The Jubilee Hypothesis

Have you ever wondered when the Messiah Yeshua will return?

In 1997, the Holy Spirit revealed to the authors an interpretation of two related passages concerning the year of the Messiah’s return. The first revelation was that to interpret Daniel 9:24-27 to mean that the seven weeks are weeks of Jubilees:

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. - Daniel 9:24-27

The second revelation was that the reference to “restore and to rebuild Jerusalem” in Daniel 9:25 refers to the “spiritual repentance” of Israel based on Joel 2:12-18, as well as the physical rebuilding of Jerusalem. This is consistent with God’s heart as expressed in Scripture. It was from the spiritual restoration of Jerusalem found in Joel 2:12-18 that we were to begin counting to determine the two advents of the Messiah.

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem [repent]… - Daniel 9:25

Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. - Joel 2:12-18

Most Christians believe that we are not to know or try to calculate Yeshua’s return and typically cite Matthew 24:36 or Matthew 24:42 as proof, but, as you will see, these verses refer to the second coming of Messiah and not the catching away of believers.
Interestingly, the phrase “Know therefore and understand” in Daniel 9:25 explicitly tells us that we are to know and understand how to calculate the comings of Yeshua.

Scripture is multidimensional, God-breathed and speaks to the past, present and future. The Word of God is living and is relevant to every age. We present this message to people who are interested in eschatology with the qualification that, as with all interpretation, this book must be validated against Scripture.

The Jubilee Hypothesis

The Jubilee Hypothesis presents a theory as to the year of Messiah’s return and related end time events by interpreting prophetic end times Scripture through the examination of ancient Hebraic culture and thought. The Jubilee Hypothesis is based on the reckoning of Jubilee years and on direct revelation of two key Scriptures with respect to the Year of Jubilee: Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27 and the restoration of Israel in Joel 2:12-18. See Figure 4-1 for an overview.

According to the Jubilee Hypothesis, the Messiah Yeshua will return in a Jubilee Year, on the Fall Feast of Trumpets (Hebrew Yom T’ruah, also called Rosh Hashanah) in the year 2027. The Rapture and the Time of Jacob’s Trouble commonly known as the Tribulation will start seven years prior to 2027, in the year 2020.
Because there have been several changes to the Jewish calendar, and Jubilee Years have been calculated differently throughout the years, it is impossible to determine the exact calendar day the Messiah will return.

Based on the Jubiliee Hypothesis, we determine the end of the Present Age to be 2027 AD, on the Day of Atonement, the Hebrew Yom haDin, or Yom Kippur. We calculate the catching away of the believers by subtracting seven years from 2027 AD to obtain 2020 AD.

Three factors that sustain our interpretation:
1. We arrived at the same year (2027) and day (the Day of Atonement) for the end of the Present Age using two techniques: 1) the 7,000 year plan of God understood by ancient rabbis and 2) a Hebraic-based interpretation of the Daniel 9:24-27 prophecy.

2. Ending the Present Age on the Fall Feast of the Day of Atonement is consistent with the model pictured by the Seven Feasts of God as the day that judgment will be made, the people will be restored to God and the land will be restored to the people.

3. According to ancient rabbis, the 120th Jubilee proclaims the final deliverance from sin. An amazing confirmation of our calculations is that the date we compute for the Messiah’s return, 2027 AD on the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), and establishing His kingdom on the Day of Atonement, the 120th Jubilee, are exactly 6,000 years from the creation of man as pictured by the 7,000 year plan of God. (See chapter “The Year of Jubilee and The Biblical Calendar.)

Jubilee Hypothesis Based on the Year of Jubilee
The Jubilee Hypothesis is based on the Year of Jubilee given to the Israelites by God in Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 15:1-18. Every fiftieth year the Israelites were to celebrate the Year of Jubilee. It was to be a year of freedom for man, animals, and the land. All land was to be returned to original ownership and was to remain unplanted during the Jubilee year; all captives were set free and all debts forgiven. Jubilee pictures the freedom from sin provided by Yeshua. Yeshua is our Jubilee. Yeshua is Jubilee. He came to set the captives free from sin, from sickness, and from death. It is logical that Yeshua, our Jubilee, would announce His ministry on a Jubilee year (Luke 4:18) and would begin His reign on earth on a Jubilee year, since Jubilee is a picture of Yeshua.

The Future Age, called the Millennium, is a thousand-year period. It is also a Jubilee, because during the Future Age, God will renew the earth, remove the Adamic curse (Genesis 3:17), and set the physical world free.

To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife's voice, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. – Genesis 3:17 (HNV).

He will resurrect those who believed in Yeshua to live forever and there will no longer be sickness or infirmity. Yeshua will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords forever. His government will be free of corruption. Satan will be bound during the Future Age, although he will be released for a little while at the end of the Future Age and then be destroyed in the Lake of Fire as documented in Revelation 20:10.

The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. - Revelation 20:10 (HNV).

The Year of Jubilee figures uniquely into the interpretation of Daniel 9:25 where we find Daniel is given insight as to how to calculate the comings of the Messiah.
Some rabbis in ancient times believed there would be two comings of Messiah. They termed these roles:

1. His First Coming: Messiah Ben Joseph – Messiah Son of Joseph, the “Suffering Servant”
2. His Second Coming: Messiah Ben David – Messiah Son of David, “Messiah the Prince” the “Conquering King.”

Yeshua fulfilled the role of Suffering Servant by His sacrifice on the cross. Yeshua will fulfill the role of Conquering King when He returns and establishes His Kingdom on earth. Daniel’s prophecy also conveys these two roles and comings through the language.

Seventy weeks [Hebrew: shebuah, meaning - periods of seven] are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. (25) Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the mitzvah [commandment] to restore and to build Yerushalayim [Jerusalem] to the Anointed One [Messiah], the prince [Conquering King], shall be seven weeks [periods of seven], and sixty-two weeks [periods of seven]: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times. (26) After the sixty-two weeks [periods of seven] the Anointed One [Messiah] shall be cut off [Messiah the Suffering Servant cut covenant, was crucified], and shall have nothing: and the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end of it shall be with a flood, and even to the end shall be war; desolations are determined. (27) He shall make a firm covenant with many for one week [period of seven]: and in the midst of the week [period of seven] he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease; and on the wing of abominations [shall come] one who makes desolate; and even to the full end, and that determined, shall [wrath] be poured out on the desolate. – Daniel 9:24-27 (HNV).

The following interpretation was given to us by the Holy Spirit:

1. The “sixty two periods of seven” of Daniel 9:25:b measures to the first coming of Yeshua.

2. The “seven periods of seven” of Daniel 9:25a measures to the second coming of Yeshua, In Jubilee years.

3. The “one period of seven” of Daniel 9:27 measures the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, commonly known as the Tribulation (the 70th period of seven of Daniel’s prophecy) and is concurrent with the last seven years of the “seven periods of seven” period just prior to Yeshua’s second coming.

Figure 4-1 provides a graphical representation of this interpretation.
“Messiah the Prince” – the Conquering King, not the Suffering Servant – is referenced in Daniel 9:25 as coming in “seven periods of seven.” The Holy Spirit revealed the “seven periods of seven” to be seven periods of seven Jubilees. Jubilee periods make sense because of the special nature of the wording of Daniel 9:25 and because the passage refers to Messiah, who is our Jubilee. Only a Jubilee interpretation of the “seven periods of seven” logically explains the prophecy of Daniel 9:25.

Sir Isaac Newton’s Analysis of Daniel 9:25 Substantiates Jubilee Hypothesis
Sir Isaac Newton’s analysis demonstrates the inaccuracy of adding the seven weeks with the sixty-two weeks, which is a common misinterpretation. Sir Isaac Newton noted:

We avoid also the doing violence to the language of Daniel[9:25], by taking the seven weeks and sixty two weeks for one number. Had that been Daniel’s meaning, he would have said sixty and nine weeks. – Sir Isaac Newton, Prophecies of Daniel, 1733.

Figure 4-1: The Jubilee Hypothesis

Spiritual Interpretation of Daniel 9:25-26 is Repentance
The complete passages of Daniel 9:25-26 using the alternative translations provides a spiritual interpretation. From Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew and English Lexicion we translate “Jerusalem” to “teaching of peace” and “build” to “caused to continue” and “weeks” (Hebrew shebuah) to “periods of seven.” From Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., 1890, we translate “street” to “way.”

The Hebrew words translated as “to restore and to build Jerusalem” in Daniel 9:25 also can be translated to mean a spiritual repentance. This dramatically shifts the meaning of this verse, but the spiritual perspective seems more consistent with God’s desire for Israel’s hearts to be right and His frequent admonishment for them to repent and return to Him. Additionally, action follows faith, so the rebuilding of Jerusalem likely follows the repentant hearts of the nation of Israel.

 

From the watersprings of the Word to turn back to God [repent] and to establish restored exiles in a covenant of peace unto the Anointed One Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and sixty two weeks: The Way shall be caused to continue to turn back to God and the threshing instrument, even in distressing times. And after sixty two weeks shall the Anointed One cut covenant. – Daniel 9:25-26.

Daniel 9:26 states that after the sixty-two periods of seven years the Messiah will be “cut off.” The Hebrew karath1 for “cut off” can also be translated as “cut covenant,” which refers to the practice of shedding blood as part of a sacred covenant between people, such as in a marriage covenant. The Messiah did this through His sacrifice on the cross. This, like the earlier phrase, adds a new spiritual meaning to the passage, substantiating the idea that after the sixty-two periods of seven years the Messiah would make a blood covenant. The Messiah “cut covenant” by His sacrifice on the cross after the sixty-two periods of seven years [434 years] following the admonition by Joel for the repentance of Israel.

Jubilee Hypothesis Congruent with 7,000-Year Plan of God
According to ancient rabbinical teachings, the six days of creation and the seventh day of rest found in Genesis 1 and 2, represent a 7,000-year plan of God for mankind. The six days of creation represent a 6,000-year period called the Present Age. The seventh day of rest or Sabbath represents a 1,000 year period that will be the Future Age. Ancient rabbis equated one day to a thousand years based on Psalm 90:4: “For a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night.” (HNV).

The first 6,000 years or Present Age is divided into three 2,000-year segments. The first 2,000 years began at the fall of Adam and Eve and is called Tohu or “Desolation.” The second 2,000 years began with the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai and is called Torah, or “The Days of Instruction.” The third 2,000 years began when Messiah began His ministry and it is called “Days of Messiah,” or Yemot Mashiach in Hebrew.

We determine that Yeshua began His ministry in 27 AD when He gave the Jubilee message described in Luke 4:16-21. This likely occurred at the start of a Jubilee year on the Day of Atonement. If this is true, the end of The Days of Messiah and the end of the Present Age will occur 2,000 years later in 2027 AD on the Day of Atonement.

He came to Natzeret [Nazareth], where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the day of Shabbat, and stood up to read. The book of the prophet Yeshaiyahu [Isaiah] was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ He closed the book, gave it back to the shammash [minister], and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began to tell them, ‘Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ - Luke 4:16-21 (HNV)

The Two Comings of Messiah
Figure 4-2 shows how Daniel’s prophecy reveals the two comings of Yeshua. The two arrows correspond to the two comings of the Messiah. The arrows’ origins are based on the prophecy of Joel 2:12-18. Joel was given a message to tell the Israelites to return to God and repent.

The book of Joel was written to encourage the people of Israel (who had degenerated into moral decadence and an empty formalized faith) to repent and “return to God.” Although theories regarding the date the book was written range from the 8th to 9th century B.C., many commentaries of the book suggest that it was written in about 400 B.C. If 405 B.C. is the correct dating for Joel, then it may be that Daniel 9:25 was also speaking of a national Israeli repentance urged by Joel, rather than just a command to “rebuild Jerusalem” in the physical sense.

Joel’s Admonishment for Israel to Repent

Yet even now,’ says the LORD, ‘turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.’ Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to the LORD, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent [return and repent], and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering to the LORD, your God. Blow the shofar [ram’s horn trumpet] in Tziyon [Zion]! Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the people. Sanctify the assembly. Assemble the elders. Gather the children, and those who suck the breasts. Let the bridegroom go forth from his room, and the bride out of her chamber. Let the Kohanim [priests], the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, "Spare your people, LORD, and don't give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” Then the LORD was jealous for his land, And had pity on his people. – Joel 2:12-18 (HNV).

The spiritual understanding of this passage adds an importance dimension. It is a call for spiritual repentance of Israel to return to God. The addition of the spiritual dimension to this passage adds a stronger link to Joel 2:12-18 because Joel is admonishing Israel to repent and turn back to God.

Messianic Coming Dates Counted from Joel’s Admonition
We have interpreted Daniel 9:25 as two timelines that begin from the same event in history: Joel’s admonishment to Israel. One timeline identifies the first coming of the Messiah, and the second timeline identifies the second coming of the Messiah. The Holy Spirit revealed to us that the “seven periods of seven” of Daniel 9:25 are to be interpreted as seven periods of seven Jubilees. The calculations for the two comings of the Messiah using this interpretation fit perfectly.

Messiah’s First Coming
According to Daniel 9:25, from Joel’s admonition to the Israelites to repent until the first coming of the Messiah, was to be “sixty-two periods of seven,” or sixty-two periods of seven years, or 434 years. This is represented on Figure 4-2 with the short arrow. It identifies when the Messiah began His ministry.
The First Coming of Messiah is calculated as sixty-two periods of seven of years after the admonition by Joel for Israel to repent around 405 B.C. (Joel 2:2-18). It is exactly sixty-two periods of seven years, or 434 years, after Joel's admonition for Israel to repent that Messiah began His ministry. This is recorded in Luke 4:18-21 where He read from Isaiah 61:1-2a:

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. He closed the book, gave it back to the shammash, [minister] and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began to tell them, ‘Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ – Luke 4:18-21 (HNV).

“The acceptable year” is another term for the year of Jubilee. The year that Yeshua read this passage was 27 A.D., a Jubilee year. See the chapter “The Year of Jubilee and the Biblical Calendar” for more information.

Messiah’s Second Coming
According to Daniel 9:25, the time from Joel’s admonition to the Israelites to repent until the second coming of the Messiah, was to be “seven periods of seven” [Jubilees]. This is represented on Figure 4-2 with the long arrow. It identifies the Messiah’s return to establish His kingdom on earth.
We calculate the Messiah’s Second Coming will be in 2027 A.D. on the Feast of Trumpets, Hebrew Yom T’ruah, or Rosh Hashanah, ending the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy. Ten days later, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Yeshua will judge the nations, and the Yemot Mashiach, or “Days of the Messiah,” age will end. The Age to Come or Messianic Kingdom will then forever be established on earth – Revelation 20:4-15.
To calculate the date of the second coming of Yeshua, we start at the admonition for repentance of Israel in around 405 B.C. and count forty-nine Jubilees or seven periods of seven Jubilee years, starting with the Jubilee that follows the admonition for repentance. Jubilee periods were counted starting with the next Jubilee year. The next Jubilee following 405 B.C. is the seventy-second Jubilee which occurred in 374 B.C. This is the first in our forty-nine-Jubilee sequence. The subsequent forty-eight Jubilees calculates to the 120th Jubilee, which occurs in 2027 A.D. Therefore, we determine that the second coming of Messiah will be on the Feast of Trumpets in 2027 A.D. The 120th Jubilee is said by ancient rabbis to proclaim man’s final deliverance from sin. The 120th Jubilee works out to be 6,000 years from creation (120 times 50), which also fits the model described in the chapter “The 7,000-Year Plan of God.” Note that Jubilee periods are counted starting with the next Jubilee. To learn more about counting Jubilees, see the chapter about the Year of Jubilee.

Daniel’s Seventieth Week
The seventieth week represents the seven-year Time of Jacob’s Trouble.

He shall make a firm covenant with many for one period of seven: and in the midst of the period of seven he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease; and on the wing of abominations [shall come] one who makes desolate; and even to the full end, and that determined, shall [wrath] be poured out on the desolate. – Daniel 9:27 (HNV).

We conclude that Daniel 9:27 is speaking of confirming a covenant with the False Messiah, commonly known as the antichrist. This interpretation remains consistent for the following reasons:

1. The catching away of His bride on the Fall Feast of Trumpets holds that, like weddings of ancient Israel, the bride is taken away for seven years, while the Time of Jacob’s Trouble occurs on earth. This represents the seven days that the bride and bridegroom of ancient Israel spent in the chupah (wedding canopy). The ancient customs are a picture of God’s revelation; the betrothal is a picture of the bride being caught up to meet her groom in a heavenly chupah for seven years.

2. If Daniel 9:27 does speak of the False Messiah in the end times, then the time period fits perfectly with the ancient betrothal model. As the bride (the church) is being with her Husband in heaven for seven years, there is a seven-year judgment, or tribulation, period on earth.

3. During the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, the False Messiah will counterfeit the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah. The making of his covenant will also be a counterfeit, as he will demonstrate by breaking it.

The seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy is consistent with the model of the Time of Jacob’s Trouble and the Feasts of Israel.

 


Figure 4-2: The Jubilee Hypothesis

The Jubilee Hypothesis Calculation
The date we calculate for the end of the Days of Messiah (Present Age) is 2027 AD, on the Fall Feast Day of Atonement. We determined this date by drawing upon two different information sources:

1. The 7,000 year plan of God model held by ancient Hebrew rabbis.

2. An interpretation of the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel 9:25 using Jubilee years, as God commanded Israel to observe in Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 15:1-18.

The 7,000-year plan of God Calculation
As stated earlier, we determined that Yeshua began His ministry in 27 AD when He gave the Jubilee message described in Luke 4:16-21 on a Jubilee year on the Day of Atonement. Therefore, the end of the 2,000-year period known as the Days of Messiah and the Present Age will occur 2,000 years from this time in 2027 AD on a Day of Atonement, on a Jubilee year, exactly forty Jubilee periods later.
Some calculate the Days of Messiah as beginning when Yeshua was born, around 3 B.C., others calculate it beginning when Yeshua died on the cross, and still others calculate it beginning when Yeshua was resurrected. We believe it to begin when Yeshua began His ministry.



The Daniel 9:25 Calculation
We can also determine that Yeshua will return on the Day of Atonement based on Daniel 9:25. This verse states that from Joel’s admonition to the Israelites to repent until the second coming of the Messiah, was to be “seven periods of seven” of Jubilees. The long arrow on Figure 4-2 identifies the Messiah’s return to establish His kingdom on earth on the Day of Atonement exactly seven periods of seven, or forty-nine Jubilee periods, from the first Jubilee following Joel’s admonition for Israel to repent.

Catching Away of Bride
We arrive at the year 2020 on the Feast of Trumpets (Hebrew: Yom T’ruah or Rosh Hashanah) as the year that Messiah will return for His bride or the catching away of the believers. We obtained this year by subtracting seven years from 2027 AD, to account for the time that the bride (believers) is protected in heaven while the judgment occurs on earth. This is pictured by the seven days that a bride and bridegroom of ancient Israel spent in their wedding chamber.

How Messianic Comings are Typically Determined
Scholars typically take one of the dates described in the previous section as the basis for their calculations. For instance, the date of the “commandment” described in Daniel 9:25 is the starting point of the count to when the Messiah is to come. To make their calculations work, they typically perform one or a combination of the following calculations:

1. Add the seven weeks of years (forty-nine years) and sixty-two weeks of years (434 years) to get 483 years to calculate a date that Messiah would be “cut off” – crucified on His first coming.
2. Only consider the first coming of Messiah.
3. Count in Biblical (360-day) years without counting the periodic extra month the Israelites added to keep the lunar-based calendar on track with the seasons.
4. Have a “prophetic gap” before the final seventieth week, which is typically said to happen at the end times.
5. Calculate the Messiah’s birth, not the announcement of His ministry, as the starting point.

As stated earlier, Sir Isaac Newton noted in his book, Prophecies of Daniel, that there is no linguistic basis for adding the seven weeks of years and sixty-two weeks of years. Newton believed that the two numbers spoke separately of the First and Second Comings of the Messiah, both being counted from the “going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.”

References
 [1] Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, reference number H3772.

 

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