Will Messiah Come in a
Jubilee Year?
the Messianic Kingdom is revealed. Could Yeshua
Ha Moshiach return in a Jubilee Year? When is the
next Jubilee Year?
Will Jesus, the Messiah, return on a “Jubilee
year”? Is there evidence in the
Scriptures that this is so? First, let’s
understand just what a Jubilee Year is!
God commanded His people to observe special years of land
rest every seventh year in a fifty year cycle.
These were called “land Sabbaths” – or in the Hebrew, a shemittah year. God declared, “Six years you shall sow your
field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; but
in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a
Sabbath to the LORD” (Lev.25:3-4).
God then commanded, “And you shall count seven Sabbaths
of years for yourself, seven times seven years, and the time of the seven
sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the
JUBILEE to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement
you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year,
and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each
of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his
family. That fiftieth year shall be a
Jubilee for you” (verses 8-11).
The Jubilee year in ancient
How does this tie in with the coming of the Messiah?
The apostle Peter declared, to the
assembled Jews of his day, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins
may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and
that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you -- even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes
for God to RESTORE EVERYTHING, as he promised long ago through his holy
prophets” (Acts
The “times of refreshing,” and time of
“restoring everything,” would logically occur on a Jubilee year -- the
designated year of liberty, freedom, forgiveness of all debts, and restitution
of all lands and properties and inheritances (Lev.25).
Jesus Himself, when He began His ministry,
said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach
good news to the poor. He has sent me to
proclaim FREEDOM for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to
RELEASE the oppressed, to proclaim the YEAR OF THE LORD'S FAVOR” (Luke
Although this Scripture was fulfilled in
type at Yeshua’s first coming, it will be fully fulfilled in its TOTALITY
at His Second Coming! This Scripture
also describes the “Jubilee year” -- the “year of the Lord’s favor,” the year
of freedom and “release.” At the Second Coming of Christ, the Israelite
prisoners in foreign lands around the world will be given their FREEDOM, and
the oppressed everywhere will be RELEASED!
The
Encyclopedia Judaica
Here’s what we read in the Encyclopedia Judaica, concerning the Sabbatical years and Jubilee cycles:
“THE CALCULATION OF THE
JUBILEE. Both in the tannaitic
literature
and in the
Apocrypha two different systems for the calculation of the Jubilee
and the
Sabbatical year are found. A baraita declares
that the Jubilee year
is the 50th
year, after the completion of the seven sabbatical cycles, the follow-
ing year being
the first of the ensuing shemittah . . . .
that ‘the
Jubilee year enters into the calculation of the heptad,’ i.e., the Jubilee
year is the 50th
year after the previous Jubilee and thus also the first of the
ensuing shemittah
and Jubilee (Ned.61a). According to
was a widespread
tannaitic tradition that with the exile of the tribes of Reuben,
Gad, and the
half-tribe of Manasseh, the laws of the Jubilee fell into desuetude.
According to the
geonim not only were the laws of the Jubilee not in force from
the time of the
exile of these tribes, but after the destruction of the
the Jubilee
Years were not even calculated; only those of the shemittot. . . .
Whether in
accordance with the views of
Jubilee was not
calculated in the period of the
only Sabbatical
Years were counted from the
(“Sabbatical
Year and Jubilee,” vol.14, page 579).
The Jews deduced that the Jubilee did not apply since the exile of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, because the Jubilee was to be proclaimed “unto all the inhabitants thereof” (Lev.25:10), and since those tribes were missing, the command could not be completely observed. Therefore, they believed, it was no longer incumbent upon them to observe it.
Later, Hillel I also ruled that the Sabbatical year was no longer to be a year of “financial” release from indebtedness, reasoning that lenders would withhold loans from the poor if they knew the loans would have to be forgiven if not repaid by the Sabbatical year. Thus men reasoned around the plain and clear laws of God, substituting their own human reason instead (see Prov.14:12).
Interestingly,
however, the Encyclopedia Judaica points out that the sages of Israel in
every period saw a link between the Jubilee and the Sabbatical years with the
laws regarding emancipation of slaves, remission of debts, and prohibition of
land cultivation. The Jubilee was the capstone
of them all. Says the Encyclopedia
Judaica:
“They reckoned
the historical order and the end of time by Sabbatical years
and
Jubilees: ‘
to the time they
left it’ (Ar.12b). Elijah told Judah,
the brother of Sala Hasida,
‘The world will
endure not less than 85 Jubilees, and on the last Jubilee the
Son of David
will come’ (Sanh.97b). The precept of
the Jubilee is often
regarded as one
of the basic precepts of the Torah. ‘And
its seven lamps
thereon’
(Zech.4:2) is interpreted as referring to the seven precepts – offerings,
tithes, shemittot,
Jubilees, circumcision, honoring of father and mother, and
study of the
Torah which excels them all’ (PR 8.4).
The continued dwelling
in the land was
dependent upon the observance of the shemittah and the Jubilee
(Shab. 33a)” (ibid.,
581).
Now let’s look at this passage more closely. Notice that continued dwelling in the holy land was “DEPENDANT UPON” the observance of the Sabbatical years and the Jubilee years!
Elijah’s
Prophecy
Note, first of all, the prophetic words of Elijah: “Elijah told Judah, the brother of Sala Hasida, ‘The world will endure not less than 85 Jubilees, and on the last Jubilee the Son of David will come’” (Talmud, Sanh.97b).
Notice this passage from the Talmud, the words of Elijah the prophet! He stated quite clearly that the Messiah the Son of David will come ON THE LAST JUBILEE!
What does “not less than 85 Jubilees” mean? 85 Jubilees would be a period of 4250 Years (85 x 50).
The “world” Elijah was speaking of was most likely “this present evil world.” The Bible speaks of the “world that then was,” the pre-Flood world, and “the world that now is,” this present world – the post-Flood world. The post-Flood world began in the year 2348, according to Ussher’s chronology. Therefore, subtracting the dates, to arrive at the “beginning” of the END time prophesied by Elijah, we find: 4250 – 2348 = 1902. Since there was no year zero, we must add one year, bring us to 1903 – the beginning of the twentieth century. This means that the ‘time of the end’ must begin at this time, as the world was prophesied not to endure less than that time.
In the Talmud itself we read:
“The following Baraita was
taught in accordance with the position of Rav
Katina: ‘Just as the Sabbatical year suspends field
work once in seven years,
so, too, the
world will lie fallow for a millennium in seven millennia, as
the verse states
(Isa.2:11), “And the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day.”
And another
verse states, (Psalm 92:1) “A psalm a poem for the Sabbath
day” – a day
that is entirely a Sabbath, when the whole world lies fallow.
And another
verse states (Psalm 90:4), “For a thousand years in Your sight
are but like
yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.”’
“A sage of the
SIX THOUSAND
YEARS: -- the first two thousand years – from the days
of Adam to the
days of the patriarch Abraham – the world was still in chaos,
for the Torah
had not yet been given. The next two
thousand years – from the
Torah to the
Mishnaic period – was to be the period of the Torah. And the
next two
thousand years was to be the period of the Messiah. But because
of our
transgressions, which were so very many, the Messiah did not come
at the end of
the fourth millennium, and those years which have already
passed have
already passed.
“The Prophet
Elijah said to Rav Yehuda the brother of Rav Sila the pious:
‘The world
will endure for not less than 85 Jubilee
cycles (50 year periods),
which is four
thousand two hundred and fifty years, and in the last Jubilee
cycle the
Messiah, the Son of David, will come . . . .
“When the
Prophet Elijah set a time for the Messiah’s arrival, he meant
to say as
follows: ‘Until that time, the eighty
fifth Jubilee cycle, do not even
hope for him,
for he will surely not come before then.
But from then on,
you may indeed
hope for his arrival” (Sanhedrin 97B).
Interestingly, according to the chronology
of archbishop James Ussher,
When
Now if we count the years from that time to
the present, we come up with the following:
2002
+1437
3439
years
Since there was no year zero, we
must add a year to our calculations, and arrive at 3440. If we divide this
number by 50, the years in a Jubilee cycle, we come up with 68.8 Jubilee cycles
to the present year. 80% of a 50 year
cycle is 40 years.
That means there is only ten years
left to the next Jubilee year!!!
Could this be an indication
that the Messiah will return ten years from now – the next calculated
JUBILEE YEAR? Could the return of
Jesus Christ be in the year 2012 – a brief span of just ten years?
We don’t know
exactly when the Messiah will return.
But when He does, on that day He will gather together His elect, from
the four winds. As we read in
Matthew: “Then the sign of the Son of
man will appear in heaven: and then all
the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man COMING
ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a great
sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four
winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matt.24:30-31, NKJV).
The apostle Paul
also speaks of this tremendous event:
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, AT THE LAST TRUMPET. FOR
THE TRUMPET [the great trumpet of Jubilee, sounded on the day of Atonement!]
will SOUND, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed” (I Cor.15:52).
It is very interesting that the date
of 2012 AD is just five years after 2007 AD, which is exactly 40 years from
1967, the year of the “Six Day War” when Israel recaptured the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem, after it had been in Gentile hands for almost 2000 years – ever
since 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple. The generation of 1967 lacked the faith and
obedience to God to begin rebuilding God’s House at that time. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan and the Labor
government in Israel allowed the Arab infidels to retain control of the Temple
Mount. That generation proved unworthy
of the task. Therefore, it appears that
God has allowed that generation to “wander in the wilderness” of political
confusion, terrorism, and national upheaval, for the forty years since that
time.
The situation is reminiscent of the
Israelites who came to the doorstep of the Promised Land, under Moses – but
after the land was spied out by 12 spies, they revolted against Moses, lost
faith, and refused to enter the Promised Land.
They were afraid of the “giants” in the land and the walled cities with
armed defenders. God thundered to that
faithless generation, “The carcasses of you who complained against Me shall
fall in this wilderness . . . According to the number of the days in which you
spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one
year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection” (Num.14:29, 34).
From 1967 till now Israel has known
suffering, rejection, and mounting grief and terrorism. Life hangs for many by a thread. Will the next generation become more obedient
to the heavenly calling, and take up the task of rebuilding God’s House,
beginning in 2007 – after the 40 year punishment expires?
In another amazing prophecy
detailing forty years of besiegement upon the House of Judah – the Jewish state
– God Almighty thunders to His prophet Ezekiel, “You shall bear the iniquity of
the house of Judah forty days. I have
laid on you a day for each year. Therefore
you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem . . .” (Ezek.4:6-7).
Could this also be a prophetic
reference to the forty years from 1967 to 2007 – a time of besiegement of
modern Israel and Jerusalem, at the hands of the surrounding Arab nations and
the Palestinian terrorists under the leadership of Yasser Arafat?
2007 A.D.
It is very interesting, also, that
the term of the present Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan,
expires at the end of 2006, and a new Secretary General will be chosen to lead
the UN beginning in 2007. From 2007 to
2012 is six years. Who will the next
Secretary General of a strengthened UN be?
Could it be that wily, cunning charmer known as Bill Clinton, who is
universally admired as the greatest politician of modern times? Could this also mean that Hillary Clinton may
become President of the United States in the election of 2008?
It is also interesting to take note
of the fact that the United States and Europe are pushing Israel for its
unconditional approval of a Palestinian state in their midst. The request was disclosed in November, 2002,
when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up on a packed Israeli passenger
bus in Jerusalem, killing 12 and injuring more than 40 Israelis, many of them
young children on the way to school.
Body parts and lunch sandwiches were strewn everywhere. The murderer’s father praised his son,
saying, “Our religion says we are proud of him until the day of resurrection.”
The U.S. request to Israel to
approve a Palestinian state is part of a revised peace plan for the Middle East
promulgated by a Quartet of nations – the United States, European Union,
Russia, and the United Nations. The
Quartet has drafted a road map for an
Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement by 2006.
The new draft calls for the unconditional endorsement of a Palestinian
state with interim borders in 2003, to be followed by a Palestinian state in
2005 with permanent borders.
Thus by the year 2007 the situation
in the Middle East may be more settled, and a new status quo in the region may well provide the opportunity
to rebuild the House of God, the Temple, at its correct location!
How does all this connect with the
prophetic scenario of the Jubilee Year and the return of the Messiah?
Nick Wood, our representative in
England, has suggested the following prophetic outline. He writes:
“I
have been trying to make some sense of the possibility of Christ returning in
2012 and this is another scenario that I have come up with. Of course this is
only ‘kite-flying’ and in no way intended to ‘set’ any dates. We must always be
ready for the return of Yeshua at any time of course, and He still may return
well before 2012.
“We still have no cast iron reason to believe
that James Ussher was wrong in his date of 4004 BC for the creation of Adam so
I will use that as the starting point.
4004 BC -- creation of Adam
6000 – 6 ‘1000 year days’
allowed for man under Satan’s sway
1996 AD
+1 -- because no year zero
1997 AD -- 6,000 years from the creation of
Adam
“Now from 1997 till 2012 is 15 years, so can
we account for this 15 year delay? Adam
and Eve were in the Garden of Eden before eating the forbidden fruit for 7
years, which are a parallel of Daniel's 70th week at the end of this age of
Satan’s rule. However there are still 8 years to account for.
1997 AD
+3 -- 3 years of Christ’s ministry
when He personified the Kingdom of
God on Earth
=2000 AD -- the new intifada begins in the State of Israel
+1 -- the time Noah and his family were safe in
the ark during the Flood
=2001 AD -- the year of ‘9/11’ and the attack on the Twin Trade Towers
+4 -- the 4 years of the parable of the
‘Barren Fig Tree’ as in Luke 13:6-9
when Almighty God in His
mercy allows an extra 4 years for
repentance before the hell of the Great
Tribulation is unleashed upon mankind.
=2005 AD -- the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week
+7
=2012 AD -- return of Messiah in the year of Jubilee
“Maybe this will inspire yourself and others
to come up with an even better scenario.
Whatever way it all works out in the end, we are all commanded to
‘Watch’! Thank you for being our Chief
Watchman, Bill, but those of us who support Triumph must do all we can to help
you. Maybe we should consider ourselves
‘Apprentice Watchmen’ in training for the days ahead?”
How
fascinating! More and more, the numbers
seem to be adding up. 1997 was a
critical year, when the Hale-Bopp comet appeared in the sky as an omen – a
“sign” – a warning of things to come (see Gen.1:14-16). From this year of 2002 till 2012 is ten years
– could this be “ten years of Awe” – ten years of warning to repent – which God
allows before the END comes, the climax to all world events – represented by
the “ten days” between Rosh Hashanah (Yom Teruah, the “Day of Blowing the
Shofar”), and Yom Kippur (the “Day of Atonement” or “Covering”)?
Ten
years! It’s time to redouble our
efforts to proclaim God’s warning to this sin-sick, sickening, wicked and
corrupt world – before the Grand Smash Climax strikes!
But there is yet another “number” of significance which figures into the end-time scenario. It is the ‘number of the Beast” of Revelation 13 – that is, the “number” of the Antichrist, the last world dictator who is prophesied to rise up and persecute the people of God, and to fight against the Messiah when He comes!
We read in the book of Revelation,
the last book of the Bible, these portentous words: “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the
number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666” (Rev.13:18).
Who could this be? Can we know?
Hold on to your hats! Here’s a
surprise!
The names of both William Jefferson
Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton, in Hebrew, have a numerical value of “666”
– a number which Scriptures states is the “number of the beast” of Revelation
(Rev.13:18). According to Hebrew
gematria, the letters of the Hebrew alphabet also each have numerical
values.
In the Hebrew language, the name of “William
Jefferson Clinton” definitely adds up to – “666.” In using the numerical values of Hebrew
letters, we discover a very interesting phenomenon:
WILLIAM
Vav
=
6
Aleph
= 1
Yod
=
10
Lamed
= 30
Yod
=
10
Mem
= 40
97
JEFFERSON
Yod
= 10
P(F)eh = 80
Resh
=
200
Samech
= 60
Nun
= 50
400
CLINTON
Koph
= 20
Lamed
= 30
Yod
= 10
Nun
= 50
Tet =
9
Nun =
50
169
The sums
of 97, 400 and 169 add up to a total of 666!
But there is even more to the story. Roger Morris’ book Partners in Power plainly
lays out the pivotal role Hillary Clinton has played in the Clinton political
ascendancy. Notice the gematria of her
name:
HILLARY – Het = 8, Lamed = 30, Resh = 200, Yod = 10 Total:
248
RODHAM -- Resh = 200, Dalet = 4, Hay = 5, Mem = 40 Total:
249
CLINTON = 169
169
Grand
Total: 666
Notice! Once again the numbers 248, 249, and 169 add
up to the sum of 666!
Is this mere coincidence? Hillary Rodham Clinton played a pivotal role
in the ascendancy of her husband to the office of President of the United
States. Her own ambitions are well
known. At
the present time, she is a Senator of New York state, and it is well known that
she has plans on running for the Presidency of the United States, most probably
in 2008.
It is certainly incredible that both
their names, in Hebrew gematria, add up to the beastial “666”! Could it be that we have identified the
individual who will become the end-time prophesied world ruler, who will be
worshipped by the world, but whom God’s Word refers to as “the Beast”?
Some may find this repugnant and
hard to believe. We live in an age where
Bible prophecy is disregarded and despised.
Most people fail to see that America, with her European allies, has
become the modem counterpart of the ancient ROMAN EMPIRE. We no longer speak of “Pax Romana,” but “Pax
Americana.” We no longer have the “Roman Senate,” but the “U.S. Senate,”
patterned after that of ancient Rome.
New York City and Washington D.C.
have become the modern world’s equivalent of ancient Babylon and Rome. The “Roman eagle” has been replaced by the
“American eagle.” People fail to see the
huge role being played in the world by the United Nations, led primarily by the
Security Council, and the United States – the world’s last remaining
“superpower.”
The final world empire that will
exist prior to the coming of the Messiah will include aspects of the “eagle”
and “lion” – America and Britain (Dan.7:4) -- the “bear” – Russia (Dan.7:5) –
and the “leopard” – Europe and Germany (Dan.7:6). Notice that the final “empire” will be a
composite of all these creatures – a UNITY which combines all of them (Dan.7:7,
17, 23-25; compare with Rev.13:1-2).
This world ruling entity will fight
against the Messiah when He comes! Led
by ten war-waging nations, called the “ten horns” (Dan.7:7, 24; Rev.13:1),
which will give their power to the “beast,” they will wage war against Christ.
“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he
is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and
chosen, and faithful” (Rev.17:14).
This could mean that Daniel’s final
week – the final seven years of this age, before Messiah returns – would be
from 2005-2012. The “Great Tribulation”
could begin at that time, with the final three and one half years (or 42
prophetic months, or 1260 prophetic days) of intense worldwide suffering beginning
in 2009, climaxing in the return of the Messiah to save this old earth from
total annihilation and utter destruction.
During these final 3 and one half
years, the “Beast” power will tread down the earth, and occupy the holy city of
Jerusalem (Rev.11:2). During this time
God will give power to His two witnesses, who will testify to the world
government and people of their sins and disobedience to God (Rev.11:3). During these final 3 ½ years, the Beast
power/UN will strive to inaugurate a new world religion, and will persecute the
true saints and people of God. The Beast
will blaspheme the God of heaven, and “make war with the saints,” and will
overcome them (Rev.13:7).
But Almighty God will intervene and
deliver His people! Notice!
When Christ
returns, He immediately begins to execute JUDGMENT -- symbolized by the very
meaning of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement!
This is the same as the SEVENTH and FINAL trumpet blown in the book of
Revelation! Notice! “Then the seventh angel sounded [his
trumpet]; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this
world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall
reign for ever and ever. . . The nations
were angry, and Your WRATH has come, and the time of the dead, that they
should be JUDGED, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and
the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great; and should destroy
those who destroy the earth” (Rev.11:15-18).
The Messiah,
Jesus Christ – Yeshua Ha Moshiach – will be “revealed from heaven with His
mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God,
and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when
He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among
all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed” (II
Thess.1:7-10).
It is time we WAKE UP! The coming of the Messiah is on our doorstep!
Jesus Himself declared,
“But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand. But in those days, after that tribulation,
the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of
heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in
the clouds with great power and glory.
And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the
four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of
heaven. Now learn this parable of the
fig tree: When its branch has already
become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see these things happening,
know it is near – at the doors!
Assuredly I say to you, this generation [the generation that sees these
things!] will by no means pass away till all these things take place. . .
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not
even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not
know when the time is” (Mark 13:23-33).
That day
is coming SOON! It is right around the
corner! Could it be just another ten
short years away? Could
it be in the year 2012? Could it be just
ten years from today? I sincerely hope
so -- if not sooner!!!
Even so – Come quickly, Lord Jesus – Yeshua
Ha Moshiach!!!
Turning
and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon
cannot hear the falconer;
Things
fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere
anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed
tide is loosed, and everywhere
The
ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best
lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full
of passionate intensity.
Surely
some revelation is at hand;
Surely the
Second Coming is at hand.
The Second
Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a
vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles
my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape
with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze
blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at
last, Slouches
towards Bethlehem to be born?
-- W. B. Yeats