What Was Once Considered a Famine Has A Much More Relevant Meaning
Today we will take a closer look at the 3rd of the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse: The Rider on a Black Horse. This is, without a doubt, something that has really come to light in the last days. For years and years, the rider on the black horse has been assumed to be a symbol of famine. But if it is, it is a very strange famine.
I guess it would depend on your definition of the word ‘famine’. If your definition is that very few people have food to eat, then yes, the black horse describes a famine. But if your definition of famine is a lack of food, then no, this is not a famine. In the black horse scenario, there is food for the taking. Food exists, however, it is so expensive that only the rich can buy it. For the rest of the people, it is just too expensive. What the black horse is describing is runaway inflation, not famine.
Let’s examine the rider:
5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard what seemed to be 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 wine!” – Revelation 6:5-6 ESV
We see that the rider has a pair of scales. In the day this was written most everyone had a pair of scales in their homes. However, there were very few that carried their scales out in public. One of those people who did was a merchant. So we can safely say that this rider is a merchant. And if the scales weren’t enough to convince you, the next words out of his mouth removes all doubt.
“A quart of wheat for a denarius; three quarts of barley for a denarius. And do not harm the oil and the wine!”
A quart of wheat was considered enough wheat to make a loaf of bread with. Not the huge loafs like we buy in the grocery store, this was a small loaf that might feed two people tops. Usually, as we see in the old testament, one measure of wheat was made into bread and served to one person.
2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth 3 and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant…
Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.” Genesis 18:2-3,6 ESV
Here we see an example: Abraham sees three men approaching his tent, and asks them to rest a while. When they agree, Abraham tells Sarah to make cakes with three seahs, or three measures of flour.
The Apostle John also mentions something called a Denarius. In John’s time wages were generally paid at the end of the day. A Denarius was considered a day’s wage. This is also proven out by the Bible:
9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. – Matthew 20:9-10 ESV
This is part of a parable Jesus was teaching, but we see that the standard wage for a day’s work is a Denarius.
John is telling us then that the day will come when one entire day’s pay will be enough to buy one meal for one person. Now, let’s say someone had a family to feed. If that were the case, they could buy barley instead. Barley is an inferior grain to wheat. Even today, we generally use barley to flavor things, not make bread.
But bread can be made from barley. And if you had a family to feed, you might buy barley, which could feed more than one person. But the same rule applies. It is going to take an entire day’s wage to buy enough food for your family. Not that food is hard to find: Here the merchant is crying out in the streets, “a measure of wheat for a denarius, three measures of barley for a denarius.”
The merchant has plenty, otherwise he wouldn’t be advertising his products to the public. But what he has is expensive. Now the other thing that the merchant says is just as telling. “And do not harm the oil and the wine.” Contrary to popular teaching, in normal times, oil was a common part of the pantry in the average home.
In fact, some people used oil to make cakes rather than water. However, this time, the merchant is saying, “I have oil, but obviously you can’t afford it, so watch out not to spill it.” The same goes for wine. Even the poorest of households would have money for wine, in order to celebrate certain occasions and for special Holy Days.
But in the time John is predicting, even the smallest of luxuries are unaffordable.
This fits like a glove into today’s modern society. The public seems to be unaware of the connection between fuel prices and food costs, because if they knew, they would be demanding something be done in order to lower fuel costs. The country literally runs on diesel fuel. Most every semi truck, and train runs on diesel fuel. These are the vehicles that carry food and supplies all over the nation. And when these fuel prices skyrocket, the cost of the fuel is ultimately passed right on to the consumer.
Right now, most Americans live unaware of the potential for starvation in front of us. With diesel fuel prices currently averaging over $6 a gallon, all of those costs are being passed directly to the consumer. This is somehow connected to the Iran war. But the disconnect is while government throws our focus on something else entirely.
The rider on the black horse is giving us a glimpse into a world that is literally right on our doorstep. At this very moment in Iran, people are paying a day’s wages for enough food for one meal. And that is going to be spreading throughout the entire world. The currency will drop to nearly worthless, and price stability will be a thing of the past. And for those left behind after the rapture, they will experience a time when the cost of food will be enormous. Even today we can see the shadow of what is to come upon us.
The world is slowly preparing itself for the 7-year tribulation, sometimes called Daniel’s 70th week. And the sad truth is between the apathy and the outright deception most people are seeing in the world, most people are completely unaware of the days that are coming upon them.
