The Third Seal (Rev. 6:5–6)
The Third Seal (Rev. 6:5–6)
6:5 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.
As the
Lamb of God opened the third seal, the mighty voice of the third living
creature heralded the coming of the third horse and its rider.
The Description of the Horse
A Black Horse
Scriptures
connect the color black with famine. Thus Jeremiah said, “Our skin has become as hot as an oven,
Because of the burning heat of famine” (Lam. 5:10, NASU).
The
Description of the Rider
Having a Pair of Scales
The balance
(scales) symbolizes judgment. So to pronounce God’s judgment to Belshazzar, the
king, God said to him, “You have been weighed in the balances, and found
wanting” (Dan. 5:27).
Balance
also symbolizes famine. A shortage of food will always increase prices and
force the government to ration what is available. “To eat bread by weight” is a
Jewish phrase indicating that food is scarce (Lev. 26:26).
6:6 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.”
Following
the appearance of the black horse and its rider, John heard something like a
voice in the center of the four living beings. Since the four living beings
were around the throne (Rev. 4:6), this is likely the voice of God, the One
sitting on the throne (Rev. 4:2–3).
God’s
pronouncements revealed how devastating the famine would be. A quart of wheat
is barely enough to sustain one person for one day. At the same time, a
denarius represents one day’s wages for an average worker.
In (Rev.
6:5–6), those scenarios represent how drastic the curse is because of
disobedience to God. Curse brings “four dreadful judgments, sword, famine, wild
beasts and plague—to kill its men and their animals!” (Deut. 28:46–48; Ezek.
14:21, NIV).
The Good News
of the Third Seal
We were
all under the curse of the law before the death of Christ; as the scripture
pronounced, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written
in the Book of the Law” (Gal. 3:10, NIV).
The
imagery of the black horse and its rider with the balance in his hand presents God’s
plan to make His Holy Son a curse as a mandate for redemption. Thus, the Lord
Jesus Christ became a curse on our behalf on the cross, as it is written: “Cursed
is everyone who is hung on a tree” (Gal. 3:13; Deut. 21:23). Thus, God redeemed
us from the curse in Christ.
No Harm to the Oil and
Wine
Despite
those extreme conditions, the voice of God commanded not to damage (waste) the
oil and the wine. Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and wine is a symbol of
joy. Likewise, nothing has affected the fullness of the Spirit in the Lord
Jesus Christ and His pleasure. The Lord Jesus Christ had become the author and
finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2).
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