What does the black horse in this passage represent?

The black horse pictures famine and deep scarcity. The color black fits with grief, hunger, and a darkened time. The rider holds a pair of balances, or scales, showing that food is no longer plentiful but has to be weighed out carefully. Bread is not freely available, so every portion is measured. This vision comes after the red horse of war, and it matches how war often leads to hunger. It shows God using famine as a judgment on people who ignore or reject his ways.

Why does the rider on the black horse have a pair of balances?

The balances in the rider’s hand show that food is being weighed out because there is not enough to go around. In times of plenty, people do not think about every ounce of grain. In famine, bread can be so scarce that it has to be measured and rationed. This fits older warnings where bread would be given by weight instead of freely. The picture is that people will barely have enough to live on, and their daily work will only cover a basic amount of food.

What does “a measure of wheat for a penny” mean here?

A “measure” here is a small amount of grain, about what one person would eat in a day. A “penny” is the usual pay for a full day’s work. So the saying means that a worker’s whole day of wages will only buy enough wheat to feed one person for one day. There is nothing left over for family, clothing, or other needs. It paints a picture of severe inflation and hunger, where people work hard but can hardly afford basic bread.

Why are there three measures of barley for a penny?

Barley was cheaper and lower quality than wheat. Saying that three measures of barley cost the same as one measure of wheat shows that people might turn to rougher, poorer grain just to stretch their food a little further. Even then, a whole day’s wage only buys a small amount. The picture is not of comfort or plenty, but of people having to choose between a little good bread or more of a poorer kind, with both options still very tight and costly.

What does “hurt not the oil and the wine” mean in this vision?

The words “hurt not the oil and the wine” show that while basic bread is very scarce, oil and wine are kept from being harmed. Oil and wine were common in the region, but they were also linked with richer and more pleasant living. This suggests that the famine falls hardest on staple food that the poor need, while some better goods remain. It may also hint that God sets limits on his judgments. Even in hard times, he controls what is touched and what is spared.

How does this third seal relate to the second seal of the red horse?

The second seal shows a red horse, which pictures war and killing. The third seal, with the black horse, shows famine. This follows a pattern often seen in history: when there is war, the land is ruined, harvests are lost, and trade is broken, which leads to hunger and high prices. The vision links these judgments together. People who refuse God’s peace and make light of his message can face war first, and then the added weight of hunger and need that follows.

What does this passage teach about God’s control over judgment?

This passage shows that God is in control even when hard things happen. The Lamb opens the seal, the horse only appears when called, and a voice sets limits on what can be harmed. Famine does not come by accident or blind fate. God can use war, scarcity, and other troubles to wake people up and to answer long-standing rebellion. At the same time, the command not to hurt the oil and wine shows that he sets boundaries and that no judgment goes beyond what he allows.

Why have some readers seen this passage in different ways?

This vision has been read in more than one way because the symbols are rich and short. Some see the black horse mainly as famine and literal scarcity of food. Others see it as a picture of the church in a dark and troubled time, or of false teaching that starves people of truth. The mention of scales, wheat, barley, oil, and wine invites different links. Still, the plain sense of weighed food and high prices points strongly to hunger and hard living under God’s hand.

How might this picture of famine speak to believers today?

This passage warns that God can send or allow hard times, including lack of daily bread, especially when people despise his word and live as if he is not there. It also reminds believers that one kind of famine is worse than the other: to lack God’s word and his grace is more serious than to lack food. When we read about this black horse, it should move us to take God seriously, to be thankful for daily bread, and to ask him to keep our hearts from growing cold.

Rev.6.5

Revelation 6:5

King James Version (KJV)

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

Chapter:

Context:

The Third Seal: Famine

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.