Clear Oil Of Beaten Olives

This is part of the study The First Trump, The Last Trump, and The Great Trump (part 2)

One of the duties given to Moses for the priests who ministered unto the Lord in the tabernacle involved using “clear oil of beaten olives” for the light in the lamps, to keep them burning continuously;

“You shall charge the sons of Israel, that they bring you clear [2134- “clean, pure, righteous (figurative)”] oil of beaten [3795- “beaten out, pure, pounded fine, costly [see Rev. 21:9-11; the illuminated Bride filled with the glory of God, lit up “like a very costly stone”]”] olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually [8548- “always, continually, regularly, at all times”]. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order [6186- “to arrange, set in order, to prepare”; compare with the definition for “trimmed” in Matthew 25:7 above] from evening to morning before the Lord; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout their generations for the sons of Israel.”

(Exodus 27:20-21/NASU)

The holy place in the tabernacle of the Lord is comparable to the church age we are presently in. The priests had responsibilities given to them from the Lord that they needed to perform. For instance, they had to keep watch over the lamps to make sure there was enough oil in them to keep them burning, per the instructions of the Lord. It required some willing effort on their end. In fact, the Hebrew interpreted as “keep it in order” is defined as “to arrange, set in order, to prepare.”  This is very similar to the definition for “trimmed” in Matthew 25:7 above regarding the virgin’s response to the midnight call for the return of the Bridegroom (i.e. Jesus Christ). Unfortunately for the foolish virgins, their faith was not carried through to completion by taking seriously that which was necessary on their end in order to be fully ready themselves through the possession of oil.

Using the priest’s religious duty as an example for our being ready for His return, Jesus said the following; “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.” (Luke 12:35/NASU) To not have your lamps burning is to be in the dark, unprepared and therefore unable to see the Lord when He comes looking for His Bride;

“Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert [1127- “to keep awake; to watch, i.e. give strict attention to, be cautious, active”] when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third [both of these watches were during the night, a dark time period on earth], and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming [which is usually under the cover of darkness], he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too, be ready [2092- “prepared, ready”]; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

(Luke 12:37-40/NASU)

In regards to our bringing “clear oil [righteousness deeds/works] of beaten olives [pure, beaten out, costly] for the light” of the lamp of the Lord within us to “burn continuously,” Jesus said;

“The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear [573- “simple, single (singleness of purpose in which there is nothing complicated or confused), whole, sound”], your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness [4652- “covered with darkness”]. Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness [4655- “shadiness; i.e. obscurity (literally or figuratively)].”

(Luke 11:34-35/NASU)

To be clear-eyed is to have “unclouded, bright eyes.” It’s also defined as “having or showing an ability to think clearly; having clear eyes or vision.” Having the eyes of their heart dulled through double-mindedness in their walks with Christ, foolish disciples (i.e. foolish virgins) lack the discernment to recognize the “appointed time” of the Lord that we are now in. It has become “clouded” and “confused” for them.

I see a picture, in type, of them within the church of Sardis, “a luxurious city that is now an obscure village.” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon) “Obscurity” just happens to be one of the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance definitions for “darkness” in Luke 11:35 right above. Sardis, therefore, is a picture of a church body that was at one time “full of light,” but due to a lack of clear vision (i.e. single-mindedness vs. double-mindedness; see James 1:5-8, 4:8, Psalm 119:113, and Matthew 6:24) has become dead,“full of darkness.”

Regarding their apostate hearts, Jesus made the following decree;

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds [2041- “works”], that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake up [1127- “to have been aroused from sleep, to awake, to watch”], and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds [2041- “works”] completed [4137- “to make full, complete, to perfect, to carry through to the end”] in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received [2983- “to take with the hand, lay hold of, to claim, to make one’s own”] and heard; and keep it [5083- “to guard, to attend to carefully, take care of”], and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up [1127], I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour [5610- “a certain definite time or season; any definite time, point of time, moment”] I will come to you [see Jesus’ warning in Matthew 24:42-44]. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled [3435- “to pollute, stain, contaminate, defile”] their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes [3528- “to conquer, overcome, prevail”] will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase [1813- “to wipe off or away, obliterate”] his name from the book of life, and I will confess [3670- “to speak the same thing, to agree, to not deny, to confess”] his name before My Father and before His angels [this is similar to what Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33 below]. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

(Revelation 3:1-6/NASU)

In this message from Jesus, He stresses the importance of being “watchful” in regards to His coming again at the end of this age. Obviously, you cannot be erased from something unless you were first written in it. It is through the “soiling” of the garment by continuing in sin with no cleansing through repentance that will cause these believers in Christ (i.e. they had received His Word, who is Christ) to be erased from the book of life. They did not “guard, attend to carefully” what they had “received,” which was Christ’ invitation to be their Lord and Savior. Like the foolish virgins who heard the midnight shout to prepare themselves in order to be ready to enter into the wedding supper of the Lamb by being clothed in the proper garments for the occasion, they did not complete their works in Christ by doing what the Spirit said to the church at the end of this age (Revelation 19:7-8). (For more on the truth of how works, after turning to Christ are necessary to bring to completion our faith, as declared in James 2:14-26, see my book Works And Salvation.)

The question for us to consider is, “Can an incomplete faith save us? In the New Testament, the Bible clearly refers to two different types of works, one led by the flesh and the other led by the Spirit. The fleshly works count for nothing, not so with the works of the Spirit. We’ve gone too far in the church, saying that works have no effect on our salvation. If that’s so, why then did Jesus bring it up to five of the seven churches in Revelation? Take a good look at what He rebuked them for, and what they needed to do in response, and why.

Like the foolish virgins, the Christians in the church in Sardis did not recognize that it was “a certain definite time or season” when Jesus was coming to receive them to Himself. Through a lack of concern for the moment in time that was before them, they did not repent where necessary, causing their wedding garment to remain “soiled” by continued practicing of sin, resulting in their not being allowed entrance into the final feast of great joy. To them the door will be shut and they will find themselves, to their horror, on the wrong side (Matthew 25:10).

I believe that, by the mercy of God, He will grant a second chance during the tribulation for some to change a negative decree with a repentant heart. But if they do not repent during this most horrific time ever experienced by mankind, their fate will be sealed, and their name will be erased from the Book of Life (Psalm 69:28, Revelation 3:5; also, see the Bible study Disappearing Ink).

The Costly Oil Obtained Through The Refining Process

The definition for the Hebrew word interpreted in Exodus 27:20 as “beaten,” when describing the type of oil required for the lamp to burn continually, is “beaten out, pure, pounded fine, costly.” I see this referring to the dealing of the Lord with all of His children. It is through the disciplining and refining work of the Holy Spirit that the olives are squeezed in order to produce the precious olive oil. In Spurgeon's classic Morning and Evening devotional, he referred to our being “beaten out”;

“A faith which can say, in the direst trouble, ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him,’ is heaven-born faith. The Lord afflicts His servants to glorify Himself, for He is greatly glorified in the graces of His people, which are His own handiwork. When ‘tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope,’ the Lord is honoured by these growing virtues.

We should never know the music of the harp if the strings were left untouched; nor enjoy the juice of the grape if it were not trodden in the winepress; nor discover the sweet perfume of cinnamon if it were not pressed and beaten; nor feel the warmth of fire if the coals were not utterly consumed. The wisdom and power of the great Workman are discovered by the trials through which His vessels of mercy are permitted to pass.

Present afflictions tend also to heighten future joy. There must be shades in the picture to bring out the beauty of the lights. Could we be so supremely blessed in heaven, if we had not known the curse of sin and the sorrow of earth? Will not peace be sweeter after conflict, and rest more welcome after toil? Will not the recollection of past sufferings enhance the bliss of the glorified?”

The Anointing Oil Flowing Down From The Head

Written by David, Psalm 133 is one of the “Song of Ascents.” They’re a group of 15 psalms in the Bible (Psalms 120–134) that were sung by Hebrew pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. The songs are also known as Gradual Psalms, Pilgrim Psalms, Songs of Degrees, and Songs of Steps. They were songs sung as pilgrims traveled up the mountains and the uphill road to Jerusalem for the three main annual Jewish festivals.

In this particular Psalm, David, using the example of Aaron, refers to the “precious oil” that flows downward from the head, onto the body;

“Behold, how good [2896- see def. below for “precious”] and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together [3162- “union, unitedness, all together, alike”] in unity! It is like the precious [2896- “good, favorable, festive, pleasing, right, best”] oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon [2768- “a sanctuary; ‘sacred mountain’”] coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing — life forever [5769- “everlasting, perpetual, forever, always”].” (NASU)

Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in Israel. It’s located north of the mountains of Zion in Jerusalem. So in a directional sense, it’s north, or “above” Jerusalem, representing something similar to the oil flowing downward from the “highest” point of the body which is the head. Our Head is Christ, the One from whom all blessings flow, downward. He alone is the source of the oil necessary to keep our lamps burning.

“King David compared God’s people living together in unity to the dew of Mount Hermon falling on Mount Zion (Psalm 133:1–3). This illustration is fitting, since the slopes of Mount Hermon, in the north, receive profuse amounts of dew. Mount Zion, in the south, is much drier. David compared the refreshing dew of Hermon to the blessings of unity in Israel, from north to south.” (https://www.gotquestions.org/mount-Hermon.html) In other words, it’s refreshing, bringing “life forever” (i.e. everlasting life) to those who dwell in a place of dryness, spiritually speaking. As pictured though, this unity cannot occur without the uniting oil of the Holy Spirit that comes from our willing submission under the Head-ship of Jesus Christ.

As Mount Hermon is to Mount Zion, as pictured by David, Jesus Christ, our high priest, is the higher source of the anointing oil that all Christians need so as to not become dry. As long as we remain under His Head-ship, through submission to His lordship over us, we too will receive of His life-giving anointing. When a Christian walks in rebellion against the Head-ship of Christ over them, they step outside of the place where the oil is flowing downward. It’s not until we repent that we are able to step back into the place where the oil of the Spirit comes downward into us with the blessing of “life forever.”

The Illuminated Bride Of The Lamb

While describing the new heaven and earth, and the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven during his revelation from the Lord, John refers to the costly, illuminated Bride of the Lamb;

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance [5458- “that which gives light (light-giver), an illuminator, light, brightness”] was like a very costly [5093- “valuable, i.e. costly, honored; held as of great price”] stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.”

(Revelation 21:9-11/NASU)

John saw the illuminated Bride of Christ filled with the glory of God that lit her up “like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.” I find it interesting that the Thayer’s Greek Lexicon states that Jasper is said to be, “a precious stone of various colors.” This describes the glorified Bride of Christ that will be made up of various skin colors on earth, not just one. Through their acceptance of the great price of the blood of Christ on their behalf, they have become united together with those who are of great value, and are highly esteemed in the eyes of the Father.