taken out of Ukraine?”
Both play a big role on the barley, maize and rapeseed markets while Russia is one of the world’s top fertilizer exporters. Russia and Ukraine are two of the most important producers of agricultural commodities in the world. Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter after the European Union while Ukraine is the world’s top sunflower seed exporter. https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/russia-west-food-crisis-ukraine/2022/06/22/id/1075504/

Jesus warned about food shortages–famines:

7…And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:7-8)

We seem to be in the time Jesus called “the beginning of sorrows.”

Notice something from CNBC:

Food prices are on the rise worldwide, including essential staples like bread, milk and eggs.
The United Nations’ Food Price Index tracks the monthly change in the price of a basket of food items. The five commodities making up this basket are cereals, vegetable oils, sugar, meats and dairy products.
In March 2022, the index recorded the highest price levels in its three-decade history. It has since come off that high slightly, but it is still well above levels seen in previous years. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/07/11/why-food-is-getting-more-expensive-for-everyone.html

Notice a message related to the third horseman of Revelation and the price of food:

5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:5-6)

Wheat prices are prophesied to go even higher in the future. Ukraine itself is a major producer of wheat, barley, and cooking oil. Hence it looks to have at least some ties to Revelation 6:5-6.

Related to this, the Continuing Church of God put together the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:

Russia, Ukraine, Food, & the Ride of the 3rd Horseman of the Apocalypse
Did you know that the sanctioned lands of Russia and Belarus are dominant suppliers of ingredients used in modern fertilizers? Are you aware that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 33% of the farmland in Ukraine may not be planted and/or harvested because of Russia’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine? Are parts of the world like Sudan, Lebanon, and the USA experiencing food price inflation? What about impact on the Palestinians in Gaza? Could any of this help lead to the rise of the King of the South? What are some factors that look to increase rice prices? Did Jesus warn of wars and troubles? What are three foods that Ukraine exports that are associated with the shortages and food price inflation of the ride of the third horseman of the Apocalypse? What does Jesus say His followers should do? Dr. Thiel addresses these matters in this video.

Here is a link to the video: Russia, Ukraine, Food, & the Ride of the 3rd Horseman of the Apocalypse.

Will high wheat prices cause people to turn to God? Or will they be determined to continue to turn further away from biblical morality?

We are getting to the end of the 6,000 years that God has allowed humans to rule themselves, which will soon be followed by the 1,000-year reign of Christ. Pray for Jesus to return and God’s Kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10).

But prior to Jesus’ return, “there will be great tribulation” as Jesus foretold (Matthew 24:21).

The sorrows and troubles are just beginning and will get much worse.

Instead of mainly passing blame, people need to repent and turn to God.

Full article with related articles/videos: Food shortages: CNN blames Russia, while Russian tycoon blames Western sanctions

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