6:6 penny. This voice from heaven is apparently one of ironic commentary on the earthly situation. The “penny” is the denarius, which represented a day’s wage for a laborer. That is, as the famine progresses, the cost of the necessary commodities of life will rise excessively, probably leading to widespread starvation. The “oil and wine,” however, as luxuries of little food value, will still be plentiful, as indulgences of the rich. In fact, “oil” may refer prophetically to petroleum, even though this substance was not known in the New Testament period. The Middle Eastern supplies of oil will indeed be vital to the establishment of Antichrist’s world empire.