Refugees, Future Events, and the Jubilee Year

This today is a very special day. It is the busing of little children.

I'm not going to be talking about children per se in the sermon, but they are a very important part of the message I want to bring and what's happening around the world that's really very tragic for a lot of children. Of course, all of us just enjoyed a very wonderful feast of tabernacles, an eighth day.

But as we arrive back home, we get back into reality of going back to work, into our jobs, getting back into the routine of things.

So we're coming back into that, to the warmth and security of our homes. But you know, tens of thousands of people right now, just for a moment, they've been forced to leave their homes. Tens of thousands of people are homeless. They had homes a while back, but now they're homeless, been driven from their homes and jobs. Many have been driven out of their nation. They've had to leave their nation. What would you like to do? What if you had to just walk away from your home, leave everything behind, leave your job, leave your security, even leave your nation and go to a foreign nation as a refugee? That's happening to thousands of people right now. Today, the world is facing a refugee crisis of monumental proportions. As multiple thousands flee Syria, especially Kosovo, Afghanistan, Albania, Iran, Ukraine, thousands are fleeing from what's happening there because of ISIS, ISIL. Most of those that are leaving their countries, they're fleeing north, they're fleeing towards Europe and Great Britain. Many will end up coming over here to America. Many are going to Germany. Some of those nations, when this started, some nations opened their borders at first, like Croatia. They had to close their borders soon afterwards. Croatia opened their borders, and I think the first or two, second day, they had 25,000 refugees came across their border seeking asylum. Can you imagine that? They couldn't handle that many. What was going to happen the day after that? What are you going to do with 25,000 people all of a sudden landing your nation, and they need a place to stay? They need food, they need water, they need shelter. What do you do with that many? What do you put them? How do you care for them? They had to close their border. Other nations still have their borders open.

But how do you feed and house tens of thousands of refugees? How do you take care of them?

How do you take care of their medical needs? A lot of them are coming in, they need medical attention.

Just take Syria alone. Little nation of Syria. The population of Syria is roughly 22 million people.

Do you know how many in Syria had to walk away from their homes with nothing but the clothes on their back and leave the country and seek asylum in another country? Nearly 12 million.

Over half the population of Syria have had to leave their homes, go to another nation, and seek asylum and refuge from from ISIS, which is killing people and beheading people, men, women, and children. Can you even think of that? What if half of our citizens in the United States had to leave, leave their homes, abandon them? Now, many of those who are having to leave and seek asylum are children with no parents. There are actually some older children that the parents are dead in no war, they have no parents, or they're trying to get their kids out so they can't get out so they send them out in the way they can. Some of the older children are taking the smaller children they're leaving. A lot of children with no parents are refugees.

It's a huge, huge crisis. One town in Sweden, I was reading this on the news just this past week, I can't remember the name of the little town now, but in Sweden they received 1900 children with no parents. What do they do with those 1900 children? Well, they found shelter for them, they got a building, they put up cots, a couple of buildings, several buildings there they cleared, they got cots for them, put them up, and they came back a few days later and they counted them. Instead of 1900, there were only about 900. A thousand of them were missing, and they don't know to this day what happened to them. That was just about a week ago.

They don't know if they just left on their own, went somewhere else, if they got escorted by somebody, sold into slavery somewhere, they don't know. A thousand of them are just, they disappear.

Let's go back in history to World War II a little bit.

Back in April of 1945, Adolf Hitler was in a bunker in Berlin, and before World War II, Berlin was a glorious city. It was a great city.

By 1945, at the end of the war, it was in ruins, in ruins from Allied bombing.

George Patton was one of our generals, of course, and his third army was advancing on the city of Berlin, as were tens of thousands of Russian soldiers from the east. Of course, the Allied forces under Diasaner at that time was not as great a bittin' as in Russia.

A partnership today, you would say, but Russia was a part of the Allied forces.

Again, the command of those Allied forces was Dwight D. Eisenhower. Dwight D. Eisenhower had met with Joseph Stalin. He made a secret deal with Stalin.

So, as Patton and the Russian armies were advancing on Berlin to take possession of it, General Eisenhower ordered Patton to hold back on taking Berlin, instead give the prize to Joseph Stalin and the Russian army.

In history, that battle was called the Battle of Berlin. In that battle, the Battle of Berlin, between 80 and 125,000 citizens, German citizens of the city of Berlin, were killed in that battle.

When the citizens of Berlin were left, when they realized the Russian army was advancing on them from the east, and they were about to be taken captive by the Russian army, guess what the citizens of Berlin did? They fled west to the Americans.

They didn't want to be taken captured by the Russians.

They wanted to be taken captured by the Americans. Why? Because being captured by the Russians would probably mean a fate worse than death.

The Russians were brewed along their captors.

They did not abide by the Geneva Convention. And the people of Berlin knew that. In a very short period of time, in April of 1945, the American army found itself having to deal with the capture of over 50,000 citizens of Berlin who were now refugees of war. Can you imagine that? 50,000!

You've got to take care of them. Do something with them. 50,000. Prior to that, when General Patton and his 3rd Army crossed the Rhine River into Germany, he overwhelmed the German army as he was heading towards Berlin.

He overwhelmed the German army in southern Germany as he crossed over the Rhine and took into custody 68,000 German prisoners. Can you imagine that? Patton's 3rd Army, all of a sudden, they've got 68,000 prisoners to deal with.

As he came into Germany, General Patton and his 3rd Army, he saw firsthand the ravishes of war. Here is a portion of what Patton wrote to his wife, Beatrice, on March 13, 1945, in regard to the condition of German citizens as he crossed in the Rhine into southern Germany. He said, I saw one woman sitting on a hill crying with a bundle of all of her worldly goods. She had one little small bundle of all of her worldly goods. She was not crying.

She saw an old man with a wheelbarrow wringing his hands with his three little children. His wife was dead. He was there with his three little children and all their goods in the wheelbarrow.

He was wringing his hands. What was our future hold? What do we do now?

I saw a woman with five children in a tin cup crying. She's out there with five little children in a cup begging for anything she can get. In hundreds of villages, Patton says, there is not a living thing, not even a chicken.

Most of the houses are heaps and stones. Then he rides to beaches. I realize Germany brought it upon themselves, but it's that these poor peasants, these citizens, they're not responsible. They're just victims of war.

See, war creates tens of thousands of refugees who are forced to flee their homes and jobs with nothing but the clothes on their back.

We have a huge crisis today over in the Middle East. Many refugees today are finding their way into Europe, into the United Kingdom, and some are coming to the United States, creating a concern for all these nations.

Here's what Jim Tuck, our minister down in the San Francisco area, here's what he published in his September 19 prophetic Times. Quote, warnings that jihadists bent on violence may be sneaking into Europe, disguised as refugees are growing louder. A lot of people are afraid that all these refugees fleeing to Europe, that's a Trojan horse to some degree, because there are some jihadists, some terrorists who are hiding among the refugees to come into these countries to cause problems to kill citizens any way they can. On 9-11, ISIS released a video stating, we are back in the American, and promising to deliver cars full of explosives and suicide bombers.

So I have to wonder what's going on over there, and how some of that is going to filter over here, probably over a period of time. In the months and years ahead, will cities in the United States face a refugee crisis? I don't know. But the world is becoming ever more dangerous, and it may soon find a problem of having to deal with millions of refugees. It's already having to deal with thousands of them over in Europe. Refugees are seeking to be liberated from the ravages of war. Now, with that little bit of background in mind, I want to focus on God's future plan for proclaiming liberty and giving freedom to all those refugees. Because when Christ returns to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth, millions of refugees from the Great Tribulation will have to be rescued and liberated. What we see now is nothing compared to what was going to happen in the not-too-distant future as time goes on. Here's God's answer to the world's refugee crisis. His answer is to proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It's called the Jubilee Year. That is what I'd like to briefly touch on today, the Jubilee Year, and what it will mean for all of mankind. I'm not going to talk about the fact that it may occur, although I am going to touch on that, because there are some fields that they know what occurs. They know what the Jubilee Years are. You go online, you can find that out. There is some disagreement, but the majority thinks they know when it is.

What I want to primarily focus on is the principle behind the Jubilee Year, and on what future of mankind is going to be. We have got to be careful about it, I want to primarily focus on the principle behind the Jubilee Year, and on what future events will fulfill the principle of the Jubilee Year, by proclaiming liberty throughout all of land to all its inhabitants. If you want a title for my sermon here this afternoon, my title is Refugees, Future Events, and the Jubilee Year. Refugees, Future Events, and the Jubilee Year. I want to begin by just giving a little bit of background. We're going to go into the Land Rest Sabbath a little bit and give some background leading up to the Jubilee Year.

But note how the number seven repeatedly ties in with all I'm going to give you here today.

The Jubilee Year occurred after the seventh in a series of seven Land Rest Sabbath years. Now, there are three overall categories of Sabbaths mentioned in the Bible. Number one, there's the Weekly Sabbaths, which occur on the seventh day of the week and which occur every seventh day.

Then there's the Annual Holy Day Sabbaths, of which there are seven. Then you have, while some people overlook, you have the Land Rest Sabbaths, which occur every seventh year, and of which there are seven in a reoccurring 49-year cycle. Thus, the number seven plays a significant role in all these three categories of Sabbaths. Now, all of you may not be familiar with the Land Rest Sabbath, so let's look for a moment at the Land Rest Sabbath. Let's begin by turning to Leviticus 25.

I'll begin in verse 1 of Leviticus 25, where you start to learn a little bit about the Land Rest Sabbaths. Leviticus 25, beginning in verse 1, And the Eternal spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. The land shall keep a Sabbath.

Six years you shall sow or plant your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its fruit. But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land to the Lord. You should neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. Where it grows of its own accord of your harvest, you shall not reap, you shall not harvest and sell that produce, nor gather the grapes of your unintended vine for that purpose, for it is a year of rest for the land. And the Sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you, what comes up its own accord, for you and your male and female servants, your hired man, the stranger who dwells with you, and for your livestock and the beasts that are in your land, all this produce shall be for food, what comes up of its own. So every seventh year the land was to rest. As it says here, it is a year of rest for the land.

Why did God institute a land rest, Sabbath?

Why did the land need to rest?

I would say for at least three important reasons. One, a couple of these are given in the Bible, so I don't have to guess. One is to give to the poor, to the poor who didn't own land or didn't have the means to grow their own food in any abundance. Let's go back to Exodus 23, I should say. Exodus 23, to see that. Exodus 23, verses 10 and 11. Exodus 23, 10, it says, "...six years you shall sow or plant your land and gather in its produce. But the seventh year, verse 11, you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat." That was one reason. That they'd go out and they could gather in it. Because they couldn't afford to buy it. Maybe they didn't have enough to really produce much for themselves. "...that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat." Even the animals could have some of it. "...and like mannies you do with your vineyard and your olive grove." Of course, at that time they had an agricultural community that they lived in. And God's way is a way of giving. He wanted to give to everybody. Make sure everybody was taken care of. Second reason for the land-rest Sabbath is obvious, so the land could rest. As we already read in Leviticus 25, that is, so the land would not be overly worked and become depleted, and lead to erosion, erosion of the soil. The land needs to rest in order for the soil to naturally be replenished. It needs a year of rest.

That then leads us to the third overall reason for the land-rest Sabbath. Which is discovered by asking a question. That question is this. Think about this. In Israel, the whole... given to Israel as a whole nation was to observe this land-rest Sabbath in this particular year. In the seventh year. And every seven years. In the 49-year cycle. Now, what if we try to do that here in the United States of America today? What if all the farmers in America would let their land rest for one year, all in the same year? Obvious question is this. How could an entire nation have enough food to eat if all the farmers let their land rest for an entire year?

You know, God Himself anticipated that question when He instituted the land-rest Sabbath. He anticipated that very question and He gives us the answer, so we don't have to guess. That answer is given in Leviticus 25.

Let's go back to Leviticus 25 and begin in verse 20, where God asked this very question I just asked. Leviticus 25 verse 20, And if you say, What you eat in the seventh year, since we shall not plant nor gather in our produce, what are we going to eat if all the farmers let their land rest? How is the nation going to have enough food to eat? God anticipated they would ask that question. And He gives us the answer in verse 21. He says, Here's my answer. Then I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. And you shall plant in the eighth year and eat old produce until the ninth year, until as produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.

So there's God's answer. You don't have to worry about it. I'll bless you so much in that sixth year, you won't have to worry for the next year or two. You'll have such an abundance, it'll last you up until you can plant and harvest again.

Now, that raises an interesting question. For an entire nation to believe that, what would be required? What would be required for an entire nation to believe that? It would require the entire nation would look to God as being their ultimate provider. The entire nation would have to look to God as being their provider. And that entire nation would have to then learn to live by faith. Faith in God, and faith in God's word, and faith in God's promises, to give that special added blessing on that sixth year. And they would not only have to do that once, they'd have to do that throughout their generations, from one generation to the next. They'd have to pass that same faith to their children.

So they could continue to do what? V. 25, verse 18. You should observe my statutes to keep my judgments and perform them. And if you do, and this includes the land, resabbas, you will dwell on the land and safely. If you do this and do this with me, I'll see to it that you're never thrown away from your land. You can stay in your land and safety, and I'll be your protector. And you have to worry about any enemies coming in and overthrowing you. That was God's promise. They'd be able to dwell safely in their own land if they did that. I'm not going to turn there, but in Ezekiel 20, verses 19-25, God told ancient Israel there would be consequences for not observing His Sabbaths. And that would include all of His Sabbaths, including the land-gressed Sabbaths. Although I don't think they're mentioned there in Ezekiel 20. It might include all of His Sabbaths. Now, what eventually happened to ancient Israel and to ancient Judah?

Well, the northern ten tribes of Israel fell to Assyria around 721 BC, and Judah fell to Babylon around 586 BC.

As prophesied by Jeremiah, you can jot this down and look at it later. I'm just going to quote it, because Jeremiah proclaimed this, the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed this in regards to what would happen to the land after Judah fell to Babylon. I'm quoting from Jeremiah 25, verse 11. This is what he said was going to happen to the land after they went into captivity to Babylon. This whole land shall be a desolation, he said, and he told to Judah.

This whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and those nations shall serve the king of Babylon for 70 years. Jeremiah 25, verse 11. So the question is, why would they have to serve Babylon for 70 years?

Again, we don't have to guess. God's word answers that question for us in 2 Chronicles 36. Turn to 2 Chronicles 36. Of course, 2 Chronicles 36, as you know, is right after the fall of Judah to Babylon. The Chronicles will fall of Judah to Babylon in the previous chapters, leading up to chapter 36, the last chapter in 2 Chronicles. But here's what it says in 2 Chronicles 36, beginning in verse 20. He said, Those who escaped from the sword, he, never kineser king of Babylon, He carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia. Why? Verse 21, To fill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, that we just read, Jeremiah 25.11, to fill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate, she kept the Sabbath to fulfill 70 years.

Why 70 years? 70 years? So the land could have 70 land-rest Sabbaths to make up for the past years when the land-rest Sabbaths were not observed. Very interesting. So it's how important the land-rest Sabbaths were to God.

This is also emphasized in Leviticus 26, which prophesied blessings for obeying God, and cursings or removal of those blessings for disobeying God. Let's go to Leviticus 26.

Leviticus 26, beginning in verse 32.

This is part of the cursings if they disobeyed God.

He said, He don't obey Me. He said, I will bring the land to desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at how desolate the land has become.

Why will God bring the land to desolation? Why the land? Verse 34. Because then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it is desolate and you are in your enemy's land. Then the land shall rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. As long as the land is desolate, it shall rest. For the time it did not rest on your Sabbaths when you dwelt in it, because you didn't keep the land-rest Sabbaths. Now, one last bit of background information before moving on to discuss the Jubilee year. This has been a question that some have discussed in some controversy over, but I think it's pretty clear what the answer is, myself, at least. Do the land-rest Sabbaths occur in cycles of 49 years? Here's what it says in Leviticus 25 verse 8.

And you shall count seven Sabbaths of years for yourselves, seven Sabbaths of years, seven times seven years, and the time of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be to you 49 years. So there was a cycle of land-rest Sabbaths years. Every seventh year was a Sabbath rest, and there was a cycle of 49 years.

So every seventh year, in a cycle of 49 years, there would be a land-rest Sabbath year. Thus, there would be seven land-rest Sabbath years in every 49 year cycle. This seven-year land-rest was to continue uninterrupted into the next 49-year cycle. That's what it seems to indicate. So there will always be seven years between every land-rest Sabbath.

I'm saying that because, we're going to read in a moment, that the 50th year, after that 49-year cycle, says the 50th year is the Jubilee year. But that Jubilee year then would be the first year in the next countdown to the next Sabbath year. So always seven years between land-rest Sabbaths. Because the first year leading to the next land-rest Sabbath, which then also became the first year of the next 49-year cycle, was then designated as the Jubilee year. It was the 50th year, after the 49-year cycle, but also at the same time, it was also the first year of the next 49-year cycle. So there's always seven years between land-rest Sabbaths, even in the years where there was a Jubilee year in there. Always 49 years between each Jubilee year. After each Jubilee year, there was 49 years. We'll see the importance of that in a moment. Well, with that background in mind, now let's look at the Jubilee year. Let's go to Leviticus 25, where we're right here. Leviticus 25, let's begin in verse 8 again. And you shall count seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years. And the time of the seventh Sabbaths of years shall be to you 49 years. Going on in verse 9. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, on the day of atonement. You shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you. And each of you shall return to his possessions. And each of you shall return to his family. That was to happen on the Jubilee year. Return to your positions and return to your family.

The fiftieth year, verse 11, shall be a Jubilee to you. In it you shall neither sown or reap, or grows of its own accord, you can have, nor shall gather in the grapes of your untended vine. For it is the Jubilee, it shall be holy to you, you shall eat its produce from the field, but grows up by itself, as you did in the land of the Sabbath here. In this year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession. I could go into a lot more, but I'm not going to. I'm going to stop there. But the words, interestingly, as most of us know, the words, proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants, those words are inscribed on the cracked Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Not as worded here in the New King James, but as worded in the Old King James.

See, this nation, the United States of America, was founded on liberty. It was to provide liberty for all the thousands of refugees coming over here from Europe.

It was found on liberty to provide liberty for millions of refugees and other embryos coming to America to escape tyranny in England and Europe.

However, even as the Liberty Bell has been cracked for many years now, almost from its inception, our liberty that we have in this nation right now is very fragile. And right now it's becoming cracked.

We're not beginning to lose many of those liberties that have been given by God.

The Jubilee here is also designated as being a land rest year, as we read in verses 11 and 12. Making two land rest sabbath years in a row and requiring a double blessing from God to get you through that period of time, which God promised to do.

But the point that intrigues me personally here, in verses 10 and 13, which says, each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. Now, why that intrigues Evelyn and myself is the fact that for Evelyn and myself, for both of us, this is the 50th year since we were baptized. And it's this very year for us that we've been brought back to our family and to our possessions from Washington. So this is the Jubilee year, in essence, for us. We've been brought back to our family and to our possessions that we've left here in Michigan. Before moving forward to future events that tie into the principle of the Jubilee year, let's first look at two very significant past events. I'm going to look at two past events that are related to the Jubilee year in a very significant way.

But let's begin by looking at the land rest years. We all know we have a nation now, a new nation that was founded not too many years ago, in 1947, in the Middle East, called the Nation of Israel.

Israel became a nation in 1947.

The land rest, the Sabbath years, begin on Tishri 1. They begin on the day of trumpets.

On the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, or as I said, on the day of trumpets. They end on Ilu 29, Ilu being the sixth month of the Hebrew calendar, and Ilu 29 being the last day of that month. That's the last day of the sixth month of the Hebrew calendar. So the land rest goes from Tishri 1 to Ilu 29. Ilu 29, of course, is followed by Tishri 1 again. Tishri 1 is also the first day of the civil year of the Hebrew calendar, as opposed to Nisan 1, which is the first day of the sacred calendar of the Hebrew calendar, which begins the holy day with Passover and the 14th. But after Israel became a nation, shortly after that, beginning in the years 1972-73, day of atonement 72, day of atonement 73, some farmers in Israel decided they were going to begin observing the land rest Sabbath. They weren't going to plant their crops that year. They were going to let them rest. They observed that year as the land rest Sabbath year. And they had been observing. Some farmers in Israel had been observing every seventh year as the land rest Sabbath year ever since then.

It's also very interesting. I did some research. Evelyn and I both attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas. I graduated in 1967. I was there two years. In Big Sandy, Texas, they had a farm program. It was overseen by Dale Shurter.

Interesting, you go back and do a little of the research. I found out that it was after I graduated, but they, the Ambassador College, observed the land rest Sabbath in the same year as Israel did, 1972-73. They observed that year as the land rest Sabbath.

This past year that we just finished observing, Trumpets of 2014 to Trumpets of 2015 was the land rest Sabbath year to some farmers in Israel. Not only that, but this past year was also the seventh land rest Sabbath year for some farmers in Israel, and a 49-year cycle of land rest Sabbath. 72-73 was the first land rest Sabbath for farmers in Israel. 79-80 was the second one. 86-87 was the third one. 93-94 was the fourth one. 2000-2001 was the fifth one. 2007-2008 was the sixth one. This past year, 2014-2015 was the seventh in a 49-year cycle of land rest Sabbath years.

That would make this coming year, the year we're now in, 2015-2016, that would make this year a Jubilee year.

However, I want to tell you something interesting. Even though the farmers in Israel, some farmers, they're observing the land rest Sabbath years, and they've been observing over the last 49 years, they're not going to observe the Jubilee year. Why? Why aren't farmers in Israel who observe the land rest Sabbath, why aren't they going to observe this year as the Jubilee year, since it would be a Jubilee year, according to the way they're calculating it, observing it? They feel it should not be observed until all 12 tribes of Israel are back in possession of the land originally allowed to them by God. They know of the prophecy in Ezekiel 48. I'm not going to go through that, but go through and read Ezekiel 48. It talks about God's going to bring all the tribes of Israel back and give them possession of their own land that God originally gave them. And he lays it out where Dan's going to be, all the different tribes, what their land's going to be. And they're going to gain repossession of their own land. In Israel today, they believe until that prophecies will fill, they should not observe the Jubilee year. There is one difference between the land rest Sabbath year and the Jubilee year that I want to point out, because I think it's very interesting. The land rest Sabbath years begin on the day of trumpets, and the Jubilee year begins on the day of atonement. Let's notice that here in Leviticus 25 verse 9. Leviticus 25 verse 9, Why the difference? Why was the Jubilee year designated to begin on the day of atonement instead of on the day of trumpets as the laden rest Sabbath are? I believe this is the reason. I believe it's because after Christ returns as portrayed by the day of trumpets, liberty will not be able to be proclaimed through all the land to all its inhabitants until after Satan has been put away as portrayed by the day of atonement. You can't have liberty until Satan is put away. Now, one more thing before getting to future events. And this is based on the preposition that the year we're in now, 2015-2016, is the Jubilee year, as is figured by the nation of Israel, the Jews in Israel, and based on the indication that the Jubilee year occurs once every 49 years. It's interesting to just go back to when the two previous Jubilee years would have occurred based on this year we're now in being a Jubilee year. Going back in 49 years, the two previous Jubilee years, going back two Jubilee years back, the year 1917-1918 would have been a Jubilee year, and the year 1966-1967 would have been a Jubilee year, going back in 49-year increments from this year. What happened in November of 1917 during that likely Jubilee year? The Balfour Declaration was written and published for the first time, granting Jews around the world a national homeland.

I went online and copied it. I want to read it to you. It's very short. This is the Balfour Declaration. It was dated November 2, 1917, after the day of atonement, after that Jubilee year would have started. It was dated November 2, 1917. It was published a week later on November 9, 1917. Here's what it says. His Majesty's government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done which made prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country. That letter was written by the United Kingdom's foreign secretary, Arthur James Balfour. That's why it's called the Balfour Declaration. It was then sent to Walter Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, to be transmitted to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain. And again, it was written and published in 1917, November of 1917, to allow Jews to have a national homeland so they could return to the land they were once given possession of by God. It was then incorporated into the peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. And it's likely that that year, 1917-1918, was the Jubilee year. But the Balfour Declaration was not actually carried out until 1947, when Jews were finally returned to the original homeland.

What happened in 1966 and 1967? This is even more fascinating. Can you remember what happened in 1966-1967? Something very major happened. Anybody know? I'm not going to put anybody on the spot. I wouldn't remember either if I didn't look it up. I got an advantage. But especially as it affected the nation of Israel. What happened was a six-day war occurred.

The six-day war began on June 5, 1967, and ended on June 11, 1967.

President Nasser of Egypt placed soldiers along the border to Israel, which then prompted Israel to launch some pre-emptive airstrikes against Egypt on June 5. That same day, President Nasser induced Syria and Jordan to begin attacking Israel. Israel retaliated immediately, and the six-day war had begun. But again, nobody knew it was going to last only six days.

And no one knew how decisive the victory would be for Israel.

By the time the ceasefire was signed on June 11, Israel had gained control of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. It had gained control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem of the old city from Jordan. And they gained control of the Golan Heights from Syria. Within those six days, the area under Israeli control tripled, and the Jews returned to much of their former possessions.

Other than the Temple Mount or Dome of the Rock, which remained under Arab control even to this day. In the six-day war, interesting statistic, in the six-day war, less than 1,000 Israelis were killed, compared to 20,000 Arabs killed. Less than 1,000 Israelis were killed in that war in six days, and 20,000 Arabs died. That's how decisive the victory was. It was an overwhelmingly decisive victory for the nation of Israel, who returned to much of their former possessions, then granted to them by God long ago. And it very likely occurred on what might have been a Jubilee year.

It's made me stop and think that this year, according to those calculations at least, will be a Jubilee year. And I have to ask, of course, what's going on in the world today over there, while it's going on over in Israel.

Will the Palestinians try to take back possessions of what they think is their own land in this year? And will Israel retaliate to go to war? I don't know.

I had to keep updating this sermon. I've prepared it before the feast, but I had to keep updating it. I've updated it. I've got marks and scribbles all over the place. Things changing so fast, I had to keep little notes here and there. But just look at what happened yesterday. This is just yesterday in Israel, the violence in Israel that happened yesterday.

Yesterday, Palestinians set fire to a Jewish holy site. They set fire to the tomb of Joseph in Hebron. There was also a great deal of violence in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, if you happened to watch the news last night at all. As Palestinians were urged yesterday to make yesterday a day of violence against Israel. They were told to make this a day of violence against Israel. They were also fighting right around the Temple Mount. They showed that on television last night in the news. Several people were killed. Jerusalem and Israel were erupted in violence, which could explode into an all-out war at any time. It's a very dangerous world we're living in.

One more thing, or one more question I'd like to address before looking at the future, which is also, I think, intriguing to look at. Could there be a connection between the prophecy of Daniel 927 and the Jubilee year? Could there be a connection there? I'm not going to turn to Daniel 927, but I'll just relate what it says. Daniel 927 prophesied that the Messiah would be cut off in the middle of the week, by bringing an end to sacrifice and offering. I believe that that prophecy was fulfilled in three ways. Number one, he died on a Wednesday in the middle of a literal week, as we know. Number two, he also died after fulfilling three and a half years of his ministry, of his seven-year ministry, cut off after three and a half years in the middle of a seven-year prophetic week.

And third, in all likelihood, he also died in the middle of the land-rest cycle of weeks, in the middle of a 49-year Jubilee cycle of weeks. Because you go back 49 years and 49-year cycles from 1917, we can determine when Jubilee years would have occurred way back in the first century AD. Six AD would have been the beginning of a Jubilee year, based on the assumption that 1917 to 1918 was a Jubilee year. Forty-nine years later, that would bring us to 55 AD, also being the beginning of the next Jubilee year. Now, we know Christ died, and actually, you can show this, this has to be the case, even though some would say it was 30 AD, you can demonstrate it had to be 31 AD, by all probability. But 31 AD, the year Christ died, is the precise middle of those two Jubilee years, between 6 and 55. So, if all that is correct, then Christ also died in the middle of the land rest cycle of weeks, in the middle of two Jubilee years. Which I think is probably the case. Which gives all the more meaning to Luke 4.18. Let's turn to Luke 4, verse 18. Where Christ here at the beginning of his ministry, he's quoting from Isaiah. Luke 4.18, he said, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. Think of this being right in the middle of two Jubilee years, when his ministry began, or very close to it, he's going to die in the middle of two Jubilee years. 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, he has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty those who are oppressed.

To proclaim liberty to the captives, to set at liberty those who are oppressed. Again quoting Leviticus 25.10, And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty through all the land, through all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. Of course, Christ's sacrifice, that was a great liberty, wasn't it? Liberate us from sin, the penalty of sin. Christ made that possible by dying in the middle of a land-rest cycle of weeks, and by dying in the middle of the two Jubilee years. I do believe there is a direct connection between the prophecy of Daniel 9.27 and the Jubilee year.

Now let's take a look at the Jubilee year, and how the principle of liberty, being proclaimed to all inhabitants, is going to apply to two key future events.

Two key future events, and the principle of the Jubilee year. In principle, when it comes to proclaiming liberty throughout all the land, to all its inhabitants, two key future events directly relate to the Jubilee year. Number one, the return of Christ and the removal of Satan. Revelation 20. Revelation 20, verse 1, I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of that dragon, the serpent of old, who was the devil, and Satan. He bound him for a thousand years. He cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so he should deceive the nations no more, to a thousand years we're finished.

Now, whether that's going to take place on the Day of Atonement or not, is subject to speculation. But it will definitely cause the trouble of the Jubilee to sound throughout all the land, and to proclaim liberty throughout all the land, to all that's inhabitants. Satan's removal is going to liberate the whole world from Satan's deception. It's going to be a great Jubilee year in principle.

He liberated the entire world from Satan's deception. What's going to happen in the years immediately preceding that? Matthew 24. Matthew 24, verse 3, As he, Christ, said on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him, and said, Tell us when will these things be, and won't be the sign of your coming into the age? Dropping down to verse 21, there be great tribulation, such as not been since the beginning of the world, until this time where ever shall be, and thus those days are shortened, and no flesh will be saved. Roughly elects say those days will be shortened. Why would there be great tribulation? Because, as we're told in Revelation 12, 12, Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you having great wrath, because he knows he has only a short time, because Satan is going to be released on the world. It's going to cause great tribulation. Will the great tribulation cause a monumental refugee crisis? Let's go to Luke 21, parallel chapter to Matthew 24. Luke 21, beginning in verse 20. When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know its desolation is near. Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the midst of her depart. Just grab your clothes around your back. Don't worry about taking too many, but just flee, get out of there fast, become refugees.

And let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, in which all things which are written may be fulfilled.

Now, people will not only be fleeing Jerusalem, people will be fleeing in fear from all parts of the world. Verse 25 of Luke 21, There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, in the stars, and on earth, the stress of nations, nations are going to become distressed. People are going to have to flee tyranny and oppression.

There will be stress of nations with perplexity in the sea and the waves roaring. The governments of nations will be overthrown, in many cases causing distress and causing great perplexity and confusion. The sea of humanity and the waves of change made by revolutionary dictators are going to roar, causing men's hearts to fail from fear. Again, verse 25, And there will be signs in the sun, moon, stars, and on earth, the stress of nations and perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring. Men's hearts, verse 26, failing from fear, and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. This is going to result in a great refugee crisis. Verse 27, They will see the Son of Man coming in the cloud with power and great glory. When Christ returns with power and great glory, what's the first thing he's going to do? Let's go back to Matthew 24.

Matthew 24, verses 30 and 31. Matthew 24, verse 30, Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the cloud of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. The first thing he's going to do is gather up all of his elect, all of us who will be resurrected at the return of Christ to rule with him. What will one of our very first jobs be when that happens? Will we go out to gather in refugees from the ends of the earth? Let's go to Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31. It answers that question for us. Jeremiah 31, verses 7 and 8. Jeremiah 31, verse 7, For thus says the Eternal, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations. Proclaim, give praise, and say, O Eternal, save your people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country. They're going to be refugees scattered around the world. I will bring them from the north country, gathered from the ends of the earth. Among them, the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and the one who labors with child together. A great throng shall return there.

This will be a monumental gathering of refugees from the ends of the earth. A great throng of people, it says. Continue in verse 9. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way in which they shall not stumble. For I am a father to Israel, and even as my firstborn.

Hear the word of the eternal, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as the shepherd does his flock. For the eternal has redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the land of one stronger than he.

Therefore they will come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the eternal. A huge throng of refugees streaming to the goodness of the eternal. They shall come streaming. For wheat and new wine and oil, continue in verse 12. For the young of the flock and the herd, their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance. And the young men and the old together will rejoice, for I will return their mourning to joy, and I will comfort them, and make them rejoice rather than sorrow.

So we're going to gather in and liberate millions of refugees from all over the world. Will they be scattered with some in hiding because of fear of oppression and tyranny? Will they half at times be gathered in one by one? Let's go to the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 27. Look at two verses there. Isaiah 27, verse 12. It took unto pass in that day that the Lord will thrash from the channel of the river to the book of Egypt. He's going out and hunting all these refugees, some hiding, mountains and caves. And you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel.

We're going to find every one of you. We're going to gather you in, one by one. Now, interesting question. Will the great trumpet then be blown to announce this liberation? Verse 13. So what shall be in that day? The great trumpet will be blown. And they will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcast in the land of Egypt. And they shall worship the Lord and the Holy Mount at Jerusalem.

The great trumpet will be blown. Could that be the trumpet of the Jubilee? The great trumpet that will proclaim liberty through all the land, through all its inhabitants? I dare say that the great trumpet that will be blown will be the trumpet of the Jubilee. Because this future key event clearly and directly relates to the Jubilee year. What's the second key future event that will directly relate to the Jubilee year? The second event that directly relates to the Jubilee year is the resurrection of the rest of the dead within the millennium. Let's go first to Revelation 20 again. Revelation 21. Let's go to Revelation 20, verses 4 and 5. I saw thrones, and they said on them, and Jevonim was committed to them.

Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus. That comes a little more pertinent today, doesn't it, when you have people being beheaded over there? I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands.

And they lived in rain with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live until a thousand years were finished. Let's go to Ezekiel 37. It talks about that time when the rest of the dead are going to live again, after a thousand years are finished. Ezekiel 37. You're going to see something very pertinent here to release the Jubilee year. Verse 1, The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the spirit of the Lord, and sent me down the midst of the valley, and was full of bones.

He caused me to pass over them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and they were very dry. They had been dead for a long time. He said to me, Son of Man, can these bones live? I said, Well, I don't know. You do. He said, I will see these bones and say to them, Oh bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones, Surely I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you, and bring flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live.

Then you shall know that I am the Eternal. So I prophesied, as I was commanded. As I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, I looked at sinews, and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over, but there was no breath in them. So I said to me, prophesy to the breath, prophesy, Son of Man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on the east lane, that they may live.

So I prophesied, as he commanded, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, in an exceedingly great army. A very great army, liberated from death. And there can be no greater liberation than to be liberated from death. Going on in verse 11, He said to me, Son of Man, these bones are the whole house of Israel, and they indeed say, Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off. Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up from your graves, and I am going to bring you to the land of Israel, and I am going to give you back possession of your own land.

Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up from your graves. And I put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Verse 14, that is the principle of the Jubilee, to be returned to their land and to their families. That is going to happen when that resurrection takes place. Then you shall know that I, the Eternal, have spoken and informed it, says the Eternal.

I will place you in your own land. So those in this resurrection are going to be returned to their families and again take possession of their own land. And again, Leviticus 25.10, and you shall consecrate the 50th year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land, through all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. The resurrection of the dead, at the end of the millennium, will be a Jubilee year of all Jubilee years. The Jubilee year proclaims and foreshadows two key future events, the return of Christ and the removal of Satan, and the resurrection of the rest of the dead at the end of the millennium, on what the Bible calls the eighth day. So quickly then, in conclusion, the Jubilee year has tremendous meaning, and according to the present position of many Jews in Israel, it will be observed when the ten tribes of Israel once again possess the land originally given to them by God. The Jubilee year may not be observed today, but I daresay it will be observed in the future. In the future, the great trumpet of the Jubilee will sound again to proclaim liberty throughout all the land, through all its inhabitants, and may God speed that day.