The third rider on the black horse

Shalom!!!

After a Christmas interlude, I will take you on a further journey into the opening of the third seal by the Lamb.

In a nutshell, the opening of the third seal will bring famine and hunger. Currency will collapse and inflation will skyrocket, as never before in history.

Let us see what the rider on the black horse has in his hand and what the voice between the four living creatures says. The rider on the horse has a pair of balances in his hand. In the Greek root text we read "zugos" here. The source word for this word comes from 'yoke'. We all know that a yoke keeps an ox in line. No free will, but under duress and possibly violence must submit to perform the work.

The voice in the midst of the four beasts in Revelation 6:6 says, "A measure of wheat for a penny and three measures of barley for a penny." Let's see what is meant by the 'penny'. A penny in Greek is a dēnarion, and that means "with ten" or "containing ten. It was a Roman coin in the New Testament era. It was the most important silver coin of the Roman Empire. The parable of the workers in the vineyard shows that a denarius was the daily wage of a worker at that time. (Matthew 20:2-13)

Then we will look at the word 'measure'. The voice between the four animals talks about one measure and about three measures. One measure in Greek is 'choinix'. This is a dry measure, containing four cotylae or two setarii; which is less than a quarter of a liter that we know now. It is as much as a man with a moderate appetite could support for one day.

One quart of wheat is enough for one person to live, and a denarius is the wages of one day. How can anyone feed his family if he only earns the money to feed only one mouth? And that is for those who are lucky enough to still have a job in these terrible days. For those who think, "I'll skip the wheat and get the barley for the 3-for-1 price"(from verse 6: three measures of barley for a penny), understand that it takes three quarts of barley to provide the same food as one quart of wheat.

This clearly shows that there is hunger and famine and the currency will fall fatally and there will be inflation like never before. And then to think that hunger and scarcity brings out the worst in man. The despair that arises at that time will make even the most kind and good-natured people evil.

Because of food shortages, there will also be tremendous chaos. These shortages will not be as we know them now from third world countries. At that time, there will be global shortages. No full shelves in the supermarkets, just empty shelves. Just imagine what result will cause all of this. Think of riots, demonstrations. Lawlessness will only increase even more as a result.

The mentioned oil is olive oil that we know as a commodity. It is the olive oil used to light lamps, anoint the sick, and anoint the head and body. The oil and wine, however, according to verse 6, remain untouched, but who in those days will have enough money at all to buy these luxuries?

What a misery when we read all these horrible things. Let it be a warning to us. That we have and keep our relationship with the Lord Jesus in good order. Then we will not have to go through these things and escape the judgment that will hit the whole world. Then -during the judgment period on earth- we will be taken up into heaven and may rest from our present tribulations that we are experiencing now in this world. And I mean the tribulations that come from what people do to each other.

Now is still the time of grace. We can still warn people to get it right with our Creator of heaven and earth. But the time of grace is pressing and is almost over. Ask the Holy Spirit how you can shine the Light of Jesus in your own unique way while you still can.

I want to close with what the Lord Jesus says to the church congregation:

• He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give food from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:7

May God’s bless you abundantly and give you peace.

Awaiting His soon return,

Natasja