The third seal of Revelation 6, as witnessed by the apostle John, vividly portrays a scene of famine sweeping across the land. The color black, biblically signifying mourning and ill health due to scarcity, aligns with the imagery of suffering and want. The pair of scales in the vision suggests an economic dimension, indicating that food, such as grains, would be weighed and rationed during times of shortage, with a denarius representing a laborer's daily wage and a quart of grain equaling a person's daily nutritional need. This third horseman thus depicts a scenario of hunger and hardship, where staple foods are tightly controlled and sold at exorbitant prices. Additionally, the command from God, seated among the four living creatures, to not harm the oil and the wine introduces a notable detail. In the Mediterranean context, olive oil and wine are significant dietary elements, yet they are secondary to primary sustenance. Their preservation in the prophecy implies that while basic necessities become scarce and costly, these supplementary items remain plentiful, highlighting a disparity in access to resources during the famine.

The Third Seal of Revelation portrays a stark contrast of scarcity amidst prosperity, where grain becomes so scarce that it must be measured with extreme care and sold at twelve times its usual price. At the same time, the production of olive oil and wine, often seen as luxuries, is not to be reduced, allowing the wealthy to continue living in comfort and profit from the inflated grain prices while the poor struggle to afford basic sustenance. This seal illustrates a world where the rich grow richer and the poor become poorer, a scenario that reflects the greed and exploitation prevalent in society. God uses such conditions of hunger and scarcity as warnings, sending droughts, floods, diseases, insects, and famines to urge His people to return to Him, seeking to bestow blessings rather than curses upon them.

The third seal of Revelation introduces the black horse and its rider, symbolizing famine and scarcity as a divine judgment on humanity for its oppression and greed. The black color of the horse, to a Hebrew, represents the illness and dearth associated with famine, evoking images of dirt and squalor among those who have nothing. The rider carries a pair of scales, translated from the Greek word zugón, meaning yoke, which signifies the weighing of goods and points to economic control and scarcity. In ancient times, scales were common in marketplaces for determining value by weight, but they also symbolize fraudulent exaction and oppression when manipulated, as seen in biblical warnings against deceitful weights. A voice from the midst of the four living creatures, identified as coming from God Himself on the throne, declares, "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 6:6). This marketplace call sets disaster prices, with a denarius—equivalent to a day's wage—buying only a single quart of wheat, enough for one person's daily survival, or three quarts of less nutritious barley. This forces an unenviable choice between barely surviving on wheat or stretching resources with barley, leaving no room for health or advancement, especially for those with dependents. The command not to harm the oil and wine, likely directed at the horseman, indicates that while these staples of the Mediterranean diet remain available, the average person cannot afford them as all resources are consumed on basic sustenance. The third horseman follows the wars of the second seal, bringing oppression, corruption, and ongoing scarcity that keep people weak and poor, causing many to die. Presented by the third living creature with a face like a man, this seal bears a human face, perhaps ironically highlighting the inhumanity of famine or reminding us of humanity's role in causing such devastation through wars, oppression, and poor practices that exacerbate natural disasters like drought and flooding. Thus, the black horse and its rider cultivate and reap the seeds sown in conflict and greed, delivering scarcity and famine as a consequence of human actions.

Several weeks ago, a report came through the news that satellites used for weather surveillance had detected that the volume of warm water in the Gulf Stream was dramatically lower than usual. The news brief speculated that this was caused by the BP oil disaster. The oil disaster began on April the 19th or 20th. This report was followed a couple of months later by Russia experiencing one of the hottest summers ever recorded, and this in turn caused drastic reductions in the volume of foodstuffs, especially grains that Russia normally produces and exports. A week and a half ago, another report hit the Internet through a British newspaper that a highly respected Russian meteorologist has warned the Russian government that it better get prepared because Russia is on track to have the coldest winter in 1000 years. The article said that the Russian government gave it enough weight that it is already taking steps, especially in and around Moscow, by increasing insulation and repairing heating systems in government-run housing projects, and providing shelters for Moscow's many homeless people. The meteorologist raised the alarm on the basis of the same decreased volume of warm water in the Gulf Stream. He said the warm air rising from the waters would normally protect Russia because that warm air serves as a buffer to the cold air flowing south from the Arctic into Russia. At current rates, there is insufficient volume of warm air to be a buffer. Thus, Russia is largely unprotected from that very cold arctic air. This is going to seriously affect Russian food production at the same time American food production is also in serious decline because of poor rainfall patterns. Desertification is underway in the United States of America. Thus, two of the largest food producers in the world are potentially being seriously disrupted by the weather at the same time. This is going to do something that is very serious. It is going to be serious enough here and serious enough in Russia, but what it is going to do is to drive the price of grain practically out of the roof in terms of exporting it to another country. The poorest nations are going to be unable to buy it, and thus they are forecasting that starvation is going to really become rampant beginning in 2011. What you need to think of to tie this to our life is the Third Seal in Revelation 6. God prophesies of this very thing through the black horse. Here is the question: Are these weather reports true? I do not have the answer. Maybe you do.

Famine is the third seal of Revelation 6:5-6. Famine is most often caused by drought and exacerbated by war. High temperatures and scarce rainfall wither plant life, raising the chance of lightning-sparked, out-of-control wildfires. What little food remained from the drought goes up in flames. If war is also involved, relief supplies may never get to the starving people. God uses drought and fire as signs of His displeasure.