Perhaps, one of the most uttered Biblical word/term in our
country since the beginning of year 2012 until now is none other than the word
Jubilee. Many pastors, especially those of the Charismatic/Pentecostal churches
were the ones in the forefront of popularizing this word to the point whereby
even the current government which God foreordained (Rom 13:1, Dan 2:21, Dan
4:17, etc.) derived its name from it. However; for now, let’s move politics
aside since my main aim isn’t about the Jubilee government but the true
Biblical Jubilee.
The questions we must ask ourselves first of all is what is
Jubilee? We as believers, especially Church elders are commanded by God to
study diligently His Word of Truth (The Bible) and rightly divide it. If we do
this, we shall be approved by God and not be ashamed, and if not, we will be
ashamed of ourselves (2 Tim 2:15). Therefore; in order to answer this critical
question about what is Jubilee, let us go back to The Bible since His Word is
sufficient. In Leviticus 25, we can see that the year of Jubilee was instituted
by God as a feast year that was to be celebrated each 50th year.
Let’s not expound deeper this early about how it was celebrated but let me show
you historical significance.
Historically; studying from various Jewish rabbinical texts
such as the Talmud and also Christian ones, we do know that the Theocratic Israelites
never ever at any one time kept the feast of Jubilee as commanded by God(…..)!
Therefore, they’ve forever been anticipating for a Jubilee as this was a law
that was given unto the Jews to keep and failure to obey it had some
consequences. Any Christian believer who has ever read the Scriptures assuredly
knows that there is not even one person who has ever kept the law and breaking
one point of it is akin to breaking the entire law of God (James 2:10). The law
served as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ (Gal 3:24) and in Colossians
2:16-17; the slave of Jesus Christ, apostle Paul vilifies those who try to
justify themselves with the keeping of the Sabbath feasts but instead tells us
that those were a shadow of things to come.
Jubilee was a Sabbath feast, and to us Christians, we clearly
know that Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:5). These feasts
pictured various events of the life and work of Christ, e.g. Pentecost/Feast of
Weeks – Birth of Church, Feast of Trumpets – Rapture, Feast of Tabernacles –
Millennium, etc. Jubilee was the culmination of the Sabbath feasts and it
signified the rest of believers. When our Lord Jesus Christ began His ministry,
(Luke 4:16-21) we can see that He read Isaiah 61 which is a Messianic prophecy
concerning the rest that His elect will get when He comes, (see also Luke
1:46-55 and Matt 11:28-30). In the same vein, according to both Jewish and
Christian scholars, the year that Jesus began His ministry was supposed to be a
Jubilee year but as you know, He came to give us spiritual blessings and rest,
not physical ones like the Jews anticipated (Eph 1:3).
Some might argue that what I’ve said so far doesn’t prove
that we as Christians shouldn’t celebrate Jubilee year in Kenya, but maybe they
should consider the message of prophet Hosea in chapter 3 verse 4 where we
learn that the children of Israel without a king, epoch, sacrifices, etc. It is
this verse from which we will systematically decipher about how the year
Jubilee was conducted.
WHAT AND HOW WAS THE YEAR OF JUBILEE CONDUCTED
In short, Jubilee was a feast constituted by God (Lev 25)
and it was to be celebrated on every 50th year. They did this by
numbering seven Sabbath years which was the 49th year (v. 8). The
trumpet of Jubilee was sounded on the 10th day of the 7th
month during the Day of Atonement (v. 9).
During that 50th year, as a Theocracy, the
Israelites were told to hallow it and proclaim liberty throughout all the land,
unto all the inhabitants and every man was to return unto his own possession
and family (v. 10). They were not supposed to sow, reap or gather that which
growth by itself (v. 11). They were not supposed to oppress one another but instead
fear God (v. 17) and by keeping the commandments of the Lord, they’ll dwell in
the land (v. 18) and hence the land will yield its fruit and God was to command
His blessing in the 6th year (the 48th year from the
previous Jubilee) and it was to bring forth fruit for 3 years (v. 12) which
they’ll eat till the 9th year (v. 22). These were basically the
promises which God gave concerning Jubilee.
LINKAGE OF JUBILEE AND ATONEMENT
In Leviticus 25:9, I’ve shown that the trumpet call of
proclaiming the year of Jubilee was sounded during the 10th day of
the 7th month during the Day of Atonement on the 7th
year, (49th) hence from it we can see a relationship between the Day
of Atonement and Jubilee, therefore, in order to clearly understand Jubilee, we
have to learn what was the Day of Atonement.
The Day of Atonement was the holiest of all days to the Jews
which was celebrated on the 10th day of every 7th month
in a year (Lev 16:29). It was a yearly sin offering so that people may be may
be cleansed from their sins and it was to be an everlasting statute to the
children of Israel in order for their sins to be atoned for once a year (v.
34). The high priest could only enter into the Holy of Holies before the mercy
seat of the Lord once a year on the Day of Atonement to offer this sacrifice
first for himself and then for the people (Heb 9:7) and in Heb 9:8, we learn
that God was signifying that the way unto the holiest was not yet made manifest
while the first tabernacle was still standing and thus their offering of blood
of animals to atone for people’s sins which couldn’t make them perfect (v. 9)
and that it was only to be observed until the times of reformation, i.e. when
Christ comes and offers this pure sacrifice once and for all as He was the High
Priest of good things to come (V. 10-28) and thus He was able to purify
believers forever!
The law (including Jubilee) was just a shadow of good things
to come and not the very image of the things, can never with these sacrifices
that were offered every year make people perfect (Heb 10:1), but the people
were still conscious of their sins because the blood of animals could not
perfect the people (v. 4-8) and that is why God took away the first (law of
sacrifices) and brought the second (Christ’s sacrifice) (v.10) and as a result
we are sanctified through the offering of Christ once and for all and that’s why
Christ sat down on the right side of God because He has completed His work (Heb
10:12, John 19:28-30 and Luke 23:44-46) and by His one offering, He has
sanctified us forever (Heb 10:14) and thus God remembers no more our sins (v.
17) and also no more offering is needed (v. 18). Because of all these things,
we therefore have boldness to enter into the Holiest, i.e. the mercy seat (v
19-22, 4:16 and Luke 44-46).
WHY BRING ALL THESE STORY OF ATONEMENT?
Someone might ask, why did you have to say all these things
about the atonement yet the topic we were discussing is on the Jubilee? In
Proverbs 19:2, God tells us that it is not a good thing to have zeal without
knowledge and that the person who acts hastily sins. Compare that verse with
Romans 10:2-4 whereby Paul tells us that the Jews were having a zeal for God
which is without knowledge and because they were ignorant of God’s
righteousness, they were thus in effect establishing their own righteousness
and have not submitted to the righteousness of God since Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Therefore, we can say
that the people (Charismatic churches) who were propagating the “Jubilee Year”
to Kenya and giving them its associated promises and others which they invented
were in effect misquoting and huckstering God’s Word just like the false
prophets of yore and as a result they’ve failed to see and understand core
Christian doctrines such as law, grace, Christology, atonement, justification
and redemption; consequently, just like the Jews of Paul’s day – that were
known as Judaizers who were saying that the way to be saved was through grace
coupled with the keeping of the law and thus were coming up with their own way
of righteousness that is not God’s way ‘but indeed they’ve fallen away from the
grace of God and Christ therefore shall profit them nothing (See Gal 5:1-10).
THE PROMISES AND
‘PROPHECIES’ GIVEN
For now, let me not expound further on other things but
instead let’s turn our attention to see the various promises and ‘prophecies’
(kindly note that in quotes since the Bible teaches that we have no modern day
prophets) that were given to Kenya regarding the year of Jubilee by various
local and foreign Charismatic/Pentecostal church leaders. Amongst those were;
1.
Cancellation of all debts.
2.
Peace and tranquility both within and without
the borders.
3.
‘Revival’ and ‘restoration in the land.
4.
Restitution of the people.
5.
Exceeding and abundant wealth and prosperity.
6.
Reconciliation in families, communities and
international community.
7.
Restoration of exceedingly great health.
8.
Zero corruption in the land.
9.
Dismantling of refugee camps.
10.
Transformation of cities and towns to be like
those of 1st world countries.
11.
No more accidents in our roads, air, rail, etc.
12.
Reduction in robbery and terrorism activities.
13.
Et cetera.
As you can clearly see, all these promises was nothing new
apart from the vile ‘health-wealth,’ ‘name-it and claim-it,’ ’blab-it and
grab-it,’ or ‘prosperity gospel.’ The 50th year of Independence was
an opportune time for these false teachers who worship not our Lord Jesus
Christ but their bellies (Phil 3:19) and mind earthly things which they ought
not to preach for filthy lucre’s sake (Tit 1:11) as they don’t rightly divide
the Word of Truth (2 Tim 2:15) and no wonder their followers were able to made
merchandise by their fake leaders (2 Pet 2:1-3).
DID THE PROMISES COME TO
PASS?
When this message of Jubilee was preached, I used to tell
people that it won’t come to pass and people used to call me a prophet of doom
like Jeremiah and I graciously acted just like him by cheekily telling them
Jeremiah 28:6 “amen! May The Lord do so and bring your prophecies to pass.” It’s
therefore critical for us to prove all things (1 Thes 5:21) and as Kenyans, we
should ask ourselves if the ‘prophecies’ and promises that were given us in
keeping the Jubilee if they did come to pass. The short answer is a big NO
since these people are false teachers and were speaking presumptuously (Deut
18:22). Just look at these stats and judge for yourselves;
1.
Our country’s national debt has increased to
more than 2 Trillion shillings!!! Where is the cancellation of debts? Let’s not
even count our individual debts.
2.
Insecurity has been the Achilles’ heel in our
country beginning the past year including the terrible crime of terrorism which
has shot up to unimaginable heights and as a result both men and animals are
living in fear!‼ Surely, where is the promised peace and tranquility? See
Jeremiah 6:14, 8:11,15,
3.
There has not been a spiritual ‘revival’ in the
land; instead, what we see are false expressions of Christianity and also
atheism is on the increase and last year it was reported that at least 40% of
the youth in technically atheists.
4.
Morality is on the decline in the land and we
see more and more perverts more so in the ‘church,’ if anyone doubts, I bet
s/he has not been reading the scandals that are published in papers such as The
Nairobian and other blogs. I feel ashamed to even say that bestiality and
childhood defilement is also on the up.
5.
Underemployment, unemployment and poverty is on
the rise and in April of this year, The World Bank in one of its report listed
Kenya as among the 10 countries where the poorest of the poor live! Was this
the promised milk and honey we were given for celebrating Jubilee?
6.
Hatred, separation, divorce and other divisions
within the family unit is on a sharp rise. We should also not forget that
tribal suspicions and hostilities between communities, social and religious
groups is fast rising not forgetting also that between Kenya and our
International partners.
7.
Corruption is not dying in Kenya but behaving
like a cancerous cell that now affects all the fabrics of the society not
forgetting that it has now been devolved.
8.
Accidents are on the increase in our roads no
matter what the government plans to do.
9.
Sickness has continued to afflict us just like
before and we see no change even after we celebrated Jubilee. See Jeremiah 8:15
and 14:9
10.
We looked for great harvest but instead hunger
(Hag 1:9a and Jer 8:20) has come and it appears it will so in the next few
months considering the little amount of rains we’ve received in the long rain
season.
There is clearly no need of I continuing about the failure
of occurrence of the so called Jubilee promises as it was a total lie from the
part of these church leaders and thus making the name of God to be blasphemed
among the unbelievers. Because of these lies, the righteousness have been made
sad while strengthening the hands of the wicked as Ezekiel says in chapter 13
verse 22.
DID GOD LIE?
In a recent tweet, @BurkParsons, who is a Conservative
Reformed Presbyterian theologian affiliated with PCA denomination (please don’t
confuse it with the liberal PCUSA) said, “We are certainly entitled to our own
opinions but not to our own version of truth.” He was absolutely right and
that’s why as Christians, before we utter anything, we must ask ourselves “what
saith the Scriptures” (Gal 4:30) and that’s why we are commanded not to go
beyond what’s written (1 Cor 4:6b). Therefore, since we’ve seen a total failure
of these promises concerning the Jubilee, we must ask ourselves a very
important question which is; “Did God lie??? To give the answer, I’ll use
Scriptures to prove that God is innocent and didn’t lie but the liars are the
church leaders who took God’s Word out of context. After all, doesn’t Isaiah
8:20say “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this
word, it is because there is no light in them.”
Fundamentally, there is no question that all believers
believe that God cannot lie (Tit 1:2, Heb 6:18, Rom 3:4, Num 23:15, 1 Sam
15:24, 2 Tim 2:13), and that as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven,
and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth
and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall
my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void,
but it shall do that which I please, and it shall accomplish that for which I
send it (Is 55:10-11), therefore, His promises are yea and amen (2 Cor 1:20)
because He is the Sovereign Lord of all and whatever He wills will surely come
to pass and fail not (Prov 19:21, Ps 33:8-11, Ps 47:6-7, Ps 115:5, Ps 135:6, Is
14:24, Is 45:7, Is 46:9-10, Eph 1:11, Job 9:2, Job 12:6-10, Deut 32:39, 1 Sam
2:6-8, etc).
Therefore, since all these promises about Jubilee failed,
why was these messages preached to churches? The answer I can give is that
perhaps these are the false teachers whom we were warmed that would come in the
last days who with crafty speeches will lead many who have itchy ears astray (2
Tim 4:3-4, Acts 20:29-32, 2 Tim 3:1-6, 1 Tim 4:1-5, 2 Pet 2, Jude, etc)? And since they do not stand in the
counsel of the Lord (Jer 23:22a), they would not have prophesied lies by saying
that they’ve had dreams from the Lord (Jer 23:25-26), and since their word
failed to come to pass (Jer 28:6a, 9, 6:13-15), it’s no wonder that their words
did not profit their hearers (Jer 23:32).
In writing this article, most assuredly I’ve made some
people to be very cross and angry with me; at after all, doesn’t Ecclesiastes
1:18 say that with much wisdom is much grief and that he that increaseth
knowledge increaseth knowledge? And with that I rejoice for I’ve achieved one
of my purposes, since it is very bad to see the people who refer to themselves
as God’s people being destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hos 4:6). Most assuredly,
it is a noble thing to have faith, but at the same time, it can be ignoble
sometimes since faith without reason is irrational! Consider these words of
Pastor John Macarthur from his book Reckless Faith;
“Did you know that faith can be seriously harmful? Some
varieties of faith actually lead away from the true God—they substitute
superstition, falsehood, or faith itself in place of truth. Such faith
inevitably leads to spiritual disaster. It is reckless faith.
Reckless faith seeks spiritual truth apart from
Scripture—and that is the very point at which it becomes reckless. Both kinds
of reckless faith also have this in common: they are irrational and
anti-intellectual. “Anti-intellectual” doesn’t mean they oppose intellectual
snobbery. Itmeans they spurn the intellect and encourage blind, uncritical
trust. Anti-intellectuals often set faithagainst reason, as if the two were
opposites. That kind of faith is gullibility. It is foolishness, and not
biblical faith. Biblical faith is never irrational.
Authentic faith, in contrast, can never bypass the mind. It
cannot be irrational. Faith, after all, deals with truth. Truth is objective
data to be known, studied, contemplated, and understood. All those are
activities that engage the intellect.
That means genuine Christianity cannot be anti-intellectual.
The body of truth on which our faith is based has depths that are
mysterious—unfathomable to the merely human mind, or inscrutable—but truth is
never irrational. The difference is all-important. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).
Therefore what God says is true—and the antithesis of what He says must be
false. Truth cannot be self-contradictory. Truth makes sense; nonsense cannot
be true.”
Moreover, the doctrine on which we base our faith must be
sound—which is to say it must be biblical (1 Timothy 4:6; 2 Timothy 4:2–3;
Titus 1:9; 2:1). “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree
with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine
conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing” (1 Timothy
6:3–4, emphasis added). Sound, biblical doctrine therefore underlies all true
wisdom and authentic faith. The attitude that scorns doctrine while elevating
feelings or blind trust cannot legitimately be called faith, even if it
masquerades as Christianity. It is actually an irrational form of unbelief.
God holds us accountable for what we believe as well as how
we think about the truth He has revealed. All Scripture testifies to the fact
that God wants us to know and understand the truth. He wants us to be wise. His
will is that we use our minds. We are supposed to think, to meditate—to be
discerning. And that is what we will continue to pursue as this series unfolds
over the coming weeks.
Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to
understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for
understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden
treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the
knowledge of God. For the Lord give
s wisdom; from His
mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:2–6)
In finishing, dear church leaders (I’m also speaking to
laymen), kindly do not be like the Pharisees who hid the key of knowledge from
the people (Luke 11:52), humbly accept that you’ve darkened the Lord’s counsel
by words without just like Job (Job 38:2) and then repent like he did (Job
42:1-6). After all; God has promised us that for all manner of sin He is ready
to forgive us (Matt 12:31) if only we confess them (1 John 1:8-10) as He is
gracious and merciful (Jonah 4:2, Ex 34:6, Joel 2:13, Jer 3:10-13, etc.) If anyone despises the Scriptures,
just ponder what Jesus tells us in Luke 19:22a and remember that is a fearful
thing to fall into the living hands of the Lord (Heb 10:31). Kindly therefore
before preaching and commenting on anything, just read, read, read, ……. and
read again and again and understand what the Bible says in a particular text in
order to clearly teach the correct Biblical doctrines as presented in the Bible,
without forgetting to judge yourselves so as to determine where your faith is,
whether it be in Christ or anything else.
Maranatha.
Visitor:
It seems that Calvinism believes that all were not created equally but
that some were preordained to eternal life and some to eternal
damnation. Aren't there some moral problems with this view point?
Fallacy #1. God would not command us to do what we cannot do.