Shemen le acher - Oil for the Time After

The anointing oil, “Oil for the time after,” originated with a few interesting questions.

The first question was, “What is the Hebrew word for ‘oil’?” ‘Oil’ in Hebrew is shemen,
spelled shin, mem, nun (שׁמן(.

The next question was, “What is the oil that will prepare us for the difficult time that lies ahead?” When we searched for the answer to this question,
we came across the time concepts “fullness of time,” “end time,” “eternity” (Hebrew: ’olam), and “the time after” (Hebrew: z’man acharei).

Next, we asked what the Bible teaches about the time concept of acharei (after),
leading us to a surprising discovery. The Hebrew word “acharei” is often used in the Bible and literally means “after” (in terms of time) or “behind” (in terms of space). However, acharei also has an important meaning to refer to a period of time that will come at the end of time.

It is used in verses like Jeremiah 29:11, Proverbs 23:18, 24:14, and 24:20 to describe
the final outcome of a person’s life.

Acharit also denotes the end or ultimate outcome of a certain course of action (see Jer. 5:31, Prov. 14:12, 23:32, Isa. 46:9-10 and Dan. 12:8).
During our analasys of the Hebrew root word “achar,” we discovered that the Greek
equivalent for this word is husteron, and that husteron is used in the parable of the ten virgins (Mat. 25:1-13). More specifically, it is the first word in verse 11: “Later (husteron) the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ This is quite significant, because the difference between the wise and the foolish virgins is that the wise ones had “oil for the time after” while the foolish ones did not. The lesson from this parable is that we should be careful not to focus only on the coming of the Messiah and forget that there will also be a time after He came for which we should be prepared. Or, there might be a time after the time we think He is coming. He might be delayed, or even late.

This is exactly what Daniel experienced when the angel came to visit him from
heaven with an answer to his prayers. The angel was 21 days late because he was resisted by the prince of Persia and the prince angel (archangel) Michael had to come to his aid so that he could complete his mission to bring a message to Daniel. This revelation made us ask another question, “What is the time-difference between the heavens and the earth?”

When we lived in South Korea, we were thoroughly aware of the seven hours’ time-
difference between South Korea and South Africa. Whenever we wanted to speak tosomeone in South Africa, we had to wait until at least 3pm to allow for the time-difference.

But the heavens do not have time in the same way we have time on Earth. So, how do we expect the timing of the heavens and that of the earth to coincide? Still, God’s timing is perfect and He is never late. But the Messiah might be late. Remember, He will come with His armies to make war and be victorious when He returns. This might take longer than we expect!

Now, the “Oil for the time after” is an anointing oil that reminds us that there will be
a time after the coming of the Messiah. He will come later than expected, and we will be
with Him at His wedding feast after He came. We should have enough oil to last for both
the delayed time and the time after that. We should prepare ourselves to receive Him as
well as to rule with Him in His millennial kingdom in the time after His return. Now is
the time to get rid of wrong old habits, erratic belief systems, worldly programming and
brainwashing, and ungodly thought processes. Now is the time to practice worshiping
God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). Use this oil as a reminder and a prophetic action of the time after, the end of time, the delayed time, and the time when we will rule and reign with the Messiah on Earth and in the New Jerusalem.