Aubrey L Duncan
Jan 6
The Foundation
The Jewish Jubilee, known as the Yovel in Hebrew, is a concept from the Torah, specifically outlined in Leviticus 25. It is a sacred year that occurs every 50 years, following seven cycles of seven years (each of which culminates in a sabbatical year, or Shmita). The Jubilee has profound religious, social, and economic significance in Judaic thought.
While the Jubilee is not observed in its biblical form in contemporary Judaism, its principles inspire discussions about economic justice, environmental stewardship, and societal fairness.
The book of Leviticus informs us on the requirements and administration of this ancient Judaic practice: “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 jubile 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 jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession” (Leviticus 25: 8-11.
The Jubilee was a Proclamation of Liberty. The Jubilee year begins on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) with the sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) throughout the land. This signals a time of liberation for individuals and the land.
All Israelite slaves were to be freed, returning to their families and ancestral heritage. This ensures that servitude is not perpetual. Land that was sold returns to its original owners or their descendants. This practice was designed to prevent long-term poverty and ensure that every family retained their ancestral inheritance.
Similar to the Shmita year, agricultural work such as planting, harvesting, and pruning is prohibited. The land is left to rest, and people may eat whatever grows naturally. Debts and financial imbalances are effectively "reset." This prevents the accumulation of generational poverty and excessive wealth concentration.
One of the main purposes of the Jubilee is the promotion of Social Justice. It advocates equality and fairness, preventing the perpetuation of wealth inequality. Incorporated in this concept is the acknowledgment that the land ultimately belongs to God, and people are only temporary stewards. More importantly, the Jubilee was a time for spiritual renewal. It reinforces the covenantal relationship between God and the Israelites, emphasizing themes of freedom and divine provision.
However, from a Jewish perspective, the Jubilee is not actively practiced today, primarily because it depends on certain conditions, namely: All 12 tribes of Israel must be living in the land. It requires the presence of a functioning Temple in Jerusalem. It necessitates a central authority (like the Sanhedrin) to enforce its laws. None of that exists today.
Wines of Babylon
But the Roman Papacy, for almost 700 years, since 1450, has been celebrating a counterfeit. On December 24th, the eve of another overmastering counterfeit, the celebration of the birth of Jesus, Pope Francis opened the door of St. Peter's Basilica to usher in His church’s jubilee.
The Catholic Standard reports, “Pope Francis chose "Pilgrims of Hope" as the theme for the Holy Year 2025, which began Dec. 24 and will run through Jan. 6, 2026. The rite of opening the decorated bronze door began inside the basilica with the reading in different languages of biblical passages prophesying the birth of the savior "who brings his kingdom of peace into our world," as the lector explained.
Then, to emphasize how the birth of Jesus "proclaims the dawn of hope in our world," the Gospel of St. Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus was proclaimed.
Introduced with a blare of trumpets, the choir sang, "Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord."
"The steps we now take are the steps of the whole church, a pilgrim in the world and a witness of peace," the pope told the assembled cardinals, bishops, ecumenical guests and lay faithful in the atrium of the basilica.
"Holding fast to Christ, the rock of our salvation, enlightened by his word and renewed by his grace," the pope continued, "may we cross the threshold of this holy temple and so enter into a season of mercy and forgiveness in which every man and woman may encounter and embrace the path of hope, which does not disappoint." (Catholic Standard, December 24th, 2024).
With the celebration of its jubilee, the papacy has, as it always does, highjacked the reality of the Christian faith, rooted in Biblical Truth. It perverts God’s Truth for the advancement for its program of supreme rulership of the world, attempting to usurp the authority of Almighty God.
For many centuries, it has practiced its false presentment of of the Jubilee. But this year is different. The spirit of ecumenism is pervading the religious world as never was in earth’s history. This has come about largely as a result of the declarations of Rome’s Vatican Council (1962-1965), which embarked upon an aggressive program to return all churches back to the mother church; for thus she sees herself.
The rift was originally caused by the Protestant Reformation. It is credited primarily to the famous Augustinian monk, Martin Luther. Most prominent among Luther’s protests, which he nailed to the cathedral door in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31st, 1517, was the sale of indulgences. An "indulgence" refers to a practice within the Catholic Church where individuals could purchase a certificate that supposedly reduced the time they would spend in purgatory after death, essentially buying forgiveness for their sins, often by making a monetary payment.
Central to Francis’ proclamation of the church’s jubilee is the promotion of indulgences. He states, “Indeed, the indulgence is a way of discovering the unlimited nature of God’s mercy. Not by chance, for the ancients, the terms “mercy” and “indulgence” were interchangeable, as expressions of the fullness of God’s forgiveness, which knows no bounds…The sacrament of Penance assures us that God wipes away our sins” (SPES NON CONFUNDI, BULL OF INDICTION OF THE ORDINARY JUBILEE OF THE YEAR 2025, Sec. 23)
The church outlines the requirements for obtaining the indulgence:
Undertake a pious pilgrimage, participating in Masses and other sacraments, at any of the four papal basilicas in Rome or the Holy Land, or other sacred Jubilee sites “so as to manifest the great need for conversion and reconciliation.”
Participate in works of charity, mercy or penance, such as visiting prisoners, sick people or elderly people or undertaking corporal works of mercy “to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned and bury the dead.”
Abstain, in a spirit of penance, for at least one day of the week from “futile distractions,” such as social media, or from “superfluous consumption,” such as fasting; or donating the proportionate sum to the poor or to help migrants.
The Papal Bull officially announcing the 2025 jubilee espouses that the hope it advocates can be found in Mary. Of course, the church has elevated Mary to co-mediatrix with Jesus: “Hope finds its supreme witness in the Mother of God. In the Blessed Virgin, we see that hope is not naive optimism but a gift of grace amid the realities of life. Like every mother, whenever Mary looked at her Son, she thought of his future. Surely she kept pondering in her heart the words spoken to her in the Temple by the elderly Simeon: “This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed, so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Lk 2:34-35) {ibid. Sec. 24}.
However, the Bible teaches that salvation and forgiveness are free gifts offered to all through the one-time sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is not available through the offering of indulgences, continuous practicing of the church’s mass, nor any other of its sacraments.
The Truth as it is in Jesus
True to its character, the church of the Rome promotes its deadly errors with a sprinkling of Bible Truth. By mixing its falsehoods with a few Bible texts, its doctrines and dogmas are rendered infinitely more dangerous. Says John the Revelator, “With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication”(Revelation 17:2). Such is the advocacy of the so-called jubilee and Holy Year 2025.
Our hope is in Jesus Christ, the Only Savior of the world. The apostle Paul admonishes us, “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:8). His co-laborer, Peter clarifies, ”Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” Acts 4:12).
That salvation is not found by going through a door at St. Peter’s basilica nor any other door made by human hands. Jesus Christ is our Blessed and Only Hope. He encourages us, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).
We are reminded that He is pleading even now from His Heavenly Sanctuary, where He sits as our High Priest: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin…Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16). To that sanctuary, He desires us to enter: “behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it” (Revelation 3:8).
Jesus most directly speaks of that door: “I am the Door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:9). Most importantly, we do not need another intercessor on our behalf. His servant Paul emphasizes, “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth…For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:4-5).
Unlike Francis’ door, we don’t need Mary nor any other human instrumentality, dead or alive, to enter in. Mary is dead and is resting in her grave awaiting the call of the Life Giver, Jesus Christ Himself. To suggest, as the pope proclaims, that we need the intercession of Mary to obtain the blessings of salvation, is an abomination of the highest order. Creator God warned the ancient Israelites, whose Jubilee Francis is counterfeiting, “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch…Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer…For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
So, claiming that the dead are not really dead and that we can communicate with them is one of the most intoxicating wines of the Papal power. It is anti-God. His word clearly teaches contrary to that notion: “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten…Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6).
The prophet Isaiah provides us the means by which we may choose wisely between Jesus Christ and Francis’ jubilee: “To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). Francis’ jubilee does not speak according to the law nor the testimony. Therefore, it can only be darkness. But, thank God for the Light: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).
In His last discourse with His apostles before giving up His life for the salvation of the human family, Jesus pointed directly to the fact that deception will be one of the signs of the last days (Matthew 24:4-5,11, 24). The apostle Paul confirms, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14). We are living in that time and Rome’s jubilee is one of those deceptions.
The patriarch David makes the point even more poignantly: “The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords (Psalms 55:21).
Francis’ words may sound smooth and soft on the surface, particularly with the theme of hope which saturates his appeal to celebrate the jubilee in the ‘Holy Year of 2025’. But, there is nothing Holy about the year 2025. Only a Holy God can make anything holy. The time that He has made holy is not he year 2025, nor any other year for that matter. The time Creator God has sanctified and made holy is His Holy and blessed Sabbath day, which Francis and HIs church ferociously oppose.
A heavenly inspired nineteenth century Bible commentator sums it up best: “But Romanism as a system is no more in harmony with the gospel of Christ now than at any former period in her history. The Protestant churches are in great darkness, or they would discern the signs of the times. The Roman Church is far-reaching in her plans and modes of operation. She is employing every device to extend her influence and increase her power in preparation for a fierce and determined conflict to regain control of the world, to re-establish persecution, and to undo all that Protestantism has done”(Great Controversy, pg. 565).
Francis’ 2025 jubilee is simply, but profoundly, another device in his church’s arsenal to achieve that goal. God’s word declares that when it does, it will usher in a time of trouble and tyranny such as the world has never seen (Daniel 12:1; Revelation 13:11-17). But, praise God, Jesus remains the Only Door of Hope. He pleads, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
How will you choose?
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