The Pale Horse

The vision John saw continues with the description of another horse and its rider: “I saw, and, look! a pale horse; and the one seated upon it had the name Death. And Hades was closely following him. And authority was given them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with a long sword and with food shortage and with deadly plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.”​—Revelation 6:8.

Death rides the pale horse, and “deadly plague” is just one of the various ways that life is being snuffed out during this horseman’s ride. Despite the modern advances of medical science, the world still faces disease on all fronts. While we may not now face an epidemic having the scope of the so-called Spanish flu that followed World War I, still the toll taken by cancer, heart problems, and many other diseases is staggering. For instance, the World Health Organization estimates that 5.9 million new cases of cancer occur worldwide each year. River blindness, malaria, snail fever, cholera, and a host of other diseases add to the current plagues still suffered.

However, you may reason, ‘I don’t have any of these diseases.’ That may be true, but you are affected by the ride of the pale horse. Hospital and medical costs are enormous. This leads individuals to secure some form of health insurance. Many countries provide social medicine paid for through taxes. And think of the tremendous cost in loss of working time, which eventually is transmitted to you in increased prices. Yes, the ride of the pale horse affects you.

PALE HORSE: Death rides the pale horse. Premature death is signified. It results from pestilence and other factors.