Rev 6:5

“"And when He had opened the third seal. I heard the third living creature saying, Come and see. And, lo, a black horse; and he who sate upon it had a balance in his hand." The black horse signifies famine, for the Lord says, "There shall be famines in divers places; "but the word is specially extended to the times of Antichrist, when there shall be a great famine, and when all shall be injured. Moreover, the balance in the hand is the examining scales, wherein He might show forth the merits of every individual.”

“In the black horse we recognize an evil people which works in concert with the devil. "He had a balance in his hand," which indicates that while evil persons feign to have the scales of justice, they deceive many.”

“I believe that the third living creature here is the man and that [this passage] shows the fall of men and for this reason his punishment because of his inclination toward sin by the power of free will.… We think that the "black horse" depicts the sorrow that comes upon those who have fallen away from faith in Christ on account of the abundance of torments. The "balance" is he who tests those who either by inconstancy of mind or by vainglory have fallen from the faith through weakness of the body.”

“And behold, a black horse, etc. The black horse represents a crowd of false brothers, who have the balance of right profession, but harm their companions through works of darkness. For when it is said, in the midst of the creatures, Do not harm, it is shown that there is someone there who harms. About this advancing horse, the Apostle says: Fightings without, fears within.”

“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying: Come, and see. And behold a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand. By the blackness of this horse is represented that hunger of the wicked by which they long to devour eagerly the body of Christ and to send it into the stomach of their evilness. Their rider has a pair of scales in his hand because he seeks to buy the lives of the good with temporal payments in order to be able to satiate his hunger and that of his people. He held this pair of scales in his hand when he offered one fruit to eat, and bought the whole world to cause its ruin. One should know indeed that the Devil first takes away the food that consists of hearing the Word of God, so that he may the more easily absorb people to increase his body when they suffer from starvation because they are deprived of spiritual food; whence the Lord says through the prophet, Behold I will send forth a famine into the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of God. [Am. 8:11] Indeed the Lord does this by forsaking people, and the Devil by invading them. Yet how could those who are God's grain, wine, and oil, suffer from this famine? No; let the chaff, husks, and oil dregs suffer from it, and let them, who are worth no price, fall in with the pair of scales; not those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ; whence it is said soon after that:”

“Thirdly, the mercy of Christ has opened the third seal for us, and has brought us, from having been condemned to rejection, to God and the Father. And this is his saving teaching, and the benefits through the divine signs; for these brought about the overthrow of the Devil; for through them we have come to know who is by nature and truly God, "so that we may not be infants, tossed about by every wind of doctrine" (Eph. 4:14); and we honor those things which our hands have made, exchanging the corruptible demons for the glory of God. For the divine teaching of the Lord drew to itself, like yeast to flour, those who were learning, according to the voice of the Lord, and enjoying the miracles, which healed souls more than bodies. When these things happened, a black horse came forth, and the one sitting on it had a pair of scales in his hand. The black horse symbolizes sadness and mourning, imposed by the divine teachings following the downfall of the Devil, and therefore, in Devil's mourning, it finds its own release [λῦσιν], corresponding to such extensive periods of time. The scales are indeed a symbol of equality and justice. For "the one who judges righteousness sat upon the throne; he rebuked the nations of the demons, and the impious one," (Ps. 9:5-6) their leader, perished. Therefore, the scales is a symbol of the righteous judgment of the Lord, the scales that is upon us; it also signifies that we may speak boldly before Him: "You have established my judgment and my justice," (Ps. 9:5) so that the nations may know that we are men, and not subjected to the judgment of beasts, dragged by a "bridle and a strap," (Ps. 31:9) and pastured by destructive tyrants. And he said, I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine." The word and the teaching, as a seed, is metaphorically expressed in the divine Scripture; for it is written according to Matthew: "The sower went out to sow" (Matt. 13:3); and again, the most favored of the servants said to their lord, "Lord, did you not sow good seed in the field? Where then do the weeds come from?" (Matt. 13:27) As for the seed, it is indeed grain, like the evangelical preaching which serves as proper nourishment for mature men, "who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." (Heb. 5:14) What then is barley? According to the Law of Moses, it is the teaching, as the earliest form of grain, fully matured, and serving as nourishment appropriate for livestock, feeding the infant Israel. Therefore, God speaks from among the four living creatures saying: "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius." Through this, a famine is foretold, along with a scarcity among the people of that time of both teaching and the Gospel from the Lord, as well as of the law, according to what is written: "I will give them neither hunger for bread nor thirst for water, but hunger for hearing the word of the Lord." (Amos 8:11) Even if he says that those who despise every teaching and turning should suffer these and those things most of all, do not harm the oil and the wine; leave them alone and do not bring any punishment upon them; God says there is still mercy for them from me. Since there is hope for them, to be spiritually joyful in the divine proclamations of my Only Begotten; for this is "the wine that spiritually gladdens the heart of man." (Ps. 104:15) Therefore, by continuing in their previous disobedience, he would wrong the mercy granted to them by God, as well as the joy that would be perceived [νοητὴν] through faith. And why do I say "perceived" only? For the teachings of the Lord possessed grace that was both perceptible and visible; and the prophet bears witness, saying, "Grace has been poured out upon your lips," (Ps. 44:32) addressing the Lord. Moreover, Josephus, the Jewish man, compelled by truth, writes concerning Him in his book Antiquities of the Jews the following: "At this time there appeared Jesus, a wise man, if it is proper to call him a man; for he was a doer of extraordinary works, a teacher of people who accept the truth with pleasure; and he attracted many Jews and many from the Greek population. This was the Christ. And He was shown to us as one of the first men, having been crucified by Pilate; those who first loved Him did not cease. For He appeared to them alive again on the third day, fulfilling what the divine prophets had spoken, these and countless other miracles concerning Him. Even now, the community [φῦλον] of those called Christians has not perished from this time onward."”