. . . because something is missing. That’s why you’re always longing for something more and searching for something better . . . for the good, the perfect, the pure, the right, the true, and the beautiful.”
“We search for it because it’s what we were created to find?”
“Yes,” he said, “that’s why you came here. You didn’t come here seeking only for the meaning of the vision . . . You came here searching for what was missing.”
“And what was missing?”
“What the mystery is all about.”
“And what is the mystery all about?”
“Redemption,” he said. “At the center of the mystery is redemption. Who is it that the Jubilee is for? For the exiled, the separated, the broken, the fallen, the one who has lost. So to a world separated from God, a world of fallen lives and broken people, what is the Jubilee? It’s the ending of the separation. It’s the love of God reaching out to those in exile . . . to restore the broken, to raise up the fallen, to bring back the lost. What is that? It’s redemption,” he said, “to be restored, brought back, healed, and saved . . . It’s redemption. It’s the missing piece.”
“How so?”
“In Hebrew the word for salvation is ýeshua. From that same word comes the Hebrew name Yeshua, the real name of Jesus. If all loss begins in separation from God, then all redemption begins with the ending of that separation. That’s the meaning of Yeshua. It’s through him that salvation comes. So it was foretold in the Hebrew prophecies that Messiah, through his death, would make atonement for our sins and cleanse us from iniquity. If you make an end of sin, then you end the separation . . . then the exile is over . . . then our exile is over.
“There was only one day in the Hebrew year on which the Jubilee could come—on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. That was the day that the sacrifice was offered up to atone for sin, to end the separation between man and God. It’s the sacrifice that ends the separation and ushers in the Jubilee. Messiah is the sacrifice. So from him comes the Jubilee and the power of restoration.”
“The power of what restoration exactly?” I asked.
“All restoration,” he replied, “the restoration of each life to God . . . the resurrection of each life to God.”
“Resurrection. That was central in the mysteries.”
“Because it’s the ultimate restoration. So the sacrifice of Messiah leads to resurrection. You were shown the mystery of Israel’s resurrection. But who is it that a nation follows?”
“Its king. A nation follows its king.”
“And the King of Israel is the Messiah. Thus Israel is the resurrected nation . . . because its leader is the resurrected King.”
“So from him is all restoration.”
“And all the blessings of the Jubilee. In him the outcast are received back; the defiled are made pure; the broken are restored; the condemned, forgiven; the sick, healed; and those in bondage, set free.”
“All this has to do with the restoration,” I said, “but what about other part of the Jubilee? What does it have to do with the return?”
“What is salvation about?” he asked. “It’s about coming home. It’s the prodigal son returning to his father. It’s about finding forgiveness and restoration in the love of God and the arms of the Father.”
“So salvation is also a Jubilean mystery.”
“Of course,” he replied. “To be saved is to be no longer separated from God, to leave your exile . . . to return . . . to come home.”
“What if one never returns to God? What if one chooses not to?”
“Then one remains separated, in spiritual exile. And as the soul is eternal, so too then is the separation. But that’s not the will of God. He isn’t the God of exile but of return, the God of Jubilee. So He calls each of us to return.”
“Is there anyone so separated, so far from God, that they’re beyond redemption, beyond hope . . . beyond the love of God?”
“Is there any sin so great,” he said, “that God’s love is not greater still? Consider what you’ve been shown. The Lord brought back the children of Israel from the ends of the earth. It didn’t matter how far away they were. He gathered them as a shepherd gathers his flock. They were gone for ages, but He never forgot them. He never gave up on them. And He never forgot His promise. Even