Just as the practice of animal sacrifice ended with the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D., the deportation of the Jews from Israel in 135 A.D. brought an end to the Year of Jubilee. The Israelites were no longer in the land. They were not there to receive it back. Therefore, there were no more Jubilees celebrated.

I believe that 1517 is a marker year. It was a unique year. There were three extraordinary events that occurred that year. Most Christians who study history recognize 1517 as the year when Martin Luther placed his “95 Theses” or ninety-five questions on the door of the church at Wittenberg, Germany.

In addition, 1517 was the year when there was a change in the counting of the Jewish calendar. Until then, the calendar was counted from the year of Alexander the Great conquering the known world in 312 B.C. Beginning in 1517, the calendar was based upon the number of years from Adam. This new count does not agree with Bible chronology, but Dr. J. R. Church has reconciled the difference. That is yet another subject.

And thirdly, 1517 was also the year that the Ottoman Empire completed their conquest of the Middle East and took possession of the Holy Land. Again, I believe 1517 is a marker year. Subsequently, in 1917 the Ottoman Empire was driven from the Holy Land by the British Army under General Allenby. The land was redeemed! (Curiously, this happened on the very day of the Feast of Dedication, or Chanukah, the day memorializing redemption in 164 B.C.)

There were no Jubilees celebrated from 135 A.D. until 1517, because the land was no longer occupied by the Jews. There were no Jubilees celebrated during the 400 years the that Ottomans controlled the Holy Land because it was not yet Israel, but the 400 years that elapsed from the marker year 1517 until 1917 could represent eight Jubilee periods. (8 x 50 = 400) Eight is the number representing New Beginnings, and this meaning is confirmed by the eight people on the Ark that represented the New Beginning for mankind after the Flood. 1917, I believe, represents a New Beginning for Israel, and its first supernatural Jubilee! I refer to these as “supernatural Jubilees” because they are not the result of man obeying the Mosaic Law, but the result of the Lord God demonstrating His will for the Land of Israel.

If 1917 was the first supernatural Jubilee for the Holy Land, then 1967 certainly was the second supernatural Jubilee. By 1967 the Holy Land was again known as Israel. At that time the City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount were part of Jordan! It was in 1967 that the City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount were captured, this time by the new Israeli army. This was the famous Six Day War. Jerusalem and the Temple were redeemed!

If this pattern continues, the next Year of Jubilee was 2017. I believe this Jubilee was supernatural. Although I can see no “return of land,” I wonder if this Jubilee is a marker for a special period for Israel.

There is more to the importance of 1517. The Lord told Abraham that his descendants would live in a land not their own for 400 years. (Genesis 15:13) From 1517 until 1917 the few Jews that lived in what was known as Syria or Palestine lived in a land not their own.

Please note that in Scripture, Egypt is a type of the world. Exodus 12:40 tells us that the Children of Israel lived in Egypt for 430 years. (The difference between the 400 years of Genesis chapter 15 and these 430 years has been accounted for by the use of different beginning dates.) If you add the 430 years to 1517, the result is 1947. It was in 1947 that the United Nations passed the resolution creating the State of Israel. The People Israel no longer lived in the world. They lived in the Land of Israel.

There is only one book in the Bible with exactly fifty chapters; Genesis. There appears to be a “Jubilee Pattern” in Scripture. If this is so, the fiftieth chapter of Genesis would indicate a Jubilee.

In Genesis chapter 50 Joseph made preparations to bury Jacob, or Israel, who had just died. Genesis 50:7-9 records Joseph, all the Children of Israel with the exception of the “little ones,” the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of Egypt, and a great company of horsemen and chariots departing to Canaan to bury Jacob there. Canaan was the Promised Land. Here is a clear foreshadow of the Children of Israel departing to go to the Promised Land. And this foreshadow of the beginning of the journey to the Promised Land is recorded in 1517th verse of the Bible!

Is not the Word of God amazing? Our Lord has so much in the Bible, and it is just waiting there for us to find it. Praise His holy name, always and forever!