"When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature call out, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword."
5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, “Come!” I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held 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 day’s pay, and three quarts of barley for a day’s pay, but do not damage the olive oil and the wine!
Most interpretations of these verses say that the black horse denotes famine and the soaring cost of what food is available. This link at Biblehub.com has great commentary on famine being what is symbolized by the imagery of the black horse with the scales. It's interesting to me that it is the pale green horse in the verses that follow that represent death; traditionally black has been a color to represent death, at least in the western hemisphere; in these verses the conditions that lead to death are represented with black, and the color pale green symbolizing decay after death.
In this case the color black can also denote greed and the corrupt powers in control of the food supply. There is a sinister feel to the quotation wherein the third living creature attests to it costing a whole day's pay for food (daily bread) but implores the object of his commands to be sure and refrain from damaging the more expensive luxury items.Author D. A. Cleland, at this link , gives an entirely different interpretation of these verses, demonstrating the biblical significance of both the form of currency called the 'denarius', and the symbolism of the barley grain, which he concludes repeatedly refers to salvation from death and starvation in Biblical scripture.
Another interpretation on the page about this verse at the Biblehub link above is that the scarcity represented by the scales in this case is not of food but of true teaching of Christian doctrine in the end times. In this interpretation, the scarcity may refer to the word of God itself, and that there is a symbolic famine of true Christian teachings. In any case, the writing stresses that very difficult times await all who are on the earth during these events, so I hope everyone will take the opportunity to accept Christ as Lord and Savior.
If you want to accept Salvation from Christ here are some resources:
A Prayer for Salvation from Christ:
Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer.
A more detailed step by step process:
https://www.wikihow.com/Accept-Jesus-Into-Your-Life
7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come[!” 8 I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and the one who sat on it had the name Death, and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, and famine, and plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.
9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 singing,
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and might
be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
5 After this I looked, and the temple of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, robed in pure bright linen, with golden sashes across their chests. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever; 8 and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended.
The author at this blog talks about how the 'tent of witness' was a movable house of worship for the Israelites as they wandered in the desert. Regarding the image of the angels wearing golden sashes, C.H. Spurgeon writes that this reference to the golden sash worn across the chests of the angels is referenced as a symbol of royalty and service to God: link.
This entry at the end of chapter 15 reiterates that seven plagues of the wrath of God are coming. The writer at crosswalk.org summarizes the seven plagues here at this link , about mid-page.
The writer at beliefnet.com also talks a bit about the seven plagues from the seven angels by showing how each has a parallel in biblical history, in particular the plagues that were sent to Egypt in the Old Testament to convince the Pharaoh to free the Egyptians. This scene is very ominous and foreboding; this unleashing of the seven plagues after the seals have been opened is a very frightening scenario. However, it is important to remember the distinction in Revelation 14:14-20 which talks about the separate reapings of the fruit of the earth; many pastors have interpreted these verses to mean that Christians will be removed from the earth right before the seven plagues are unleashed. I hope everyone will accept Christ as Lord and Savior before these terrible events come to pass.
If you want to accept Salvation from Christ here are some resources:
A Prayer for Salvation from Christ:
Lord
Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into
my heart as my Lord and Savior. Take complete control of my life and
help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Thank you Lord for saving me and for answering my prayer.
A more detailed step by step process:
https://www.wikihow.com/Accept-Jesus-Into-Your-Life
