Four Horsemen at the Gallop ! - A Black Horse Plunges Forth

  Jesus now  opens the third seal! John, what did you observe?  "And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say:  'Come!'"  (Revelation 6:5a)  Happily, this third cherub "has a face like a man's," depicting the quality of love.  Principled love will abound in God's new world, even as that fine quality permeates all of Jehovah's organization today.  (Revelation4:7; 1 John 4:16) We can be sure that the Rider of the white horse, who "must rule as king until God has put all enemies under his feet,"  will lovingly remove the calamitous  situation that is next brought to John's scrutiny. - 1 CORINTHIANS 15;25.

What does John see, then, as the third summons to "Come!" is answered?  "And I saw, and, look!  a black horse; and the one seated upon it had a pair of scales in his hand."  (Revelation 6:5b)  Stark famine!  That is the dire message o this prophetic scene.  It points forward to situations in the Lord's day when food must be rationed out by scales.  Since 1914 famine has been a continuing  worldwide problem.  Modern warfare brings famine in its wake, for resources normally used in feeding the hungry are often diverted  in supply war weapons.  Farm workers are conscripted, and battled-scarred fields and scorched -earth politics curtail food production.  How true this was during the first war, when millions suffered   hunger and  died! Moreover the rider of the black horse of hunger did not relent with the end of the war.  During the 1930's, five million perished  in just one famine n the Ukraine. The second world war brought in its wake more food shortages and famines.  As the black horse continued his gallop, the World Food Foundation  reported in mid-`987 that 512 million humans were starving and that 40,000 children die of hunger-related cases every day.

John has more to tell  us: "And I heard a voice as if in the midst of the four living creatures say:  'A quart of wheat for a  denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the olive oil and the wine." (Revelation 6:6)  All four cherubs are united in expressing a need to watch food supplies carefully-just as the people had to "eat bread by weight and in anxious care" prior to Jerusalem's  destruction in 607 B.C.E. (Ezekiel 4:16)  In John's time, a quart of wheat was reckoned to be the ration for a soldier, How much would such a ration cost?  One denarius-a whole day's wage! (Matthew 20:2)  What if a man had a family? Well, he could buy 3 quarts of unpolished barley instead.  Even that would feed only a small family.  And barley was not viewed as a quality food such as wheat.  

What is implied by that statement,  "Do not harm the olive oil and the wine"?  Some have viewed it as meaning that while many would be short of food and even starving, the luxuries  of the rich would not be harmed.  But the Middle East, oil and wine are not really luxuries.  In Bible times, bread, oil, and wine were viewed as staples. (Compare Genesis 14:18; Psalm 104:14, 15.)  Water was not always good, so wine was widely used for drinking and sometimes  for medical purposes.  (1 Timothy 5;23)  With regard to oil, in Elijah's  day the widow of Zarephath, poor as she was, still had some oil left  with to cook her remaining flour.  (1 Kings 17:12)  Therefore, the command "do not harm the olive oil and the wine appears to be advice not to use up these basic commodities too quickly but be sparing   in their use.  Otherwise, they will be "harmed; that is, they will run out before the famine ends. 

How happy we can be that the Rider of the white horse will soon rein in that galloping black horse!  For it is written concerning His loving provision for the new world: "In  his days the righteous one will sprout, and the abundance of peace  until the moon is no more. . .  . There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountain there will be an overflow." - PSALM 72:7, 16; See also Isaiah 25:6-8. 

Next time: Four Horsemen at the Gallop! - The Pale Horse and its Rider.

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