The Year of Jubilee''
The Year of Jubilee
Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. (Leviticus 25:9)
And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. (Leviticus 25:10)
The Jewish Year of Jubilee is of the greatest possible spiritual significance to Christian people. It is a time of holiness, of belonging especially to God.
It is a period of liberty, of restoration of that which has been lost in some manner.
The trumpet of the Jubilee was sounded on the Day of Atonement.
If you can imagine this, when I was in Bible school in 1948, having been a Christian for about four years, not having been raised in a Christian home, Christ spoke to me. He said, "The Day of Atonement represents judgment on the Christian people."
As it turns out, the judgment is on the evil that is in Christian people, the sinful nature and the self-will. It is a judgment on Satan, the ancient landlord. Thus we see it is a jubilee, a period of restoration and liberty.
I knew nothing about such things at the time the Lord spoke to me, being a fairly new Christian. All of this understanding has come about over the past 65 years.
Brother Oliver Ellenwood had been teaching at the Bible school. During his discourse he mentioned the feasts of the Lord. It was the first time I had ever heard of the Day of Atonement.
I told Brother Ellenwood what I believed God had spoken to me. As I remember he listened quietly but did not comment.
The Day of Atonement is described in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Leviticus. This ceremony included the use of two goats. One goat was slain, and its blood was sprinkled within the Most Holy Place, upon and before the Lid of Reconciliation (Mercy Seat). In this manner, atonement was made for the children of Israel and the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
The second goat, the "scapegoat" was not slain. It was brought into the Courtyard. The High Priest placed his hands on the head of the live goat and confessed the sins of Israel. Then the goat was led away into the wilderness.
When we consider that atonement (reconciliation with God) was made by both goats, we understand that the Divine redemption includes both forgiveness of sins and deliverance from sin itself.
The fact that the Christian redemption includes both forgiveness of sins and deliverance from sins has not always been emphasized in Christian teaching. As I reflect on it, I am not certain deliverance from the sinful nature is presented even in Jewish teaching, during Yom Kippor .
Perhaps now, as we draw near to the return of Christ and the Day of Redemption, we may find that the Spirit of God is leading us to put to death the deeds of our sinful nature, and our self-will as well.
The three Levitical feasts that follow the celebration of Pentecost are: the Blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles.
The Blowing of Trumpets announces the New Year of the Kingdom of God, and war against God's enemies who have been holding God's people in the chains of sin and self-seeking.
The Day of Atonement is the cleansing of the Body of Christ from sin and self-seeking, as the Spirit of God guides and enables us to confess the parts of our behavior that are not in the image of God.
My understanding is that the spiritual fulfillments of the Blowing of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement have begun. To my way of thinking, the Day of Atonement will continue for eternity, since Christ's Kingdom always will be expanding and there will be a need for the members of the Royal Priesthood to continue their work of helping the new people who are born, to be reconciled with God.
The feast of Tabernacles signifies the coming of the Father and the Son to live for eternity in the dwelling place that the Spirit has prepared in those who cooperate with Him.
We can see readily that the Day of Atonement is a jubilee of deliverance, enabling each person to be set free from Satan and his works so he may return to his original inheritance, which is to be in God's image.
Does the New Testament speak of a time to come when we will be redeemed completely from the influence of Satan. Yes, it does.
Notice that the Apostle Paul told us that our salvation, our redemption from the hand of the enemy, is in the future.
And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:23)
It is God's plan that the whole creation be filled with His Spirit. This is why the Apostle Paul uses the term "firstfruits." We who have the Spirit now are a forerunner of that which is to come in the Year of Jubilee.
Notice that the Apostle was looking forward to the redemption of his mortal body. I believe the hope that our body will be redeemed, or saved we might say, does not appear to be preached very much.
There may be two reasons why we do not hear much about the redemption of our body, which is the same concept as the resurrection of our body and the clothing of it with our body from Heaven.
First, at some point hundreds of years ago, the Gospel of the Kingdom was changed into the Gospel of Heaven. The goal of salvation then became our being carried up to Heaven to live there forever, instead of the scriptural goal, which is the changing of our body into immortality.
I have the impression that the Christian people of today are not particularly concerned about whether or not their body is resurrected, just as long as their spirit goes to Heaven when they die.
Obviously going to Heaven when we die is not a jubilee of deliverance from the enemy. It is not a restoration to the image of God. Rather, it is a release from the trials of earth---trials that God has designed to change our character into His image.
Meanwhile Satan, rather than the meek, inherits the earth.
The second reason why we do not hear much about the redemption of our body is the unscriptural doctrine of the "rapture." The rapture is not a change in us, not a jubilee of being set free from the chains of Satan. It is a way of escaping the troubles of the earth so we may play in Paradise.
I may be correct in saying that those who are promoting the "rapture" seldom if ever mention the resurrection. Yet, according to the Book of First Thessalonians, we will be resurrected, or changed, before we are caught up.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. (I Thessalonians 4:16)
The dead in Christ shall rise first. Shall rise. The term "rise" means "resurrected," just as Jesus rose from the dead. The "dead in Christ" are those who came from Heaven with the Lord Jesus. They may have been in the spirit world for hundreds of years. Yet they had to return to earth to receive their body from the grave and have it filled with resurrection life.
Those who are alive physically on the earth at that time shall be changed into incorruption.
Then both groups, those who came with Christ and who experienced resurrection, and the living who are changed, shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. They are not caught up to Heaven!
The reason why it is necessary to point out that we must be resurrected, or changed, before we are caught up, is that resurrection (or change) into incorruption can occur only as our inward nature is made ready.
The preparation of the inward nature, which is absolutely necessary before our body is resurrected or changed, occurs as we dine on the body and blood of Christ. This we do every day, as we choose to confess and turn away from our sins and self-will.
As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. (John 6:57)
Eating the flesh of Christ and drinking the blood of Christ transforms our inner personality into eternal life, into a life-giving spirit. It is this inner life that will draw us up to the slain Lamb in the air.
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:54)
For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. (Matthew 24:28)
No person who is not living by the Life of Christ will be resurrected or changed when Jesus next appears from Heaven.
You might think, "There will not be many who will be caught up."
This is true. We find it difficult to grasp that God works with "little flocks." We Americans have a hard time understanding that churches of huge numbers of people are no more important to God than a chapel with four or five in attendance.
Let me interject a thought at this point, that may help some who are troubled by the fact that a relatively small number of people will be prepared to meet the Lord when He returns.
It is the Kingdom of God that will bring the Glory of God, justice, and peace to the whole earth. The Lord Jesus Christ is the King of the Kingdom of God.
But the Lord Jesus, as great as He is, is not going to bring Divine Glory, justice and peace into the earth by Himself.
The prime purpose of the Church Age, from the first appearing of Christ to the second appearing, has been and yet is the calling out and bringing to maturity those who will rule the nations with Christ, bringing Divine Glory, justice, and peace to them.
Because we tend to view the Church Age as the time for saving all the peoples of the earth, we place bringing the believers to maturity as secondary in importance. We see our goal as making certain that everyone hears the Gospel and hopefully receives it in faith.
A review of the New Testament will demonstrate that God is willing that all be "saved." But the effort at the present time is to call out and bring to maturity those who are to govern with Christ, His "brothers," you might say.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:28,29)
Please notice carefully in the above passage that nothing is said about being "saved." The emphasis is on calling, the Divine purpose, foreknowledge, predestination, the image of Christ, the brothers of Christ.
We can see the program of "calling" mentioned in the New Testament:
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. (I Corinthians 1:26)
Now think. Is God willing for the wise, the mighty, the noble, to be "saved"? Of course He is. God is willing that all people be saved.
Therefore, there is a difference between people who are "called" and people who are "saved."
The "Church Age" is just that. It is the period of time set aside for the calling and growth to maturity of those who are to bring the Kingdom of God to the earth, that is, the members of the Royal Priesthood.
But what about the majority of mankind? Their time of salvation will come when the Royal Priesthood has been made ready to bring Divine Glory, peace, and justice to them. God loves the people of the world, not just His Church.
Would you like to see a picture of mankind coming to the Church to be saved?
For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea [mankind] shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. (Isaiah 60:2-5)
Will everyone who is called attain to his or her destiny? Will everyone to whom the Church ministers be saved into the new world of righteousness?
Sadly, no. It always is up to the individual to seek to grasp that for which he or she is grasped.
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12)
Some are apprehended to be mighty rulers in the Kingdom of God. Others are apprehended to be citizens of the new world of righteousness. Each of us has been assigned a place in God's Kingdom. But we must press forward in Christ until we are established in the very center of God's will for us as an individual.
Even the Apostle Paul said he still was seeking to attain to that to which he had been grasped.
The first rule of the Kingdom of God is strict obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. To not obey Christ is to invite residence in the Lake of Fire.
As I said, the church of thousands is no more important to God than a chapel of four or five in attendance. The larger assembly is more important to man but not to God. It is just more work for the pastor.
When you think of it, one of the greatest events in the history of mankind, the presence of Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, was witnessed by only three people! And only two human beings, Enoch and Elijah, as far as we know, have been caught up into Heaven.
The Apostle Paul spoke of "attaining to" the resurrection out from the dead. Paul laid aside everything that he might attain to the resurrection. We understand from this that the current notion that all who have "accepted Christ" will willy-nilly be carried up to Heaven any day now, is neither scriptural nor realistic.
Given the fact that the purpose of calling up some of the believers is so they may descend with Christ and govern the nations of the earth, the concept that all who "accept Christ" are ready instantly to govern the nations with the iron scepter of righteousness is nothing short of ridiculous. Completely unscriptural and unrealistic.
The point is this: participation in a rapture places no demands on the believer. Participation in the first resurrection, that which will take place when Jesus returns, places total demands on the believer.
The resurrection, the change into immortality, and the catching up are the future "salvation" that Paul pointed toward. These actions are reserved for those who have been prepared.
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. (Romans 13:11)
What we have now is a "sealing." We have been "sealed" by the Spirit of God unto the Day of Redemption to come in the future.
Remember that Paul is speaking to God's elect, His Royal Priesthood.
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. (I Peter 2:9)
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)
Have you ever heard anyone preach about the Day of Redemption? The thinking today is that once we "accept Christ," the next stop is Heaven.
What is this about a Day of Redemption? We have been sealed to the Day of Redemption? This means that when the Day comes, we will be redeemed.
In what way will we be redeemed? All of the evil in us that we have put to death as the Spirit of God assists us will finally be removed from us. Our body in Heaven that has been formed as we have obeyed God will clothe our mortal body. We then shall be a life-giving spirit, ready to bring eternal life to mankind. This is the task of the Royal Priesthood.
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven. (II Corinthians 5:1,2)
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening [life-giving] spirit. (I Corinthians 15:45)
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (I Corinthians 15:54)
This easily can be seen as a Jubilee.
What we have at the present time is an "earnest," a down payment of the salvation that is to come if we endure to the end.
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:14)
At the present time, the power of God is keeping us, as we live by faith, to the great Jubilee of salvation that will be revealed in the last time.
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (I Peter 1:5)
Notice carefully the following verse.
And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 59:20)
"Zion" is the heavenly Jerusalem, the Christian Church. Every true Christian is, at the present time, living in the heavenly Zion.
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. (Hebrews 12:22)
If we count ourselves dead to the present world, crucified with Christ, and alive with Him in His resurrection, we already are in Christ at the right hand of God in our inward nature.
But now notice:
And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. (Romans 11:26)
The deliverer shall come out of Zion and turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Remember, "Zion" is the Christian Church.
Let's think about this for a moment. First, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, comes to Zion, to the Church, to those who turn away from sin. This is taking place today. As we pray and wait upon the Lord, He reveals to us our sins and self-will and helps us denounce and turn away from them.
I cannot emphasize too strongly that this is taking place right now, for we are in the last days.
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13:41-43)
Then, what takes place after those in Zion are set free?
There shall come out of Sion (out of those of the Church who have been set free from sin) the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
"All Israel shall be saved." Remember that Paul said not all the Jews are "Israel." Their descent from Abraham does not make them Israel. To be a member of "Israel" one must be "called."
Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. (Romans 9:6-8 )
There only is one Seed of Abraham. The one Seed of Abraham is the Lord Jesus Christ. Every person who is of Christ is the one Seed of Abraham, whether Jewish or Gentile by physical birth.
So when Paul says the Redeemer shall come from Zion and turn away ungodliness from Jacob and all Israel shall be saved, it means that Christ, Head and Body, shall minister the Day of Atonement to every member of the one Seed of Abraham, particularly the called from among the Jewish people.
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:28,29 )
The Redeemer, Christ, Head and Body, after the Body itself has been delivered from Satan, shall turn to the remainder of the Seed of Abraham and deliver those people until all who are of true Israel, the Seed of Abraham, have been redeemed from the hand of Satan.
This reminds us of Joseph, after marrying his Gentile bride, bringing deliverance to Jacob and his family.
There are seven feasts of the Lord (Leviticus, Chapter 23). Pentecost is number four, that is, the midpoint of the feasts.
It is obvious that Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost have all had a spiritual fulfillment in the Christian people.
Passover—the blood of the Lamb that covers us when God judges the world.
Unleavened Bread—water baptism in which we join the crucified Christ on the cross, turning away from the evil that is in the world. Then we rise to share with Christ His resurrection Life.
Firstfruits—the born again experience in which we rise spiritually in Christ to the right hand of God.
Pentecost—the work of the Spirit of God in the Christian people.
It is reasonable that the final three convocations, the Blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles, also will have a spiritual fulfillment.
When we think about the testimony to the world of the Christian churches we can see how far short we are of the fulfillment of the prayer of the Lord Jesus. Jesus said that we would be one in Him and the Father to the extent the world will believe that it is God who has sent Jesus to the world and who loves the believers as He loves Christ Himself.
The hope of many Christians of our day seems to be that God will remove us from the earth because we do not seem to be able to bear witness here as we ought.
It appears obvious that the Church is not fulfilling its mission as the representative of Christ in the earth.
Why is this? It is because we are only half-baked, so to speak.
All that has gone before is preparatory. Today the three great works of power, of the Kingdom, are beginning. They will work until the Church is filled with the Glory of God, the result being that the Church becomes a great light that draws to God people from the ends of the earth.
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. (Isaiah 60:1-3)
Notice that the revival mentioned above comes after the following:
And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 59:20)
It is the Divine Glory that will make the Church one in its union with Christ and the Father; and it is the Divine Glory that the world will see and realize that it indeed is God who has sent Jesus Christ to us.
So all is not lost. It is true in our day that the Christian Church, viewed as a whole, is one great octopus with the head of man. It hardly is the Bride without blemish or wrinkle. It hardly is one in Christ in God. Far from it!
There shall be no ecumenical effort that will rectify this. The future ecumenical efforts will result in Babylon the Great, of the Book of Revelation.
It is the Glory of God that will accomplish the perfecting and unifying of the Church, not the schemes of self-seeking men and women.
The Christian Church is a valley of dry bones. There is no way human beings can make an army of the dry bones. The result would be a Frankenstein.
What then should we do? Prophesy to the bones. Tell the bones what God is saying. In order to do this we will have to live so close to Jesus that we really know what the Spirit of God is prophesying to the bones.
The past works of God, except for Calvary, will pale before the mighty works that are ahead of us. The greatest Glory of God will be sent to us when spiritual darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people.
We can see the approaching darkness today in America. Sexual sins of all sorts are on the increase. The governments, state and national, are blind. They have become foolish because they do not give God the glory due His name.
We are having catastrophe after catastrophe, in America as well as in other parts of the world. The leaders puff themselves up and tell how they are going to rebuild. In their pride they preen their feathers like peacocks, and then proceed to do foolish things. Why? Because it is the fool who says there is no God.
Ours is a day in which we are wise if we take cover under the wings of the Almighty God. There nothing can harm us—absolutely nothing! The world will continue to grind on, never achieving the paradise it hopes for.
Meanwhile, God is speaking to those who can hear His voice to prepare ourselves for the end of the age by learning to depend on the Lord Jesus for every aspect of our life. This we absolutely must do if we are to survive and stand before the Lord with our loved ones.
The boasting of the leaders as they vaunt themselves will increase until the blowing of the trumpet of the Jubilee. Then Christ and His messengers will remove the filthy garments from the elect. The Glory of God shall be seen on them. Then Christ shall catch them up to Himself that the members of the Royal Priesthood may be ready to descend on the white war stallions and throw Antichrist and the False Prophet into the Lake of Fire.
One angel will bind Satan with a great chain and throw him into the Bottomless Pit.
The angels of God will drive the angels of Satan and the demons into the spiritual darkness where they belong.
Then the whole army of saints will go through the earth and destroy all the institutions of Antichrist. Some people will be preserved at that time. Many will be slain. All of this is preparation for the rule of Christ and His saints over the nations of the earth.
So let us remain true to Jesus. The great works of the Kingdom yet are ahead of us. The atonement made on the cross of Calvary is the legal underpinning of all that God shall accomplish in the future.
The mortgage Satan has held on mankind has been paid in full on the cross. But the landlord will not surrender his domain, so it must be taken from him by force.
And so it shall. But first God must have people who will renounce Satan and all his works. Such people, many of them, already are standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion. When their ranks have been filled, the final battle against evil shall take place.
The result is assured.
And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. (Leviticus 25:10)
Seventy "sevens" are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. (Daniel 9:24)