The Sons of Oil

The Two Witnesses in Zechariah 4 are Joshua and Zerubbabel, but in Revelation 11 they are described in terms of Moses and Elijah--though not named specifically. Rev. 11:4-6 says,

⁴ These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵ And if anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies, and if anyone would desire to harm them, in this manner he must be killed.

This is a reference to Elijah, against whom King Ahaziah issued an arrest warrant in 2 Kings 1. The arresting officer and his 50 deputies demanded that Elijah surrender to them.

¹⁰ And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty." Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

This happened one more time, and the third captain came more respectfully and requested that Elijah be merciful and come with him peaceably. So this is the story that Rev. 11:5 is referencing in regard to fire devouring the enemies of the Two Witnesses. It shows that they have an Elijah ministry, although the Two Witnesses are sent under the New Covenant, in which the method differs. The "fire" now is the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11).

Secondly, we read in Rev. 11:6,

⁶ These have the power to shut up the sky, in order that rain may not fall during the days of their prophesying . . .

This is another reference to Elijah in 1 Kings 17:1, saying,

¹ Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word."

Once again, the "rain" under the New Covenant is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the "latter and former rain" of Joel 2:23 and Acts 2:17-21. This relates also to Noah's flood, which removed the breath (ruach = spirit) from all men, but under the New Covenant there is a second flood (this time a flood of the Holy Spirit) that puts the Spirit back into all men.

In other words, the primary work of the Two Witnesses is to be the agents by which the Holy Spirit is poured out upon all flesh. In Acts 2 it was about the Pentecostal outpouring, but today we look for a greater anointing under the power of the Feast of Tabernacles.

I believe also that there is a reason why Revelation 11 does not actually name Moses and Elijah, even though they are clearly referenced. This divine silence is due to the fact that the Kingdom has progressed from Old Covenant to the New Covenant, and so the "rain" and "fire" are taking a different and more positive form. This, I believe, is also why Moses gives way to Joshua, and Elijah gives way to Elisha. This seems to speak of each having two parts, the first under the Old Covenant, and the second under the New Covenant.

Hence, the Old Covenant was mediated by Moses, while the New Covenant was mediated by Joshua (Yeshua-Jesus). Likewise, Elisha received the double portion of Elijah, which implies the birthright inheritance that comes through Joseph in the time of the second work of Christ.

And so in just the past year we have had powerful revelation and confirmation that God is even now preparing us for a Joshua-Elisha work that is soon to be manifested in the world. I assumed at first that it would be the standard Moses-Elijah work, but God has clearly revealed it to be a Joshua-Elisha ministry within the overall scope of the emergence of "Joseph."

Joseph, along with Joshua the Ephraimite and Elisha, are all types of Christ in His second work, so we are seeing all of them coming to the forefront at this end of the age. The discovery of the Joseph coins in the Egyptian museum last September 24, and the hidden treasures found and announced on the same day, all coincided with the earlier revelation about Haggai 2:18, 19 in regard to the 24th day of the 9th month, saying, "from this day on, I will bless you."

What I had forgotten at the time was that back in 1995 I had received a similar revelation on Sept. 24, 1995 concerning this same passage in Haggai. I wrote about it in a special bulletin TLD 2.1 dated October 12, 1995, "The Coming of Peniel." What actually occurred in 1995 was that a prophet in Toronto prophesied about "David" being raised up on that date. Then 14 years later, on the same date in 2009, we saw "Joseph" being raised up. This appears to complete the prophecy, since Christ came the first time of the seed of David, but His second appearance is as "Joseph" with his robe dipped in blood (Gen. 37:31; Rev. 19:13).

At any rate, all of this strongly suggests that we are now preparing for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on a scale never before seen in human history. It will be the New Testament equivalent of Noah's flood, but with a positive effect. The Two Witnesses are the "sons of oil" (Zech. 4:14, lit. translation), called to pour oil into the lampstands. Whatever one says about the rain and fire must be viewed within the context of this "oil" ministry.

The Hebrew word for oil is shemen, spelled shin, mem, and nun, which, of course, are also numbers in the Hebrew language.

Shin = 300
Mem = 40
Nun = 50

TOTAL: 390

I have written previously about the 390-year period from 1620-2010. It is actually the 7th period of 390 years since the fall of Samaria in 721 B.C. Perhaps this is a hint that the year 2010 may be the year in which we begin to see the "oil" of the Spirit poured into the lampstands by the Two Witnesses.

This week I have been compelled to focus upon the Two Witnesses and their "oil" ministry. It is appropriate that this is the week of Hanukkah, the "festival of lights," or, as it is called in John 10:22, "the feast of the dedication." It commemorates the time when the second temple was dedicated and when the one-day supply of oil miraculously was extended for eight days to cleanse the temple.

John 10:23 says, "It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon."

Why is this important? Because Solomon was the one who dedicated the original Temple in Jerusalem. John is making the connection between the two dedications. Solomon was the Prince, the son of King David. His name, derived from shalom, means "peaceful." There were no wars during his reign. Solomon was a type of Christ in this way, for Jesus is the "Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

Most of the people themselves, along with the religious leaders of the day, preferred a militant messiah, one who would throw off the Roman yoke and establish them as the "chosen people" so that they could (mis)rule everyone else as their slaves. When He came as the Prince of Peace, they rejected Him, even though His works proved who He was.

So Jesus told them in verses 26 and 27 that they were not His sheep, regardless of their genealogy. His sheep hear His voice. These non-sheep refused to hear the word of Jeremiah and Daniel, who instructed them to be content in their captivity until God set them free. They were continually trying to overthrow Rome by the hand of numerous false messiahs, and they only made their captivity worse.

So if they refused to hear the prophets, it is no surprise that they would not be able to hear the voice of the True Messiah, the Prince of Peace. Freedom from the Babylonian system comes only through the second work/appearance of Christ. I believe we are seeing today the beginning of this overthrow of Babylon and the rise of Joseph and the Two Witness ministries. So look up, for your redemption draws nigh.