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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. 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.
Revelation 6:5, 6
The third seal represents the period when Constantine favored the Christian church and as a result persecution ceased and the world entered the church.
*An Era of Spiritual Darkness -- the darkness grew ever deeper because the papacy undertook a war against the Bible.
Proverbs 4:18, 19: But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.*An Era of Spiritual Darkness -- the darkness grew ever deeper because the papacy undertook a war against the Bible.
The black horse represents darkness that came in from a rejection of God’s word. Where God’s word is not, there is darkness or blackness. Black represents sin, apostasy, error, heresy and human traditions.
“The accession of the Roman Church to power marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. As her power increased, the darkness deepened.” E.G.W.
Mosheim says:"Those vain fictions, which an attachment to the Platonic philosophy
From hence arose that extravagant veneration for departed saints, and those absurd notions of a certain fire destined to purify separate souls, that now prevailed, and of which the public marks were everywhere to be seen. Hence also the celibacy of priests, the worship of images and relics, which in process of time almost utterly destroyed the Christian religion, or at least eclipsed its luster, and corrupted its very essence in the most deplorable manner. An enormous train of different superstitions were gradually substituted in the place of true religion and genuine piety."
*Another symbol for God’s Word is bread (Deuteronomy 8:3, 4; Matthew 4:4). During the third seal, there was not only a scarcity of light but also of bread. This is the reason why wheat and barley during this period were extremely expensive.
In short, both light and bread symbolize the Word of God (Matthew 4:4; Isaiah 55:2, 3, 10, 11; John 6:48-58, 63. Where there is no light and no bread there is death. Amos 8:11, 12 predicts a time when there will be famine in the land, not for bread but for the Word of God. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
*The wine was a symbol of the blood of Jesus and the oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
*The wine was a symbol of the blood of Jesus and the oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
To hurt God’s people is to despise the blood of Jesus and to offend the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 2:8; Matthew 25:40; Mark 9:41; Acts 9:4, 5).
"The apostle Paul declares that ‘all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’ 2 Timothy 3:12.
Why is it, then, that persecution seems in a great degree to slumber? The only reason is that the church has conformed to the world's standard and therefore awakens no opposition." E.G.W.
Here observe, 1. When a people loathe their spiritual food, God may justly deprive them of their daily bread. 2. 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 professed ministers of Christ, had no care for the flock, yet the Lord was not unmindful of them in this period of darkness.
A voice comes from heaven.
He takes care that the spirit of worldliness does not prevail to such a degree that Christianity should be entirely lost, or that the oil and the wine--should perish from the earth.
