All around the world, right now, prices are rising. Here in the UK, electricity and gas prices have increased by more than we could ever have imagined they would. On April 1st 2022, energy prices rose by an eye-watering 54%, with a further increase due in October, of this year, of an expected 32%! Petrol and diesel prices have risen also, a gallon of diesel is getting closer to £9 as each day passes. Council tax has risen too and food shopping is getting more expensive. As our money is now having to be stretched even further, we are forced to cut back on non-essential items, try to find cheaper insurances and shop around for our food.
Does the Bible warn us of high inflation in the Last Days? Yes, it does!
Revelation 6:5-6 (CSB)
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and there was a black horse. Its rider held a set of scales in his hand. Then I heard something like a voice among the four living creatures say, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, but do not harm the oil and the wine.”
Let’s have a closer look at the meaning of these two verses. A denarius was a day’s wage for a common labourer. In the New Testament of the Bible we read:
Matthew 20:2 (CSB)
“After agreeing with the workers on one denarius, he sent them into his vineyard for the day.”
So, in the Last Days, a quart of wheat will cost a (labourer’s) day’s wage! A quart of ground wheat is the same as 1.607 pounds in weight or 0.729 kilograms and three quarts of ground barley is the same as 3.881 pounds in weight or 1.760 kilograms. The Bible tells us that prices are going to be very expensive. The price of the wheat and barley indicates scarcity and famine.
What does ‘do not harm the oil and the wine’ mean? The meaning is not 100% clear, but in parts of scripture oil and wine is shown to symbolize that which is essential for living. Some believe the oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit and the wine symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ. Believers and followers of Jesus have been washed clean with the blood of Jesus, when they repented and were saved from sin and they have been filled with the Holy Spirit. Could the scripture ‘do not harm the oil and the wine’ mean, do not harm my faithful followers? Does it mean that God will provide sustenance for His faithful followers in the Last Days?
Deuteronomy 7:13 (CSB)
He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will bless your offspring, and the produce of your land – your grain, new wine, and fresh oil – the young of your herds, and the newborn of your flocks, in the land he swore to your ancestors that he would give you.
There is a clear warning here; God will always lead His faithful followers to victory, even in the most difficult of situations. For the unfaithful ones and those who have forgotten God, only punishment awaits them. We are in a spiritual battle. Follow Jesus and not the devil.
Onward Christian Soldiers 