The Church's Involvement as Sons of Oil in the Civil Government

“And the word of the Lord was precious (heavy, rare, valuable)[i] in those days; there was no open vision (a mental sight, a dream, a vision, a revelation, an oracle, a prophecy).[ii] And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his pace, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; and ere (to interrupt or suspend)[iii] the lamp(figuratively progeny)[iv] of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.” (1Samuel 3:1b-3a)

This passage applies to each generation when the eyes of the church are dim, the ears are dull of hearing and the sword is shielded rather than wielded. As in the days of Samuel we must again realize the value of the word, both written and given in dreams and visions, and spoken as revelation, oracles, and prophesies.

God’s written word provides an excellent prophetic picture of how the church and civil governments can work together to help establish nations under God’s banner of righteousness. If the eyes of the Church are dim, then nations will not be affected by the revelation of God and generations will go without the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. I pray our eyes will be opened before the next generation is completely blinded to the truth that is needed in our nations.

In the opening chapters of Zechariah the word of the Lord was given to Zechariah through eight night visions (Zechariah 1:7-6:8). God opened his eyes to see prophetic pictures of the past, present and the future. In each instance, God also supplied an interpretation. Through these God revealed a comprehensive revelation about the things God had planned regarding the future of His people and Kingdom. If you read the entire book of Zechariah, you will see that God has provided a picture all the way to end and all the in between!

In this newsletter we will focus on two of the visions that reflect the relationship between the priests of God and civil government. These two visions provide a prophetic picture of Jesus ruling on the throne of David as king and priest and also a prophetic picture of the kingdom of priests that we have called to be ruling together with civil government. This is one of the keys that will help unlock the kingdoms of this world so that they may become the kingdom of our Lord and Christ. God never intended for there to be a separation of church and state. God is in us and should be involved in every aspect of life that we encounter including the civil government. It is time for us to break the mindset that has ruled in our nations and become the sons of oil who will infiltrate every arena, including civil government.

We have seen in the United States what God can do when the people pray. In 2004, elected officials were placed in office because God heard the prayers of the saints in this nation and around the world crying out for His mercy. The people voted for morality, for issues like the definition of marriage being between a man and a woman and the right for life, anti-abortion. We have not seen all that God wants to do yet – there is still much prayer and intercession that will be required to destroy the works of the devil that have propagated through our land. But God is giving us an opportunity to bring healing to our land and restore it as a place of righteousness. “For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” (Zech. 4:10) We cannot have disrespect for the importance of what God has started. It began around the middle of 1996 and was manifested in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

Our focus in this newsletter is not only the United States; what has happened here is provided as an example of what God can and wants to do. In each and every nation, God will cut off the evil foundations if the people will allow God to be on the throne of their hearts. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chron. 7:14)

In the fourth vision Zechariah saw Joshua, the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. Joshua represents the kingdom of priests we have been called to be as is reflected in Revelation 5:10 (The Living Bible): “And you have gathered them into a kingdom and made them priests of our God; they shall reign upon the earth.” Joshua also is a prophetic picture of Jerusalem.

In the vision Satan was standing beside Joshua to be his adversary and accuser, but God quickly rebuked Satan. God was and is prepared to forgive iniquity and restore His people which He demonstrated when He removed Joshua’s filthy garments and re-clothed him with new garments and a clean turban. Then He said, “If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my charge, then you can have access to My presence.” (Zech. 3:7, Amplified)

“Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your colleagues who [usually] sit before you; for they are men who are a sign or omen [types of what is to come] (Jerusalem and the Church will always be a sign) for behold, I will bring forth My servant the Branch (JESUS). For behold, upon the stone which I have set before Joshua, upon that one stone are seven eyes or facets [the all-embracing providence of God and the sevenfold radiations of the Spirit of God]. Behold I will carve upon it its inscription, says the Lord of host, and I will remove the iniquity and guilt of this land in a single day.” (Zech. 3:8-9, Amplified)

In a single day Jesus bore sins, iniquities, grief, mourning, ashes, heaviness, and opened the eyes that were blind. IT IS FINISHED! All we have to do is hear his voice today and complete what is already finished. This is the rest that the people of God have – IT IS FINISHED! Every prophetic word spoken in the scriptures, every work of the ministry to be completed, all fullness – IT IS FINISHED – the works were finished from the foundation of the world (Heb. 4:3).

This is such a powerful prophetic picture of what God will do for us, individually and as nations, if we will submit to Him and repent from our individual and national sins. When Jesus is on the throne of our hearts, He uses us to rule in the affairs of our nations through prayer, intercession, declarations and decrees.

“I see and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with its bowl [for oil] on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it, and there are seven pipes to each of the seven lamps which are upon the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl and the other upon the left side of it [feeding it continuously with oil].” (Zech. 4:2-3, Amplified)

“This [addition of the bowl to the candlestick, causing it to yield a ceaseless supply of oil from the olive trees] is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit [of whom the oil is a symbol], says the Lord of hosts. For who are you, O great mountain [of human obstacles]? Before Zerubbabel [who with Joshua had lead the return of the exiles from Babylon and was undertaking the rebuilding of the temple, before him] you shall become a plain [a mere mole hill]! And stone [of the new temple] with loud shoutings of the people, crying, Grace, grace to it!” (Zech. 4:6-7, Amplified)

In this passage the words to Zerubbabel were: “by the might and power of the Spirit of God the enormous obstacle (Satan the accusing adversary) that stands in the way of building the kingdom of God will be reduced to a mole hill.” The Lord continued to speak about Zerubbabel saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this house; his hands shall finish it. For these seven shall rejoice when they see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. [These seven] are eyes of the Lord which run to and fro throughout the whole earth.” (Zech. 4:9-10, Amplified) The plummet represents a building tool that is in the hand of the civil governor.

The emergence of Zerubbabel as the one who would build the temple seems to be a surprise. Do you suppose that God wants to use the church and civil government to work together to build again? Is it possible that God wants us involved in civil government? Isaiah 9:6 says the government will be upon His (Jesus) shoulders. This “government” is all encompassing. We find an example of this when God used Cyrus, a heathen king, to build. Cyrus was used to destroy Babylon, to set the captives free, and to rebuild the temple. If there is any chance for a nation to become a sheep nation, then the proper government / leadership must be in place with men and women who are willing to build according to God’s pattern.

In Matthew 25:32, Jesus said concerning the future judgment of nations, “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.” Nations are shaped by the church and the civil governments and we, as chosen Sons of God, have the privilege and responsibility of being involved in both. Matthew 25:34-34 gives the requirements concerning how nations become a sheep nation: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Zechariah continued to inquire about the vision asking, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden tubes or sprouts by which the golden oil is emptied out?” (Zech. 4:11) The angel told him, “These are the two sons of oil [Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the prince of Judah] – the two anointed ones – who stand before the Lord of the whole earth [as His anointed instruments].” (Zech. 4:14, Amplified) Here we see that God calls the Church along with civil government His anointed instruments.

Could part of the answer to the dimness of seeing and dullness of hearing be the sons of oil? The two olive trees, representing the priesthood and royal offices, the sons of oil, are connected to the branch and the candlestick. Through this connection there is a never ending supply of oil (anointing) which demonstrates the everlasting abiding presence of Jesus and the kingdom He is building. It is the anointing that destroys the yoke of bondage that Satan has put on nations (Isaiah 10:27).

After Zechariah had crowned Joshua high priest, the word of the Lord to Joshua was: “Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." (Zech. 6:12-13) Hallelujah, civil and church government shall be upon HIS shoulders and peace can and will reign between the two. This is a picture of how a nation can be transformed from a goat nation to a sheep nation when the civil and church governments co-labor together.

Tapping into the spirit of the Lord brings forth the perpetual light that illuminates the dimness of the eyes. “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14-16) Through Jesus, we are the light of the world and when we are connected to the Branch, we have an endless supply of oil to empty out and thereby become the sons of oil who can transform nations.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.” (Zech. 8:2-3)

“Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup or bowl of reeling to all the peoples round about, and against and upon Judah also it will be in the siege against Jerusalem. And in that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples; all who lift it or burden themselves with it shall be sorely wounded. And all the nations of the earth shall come and gather together against it.” (Zech. 8:2-3, Amplified)

“And it shall be in that day, that I will make it My aim to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace or unmerited favor, and supplication. And they shall look [earnestly] upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him as one who is in bitterness for his first-born.” (Zech. 12:9-10, Amplified)

Is it possible for a nation not to be counted among the “all nations” mentioned in these passages? YES! Zechariah 2:11-12 (Amplified) says, “And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be My people. And I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know – recognize and understand – that the Lord of hosts has sent me [His messenger] to you. And the Lord shall inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land, and shall again choose Jerusalem.” Israel is God’s portion of the Nations even though He is the king of the nations (Ps. 22:28). To assist our nations in being counted among the many nations that will join themselves to the Lord, we need to recognize the importance of being involved in civil government. If a nation has the kind of leadership that will connect to God’s divine purpose and plan, then the peoples of that nation will be spared. This is why Paul exhorted the church to pray for those who are leaders in the nations (1 Tim. 2:1-5). The church has this responsibility today and the success of our nations will depend on whether we do our job or not. We have an opportunity to shift nations if we pray and work along side civil government.

So how do we become the sons of oil who will align themselves with God’s anointing? The secret is to be connected with THE BRANCH. Hebrews 11 provides a chronology of the lives of men and women, who did incredible exploits as they were connected to the Branch. It is only through the Spirit of God that we are qualified to be ministers of the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:6). Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is a liberty – emancipation from bondage, freedom (2 Cor. 3:17). Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17). What is the eternal weight of glory? The anointing! What produces the anointing, the golden oil? Christ IN YOU the hope of glory (Col. 1:27) that can transform a nation.

We need to declare the word of the Lord over our nations because it is the nations that are at stake in the battle. Revelation 20 describes Satan as being cast into the pit for 1000 years. Verse 3b says, “so that he should no longer lead astray and deceive and seduce the nations until the thousand years were at an end.” And verse 8 says, “and he will go forth to deceive and seduce and lead astray the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth.”

There is no hope for our nations to be established as God has purposed without righteous leadership, for God promises righteousness exalts a nation (Prov. 14:34). We, as the saints of God, are the only legal entity in the earth that can oppose the illegal kingdom of Satan. If we as the kingdom of priests humble ourselves before the Lord and pray and work along side civil government, then God will continue to restore our nations to righteousness.

[i] H3368 from H3365

[ii] H2377 from H2372

[iii] H2962

[iv] H5216 from Lexical Aids to the Old Testament, Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible