The Rider on a Black
Horse
Screen 1
Let's address a short prayer to God:
Our Father,
We heartily thank You for Your inspired Word which gives us prophecies and explains the
meaning of their symbolic content.
We ask You once again to guide us, so that our understanding of prophecy may not rest on
human interpretations, but on the Bible only.
In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
Screen 2
Revelation 4:1
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing
open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me,
saying,
«Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.»
---------------------
Revelation 5:5
Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the
Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.
----------------------------------------------------
The opening of the seven seals, which Jesus made possible, reveals to us «things which must take place after this».
Let's study the third seal.
Screen 3
Revelation 6:5
When [the Lamb] opened the third seal, I heard the third
living creature say, «Come and see.»
---------------------
Revelation 4:7
The third living creature had a face like a man.
----------------------------------------------------
The lion-like living creature of the first seal announced the victorious Church
of the years 31 to 100.
The calf-like living creature of the second seal announced the martyred Church of the
years 100 to 313.
What does the man-like living creature of the third seal announce?
Screen 4
Daniel 7:2,3,17
I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds
of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea.
And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. (...)
Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth.
----------------------------------------------------
In our lesson «The Four Mythical Beasts»,
we studied the vision of Daniel about four beasts representing the following four
kingdoms:
- Babylon;
- the Medo-Persian empire;
- Greece;
- and Rome.
In contrast to these political and military powers symbolized by beasts, another kingdom
then succeeded them, having a face like a man...
Screen 5
Daniel 7:8,24,25
And there was another horn, a little one (...). And
there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.
(...)
He shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings.
He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most
High, and shall intend to change times and law.
----------------------------------------------------
This power, symbolized by a little horn with a face like a man, is different
from the other kingdoms symbolized by beasts.
Indeed, besides its physical fight against God's Church by persecuting the saints, this
power also carries on a spiritual fight by attacking God's law.
Screen 6
Daniel 8:9-12
And out of one of them came a little horn which (...)
grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to
the ground, and trampled them.
He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices
were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily
sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.
----------------------------------------------------
A future lesson will identify this little horn.
For now, let's remember that the third living creature's face like a man indicates that
the Church, under the third seal, is no longer threatened only on the physical level by
the persecution of the saints, but also on the spiritual level by direct attacks against
biblical doctrine.
Screen 7
Revelation 2:12,14
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,
«(...) I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the
doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of
Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.»
----------------------------------------------------
This attack against God's doctrine, under the third seal, corresponds exactly
with the situation described in the letter to the third church, Pergamos, when false
doctrines began to infiltrate the Church as a result of the many compromises with
surrounding paganism.
Screen 8
Revelation 6:5
When [the Lamb] opened the third seal, I heard the third
living creature say, «Come and see.»
And I looked, and behold, a black horse.
----------------------------------------------------
Just like the first two seals, the color of the horse illustrates the
conditions prevailing during the period described by the prophecy.
In contrast to the white horse of the first seal, symbolizing the purity of the apostolic
Church and its doctrine, the black horse indicates a period of doctrinal compromise
darkening the divine truth, confirming the message of the letter to the third church,
Pergamos.
Screen 9
Acts 26:17,18
I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as
from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes and to turn them from
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God.
---------------------
John 12:35
Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake
you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.
----------------------------------------------------
As a sign of darkness and obscurity, the color black indicates a spiritual
state that is far away from light, from the truth manifested in Jesus.
Screen 10
Revelation 6:5
When [the Lamb] opened the third seal, I heard the third
living creature say, «Come and see.»
And I looked, and behold, a black horse.
---------------------
Zechariah 1:9,10
Then I said, «My lord, what are these [horses]?»
So the angel who talked with me said to me: «I will show you what they are.»
And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said: «These are the ones whom
the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.»
----------------------------------------------------
Since the horses are sent by God to carry out His will on earth, and since the
black horse indicates a period of spiritual darkness, does it mean that God was the One
who caused this darkening?
Screen 11
2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
They did not receive the love of the truth, that they
might be saved.
And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in
unrighteousness.
----------------------------------------------------
One thing is sure: «[God] desires all men to be saved
and to come to the knowledge of the truth.» (1 Timothy 2:4)
However, God respects our freedom of choice.
If we definitely decide to reject the salvation He offers to each one of us, He will allow
us to sink into spiritual darkness.
Screen 12
Psalm 81:11-14
But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would
have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own
counsels.
Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon
subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries.
----------------------------------------------------
God would have preferred to send again the white horse at the opening of the
third seal.
But, because of its craving for power and dominion, the Church chose to make compromises
with paganism, and contaminated God's doctrine, thus forcing the dispatch of the black
horse.
Screen 13
Revelation 6:5
And I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat
on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
---------------------
Psalm 62:9
Surely men of low degree are a vapor, men of high degree
are a lie; if they are weighed in the balances, they are altogether lighter than vapor.
----------------------------------------------------
The rider on the black horse holds a pair of scales, warning the Church that
its work will be weighed.
Having sacrificed the truth in favor of power over the nations, the Church might well find
its work too light.
Screen 14
The scales indicate that the works of men will be judged by God:
«Let me be weighed in a just balance, that God may know
my integrity.» (JOB 31:6)
«You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting.» (DANIEL 5:27)
«No, in heart you work wickedness; you weigh out the violence of your hands in the
earth.» (PSALM 58:2)
«And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber's razor, and pass it over
your head and your beard; then take balances to weigh and divide the hair. (...) Thus says
the Lord God: "This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the
countries all around her. She has rebelled against My judgments by doing wickedness more
than the nations, and against My statutes more than the countries that are all around her;
for they have refused My judgments, and they have not walked in My statutes."»
(EZEKIEL 5:1,5,6)
Screen 15
Revelation 6:5,6
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 (...).
---------------------
Revelation 5:6
And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and
of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it
had been slain.
----------------------------------------------------
In the latter part of the third seal, a word is uttered by someone placed in
the midst of the four living creatures.
We can see that this is the Lamb who was slain: Jesus Christ Himself.
Screen 16
Revelation 6:6
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.»
---------------------
Matthew 20:1,2
A landowner (...) went out early in the morning to hire
laborers for his vineyard.
Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his
vineyard.
----------------------------------------------------
A denarius was a one-day salary.
As for a quart of wheat, it represented the daily food intake for one man.
The high price of a daily ration thus means that Jesus foretells a severe famine under the
third seal.
Screen 17
Ezekiel 4:9
Also take for yourself wheat, barley, (...) and make
bread of them.
---------------------
Matthew 4:4
But [Jesus] answered and said, «It is written, "Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."»
---------------------
John 6:48
I am the bread of life.
----------------------------------------------------
Wheat and barley, which are used to make bread, also symbolize the Word of God.
So, what does the third seal's famine mean?
Screen 18
Amos 8:11,12
«Behold, the days are coming,» says the Lord God,
«that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro,
seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it.»
----------------------------------------------------
The shortage of wheat and barley symbolizes the scarcity of the Word of God.
The third seal describes the years from 313 to 538, when the Church laid aside the Bible
to better adapt itself to surrounding paganism.
Screen 19
Deuteronomy 8:3
So [the Lord your God] humbled you, allowed you to
hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He
might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word
that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
----------------------------------------------------
The symbol of the famine reminds us that we are entirely dependent upon God.
In the spiritual desert, without the heavenly manna which is the bread of life, we would
be condemned to certain death.
This is why we must daily feed ourselves on the Word of God.
Screen 20
Revelation 2:12,14,17
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,
«(...) I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the
doctrine of Balaam (...).
To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat.»
----------------------------------------------------
Let's take note of another interesting link between the letter to the third
church, Pergamos, and the third seal, both describing the period from 313 to 538.
The doctrine of Balaam, that is, paganism, has replaced the Word of God, and a spiritual
famine sets in. But the hidden manna is promised to him who overcomes, as when Israel was
crossing the long and arid desert.
Screen 21
Revelation 6:6
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.»
----------------------------------------------------
In spite of the great spiritual famine which seizes the nations, Jesus commands
that the oil and wine be spared.
What does this symbolize?
Screen 22
Hebrews 1:8,9
But to the Son [God] says:
«Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of
Your Kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed
You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.»
---------------------
Acts 10:38
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and
with power.
----------------------------------------------------
The oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit who is working within us.
Like a divine anointing, the Spirit gives us the ability to work in God's harvest.
Screen 23
Zechariah 4:2-6 : The oil in the lamp
symbolizes the Spirit working within us.
And [the angel] said to me, «What do you see?»
So I said, «I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of
it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are
by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.»
So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, «What are these, my
lord?»
Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, «Do you not know what these
are?»
And I said, «No, my lord.»
So he answered and said to me: «This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: "Not by
might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the Lord of hosts.»
Screen 24
Deuteronomy 32:14
You drank wine, the blood of the grapes.
---------------------
Matthew 26:27,28
Then [Jesus] took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it
to them, saying,
«Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for
many for the remission of sins.»
----------------------------------------------------
As for the wine, it symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross for
the forgiveness of our sins.
Screen 25
Song of Solomon 2:4; 4:10 (Darby)
He hath brought me to the house of wine, and his banner
over me is love. (...)
How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! How much better is thy love than wine! And the
fragrance of thine ointments than all spices!
---------------------
John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's
life for his friends.
----------------------------------------------------
Associated with love, the wine, symbolizing the blood of Jesus, is also a mark
of His supreme love in having given His life for each one of us.
Screen 26
Luke 10:33,34
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he
was.
And when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him and bandaged his wounds,
pouring on oil and wine.
----------------------------------------------------
By protecting the oil and the wine during the third seal, between 313 and 538,
Jesus indicates that, despite the grave errors of the Church, the Holy Spirit and
salvation in Christ are still offered to the believer.
As in the parable of the Samaritan, the oil and the wine are a balm on the wounds of
famished believers, deprived of the Word of God.
Screen 27
Revelation 6:6
Do not harm the oil and the wine.
---------------------
Revelation 2:12,13
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,
«(...) You hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith.»
----------------------------------------------------
As we have seen in the lesson «Letter to
the Church of Pergamos», between 313 and 538 the Church held many concils reaffirming
some of the great biblical truths about Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, thus
contributing to protecting «the oil and the wine».
Screen 28
Deuteronomy 7:12,13
Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these
judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant
and the mercy which He swore to your fathers.
And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your
womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil.
----------------------------------------------------
God offers to each one of us:
- the wheat, that is His Word;
- the wine, the blood of Jesus shed for our salvation;
- and the oil, the Holy Spirit.
By accepting them and following God, we will be able to avoid spiritual famine.
Screen 29
We invite you to pray with us:
Lord,
Your Son said: «I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall
never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.» (John 6:35)
Please help us to follow You in everything, to cling to You, so that we don't experience
spiritual famine.
We wait for the day when You fulfill this promise You made to Your people: «Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be
satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.» (Joel 2:19)
In the name of Jesus Christ our precious Savior we thank You for everything.
Amen.
The test of Lesson 33 is waiting for you!