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. 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)
Some historical background is necessary to understand the meaning of this particular judgment. In John’s day and age, a quart of wheat was an average day’s supply for a soldier, and that amount of wheat usually cost the typical worker one-eighth of a denarius. But after the black horse goes forth, the price of grain is inflated 800%. Barley was much cheaper but was eaten by the poor since it did not have the food value of wheat. Three quarts of barley for a day’s wage was an outlandish price. But notice that the supplies of oil and wine are not effected.
Therefore, what is symbolized by the rider of the black horse is famine and the resulting economic turmoil. Although famine and the related hardships result from God’s judgment, the famine brought about by the third rider on the black horse is not total. God is holy and will punish all human sin. But God is also gracious and longsuffering. This tells us is that God’s judgments are restrained in some sense, and are limited in their scope until the time of the end. This is what is known as common grace. Indeed, things could be much worse if God was not restraining his wrath and his judgment upon the earth. But one day he will no longer restrain his righteous anger and these cycles of wrath will reach their climax when Christ returns in judgment.
(Kim Riddlebarger)
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