From Behind The Veil (3)

The Third Seal is Broken

Tonight I want to take us “behind the veil” again, and I want you to see with me what happens when the Lamb opens the third seal and the black horse rides out. We are not just studying a frightening picture; we are watching the authority of Jesus Christ in judgment, and we are letting the Word prepare our hearts to stand in days of shaking.

1. Scripture

Revelation 6:5–6 KJV 1900

5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Remember where we are: in chapter 5 the Lamb has already been declared worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals. He is already on the throne, already reigning, and in chapter 6, as each seal breaks, events are released in the earth under His authority.

2. What John saw: the black horse and the balances

First, I want you to notice what John sees in verse 5.

“When he had opened the third seal…” The same Lamb in chapter 5 opens this third seal; nothing has changed about who is in control. Jesus has already said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” in Matthew 28:18, and here we see that power exercised as He opens the seals.

“I heard the third beast say, Come and see.” Once again, one of the living creatures around the throne calls John to come and look. Heaven is actively involved; the throne room is not distant or disconnected from what happens on the earth.

“And I beheld, and lo a black horse…” The color here matters. In Scripture, black is often associated with mourning and calamity. Jeremiah speaks of faces being black because of famine (Lamentations 4:8–9), and Ezekiel 14 lists famine among God’s “four sore judgments” on a rebellious people. This black horse represents woe and scarcity, specifically famine stalking the land.

“And he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.” The rider holds a pair of balances—scales—used to weigh out food. In normal times, bread is not weighed out by tiny measures; but when God brings judgment, He says in Leviticus 26:26, “ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.” In Ezekiel 4:10–16 the prophet is told to eat his bread “by weight,” a picture of severe rationing during siege.

So I tell the church: when you see those scales, see rationing; see food so scarce that every ounce is measured out under pressure.

3. What John heard: the voice and the prices

Now let’s look at verse 6 and listen to what John hears.

“I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts…” This voice comes from the midst of the four living creatures—right there around the throne. It’s not a random voice from somewhere out in the universe; it is a voice that carries heaven’s authority.

“A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny…” The word “measure” there is a choinix—about what one person would need for a day’s ration of grain. The “penny” is a denarius, a normal day’s wage for a laborer in the New Testament; Jesus talks about it in Matthew 20 in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.

So let me say it plainly:

One choinix of wheat for one denarius means you work all day and can just barely feed yourself for that day.

Three choinix of barley for a denarius means a cheaper, poorer-quality grain, and you might be able to stretch it to feed a small family for a day, but it is still survival-level pricing.

That is famine-price. That is hyperinflation of basic food.

Now think about what Jesus said in Matthew 24:7: “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” He said these are “the beginning of sorrows.” You have war (second seal), and war tears up fields, disrupts trade, collapses economies—and then famine (third seal) naturally follows.

“And see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” This is a command, a limit: “Do not harm the oil and the wine.” Oil and wine are often associated with abundance and joy (Psalm 104:15), with anointing and blessing. Olives and vines also can survive drought better than grain.

So even in the midst of this severe famine, God draws a line and says, “You may touch the wheat and the barley prices, but you may not damage the oil and the wine.” That means this is a measured judgment—real, painful scarcity, but not yet total collapse.

4. What this third seal represents

Let me pull this together for us.

First, we’ve already seen the sequence:

The first seal: a rider on a white horse goes forth conquering and to conquer—deception and false peace, which we have identified with the rise of the Antichrist.

The second seal: a red horse, and power is given to take peace from the earth, that they should kill one another; that is war and bloodshed.

The third seal: a black horse with scales, and famine pricing on basic food.

This lines up perfectly with Jesus’ sequence in Matthew 24: false Christs, wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nation, and then “famines.” War and famine are always close companions.

Second, this is literal famine in the earth. We are dealing with real wheat, real barley, real oil, real wine, real wages, and real prices. God is talking about conditions in the earth where the basic necessities of life are rationed and almost out of reach, while some luxury or higher-level items remain.

Third, it is famine under Christ’s authority. This is not Satan running free. The Lamb opens the seal. The voice is from the midst of the living creatures. The command not to hurt the oil and wine shows that the same God who sends the judgment sets the limits on that judgment.

Leviticus 26 and Ezekiel 4–5 show us that famine has always been one of God’s covenant judgments for hard-hearted, unrepentant nations. “I will break the staff of your bread,” He says, “and you shall eat, and not be satisfied.” Revelation is showing us that those same covenant realities come to their final, global expression at the end of the age.

5. How this speaks to us right now

Now let me bring this home to us.

We must not trust in economic security We live in a world that assumes the shelves will always be full, the card will always swipe, and the system will always hold. Revelation 6 shows us a time when a day’s wage only buys enough to barely survive.

Proverbs 23:5 warns us, “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” 1 Timothy 6:17 tells us not to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

So I challenge you: where is our trust? Is it in the paycheck, the retirement account, the government program—or in the Lord who opens and closes the hand of provision?

Famine can be God’s voice to a nation In Joel 1–2, locusts strip the land, and the prophet calls the people to fasting and repentance, not just to better farm management. In Amos 4, God says, “I have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places,” yet they have not returned to Him.

When a nation experiences supply shocks, inflation, shortages, and fear about tomorrow’s bread, God may be speaking. The third seal shows that in the end-times, famine will not just be a natural disaster; it will be a moral and spiritual judgment under the Lamb’s authority.

We must learn now to live by faith, not fear If there is coming a day when the black horse rides at a global scale, then the church must be learning now to live by “Give us this day our daily bread.” Hebrews 13:5–6 tells us to be content with such things as we have, “for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

I urge you:

Let’s learn contentment now instead of greedy accumulation.

Let’s practice generosity now instead of hoarding.

Let’s obey God with our finances now instead of worshiping money.

Because if we cannot trust Him with plenty, how will we trust Him in scarcity?

We are called to shine when the world is squeezed When people are terrified about food, jobs, and money, that is a ripe moment for the gospel. In Acts 11:27–30, when a great dearth (famine) was prophesied, the disciples did not panic; they gave, they sent relief, they acted as a family in Christ.

I tell our church: if/when we walk into seasons of shortage in our own nation, God is calling us not just to survive, but to be a testimony—to show peace when others fear, generosity when others clutch, and faith when others curse God.

6. Conclusion

To close, I bring us back to the throne room.

Church, tonight we have watched the Lamb open the third seal. We have seen a black horse of famine, a rider with scales in his hand, a voice from the midst of the living creatures setting the price of wheat and barley, and a command not to harm the oil and the wine.

Then I would invite us to respond in three simple ways:

First, let’s repent of trusting in money, jobs, or government as our ultimate security. Let’s confess where our hearts have leaned on resources instead of on the Lord.

Second, let’s ask God to prepare us to live by faith in any shaking—to be a people of contentment, obedience, and generosity, whether in plenty or in want.

Third, let’s intercede for our community and our nation: “Lord, in any economic shaking, use it to turn hearts to You before these seals are opened in their fullness.”