“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:16-21. NKJV
“Pattern is prologue.” Chuck Missler
As many times as I have listened to teaching on this passage from the book of Luke, I have yet to hear anyone suggest what I am about to share with you today. That is not, of course, a suggestion that I see what others don’t but rather an example of the fact that I was the kid who always asked (why?) when I was told something. While others speak to the fact that when Jesus quotes Isaiah 61 in this passage from Luke, He chooses to stop in the middle and not finish the rest of the passage, my attention was drawn to the phrase “the acceptable year of the LORD”. What made this particular time the “acceptable year” and what exactly did He mean by saying these words?
Now if you research this as I did you will find that the majority of scholars are in agreement that this is a reference to the year of the Jubilee which we find outlined in the Old Testament passage of Leviticus 25:9-15. Here we are told that in the year of Jubilee, all slaves were set free, all debts were forgiven, and land reverted back to its original owners. In fact, many believe that when Jesus spoke these words it was the year of Jubilee, which explains why He chose to return to His hometown and speak in the synagogue. That said, the question which immediately comes to mind is if there is any significance, especially in light of pattern being prologue, that Jesus spoke these words in a Jubilee year?
Virtually all who teach on this passage from Luke are in agreement that the reason Jesus did not complete the quote from Isaiah is simply because its what’s known as a dual fulfillment prophecy, or a prophecy which will be fulfilled twice. The conclusion, considering it is a prophecy of the future judgment by God, is that it will occur at the end of the Church Age and after the rapture of the Church. Considering that, one has to wonder if Jesus’ reference to setting free the oppressed in an acceptable, or Jubilee year is His way of telling us the rapture will occur in a future jubilee year?
If we accept that as a possibility we are left with the question of is it possible to know when a jubilee year will arrive after so many years? Many would argue that it is not, yet there is evidence to suggest that we can, in fact, come to a reasonably accurate conclusion based on some simple yet factually reliable events in the past. What I consider to be the best and most accurate research on this subject has been done by Randy Nettles of Rev310.substack.com and I am indebted to him for his diligence in calculating numbers in a way that I never could. The following is an excerpt from one of his articles on the subject of the jubilee year.
2025-2026 is the 3,430th (7 x 7 x 7 x 10) year from 1406-1405 BC, when the Israelites entered the Promised Land. 3,430 years is the equivalent of 490 Sabbath (or Shemitah) cycles (3430 ÷ 7 = 490). If the Shemitah (and Jubilee) cycle/s began in (Tishri to Tishri) 1406-1405 BC, and is reckoned continuously regardless of the Jews leaving and re-entering the land, and if the 50th year is also the first year of the following Shemitah week, then 2025-2026 AD is the 70th Jubilee year for the Jews. https://rev310.substack.com/p/thy-kingdom-come-part-ii?utm_source=publication-search
The first day of Tishri, or Rosh Hashanah, arrives on the evening of September 11 this year, which would then give us September 10 as the last day of the Jubilee year. If we were to assume God intends for the Church to be set free (raptured) in a Jubilee year, we then only have about six more months for that event to occur. While I have made it a point in the past to affirm that I am not a date setter, and am a firm believer in the doctrine of imminence, the evidence that 2026 will prove to be a pivotal year in the history of the world is becoming rather hard to ignore.
Another interesting point to consider is, as I have mentioned before, in Judaism, there is a belief that God’s plan for this world will mimic the days of creation in that those six days will equate to six thousand years for the completion of His plan, with one day of one thousand years (the seventh day) as a “day” of rest. Many Jewish rabbis have long said that the Talmud teaches that the Messiah must appear at or before the end of the sixth day, or six thousand year period of time. In the article referenced above, the author goes on to say this;
“Additionally, if 3968 BC marks the beginning of mankind’s creation, as I discussed in The Hepta Week Cycle For Six Millennia of Mankind:: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready, then 33 AD would have been mankind’s 4000th year (or four days for the LORD) and 2033 AD will be mankind’s 6,000th year (or six days for the LORD). The seventh “millennial day for the LORD” (6000 - 7000 AM) is the ‘Sabbath day.’ It is a ‘day’ of rest and worship.” https://rev310.substack.com/p/thy-kingdom-come-part-ii?utm_source=publication-search
Finally, and possibly the most important part of the Jubilee is the return of the land to its original owners. Believers understand that it is God Himself who is the original owner of this world. He created it, created all that inhabits it, and it has always been His to do with as He pleases. Does it not seem logical that He chooses to reclaim His ownership in a Jubilee year when He also sets His servants free and cancels all indebtedness?
I suppose my question today is this; am I the only one who finds it curious that this Jubilee year, known as “the year of redemption”, not only happens to be the 70th one, seventy being the number of completeness, wholeness, and fulfillment, but also appears to occur exactly seven years short of the end of the Sixth day or 6000 year time period which many believe brings the Second Coming of Christ? Is it possible that 2026 will prove to be “the acceptable year of the LORD” where all believers will be set free from our sin nature, taken home to be with our Lord, and God will once again claim His ownership of this world?
Many believe that Peter, while teaching in the Temple, referred to a coming Jubilee when he spoke the following in reference to Jesus ascending back to Heaven forty days after His crucifixion;
“whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3:21. NKJV
The Jubilee is often referred to as a time of restoration and I certainly don’t believe it is just coincidence that he uses this term in this passage. I have often heard it said that we are not seeing the signs of the times but rather the times of the signs, and I couldn’t agree more. You may recall my first post of 2026 dealt with the subject of what we might expect to see in the coming year. Well from my perspective, I have already seen so much more than I anticipated that I thank God every day that He sent His Son to die for my sin and allow me the opportunity to accept His salvation and promise of eternal life with Him.
If you have never made the decision to accept that free gift I encourage you to do so today. Simply ask God to forgive you of your sin based on your belief that Jesus died to pay the price for your sin, and turn over control of your life to Him. You can do that right now by praying a prayer just like this one;
Dear Father in heaven, I believe in your son Jesus. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins, that He rose up from the grave, and that my sins are forgiven. Forgive me of my sin, help me to walk with you, and thank you for saving me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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