The Appointed End-times

And you shall count…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… Lev.25:7-9

Ownership

In the BIG PICTURE of things, God owns the land of Israel and He purposed that each Tribe of Israel would have an irrevocable inheritance -- their own piece of real estate – to live with Him in the land as a result of their relationship to Him. 

Each seventh year was called the Sabbatical Shemitah year and at the end of seven cycles of Shemitah Sabbatical years (7 x 7 = 49), the following year or 50th year was known as the Year of Jubilee.  The Year of Jubilee was an extraordinary gift to the nation of Israel.  It served as a re-set button and the next generation was given an opportunity to both receive and occupy their irrevocable inheritance both in the natural and in the spiritual (Lev. 25:8-16).   

It served as a principle of equality among the Jewish people as a nation.  The rich didn’t grow richer and the poor didn’t grow poorer, nor did the strong dominate to the point of inhalation of the weak.  God gave equality to each of His children as an opportunity for reconciliation and restoration to apply lessons learned in stewardship.  During the Year of Jubilee, slaves went free, debts were cancelled, and land returned to its original tribal heir – the community and land were re-instated to their original state.  Amazing!

There has been much debate on when the counting of Jubilees began.  Some argue that the counting did not begin until after the Children of Israel were in the land for fourteen years, while others argue from the time they entered the land. To complicate and compound the issue even more, there is debate on whether or not the Jubilee was commemorated on the 49th or 50th year -- Leviticus 24:1-4, 8-10 seems pretty clear, what do you think?

Counting

So what is the big deal about counting the Year of Jubilee in our day and time?  The climax of the end-times, the Day of the Lord, happens on Yom Kippur, which so happens to be the time when the Trump of Jubilee is blown.  If one is able to accurately count the appointed Jubilee years, then the appointed time of the end (Daniel’s 70th week) would be within view.

Keep in mind, Israel has not counted the Year of Jubilee since their first exile because other occupying nations have ruled and claimed ownership of their land.  Only after the return from the second exile and the nation reborn, was she a separate Sovereign who now has both the responsibility and call to count for themselves and declare the Year of Jubilee.