In recent times much has been said and taught about Jubilee, often accompanied by various time charts, predictions, and such. While I do not desire to recreate such things or to focus on the mundane or vague, in this article I do desire to bring a prophetic insight regarding Jubilee that also contains practical application for spirit filled living, both on the personal level as well as the corporate level, for the entire body of Christ.

Let us first begin by understanding that in God's word when something is labeled as prophetic, it will always contain one or both of these foundational elements:

1-it will clearly declare God's truth
2-It will declare God's future plans

In Genesis, chapter four, we find Lamech had three sons, one whose name was Jubal. Jubal means music. From Jubal we get the word Jobel, which means "joyful shouts with the playing of instruments." In Leviticus 25:9, we learn that every 49th year (Jubilee year) the beginning of Jubilee was proclaimed by the blowing of a trumpet. Both Jubal and Jobel get their meaning from a Hebrew root word pronounced yaw-bat, which means "'to bring forth, to lead, to carry, to flow like a stream or river". To gain a greater understanding of this visual imagery, read Ezekiel 47:1-12 and Revelation 22:1-2.

Jubilee is a time set aside by the Lord specifically for deliverance, healing, and restoration. Yet God specifically ordered that Jubilee was to be proclaimed by joyful shouts with the playing of the trumpet...as you and I know it, praise and worship.

1-Praise will always release power for deliverance.
2-Worship will always release anointing for healing.
3-The two combined usher in restoration.

In Leviticus 25:8-22, we also find that there are many other blessings which accompany a season of Jubilee:

1-Liberty (vs. 10)
2-A time of families being healed (vs. 10)
3-Abundant fruitfulness (vs. 12)
4-The lifting of oppression (vs. 14)
5-Great reverence and revelation of God's holiness and awesome power (vs. 17)
6-Divine protection (vs. 19)
7-Maximurn harvest (vs. 21)

Prophetic?

We must first begin by realizing that Israel is God's prophetic time clock. Whenever God moves, He moves first through Israel, then the church. Secondly, the natural always proceeds the spiritual (I Corinthians 15:46). Thirdly, According to I Peter 2:4-10, Israel is the natural and the church is the spiritual. The apostle Paul put it this way..."For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. First to the Jews, then to the Gentiles."

Now What?

With these truths in mind, let us realize that Israel began their Jubilee on the Day of Atonement, on the 49th year. For Israel this was October 1997 through October 1998. According to God's plan, ours began after theirs finished: October 1998 to October 1999.

So What Do I Do?

While all of this is very interesting and while it is true that God does have special time and seasons where He pours His spirit in a greater abundance. Let us not forget that all of God's promises are yes and amen (II Corinthians 1:20). For those who will walk by faith, not being double-minded (James 1:6-7) and for those who will truly submit to God's will with humility (James 4:7-10). So often God gives His children dreams and visions and tells us to prepare, but remember, prepare means...prepare your heart! (Even if it takes years!)

When God says prepare it does not mean to start trying to get busy doing a bunch of stuff. As a shepherd of God's sheep, I assure you, with all confidence, the latter is a sure fire formula for failure! Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength. (Jer. 17:5) Jesus said, "I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life." Jesus and only Jesus is our Jubilee. In Christ alone do we find deliverance, healing, and restoration.

If the Holy Spirit has spoken to you and convicted you of ill-chosen pathways through this article please pray in agreement with this prayer:

Lord,

Only You can deliver me from these circumstances. Only You can heal my broken heart. And only You can restore that which the devil and my own foolish decisions have caused me to lose.

Lord, I repent of being double-minded. I repent of not walking by faith with humility. Lord, I repent of not having first prepared my heart, and Lord, I repent of trying to accomplish your desires by my strength. So now Lord, I choose to lay all these things aside, to wait, to stand still and see Your salvation, believing by faith that You will be my Jubilee.

In the strong name of Jesus Christ

-AMEN-

As a physician involved in the care of children I am very fortunate to witness daily the wondrous power, strength and faith of the most physically fragile among us. One such event involves Bobby, a five-year-old child who has been diagnosed with leukemia at age four. Bobby's cancer was in remission-he was free of disease-and he had come to the hospital for a series of diagnostic tests that were a routine part of his treatment plan. Bobby had bright blue eyes and a shy smile that at first glance didn't reveal the wisdom gained through his one-year struggle against cancer.

Bobby had lost all of his hair secondary to his regular chemotherapy treatment. The chemotherapy often left him nauseous and unable to eat. Bobby was undergoing a procedure that was indeed painful. He had been through it before, so he knew what to expect. I explained to him what we were going to do, and why, and the importance of him remaining very still. Bobby assured me that he would be very still. and he promised that the nurses and technologists in attendance would not need to hold him down.

As we began. Bobby asked. " Dr. Brown. would it be okay if I say the Twenty-third Psalm while you stick me?"
"Of course. that would be fine." I said, and we began.

Bobby recited beautifully, no tears, no movement. The procedure went well. Bobby, in his young wisdom, reassured me, "Dr. Brown, that really didn't hurt much."

We knew it had. Then Bobby caught me by surprise when he asked, "Dr. Brown, do you know the Twenty-third Psalm?"
"Well, sure," I answered him.
"Can you recite it like me?" he asked, a bit doubtfully.
"Well, I don't know. I think so," I said, realizing that I was going out on a limb.
"Let's hear you," said Bobby.

So I proceeded to stumble through. My performance was quite shabby in comparison to Bobby's, and I didn't have a needle sticking in my back. I noticed all the other white-coated professionals in the room were trying to disappear as they feared being called on next, a prospect more frightening than being asked at grand rounds.

Then beautiful and bald Bobby said to all of us, "You know, your really should learn the Twenty-third Psalm by heart. Because when you say it out loud, God hears you and he lets you know inside your heart that he is being strong for you when you can't be strong for yourself."

"...for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

James C. Brown, M.D.

This is for our generation, Class of 1999...

We were born in 1980/1981. People were still getting over Vietnam and Disco had swept the country. Dolly Parton had a song called Jolene, and Diana Ross had records, yes, those big black Frisbees that were five times the size of a CD, as big as her hair. The Muppets and the Smurfs were our heroes, and Atari was the game of choice. Pac Man invaded our heads, and our parents pickets, and we watched Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers. We had bouncy balls that had the handle on the top, and you could sit on and bounce all over the place. The Reagan administration came around, but all we cared about were our bigwheels. Snack time in Kindergarten was cool and the opposite sex still had cooties. We liked to play Candlyland and Chutes and Ladders. Tic-tac-toe was still fashionable to us. Star Wars and their cheap knock-off, the Ewoks, were imitated all over the nation. ET mad us afraid to go to the bathroom. Girls fought over My Little Ponies, Barbies, and Cabbage Patch Kids. Boys were more into Transformers, He-Man, and GI Joe, not to mention their prized B.B. guns with those little rubber pellets-yeah, they hurt! Pretend was always fun, too. In second grade, we watched as the Challenger leapt from the earth only to float back unexpectedly, devastating the nation, and plunging them into a state of mourning. Cuba was the enemy, drugs were becoming big and Iran got on our bad side, as did Oliver North. TV rotted our brains with "Different Strokes," "Silver Spoons," and "The Cosby Show." Leg warmers, bandanas, and spiked hair consumed us as we listened to Boy George and his Culture Club, Bruce Springstein, Rolling stones, Madonna, George Michael, Cyndi Lauper, and Michael Jackson. Pretty soon, hair stopped being spiked and started getting BIG. Chains, and spikes, and jelly bracelets were the rage, and everything was "awesome" or even "rad". People started getting computers like the Apple 2E. Bubble dresses and jelly shoes were cool and the youth were following the path of rebellion. Drugs and guns were becoming more and more common, and we watched as the world discovered HIV and AIDS, and an 18 year old boy from Indiana died from a transfusion. We also lived through the Bush administration. Our generation watched the Gulf War, our own small-scale version of Vietnam, come into our living rooms at night with green night images and the blazing dots across the screen. We watched older brothers and sisters go off to a war that we never thought we'd see, but we made up song about Saddam Hussein to the tune of "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice. Bill Clinton became the President taking Al Gore as his VP. Rolling your jeans and wearing GUESS and ESPRIT clothes made you popular. Skinny people were beautiful and fat people were funny, but everyone was crazy for McDonald's. We started dating more frequently, searching for the love of our life. Girls in the high schools started getting pregnant and we started getting our licenses. We lived through all the crazy fashion flashbacks, the hair, and the environmental crisis. We're in our senior year, and we went to our last homecoming and prom, and we look forward to graduation. We'll pick up our cap and gowns and all that senior stuff that's supposed to help us remember the good 'ol days, but some of the things that we'll remember most can't be put on paper. That day will finally come, and you will sit there with all of the friends that you have made over the years. You'll look out at your family and deep down you know that this will be a once in a lifetime moment. It is the last time in your life that all these people will be together in one place. Yeah, there will be reunions, but there is always the chance that one person won't make it there. You look back on your time with these people and realize that it was short lived and that it didn't seem as if there was enough time for everything that you wanted to accomplish: sports, activities, SAT, ACT, and all that good stuff. They'll call your name, your tassel will be turned, and you'll get a piece of paper that says that you are smart. Then you'll say good-bye, maybe to your town, and that school and your friends. You know that you can go back to visit, but there will be strangers in the halls and it won't be the same. It'll be different, and you'll be different. But it won't be the end. In fact, all of this is just the beginning.

Author Unknown

To all those who watched me grow up, and to those who grew up with me. You are my life. Without you, I would not be me, and that is the truth. You have all formed me, and I thank you for always being there. I love you.