Sabbatical Years & Jubilees

When To Start Counting Jubilees

• Leviticus 25:2 shows that God's instruction was to start counting when Israel enters the promised land.
• Dating the Promised Land Entrance:
• 1010-970 BC — King David ruled Israel
• 966 BC Solomon builds the temple in his 4th year as king -
  • 1 Kings 6:1
• 1446 BC - Israel Exits Egypt 480 years prior to Solomon's Temple
• 1 Kings 6:1
• 1406 BC - Israel wanders in the wilderness for 40 years before entering the promised land.
• Numbers 14:34, Numbers 32:13, Deuteronomy 2:7, Joshua 5:6

So, the counting of Jubilees begins in 1406 BC.

How Is It Counted

• The instructions found in Leviticus 25, God commands the Israelites to observe sabbatical years and jubilees as part of their covenant relationship with Him.
• The sabbatical year occurs every seventh year, during which the land is to rest and lie fallow, and all debts are to be forgiven.
• The jubilee year occurs every 50th year (after seven cycles of seven years), marking a time of restoration, freedom, and return to ancestral lands.
• These cycles demonstrate God's concern for social justice, economic equality, and environmental stewardship.
• The pattern of sevens and the 50-year jubilee cycle reflect God's perfect timing and His desire for restoration and renewal.
• These biblical principles have influenced various social and economic systems throughout history, including debt forgiveness and land redistribution policies.
• The concept of the jubilee year points forward to the ultimate restoration and freedom that will come through Jesus Christ.

Click Here for more on the Biblical Jubilee.

How Does It Align With Millennial Days?

• By plotting 1406 BC on the Millennial Day timeline we do not see any particular alignment or significance. However, if we then count 49 year increments from 1406 a few things become apparent:
• We find that there are 70 Jubilees that occur between Israel entering the Promised Land to our current year.
• 70 being suspicious for greater significance because it is 10 sets of 7.
• We find that the Jubilee of our current year is 7 years from the projected end of the current millennial day and the beginning of the Millennial Reign found in Revelation 20:1-6.
• The 7 year difference is significant because it aligns with the 7 year timeline of a prophetic period called "The Tribulation", which I've outlined in a different study found here.


• Further plotting of Jubilees results in the Jubilees not aligning with the beginning and end of the seven millennial days, but instead extends 14 years (two sets of seven) earlier than the beginning of the first Millennial Day and 21 years (three sets of seven) beyond the end of the 7th Millennial Day.
• The account of creation indicates to us that there is an undisclosed amount of time from when God creates the Earth and Adam & Eve eat of the forbidden fruit. This difference in Jubilees and Millennial days could theoretically put a 14-year count to this period of time. However, it's also true that God did not instruct to count the days prior to when the people entered the promised land. So, this may be a moot point.
• In Revelation 20:3 & 7 we find that there is an undisclosed amount of time that Satan "must be released". Again, the difference of the Jubilees and the Millennial Days may provide a 21-year count to this undisclosed period of time.

The Significance of 144 Jubilees

• The 144 grand total of jubilees — with the two on either end added — is equal to 12 x 12
• Like the number seven, twelve is another number that becomes apparently significant in reading throughout the Bible. In the text, it seems to commonly be associated with God's plan and also God's power.
• Here's some examples of the significance of the number 12:
• Gotquestions.org - Twelve
• BibleStudy.org - Twelve
• So, it appears the 144 Jubilees might numerologically indicate a level of magnitude related to God's power & plan.