Category: End Times

October 10, 2011

A balance scale in the rider’s hand (Rev. 6:5-6)

Previously: A black horse (Rev. 6:5-6)

The scripture

Rev. 6:5 – When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a black horse. The horseman on it had a balance scale in his hand. Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius – but do not harm the olive oil and the wine” (HCSB).

A balance scale in the rider’s hand

The rider on the black horse holds in his hand a balance scale, an instrument used to measure such commodities as wheat and barley. John hears “something like a voice among the four living creatures say, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius – but do not harm the olive oil and the wine’” (v. 6). While merchants sometimes rig their balances to profit from unsuspecting customers, scripture often uses this instrument as a symbol of fairness and justice. For example, in Job’s final claim of innocence he declares, “[L]et God weigh me with an accurate balance, and He will recognize my integrity” (Job 31:6). David writes in Psalm 62:9, “Men are only a vapor; exalted men, an illusion. On a balance scale, they go up; together they [weigh] less than a vapor.” And in Proverbs 11:1 Solomon reminds us that “Dishonest scales are detestable to the Lord, but an accurate weight is His delight.”

Wheat and barley are measured in Revelation 6, and it appears these staples are scarce because people are paying a denarius – a day’s wage for a laborer (see Matt. 20:2) – for a relatively small amount of these essential grains. “To eat bread by weight” is a Jewish phrase indicating that food supplies are sparse (Lev. 26:26). A quart of wheat is enough to sustain one person for one day; three quarts of barley are sufficient to feed three people for a day. So a laborer would have to resort to less-expensive grain in order to feed his family. Normally, a person in John’s time could buy eight to 12 quarts of wheat for a day’s wage, and much more barley. It seems this famine, as all others, falls most severely on the poor, who spend their entire wages on dwindling quantities of food, without spare funds for olive oil and wine, the delicacies of the rich.

Is there a spiritual message here? Matthew Henry comments: “When a people loathe their spiritual food, God may justly deprive them of their daily bread. One judgment seldom comes alone; the judgment of war naturally draws after it that of famine; and those who will not humble themselves under one judgment must expect another and yet greater, for when God contends he will prevail. The famine of bread is a terrible judgment; but the famine of the word is more so, though careless sinners are not sensible of it” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume, Re 6:3-8).

Next: Do not harm the olive oil and the wine (Rev. 6:5-6)

October 2, 2011

A black horse (Rev. 6:5-6)

Previously: The third seal (Rev. 6:5-6)

The scripture

Rev. 6:5-6 – When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a black horse. The horseman on it had a balance scale in his hand. Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius – but do not harm the olive oil and the wine” (HCSB).

A black horse

This horse is black, the color of sadness and want, according to some commentators. It is the color of a starless sky, the absence of light, a terror especially in ancient times when the lack of a torch or lamp would paralyze a person seeking to find his way. It symbolizes sin and death. For the unbeliever, we are told that hell is “outer darkness” away from the presence of God, Who is light (1 John 1:5); it is the “blackness of darkness forever” (Jude 13). It also is the color of earthly judgment, for in Rev. 6:12 we see that the sun turns black like sackcloth made of goat’s hair.

Black often is used to denote the color of physical objects, according to the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary: hair (Lev. 13:31, 37; Song 5:11); skin (Job 30:30; Song 1:5–6; Lam. 4:8); the sky as a sign of rain (1 Kings 18:45); and animals (Gen. 30:32–43; Zech. 6:2, 6; Rev. 6:5). “Black” also is used figuratively to describe mourning (Job 30:28; Jer. 4:28; 8:21; 14:2); a visionless day (Mic. 3:6); the abode of the dead (Job 3:5; Jude 13); and the treachery of Job’s friends (Job 6:16)

In Rev. 6:5, the horse’s black color no doubt signifies famine, for the description of the rider and his scales tells us that food is a scarce and expensive commodity.

Next: A balance scale in the rider’s hand (Rev. 6:5-6)

September 23, 2011

The third seal (Rev. 6:5-6)

Previously: A large sword was given to him (Rev. 6:3-4)

The scripture

As the Lamb opens the third seal, one of the living creatures thunders, “Come!” and a horse and rider appear. This horse is black, and the horseman rides onto the scene holding a balance scale. A voice from among the living creatures tells us what is happening: A full day’s wages buy barely enough food to survive – a crisis for working families – but there is no impact on the rich, who have their fill of more expensive olive oil and wine. It appears this horseman brings famine with him, worsening the widespread death and destruction of the previous rider on the fiery red horse.

Let’s take a closer look and see, first of all, if we may determine what this means to a first-century audience. Then we will explore the possibilities for today’s readers.

The third seal

Jesus opens the third seal. Keep in mind that these seals likely are pieces of wax or clay that have been stamped with a ring or other metal object bearing the insignia of the owner. They identify the person who has authorized what’s been written, and the seal may be broken only by the designated authority, in this case the Lamb. As each seal is broken, it likely enables another portion of the scroll to be unraveled, until all seven seals are removed and the full message is revealed.

As the seal is opened, John hears the third living creature say, “Come!” This call probably is not to John but to the horse and rider, who appear immediately after the living creature’s command.

Next: A black horse (Rev. 6:5-6)

September 12, 2011

A large sword was given to him (Rev. 6:3-4)

Previously: So that people should slay one another (Rev. 6:3-4)

The scripture

Rev. 6:3 – When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴Then another horse went out, a fiery red one, and its horseman was empowered to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him (HCSB).

The words associated with the second seal end with, “And a large sword was given to him.” Actually, this is the small Roman sword called the machaira. Roman soldiers use it for the capital punishment of Roman citizens, as Paul notes in Rom. 13:4: “But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it [government] does not carry the sword [machaira] for no reason.” This small sword – more like a large knife that may be concealed – is in contrast to the romphaia, the sword a soldier carries marching into battle. W.A. Criswell believes the distinction is important: “A machaira was the kind of a knife with which to cut the throat of an animal or of a man. The red horseman represents not only nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, but, more nearly, the terrible slaughter of class fighting class and party fighting party, as in civil war. The fighters ambush in the night; they assassinate in the day; they murder at twilight and at noontime, and everyone lives in the fear of his life. There is murder and bloodshed everywhere” (Expository Sermons on Revelation, p. 99).

But why is this small sword called “large” or “great” if it is little more than a dagger? Perhaps because the impact of this murderous evil is widespread. Just as “a little yeast leavens the whole lump of dough” (Gal. 5:9), and just as Jesus taught, in the Sermon on the Mount, that adultery and murder begin in the human heart, perhaps the widespread bloodshed begins because of multiplied pettiness in sinful hearts, unrestrained by the departed Holy Spirit. Whatever the reason for the depiction of this small sword as large, we should beware that hidden evil thoughts, if left unconfessed to God, may manifest in the greatest kinds of wickedness. We should always be alert because our adversary, the Devil, “prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

One final thought: “The phrase ‘to make men slaughter one another’ is interesting because in the OT this is one of the means YHWH used to judge His enemies (cf. Judg. 7:22; I Sam. 14:20; II Chr. 20:22)” (R.J.D. Utley, Hope in Hard Times – The Final Curtain: Revelation, Study Guide Commentary Series, Vol. 12, p. 61). It is good for us to remember that God is sovereign over all human activity, even to the point that He sometimes uses our evil as an instrument of His judgment. The ways of the Lord are mysterious, deep and wonderful.

Next: The third seal (Rev. 6:5-6)

September 2, 2011

So that people would slaughter one another (Rev. 6:3-4)

Previously: Empowered to take peace from the earth (Rev. 6:3-4)

The scripture

It’s interesting to note John’s use of the phrase “so that.” This rider is given authority to take peace from the earth “so that people would slaughter one another.” Whatever restraint has been on mankind’s natural tendency to hate and murder is now taken away. This could be the Roman peace that crumbles beneath its own weight and gives way to warfare. Or it could be the uneasy peace that has existed between the Jews and their Roman occupiers, giving way to Jewish rebellion and Rome’s crushing response in 70 A.D. as Jerusalem is sacked, the temple is destroyed, more than 1 million Jews are killed and the rest are scattered in the Diaspora. Or it could be a more timeless statement about the sinful tendencies of the human race throughout the church age, despite the spread of Christianity and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. It could even refer to the martyrdom of so many Christians at the hands of the Jews and Romans in the early centuries of the church.

No doubt the early Christians often bristled at the opposition to their faith and freedoms. The Apostle Paul addresses this in Romans 13, urging Christians to live according to high ethical standards, even when human government is far from perfect: “Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do good and you will have its approval. For government is God’s servant to you for good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong” (vv. 1-4).

The apostle Peter also touches on this subject in 1 Peter 2:13-17: “Submit to every human institution because of the Lord, whether to the Emperor as the supreme authority, or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For it is God’s will that you, by doing good, silence the ignorance of foolish people. As God’s slaves, [live] as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor.”

One other thought, from a futurist perspective, is that the false peace of the Antichrist during the first half of the tribulation now gives way to widespread warfare. No doubt the days of bloodshed begin not only because the Antichrist wills it to be so, but because the Supreme restrainer of evil – the Holy Spirit – has removed Himself from the earth. Paul writes to the Thessalonians, addressing the false teaching that the Day of the Lord has already come. He comments: “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For [that day] will not come unless the apostasy (or rebellion) comes first and the man of lawlessness (or man of sin / Antichrist) is revealed, the son of destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s sanctuary, publicizing that he himself is God” (2 Thess. 2:3-4).

Paul adds in verses 5-7, “Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I told you about this? And you know what currently restrains [him], so that he will be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way …” Futurists contend that this restraining power is the Holy Spirit, Who withdraws to heaven with the saints at the Rapture, enabling the Antichrist to establish a false peace on the earth, only to take it away.

Next: A large sword was given to him (Rev. 6:3-4)