Revelation 6:8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.
Pestilence and plague are the direct result of war and famine in the seal judgments of Revelation. It is the natural order of events. War breakouts. Food and supply lines are disrupted. Inflation occurs due to the scarcity of food. Sanitation breaks down and water is polluted. Disease is the result of the process.
This cycle of events is noted throughout Scripture. This is the order events in the early part of Revelation in the seal judgments.
The second seal in Revelation 6:4 is war.
The third seal in Revelation 6:5-6 results in the increased cost of food due to availability. Supply lines become disrupted and people are busy fighting instead of growing food. It is a matter of supply and demand. The end result is starvation of masses.
The cycle comes full circle in Revelation 6:8 as stated above: war, famine, and disease.
The pestilence cycle is noted in the Old Testament prophets. Two examples are noted below.
Ezekiel 14:21 For thus says the Lord GOD, “How much more when I send My four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, wild beasts and plague to cut off man and beast from it!
Jeremiah 24:10 ‘I will send the sword, the famine and the pestilence upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.’”
The context of Revelation 6:8 is the seal judgments. This is the beginning of the 7 year tribulation. One quarter (25%) of the earth is affected. This is roughly 1.75 billion people. As of May 2017, we are not in the tribulation. There is no Antichrist on the global scene.
May 2017: The country of Yemen is an example of the disease cycle discussed above. Yemen is a country of 27 million people on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Civil war has broken out between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
A cholera outbreak is gripping the war torn country of Yemen. This is the second wave of cholera in the past month. Cholera is the result of poor sanitation, untreated water and food, and dysentery. Cholera is a vicious cycle of disease that spreads easily and quickly among the masses. 2,000 plus cases a day are being reported. At least 150,000 cases are expected in the next six months.
As a result of war, clean water is not available. Trash men are on strike. Food supplies have been cut off from the populous. Hunger and malnutrition are spreading throughout the country.
Hospitals have been damaged and destroyed in some cases. Medical supplies are limited and new supplies have been affected by war and supply chains. Up to six children are sharing a hospital bed. Trained medical staff is in short supply. Local medical professionals are going without pay.
The United Nations estimates 19 million people have been impacted.
The pattern of history is in place. This is one country, Yemen. The scale of Revelation 6 and the seal judgments is one quarter of the earth.
