The First Message, 3rd Seal, 3rd Trumpet and 3rd Plague

Structure of Revelation

The First Message, 3rd Seal, 3rd Trumpet and 3rd Plague
Third Seal
“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. 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.” Rev. 6:5,6.
Throughout the Old Testament the overwhelming message to ancient Israel and Judah was the condemnation of the worship of idols -“Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods.” Continually they regressed to the veneration of lifeless and transient objects, visible images or invisible doctrines of false gods. Faithfulness towards humanity was/is a high ethical standard above the adoration of pre-conceived ideas, established orthodoxy and dogma. Such wasteful good for nothings, together with homage paid to neighbouring gods brought stern judgments to God’s people, in the characteristic writings of old.
Ezekiel described such idolatry as playing the harlot. Time and time again, only to be delivered by uprightness, God’s peculiar people habitually degraded into aridic idolatry, be it abominations, whoremongering, divinations, sorceries, lies or soothsaying. Uprightness was usually personified by a merciful forgiving leader. The judges were an example. They were personifying types, real life learning. Led by compassion and loyalty ever showing mercy, the sons and daughters of our Maker endeavour to lead us to the path of light and call us from entrenchments and hindrances known as “that curse of the flesh.”
Zechariah 6:6 reports “the black horse went forth into the north country” - north from TSAPHON = hidden, unknown, darkness. North symbolizes a dark power, regressiveness, opposed to the south, the Negeb, Judah. According to Zech. 6:8 “those that go toward the north country (darkness) have quieted my spirit.” No missionary spirit, arises in the third seal - it is all very black. In a country where men loved darkness rather than light, there is no food for thought. Hence a pair of balances in the hand of the black horse-rider. This confirms a great famine of a kind in the land.
The man with the balances in his hand is cunning and deceitful. Israel and Judah are represented as Ephraim in Hosea 12:7,8 where the balances are found “in the hand” – the phraseology relied upon in John’s recollection. In Hosea it is said, “He is a merchant (Canaan), the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.” And Ephraim admittingly said, “Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: in all my labours they shall find no iniquity in me that were sin.” Intellectual stimulus was charmed by self-importance, self-sufficiency and the shadows of darkness stretched wayward.
John, in vision, saw this arrogant condition recur. “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” boasted the Laodiceans. Rev. 3:14-18.
In these words the cry is heard “Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.” Joel 1:5. Be ye ashamed, O ye husband men; howl O ye wine dressers, for the wheat and barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.” Joel 1:11. In the language of a portrait, their judgment is given. “Behold the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord:” Amos 8:11,12.
However, we leave the third seal with the eternal flicker of light - “See thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” The servants of God are not yet sealed.
Oil was for lighting of the lamp as well as the anointing of the light-bearers. The wine was to be kept for the celebration of the victory of the saints who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb and his wife.
Third Trumpet
“And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.” Rev. 8:10,11.
John, constantly referring to the old pattern for authenticity is quoting the likes of Isa.14:12. “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifier, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”
Son of the morning - SHACHAR = light. How art thou cutdown - GADA = fallen. This personate unveils a conviction that once understood honesty, purity. Now long forgotten as rigidity had taken hold in formalisms. John was highlighting the recurrence of serving prescribed customs in the age of Christendom.
In Revelation, burning “as it were” a lamp this great one-time star was only a counterfeit, a ploy of total distraction. Yes, Wormwood came with lies, and did weaken the nations. These peoples and nations are ecclesiastical or pastoral in the kernel of the Patmos fugitive’s dissertation – the so-called insiders, proclaiming a false gospel message. “Weaken” from CHALASH means overthrow cause decay. “Nations” from GOWY means GEVAH (in the sense of massing). Figuratively speaking means, a troop of animals (symbolically human), or a flight of locusts. Hence the word GOWY is referring to how the nations were weakened. Later both types will be applied
Yes, the fallen angel, Wormwood, made many souls bitter, even the “fountains of water” – the source of “life”, the preachers and they became bitter. And many men died of the bitter waters. “Many men died.” Died from APO, APOTHNESKO meaning separated or departed from the Church.
Oh my people! Wrote Jeremiah, God will arise, “they be all adulterers an assembly of treacherous men.” “They proceed from evil to evil.” “They will deceive everyone…and not speak the truth.” “Shall I not visit them for these things?” Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “ Behold I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink,” Jer. 9:2-15. Every sprouting idea becomes an idol, according to their understanding.” Abandoning virtue, “ they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver” Hos. 13:2. These idols are nought, good for nothing, worthless born of conceit and a judgmental show-piece. This is the trumpet’s version of “a famine in the land.”
Third Plague
“And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of water, and they became blood…” Rev. 16:4-7. The message of the third trumpet becomes an overwhelming plague. The blood, of course, was as the blood in Pharoah’s day. Because of his obstinacy in recognizing the true God, the Nile, an object of worship was turned to putridity. Now there was only stinking rottenness to be consumed. The plate was empty, the cupboard was bare.
The intolerant of the religious world have shed so much blood (literally and figuratively), the blood of faithful innocent souls. John writes, “I heard the angel of the waters (people) say, “Thou are righteous, O Lord which art, and wast, and shall be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.” Rev. 16:5,6. John, when writing, was bringing to vision a great future age where questioning begins from within Jerusalem the south country. Doctrine after doctrine, endlessly doctrines are closely investigated.
The angel of the waters, representing upright fervor, examining the folly and deception of Christendom’s never ending opinions see the cause of bewilderment and turmoil, stifling consciousness. Literalism! It has brought only universal disorder.
“And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.” Rev. 16:7. Whilst the angel is at the golden altar, the day of atonement is not completed. The angel is saying, there is still time to make a stand, “which way forward.”
The shadows are lengthening, and the darkness is deepening, the hour is late.