Revelation Part 5 - The Black Horse

Hello again and welcome back. I hope you are enjoying the journey as much as I am. It is now time to move to the black horse, Revelation 6:5-6. As you remember from the previous articles, we have already covered the white horse(antichrist) and the red horse (civil anarchy).

Before we begin, you may notice a couple of nuances in these verses that are slightly different than the other two. The first difference is in John’s response to the beast. For the first horse, he stated “and behold”, and here he states “and I beheld, and lo…”. I’m not certain that this difference is significant in any way, but the change is worthy of noting I felt. Second, this rider was not “given”anything. In the first two verses, one was given a crown and the other a sword. Third, you will see in this verse that the rider does not “do”anything. The first two riders went “conquering”and the other “took the peace”. Finally, in the black horse verses, we have the introduction of more information being announced – something that did not happen in earlier verses. The significance of these differences may not be totally clear now (and maybe even after we are done) but they highlight that this rider is different.

So let’s start by taking a look at the verses and breakdown some of the word use that John chose.

Rev 6:5 - And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast (face like a man)say, Come and see. And I beheld (eidō- to perceive, notice, discern, discover with the senses - different than the first two - behold), and lo (idou – same as behold) a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances (zygos – 1) yoke*5 2)scales*1) in his hand.

I highlight the word beast this time as this is the beast with a face like a man. We have no real explanation that there is a reason each beast announced a particular horse, but it did make me think deeply about it, since the point of everything is man’s relationship with God and God’s love for man. I don’t have any insights into this at this time, but I will continue to contemplate this going forward and if I find anything on this I will return and post more on it.

The next thing I highlighted in this verse was the change in “beheld” statement. In Rev 6:2 John used “I saw” and “behold”which means “see”. In Rev 6:5, John doesn’t use any type of “I saw” statement at all. This verse he uses “beheld” which means “to discern or perceive”, which is more in depth than just see. It is quickly followed by “lo”, which means “to see” and is the same Greek word as “behold”. So right now you are probably asking yourself, “Why did we just waste a paragraph on that?” And truthfully, I can’t answer you. I do know this. Everything has a purpose and God chooses his words wisely. So while I cannot confirm definitively that this is the reason, I do offer up what I took away from it is this. The white horse he saw, meaning it was evidently visible to him – the antichrist. The red horse just showed up on the scene, he did not “see” it coming –civil anarchy. This horse, he both perceives it, and sees it – he experiences it and it is visibly evident.

Next is the phrase “a pair of balances (scales).” The Greek word used here is ‘zygos’, which is used throughout the New Testament as the word ‘yoke’, which means something that binds things together, such as the yoke used to bind oxen or cows used in work. The only time it is used to denote‘balances’ or ‘scales’ is in this verse. And by scales you need to imagine the kind of weighing scales or balances that are used to weigh things such as gold or grain. The kind of scales that is used in the symbol we have for Lady Justice (more on this later – see image). The traditional logic on this is that they are scales, based on the text that follows (which we will dive into shortly) about the measure of wheat and barley. While I won’t completely challenge this traditional interpretation, I do offer this. In John’s time and in other references in the Bible, the yoke means this.

1) Definition of yoke: A harness, usually a wooden beam that joined two animals at the necks and allowed them to work together a plough or wagon.

2) Symbolic meaning of yoke: The burden of oppression, responsibility and hardship.

3) Spiritual meaning of yoke: The bondage and burden of sin.

I submit that the rider of the black horse could have actually been carrying a true ‘yoke’. Symbolizing that he was coming to either inflict or control the three items listed above. Meaning he would control agriculture, inflict oppression, and lastly, leaving no one the ability to place their sins on Jesus (as He stated in Matthew 11:28-30).

If we look at these in the traditional sense, that they are scales used for weighing, we can deduce the following about that symbolic meaning. Balances/Scales equal justice or equity. Balances alone indicate the law and rigid administration (which is our symbol of Lady Justice). When joined with the measure of food, they indicate scarcity – as in people needed to ration food. One last thing on the scales; this rider was not “given” the scales, as previous riders had been given things. He just appeared with them in his hand.

Rev 6:6 - And I heard a voice(phone – noise) in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure (choinix a dry measure as much as would support a man of moderate appetite for a day) of wheat for a penny(denarius – a day’s wages), and three measures of barley (barley not as healthy as wheat) for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil (elaion– olive oil used for lamps, anointing, and commerce) and the wine.

In this verse we now have the introduction to a different occurrence than in the other verses. Here another ‘voice’ is heard from amongst the four beasts. The text does not declare whose voice this actually is. We can assume it is not one of the beasts, as it is not declared it was as in all the previous references. We are not told either that if it is one the elders, thus the origin of the voice is unknown. Secondly, the question arises as to whom the voice is speaking? Is it speaking to the rider, or to the hearers of the message (us for instance)? I feel (there is that word that means “I don’t have proof”) that the voice is talking to us. None of the other riders were given any instructions or restrictions, and the message the voice delivers seems too complicated for a mere visual symbol.

Let us now look at what the voice declares. It states that “a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny”. A measure is a ‘choinix’,which was the amount of food needed for a person to survive daily. Wheat was more nutritional than barley, and thus a day’s food needed for one person was either one measure of wheat or three measures of barley. A penny (denarius) was the equivalent of a day’s wages. So you can see that one person would have to work all day for just enough food himself – making it impossible to support a family. Note that this does not in any way indicate that there is a food shortage based on drought or diseased crops as is usually the source of famine. This indicates that the price of food is so high, that average people will find food scarce because they will not be able to afford to eat.

The final sentence declares “not to hurt the oil and wine”. This indicates a couple of things. First, if it is being declared to us, then that is telling us not to damage or destroy items that are not necessary for survival in some kind of rebellion or action against the cause of the scarcity. If it is being declared to the rider, then it is telling him to not to shorten or make scarce the finer things, or those things that luxuries.

Taking the above mentioned study, we can piece together the following. The black horse is bringing another trial/war against the people to conquer them in another fashion. The balances and scales can mean both justice and law, and can also mean scarcity of food as indicated by the wheat and barley based on their price. Oil and wine – finer things that do not contribute to or reduce famine will still be available for those with resources (money). Since scales can mean the law and administration it could be deduced that this ‘famine’ is built and orchestrated by the government (the antichrist’s one world government) to control the believers. We get further indication of this from Revelation 13:17.

Rev 13:17 – “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

So what I have laid out is very close to the traditional view of the black horse as famine, with the twist that I feel this is the antichrist’s induced famine on the believers. As I was completing this study, I did happen upon some other symbolic references found in this verse that led me down another path that I’d like to share that puts the verse in completely new light. It again displays God’s power in his authorship that I have stated before that the messages he sends can transcend time (the past, present, and future interpretations of one verse). This goes to show that the same can be done on both a physical and spiritual level.

1) Olive (oil) – represents light, peace, and divine blessing. (The dove brought Noah an olive branch.)

2) Wine – represents doctrine. (Luke 5:3-7)

3) Bread – life and truth (John 6:35)

4) Famine – lack of spiritual nourishment (Amos 8:11)

So could it be that the black horse will bring about a shortage, or controlled access to the Truth and Life? Absolutely – the move towards one world religion would do such a thing. Be on your guard!

Next week is probably the most famous of the horses, the Pale Horse. See you then.