“And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.” (Leviticus 25:10)
As the churches and saints begin the long-term campaign to preach the high gospel, teach the deep truths, and establish churches throughout America, we should have the keen realization that we are actually announcing the jubilee throughout America. The year of jubilee is typified in the Old Testament in Leviticus 25 as a time when everyone was restored to their rightful inheritance of the good land and everyone was released from slavery. The reality of the year of jubilee is the New Testament age of grace (Luke 4:18-19) where everyone can be brought back to God as their portion and emancipated from all forms of bondage. Surely this is the great, intrinsic need in America today. Even though by relative, outward standards, America is considered a land of prosperity and freedom, we know that countless millions of Americans are impoverished because they do not have God and are enslaved by sin and Satan.
Therefore it is our great privilege to be commissioned to announce the jubilee throughout America beginning with the gospel trips later this month. The current count indicates that over 1300 saints are registered to participate in one of the gospel trips. There are likely hundreds more participating locally who have not officially registered. And we believe there are thousands more participating through prayer. We are not merely carrying out an event or activity, but we are in fact announcing release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of jubilee, throughout America.
The living and proclamation of the jubilee is seen throughout the Gospel of Luke. The famous parable of the prodigal son is a picture of wandering man who has been disenfranchised and alienated from God. Through the Son’s redemption and the Spirit’s seeking, this lost one is stirred up to return to God as his inheritance and the Father’s house as his true dwelling place and family. We should pray for so many of our fellow Americans who are wandering and wondering to be stirred up in these days by the Spirit, and to make a decision to return to God and the Father’s house. Recent reports indicate that 6 to 12 million seeking believers have left the mega-churches and have begun meeting in homes, looking for some semblance of the genuine New Testament church life. We must also pray for all these seeking ones, that they would not go just half-way, but come all the way home to the Father’s house to fully enjoy God as their portion and all the blessings of the jubilee.
It is also significant that the coming year, 2011-2012, marks the 50th anniversary of the Lord’s recovery in North America. The Lord’s recovery began in a definite way in North America in 1962 with the landmark conference on “The All-Inclusive Christ” in Los Angeles. We cannot consider this timing to be merely coincidental. Rather, this should be a reminder from the Lord that as we mark the 50th year of the Lord’s recovery in North America, we must do so by living and proclaiming the jubilee throughout this country. May the Lord impress us all that we are truly living in the age of jubilee and may we all have a share in the proclamation of the jubilee throughout America!
“Behold, now is the well-acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2)