23. What is implied by the statement, “Do not harm the olive oil and the wine”?

²³ What is implied by the statement, “Do not harm the olive oil and the wine”? Some have viewed it as meaning that while many would be short of food and even starving, the luxuries of the rich would not be harmed. But in the Middle East, oil and wine are not really luxuries. In Bible times, bread, oil, and wine were viewed as staples. (Compare Genesis 14:18; Psalm 104:14, 15.) Water was not always good, so wine was widely used for drinking and sometimes for medicinal purposes. (1 Timothy 5:23) With regard to oil, in Elijah’s day the widow of Zarephath, poor as she was, still had some oil left with which to cook her remaining flour. (1 Kings 17:12) Therefore, the command “do not harm the olive oil and the wine” appears to be advice not to use up these basic commodities too quickly but to be sparing in their use. Otherwise, they will be ‘harmed,’ that is, they will run out before the famine ends.

and do not harm the olive oil and the wine.’” (Revelation 6:6)