Now we are at the third horseman.  What is this picture about?

There is a period of time in the book of Revelation called the “Beginning of Sorrows”.  The Beginning of Sorrows is not marked by a particular time or date.  It is revealed by a series of events.  The bible uses very graphic terms to create very vivid word pictures in describing these events.  The Horsemen of the Apocalypse are part of these biblical word pictures. With the first two horsemen we saw the arrival of a false Messiah and the spread of war.  The Third Horseman brings famine and an epidemic of highly infectious diseases.

How bad is the famine?

The famine will be so bad that it will cost a day’s wage to buy a quart of wheat or three quarts of barley, which is less desirable than wheat for cooking.  It is hard to think of this happening in the US where these staples have been in great supply.  However, I read an article that talked about the number of honey bees decreasing worldwide.  No one knows why.  An internet search for “honey bees disappearing” will bring up over 100,000 results.  As the bees decrease so does pollination.  As pollination decreases so does the crop yield.  However, if we were to see a universal famine and an increase of infectious disease it would not be enough to say that we are approaching the end of the world.  We would have to see a very prominent false Messiah, the spread of war, famine and disease all at the same time and even then, the Bible says that this would be the beginning of sorrows and the end is not yet.

Wow, that sounds really bad?

There have always been wars and throughout history there have been false Messiahs.  Infectious diseases and famines are very familiar to everyone.  However, we will see a period when all of these things happen together.  Before the world can adjust to one type of misery, a new one will start.  Because of these three horsemen, death will increase.  In fact, the final horseman is Death and this will be the subject of my next picture.

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Notes:

Key Bible Verses

Rev 6:5-6

When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 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.”

Matt 24:7

And there will be famines, pestilences

Notes

(This picture was made from other pictures.)

1.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/eamoncurry/4436060088/

2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lrargerich/3980367489/

3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2179038972/

4. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamjodh/2280239880/