Revelation 6:5-8 (NKJV)
Third Seal: Scarcity on Earth
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.”
Fourth Seal: Widespread Death on Earth
7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.
V5 “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.” The scales are for measuring. This is a severe judgment. Compare Matthew 24:7.
V6 “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.” There will be famines and food will be scarce for most. The elites will not have to suffer, however. The denarius is a day’s pay for work in the time of the Apostle John. One of God’s blessings is abundant food. This judgment shows that God will not bless the world of evil. The wars by the anti-Christ also bring many food shortages.
V7 “When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.”
V8 “So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.” Literally, this is a pale, green-colored horse. This judgment of murder is allowed. Hades is the holding cell for those who refuse to believe the Gospel. According to the Worldometer, the world’s population at the time I am writing this (25 Dec 24) is ~8.2 billion. If 1/4 of the world’s people die, that number would be 8,196,042,300/4=2,049,010,575, or over 2 billion deaths. The means of death are war (sword), hunger (starvation), death (most likely deadly diseases), and being mauled to death by the wild animals. Compare Ezekiel 14:21.
We learn:
- Sin has consequences.
- Jesus is the king of the universe and can release judgment.
- God’s severe anger at those who sin