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Lesson 39 Hope of Israel Ministries BIBLE Correspondence Course 3
The Black Horse of Revelation 6
In the introduction to a booklet entitled of the apostles until now. The Good News of the
The Black Horse: Famine -- published in 1976 Kingdom of YEHOVAH God has DIVIDED
by the Worldwide Church of God -- we find the families into hostile camps, breaking the very
following statement: closest ties of nature....It is safe to say that all
In the book of Revelation we find a other causes of dispute PUT TOGETHER have
disturbing vision of four fearsome horsemen not contributed nearly so much to hostility be-
(Rev. 6:1-8). Each of these horsemen is a symbol tween human beings as the single cause of
of the four major punishments to be inflicted religious difference regarding the Good News of
upon a rebellious mankind -- probably in the the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God. How amaz-
not-too-distant future! Each represents the final, ingly true were those few words of the Messiah
end-time culmination of the major crises with -- I did not come to bring peace but a sword!
which the world has been confronted for cen- YEHOVAHs truth -- transmitted to
turies -- false religion, war, famine and disease mankind by the Messiah -- has indeed brought
epidemics. conflict, persecutions, imprisonments, tortures,
Later, on page 48 of the booklet, we find and where there was resistance (as between
added -- Protestants and Catholics in France and else-
...He [the Messiah] gave the apostle where) civil wars.
John the prophecies concerning the Four Horse- So, with this in mind, does the idea that
men of the Apocalypse in the sixth chapter of the the black horse represents famine hold any more
book of Revelation. Again the same basic water than the first two horsemen in the
sequence of events is described. Following the Worldwide Church of God theology?
white horse representing false Christs and the Lets take a look at some more notions
red horse of war comes the black horse of concerning the black horse:
famine: And I beheld, and lo a black horse; In Howard B. Rands Study in Reve-
and he that sat on him had a pair of balances lation we read:
in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst The black horse represents despair or
of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for calamity overshadowing the empire whose
a penny, and three measures of barley for a strength rests in its army. The scale in the hand of
penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the the rider indicates that the emperor is to weigh,
wine (Rev. 6:5-6, KJV). balance or decide great issues; while the
We have already shown in Lesson 34 that reference to a measure of wheat and three
the white horse does NOT represent false measures of barley symbolizes the curtailment in
religion but the going forth of the Good News of some essential need, but the things represented
the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God into the world by the oil and the wine are not to be harmed.
as a witness. In the Bible the color white always The period covered by the activity of
represents PURITY and TRUTH. this rider of the black horse is from the time of
Similarly, we showed, in Lesson 36, that Constantine to the beginning of the great
the red horse represents antagonism, conflict and barbarian invasions of the Roman Empire.
deadly strife that ALWAYS follows closely During the years covered by the second seal the
upon the heels of the white horse! We stated that vitality of the Empire had been sapped by the
Various kinds of wars and fightings followed destruction of life and property and in the
the message of the Kingdom of YEHOVAH God confiscatory taxes and heavy tributes laid upon
everywhere, and have followed it from the days its citizens, bringing the people to a state of
The Black Horse of Revelation 6
