La opinión de Juan

Pero el cuarto evangelio trae una segunda versión. Allí se dice que la venida del Espíritu Santo ocurrió… ¡el mismo domingo en que resucitó Jesús!

En efecto, relata san Juan que “al atardecer del primer día de la semana (es decir, del domingo de resurrección), los discípulos estaban reunidos con las puertas cerradas, por miedo a los judíos. Entonces llegó Jesús, se puso de pie en medio de ellos y les dijo: «La paz con ustedes». Y les mostró las manos y el costado. Los discípulos se alegraron de ver al Señor. Jesús volvió a decir: «La paz con ustedes. Así como el Padre me envío a mí, también yo los envío a ustedes». Dicho esto, sopló sobre ellos y les dijo: «Reciban el Espíritu Santo. A quienes perdonen sus pecados les serán perdonados; y a quienes se los retengan les serán retenidos»” (Jn 20,19-23).

Según el Nuevo Testamento, entonces, el Espíritu Santo bajó dos veces sobre los discípulos. Una (según san Juan) en Pascua; y la otra (según Los Hechos) cincuenta días más tarde, en Pentecostés. ¿Hubo entonces dos venidas? ¿Acaso la primera no fue eficaz, y se debió recurrir a una segunda?

Problemas con tanto Espíritu

Se han propuesto varias teorías para explicar el doble relato. Por ejemplo, que el Espíritu Santo bajó en Pascua de una manera transitoria, mientras que en Pentecostés bajó de manera definitiva. O que en Pascua el Espíritu descendió de un modo individual, sólo para los discípulos, mientras que en Pentecostés bajó para todo el mundo.

Pero estas teorías hoy no son aceptadas. Porque en ningún momento el evangelio de san Juan da a entender que el Espíritu Santo allí entregado sea provisional, o tenga una función puramente individual. Tanto en Juan como en Hechos, el Espíritu Santo aparece bajando sobre los discípulos de un modo definitivo, pleno, total.

Entonces, ¿cómo explicar que haya dos relatos?

Una nueva semana

La solución que hoy proponen los biblistas es muy simple: los dos autores están contando el mismo acontecimiento, es decir, la única venida del Espíritu Santo sobre los seguidores de Jesús. Pero ambos lo cuentan de manera distinta, porque cada uno tiene una intención especial, o sea, una “teología” particular.

Para el evangelio de Juan, la muerte y resurrección de Jesús provocaron una nueva creación en el mundo. Es como si la primera creación, aquélla contada en el Génesis en siete días, hubiera quedado obsoleta, superada, y hubiera aparecido de pronto, gracias a la resurrección del Señor, un nuevo mundo con nuevas criaturas. Ahora bien, para que entrara en funcionamiento esta nueva creación, Dios tenía que mandar su Espíritu, tal como había sucedido al principio del mundo. Por eso Juan cuenta que el Espíritu Santo bajó el mismo día de Pascua: porque su misión era crear un mundo nuevo, apenas muerto y resucitado Jesús.

Si atendemos ahora a los detalles que Juan pone en su relato, veremos que aluden a esta nueva creación.

En efecto, comienza diciendo: “Al atardecer del primer día de la semana”. ¿Por qué? Porque justamente al atardecer del primer día de la semana, Dios había creado el primer mundo (Gn 1,1-5). Por eso ahora, la nueva creación debía comenzar también el mismo día.

PENTECOST--THE DAY OF JUBILEE.

--ACTS 2:1-11.--MAY 26.--

"When he, the spirit of truth, is come, he
will guide you into all truth."--John 16:13.

PENTECOST signifies fiftieth, and was used amongst the Jews as the name of one of their most important feasts or religious celebrations. As their fiftieth "Jubilee" year followed a cycle of seven times seven years, so Pentecost, as a jubilee day, followed a cycle of seven times seven days, from the time of the gathering of the sheaf of first-fruits, which was presented before the Lord as a "wave-offering." This sheaf of the first-fruits evidently typified our Lord in his resurrection on the sixteenth of Nisan--he having been slain as the Passover Lamb on the fourteenth of Nisan.-- Lev. 33:5,6,15,16.

In our last lesson we noted the fact that it was the eleven apostles that were witnesses of our Lord's ascension, "men of Galilee;" and it was these, who were to be his special representatives, and through whose word others were to believe, that he instructed to tarry at Jerusalem until endued with power from on high. The present lesson shows us the same eleven apostles in the upper room complying with our Lord's injunction, waiting in an attitude of prayer and expectancy, and in readiness to begin their mission of feeding his sheep and lambs. In harmony with this view is the statement, a little later on, when the preaching began, that "all these are Galileans." And again, "Peter standing up with the eleven." (Acts 2:7,14.) We are not positively informed that any others were present at this time, but from previous statements, to the effect that others (to a total of one hundred and twenty) met with the apostles, "continuing with one accord in prayer and supplication," we may reasonably infer that they were present at the time of the pentecostal outpouring of the holy spirit, and that the whole company was thus baptized, immersed in the holy spirit, which filled the place where they were assembled. There is no good reason, however, for questioning respecting the cloven tongues of fire--that these sat upon any but the apostles. The statement is that "It sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the holy spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance." The subsequent statement is that all those who spoke, all to whom the spirit gave utterance or tongues, were Galileans; but whether or not the apostles were thus specially recognized at this time, we are assured, not only from our Lord's words, but also from his subsequent revelation, that the apostles occupied a special place in [R2820 : page 174] connection with his Kingdom, his Church, assigned to no others.--John 6:70; Rev. 21:14.

The Pentecostal blessing signified divine acceptance of the sin-offering which, finished at Calvary, our Lord at this time had presented before the Father. The outpouring of the holy spirit upon the consecrated believers constituted their begetting of the spirit to the new nature, and implied thus, that the condemnation upon them as the children of Adam and under the Law Covenant was cancelled, and that now they were accepted in the Beloved, counted as children of God, and if children then heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ their Lord, if so be that they would suffer with him, that they might also be glorified together--Rom. 8:16,17.

As is implied in our Lord's statement and in his promise, this was a new thing. No such outpouring of the divine spirit had ever occurred before as respected the children of Adam. Indeed, no such acceptance and new begetting on God's part was possible until first the sin-offering had been made and accepted. The only thing corresponding to it was the descent of the holy spirit upon our Lord at the time of his consecration at baptism in Jordan. He there received the holy spirit of adoption in the same sense, but "without measure," he being perfect; those who received this holy spirit at Pentecost received it by measure, that is, in limited degree. (John 3:34.) Altho they were all "filled" with the spirit, yet, because of weakness and imperfections of their organisms, they could only receive limited measures, --these differing one from the other according to natural temperaments, etc.

God's holy spirit had indeed been manifested in various ways previously, but all of them differed from this manifestation. For instance, it was the holy power of God which moved upon the waters in connection with the world's creation. (Gen. 1:2.) Again, as the Apostle Peter declares, "Holy men of [R2820 : page 175] old spake and wrote as they were moved by the holy spirit"--mechanically. (2 Pet. 1:21.) He further explains that what they spake and wrote they did not comprehend; because their utterances and writings were not for themselves, but for us of the Gospel age. We are, therefore, to recognize the fact that the spirit dispensation had its beginning in Jesus, when he was thirty years of age; but so far as others were concerned its beginning was in the sanctified ones at Pentecost, as recorded in this lesson. Neither are we to think that these Pentecostal outpourings and baptisms require a repetition, for the holy spirit thus once poured upon the Church was to abide, to continue, with the Church, not to be withdrawn and poured out afresh repeatedly. Some have concluded that there were times when the holy spirit was not in the world at all; but this was because they were looking for it in a wrong direction or under wrong conditions. At times the nominal church of outward professors has been so overgrown with the "tare" element that the true "wheat" could not so readily be discerned, yet we are confident that the Lord never left himself without a witness, and that even in the darkest hour of the dark ages there were some of God's true people in the world; some representatives of the body of Christ; some, therefore, possessing the holy spirit; some who therefore constituted the salt of the earth and the lights of the world, even tho the darkness was great around them and its influence so powerful that no record of the true Church is to be found, but only the records of the apostacy.

The holy spirit, in harmony with our Lord's promise, was sent only to the consecrated class, and was to abide in the true Church class, "the body of Christ;" and we, and all others who since have come into fellowship and union with our Lord, "the head of the body which is his Church," have thus come into and under the influence of the holy spirit, our rightful portion and privilege. By this spirit we were begotten to the spiritual nature, and became heirs of all the exceeding great and precious promises which belong to "the body of Christ."

It was appropriate that the giving of the holy spirit should be with certain outward demonstration and manifestation; not merely to impress and convince the apostles and the early Church, but also for the benefit of those who should subsequently come into relationship with the Church. Faith must have a ground to rest upon; an assurance that there was at the beginning such a direct recognition of the Savior's sacrifice and of the divine acceptance of the consecrated ones who trusted in him. The rushing wind fitly represented this holy spirit; indeed the words "spirit" and "wind" are both from the same Greek word; a wind is the best illustration of God's spirit, because it is powerful, and yet it is invisible. The cloven or split tongues "like as of fire" or light, was also fit symbols by which to teach the Church something respecting the divine power that had come upon her.

As a tongue it represented the influence which God would use during this Gospel age as the agency of his spirit in accomplishing the work he now designs to do; for "it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." (1 Cor. 1:21.) This way of preaching is not a foolish way, since it is God's way; but it is so different a way of effecting a work from what the natural man would have chosen that it seems to him to be an unwise way. True, at the beginning of this age the tongues, the preaching, was supplemented by miraculous "gifts" among the Lord's people, but these were not designed to be permanent, as the Apostle explains (1 Cor. 13:8); and after the apostles who alone had the power to confer these gifts had died, the gifts themselves of necessity gradually vanished; since which time the preaching tongue has been practically the only instrument which the Lord has used in connection with his great work of calling out and sanctifying the peculiar people to be the Bride, the Royal Priesthood, the Body of Christ.

Some have incorrectly identified the fire-likeness of these tongues with the prophecy of John the Baptist, respecting Christ, saying, "He shall baptize you with holy spirit and with fire." (Matt. 3:11,12.) John's words were not addressed to the disciples, but to the promiscuous company of his hearers, some of whom were Israelites indeed, and some, as he declared, a generation of vipers. The Pentecostal blessing was indeed the fulfilment of a part of John's prediction; viz., the baptism of the holy spirit (Acts 1:5); but this was not the fulfilment of the latter part of John's prophecy respecting the baptism of fire. The room wherein the disciples were assembled was not filled with fire, and they were not immersed in it, either literally or figuratively. The cloven tongues which appeared upon their heads were not fire, but light, a fitting symbol of the holy spirit, and the message of light and truth and blessing which the apostles were proclaiming. The baptism of fire, which John predicted, came later, not upon the faithful of Israel, but upon the class whom John designated, a "generation of vipers"--upon the class of whom the Apostle Paul says, "Wrath is come upon this people to the uttermost." The trouble, the destructive trouble, the fiery trouble, in which that whole nation was figuratively engulfed and baptized, and which ended in A.D. 70, after witnessing the destruction of millions of lives, millions of property, and the complete overthrow of Israel's national polity, was the worthy fulfilment of John's prediction of a baptism of fire.

The fact that the holy spirit upon the apostles was accompanied by miraculous manifestations or gifts, tongues, etc., does not imply any greater favor of God toward the primitive Church, which had those gifts, than toward the Lord's people of a later day, after those gifts had ceased; for, as the Apostle points out, it was possible for some to have those gifts without having much of the real spirit of the Lord. He says, "Tho I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Tho I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and tho I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing." (1 Cor. 13:1,2.) We are, therefore, to esteem love for the Lord and for the brethren and for the neighbor-- active love, which does as well as wishes and says-- to be the best evidence of an acceptable condition [R2820 : page 176] with the Lord, the best evidence of a filling with his holy spirit--a far better evidence than the possession of the "gifts" described. Far greater, far more precious gifts of the spirit, then, are the gifts which the spirit develops in us--the fruits of the spirit--joy, peace, faith, love, etc.

The news respecting the miraculous manifestation of divine power spread rapidly through the city of Jerusalem, which, in addition to its general population, had at this season of the year visitors from all the neighboring countries, speaking various languages and dialects. And this furnished the opportunity for the Lord's humble disciples, "unlearned men," to begin their great work for which now they were fully commissioned and empowered. Quite possibly by this gift of tongues the Lord made up to his disciples the lack of larger education and fitted them for the work; at all events, not only on this occasion do we find that they were able to discourse in all the various languages, but subsequently, when traveling in various quarters, we have no mention of any difficulty encountered in respect to the languages or dialects, tho these were many amongst the different classes and nationalities.

The concourse of the people at Jerusalem attending this feast was of a religious kind--the most religious Jews from all the surrounding countries and nations (where more Jews resided than in Palestine), gathered on such occasions to do homage to the Lord, to render thanks and to pray for the promised blessings [R2821 : page 176] and Kingdom. In addition to this it was the custom for many of the most religious to permanently remove to Jerusalem in their old age, that they might die there; and thus we see that the Lord's arrangements, and the human arrangements which his providence had favored, all cooperated at this time for the favorable presentation of the good tidings that Messiah had come, and that he had redeemed Israel and the world, according to the prophets and the types; that he had ascended to the Father as the great High Priest for his people; and that this Pentecostal blessing represented the divine favor bestowed through him, and open to as many as would really receive him and become his followers--disciples. When we consider the class of hearers, and the miraculous power resting upon the speakers, it need not surprise us that so many were converted in so short a time--three thousand.--Acts 2:41.

We are given but a meagre account of the preaching; viz., an extract from Peter's discourse; but from the number of converts it is evident that all of the apostles engaged in the service. A summary of their preaching is given in vs. 11, where the hearers are represented as saying, "We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God." These wonderful works we have already referred to as relating to our Lord's death and resurrection, and his commission to his apostles, which they were now carrying out. True, it is said that the apostles used other words, amongst them, "Save yourselves from this untoward generation"--thus intimating the condemnation of the Jewish Church and polity, and the fire of divine wrath, the trouble, shortly to come upon them.

But the main part of their discourses was not a tirade against the Jews, but rather a showing forth of the wonderful features of the divine plan; and even in the charge against the rulers and the people for the great crime they had committed in crucifying Jesus, the Apostle puts the matter as kindly as possible, saying, "I wot that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers." Herein we have a valuable lesson for all the followers of Christ who preach in his name and who would win souls from the darkness of error to harmony with God. The proper, the effective preaching, today and then, is that which tells of the wonderful works of God in man's redemption, and not that which tirades against the nominal church-- even tho it be necessary occasionally to point out the errors of Babylon, as the apostles pointed out the errors of Judaism. Our course, like theirs, should be one of great moderation and kindness, as well as plainness of speech, "speaking the truth in love."

The harvest work of the present time reminds us much of this gathering of the harvest in Israel. Now, as then, those who are addressed by the holy spirit are the Israelites indeed--"devout men out of every nation under heaven." And so prominently is this the direction in which the holy spirit is guiding in this harvest work that one of the charges against the work is, that we are not going after the drunkards and harlots and gamblers and thieves and vagabonds, but are seeking to feed the Lord's sheep and lambs,-- seeking to present present truth, meat in due season, to the devout of every nation. And such, we believe, is the will of God concerning us; and so we advise that all of the Lord's people, as they seek to proclaim the grace of God, remember the words of the Lord, that we are to feed his sheep and his lambs, and not spend unnecessary time with the goats and the wolves, as soon as we recognize their kind, except it be to drive them off or to expose their true character to the sheep.

Our commission is to "preach the Gospel to the meek," not to the froward and the vile; to bind up the broken-hearted, not to seek to break the hard hearts. The Lord has his own plan for dealing with the stony hearts in the time of trouble which is near, and during the Millennial age, in which the necessary force will be used to restrain the evil and to open their eyes and ears of understanding. Now our commission is to go to those who have an ear. "He that hath an ear let him hear." Those who have not the ears to hear the message, and who have not the hearts to appreciate its beauty, should not be argued with or wrangled with, but wisely left as quietly as possible in their ignorance and blindness until the Lord's due time for scattering the pall of darkness, the gross darkness which Satan has brought upon the people. We had rather leave in ignorance and under the bonds of superstition those who manifest no appreciation of the grace of God; for doubtless, if their superstitions were loosed in the present time, it would be nothing to their advantage; perhaps to the disadvantage of others. Let us remember that the Gospel message is to gather out the Lord's peculiar people, a little flock, and that so far as the world is concerned the Gospel is only a "witness" now.

http://www.biblestudents.com/htdbv5/r2819.htm

Pentecost Is the Representation of the Jubilee

It was while I was studying and wrote an article called, The Hidden Meaning of Pentecost, that I became aware of when an old year ends and a new year begins according to Yahweh’s timetable as opposed to man’s. In the process of writing the article, I discovered some other very important truths Pentecost conveys to the followers of Yahweh.
On the fiftieth day is Pentecost. The fiftieth day is representative of the Jubilee, the fiftieth year. Each of the seven Sabbaths represented a Land Rest Year followed by the fiftieth day. On Pentecost, the Torah was given in Exodus 19. These are the Ten Commandments. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was given in Acts 2.
At the beginning of the countdown to Pentecost is the Barley Wave offering. On this day, Yahshua leads the saints to be presented to Yahweh as representative of the saints still yet to come. It was concluded that the end of the countdown to Pentecost was when the Wheat Harvest Wave Offering was presented, representing those saints at the end of this age, who would also be raised up from the grave on Pentecost.
I strongly recommend we study this annual reminder of the Jubilee shown to us each year at the appointed time on Pentecost before continuing to read ahead regarding the Jubilee. This initial understanding is critical before the greater part of the Jubilee message can be revealed to you. You can read the rest of this if you want, and you will know what it says—but will you understand? Will you let it become written on your heart? Knowledge is of no use unless you come to a deeper understanding of things. Wisdom is gained from understanding.

The Return from Babylon

The following 500 years were an unhappy period of decline for Israel. At the end of it the unbelievable happened. God, who cannot lie, had twice promised the land of Israel to Abraham as an ‘everlasting possession’ (Gen 17: 8 and 48: 4). That promise had been marvellously fulfilled. Israel had gone from being a rabble of slaves in a foreign land to being a powerful independent people in their own kingdom. Now again they became captives in a foreign land. What had happened to God’s promises?

This captivity was very different from the time in Egypt. It was a judgement and a consequence of sin. Most especially it was a judgement on the people of God for worshipping other gods. It was a judgement on religious sin.

Babylon in scripture is a picture of man’s religion. For centuries manmade, man-centred, man-controlled religion has held the true people of God in captivity.

Daniel and Nehemiah fasted and wept and confessed their sins and the sins of their people, and God granted deliverance. Cyrus, king of Persia, issued a decree that the Jews should return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (Ezra 1: 1-5).

This decree was issued at exactly the 70th jubilee from Adam. Once again we see the terms of the jubilee fulfilled. The captives were set free and returned to possess their inheritance.

The deliverance from captivity in literal Babylon is a picture of a much greater deliverance from a spiritual Babylon.

I have written a separately on Babylon.

The Death and Resurrection of Jesus

490 (reckoned as 500) years on from the Jewish return from Babylon we reach the times of the New Testament. This time period is clearly described in Daniel’s prophecy: ‘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..’ (Dan 9: 24).

What happened to fulfil this prophecy? Nothing less than the greatest event in all recorded history: the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ! Appropriately this occurred at the 80th jubilee from Adam, the number 8 and its multiples being associated especially with Jesus and his resurrection.

The children of Israel were set free from Egypt at the Exodus. The Jews were set free from Babylon after their 70 years of captivity. Jesus at his resurrection was set free from death. We also read in Mat 27: 52, 53 that ‘The tombs were opened and the bodies of many saints who slept were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.’

This was an expression of jubilee that exceeded all previous jubilees. Jesus himself was set free from the ultimate imprisonment. He overcame death for himself and opened a way of deliverance for the whole creation.

Jesus began his ministry with a clear reference to the year of jubilee. In the synagogue at Nazareth he read these words from Isaiah: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ (Isaiah 61: 1, 2 and Luke 4: 18, 19). He spoke of freedom to the prisoners and releasing the oppressed and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favour. What other year could this mean but the year of jubilee? After proclaiming it he went on to bring deliverance from sin, sickness and Satan to multitudes of those who were bound and afflicted. All this culminated with his own deliverance from the chains of death, and 50 days later the deliverance of his followers from all fear on the glorious day of Pentecost. They in turn proclaimed deliverance and release to captives wherever they went.

A Future Jubilee

We have considered 5 great jubilees that occurred in Bible times. The following table shows these jubilees with their equivalent number of Bible years from Adam. I have added one further jubilee which we will now consider.

Are these 5 great jubilees that took place in Bible times the end of the story, or are there more jubilees to come?

The first 4 of these jubilees all pointed forward to the fifth jubilee which was the death and resurrection of Jesus. Each of the first 4 jubilees was an event in the natural order concerning the people of Israel, the natural people of God. They were shadows and types of what was to come. The resurrection of Jesus and the subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was their first fruit fulfilment. But even these great events of the new testament were not their complete and final fulfilment.

Jesus was the first fruit from the dead, and his resurrection pointed forward to a great harvest yet to come. So then just as the first 4 great jubilees of the past all point to the even greater fifth jubilee, so also the first 5 great jubilees of the past all point to the still greater sixth jubilee to come.

What is there in scripture that indicates that this is so? We will call 4 witnesses.

1. Paul’s specific prophecy.

Paul looked forward to an event, which in Romans 8 he described as the manifestation of the sons of God. He wrote, ‘The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the sons of God.’ When we look more closely at the context of these words, we find an exact parallel with the Exodus from Egypt. His words are filled with the language of jubilee. Rom 8: 18-23 reads as follows:

‘I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.’

The children of Israel groaned in their sufferings for more than 80 years in Egypt. They were crying out for deliverance and freedom. God was preparing Moses to be their deliverer. Moses was, I believe, the prototype of the manifested sons of God. For 40 years God had been setting him free from all that belonged to Egypt. After that preparation at last he was ready, in the mighty power of God, to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt and into their promised inheritance. (See Moses and the Path of Sonship.) Now I believe God has sons, like Moses, in the wilderness whom he is preparing for the deliverance of the whole creation. This time it will not just be one man delivering one people from a physical slavery. It will be a multitude of sons delivering a multitude of peoples from spiritual slavery.

2. Jesus said: "I will come again".

Many Christians all over the world have been taught to expect a literal fulfilment of these words. They expect Jesus to return physically in person and set up his kingdom on this earth. Further examination of the scriptures can lead to a very different view. Jesus is coming again in his people, just as he did at Pentecost. He will come with the clouds, and every eye will see him; but those clouds will not be clouds of physical water. Rather they will be a great cloud of witnesses who have been spiritually drawn up from the earth to reign with him in heavenly places. Every eye will see him when he is manifested in the many sons whom he is bringing to maturity.

I have written separately on this also under the title The Coming of the Lord

3. The Festival of Tabernacles.

As stated earlier, the Hebrew religious calendar had 3 great festivals, namely Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. These festivals have deep prophetic meaning. They speak of 3 stages of spiritual experience in the lives of the people of God, both as individuals and as a whole.

The church as a whole has experienced Passover and Pentecost and many individuals have celebrated these festivals in their personal lives. However the Festival of Tabernacles remains largely unfulfilled.

The Festival of Tabernacles was the climax of Israel’s religious calendar. Unlike the one day festival of Pentecost its celebration lasted a full 7 days. It was the final harvest festival of the year when all the crops were gathered. It was the festival of fullness and perfection.

This festival remains to be fulfilled and I believe it corresponds to the great sixth jubilee.

For more on this read The Festivals of Israel

4. The Sabbath.

The writer to the Hebrews wrote: ‘There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God’ (Heb 4: 9). He looked forward to a time that was yet to come. According to Peter, ‘With the Lord a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as a day’ (2 Peter 3: 8). 6000 years from Adam ended on the same day in 1933 that was also the 120th jubilee. The seventh millennium began.

When will this Jubilee Come?

When will this great jubilee come?

The normal Bible year is a lunar year of 354 days. Measuring on 1960 lunar years (counting as 2000 as I said earlier) from the death of Jesus we come to June 12th 1933. This date, as mentioned above, was the 120th jubilee or 6000 years from Adam. 3 other major Bible time periods ended on the same day, making this a very special day. It was, I believe, the official start date of the sixth great jubilee.

God marked this occasion in a remarkable way, as I have described in my writing on Bible Chronology. What happened then, however, was not an immediate and visible fulfilment of the manifestation that Paul spoke of in Romans. However I believe it was the official starting date.

The children of Israel came out of Egypt as I have described exactly on the 50th jubilee from Adam. However there was a lapse of 40 years before they set foot in the promised land.

Cyrus’s decree to rebuild Jerusalem fell exactly on the 60th jubilee, but again it took time for the exiles to leave Babylon and return to the Israel and rebuild Jerusalem.

At the 70th jubilee there were 50 days between the resurrection of Jesus and the great manifestation on the day of Pentecost.

So now I believe the trumpet of jubilee has sounded and we are waiting to see its great and glorious manifestation.

Conclusion

We have now entered the greatest jubilee in history. Previous great jubilees have been illustrations and foretastes of what is now coming.

The first historic jubilee was like the seed of a seed. The birth of Abraham was the barely visible beginning of a vast divine plan. Abraham did 2 essential things. He came out of Babylon by faith and he lived in the promised land. The first was a deliverance from slavery. The second was the possession (by faith) of his future inheritance. None of the further jubilees would have occurred if he had not obeyed God.

At the Exodus, the second historic jubilee, the Israelites came out of Egypt. Like Abraham they escaped from slavery and set out to claim the land that God had promised them for an inheritance. This jubilee was another birth, not just of one man this time, but of a nation.

The third great jubilee, the dedication of Solomon’s temple, was the fruit and fulfilment of the second. The liberated slaves have now totally possessed their promised land and completed the building of God’s temple. In grand consummation the power and presence of God descends and fills it.

The fourth, fifth and sixth jubilees in different ways re-enact the first 3.

The fourth, the return from Babylon, was like the first. A small group of pilgrims set out in the steps of their father Abraham to live again in the promised land. Like Abraham’s birth this might seem like a small and insignificant beginning. But they left Babylon and went to the land of Israel where alone God’s plans and purposes could be fulfilled. Without the return from Babylon Jesus could not have been born to a Jewish mother in Bethlehem.

The fifth great historic New Testament jubilee was the beginning of a completely new order in God. All previous jubilees were just types and shadows. Jesus came to fulfil the law and the prophets, and indeed the whole of Israel’s history. He brought the spiritual reality of which all those things were just shadows and pictures. This fifth jubilee corresponds most strongly to the second. Jesus like Moses comes to deliver a people from bondage. Jesus does in the spiritual realm what Moses did in the natural realm. The exodus was the birth of Israel, the natural people of God. This jubilee was the birth of the true church, the spiritual people of God.

The sixth jubilee is and will be the fulfilment and culmination of all previous jubilees. Like 4 of the 5 historic jubilees it is a new birth and beginning. It is the birth of the sons of God, and the beginning of a new order. For this reason, I believe, though it has already begun it is not yet widely and clearly visible.

As in previous jubilees this jubilee is a liberation. We will see liberation both from Egypt and from Babylon. The sons of God will have victory over both. For centuries the true people of God have been held captive by manmade religious systems. God is now calling them out of this captivity, and more and more people are hearing, understanding and obeying that call.

We have seen that whereas the Exodus was a birth and a beginning, the jubilee of Solomon was a climax and a culmination. Moses lead an undisciplined rabble of slaves out of Egypt. 500 years later they were a powerful people with a country, a capital and a king. In the centre of it was the newly built temple of God, and the glory of God descended to fill it. This occasion was far more glorious than the Exodus, but it owed everything to it. Without Moses there would have been no land of Israel, no Jerusalem and no temple.

In the same way this consummation jubilee will be far more glorious than the New Testament jubilee, but it will be wholly founded on the life and death and resurrection of Jesus. Without Jesus there would be nothing. Without Pentecost and Peter and Paul and the scriptures they wrote there would be nothing. What they all did was the foundation; this will be the completed building. Its glory will exceed everything that has gone before.

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ (Anointed), and he will reign for ever and ever.’

May we be partakers of the glory that lies before us.

• Bible Chronology
• Sabbath Rest
• The Festivals of Israel
• David and Solomon
• Babylon
• Moses and the Path of Sonship
• The Coming of the Lord
• Miracle of Time - a book by Frank Paine.
  
  
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