What is Jubilee?
The Biblical Jubilee year happens once every 49 years. It starts on a Day of Atonement–the holiest day on God’s calendar–when the High Priest entered God’s presence to obtain forgiveness for the sins of the whole nation.
For New Covenant disciples, I believe Jubilee promises that we’ll receive fantastic spiritual blessings, including our eternal heavenly inheritance! Just as Jesus literally fulfilled Passover, Firstfruits, and Pentecost while the Jews were celebrating these symbolic feasts, I’m confident God will fulfill the Day of Atonement (and Jubilee) on its anniversary.
When is the next Jubilee year?
If you do a Google search, you’ll see there’s a lot of ignorance, disagreement, and confusion about this question. It’s a mystery, and I want to share some interesting possibilities I just discovered. I’ll be watching them closely.
It started when I recently discovered a BibleArchaeology.org article which convincingly concluded that Joshua led Israel to enter the Promised Land in 1406BC. According to Leviticus 25:8, this event started the 49-year Biblical Jubilee cycle.
2024
Based on this 1406BC start date and a 49-year Jubilee cycle, I calculated that the next Jubilee will be in the year 2024; and, that it will be the 70th Jubilee.
Here’s my math: 2024AD + 1406BC = 3430 years. 3430/49=70.
2017
Some people have speculated that big events for Israel occurred in 1917 and 1967, so they assume 2017 is the next year in a 50-year Jubilee cycle. They base the 50-year cycle on Leviticus 25:11, which says, “You shall have the fiftieth year as a Jubilee.”
So, let’s see how a 50-year cycle fits. If the cycle is 50 years, with a start point of 1406BC, the next Jubilee would be in the year 2044, and it would be the 69th Jubilee.
Here’s my math: 2044AD + 1406BC = 3450 years. 3450/50 = 69.
For calculation purposes, I believe the 49-year cycle is correct. I believe the 50th year overlaps with the 1st year of the next 49-year cycle.
So, does the year 2017 have any significance? It might…If Jubilee starts on Yom Kippur in October 2024, that’ll be exactly 7 (lunar) years from Yom Kippur on September 30, 2017.
Daniel’s 70th Week
If traditional theology is correct about Daniel’s 70th week being symbolic of a 7 year period of increasing tribulation and the rise of the Antichrist, and the 70th Jubilee in 2024 marks the end of our bondage in this world, Daniel’s 70th week (a 7 year period) could start on Yom Kippur, September 30th, 2017.
Daniel 9:27 famously states, “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week”. Most people believe “he” refers to the Antichrist, who will make a ‘covenant with many’ for 7 years. We may (or may not) know whether this 7-year covenant has occurred until 3 and 1/2 years later, when “he” will break the covenant and commit “the abomination of desolation.”
Again, this is a traditional theological doctrine, and traditional theologians are often wrong. So, while it’s extremely interesting to study these things, my advice is to be watchful and stay ready for the Lord’s appearing, no matter how (or when) these prophecies are fulfilled in our future.