Day 119

“When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” ⁸ I looked, and behold, ^i]an ashen horse; and the one who sat on it had the name Death, and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, and famine, and plague, and by the wild animals of the earth.” Rev 6:7-8.

This seal is the third in a series of deepening disasters. While the language is literal; war, famine and pestilence; the description reflects the progressive spiritual decline of those who reject the gospel. To reject the gospel is like removing light and moisture from a the environment. Nothing can grow where water and light are not present.

As the word of God was lost sight of during “the dark ages,” The woes of the world increased. The very thing that could have saved the world from things like the black death, was taken away. The OT had given instruction regarding how to deal with contagious disease and for proper sanitation. But that instruction was now locked away from the people and even the religious leaders of the day were steeped in tradition that had no Biblical foundation. The health laws that had practical instruction for sanitation, like washing hands and burying faeces, were lost to the world as the darkness enveloped the world. Open sewers flowed through towns and residents discarded the “night bucket” out the window. People wore high heeled shoes to stay above the refuse. Incomprehensible – but this is where the world goes when the word of God is discarded. In effect, the church of the day becomes responsible for things like the plague, that ravaged Europe and the Middle East, because they kept the correct knowledge from the people.

Even today some people reject the OT health laws as “only for the Jews,” even though medical science, having recently caught up with the Bible again, validifies the entirety of its counsel. While the ceremonial law was clearly symbolic and through its symbols and holy days pointed forward to Christ, the health laws were never symbolic of anything. The health laws are today, just common sense.

AS in the Dark Ages, our own spiritual life will also rapidly decline from similar neglect unless nurtured by the light and moisture of God’s Word.