And I heard what sounded like a voice from among 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 wine." And I heard a voiceThe phrase begins with John, the author of Revelation, emphasizing his role as a witness to the divine revelation. The Greek word for "heard" is "ἤκουσα" (ēkousa), which implies not just hearing but understanding and perceiving the significance of the message. This voice is authoritative, coming from the midst of the four living creatures, indicating a divine or heavenly origin. In the context of Revelation, voices often convey God's will or judgment, underscoring the seriousness of the message. in the midst of the four living creatures
The "four living creatures" are described earlier in Revelation 4:6-8 as beings full of eyes and having the likeness of a lion, calf, man, and eagle. These creatures are symbolic of God's creation and His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. The voice coming from their midst suggests a message that is both divinely sanctioned and universally significant, reflecting God's sovereign control over the unfolding events. saying, 'A quart of wheat for a denarius
A "quart" (Greek: "χοῖνιξ" - choinix) was a measure of dry volume, approximately equivalent to what a person would need for a day's sustenance. A "denarius" was a Roman silver coin, commonly understood as a day's wage for a laborer. This phrase indicates severe economic hardship, where a full day's work would only provide enough wheat for one person's daily needs. Historically, such conditions reflect famine or economic collapse, often seen as divine judgment in biblical contexts. and three quarts of barley for a denarius
Barley was considered a less desirable grain, often used to feed animals or the poor. The fact that three quarts of barley could be purchased for the same price as one quart of wheat suggests a desperate situation where people might resort to consuming less nutritious food to survive. This reflects a time of scarcity and inflation, where basic necessities become luxuries, highlighting the severity of the tribulation period described in Revelation. and do not harm the oil and wine
The command to "not harm" (Greek: "μὴ ἀδικήσῃς" - mē adikēsēs) the oil and wine is intriguing. Oil and wine were staples in the ancient Mediterranean diet, often associated with abundance and blessing. Their preservation amidst scarcity suggests a selective judgment, where certain luxuries remain available, possibly indicating a disparity between the rich and poor. This could symbolize God's mercy or a warning against complacency and reliance on material wealth. In a spiritual sense, oil and wine might also represent the Holy Spirit and the joy of salvation, which remain untouched by earthly tribulations. Persons / Places / Events 1. Four Living CreaturesThese are heavenly beings that surround the throne of God, often associated with the cherubim described in Ezekiel and the seraphim in Isaiah. They are involved in the unfolding of God's judgments. 2. Voice from Among the CreaturesThis voice represents divine authority, possibly an angelic messenger or one of the living creatures themselves, delivering a message of economic distress. 3. Quart of Wheat / Three Quarts of BarleyThese measurements indicate a severe famine, where basic food staples become exceedingly expensive, reflecting economic hardship. 4. DenariusA Roman coin that was equivalent to a day's wage for a laborer, highlighting the severity of the famine where a full day's work could only afford minimal sustenance. 5. Oil and WineThese items are not harmed, suggesting a selective judgment or preservation of certain luxuries or necessities, possibly indicating a disparity in the impact of the famine. Teaching Points Understanding God's Sovereignty in JudgmentRecognize that the events described are under God's control and serve His purposes in the unfolding of history. Economic Disparity and Social JusticeReflect on the economic disparities highlighted by the preservation of oil and wine, and consider how Christians are called to respond to inequality and need. Preparation for Spiritual and Physical ChallengesBe spiritually prepared for times of trial and scarcity, trusting in God's provision and guidance. The Importance of Spiritual SustenanceJust as physical famine is devastating, spiritual famine can be even more so. Prioritize spiritual nourishment through Scripture and prayer. Hope in Christ Amidst TribulationDespite the trials depicted, maintain hope in Christ's ultimate victory and the establishment of His kingdom. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the economic situation described in Revelation 6:6 reflect the broader theme of judgment in the book of Revelation? 2. In what ways can the preservation of oil and wine be seen as a message about God's selective judgment or mercy? 3. How do the economic conditions in Revelation 6:6 compare to current global economic disparities, and what is the Christian response? 4. How can we prepare ourselves spiritually and physically for times of scarcity or trial, as suggested by the famine imagery in Revelation 6:6? 5. How does the message of hope in Christ's ultimate victory provide comfort and motivation for believers facing trials today? Connections to Other Scriptures Matthew 24:7Jesus speaks of famines as part of the signs of the end times, connecting to the economic distress described in Revelation 6:6. Ezekiel 4:16-17God warns of a famine in Jerusalem, where bread and water are rationed, similar to the scarcity depicted in Revelation 6:6. Amos 8:11-12Amos prophesies a famine of hearing the words of the Lord, which can be seen as a spiritual parallel to the physical famine in Revelation. People JohnPlaces PatmosTopics Barley, Beasts, Beings, Center, Choenix, Choenixes, Creatures, Damage, Day's, Denarius, Denary, Ears, Either, Grain, Harm, Hurt, Injure, Mayest, Measure, Measures, Middle, Midst, Oil, Penny, Quart, Quarts, Saying, Seemed, Shilling, Speaking, Voice, Wages, Wheat, WineDictionary of Bible Themes Revelation 6:6 4456 grain
4542 wheat
5242 buying and selling
5415 money, uses of
5603 wages
5616 measures, dry Revelation 6:1-8 4150 cherubim
4657 horse
5127 back Revelation 6:1-12 5518 seal Revelation 6:3-8 6702 peace, destruction Revelation 6:5-6 4627 creatures
5512 scales and balances Library "For if Ye Live after the Flesh, Ye Shall Die, but if Ye through the Spirit do Mortify the Deeds of the Body, Ye Shall Live. "
Rom. viii. 13.--"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die, but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Though the Lord, out of his absolute sovereignty, might deal with man in such a way, as nothing should appear but his supreme will and almighty power, he might simply command obedience, and without any more persuasions either leave men to the frowardness of their own natures, or else powerfully constrain them to their duty, yet he hath chosen that way that …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh BinningDeparted Saints Fellowservants with those yet on Earth.
"I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets." The revelation made to St. John in the isle of Patmos, was a comfort to the suffering apostle, and a blessing to the church. "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the word, of this prophecy." The beginning indeed was dark; the prophetic sketch, was for sometime, gloomy: It unfolded a strange scene of declensions and abominations, which were to disgrace the church of Christ and mar its beauty; and dismal series of woes on woes, …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects God's Dealings with the Earth During the Tribulation Period.
The interval of time which separates the removal of the Church from the earth to the return of Christ to it, is variously designated in the Word of God. It is spoken of as "the day of vengeance" (Is. 61:2). It is called "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:7). It is the "hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world" (Rev. 3:10). It is denominated "the great day of the Lord" (Zeph. 1:14). It is termed "the great tribulation" (Matt. 24:21). It is the time of God's "controversy with the …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return Opposition to Messiah Ruinous
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel T here is a species of the sublime in writing, which seems peculiar to the Scripture, and of which, properly, no subjects but those of divine revelation are capable, With us, things inconsiderable in themselves are elevated by splendid images, which give them an apparent importance beyond what they can justly claim. Thus the poet, when describing a battle among bees, by a judicious selection of epithets …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 An Advance Step in the Royal Programme
(Revelation, Chapters iv. and v.) "We are watching, we are waiting, For the bright prophetic day; When the shadows, weary shadows, From the world shall roll away. "We are watching, we are waiting, For the star that brings the day; When the night of sin shall vanish, And the shadows melt away. "We are watching, we are waiting, For the beauteous King of day; For the chiefest of ten thousand, For the Light, the Truth, the Way. "We are waiting for the morning, When the beauteous day is dawning, We are …
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation An Awful Contrast
"Then did they spit in his face."--Matthew 26:67. "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away."--Revelation 20:11. GUIDED BY OUR TEXT in Matthew's Gospel, let us first go in thought to the palace of Caiaphas the high priest, and there let us, in deepest sorrow, realize the meaning of these terrible words: "Then did they spit in his face." There is more of deep and awful thunder in them than in the bolt that bursts overhead, there is …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 42: 1896 "So Then they that are in the Flesh Cannot Please God. "
Rom. viii. 8.--"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." It is a kind of happiness to men, to please them upon whom they depend, and upon whose favour their well-being hangs. It is the servant's happiness to please his master, the courtier's to please his prince; and so generally, whosoever they be that are joined in mutual relations, and depend one upon another; that which makes all pleasant, is this, to please one another. Now, certainly, all the dependencies of creatures one upon …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning From the Supplement to the Summa --Question Lxxii of the Prayers of the Saints who are in Heaven
I. Are the Saints cognizant of our Prayers? II. Ought we to appeal to the Saints to intercede for us? III. Are the Saints' Prayers to God for us always heard? I Are the Saints cognizant of our Prayers? On those words of Job,[267] Whether his children come to honour or dishonour, he shall not understand, S. Gregory says: "This is not to be understood of the souls of the Saints, for they see from within the glory of Almighty God, it is in nowise credible that there should be anything without of …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life Christ's Kingly Office
Q-26: HOW DOES CHRIST EXECUTE THE OFFICE OF A KING? A: In subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies. Let us consider now Christ's regal office. And he has on his vesture, and on his thigh, a name written, "King of kings, and Lord of lords", Rev 19:16. Jesus Christ is of mighty renown, he is a king; (1.) he has a kingly title. High and Lofty.' Isa 57:15. (2.) He has his insignia regalia, his ensigns of royalty; corona est insigne …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament The Seventh vision "In Heaven"
H^7. Chap. xix. 1-16. The final heavenly Utterances and Actions. We now come to the last of the seven Visions seen "in Heaven," which is the subject of chap. xix. 1-16, giving us the final heavenly Utterances and Actions which lead up to, explain, and introduce the five concluding judgments which close up the things of Time, and pass on to what we call the Eternal State. This last Vision "in Heaven" is divided into two parts, each having its own independent construction. The first contains the words …
E.W. Bullinger—Commentary on Revelation The Second Coming of Christ.
^A Matt. XXIV. 29-51; ^B Mark XIII. 24-37; ^C Luke XXI. 25-36. ^b 24 But in those days, ^a immediately after the { ^b that} ^a tribulation of those days. [Since the coming of Christ did not follow close upon the destruction of Jerusalem, the word "immediately" used by Matthew is somewhat puzzling. There are, however, three ways in which it may be explained: 1. That Jesus reckons the time after his own divine, and not after our human, fashion. Viewing the word in this light, the passage at II. Pet. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel "There is Therefore Now no Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who Walk not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit. "
Rom. viii. 1.--"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." There are three things which concur to make man miserable,--sin, condemnation, and affliction. Every one may observe that "man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward," that his days here are few and evil. He possesses "months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed" for him. Job v. 6, 7, vii. 3. He "is of few days and full of trouble," Job xiv. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Consolations against Impatience in Sickness.
If in thy sickness by extremity of pain thou be driven to impatience, meditate-- 1. That thy sins have deserved the pains of hell; therefore thou mayest with greater patience endure these fatherly corrections. 2. That these are the scourges of thy heavenly Father, and the rod is in his hand. If thou didst suffer with reverence, being a child, the corrections of thy earthly parents, how much rather shouldst thou now subject thyself, being the child of God, to the chastisement of thy heavenly Father, …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Meditations of the Blessed State of a Regenerate Man in his Death.
When God sends death as his messenger for the regenerate man, he meets him half-way to heaven, for his conversation and affection is there before him (Phil. iii. 20; Col. iii. 2.) Death is never strange nor fearful to him: not strange, because he died daily--not fearful, because whilst he lived, he was dead, and his life was hid with Christ in God (1 Cor. i. 31; Col. iii. 3;) to die, therefore, is to him nothing else in effect, but to rest from his labour in this world, to go home to his Father's …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Messiah Worshipped by Angels
Let all the angels of God worship Him. M any of the Lord's true servants, have been in a situation so nearly similar to that of Elijah, that like him they have been tempted to think they were left to serve the Lord alone (I Kings 19:10) . But God had then a faithful people, and He has so in every age. The preaching of the Gospel may be compared to a standard erected, to which they repair, and thereby become known to each other, and more exposed to the notice and observation of the world. But we hope …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 In Reply to the Questions as to his Authority, Jesus Gives the Third Great Group of Parables.
(in the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) Subdivision C. Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen. ^A Matt. XXI. 33-46; ^B Mark XII. 1-12; ^C Luke XX. 9-19. ^b 1 And he began to speak unto them ^c the people [not the rulers] ^b in parables. { ^c this parable:} ^a 33 Hear another parable: There was a man that was a householder [this party represents God], who planted a vineyard [this represents the Hebrew nationality], and set a hedge about it, and digged a ^b pit for the ^a winepress in it …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Death by Adam, Life by Christ
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. F rom Mr. Handel's acknowledged abilities as a composer, and particularly from what I have heard of his great taste and success in adapting the style of his music to the subject, I judge, that this passage afforded him a fair occasion of displaying his genius and powers. Two ideas, vastly important in themselves, are here represented in the strongest light, …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 Being Made Archbishop of Armagh, He Suffers Many Troubles. Peace Being Made, from Being Archbishop of Armagh He Becomes Bishop of Down.
[Sidenote: 1129] 19. (12). Meanwhile[365] it happened that Archbishop Cellach[366] fell sick: he it was who ordained Malachy deacon, presbyter and bishop: and knowing that he was dying he made a sort of testament[367] to the effect that Malachy ought to succeed him,[368] because none seemed worthier to be bishop of the first see. This he gave in charge to those who were present, this he commanded to the absent, this to the two kings of Munster[369] and to the magnates of the land he specially enjoined …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh Links Revelation 6:6 NIVRevelation 6:6 NLTRevelation 6:6 ESVRevelation 6:6 NASBRevelation 6:6 KJV
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