Black Horse Of The Apocalypse
In the last two presentations we covered the biblical meaning of the first two horsemen of Revelation 6. Today, we are going to share with you the third which is the black horse of the apocalypse. Notice what Revelation in Bible says through the apostle John: “When He (Yahshua) 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. 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). How could this happen? What would be its consequences? What does this mean? As always, we ask the Holy Spirit of Yahweh for guidance and wisdom as we discuss with you the third horse of Revelation. It is very vital that you understand this life-changing event. May you have eyes to see and ears to hear for this truth!
The biblical passage above implies inflation and severe famine conditions in various places as mentioned in Matthew 24:7. Food shortages cause inflation in food prices. And higher prices make the remaining food harder to afford. The opening of the third seal indicates the onset of a period of severe famine unlike any in the past. While famines of varying severity have struck throughout history, it appears things will get much worse. Often famine is caused by drought, blight, floods and other natural means beyond human control. At other times the causes are all too human—war, social unrest and breakdown, and inefficient or outright malevolent government policy. It’s easy to dismiss famine when it’s on the other side of the planet or some far-off, isolated corner of the world. Is it conceivable famine could spread to impact even the wealthy, food-rich countries of the world in the end-times? Yes, it is. Why? Because Almighty Yahweh said so in the Bible! While drought, floods and insect infestations is often the cause of famine, quite often war and misrule, as well as malignant political or religious ideology, are contributing prime factors. A look at past famines in both Ethiopia and North Korea attests to this horrific truth, while present famines in south Africa gives us an idea of how devastating famines can be!
Now, let’s step back in history to the book of Leviticus in Bible for a look at Almighty Yahweh’s warning to man through the example of ancient Israel. Here we can see the dire consequences of false religion, war, famine and pestilence when Israel was unfaithful to Yahweh. Leviticus 26 is a chapter of promises from Yahweh—the promise of blessings for obedience and of curses for disobedience! The first step toward blessings is faithfulness in the worship of the true Elohim! Israelites are told: “You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I Am Yahweh your Elohim . You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I Am Yahweh” (Leviticus 26:1-2). For keeping His statutes and commandments, Eternal Yahweh promises plentiful food production and dwelling safely in the land (Leviticus 26:3-9). By living righteously and avoiding false religion, false messiahs and false biblical teachings, Israel would be able to receive divine blessings of good weather, fertile soil and plentiful rainfall. Peace, material abundance, good health and the absence of disease would follow. In other words, the curses like those accompanying the four apocalyptic horses wouldn’t go through their land as long as they sincerely obeyed Yahweh and worshipped Him in truth! Make no mistake that this command also applies to generations of all time!
Meanwhile, in Deuteronomy 28, Yahweh details the horror of a people stricken with the curse of famine. For disobedience to His commandments and statutes, the Most High Yahweh says he would bring a nation from afar to besiege and blockade the cities. All the food stores would be forcibly taken. The resulting starvation would cause the social structure to unravel at a frightening speed. The results are so horrifying to contemplate! Notice! “You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters…in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you. The sensitive and very refined man among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind, so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left in the siege…” (Deuteronomy 28:53-55). Famine-induced cannibalism is the lowest depth of depravity to which a nation can sink. Yet scenes like this have occured in history—and Yahweh says they will happen again in the last days! Reading this is profoundly sobering. But such deeply distressing events inevitably occur when men and women become entrenched in their disobedience to Yahweh’s laws! Yahshua the Messiah wept over the fate that was about to fall on Jerusalem in the first century. He knew first that terrible scenes would occur within that city in the ancient times. He wanted to gather the people into a loving and protective embrace and keep them from such tragedy. But their sins and defiant attitude would not allow them to repent and escape what was coming. The worst horrors described above in Deuteronomy 28 fell on Israelites during the Roman siege of Jerusalem!
In closing, nothing is more basic to human survival than food and water. Yet the entire world is wholly dependent on elements totally beyond any human control—namely sufficient rainfall, sunshine, temperate weather and the fertility of soil on earth—to keep us alive. The many recurring reports of droughts, floods, losses of fertile land and disturbed weather patterns should wake us out of complacency. In His Olivet prophecy, the Savior of mankind Yahshua gave the first description of the events symbolized by these seals—and His prophecy is unerring! He foretold that there will be a time of great tribulation, greater than any previous world conflict, and unless that time is cut short, no human flesh will survive! Therefore, no treaty, no cease-fire, no human being, will be able to stop this “end of the age” cataclysm. Dreaded events in future will drive the world into an out-of-control spin. When the Father in heaven Yahweh decides to pull the plug on the systems that support human life on earth, it will be too late to realize how much we’ve taken these things for granted! The black horse of the apocalypse is ready to strike its horrors and it is a disaster waiting to happen at any time, sparing no human lives! But for the sake of a chosen remnant called “the elect” (Yahweh and Yahshua’s true followers), “those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22). We hope that you’re enlightened and blessed by this true and faithful message. May Yahweh protect you and keep you. All this we humbly pray in the name of our Master, coming King and Savior Yahshua, Amen. Halleluyah, Shalom!
