The headline is the headline of the Fourth Seal … death by the sword, famine, and pestilence all happening over one-quarter of the earth.
READ TIME: 4-5 Minutes
2020 – The Time of the Fourth Seal
The significance of the tagline from the UN News hit me immediately.
I have read Biblical prophecy and studied the Book of Revelation in great detail, scrutinizing every word. Could this news story actually be pronouncing Revelation prophecy fulfillment?
The story’s tagline read, “The global hunger crisis caused by conflict – and now compounded by COVID-19 – is moving into a dangerous phase, the head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday, stressing that without resources, a wave of famine could sweep the globe, overwhelming nations already weakened by years of instability.”
The headlines from news agencies covering this developing story unknowingly connect these events to Biblical prophecy stating, “UN warns of ‘famines of biblical proportions’ within the next year.”
In 2020, we have experienced growing conflicts, a global pandemic, locust swarms, and drought. All of these have contributed to rising famine expected to hit Biblical proportions in 2021.
Among these deaths, we see conflicts rising throughout the world and old rivalries re-igniting. We see rising conflicts between historical foes of China and India, Armenia and Azerbaijan/Turkey, and Turkey and Cyprus/Egypt.
Is it possible that we are witnessing the events described in the opening of the fourth seal – death?
The Fourth Seal – Jesus Gives Authority to Death
“I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he 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 with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.” – Revelation 6:8
In opening the fourth seal, Jesus gives the spirit of Death and Hades authority over one-quarter of the earth. Take note this scripture does not state that 25% of the earth will die. Rather, that Death is given authority to cause death across one-quarter of the earth. Death will strike with four plagues: the sword, famine, plague, and beasts of the earth.
One thing you may notice about the fourth seal is that it includes plagues experienced in previous seals. Violence, represented by the sword, is unleashed by the second seal, while the third seal releases famine. (for more details about these events’ fulfillment, see my post, Has Jesus Opened the Seals?)
What is different about the fourth seal is that its plagues converge over an entire quarter of the earth.
So looking at the earth in 2020, are all of these events converging in one area of the earth? Let’s take a look at each one.
Fourth Seal Plague – Death by the Sword
Death by the sword is the first plague of Death. I used a map of this first plague to see if there was a concentration of conflicts in the world. Clearly, there is.
As you can see on the above map, the overwhelming majority of the world’s conflicts occur in a crescent zone across the Middle East, North and Central Africa, and Southern Asia. How much of the earth is covered by these countries in conflict?
To find this out, I took the landmass of the countries involved in conflicts within this zone. The total summed to 25.2% – one-quarter of the earth, just like the fourth seal! For purposes of this post, I’ll refer to this area as the “Dark Crescent.”
If Death has authority over this Dark Crescent, we will see the other plagues converging there as well. Are we?
Fourth Seal Plague – Death by Famine
As I wrote earlier, the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and historic locust swarms is causing massive famine. The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that this famine’s death toll could eclipse deaths from COVID-19, which has already claimed over 1.4 million lives. They also estimate 300,000 people could starve to death every day over a three-month period, even before the increased starvation from COVID-19.
Here is a map of the countries under famine conditions with a shaded oval over the Dark Crescent. As you can see, most world famine is also occurring in countries located in this zone.
The locust swarms plaguing the area are the largest swarms in 30-50 years. Here is a map of the locust populations occurring in this zone earlier in the year.
Also contributing to famine, China experienced an outbreak of the African Swine Flu in 2019/20. This disease caused the death or slaughter of over half of China’s 440 million pig herd. The epidemic took a quarter of the world’s hogs off the market and caused meat prices to spike globally.
Even with the herd starting to repopulate, there will be long-term decreases in food production. With over 60% of the breeding females dead, farmers substituted females bred for meat, resulting in much lower litters.
So while the second seal may have already unlocked world famine, Death unleashes a second and greater wave of famine over 25% of the world.
Fourth Seal Plague – Death by Pestilence
The novel Coronavirus COVID-19 is impacting countries around the world. However, it is difficult to assess the death rates in countries like China, Iran, and North Korea. These countries heavily censor their data, making the statistics unreliable. China only reported about 4,700 deaths, which is incredibly inconsistent with reports of crematories burning 24/7 to keep up with the bodies.
However, what is significant is that the virus originated in China, inside of the Dark Crescent.
The side effects of the pandemic appear to have a greater potential impact than the pandemic itself. According to the UN, “while 135 million people faced acute food insecurity before COVID-19, that number is expected to almost double this year, to 270 million people.”
David Beasley, the Executive Director of the WFP, stated, “Humanity is facing the greatest crisis any of us have seen in our lifetimes.”
Fourth Seal Plague – Death by Beasts
Death by beasts seems odd to any of us today living in developed countries. However, wild animal attacks are rising as populations spread into rural areas. Also, as counties have cut down on poaching, animal herds have grown, and more attacks are now occurring. Here some examples in Tanzania and India.
However, I don’t think animal attacks are the main point of Death’s fourth plague. The Greek word used for “beast” is “thērion.” This word is used in three ways, to describe 1) wild animals, particularly carnivores (6 times – primarily Acts), 2) people who behave like animals (one time – Titus 1:12), and 3) evil empires and powers (solely in Revelation).
The Book of Revelation uses the word thérion to describe the beast and the false prophet. The Fourth Seal in Revelation 6:8 describes the beasts of the earth as thēriōn tēs gēs. Similarly, Revelation 13:11 describes the False Prophet as the beast rising out of the earth (thērion anabainon ek tēs gēs).
Most likely, the beasts of the earth reference the rogue militants and nations causing death throughout the land they inhabit. I think of these beasts as terror groups such as ISIS beheading “infidels,” or Boko Haram, and Fulani herdsman in Nigeria slaughtering and kidnapping Christians. I also think of rogue nations such as Turkey, Iran, and North Korea. These groups and nations are spreading death throughout the region.
Why Death Gains this Particular Quarter of the Earth
So you may be wondering why Jesus would give Death authority over this particular quarter of the world. When Jesus returns, He returns to bring His bride, the church, back to heaven with Him. He is also coming to judge those who have refused to believe in Him and who have persecuted His people.
So what is most notable about this quarter of the earth? …Christian persecution.
Take a look at the map below. Do you notice the correlation to this zone in comparison to the other maps? Christian persecution is concentrated in these same countries within the Dark Crescent.
So it appears that the fourth seal may be manifesting in the quarter of the world where persecution is highest. As Jesus writes to the church of Philadelphia, “I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.“
So when Jesus opens the fifth seal, and He may have already, this is the region where we may expect to see the bulk of Christian martyrs. (see Has Jesus Opened the Seals?)
What is to Come
The first five seals are warnings and signs of the coming tribulation, not God’s wrath. (See my post, Six Seals Revealed in the Olivet Discourse for a detailed explanation as well as Compiling the End-Times Prophecy Roadmap.)
It appears that Jesus has opened the first four seals and maybe even the fifth. The sixth seal, the Day of the Lord comes next, which will occur immediately after the abomination of desolation. The rapture of the church and the Great Tribulation will follow.
Jesus instructs us to be aware of the signs of the times, and it is becoming harder to ignore them. As demonstrated by the UN headline referenced in this post, even the world recognizes something of biblical proportions is occurring. Yet, the world does not understand what is happening. Even much of the church is unaware. But, because you are seeking out this topic, you are aware of such things.
Paul says in Philippians 2, in reference to the return of Jesus, “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…“
Keep your lamp full of oil and you will accompany Jesus back to the wedding feast.