Articles

"The Babushka Doll Principle" by Tricia Tillin (5)

The 70 Jubilees of History

To bring us to the largest babushka doll in the set, I would now like to look at the concept of the jubilee (1), and how it relates to the prophecy in Daniel. This is the biblical fiftieth year that follows the seventh "week" of years. In other words, after 49 years (seven times seven) the 50th year was declared a special jubilee.

It has been suggested that biblical time is counted according to the sabbatical (seven-year) system, and that the jubilees marked off special historical and prophetic events. Thus, when Gabriel told Daniel that seventy weeks of years were allotted to his people, he actually meant TEN JUBILEES. That is, ten repeats of the 49-year cycle = 490 years. This does make a lot of sense.

The 'seventy' as Jubilee cycles

There are some who have worked out the jubilees of history to a count of 3,500 years. But this only works using 50 years as each jubilee (seventy jubilees of 50 years = 3,500 years) whereas more probably the 50th year was ALSO the first year of the next cycle, the entire cycle repeating in 49-year increments.

A well-researched article (found here) shows fairly conclusively that Israel counted 49 years as a sabbatical cycle with the Jubilee as the year following the 49th year AND being the first year of a new cycle. Furthermore, the year was intended to run from spring to spring, as God had intended the first month of the year to be Abib (Nisan or our month April). All of this must be taken into account when looking for the Jubilees of the past. I will use the 49-year cycle in my own calculations.

The seventy jubilees of God's dealing with his people, IF we assume there have been no deliberate gaps, and IF we do not allow for errors and variations in the calendar - are 3,430 years. Out of this number, the ten jubilees that Gabriel referred to brought the Old Testament to a close and shortly afterwards the desolations decreed "unto the end of the war" befell the Jews. (2)

Forgiveness extends the full 70 Jubilee cycles

Peter asked Jesus (Matthew 18:22-23) to what extent could forgiveness be extended, and in the reply we see Jesus referring both to his present day AND prophetically for all mankind. (Another instance of the Babushka Principle by the way.) Jesus replied:

"I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants...."

The period of redemption and forgiveness will last the full extent of Israel's history, or seventy great jubilee cycles of 490 years (7 x 7 x 70 years) or 3,430 years in all - taking us up to our modern day and, in fact, we are already living in the time of the 70th Jubilee cycle! Soon the KING will settle accounts!

To illustrate this further, let's use the Menorah Lampstand again. The left side is counted in single sevens, and the right side is multiplied again by seven. The seven days of the week end in the 7th day, the Sabbath; likewise the seven years end in a Sabbatical year, the 7th year. Ten times this takes us to the prophecy in Daniel, the "seventy weeks of years", 490 years to the Messiah. On the other side is this system "sevened" - each year. the day after the 49th is celebrated as Pentecost; the year after the 49th year is the Jubilee, and 3430 years is 70 times this. The system will become even more clear when we look at the Jubilee calendar below.

 

What are the start and end points?

One of the greatest difficulties in calculating the Jubilees is knowing when to start and end the count. I do not pretend to be wise enough to work out the mathematics and historical dates sufficiently accurately in order to pinpoint a reliable start and finish line. Nor is history recorded so minutely and reliably as to allow us to do so. All I can do is make some suggestions as to a general overview and leave others to worry about the details. (Useful Study found HERE)

However, some clues can be had from scripture and other documents. Leviticus states that the count began [in human terms that is] when the Israelites entered Canaan. The first Jubilee counted by man rather than God would have been after 49 years in the land.

The Lord then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, 'When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord…You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. You shall then sound a ram's horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you (Leviticus 25:1-4, 8-10).

But when did the Israelites enter Canaan? If counting is measured back 17 cycles from Ezekiel's Jubilee that began in Tishri of 574 BC the first year of the first cycle would have been 1406 BC.

According to the religious calendar and in accordance with Joshua 5:10, that places the entry in the land in Nisan of 1406 BC. This year of 1406 BC is traditionally derived by another method, namely taking Thiele's date of 931/930 BC for the start of the divided kingdom after Solomon's death, in conjunction with 1 Kings 6:1 (Solomon's fourth year was 480th year of Exodus-era), to derive the date of the Exodus in 1406 BC. The method of determining the date of the Exodus and entry into Canaan from the Jubilee cycles is independent of the method of deriving these dates from 1 Kings 6:1, yet the two methods agree. [See link]

Using 1406/05 as a fixed pivot in the calendar we can work backwards and forwards in time to find all the other sabbath and jubilee years. I have done this, with some surprising results.

Known and Suggested Jubilees in History

Some Jews have also recognised the significance of the Jubilee cycles, and have tried to establish when the Jubilees happened. But we have to bear in mind that the Jews failed to keep their Jubilees and lost sight of the way to count them, so this may not be an accurate statement. As well as this we have some other hints from ancient documents, as follows (see link):

  • The Talmud states that Josiah’s Great Passover was in the 16th Jubilee, i.e. 623/622 BC.
  • The Talmud also states that Ezekiel received his Temple vision in the year of the 17th Jubilee. 574-573 BC. for the 17th Jubilee.
  • The year 135-134 BC (or the year 177 of the Seleucid Era) was noted to be a 7th year in the writings of Flavius Josephus.
  • The year 44-43 BC could have been a 7th year. (taxation regulations in Josephus 'Antiquities of the Jews')
  • The year 37-36 BC appears to have been both a 7th year and 70th year (Josephus 'Antiquities of the Jews', 14:16:2).
  • The year 55-56 AD was almost certainly a 7th year - based on an ancient Deed of Loan.
  • The year 69-70 AD is shown to have been a 7th year by the early rabbis.
  • The year 139-140 AD also appears to have been a 7th year - based upon another legal paper recovered at Wadi Murabba.

Others have studied known dates of the Jubilee and 7th years in antiquity and found that some mentioned are 701/700 BC, 456/455 BC, 133/134 AD. This allows for an approximate calculation of all the Jubilees of history up to the present time. (3) (4)

Matters are complicated by the fact that the Jews began their Jubilee count over again several times, and that the irregular number of days in the year threw things off. As well as this, people have different schemes for calculating the Jubilees and Sabbaths, so that there is rarely much agreement. Basically, it's not possible to know for CERTAIN when God's Jubilees actually occur and like all the other times and dates in this study they have to be a best guess based on the evidence. Even so, when all the guesses end up at the same point in history (the period between 2010 and 2020) we have to sit up and take notice.

Nonetheless, I have taken the trouble to compute these various dates in a table laid out in rows of 49 years, to check whether the date of the entry into Canaan, the Jubilee dates suggested above, and the present-day events line up - and they do.

Surprises and Confirmations

Much to my surprise, when I extended my chart backwards in time it started with the date 4004BC (which as many of you know was the date Bishop Ussher calculated from the bible as the day of mankind's birth). Without saying whether or not I agree with that, it is still interesting that the Jubilee count seems to begin at that point!

Incidentally this also gives us another "heads-up" to the late hour in which we live. It is believed by some that mankind's history on earth is designed by God to last 7,000 years (the year-day theory) with the days of Genesis mirrored in the days of the world. Thus, the 7th "day" would be the final 1,000 years of rest and peace, called The Millennium - the day when Jesus rules as king and "puts his enemies under his feet".

When is the year 6000?

If we start the count at 4004 BC, and set the pivot of the years at 4BC approximately when Jesus was born, then it's easy to see that we have already reached the end-marker of 1997. However, human calendars are suspect for any number of reasons!

But compare this quote: "In the May 1999 version of Israel Today there is an article titled: The Mystery of the 240 Missing Years. In the article, David Rohl, an Egyptologist and Archaeologist, found hieroglyphics that provided a synchronization of the Jewish and Egyptian calendars. He asserts that 240 years are missing from modern Jewish reckoning, bringing us to the prophetic year 6000.' And, according to some, our year 2000 was the Jewish year 6000 (see here).

The Jewish calendar of today is as unreliable as our own when it comes to biblical dates and God's timing, but it needs to be asked why both are suggesting such a close time to the end.

The Overall Plan

My chart is unfortunately too wide and complicated to reproduce here, but I will give extracts. I was surprised at the confirmations of certain dates, and blessed by the knowledge that there is a mathematical order to God's plan. I counted in increments of 490 years both from God's beginning in 4004 and the entry into Canaan in 1406/7. I did the same thing in increments of seven jubilees, just to see if any would coincide on important dates. Here are a few of the findings:

  • The first temple began to be built on a Jubilee year of the 10th cycle (first 490th year cycle).
  • The Northern Kingdom ended on the 14th Jubilee year from Canaan.
  • The two Jubilees mentioned in the Talmud, the 16th and 17th Jubilees, do line up with the years 623 and 574 BC
  • The 16th jubilee cycle was also the 70th Jubilee cycle since 4004.
  • This date of 574 BC was not only the 17th Jubilee from Canaan, but the 7th 490th year since 4004, and the 49th 70 years from 4004
  • The 16th and 17th Jubilees cover the time of Babylonian captivity.
  • 84 BC was the 8th 490th year since 4004 and the 27th Jubilee since Canaan. I do not know why this year was significant. (5)
  • Jesus Christ lived and died during the 49 years of the 30th Jubilee cycle
  • The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 took place after the 30th Jubilee. This year (AD 64) was also the 3rd cycle of 490 years.
  • The first Zionist Conference of 1897 took place in the cycle following the 12th 490 years.
  • The 12th cycle of 490 years plus one cycle of seventy years brings us to 1947, when Israel returned to her land!
  • 1975 began the last Jubilee cycle of the world, which is the SEVENTIETH cycle of Jubilees since Canaan.
  • 2024 AD is therefore the 70th Jubilee and also the 7th cycle of 490 years.
Something that I noticed when I constructed this chart was that Jewish history was concluded in 30 Jubilees and Gentile history looks set to be concluded in 40 Jubilees (making 70 in all).

Some More Important Dates

I have concentrated only on Jubilee years and cycles in the list above. Many other important dates such as AD 70 coincided with sabbatical years (i.e. cycles of seven years). When we come to modern times, the table rows of 49 years each (a jubilee cycle for each row) revealed other interesting "coincidences".

At the same point in cycles 68 and 69 we see the first Zionist Conference of 1897 and the first post-war Zionist Conference of 1946. Both were important in returning the Jews to their homeland. Likewise, in the same cycles of 68 and 69 we see a line-up between the 1918 end of World War One and the 1967 Six-Day War in Israel - and these two dates are ALSO sabbatical years.

In cycles 69 and 70, there is a line-up between the State of Israel in 1948, and the 1997 boundary of the 7000 years of world history (as shown above.)

Our own era

This smaller chart reduces ONE Jubilee cycle of 49 years to seven rows of seven. As you see, it begins with the 69th Jubilee year of 1975 and extends to the 49th year, 2023. The brown coloured years are the sabbaticals. The final seven year cycle seems to begin, therefore, in 2017 but I am making no hard and fast predictions about that. However, there are other similar indicators for that year (such as the 70 year "generation" for Israel from 1947 to 2017).

1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981
1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 First Seal 1995
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2nd Seal 2002
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 3rd Seal 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 4th Seal? 2016
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

 

As you see, I have written into the above chart the opening of the first four seals of Revelation. This may surprise you, especially if you have been taught that the first seal "is the Antichrist". But, if you have read my previous article on the "Beginning of Sorrows" you will already know that I believe the seals of Revelation (equating to the "sorrows" or birthpangs mentioned by Jesus as a preliminary to the End) began to be opened in 1994 when the spirit of apostasy (the antichrist delusion) was loosed on the churches and the world.

If you are not familiar with that concept please read all sections of the article and consider it carefully. It was written before the other events (such as the great economic disaster of 2008) occurred and is becoming more relevant every day. One aspect of that article that took me by surprise was the exact timing. I had no idea that the seals would be broken exactly SEVEN years apart. Now, having worked on the Jubilees I begin to see why - there is a seven-yearly cycle to God's agenda.

The Number Fifteen Again

I could not help but notice as I completed my Jubilees chart that the next seal seems set to open - if things hold to the same pattern as before - in 2015. The number 15 once again makes its appearance in this Babushka Principle. The fifteenth day, if you recall from earlier parts of this study, is a significant and pivotal one in Jewish and Christian doctrine and history, being Passover and the day of the crucifixion, as well as other major turning points for both Jews and Gentiles!

FOOTNOTES

(1) The Year of Jubilee: The English word jubilee comes from the Hebrew word yobel meaning a trumpet or ram's horn. These ram's horns were blown on the Day of Atonement to announce the start of the year of jubilee. The word jubilee should not be confused with the word jubilation which comes from a Latin word meaning to rejoice. The year of jubilee was no doubt a time of great jubilation, but the similarities of the two words are (at least humanly speaking) a coincidence. At this year all Israelites who had sold themselves into slavery were set free, and all land that had been sold reverted to its original owner. The seventh day was special and the seventh month was special, and so also was the seventh year. It was a sabbatical year. Verses 8 to 55 of Leviticus 25 describe the year of jubilee. The first few verses are as follows: "Count off seven sabbaths of years -- seven times seven years -- so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own tribe." Whether and how long the Israelites observed jubilees after the time of Moses is not recorded in history. There is no further explicit mention of jubilees after the book of Numbers. However according to some studies five of the most important and significant events in Bible history occurred on key jubilee years: the birth of Abraham, the exodus, the dedication of Solomon's temple, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the crucifixion.

(2) Others have likewise prophesied about the jubilee cycles throughout history. For example "The Prophecy of Jubilees" by Rabbi Judah Ben Samuel, for which see the "Israel Today" page of March 2008 here; and Enoch "Book of Jubilees".

(3) A very useful study on the Jubilees and calculation of the years from documentation is found here: http://home.swbell.net/rcyoung8/articles/Jubilee.pdf - (PDF file to download.)

(4) Another long study of the various Jubilee systems and dates found here http://www.yahweh.org/publications/sjc/sabjub.pdf

(5) The year 84 BC - oddly enough, there was a startling astronomical event in that year also, when Neptune came into conjunction with Pluto; also the Chinese chronicles of Han Shu mention a comet in 84 BC. Not just one, but two conjunctions occurred in 84 BC and then another in 83 BC. Were all these heralds of the Lord in the final Jubilee cycle BC? The same conjunction happened in 577 BC at the birth of the Persian Empire and the subsequent liberation of Israel from captivity. In 84 BC we see the birth of the Roman Empire and the subsequent liberation from sin for all mankind.

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© 2013 Tricia Tillin-Booth. All rights reserved. Birthpangs Website: http://www.birthpangs.org/  This document is the property of its author and is not to be displayed on other websites, redistributed, sold, reprinted, or reproduced in printed in any other format without permission. Websites may link to this article, if they provide proper title and author information.   One copy may be downloaded, stored and/or printed for personal research. All spelling and phraseology is UK English.