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The Jubilee Principle:
Freedom and Greatness Come Through Giving
By W. Glenn Moore
And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years;
and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the
seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout
all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout
all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall
return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his
family. . . .In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession.
And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye
shall not oppress one another: . . .According to the multitude of years thou shalt
increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the
price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.
Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I
am the Yahweh your Almighty. (Leviticus 25:8-10,13-14, 16-17)
The Bible speaks of the observance of Jubilees in Leviticus 25. Does that apply to us
today? There are those that take the position that since we are no longer living in the
land of Israel, we are also not subject to the laws regarding Jubilees. However, while
it is true that Jubilees primarily is concerned with people who own farmland, the
principles still apply to us today. In fact, if the foundation principle of the Jubilees
were kept today we would have a thriving economy, poverty would be eliminated, and
the rich and powerful would no longer hold the average person hostage to economic
terrorism!
Some will say that the observance of the Jubilees “doesn’t affect our personal lives in
this day and age,” and they are only partly correct. However, the lack of observing
the Jubilees does affect us today—for most of the world (including those living in the
United States) are in economic slavery because of the fact that the Jubilees are not
being observed. The commandment regarding the keeping of the Jubilees mentions
two times that we are not to oppress one another—which clearly indicates that not
observing Jubilees will indeed lead to that very thing!
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It is amazing to me that I hear so many arguments against the keeping of the Jubilees,
and yet it is this one observance alone which has the power to completely restore our
economy to a thriving, healthy, economy—where everyone benefits and is blessed
(whether rich or poor). Yes, there is the issue of just when exactly the Jubilee years
are—but let’s put aside that issue for now and consider the words of Yahushua our
Messiah.
The Messiah said it himself when he said:
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together,
and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye
mete withal it shall be measured to you again. (Luke 6:38)
That is the Jubilee principle in a nutshell—give and we will receive. Abolish all debts
on every year of Jubilee, and look at the blessings which will be returned to us. We
live in an evil world, where rich and powerful men seek to gain even more riches and
power—through manipulation of the means of wealth. First, they create an industrial
war based economy, where the people are enticed to leave the family farm in search of
great wealth in the cities. Second, they manipulate the financial markets to steer the
wealth into their own coffers, while forcing the now landless serfs to work even
greater hours to keep up with the new standard of living. And finally, when the
people are exhausted and without warning they bring upon them a crisis which forces
them to surrender not only the remainder of their wealth, but also their very freedom
to the ruling elite. By that time, such a nation is no longer a free nation, but instead a
fascist nation. And let’s be honest with ourselves—we are not at step 1 or 2, but step
3, as most of the nations of this earth have already embraced the principles of fascism.
Friends, what I am about to say is probably going to offend you, but I will say it
anyway: At this moment I will estimate that about 97% of the people in this world
are in slavery. Yes, that means you!! Admitting that it is true is half the hurdle. Once
you are able to admit it, then the solution is before you—the Jubilee Principle.
The founding fathers of this great nation (the United States) were not perfect, and
they did many great wrongs (such as genocide to the Indians). But they had seen the
result of centuries of despotic rule throughout Europe and now wanted nothing to do
with it. They knew that they needed a separation of powers in a Republican (not
Democratic) form of government in order to hold government in check. And they
knew that freedom was far more important than greatness or wealth, and so they
fulfilled (at least in part) the Jubilee Principle, and it is because of this that we became
a great nation. (Just food for thought: Benjamin Franklin said that a true democracy
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is two wolves and a sheep voting on what they will have for their next meal! Now, do
we really want Democracy?)
Liberty and Freedom is at the heart of the foundation principles of the United States
Constitution, as well as the Jubilee Principle. The Liberty Bell was even inscribed with
the very words of Leviticus 25:10—“Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all
its inhabitants thereof.” Sadly, that bell began to crack in 1835, and was severely
cracked by 1846. By 1852 it was put out of general service. Is it possible that the bell
cracked because it proclaimed liberty to all its inhabitants, while the nation it
represented failed to live up to those principles?
But now, unlike our forefathers, we have nowhere to go. In escaping from the
tyranny often found in Europe, they were able to find at least some semblance of
freedom in the wide open spaces of this new frontier. However, those days are gone.
In our technological based world “Big Brother” is indeed watching us—for the simple
reason that they have the technology to do it. And since the human condition has not
changed, evil men will always use the technology available to them to spy on and steal
from their neighbor. Many of these have also fooled themselves into thinking “the
ends justify the means,” however, this is simply not true. Messiah says to follow the
“golden rule” and men pervert this into the cliché that “he who owns the gold makes
the rules.”
What would happen if we even implimented some of the principles of the Jubilee?
What would happen if we were to cancel all debts, both foreign and domestic,
corporate and personal, in the year of Jubilee? What if the land were returned to its
original owners? Would it destroy our economy? Would the corporations flounder
and fail? Well, the rich would not be quite as rich as they were before—but they
would still do quite well. The poor would be given a chance to start over, and if they
availed themselves of the opportunity, they may even prosper—but this would not
guarantee them riches. It is simply a chance for everyone to start over—not a
guarantee of riches. And it puts a limit on the oppression that evil men in positions
of power tend to bring upon the masses. It would give each of us a chance to start
over with a “clean slate.”
Those who exact their rule over others, forcing them into economic and political
slavery, do so to their own harm. As it is done to others, it will be done to us. By
giving we receive in even greater abundance—whether it is good or evil. Just
remember, there is a payday someday—and based upon the Jubilee Code that day is
fast approaching.
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Freedom and liberty is the true focal point of the Jubilee message, as well as the
message of the whole of Scripture. Moses declared this when the children of Israel
embarked on that great exodus from Egypt, and the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 11:11) says
that an even far greater exodus is coming soon—for those who embrase the true spirit
and principles of the Jubilees.

Recommend reading:
JUBILEE—The Power of Liberty, by Madis Senner

http://www.itsaboutthattime.net/PDF%20Files/Jubilee_Principle.pdf

Recession and the Jubilee Principle

Recession and the Jubilee Principle

As you might have notices, the world is facing and is already in a recession. One way this presents itself is right around the corner. When we moved to this area, houses just like the one we are renting were selling for $250,000 or more. Today, six months later, you can find the same houses (the entire development is a great multiplication of the same four house models) for sale at the extremely low price of $150,000!!! That is a drop of $150,000 in six months!

Yet one more sign of a messed up economy, and absolutely a contributing factor, is the price of gas. At the time we moved back to the U.S.A. in 2005, the price for one gallon of gas was about $1.40. The past three years, that gas price has been rising to the skies faster than a space rocket. Six months ago, the price for one gallon was close to $4.00, a couple months later it was close to $5.00. About one month ago, the gas price started to go down. In about one month, the gas price has gone from close to $5.00 per gallon to $1.40 per gallon!!!

The economy is weird. The entire state of Michigan, specifically the city Detroit, is feeling the effects of the recession. The auto industry has its heart there and that industry is hurting severely.

The problem: people cannot buy stuff anymore, businesses cannot buy stuff anymore. Why? Well according to some, because they do not have the CASH, according to others, because they cannot get more CREDIT. The U.S.A. had reached the bottom of the financial bucket. Lenders could not lend anymore and borrowers could not borrow any more.
The solution: Bailout-plan of $700 billion so that we can lend more/borrow more. Let us dig the hole of debt even deeper so that the next time we crash, it will be even harder to get up.
I am not writing to state any reasons to this recession, I am writing to remind ourselves of an ancient tradition and principle.

The good old Bible talks about a year of Jubilee. It talks about forgiving debt. Hm… Forgiving debt? Sounds crazy, who would want to forgive someone debt. I can understand if God wants me to forgive my brother his debt of $5 to me. But to ask that GMAC forgives all their customers their debt of billions of dollars, that is a little bit too much, don’t you think?

But let us look at this. If a lending institution was to forgive its customers all their debt every 50 years, would it really be that bad? Example: If you buy a house for $100,000 with a 30 year mortgage, you end up paying back around $300,000. The lending institution has thus made a lot of profit on your purchase, with credit. They should have the capacity to forgive all debt once every 50 years. And I want to state that it is a good move for future profit.

Imagine that the average American has $10,000 in credit card debt (I have heard less and way more so…) and a house mortgage of $200,000, car loan of $30,000, and maybe student loans. That is a monthly payment of A LOT of money. I have not done any research but let us say that the average American family pays around $2-3,000 per month in credit, of which most is interest. If now their debt would be erased, they would have $2-3000 to SPEND or SAVE every month, right? Have we not now created an awesome Buying Power?

Long post, I know. But think about it. What got me thinking about this was my Father in Law. He has been reading some heavy duty books on Economy etc. He told me that a crisis like this has always happened around every 50 years. I find that interesting.

This principle is absolutely the opposite from the Bailout plan from the Bush administration. Would Obama have dealt with it differently? IS it really the gread of the big people in Washington that caused this, or on Wall Street, or other Executives? No, it is the greed of every person living right next to you. It is the use of credit to get things that you cannot afford. The one in debt is a slave in the hands of the lender… Does that really mean something? Does it mean something to say that the love of money (stuff) is the root to all evil?

http://peter.theholms.net/?p=47

JUBILEE
Sorely Needed But Badly Mired By Al Cronkrite The Covenant News ~ April 11, 2006

Recently on CBS’s “Sixty Minutes” Leslie Stahl announced that Americans are world champions at working long hours. One couple told of sending emails to one another from different rooms while working at home. Other workers spoke of the peer pressure to put in longer hours and the advent of electronic connections that allowed them to bring their businesses home and continue to work twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. For many the sixty hour week has now morphed into eighty or more.

Some of the chief executives of large corporations earn pay packages that total $50 million per year. Forbes Magazine lists Mark Ruben, CEO of Colgate-Palmolive, as the highest paid executive at $148 million, David George, CEO of United Technologies at $70 million, Robert Fuld, CEO of Lehman Brothers at $67 million, and Henry Silver, CEO of Cendent at $60 million. A sixty hour week works out to a little over 3,000 hours per year and at a pay scale of $50 million amounts to $16,666 per hour. A mid-level executive making $100 thousand a year working an 80 hour week makes about $25 per hour while a factory worker might earn an hourly rate of $10.00 for a forty or fifty hour week. In an agrarian culture the rich man would enjoy the milk from 1600 cows while the workers tending his flock would share the milk from one. This scenario gets even worse when it is compared to low wage nations like China and Mexico.

The United Nations (PDF) estimates the combined income of the richest 50 persons in the world is equal to the combined income of the 416 million poorest.

Charts by Professor Dennis Hodgson of Fairfield University in Connecticut indicate that America’s top 10% own slightly over 70% of the nation’s total wealth while the bottom 40% control three tenths of one percent.

According to Edward N. Wolff of Bard College, the average wealth of the poorest 40% of Americans declined by 44% between 1983 and 2001 to $2,900. During this same period the income and wealth of the top 20% increased at a rate close to 90%.

Globalization is wiping out the world’s middle class and creating a two tiered order with great wealth at the top and poverty at the bottom. It is an oppressive system in which wealth is being systematically transferred from the lower classes into the hands of the affluent and powerful.

As globalists gleefully remind us that we are now being forced to compete in a new world economic order, we need to remember that the low wage nations with whom we must now compete used the fuel of America’s markets to propel their challenge, and that it was our own leaders influenced by established wealth and power who sabotaged the world’s foremost economy to satisfy their avarice and the utopian whims of those behind it.

The hereditable power of accumulated wealth coupled with predictable human rapacity creates a vicious and evil circle that tends to vest an ever increasing amount of power in the hands of fewer and fewer individuals.

God seems to have provided a remedy to this harmful cycle by proclaiming a year of jubilee. This proclamation given directly to Moses was woven into the numerical fabric that makes up Christianity. It was to be a culmination of the sabbaths. The seven day week ends with the sabbath in remembrance of God’s rest following His creation. The seven year production cycle is capped on the last year with a sabbath for the land and seven of these yearly cycles are crowned on the fiftieth year with the year of jubilee.

The Year of Jubilee was to be a restorative year; slaves were to be freed, debts were to be forgiven, and the land was rested and restored to its original owners. It was to provide a fresh start for slaves, a fresh start for debtors, a fresh start for the land, and a fresh start to its original owners. Since the ownership of a limited quantity of land represented significant wealth there was an element of redistribution involved. However, there were other considerations that were unique to the time and place.

Pushed by generationally accumulated wealth and power, the world is being accosted by a pernicious human attempt at world domination variously called globalization. Accompanying this evil oppression is a futile attempt to amalgamate people and cultures through diversity and multi-culturalism.

Any effort at present day world restoration would seem to involve conforming geographic boundaries to ethnicity. So it is not surprising that the utopian globalists are doing just the opposite. Consider the problems involved with ethnic forces in Iraq and in Kosovo. North and South Korea have been separated for decades and in Europe and America purposeful multiculturalism has decimated the culture, banished Christianity and put together the ingredients for civil strife (short video clip).

Wealthy and powerful humanists are busily working at a vain attempt to force together what God separated. The world needs a jubilee that would return God’s creation to its intended boundaries and restore a semblance of economic balance.

Some theologians contend that the jubilee principle of restarting the race for wealth was nullified by the coming of the Savior. Since I am not a theologian my observations are open to correction. However, the advent of the year of jubilee and its intricate involvement in the underpinnings of the Christian religion make its excision difficult. The use of the number seven, the restorative theme, and the reflection of the forgiveness and new birth provided by Christ are but a portion of the significance of the jubilee.

There is another important element provided in the Biblical text and that is God’s desire that the jubilee year might prevent His chosen people from oppressing one another. (Leviticus 25; 14 & 17 KJV) As our world careens toward a despotic oligarchy this is a principle that would seem to warrant the attention of Christians.

Onerous as it is to libertarians and many Reformed Christians, it seems that God was concerned that His people not only understood that the land belonged to Him but that the covetous individual accumulation of power resulting from great wealth should not be long without remedy.

I am not contending here that stealing from those that have and distributing to those who do not is an acceptable method of honoring God’s mandate. It does, however, seem that in a theonomic social order God is recommending a resetting to a preordained condition thereby providing a deterrent to oppression.

It was this principle that our Founders incorporated into government with the understanding that the sinful nature of men would always tend toward oppression. Their experiment has lasted over two hundred years but has now given in to a humanistic ethic that defies the law and will end in slavery.

Land tenure in the jubilee laws did not apply to the city. Its application was to the suburbs and the land surrounding them. For ancient Israel it was holy ground won with miraculous Divine support to God’s chosen people and thereafter divided among the tribes. God intended that this division be maintained. The results of the repatriation restricted ownership of God’s land to His chosen people and as children were born to landed families it created pressure for expansion.

Slavery is an ancillary issue to any discussion of the jubilee laws. Northern hermeneutics would have seen the abolishment of slavery, but Southern theologians found scriptural affirmation. It seems that God’s economy would allow slavery in a restricted setting but that is another issue.

While some Libertarian Christians seek to extract the jubilee by its roots, Dispensationalists will frequently recommend egalitarian government intervention. There is extensive disagreement over the contemporary application of the principles involved in the Jubilee Laws. Dismissing them as being nullified by Christ leaves a void that God clearly intended to fill. Yet, it is difficult to find their proper application in today’s world.

One commentator quotes Hans Ucko who in spite of being connected to the World Council of Churches, seems to have partially defined the problem quite well, “Whether it is a dream of hope or a utopia that is nowhere, the jubilee is a resolve against a status quo of continued oppression and exploitation of people and creation.… There must be a temporary suspension or reprieve, a change of mind and conditions.”

As the world continues to fall into the clutches of a pagan, power hungry, elite cabal bent on a doomed global hegemony, the remnant of God’s people left at the time of its certain failure need to be ready with the clear legal mandates God provided for the government of His creation. The principles God provided in the year of jubilee proclamation should clearly be a part of that plan.

http://www.covenantnews.com/cronkrite060411.htm