The Black Horse: Famine

[Revelation 6:5-6] “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 the wine!'”

In the Bible, black is the color of famine (Lamentations 4:8; 5:10) and disaster (Jeremiah 14:2). The rider of the black horse in Revelation represents global economic collapse and famine. The Lord Jesus himself prophesied that before his return, “there will be famines in various places” (Matthew 24:7).

According to the Greek historian Herodotus, a “quart” was equivalent to one person’s daily food ration. A “denarius” was a Roman silver coin, which was the typical wage for a day’s work (Matthew 20:2). In normal times, one denarius could buy 40 sparrows (Luke 12:6) or enough grain to last for 12 days, according to German theologian J. Jeremias. However, in a time of economic collapse, it would only be enough to buy a single day’s worth of food. During the crisis of the third century, the silver content of the Roman denarius dropped drastically, making it worthless and forcing it out of circulation.

The rider of the black horse also issued the command, “Do not harm the oil and the wine.” This indicates that the famine is limited by God and has not yet reached a state of total devastation; people’s basic needs can still be met. Wheat, barley, oil, and wine were daily staples at the time. “Barley” was considered food for the poor or for livestock. A person’s single day’s wage was only enough to feed themselves, and to feed a family, they would have to switch to eating “barley.”

Historically, economic collapse is often not caused by famine but by deep-seated social problems, just as in the Roman Empire. These include a widening gap between the rich and poor and unfair distribution of resources. This isn’t because God’s provision is insufficient, but because human desires are insatiable. It’s not because God is stingy with His grace, but because human selfishness is too great. Therefore, God will allow people to suffer the consequences of their own actions, and every economic system is ultimately destined for ruin.