What Does it Mean to Weigh 'Two Pounds of Wheat' and 'Six Pounds of Barley' for 'A Day's Wages' in Revelation 6?
📰The Bible is one of the best-selling and most widely distributed books in history, yet it is also considered to be among the least understood. The Bible, which is referred to as the New Covenant and Promise of God, in which 'the way to heaven and salvation' is presented, differs in theologians' interpretations that make it difficult to understand. These differing interpretations have been the cause of the rise of denominations with each one establishing their own doctrine. With the increase in online church services and gatherings resulting from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, there has been growing interest in the comparison of various church doctrine. This paper, therefore, attempts to provide readers with the opportunity to compare differing Biblical teachings without interpretation. Among a host of online sermons and Bible-based teachings, the contrasting doctrine between the established Church and Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which has drawn public interest throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, is hereby compared and summarised. Best efforts have been made to provide a summary of Shincheonji Church of Jesus' understanding of the Bible. Judgment as to what is right or wrong is left to the reader’s discernment.
"What does it mean to be weighed on a scale? It means to have one's faith and deeds measured according to the Word"
Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony
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In Revelation 6, it is prophesied that a black horse will appear, and that the rider on it will hold a pair of scales in his hand, and that a denarius will be used to measure two pounds of wheat and also six pounds of barley.
The first thing to know is that the prophecies in the Bible are hidden in parables. 2000 years ago, Jesus fulfilled the prophecies made through the Old Testament prophets and spoke of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven in parables, and he promised that a time would come when they would be fulfilled. When the fulfilled reality of the hidden prophecies of the kingdom of heaven is revealed, all the words that were sealed are opened, and the spiritual (figurative) meaning of the words hidden in parables can be opened and plainly understood.
The first thing to know is that the prophecies in the Bible are hidden in parables. 2000 years ago, Jesus fulfilled the prophecies made through the Old Testament prophets and spoke of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven in parables, and he promised that a time would come when they would be fulfilled. When the fulfilled reality of the hidden prophecies of the kingdom of heaven is revealed, all the words that were sealed are opened, and the spiritual (figurative) meaning of the words hidden in parables can be opened and plainly understood.
Then, what do the scales prophesied in Revelation really mean? Physical scales are used as an instrument for weighing. Moreover, if you go to court, you can see a picture of a person holding a scale, which means that a person's wrongdoings are weighed according to the law. The scale in the text is a spiritual scale that is compared to a physical scale.
1 Samuel 2:3 says that God measures man's deeds, and Proverbs 24:12 says that God measures man's heart. This is a spiritual scale.
How does God measure a person's heart and actions? In John 12:48, Jesus promised that in the last days judgment will be carried out by the words of Jesus, so the standard of judgment can only be the Word of the Bible. The figurative scales prophesied in the Book of Revelation refer to the Word of God that weighs people's faith and deeds.
However, Hosea 12:7 prophesied that there are some who defraud with false scales, so we must be able to distinguish between God's scales and Satan's scales. The scales of God are the words of God - that is, the truth - while the scales of Satan are the false doctrines, or untruths, of Satan.
What does it mean to say that a denarius weighed on a scale equals two pounds of wheat or six pounds of barley? In Roman times, one denarius was equivalent to the daily wage of a worker, so to say that one denarius equals two pounds of wheat and six pounds of barley means that the cost is very high for only a small amount of food to be obtained. These are all terms used figuratively.
What does it mean to say that a denarius weighed on a scale equals two pounds of wheat or six pounds of barley? In Roman times, one denarius was equivalent to the daily wage of a worker, so to say that one denarius equals two pounds of wheat and six pounds of barley means that the cost is very high for only a small amount of food to be obtained. These are all terms used figuratively.
In Psalm 12:6, God's word is like silver that has been refined seven times in a crucible, and as precious as gold. Therefore, it can be understood that the denarius in the text means the unchanging word of God.
Wheat and barley are types of grain, and refer to true believers who remain as seeds of faith. In Luke 8:11, the word of God is the seed, and in Matthew 13, it is said that the wheat born of the good seed are the sons of heaven.
What is the famine where there is no food? In Matthew 24, there is a promise that there will be famines in various places at the end of the age when the Lord returns. In the words of Amos 8:11-12, the famine that God sends is not a physical famine of food or water, but a famine of hearing the word of God that people can never find though they may look for it in all places. In this way, when the Lord returns, he prophesied that a famine of hearing the truth would occur irrespective of how much we try to understand the word of God.
Regarding the text of Revelation chapter 6, let's first look at the background of the event in order to find out who the two pounds of wheat and six pounds of barley weighed on the scales were, and why they appeared in this way.
The book of Revelation is a prophecy of the New Testament and a promise concerning the time of the Lord's Second Coming. Just like John the Baptist who prepared the way for the Lord at the first coming, the seven angels (messengers) of the tabernacle (church) of the seven golden lampstands appear to prepare the way for the Lord at the time of the second coming, as promised in Revelation 1. However, as seen in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, they broke the covenant with God, and Jesus sent them several letters through the Prophet John, urging them to repent. Yet they did not repent of their betrayal. Therefore, through the four living creatures seen before the throne of God in Revelation 4, Jesus would judge the chosen people of the tabernacle of the seven golden lampstands who had betrayed and become corrupt.
This is the event that occurred in Revelation 6. In Revelation 6, whenever Jesus, the Lamb, opened one of the seals of the sealed book, four living creatures appeared, and upon the command of these four living creatures, horses and riders came out, and those who sat on the horses held instruments of judgment - that is, a bow, a large sword, scales, and the beasts of the earth. The beast brought disaster on the chosen people who betrayed. Here, the horses refer to the flesh, and the riders are angels who belong to the four living creatures. In every era, the spirit raises and works through the flesh, like the rider on a horse.
The disaster at the opening of the third seal was God leaving the chosen people due to their betrayal, and the era of spiritual famine where there was no word. There are such few faithful believers that they are likened to a mere measure of wheat and barley. This small group of people did not receive the judgment of Revelation 6, but rather kept their faith until the former world that betrayed was judged and brought to an end. They became the seeds of salvation that created the new kingdom of God in Revelation 7, thereby ushering in a new era.
Just as a farmer cultivates land after clearing and levelling the land, Jesus judged the chosen people who betrayed as well as the corrupt religious world, as seen in the text. Jesus is cultivating the land to create a new nation. Therefore, all believers must check whether the prophecies in this chapter have been fulfilled; and if they have, they must know whether they are someone who has received judgment, or someone who is the remnant seed of faith, or neither and become a faithful believer.
"Scales are symbolic tools used to assess economic activity. Its rising value results from famine"
Korean Church
Pastor A, Presbyterian Church
"A scale is predominantly an object used as representative of economic activity. The one denarius is used as the minimum wage that a worker receives a day's labour. With one denarius, you can buy eight pounds of wheat. How many times is it described in the Bible? And with another denarius, how many bars of barley can you buy? Three or four. However, in this case, with one denarius, you can buy 48 pounds of barley, as much as you can buy at the normal market value. Now these two figures are talking about the skyrocketing price of food within the context of commodity values.
In today's economic terms, this is called inflation. What will happen to the whole earth in the last days? Famine is coming through inflation. This is the symbol the black horse wants to express."
Pastor B, Full Gospel Church
"One denarius is the daily wage of a worker. Then, if you earn all day long, you can only buy one pound of wheat or one pound of barley. This is a situation of high inflation."
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