What is the Year of Jubilee?
In addition to establishing specific holidays (holy days) for His people to observe, God mandated that the Jews observe specific times of rest: the Sabbaths.
The Sabbath
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2: 1-3)
After the six days of creation, God rested from all His work. God blessed the 7th day and made it a holy day. God created the Sabbath as part of the first week of creation.
The Sabbath Day
22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much [manna]—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. (Exodus 16: 22-23)
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20: 8-11)
After God brought the Jewish people out of their slavery in Egypt, the people needed to cross a wilderness to get to the land that God promised them. During the journey, the people’s food supply ran out. God provided food for them: quail arrived at evening twilight and bread from heaven (manna) arrived with the morning dew. Extra manna had to be gathered on the 6th day because no manna would fall on the 7th day. During that time, God used the manna to reinforce the importance that His Sabbath be observed.
The Lord required the Jews to observe the Sabbath even before He had given them the 10 commandments. When God did give the 10 commandments to Moses, the 4th commandment declared that God’s people must remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
God established the Sabbath Day to be a time of rest for people and animals. It is also a time in which God’s people are to set aside worldly endeavors and focus on their relationship with Him.
The Sabbath Year
The Lord said to Moses at Mount Sinai, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord. 3 For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. 4 But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. 5 Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. 6 Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you—for yourself, your male and female servants, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, 7 as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten. (Leviticus 25: 1-7)
In addition to setting aside the 7th day of the week as a Sabbath day, God also instructed the Jews to observe the Sabbath year (aka the Shemitah). They could cultivate the land for six years but on the seventh year, the land was to be given time to rest.
God established the Sabbath Year to be a time of rest for the land.
The Year of Jubilee
8 “‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. 9 Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. 10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan. 11 The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. 12 For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields. (Leviticus 25: 8-12)
God is very serious about the Sabbath. He has commanded Israel to observe the Sabbath in several ways. Exodus 20 states that every 7th day is designated as the Sabbath day. Leviticus 25 states that every seven years, the 7th year was to be designated as a Sabbath year. Leviticus 25 also states that every seven Sabbath years (seven sevens = 49 years), the Jews were to observe a special Sabbath year: the Year of Jubilee (every 50th year).
God established the Sabbath Year of Jubilee to be a time of liberty and restoration.
A Blessing for Obedience
18 “‘Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. 20 You may ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?” 21 I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. 22 While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in. (Leviticus 25: 18-22)
God promised to bless Israel for being faithful to His decrees and laws. If they were faithful to Him, He would be faithful to them: He would keep them safe and provide for them. When they willfully strayed from His decrees and laws about the Sabbath years, God gave them warnings and eventually removed His protection and provision from them. That is when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and Israel was taken captive. Yet, God has promised to eventually restore Israel.
The Sabbath Year Calendar
The Temple was destroyed because Israel had not been faithful to God’s decrees and laws about the Sabbath year. Therefore, the Jewish leaders count the seven year Sabbatical cycle as beginning the year following the destruction of the Temple (3829 years from creation, circa 68-69 CE). According to the current Jewish calendar, 5775 (September 24, 2014 to September 13, 2015) is a Sabbatical year.
The Sabbath Year of 2014-2015
There are several significant events are scheduled to occur during the Sabbatical year of September 24,2014 to September 13, 2015:
The 29 of Elul (Day of Judgment) is September 13, 2015. There is a partial solar eclipse on that day. Solar eclipses are considered warnings for Gentiles. This marks the 7 year anniversary of the 2008 Stock Market collapse that resulted in a worldwide economic crisis. It also marks the 14th year anniversary of the Islamic terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. Both events occurred on the 29th of Elul and during a Sabbath year.
The 2014-2015 tetrad coincides with major Jewish holidays (Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles). Three of the four blood moons in this tetrad occur during this Sabbatical year. Blood moons are considered warnings for the Jewish nation.
The Sukkot (Feast of the Tabernacles) is September 27, 2015 to October 4, 2015.
The 4th Blood Moon (full lunar eclipse) on September 28, 2015 is the only blood moon of the 2014-2015 tetrad that will be visible from Jerusalem. All of the blood moons in this tetrad would be visible from the USA. It will also be a “supermoon”: it will appear about 14% bigger due to its proximity to the earth. And it is a “harvest moon”: it is the full moon that is closest to the Autumnal equinox.
Due to the unusual number of major events during 2014 and 2015, there is a strong possibility that something significant will happen near this timeframe.
The Jubilee Calendar
Most Jewish leaders agree that the 49 year cycle to the year of Jubilee (every 50th year) ended when the Temple was destroyed and Israel was scattered. They also believe that the calendar for the year of Jubilee will not begin until all 12 tribes are living in the land that God gave to Israel. The Jewish leaders have decreed that the calendar for the Jubilee year has not yet officially restarted. However, there is a possibility that God has already restarted the calendar for the Year of Jubilee.
The Holy Land is Restored to Israel
3 The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 30: 3)
Following World War I, the Jewish people were officially given back their homeland. On November 2, 1917, the Balfour Declaration formally established a place where Jews could live as a people: the Holy Land. As a result of the Balfour Declaration, all 12 tribes of Israel had the ability to live in the land that God had ordained for them.
God restored the Holy Land to the Jewish people. This event occurred on the year following the 1916-1917 Sabbath year. Although there is some debate, this event may have met the criteria for the restart of the Jubilee calendar.
According to the Jewish calendar, it was the year 5678.
The Nation of Israel is Reborn
On May 14, 1948 Israel declared its independence and officially established the state of Israel. Having survived the World War II Holocaust which killed about 6 million Jews, Israel was reborn as a nation.
According to the Jewish calendar, it was the year 5708.
Jerusalem is Restored
The 6-Day War occurred from June 5, 1967 to June 10, 1967 (during the 1967-1968 tetrad). As a result of that astonishing victory, Israel gained a significant amount of land and reclaimed Jerusalem. Through this miraculous event, God again gave Israel most of the land He had originally promised them. In addition, Jerusalem was restored to Israel. This event took place the year following the 1966-1967 Sabbath year.
The restoration of Jerusalem occurred 49 years after the Jewish people had been given back their homeland. In November 1917 (during a year following a Shemitah), God restored the Holy Land to the Jewish people. In June 1967 (during a year following a Shemitah), God restored Jerusalem to the Jewish people. These two events align in a way that fits the timetable for the Jubilee calendar.
According to the Jewish calendar, it was the year 5727.
The Land Belongs to God
23 “‘The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. 24 Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land. (Leviticus 25: 23-24)
In Leviticus 25, God specifically told Israel not to permanently sell the land that God had given them to possess. God says that “the land is mine.” God retains His claim for ownership of that land. Israel is God’s designated steward of that land.
In an effort to live in peace with their Arab neighbors, Israel has gradually given back most of the land that God miraculously gave them during the 6-Day War of 1967. While Israel did not sell the land for money, they have permanently traded it in exchange for peace. With each transaction, Israel’s Arab neighbors continue to demand more of the land that God gave Israel. Permanently giving away the land that God gave Israel was not in keeping with God’s decree (Leviticus 25: 23). This bartered peace has never been fulfilled.
Why it Matters
The Sabbath year of Jubilee was mandated by God. That reason alone gives it importance. In addition, it may be significant in the fulfillment of end times prophesies. It is quite possible that God would choose the Sabbath year of Jubilee as the timeframe for His Temple to begin being rebuilt in Jerusalem.
If the 1917 Balfour Declaration was to have marked the resumption of the Jubilee calendar, then the 6-Day War of June 1967 also occurred during a Jubilee year. Based on that Jubilee calendar, the next year of Jubilee would be September 2015 to September 2016.
The final 7 years prophesied in Daniel 9 begins with a 7-year peace treaty between Israel and her enemies. During the first 3-1/2 years of the peace treaty, the Jewish Temple is rebuilt and animal sacrifice is resumed. Halfway through the 7 years, the “abomination that causes desolation” will occur and the Great Tribulation will begin.
Since Year of Jubilee represents a Biblically significant time of restoration, it is the most likely timeframe in which a peace treaty will be made and Israel will begin rebuilding the Temple on the Temple Mount. That would certainly be a time of jubilee for the Jewish people.
It is quite possible that between September 2015 and September 2016:
- A Peace Treaty will be established in the Middle East.
- The Jewish people will begin rebuilding the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount.
Along with a 7-year peace treaty, there will be a war that kills one third of mankind (see the 6th Trumpet described in Revelation 9: 13-21). This devastating war is likely to happen just before the 7-year peace treaty or halfway through the peace treaty (at the beginning of the Great Tribulation).
For more information, please read:
Leave a Reply