Brother Jonathan Cahn points out many interesting facts in his book The Mystery of the Shemitah. Shemitah is Hebrew for “release,” and is found in Scriptures relating to rest for the land and the release of debt at the end of a Sabbath Year. (every seven years – Deuteronomy 15:1) The Jubilee Year is the fiftieth year at the end of seven Sabbath years and had a special impact on the ownership of the land in Israel. (Leviticus 25:10,13,28)

Brother Cahn showed, I believe conclusively, that there is a seven-year sabbatical cycle in the affairs of this world. He showed an unbroken seven-year cycle from 1917 until 2008, both of which are Sabbath Years. The problem is: How do you reconcile these seven-year cycles with the fifty-year Jubilee?

Brother Cahn, with his Jewish background, believes that the Jubilee is the forty-ninth year and the seven-year cycle begins the next year. He says this is necessary for the cycle of Sabbath years to remain constant every seven years.

Here, I must disagree with my Brother. I do agree with the concept of the seven-year Sabbatical Cycle. I believe that he made that evident in his book. But the sabbatical cycle appears to be a natural cycle for all nations and people. The Nation of Israel was instructed to observe the Sabbath Year and the Jubilee also. But, the Jubilee applies only to Israel.

In Leviticus 25:1-17 the Lord gave instructions for the Sabbath Year and the Jubilee. In summary, He said; Six years you shall sow and reap. On the seventh year, the land is to rest. Do not sow or reap. After seven Sabbath Years, or forty-nine years, on the tenth day of the seventh month (the Day of Atonement) sound the trumpet announcing the Jubilee which will begin the next year. The fiftieth year is holy.

Today, the country of Israel, and its people, with few exceptions, do not observe the Sabbath Year or the Jubilee. First of all, they are not even sure when the Jubilee occurs because it has not been observed since 135 A.D.

To satisfy my own curiosity on Sabbatical cycles as related to the release of debt, I found financial statistics for Israel from 1960 forward. From the statistics I found that there is a seven-year cycle within Israel, but these cycles do not correspond to the seven-year cycles found in the rest of the world. Currently, the Sabbath Year cycles of Israel follow one year after those that the world experiences. Instead of 2001 and 2008, theirs were 2002 and 2009.

Here is where it gets interesting. Based on the above, 2016 is a Sabbath Year for Israel. The year following that, 2017, would be a Jubilee year. I base this calculation upon the apparent Jubilee events in the years of 1917 and 1967. In 1917 the Ottoman Empire was driven out of the Holy Land, and the Balfour Declaration endorsed the establishment in the Holy Land of a national home for the Jewish people. In 1967 Israel took possession of the Old City of Jerusalem and the traditional Temple mount for the first time in 2,030 years. (They lost possession to the Romans in 63 B.C.) I believe 1917 and 1967 could be considered Jubilee years because of the dramatic changes in who owns and/or controls the land.

Considering the events of 1917 and 1967, the Christian world must wonder what will happen in 2017. I anxiously wait. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

For more information on Jubilees, please click HERE.