After
the worship scene in heaven where “the
Lamb”
of God received the “scroll” in God's right hand, the beginning
of the tribulation period began and John the apostle “saw
when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the
noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I
saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and
a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to
conquer,
and
when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say,
Come and see. And
there went out another horse that
was
red: and power
was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and
that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a
great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third
beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he
that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.”,
and in chapter six and verse six of Revelation John heard, “a
voice in the midst of the four beast say, a measure of wheat for a
penny, and three measures of barley for a penny”
where
we read:
And
I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of
wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see
you hurt not the oil and the wine.
The
verse reads, “And
I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of
wheat for a penny, ...”
John
began with the words, “and I
heard”
which means “and John was endowed with the capacity for hearing,
understood and perceived by the ear” “a
voice” which
means “a sound or tone of uttered words, language and tongue” “in
the midst” or
“ among and in the middle and center point” “of
the four beasts”
or “the four living beings which surrounded God's throne”, “say”
or “utter, declare and proclaim”, “a
measure”
which means “an amount less than a quart or about a liter such as
the amount which would support a man of moderate appetite for a day”
“of wheat”
or “of grain which is corn or wheat” “for
a penny”
which means “for a denarius or silver coin in New Testament time
which means containing ten”. The “voice”
John “heard”
from the middle of the “four living beings” declared that a
“liter” of “grain” would cost a “denarius” per day.
The
verse continues, “... and
three measures of barley for a penny; and see
you hurt not the oil and the wine.” John
added the words, “and
three measures”
which means “three liters or amounts that would support a man of
moderate appetite for a day” “of
barley”
or “pertaining to barley grain” “for
a penny”
or “for a denarius or silver coin in the New Testament time which
means containing ten” “and
see you hurt not”
which means “be sure not to do wrong to, violate, damage or harm”
“the
oil” or
“the olive oil” “and
the wine”
which refers to “liquid from a wine-press”. The “voice
in the midst of the four beasts”
instructed the one on the “black
horse”
not to destroy the luxury items of “olive oil”
and “wine”.
When
we meditate upon John's words in this verse, we see how the “black
horse”
was directed to cause famine upon the earth. Normally sixteen or more
measures of “corn or wheat grain”
were obtained for “a penny”
and three times as much for the cheaper “grain”
of “barley”.
However, at the instruction of “the
voice”,
famine was unleashed upon the earth so that basic daily food was
extremely costly. This is yet another way the earth will be judged by
God for rejecting His Son Jesus as “Savior and Lord”. God's
invitation is for everyone to receive Jesus, but if they reject Him,
they shall know the great “famine” that shall come. Today is the
day of salvation, and those who are wise will accept Jesus before
they endure the “famine” of “wheat
and barley”.
Next
time
John shares what happened when Jesus,
“opened the fourth seal”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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