What goes hand in glove with famine?
Disease goes hand in glove with famine. When food production is drastically reduced and absolute famine sets in, the accompanying consequence is disease, as seen in Africa and Somalia. The two travel together, multiplying death and suffering among populations already weakened by severe shortages and rationing.
Les teaches that the black horse indicates famine because the food supply must be rationed. He explains that if the great food-production areas are knocked out, the world's food supply is almost annihilated, leaving the rest of the world with no food and absolute famine. A field worker will work from sunup to sundown just to earn enough to buy bread for the next day, and runaway inflation is caused by a shortage of goods. Les then asks what accompanies famine and answers: disease. It just goes hand in glove, as seen in Africa and Somalia. These horses all tie together with the fourth horse, the pale one, in verse 7.