THE
JUBILEE -
CAN
WE DATE THE SECOND ADVENT FROM IT?
Can
we date the Second Advent of Christ from the jubilee cycles?
Read
this and you will find out.
Some
people set post-1844 time prophecies on earlier time prophecies, such as
the 1260 days or the 2300 days.
But
there are those who set time, based on the jubilee cycle.
Obviously,
a careful reading of the Spirit of Prophecy reveals that we should not
set time after 1844 on ANY basis. (See our two in-depth studies for much
more information on this: It Is No Time for TIME
EXCITEMENT [PG-21], a very thorough Spirit of Prophecy
compilation; and our We Are Not to SET
TIME [WM-563].)
But,
all aside from other time-setting methods, can we not determine future
dates from the jubilee? Here are facts you have been looking for,
regarding time-setting predictions based on the jubilee cycles:
Here
is the basic Bible passage on the jubilee:
“And
thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven
years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee
forty and nine years.
“Then
shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of
the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet
sound throughout all your land.
“And
ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all
the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto
you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall
return every man unto his family.
“A
jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither
reap that which groweth of itself in
it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
“For
it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase
thereof out of the field.
“In
the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his
possession.”—Leviticus 25:8-13.
(It
should be noted that, in many KJV Bibles, the spelling is ‘jubile,’
while the Spirit of Prophecy and current spelling is ‘jubilee.’)
Several
principles are presented in the above Bible passage:
1
- The jubilee represents the time when we are freed from all our
problems.
Antitype: In a sense, we are delivered when we accept Christ as our
Saviour, but the full release does not come until His Second Advent for
His people. (More on this, below).
“By
every jubilee trumpet His [Christ’s] name was sounded.”—Desire
of Ages, 212.
2
- The typical jubilee occurred on the fiftieth year
(Education, 43; 1 Bible Commentary, 1112). It occurred in the
fiftieth year, after seven sabbatical cycles (seven groups of seven
years). Antitype: Would the antitype, the Second Advent, also occur
on a fiftieth year in the jubilee cycles? More on this below.
3
- The jubilee brought the return of property to its original owners.
Antitype: Through sin, Adam and his descendants lost the first dominion.
Through Christ, it will be restored, and the meek shall inherit the
earth.
“Every
fiftieth year, the year of jubilee, every inheritance in the land was to
be restored to its original owner.”—1 Bible Commentary, 1112.
“In
the fiftieth, or year of jubilee, all landed property reverted to the
original owner.”—Education, 43.
4
- There would be no need of planting or harvesting in the time of the
jubilee.
Antitype: Because human probation is forever ended, there will be no
more need of missionary seed-sowing or harvesting.
The
jubilee, described in Leviticus 25, was typical. Now let us look more
closely at the antitype—the antitypical jubilee:
1
- Specifically, the antitypical jubilee will, under no circumstances,
begin until the Voice of God delivers His people, just prior to the
Second Advent.
“But
there was one clear place of settled glory, whence came the voice of God
like many waters, which shook the heavens and the earth . . Then
commenced the jubilee, when the land should rest . . Soon appeared the
great white cloud.”—Early Writings, 34-35 (p. 286 and Life
Sketches, 103 are identical).
The
Voice of God delivers His people from the power of the wicked, and the
Second Advent quickly follows. Note that the jubilee only begins at this
point; it does not end then.
2
- The
antitypical jubilee will not occur, prior to that time, immediately
before the Second Advent of Christ. It comes after the close of
probation, and just before Jesus is seen in the clouds, returning for
His own.
Therefore,
contrary to what some say, the antitypical jubilee does not represent
conversion, 1844, the beginning of the investigative judgment, when it
passes to the cases of the living, or the general close of probation.
The jubilee is not fulfilled until the time of the Second Advent.
3
- The antitypical jubilee is NOT the completion of a fifty-year
cycle—because it is an antitype! It does not come at the end of one of
those literal cycles!
How can we know this? because the jubilee is an antitype.
The
jubilee is a type/antitype relationship; it is not a time prophecy.
4
- Antitypical fulfillments do not match the time lengths found in the
types!
Example:
the Sanctuary service: The typical daily service was 364 days
long—just under a year, while the antitypical was “18 centuries” (Great
Controversy, 421) in length. The typical yearly service was one day
long, but the antitypical began in 1844, and is still in progress.
Types
and antitypes are related by events and sequential relationships, not be
time periods.
Do
not confuse antitypes with time-span prophecies: The 2300-year prophecy
was a time prophecy, but the antitypical sanctuary fulfillments are not.
They have no inherent time spans predicted within them.
It
is of interest that, although the types (the daily and yearly sanctuary
service, and the jubilee cycle) have inherent time spans (one day out of
365, and one year out of fifty),—those numbers do not carry over into
the antitypes. It is only the principles which carry over.
What
are the jubilee principles? Read them in the box on the bottom of page
one of this tract.
5
- Not only are antitypes not time prophecies, they are not even
proportional to the mathematical ratio of the types which they follow.
The ratio of the yearly to the daily typical sanctuary service was 1 to
364. If the antitypical yearly had been 1/365th the length of the
antitypical daily, it would only have lasted about five years! It is
obvious there are no time-pattern correlations between the antitypes and
types. (At the present time [1994], the ratio of yearly to daily is
already quite skewed in favor of the length of the yearly [about 30 to
365]).
In
the jubilee type, the jubilee was one year, concluding a cycle of 50. It
had a mathematical proportion of 1 to 50. But the antitypical jubilee
will come when God designs that it should.—And, when it does come, it
will last a very long time! The coming jubilee will be at least a
thousand years in length. (In one sense, it could be no shorter than
that, since the redeemed do not receive their land back—the new
earth—until it is concluded. But, in another sense, the freedom of the
jubilee will continue on forever.) Mathematically, a thousand-year
jubilee ought to require 50,000 non-jubilee years before it.
For
the above reasons, the various 50-year cycle theories (which teach
that the Second Advent will come at the end of a certain number of 50
year periods) ARE NOT correct!
The
above facts should be sufficient to bury the jubilee cycle theories, but
here are additional facts which you should keep in mind:
1
- No one on earth knows when the typical jubilee cycles began.
We just are not told, and there is no historical data to clarify the
point. God has purposely hidden the fact, so we will not worship jubilee
dates.
The
first jubilee cycle began at some point after the Israelites entered the
promised land. The entrance occurred 40 years after the Exodus—but
when did that happen?
2
- We do not know the date when the Red Sea was crossed, and the Exodus
out of Egypt began.
Biblical
scholars place the general time when the Exodus occurred at (1) the seventeenth
century B.C., during the Hyksos period; (2) the sixteenth century
B.C., when the Hyksos were expelled; (3) the fifteenth century
B.C., under the eighteenth Egyptian dynasty (during the reign of
Thutmose III); and (4) the thirteenth century B.C., under the
nineteenth Egyptian dynasty (during the reign of Ramses II).
Adventist
scholars, for several decades, have placed it as occurring in the
fifteenth century B.C., during the reign of Thutmose III. After
reviewing the data, the present writer has for a number of years agreed
with that position. But that does not make it a known fact.
3
- Yet, even if we were correct on the century—that would not tell us
the year of the Exodus.
Keep
in mind that, if we cannot know when the Israelites left Egypt, we
cannot know when they entered the promised land 40 years later, and
began the jubilee cycles.
4
- We
cannot even have certainty as to the regnal years of Thutmose III—or
any other pharoah or ruler in the second millennium B.C. Why not?
because of a very special reason:
5
- We cannot accurately pinpoint any date in ancient Near-Eastern history
before one date, about nine centuries after Thutmose III. That
date is the 37th regnal year of Nebuchadnezzar
(which began at sunset on April 22, 568 B.C., and ended at sunset on
April 11, 567 B.C.).
We
know that dated year because of a clay tablet unearthed in Mesopotamia,
which links that regnal year to very definite astronomical events (in
this case, a rather complete collection of planetary locations
throughout that particular year). That data cannot be duplicated for any
other year in history, so we can be totally certain of that one date.
6
- We cannot with certainty link that dated year to earlier events.
Efforts
are made to link that dated year (568/567 B.C.) to earlier Hebrew
history (including Edwin Thiele and Sigfried Horn’s outstanding work),
but, of course, we cannot have certainty about their conclusions. They
may have partial accuracy, but how much we cannot know.
(However,
it would not matter if they were accurate, since we have earlier noted
that antitypical jubilees do not occur at the end of 50-year cycles.)
Believe
not those who tell you we can know, with certainty the date of the
Exodus. We do not have such certainty. Indeed, we do not even have
clarity as to the pharoah, during whose rule it occurred!
There
are those who date the jubilee cycle as starting with the Exodus out of
Egypt, and there are those who date it as beginning at the entrance into
Canaan.
But
that controversy between an Exodus date and an Entrance date only adds
to the confusion of when the cycles began.
In
this study, we will assume the following:
(1)
The jubilee cycles did not begin at the Exodus, because a careful
reading of Leviticus 25:8-16 reveals that two aspects had to be
fulfilled: first, the freeing of the people, and second, the receiving
of the landed inheritance. Then, the 50-year cycle would begin and, at
its end, the people were again freed, and the land again given to them. So,
at the beginning of the cycle, the people must already have both: their
freedom and their land.
(2)
The jubilees were 50-year cycles, not 49-year cycles.
“Every
fiftieth year, the year of jubilee, every inheritance in the land was to
be restored to its original owner.”—1 Bible Commentary, 1112.
“In
the fiftieth, or year of jubilee, all landed property reverted to the
original owner.”—Education, 43.
The
people (or the children of the people) who owned the land, at the
beginning of the 50-year cycle, were the ones who received it back at
the end of the cycle—so, at the beginning of the cycle, they had to
own the land. As we shall see below, the Israelites did not receive
their land until several years after the entrance into Canaan.
At
the Exodus from Egypt, the people received their freedom, but not until
after the entrance into Canaan did they receive their land. Therefore,
the position is here taken that an Exodus date for the beginning of the
jubilee cycle would be untenable.
The
jubilee was known as “the year of release and return.” It took both
to make it a jubilee.
Next,
what was the date of the entrance into Canaan, and certain events
thereafter:
7
- First, the Israelites had to cross the Jordan River
into the promised land. After that, they had to begin settling it. We do
not know when either event occurred. But we do know that they were two
distinct, separate events.
We
do not know when the Israelites crossed into Canaan.
How could we know, since we do not know when they left Egypt, 40 years
earlier.
8
- We do not know the year that the Israelites actually received their
inheritance. For it was not until then, that the 50-year cycle could
begin.
The
problem here is that the Israelites did not receive their inheritance
the same year they crossed the Jordan River.
Even
if we did know the year-date when the Israelites miraculously crossed
the Jordan and entered Palestine,—we still would not know when the
first typical 50-year cycle began—because we do not know how many
years elapsed between the crossing of the Jordan and the division of the
land to the Israelites.
The
first 50-year cycle would not begin in the middle of the lengthy war
against the Canaanites, for the Israelites did not possess the land
until it was completed.
We
can assume that the first jubilee cycle began when the Israelites had
rest from war and could begin peacefully settling the promised land. We
are told that, from the time they passed over Jordan, until they were
able to settle in the land, “several years” elapsed
(Patriarchs and Prophets, 510-511, quoted below).
9
- Unfortunately, we do not know the date when the land was divided up
between the tribes, so they could receive their land.
All we know is that it occurred several years after the Jordan was
crossed. Until the land was divided (Joshua 13 to 22), the people
could not receive their landed inheritance. This is important, since it
was the task of the jubilee to restore land which they owned, which had
been sold or lost during the 50-year interval (Leviticus 25:10, 13).
“One
by one the cities were taken, and Hazor, the stronghold of the
confederacy, was burned. The war was continued for several years,
but its close found Joshua master of Canaan. And the land had
rest from war.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, 510-511 [Emphasis ours].
So,
several years after the entrance into Canaan, Joshua had the
responsibility of assigning the land to the people.
“The
whole land, both the parts already conquered and that which was yet
unsubdued, was to be apportioned among the tribes.”—Patriarchs
and Prophets, 511.
10
- We do not know when the declaration was proclaimed that the first
cycle had begun.
Before
the war against the Canaanites was completed, it had been halted (Joshua
13:1-13; Patriarchs and Prophets, 511, 543-545), and we do not know
at what point Joshua (or the priests) declared that the first year of
the actual 50-year jubilee cycle began. There had to be an announced
initial year, but we do not know when it was.
The
observance of the jubilee would be obligatory after the Israelites had
taken possession of the promised land and had cultivated the soil for 49
years. After completing this study, the present writer came upon this
item:
The
ancient Talmudic tradition is that it took the Israelites seven years to
conquer Canaan, and the first sabbatic year was the 21st year, and the
first jubilee was the 64th year after they entered Canaan. That is the
Talmudic tradition; take it for what it is worth. We know that many
Talmudic traditions are incorrect.
11
-
We do not know the initial or terminal year-date of any later jubilee
cycle.
Several
dates for jubilees, later in Jewish history, have been suggested, but
there is no clear-cut evidence for any of them.
One
writer declares that each time a trumpet was blown to call a meeting, it
was the beginning of a jubilee. It is true that the trumpet was blown to
announce the beginning of the jubilee (Leviticus 25:9), but (1)
trumpets were blown yearly to announce the feast of trumpets and the day
of atonement, and (2) the jubilee was not a meeting! The crisis in Joel (Joel
2:1), for example, is not a jubilee.
Someone
has said that the blowing of trumpets at a meeting called by Hezekiah
indicated a jubilee (2 Chronicles 29:27-28), but read the entire
chapter. Hezekiah was rededicating the temple, and seeking the
forgiveness of God for the sins of the people.
It
has been speculated, by someone that the return of the Jews to
Jerusalem, at the end of the 70-year prophecy of Jeremiah, would be the
end of one of the jubilee cycles. That is only surmise.
Still
others say that the crucifixion of Christ surely must be the end of a
jubilee cycle. That also is conjecture. We cannot base truth on
supposition; we must have clear statements from God’s Word. The artful
transformation of assumption into “truth” is how Sunday sacredness
entered Christianity.
We
have no idea when the jubilee cycles began, how many were kept, or the
date when any ended. It is a total mystery; a mystery purposely hidden
from us. Our
kind Father knew it was not safe for us to have that information.
12
-
There is also a question whether the jubilee cycles were 50 years in
length, or only 49 years.
Some
take the position that, after the 49th year, the next year (the jubilee
year) began the next 49-year cycle.
However,
we find no direct evidence of that in the Bible or the Spirit of
Prophecy, so throughout this study, we have assumed a 50-year cycle, not
a 49-year cycle.
Keep
in mind that the 50th year was to be “hallowed;”
it was not a commonplace year like those preceding it.
“And
ye shall hallow the fiftieth year.”—Leviticus 25:10.
It
was not a normal year, for there was to be no tillage of the soil during
it (Leviticus 25:11). It is an error to suggest that the
jubilee was just a common working year, part of the 49.
After
preparing this study, the following quotation was found:
“The
jubilee year could not itself be the first of the next 49 years because
“in Leviticus 25:10, not only
is the fiftieth year expressly named as the year of Jubilee, but
the forty-nine years which make seven Sabbatic years are expressly
distinguished from it.” (R.W. Winer, Jubeljahr).
It
is significant that such a controversy should exist. If the experts
cannot even agree on the length of the jubilee, how will they ever
manage to date future events by it?
It
is of interest that the trumpet is blown to mark the jubilee. Here are
several intriguing passages to consider.
They link the antitypical jubilee with the Second Advent of Christ:
“Then
shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day
of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the
trumpet sound throughout all your land.
“And
ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all
the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto
you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall
return every man unto his family.”—Leviticus 25:9-10.
“For
the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first:
“Then
we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord.”—1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
In
trumpet tones, Christ will send His angels to gather His own from the
earth:
“They
shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four
winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”—Matthew 24:30-31.
“But
every man in his own order: Christ the firstfuits; afterward they that
are Christ’s at His coming. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”—1
Corinthians 15:23, 52.
In
one Bible verse, the jubilee is called “the year of liberty.”
“But
if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it
shall be his to the year of liberty; after it shall return to the
prince: but his inheritance shall be his sons’ for them.”—Ezekiel
46:17.
The
word “jubilee” comes from the Hebrew word, yobel,
which means “ram’s horn,” or “trumpet.” The word
originally meant “a loud trumpet blast.” The trumpet blast
occurred on the day of atonement in the 50th year.
Here
is an interesting passage to conclude this study. It is figurative of
the great final gathering of the faithful from the four winds, at the
Second Coming of Christ for His people:
“And
it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be
blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of
Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the
Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.”—Isaiah 27:13.
For
more information on the jubilee, read Leviticus 25:8-55; 27:17-24; and
Numbers 36:4.
The
Second Advent follows the investigative judgment and the close of
probation. The Talmudic tradition is that the ram’s horn was blown on
the day of atonement of the 50th year—after the day of atonement
service (described in Leviticus 16) was completed.
How
very fitting that would be! The Second Advent coming after the
completion of the investigative judgment and the cleansing of the
Sanctuary!
The
“restitution of all things,” mentioned in Acts 3:21 is
generally recognized as referring to the Second Advent of Christ. What
is not as well known, is that it also refers to the antitypical
fulfillment of the jubilee.
Prior
to that time, the Holy Spirit is “the earnest of our inheritance until
the redemption of the purchased possession.”—Ephesians 1:13-14
(Romans 8:19-23).
Isaiah
37:30
(2 Kings 19:29 almost identical) also refers to a jubilee-type
experience (of two sabbatical years together: the 49th and 50th years).
However, the context indicates it is only a jubilee-like experience, not
an actual jubilee. For Isaiah is given this experience as a sign. If it
was a normal event, it would not be a sign.
It
is of interest that it is due to the jubilee cycles, that the family
inheritance records were able to be preserved in the temple. From these
records the genealogy of Christ’s ancestors was taken.
How
thankful we can be that we know the truth about the jubilee!
On
the tenth day of the seventh month of the fiftieth year, a great trumpet
was blown. By this means, the public authorities proclaimed that the
year-long jubilee had begun!
Universal
redemption of land and people had arrived! All prisoners and captives
obtained their liberties, slaves were declared free, and debts were
absolved.
The land,
on the sabbatic year, was neither sowed nor reaped, but allowed to enjoy
with its inhabitants a sabbath of repose. Its natural produce was the
common property of all. No one was permitted to hoard any of it for
himself. There was total unselfishness for a time.
The
fulfillment of the law of entail had arrived: Every inheritance
throughout the land was restored to its original owner.
Jubilee
was a type of our eternal inheritance! Oh, how we long for it! Soon it
will come!
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