Famine of the End Times

The Famine of the end times, has to do with false teachings. Just as our bodies need nourishment to survive, so do our souls. People can eats huge amounts of food, but if it isn't the correct foods, containing the nutrients people need, they will become ill or die of malnutrition. So it is with our souls. We need God's truth and not what man says is truth.

False teaching is a serious issue and a very real one. God said there would be a famine, for hearing intelligently, his words, in the latter days...and how true it is.

Many times in the New Testament, the words "last days" are used, even for their time. The Lord's days are not the same as we count days. God said:

2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

With the understanding of God's days, we finished 2 days since the time of Christ. It would also be more realistic to view God's creation days, as each day equaling a thousand years.

But the point is, false teaching has been going on since, almost from the beginning, and it would increase after Jesus' crucifixion. We were forewarned. Sadly, many seem to overlook that fact and overlook the famine for hearing God's word, and happily believe everything they are being taught, without hardly ever checking it out for themselves.

We are responsible for ourselves and what we believe, not the pastors. We are the captain of our own ship and on judgment day, we cannot pass the buck to someone for our failings. Because of that, we, the lay people, are warned over and over again about false teachings.

False teachings spoken of in God's word:

Mat 16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Jesus then explains it clearly:

Mat 16:11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?

Mat 16:12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Jesus states he, himself, is the bread of life,

• Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world
• Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
• Joh 6:48 I am that bread of life.
• Joh 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Jesus is the word of God

• Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
• Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

All of God's word is Christ. Christ is the living bread, which if we partake, we are spiritually alive in Christ, given immortality through him.
Christ is the bread, the leaven is false teachings which will infiltrate all of God's word.

leaven:

leav·en

NOUN:
An agent, such as yeast, that causes batter or dough to rise, especially by fermentation.
An element, influence, or agent that works subtly to lighten, enliven, or modify a whole.

Gal 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

The leaven was the doctrines, the traditions of men, false teachings not of God's word. Many of the traditions the pharisees taught came from the Talmud, I believe. The Talmud is a book of rules, regulations and commentary of man's understanding of the Holy Scriptures. It is not the inspired Words of God. Jesus said of their traditions:

Mar 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

Mar 7:10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
Mar 7:11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
Mar 7:12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
Mar 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

The bread is Christ, the Whole word of God, both old and new Testament. False teachings, man's traditions will infiltrate all of God's Word, the whole loaf. All it takes is a little untruths being taught, to skew all of God's word.

Just as God was upset with the prophets and priest of old, teaching out of their own imaginations and not what God had said:

• Jer 29:23 Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
• Eze 13:2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD;
• Eze 13:3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
• Eze 22:28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.
• Jer 23:20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
• Jer 23:21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

So it is today, nothing new going on. There is a famine for hearing (with understanding) God's Word. Traditions of men, man's explanations of God's Word, have taken over God's Word, to the point that there is very little truth. God's own words are barely taught. Pastors might quote a verse or two, but then go on giving their explanation of what God is saying. This is the same thing which was going on during Christ's time and before then.

That is why we are told to have on the gospel armor:
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Faith:

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Sword: Jesus' Word, his truth is the sword

Rev 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

The only way we can detect false teachings is to use all the council of God, all of His Word. If one comes teaching and it doesn't line up with all his word, we are not to receive it. If a pastor is teaching a subject and using much of his own words, not much of God's words, and the pastor's words contradict else where is God's word, we need to check it out for ourselves then. God's word will never contradict itself. God gives more than one witness to anything written his word. For God is not the author of confusion 1Cor. 14:33

If something just isn't adding up, we are to dig through God's word, searching the scriptures, if one must, getting into the manuscripts, for God's word wasn't written in English; digging info on the cultures at the time of the writings, checking out figures of speech, symbolism, rightly dividing what is spiritual, symbolic and what is literal, we need to follow the subject manner and so forth. And before all that, we are to ask for wisdom with much prayer. For all wisdom comes from God.

God tells us to study, not just read.

We are to prove everything out with Scripture and it will be proved out in more than one place. What ever one believes concerning Scripture must align with all of God's word.

God said there would be a famine for hearing his word:

Amo 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

In order for that to be true, the majority cannot be right. Otherwise, there would be no famine.