Who’s on the Black Horse of the Apocalypse?
Bible Study Guide
It’s important to remember as we explore this next rider of the black horse. This horse that comes out of the third seal judgment was a symbol of war in ancient days. In other words, each of these riders are ushering in some type of war against God and humanity.
I was born and raised in Maine. My wife and I raised our own family in Maine. Maine is a fantastic state especially if you like cold snowy winters. Every winter came with dozens of snow storms. This was no surprise. But the media always did what they do best. They sensationalized most winter storms. This caused panic in the stores and next thing you knew people were cleaning out the shelves of essential items.
I would always think. People! What is so different about this storm as compared to the hundreds of storms before it?
The reasonable people who stopped buying into the media deception and sensationalism arrived at the store to empty shelves. The snow would come. The streets and driveways would get cleaned out and life would go on as normal. Nothing to see here. No big deal. It’s just another Maine snow storm.
The day is fast approaching when finding essential items required for survival in your local grocery store will turn into people’s worse nightmare.
Enter the Black Horse of the Apocalypse
(Verse 5) Christ breaks the third seal of the scroll He holds in His hand. This sets of another set of visions that John is about to witness.
Then the third living creature of the four that are in close proximity to God’s throne gives the command, “Come!” As the thundering sound of horse hooves gets louder, John sees the rider on the black horse come into view.
The color black often symbolized dreadful things in the Bible. It reflected sin, death, famine and disease.
John saw the rider holding a pair of scales. Scales were often used in commerce in ancient times. Buyers and sellers would use scales to measure the amount (weight) of an item that would be used to trade. Common items scales would weigh were gold and silver.
The symbol of the scales likely indicates the unequal balance of commerce that will occur in the days of the tribulation and the days leading up to that time. In other words, the amount of money that will be paid for food will far outweigh the amount of food that will be purchased. In this case, this is known as severe hyperinflation.
This is more clearly revealed to us in the next verse. Let’s take a closer look.
The Rider on the Black Horse Brings a Financial War
(Verse 6) Flour has always been the premium food staple for making breads and other items. Barley’s a sub premium food staple that holds about a quarter of the nutrients that wheat has.
As John is gazing upon the scales in the hand’s of the rider of the black horse, he’s likely wondering what the meaning of this vision is. Then suddenly he hears one of the living creatures from around the throne speak.
“Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
Two pounds of wheat will barely feed a few mouths in a family for a day. This means that during the tribulation it’ll take a full day’s wage to feed only a few mouths in a family. Not only will there be severe food shortages, the price of food that is available to purchase will be incredibly expensive.
Some might think in those days soon to come that it’s a better deal to buy barley because you get more of it for the same price as wheat. Think again. The nutritional value for your family will quickly diminish with the use of barley.
Have you ever been in the backroom of a grocery store? If you have, you’ve noticed how small of an area it is. There’s very little room to keep any backstock. Most of everything the store has for inventory is already on the shelf.
This shows who fragile our food supply chain infrastructure already is. Grocery stores rely heavily on an uninterrupted supply of food trucks arriving on time to the store to keep shelves full of food. The slightest disturbance in this supply chain harmony could cause severe food shortages.
Please Spare the Oil and the Wine
It’s not all bad news that the rider on the black horse of the apocalypse is bringing.
According to a Pew Research Study in 2020, the aggregate of U.S. income shifted from the middle class to the upper class. In other words, higher income earners are now earning the majority of income in the U.S. This has put the middle class in a downward trajectory closer to the lower income earners. While the upper income earners income has skyrocketed.
The disparity between the upper income earners and the lower income earners is growing at a rapid pace. More of the middle income earners are being added to the lower income earner group. And the upper income earners wage growth is growing at a rate others would have a difficult time dreaming about.
So what the rider on the black horse represents for the people in the days of the tribulation is already occurring today. There will be a severe schism between the wealthy and the poor. These current wage trajectories will be brought to a climax when the remaining inhabitants of earth are ushered into the tribulation period.
The preservation of the oil and wine indicates that these will be finer luxury items that will only be afforded by the rich. Little do they know that oil and wine will be the least of their concerns as the judgments are unfolded and delivered upon the earth.
The Days of the Apocalypse
When we use the word the apocalypse, we’re not talking about the made up apocalypse movies of Hollywood. We’re speaking of real events that will usher in a time of great distress upon the earth.
“For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:21-22)
Jesus is saying here in His Olivet Discourse, the days of distress of the tribulation will be unequal to anything that mankind has ever witnessed. And had it not been cut short to seven years, there would be no survivors.
Remember, millions of people have been removed from the earth by the grace of God to be with His Son Jesus Christ. Mass chaos and confusion ensues.
This rapture event will trigger the revealing of the antichrist. Evil will rise unbridled by the nonexistence of those goody two shoes followers of Christ. The antichrist will begin by doing what he does best. He’ll deceive people into thinking he’s the guy with plan to make all that ails the earth better (white horse).
The hearts of mankind will turn cold and will hate and betray each other. This will cause division among family, friends, kingdoms and nations. Wars will rage across the planet (red horse).
“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,”
(Matthew 24:12)
Currencies across the globe will plummet. Stock markets will crash. Supply shortages will follow that will make those that occurred during Covid look like child’s play. People will go hungry. They will do anything they have to when they’re hungry and are left with little to feed their families (black horse).
This Is Just the Beginning
These three horsemen are symbols that represent only the beginning of the actual events that will take place as the tribulation period is introduced upon the earth.
There is still one more horseman to bring on the scene. Remember, the judgments will intensify as they’re brought forth. Let’s take a look at what this next rider has in store for those who have chosen to reject God or felt they had no need for God. Those who thought they could make their way back to God by just being good, saying good and doing good will soon come to understand that this idea is just no good.
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