Jesus said, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows… For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” (Matthew 24:7-8, 21-22). The wars between Ukraine and Russia and between Hamas and Israel could easily spread into other countries. Ezekiel chapters 38-39 tell us that a country from the north will be joined with several Arab countries and will invade Israel, and God will destroy 83 percent of that army (Ezekiel 39:2 KJV).
“I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest” (Revelation 6:1-2). The Anti-Christ will appear to be a peace keeping man, but he will become possessed by the spirit of Satan, and his earthly wisdom and demonic power will fascinate, charm, and deceive much of the non-Christian world (Revelation 13:14).
“When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, ‘Come!’ Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword” (Revelation 6:3-4). In the process of bringing the world under his control, Anti-Christ will wage war against anyone who opposes him. These wars will cause worldwide food production to fall and people will begin to starve and fight over food and other essentials of life.
“When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, ‘Come!’ I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!’” (Revelation 6:5-6). When the apostle John wrote this, a quart of wheat was barely enough to sustain one person for one day, while a denarius represented one day’s wages for an average worker.
During the tribulation era a day’s wages will barely buy enough food for the worker, but will not be enough to feed their family. A person will be able to purchase three quarts of barley for a denarius, and that will help provide for families, but barley is low in nutritional value. A person’s wages will barely feed three people with low quality food. Both of those scenarios represent the severe famine conditions at that time.
After the February, 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine wheat rose to over $12.00 dollars a bushel because of the Ukrainian crops were blocked by Russia from being shipped to other countries. We can only imagine what would happen if this was a world-wide war. The U.S. Bureau of the Census, International Data Base, estimates that the population of the world in 2050 will be over 9 billion people. It’s not hard to see how such a massive amount of humanity will have trouble feeding ourselves in the future. Planet earth is fast becoming over-crowded, with over 8,045,311,447 billion people as of 2023, a 0.88% increase from 2022).
“I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth” (Revelation 6:8). God reveals to John that wild beasts of the earth are going to be a part of this devastation. But we shouldn’t think on the terms of huge wild beasts such as lions, tigers or bears. But think about rats, mosquitoes, bird flu, infections and disease carriers that are small but dangerous. The fourteenth-century outbreak of bubonic plague, a rat-borne disease called the Black Death, killed between one-fourth and one-third of Europe’s population. The bird flu in 1918-1920 killed 50-100 million people worldwide. These pandemics were a drop in the bucket compared to what’s coming on this earth. In Revelation 9:18 demons kill one-third of the earth’s population
The first four seals of Revelation chapter six reveal to us some of the most frightening things that will ever come upon this earth. But these first four seals are only a prelude to what is coming. Nothing in human history has even comes close to these catastrophic events that are in the future of this world. This is just the beginning of the worldwide wars, hunger and plagues that are in the future for this sinful and rebellious world. Still to come are the remainder of the seal judgments, the trumpet judgments, and the bowl judgments. But because of God’s love for humanity He is patient toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). God wants everyone to come to trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior (1 Timothy 2:3-4). But He has also given each person a free will to choose where he/she wants to spend eternity. Don’t miss your place in heaven while chasing the pleasures and things of this world!
Carlin Lawrence
