This week the news has been full of war and conflict, negotiations and propaganda. What I have also noted is Churches across the globe praying, interceding and sending aid to the Ukraine 🇺🇦.

There is a spiritual war going on too. This spiritual war is between two Kingdoms; the Kingdom whose King is Jesus Christ, and the Kingdom of Satan and his minions. The difference is that this war has already been won legally! Its just that what is happening is that there is a mopping up operation going on. This operation is ratifying what has been won legally to manifest physically. And the Lord has chosen His Church to be involved in the ratification of Jesus’s Kingship and the establishment of His Kingdom. This has been going on for 2000 years!

There is much attention on Ezekiel 38 and the War of Magog and Gog. We need to look at End Time theology in the context of Zechariah 4 and Revelation 11. We need to see God bring forth to fulness His Two Witnesses. They are the sons of oil. Then cross reference with Matthew 25, we see the oil as a fundamental possession for entering into eternity with the Bridegroom! When we think about the oil we think about the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Is it not ironic that oil is a commodity that many wars have been fought over? Indeed those wars reflect the war concerning the End Times. It is the question: do we possess enough oil to prepare the way for the Bridegroom to come?

Then cross reference this with Psalm 24 and see the preparation for the King of Glory to come.

There is a personal war going on. The war is that which can make us ill prepared for the Coming of the King. The first is deception, which tells us there is no coming of Jesus imminent. That we have time to waste. That way we neglect spiritual disciplines such as prayer and inspired Bible Study. This personal war can also be wrong priorities that sap our supply of oil. We place our priority on supply of comfort and entertainment for our family. The virgins all slumbered because none expected the Bridegroom to take so long. The personal war is against our faith. Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the substance of hope and the evidence of things not seen. This means that our oil disappears when our spiritual hope vanishes, meaning that we ONLY LIVE FOR THE NOW AND FOR OURSELVES. The spiritual hope centres what God has called us into and what Jesus is doing in our generation.

Zechariah 4 tells us that the oil is not a “something to acquire” but it is “someone to become”. Many times we teach the anointing oil as being something we acquire. Rather we are called sons, meaning we are birthed and grown into the Person of that Oil, Jesus, in His image.

And as that becoming sons so this prepares a way of light for the King to come. Let us not see worldly wars as endings, however cruel, horrible, unjust, they may be. Rather they pave the way for the human race to see how depraved it has become and how the Saviour is needed to change nature, and Lord in how to live in order. Many are praying for Ukraine and reports are coming out concerning the miracles happening there. In the same instance may be use un certain times to shake our deceptions, our apathy, our lack of spiritual disciplines, so that we may in times of war become sons of oil!