A "famine" of hearing the truth occurs when the nations of Israel are taken over by a foreign power that prohibits the proclamation and practice of the true biblical faith. This happened around 720bc when Assyrians carried the northern 10 tribes of Israel into captivity. It will happen again during the Tribulation, when the modern descendants of ancient Israel are punished for their sins (Matthew 24:9; Hosea 5:5; Jeremiah 22:5–9).