Oil in Our Lamps

 

 

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’  ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.  “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’  “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’  “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.   (Matthew 25:1-13)

Here Jesus is telling us a parable as He wants us to understand the Kingdom of heaven and what it will be like.   He is speaking specifically about the time of meeting the bridegroom.   Those who come to meet Him, will be prepared with oil and those who miss out, will be because they do not have oil in their lamps.

Oil is a substance produced by crushing of olives that burns to produce light.  We have to have it to burn brightly.  Without it, the fire is quenched and the darkness overtakes us.  In Leviticus, the lamps needed to be tended to and the oil provided daily for this. 

This week I went to hear Hailey Braun speak and she spoke of the ending in 2024 of the era of man and the entering into the era of the Kingdom in 2025.  It so resonated with me as I had a dream that 12/24/24 was the date of His return.  Could it be that we have shifted into this era of His Kingdom come?

He asks why people were anxious for His return because it would be like launder’s soap as He would begin to deal with injustice and sin.  He would expose the false and close it down to make room for the new.   There has been judgement in the air for sure as people are being arrested for crime, deported for being a gang member, or shut down for running false practices everywhere.

Hailey mentioned the story of Esther preparing to see the King as the preparation period for Jesus to return.  In this story, Esther prepared before seeing the King for twelve months.  She had six months of treatment with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes. 

In this Hailey noted that the bride must be immersed in oil for six months and this is what God is doing right now.  He is immersing the Bride of Christ in oil.   We must not only have it applied in our life by reading the Word and praying, but we need to be deeply soaked in it.  

Interesting enough that Myrrh often represents death to self.  In being immersed, one must also die to themselves as part of the preparation.  There is a purification that is happening in the body of Christ but it is to happen not by our own might, but by an immersion in the oil. 

What if the parable of the 10 virgins is to warn us that not having enough oil to immerse ourselves in will keep us shut out of the Kingdom that is coming forth?   It is not Him waving His hand saying no, we didn’t work hard enough.  But He is telling us that we are responsible for tending the oil.

We are the ones who must call forth the abundance of oil from His treasuries and immerse ourselves in it.  To stand back and just go through the motions will not only not get us there, it will shut us out from what we need to enter in.    It is our responsibility as the bride of Christ in this season to call forth the oil and jump into it. If we fail, we will be shut out for our foolishness.

Interesting that it was 10 virgins as this represents the number of repentance… 10 commandments, 10 plagues, tenth day for spiritual cleansing and reconciliation.  With the oil of Esther being myrrh, this tells us that our repentance is a big part of His oil flowing.  And virgins represent purity.

And once this six months of immersion into the oil are complete, there was six months of being immersed in the  fragrance.  After soaking in the oil of the Holy Spirit, the purification and death to self will begin to bring forth a greater aroma of Christ.  For a perishing world, this will mean more persecution and hate.  But for those who know Christ, it is the richness of His aroma.

Hailey noted, “When the Lord comes with anointing the enemy will come with accusation. Stay humble, low and broken.  Where the enemy feels he is emptying you, God will fill you.  He will wash away mindsets that stand in the way.

At my church service last night, a quote from Timothy Keller was shared about suffering: “There is a purpose to it, and if faced rightly, it can drive us like a nail deep into the love of God and into more stability and spiritual power than you can imagine.” 

We need to have the aroma of Christ in this time and hour of tribulation.  As everything is shaking, Christ is the only firm foundation on which we can stand.   Christ is certainly returning, and we can’t look at the world and still deny it as Christians.   So, what do we do with it?  Rather than stick our head in the sand, we need to pull down and fully enter the promises of God for this season.

Sometimes, life can be hard all around us and we want to escape.  We see this with Naomi and her family as they went to Moab to avoid suffering the famine.  While they were there, they experienced significant loss.  They did not escape their suffering, only added to it.  Naomi told people to call her Mara because of her bitterness. She said she left full and came back empty.

But in emptiness, in entering into the promises of God, He will fill you.  Even when we turn away and run, God will bless us when we turn back.  Naomi was given the comfort of Ruth who was faithful and would not leave her side.  As they came back into the Promised Land, God blessed Naomi and gave her a grandchild through Ruth to carry the line.       

Lord, help us to live out your purposes in this season.  Help us to grab hold of all that you have for us and enter into the fullness of it.   May we not be shut out due to neglect. Let Your oil flow freely in the body of Christ so we can be bright lights in the world.