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When You Go Home
The Shmittah and Jubilee
Behar "on the mountain" and Buchukotai "in my statutes"
Le 25:1-26:2; 26:3-27:34
Je 32:6-32:27;
16:19-17:14
Ps 112 & 105
Lk 8:21
There has been such a flood of emails concerning the YouTube livestream that we've decided to do at least one more on Shabbat. Due to our own congregation's service, though, we will not stream until 4:00 pm Eastern Time.
The Scripture offers so many patterns, all running simultaneously. How can we figure them out? We can't! Even the prophets were moved by the Ruach HaKodesh, not scholarship. Don't get me wrong, scholarship and excellence in learning is very important. It corrects many errors and stops many mistakes before they are made. Prophecy, however, is susceptible to interpretation. According to Scripture itself, however, no prophecy is open to private interpretation. Not everything that feels like a move of the Spirit or seems to fit so perfectly is inspired of the Holy Spirit.
The shmittah and Jubilee years are certainly tempting in that regard. The cycles of sevens are be prophetic. Look at how those sevens roll through the Book of Revelation! That's exactly what the moedim and sabbaths do in time: they roll! This week's Torah portion establishes the shmittah years of release and the jubilees of Israel. These may be seen as a macrocosm of the smaller jubilees: the weekly Shabbat and the 7 x 7 weeks counting the omer to Shavuot (Pentecost).
There is an inexhaustible number of study trails to follow down the path of the Jubilees, but what does it really mean?
each of you shall return to his own
property
, and
each of you shall return to his
family
.
(Le
25:8-10)
To find the hidden joy in the jubilee, one must realize what the Land of Israel symbolizes, and how the physical Land is connected to what...and who...is just above it. Only when you recognize your "property" and "family" will the Jubilee propel you toward excellence in the in-betweens of the cycles. The other cycles of feasts and patterns of Scripture run simultaneously, and we learn to move with them, learning a little more each day, week, month, year, shmittah, and jubilee until we're both dazzled and comforted by these spinning prophecies we live in.
Although the Jubilee is a return to one's property and family, there is a hint in the "Shabbat Shabbaton" term that the Jubilee and Yom Kippur share.
If
there is any person who will not
humble himself
on this same day,
he shall be cut off from his
people
.
(
Le
23:26-32)
The people of Yom Kippur are the family of Jubilee. It is the family of the ages, Israel, the descendants of Abraham and Sarah. On these days, Yom Kippur and Jubilee, all Israel stands equal. Equally forgiven. Equally clean. Equal in inheritance in the Promised Land.
On Yom Kippur, the family of Israel equally fasts, and they are equally humble. On the Yovel (Jubilee), they are equally free to "go up" at the sound of the
yovel, the shofar, the ram's horn. One goes up to Israel and down to everywhere else on earth. The crossover point to the family property is the Jordan River at Jericho:
Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel;
no one went out and no one came in
.
The LORD said to Joshua, 'See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.
You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days.
Also
seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams' horns (
yovlim
) before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets (shofar)
.It shall be that when they make
a long blast with the ram's (
yovel
) horn
, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet (shofar), all the people shall
shout with a great shout
; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and
the people will go up every man
straight ahead." (Joshua 6:1-6)
Your people, family, and Land? Israel. The Garden of Eden hovers just above it, concealed to the natural eye, yet there.
When Messiah descends, the righteous family will go up and meet the family already waiting, a great cloud of witnesses. Jordan is Yarden in Hebrew, meaning "to descend." Messiah will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the shofar and yovlim. Welcome back home to the mountain, son of Abraham and daughter of Sarah. Welcome back. You stood at Mount Sinai and accepted the Torah with "We will do and we will hear." You accepted to the sounds of thunder, the yovel (Ex 19:13), the clouds, the lightning, and the glory. You were not there, yet you were:
Now not with you alone am I making this covenant and this oath,
but both with those who stand here with us today in the presence of the L
ORD
our God and with those who are not with us here today. (Dt 29:14-15)
So welcome home, Israel. Listen for the sound of the yovel. It's coming soon. Hear and obey, and see if the walls won't fall.
The Seven Seals
Attention: South Africa
For those ordering workbooks from South Africa, please contact Colleen Martin at [email protected] to place your order.
It's LIVE on Amazon and available through local bookstores!
The revision of
Creation Gospel Workbook Two: The Seven Abominations of the Wicked Lamp, The Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets, and Seven Bowls of Wrath
(and the Thunders) may be purchased to enhance your winter reading and Scripture study!
You already know the Sabbaths and feasts are important, but once you work through this workbook, you'll be more convinced than ever that your faith in Yeshua, his commandments, and especially his feasts, are vital last-day fulfillments of prophecy and inoculation against the plagues of sevens.
Be careful to purchase the February 2020 version (2nd Edition),
NOT the 2009 version sold by used book stores on Amazon. Click
Seven Seals or the red horse graphic to view.
Come Home to Sukkot in Israel
Yes, we're still planning to c
elebrate Sukkot 2020 in Israel!
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| Sukkot Parade of the Nations 2019 |
The registration page is up so that you can make a deposit. The price may drop once negotiations are concluded and the final itinerary set. Click on
Sukkot of Glory to view or reserve your place with a deposit.
LaMalah Children's Centre
Royalty income from the Creation Gospel workbooks and your donations support the orphanage. Whether you buy a workbook or donate this month, it helps. Kenya is experiencing higher staple food prices due to the plague of locusts in the Middle East. We hope to disburse extra money for food rations with our next quarterly support transfer.
If you would like to donate to the Children's Centre through The Creation Gospel, click on the Donate link below. It will say The Olive Branch Messianic Congregation on your receipt. Our local congregation is the non-profit covering for our ministry. Checks or money orders may be sent to:
The Creation Gospel
PO Box 846
East Bernstadt, KY 40729
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