Pt. 18    YOM KIPPUR (Day of Atonement)

• The Judgment Court Concludes in Heaven

• Michael Stands & Descends with Loud Voice of the Archangel

• The Great Multitude of Saints & Two Witnesses Are Resurrected

• The Day of the LORD & Great Tribulation is Announced with Global Signs & Wonders

• Yom Kippur—The Day of Atonement Connection

• The Weekly Sabbath (Shabbat) Connection

• The Sabbatical Year Connection

• The Year of Jubilee Connection: Redemption of People & Land

The Judgment Court Concludes in Heaven

The Calendar shows the ending of the 70 Weeks of Daniel 9:24-27 climaxes at Yom Kippur—the Day of the LORD (Point 18), at the voice of the trumpet and Day of the precious stone[1] and Shekinah judgment. Gabriel promised that upon the completion of the prophecy dealing with Israel and Jerusalem, Messiah would accomplish six goals specific to Jerusalem and Israel: “to finish [literally, “restrain”] transgression [great rebellion], to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness [as on the Day of Atonement and the blotting out of the sin of the obedient forever from the books of evidence[2]], to bring in everlasting righteousness [age to come], to seal up [this] vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy [with His presence],” (Daniel 9:24).   Therefore, the 490 day prophecy culminates at the Day of the LORD and the beginning of the Great Tribulation when Hashem unleashes His unrestrained wrath against the planet’s rebellious population that is, by this point, beyond repentance.  “Then suddenly the LORD you are seeking will come [down] to His Temple; the Messenger [Archangel Michael] of the Covenant, who you desire, will come… but who can endure the day of His coming?” (Malachi 3:1).  Messiah will not delay.  He will respond decisively against the abominable act.

As the False Shepherd is setting himself up in Jerusalem, the Courtroom drama in Heaven is concluding.  “Michael [the Archangel], the Great Prince [of the host, or angels[3]] who protects your people [Israel], will arise [stand up from His throne].  The result is that there will be a time of distress [Great Tribulation] such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then… your people will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake,” (Daniel 12:1-3).  “For the LORD Himself will come down from Heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the Archangel [Michael] and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first,” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).  John clarifies, “A time is coming… when the dead will hear the [Archangel’s] voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live… He has given Him authority to judge [as finalized by the Court of Law] because He is the righteous Son of Man,” (John 5:25-27).

The Judgment Court began 1,150 days earlier:  “Thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of His head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The Court was seated, and the books were opened,” (Daniel 7:9-10).  The Court will review the evidence of record and bring the Judgment to a conclusion at the end of 1,150 days.  The result is that Antichrist’s power will be taken away, and Christ will be honored with full authority to rule His dominion, along with His faithful saints (Daniel 7:13-14, 26-27).

Like Daniel hundreds of years before him, John the Revelator also viewed the heavenly scene with “many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousands.  They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders” (Revelation 5:11-12) worshiped the Ruler of the Universe.    

As the end nears in the Apocalypse account, John notices at the opening of the seventh seal there is silence in Heaven for a short period of time.  The busy corridors of Heaven itself will one day hush, waiting for that defining moment in time spoken of by the prophets when retribution against evil is about to commence.  Simultaneously, the door of mercy will also be closing for sinners, as foretold in the Day of Atonement ritual, when all who would not repent were cut off forever.  The Judge is about to stand to execute Heaven’s decision: “Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling,” (Zechariah 2:13). “What do you see, Amos? he asked. A basket of ripe fruit, I answered. Then the LORD said to me, The time is ripe for My people Israel; I will spare them no longer. In that day, declares the Sovereign LORD, the songs in the Temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies-flung everywhere! Silence!” (Amos 8:2-3).

Once the Court’s findings are announced, the seven angels will prepare to sound their trumpet judgments of retaliation on behalf of the prayers of the persecuted saints. The angel of the altar will then take the censer of fire and cast it into the earth, and hail and the plagues will begin to fall.  Revelation 11:15-19 also speaks of the Seventh Angel’s trumpet, and the results of the Archangel’s blast will include 1) divine wrath, 2) the time to judge the dead as to who will be resurrected, 3) the reward of the two servants, the last-day prophets and those who fear God and 4) finally to destroy those who destroy the earth.  The Temple in Heaven will open wide, and the world’s population will see the standard of God’s Law by which all will be judged. 

The Seventh Angel (Michael, Jehovah Sabaoth) is found again in Revelation 16:17-21, involved in the events of the seventh plague.  Once the censer bowl of fiery coals is poured out into the air, hailstones of fire plummet to earth (Revelation 8:5) and a loud voice is heard, “It is done!”  Heaven’s Courtroom work is completed, and the sentence of punishment has come upon Antichrist and his subjects.   

The Courtroom Judgment will end on schedule, and the sobering proclamation will be heard: “Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile [for it is too late to repent]; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy.  Behold I am coming soon [hours/days]! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone [without exception] according to what he has done,” (Revelation 22:10-11).  The sins of the righteous will be blotted out of the books of evidence while the works of the wicked remain on the records for the final “great white throne judgment,” (Revelation 20:11-12).

The apostle Peter admonishes, “repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out [of the books of evidence and the record of sin forever, legally expunged from the records], when the times of refreshing [literally: thunder, lightning and heavy rain will fall on the parched planet] shall come from the presence of the LORD. And He shall send Jesus Christ… whom the Heaven must receive until the times of restitution [Year of Jubilee, beginning on the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur—Point 18] of all things,” (Acts 3:19-21, KJV).

Michael Stands & Descends with Loud Voice of the Archangel

The work of the Archangel (meaning, the highest of all angels or messengers) is vitally important to the completion of the work of God.  In the Scriptures, there is only one Archangel identified—Michael, meaning, “Who is like God?”  There is none like Almighty.  Many scholars and teachers, past and present[4], acknowledge that often in the Hebrew Bible, references to the Angel of the LORD could be none other than Jehovah, our Messiah[5], thus acknowledging that Christ was referred to by Hebrew prophets as “malak”—angel or messenger.  The Angel of the LORD is mentioned 58 times in the Old Testament (Old Covenant), and the “the Angel of God” 11 times.  Angels of the LORD appear either singly or in groups. When first encountered, they were usually thought to be mere men, but by the end of the visitation one messenger is recognized to be Divine (Genesis 18:2, 22; Judges 6:11-22; 13:3-22).  When the text simply speaks of a single Angel of the LORD, scholars agree this must be understood as God in the person of Yeshua, appearing in human form, and nearly always to bring good news or salvation.  In the record of Acts 7:30-38, Stephen proclaimed the good news before his death of how the Angel appeared to Moses in the burning bush, identified unequivocally as the Son of God.

For this reason, when it comes to Michael—a name associated with and representative of Christ, there is too much debate.  Some religions have distorted the identity of Michael by teaching He is a divine creation.  In spite of this misrepresentation, upon close scrutiny of the revealed work of Michael, Captain of the Host, He could be none other than Christ, the Son of God.  Michael and Jehovah Sabaoth are merely two of the many names given to the One who was from the beginning of time, who is and who is to come.  John reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning,” (John 1:1-2).  In Revelation 5:5-6, Jesus is referred to as both a Lion and a Lamb, but that would not lead us to believe He came from the animal species or is less than the supreme Creator.  We understand these titles offer insight into our Savior and His work of redemption without stripping Him of His eternal and divine existence.

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As in the ancient wedding practice, the bridegroom would come in

the middle of the night with sound of the shofar blast to take his

bride. At midnight, the cry rings out, here comes the Bridegroom!

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Daniel 12:1-3 says that “at that time Michael, the Great Prince who protects your people, will arise” from sitting on His throne.  “There will be a time of distress [Great Tribulation] such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.  But at that time [when Michael stands up] your people [Israel]—everyone whose name is found written in the Book—will be delivered [from their enemies]. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake [in resurrection]: some [teachers of righteousness] to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt [the most wicked of the wicked[6]].  Those who are wise [understanding of truth] will shine like the brightness of the heavens [with Clouds of Glory, the Light of holiness], and those who lead many to righteousness [teachers of righteousness], like the stars [angels] for ever and ever.”  “Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked,” (Psalm 3:7-8).  As in the ancient wedding practice, the bridegroom would come in the middle of the night with sound of the shofar blast to take his bride.  At midnight, the cry rings out, here comes the Bridegroom, “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the LORD!”[7]  He will come and snatch away His saints for the wedding and feast celebration during the seven days of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), on our journey to the “eighth day” and the World to Come.

Many passages speak of the day when our Savior Messiah will stand up from His holy habitation. When He stands, remarkable events will begin to transpire—namely, divine wrath against the wicked, resurrection of the dead and deliverance of the living saints[8]. 

King David penned a song about God’s mysterious descent at Yom Kippur when He will respond to the prayers of retribution from the persecuted believers.  Jehovah Sabaoth will stand and descend in the cloak of global darkness on the Day of Visitation[9].  The psalmist wrote, “The earth trembled and quaked [in a massive earthquake], and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because He was angry. Smoke rose from His nostrils; consuming fire came from His mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.  He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under His feet… He made darkness His covering, His canopy around Him—the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of His presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The LORD thundered from Heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded,” (Psalm 18:6-15). The global phenomenon of the extreme lightning, ear-piercing rumblings of His voice, massive thunder, a global earthquake and fiery hailstones always accompanies the work of Michael, the Seventh Angel of Revelation[10].

Another song portrays this moment in time when Jehovah descends in the darkness of midnight to walk the planet in His wrath: “The waters saw You, O God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen,” (Psalm 77:16-19)[11]. And, “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel.  He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to man, He who turns dawn to darkness, and treads the high places of the earth—the LORD God Almighty is His Name,” Amos 4:12-13.

The Great Multitude of Saints & Two Witnesses Are Resurrected

Resurrection of the sleeping saints occurs with Messiah’s loud voice, accompanied with thunder, lightning and baptism from the heavens poured upon our parched dry planet. Peter wrote a prophetic mystery: “Elijah was a man… He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops [the great multitude from the dust],” (James 5:17-18).  “But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead,” (Isaiah 26:19).

Paul spoke eloquently about this Great Sabbath: “For the LORD Himself [Michael, Jehovah Sabaoth] will come down from Heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that [event], we [144,000 of all tribes] who are still alive and are left [behind for the short duration of the Great Tribulation] will [soon] be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air. And so we will be with the LORD forever,” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

John, the seer of Patmos, saw the “Mighty Angel [Michael] coming down from Heaven.”  He reported in Revelation 10:1-8 that the Angel was “robed in a cloud, with a rainbow [of Divine protection] above His head; His face was like the sun, and His legs were like fiery pillars… He planted His right foot on the sea and His left foot on the land, and He gave a loud shout [the voice of the Archangel] like the roar of a lion.  When He shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke… He swore… and said, ‘There will be no more delay [for resurrection and salvation has come]!’ But in the days when the Seventh Angel [Michael] is about to sound His trumpet [blast to raise the dead], the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as He [Man in linen: Michael] announced to His [two] servants the prophets” on each bank of the Tigris River, as recorded in Daniel chapter 12.  “Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. One of them said to the Man clothed in linen [Michael], who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?” The Man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted His right hand and His left hand toward Heaven, and I heard Him swear by Him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed,” (Daniel 12:5-7).  With hands united, He will reign as King in mercy and justice[12].

The Mighty Angel in Revelation 10:1, called the Seventh Angel later in the chapter[13], Cruden’s Concordance identifies as none other than “Christ, who is the Mediator and Head of the church.”  He is robed in a cloud and rainbow, with a face bright as the sun and legs of fiery pillars. Just as Michael swore in Daniel 12 about concluding events, the Seventh Angel is found swearing an oath about the conclusion of the end of time.  Revelation 10:3-4 says, “He gave a loud shout [of the Archangel]… when He shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke” (see Psalm 29 where the voice of the LORD is described as seven thunders).

The prophet Habakkuk complained to God (1:13), “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; You cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do You tolerate the treacherous? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?” However, the Holy One, blessed be He, will not keep quiet forever.  He will soon speak audibly to mankind.  God replied to the prophet, “The revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay,” (Habakkuk 2:3).  At the end of the last week of the 70 weeks of Daniel 9, the voice of God will rumble across the earth in mighty and thunderous power.  The two great counselors in the courts of Heaven, Elijah and Moses, will be resurrected together with the “great multitude” of all nationalities following three days of delay. As the two great witnesses proclaimed the glory of Christ’s departure in a cloud from earth 2,000 years ago[14], so they will stand united with Him at His return in Shekinah power and glory at the fulfillment of the times and seasons. 

“But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from Heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here’. And they went up to Heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city [Temple Mount area site; the tenth part set aside for holy use] collapsed. Seven thousand people [righteous saints, who had not bowed their knee to Baal/Antichrist—1 Kings 19:18; Romans 11:4] were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors [144,000] were terrified and gave glory to the God of Heaven… The Seventh Angel [Michael] sounded His trumpet, and there were loud voices in Heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our LORD and of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever…’ Then God’s Temple in Heaven was opened [as on the Day of Atonement], and within His Temple was seen the Ark of His Covenant [measure of judgment]. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings [voices], peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm,” (Revelation 11:11-19).

The Day of the LORD & Great Tribulation is Announced

with Global Signs & Wonders

The Day of the LORD begins at Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when Jesus is given authority to rule with an iron rod.  John hears the announcement of the Court:  “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our LORD and of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever.”  The twenty-four elders of the jury add their unified approval by saying “We give thanks to You, LORD God Almighty… because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.”  

What is the response of the nations to the sentence of the Court?  “The nations were angry; and your wrath [of Great Tribulation] has come [upon the earth]. The time has come for judging the dead [resurrection], and for rewarding your servants the prophets [two witnesses of Revelation] and your saints [who stand on God’s side] and those who reverence Your name, both small and great [of every social status, from slave to king]—and for destroying those who destroy the earth [destruction of the wicked],” (Revelation 11:18).  

John concludes the chapter with this warning which merits repeating: “God’s Temple in Heaven is opened [on the Day of Atonement into the Most Holy Place], and within His Temple was seen the Ark of the Covenant [Ten Commandments, the standard of judgment for all mankind]. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm [as God’s wrath begins to be poured out],” (Revelation 11:19).  This is a striking resemblance to the events at Mt. Sinai when the Law of YHVH was first introduced after three day’s wait (Exodus 19).

Revelation 15:1-8 again speaks of the “Temple, that is, the Tabernacle of the Testimony [Ark of the Ten Commandments], was opened [on the Day of Atonement, as the High Priest performed once a year]. Out of the Temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues… and the Temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one could enter the Temple [for Christ’s intercession is over and He is leaving the Temple for the Courtroom work is finished] until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.”  At the crucifixion there was an earthquake at Jerusalem, special resurrection of saints and the opening into the Most Holy Place at the tearing of the veil. At the glorification of Messiah ben David these three events will be repeated.

Yom Kippur—The Day of Atonement Connection

Yom Kippur, from the Hebrew word “kapper”—which means “to cover over”—falls on the tenth day of the Jewish month of Tishrei.  It brings to an end the ten Days of Awe, which begin with the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) on the first day of Tishrei.  The theme of the autumn Festivals center on determining the destinies of individuals, the community and the world.

The ten days which just precede the Day of the LORD will be a time of deep personal reflection and decision.  The destiny of souls lay in the balance.  Death decrees and great persecution will accompany this short period when many will be forced to decide their fate at the hands of their enemies.  Christ warned if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before His Father at the judgment[15].  Yeshua admonished, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the Devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life,” (Revelation 2:10). 

In ancient times when the Temple stood, the high priest would part the veil into the Most Holy Place, which would briefly expose the Ark of the Covenant; there, he would enter in where the Shekinah glory of Almighty dwelt.  The priest would take in the blood and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant.  By doing so, the sins of the penitent would be covered over, while the unrepentant would be cut off.

Leviticus 23:27-29 reads, “The tenth day of the seventh month is the Day of Atonement… do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement [when your sins are blotted out[16]] is made for you before the LORD your God… anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people.”

Yom Kippur is the most holy and solemn day in the Jewish calendar.  Therefore, the day is treated as a day of Sabbath rest, rather than a day of festivity.  The day is spent in fasting, prayer and seeking God’s mercy.  However, the ultimate fulfillment of this Great Sabbath will occur at the end of the appointed time when the Court of Judgment in Heaven gives the great announcement, “let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy”; then Jesus will come soon with His reward to give to every man, woman and child according to what he or she has done[17].

Yom Kippur is also understood to be a day of announcement. In ages past, YHVH’s Name was pronounced by the high priest before the assembled masses in the Temple courtyards. This fulfillment will become a living reality at the Day of Messiah, the Mediator of a New Covenant[18], when He reigns with His righteous subjects; this is the moment when the judgment and demise of Satan/Antichrist and their evil subjects is at hand. 

The closing service of the Day of Atonement, known as Neilah, is especially solemn.  Neilah means “closing” or “shutting,” since it originally coincided with the time of the shutting of the Temple gates.  Over time, Neilah came be mean the closing of the gates of Heaven, which stood open during the day to receive the prayers of contrite and repentant sinners.  The service ends as the sun begins to set, and “the congregation rises and cries out: Shema Yisrael! Hear, O Israel! Then it renews the pledge of loyalty to God, and calls for the establishment of His kingdom. A long, resounding blast of the shofar signals the end of the Day of Atonement.  The call of the trumpet is answered by the congregation’s exclamation: “Next year in Jerusalem!”[19]

On that future Day of Atonement, the Day of Visitation[20], Michael, the Seventh Angel, will rise up and descend in the cloak of worldwide darkness to His Temple in Jerusalem.  His first act will be to avenge and cleanse the Temple of the idolatrous abomination and to unleash the wrath of God upon all the unrepentant who will be cut off forever from the hope of salvation[21].  The Archangel’s trumpet call and thunderous voice will raise the righteous dead to life to be taken to Heaven, while those who are alive and remain will endure the days of Great Tribulation which immediately follow[22].

The Weekly Sabbath (Shabbat) Connection

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy,” (Exodus 20:8-11).

We were created to worship and have fellowship with God as well as to serve the needs of our fellow man. Therefore, Elohim set aside space to work and space to rest.  The weekly Sabbath rest is beneficial for our physical and spiritual well-being.  God wanted His people to have weekly rest so we could recover from our slavery to material goods (not thinking only of earning and buying up goods) as well for dedicating ourselves to honor God and our family during this free time.  We need not say, as is often heard today, that we have no time for ourselves, for our families, and for study and prayer. The Sabbath is a gift of time and space which God established at creation.  There is a time to work, but more importantly, there is a time to rest. The invitation is open each and every week on the Sabbath day. 

God’s commandment begins with “Remember,” but the rest day has been forgotten and dismissed as unimportant.  Sunday, a spurious substitute for God’s day of rest established through His prophets and His spoken Word, does not make up for our neglect of God’s command. Even God’s injunction to “remember” has little bearing on changing minds.  Tradition seems to be of more importance to the masses than “thus says the LORD.”

Many in Christianity argue the Sabbath was first given honor as one of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, and the Sabbath was done away with at the cross.  Others teach God created the Sabbath (sundown Friday to sundown Saturday), but Jesus instituted the LORD’s Day (Sunday—a day celebrated from midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday based on Roman time). This could not be further from the truth.

John 1:1-3 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word [I AM] was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him [Christ] all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.” Colossians 1:15-17 adds evidence to the fact that God in the person of Jesus was the Creator: “He [Messiah] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him [Jesus] all things were created: things in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him [Jesus] and for Him.”

When we understand that YHVH in the person of Jesus created all things, we begin to appreciate the harmony of the Hebrew Scriptures when it says in Genesis 2:2-3, “By the seventh day God [in the person of Jesus] had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He [Christ] rested from all His work. And God [Son of Man] blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.” This is why Yeshua, in arguing the Sabbath’s purpose said, “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is LORD even of the Sabbath [for He created it for mankind’s benefit in the beginning],” (Mark 2:27-28). 

Jesus added the extra day to the week and instituted the Sabbath at creation; He reaffirmed the Sabbath as part of the Ten Commandments with loud voice and then inscribed it with His own finger in stone.  He even taught the commandment is so important that His followers should pray they will not have to run for their lives on the Sabbath during the last days on Planet Earth (Matthew 24:20).

The Sabbatical Year Connection

When the people of Israel settled into the Land of Canaan, God offered even more opportunities for rest during the Sabbatical Year.  This reminded the Israelites to enter more vigorously into a period of repose with the Holy One who created days, months and years.  The Sabbatical Year tested their faith in Almighty, in His ability to provide food even if the Israelites did not farm the land that year.  The Sabbatical Year imposed a rest on the land every seven years and a command to leave the fruits of the land to the poor and strangers.  “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a Sabbath of rest, a Sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest,” (Leviticus 25:2-5).

The Year of Jubilee Connection:

Redemption of People & Land

The origin of the Jubilee is found in the Old Testament (TeNaKh). The Book of Leviticus deals with this event in great detail.  The name “Jubilee” derives its meaning from the curved horn of the ram (Jobhel) which is sounded to announce the beginning of the Holy Year, that is, the 10th day of the month of Tishrei, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This is the day of public penance for all the sins of the Jewish people. It was a type of testimony to the conversion after receiving God’s pardoning grace.  “Jobhel” also meant “remission” which is the framework of the Jubilee Year.  The term “Jubilee” was derived from the verb “jubilare” because it indicated the feast, the joy of remission and the pardon of liberty.  The Great Jubilee will surely fall on Shabbat—the Great Sabbath.

The land of Israel was a gift from God, and the Israelites were only guests and tenants. God insisted the land not be exploited to such an extent that nothing would be left for future generations, nor be hoarded by a few wealthy landowners.  Therefore, in addition to the Sabbatical Year, which came every seventh year, God added the Year of Jubilee.  The Year of Jubilee would come at the end of seven Sabbatical Year periods and would culminate in the 50^th year.  The Jubilee Year would teach that everything belongs to God, and that one day He would come to claim it as His own and as a permanent possession for His people.

The blowing of the shofar, the ram’s horn, is the central symbol of Jubilee and the High Holy Days for Israel.  Every year, the blowing of the shofar is the reminder of the great shofar blast of the Jubilee Year, which occurs on the Day of Atonement every fifty years.  On this special day, the shofar blasts announced freedom for all slaves and the reversal of land back to the original owners. 

The following verses give insight in the Year of Jubilee:

• “He spoke of the Year of Jubilee. Count off seven Sabbaths of years-seven times seven years [49 years]—so 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 clan. The fiftieth [50^th] year shall be a Jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. For it is a Jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields. In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to his own property. If you sell land to one of your countrymen or buy any from him, do not take advantage of each other. You are to buy from your countryman on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee… Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land… If a man sells a house in a walled city, he retains the right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time he may redeem it… he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his relatives may redeem him… If many years remain, he must pay for his redemption a larger share of the price paid for him. If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is to compute that and pay for his redemption accordingly,” (Leviticus 25:8-13, 24, 48, 51, 52).

• The prophet Isaiah prophesied about the Great Jubilee, a time for both salvation and wrath: “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on Me [Messiah], because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness [in a life-giving resurrection] for the prisoners [in graves and prisons], to proclaim the Year [of Jubilee] of the LORD’s favor and the Day of [the LORD’s] vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn [because of persecution],” (Isaiah 61:1-2).  The prophet once again connects the Year of Jubilee to the Day of the LORD’s anger by saying, “For the LORD has a Day of [divine] vengeance, a Year [of Jubilee] of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause,” (Isaiah 34:8).

• “Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I Myself will help you,” declares the LORD, your [Jubilee] Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,” (Isaiah 41:14). “I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your [Jubilee] Redeemer,” (Isaiah 49:26). 

• “‘The [Jubilee] Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,’ declares the LORD,” (Isaiah 59:20).  “Their [Jubilee] Redeemer is strong; the LORD Almighty is His name. He will vigorously defend their cause so that He may bring rest to their land,” (Jeremiah 50:34).

The final Year of Jubilee will arrive after six millenniums of human work, after the sixth month, in the seventh Festival month, ending the 70 weeks of prophecy, on the seventh day Sabbath.  The Redeemer will stand up from His throne and descend to Planet Earth to redeem His believers from the grave and to protect His chosen ones of Israel who are still alive and will remain for the short but treacherous tribulation.  The Scriptures herald this great day of salvation: 

• “I know that my [Jubilee] Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth,” (Job 19:25).  Debts will be canceled and slaves set free!  “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest,” (Hebrews 4:11).

• “Stand up and lift up your heads, because your [Jubilee] redemption is drawing near,” (Luke 21:28).  “We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the [Jubilee] redemption of our bodies,” (Romans 8:23).  “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of [Jubilee] redemption… who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the [Jubilee] redemption of those who are God’s possession,” (Ephesians 4:30; 1:13).

• “Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’”  And yet His work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all His work.” And again in the passage above He says, “They shall never enter My rest.” It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later He spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His,” (Hebrews 4:1-10).

May the great redemption and the Supernal Sabbath, the Seventh Millennium, come soon in our day.