Johnathan Cahn is a Christian Jewish Rabbi who has written books on the Shemitah (the Sabbath year), as well as how it ties to Harbingers which were once given to ancient Israel before its destruction, and have recently been given to our country, the United States of America, warning against coming judgment.
For an idea of what each is about, have a look for yourself - http://www.theharbinger-jonathancahn.com/
Now, while the notion of our nation's impending judgment is interesting to me, that is not the purpose of this writing.
While reading his Mystery of the Shemitah, he points out that the Shemitah is an example of who God is. The Shemitah year, the Sabbath year, is the seventh year in a seven-year cycle where Israel was commanded to let the land rest - ie. go fallow. The poor were to be allowed into the fallow fields and gardens to eat whatever came up there. At the end of that seventh year, all debts would be forgiven and wiped clean, resetting the economy to zero. A clean slate.
This is a pattern one can observe from the very beginning: In six days, God made the earth and rested on the seventh. Supposedly, there are seven biblical ages, the last of which is to be the 1000 years of peace under Christ's reign after the great tribulation of Revelations, at the end of which comes the release of Satan and his supporters for one final clash, and then the great white throne judgement.
However, there's one more little wrinkle - the Year of Jubilee. The year after the seventh Shemitah - that's the 50th year after 49 years of the cycle - we have the year of Jubilee which is like the year of the Shemitah, but there's something more. During the year of Jubilee, slaves and prisoners are set free, and inheritances are restored.
So, let's look at what we have:
1) We have the seven day cycle of creation.
2) We have the seven day cycle of the Sabbath.
3) We have the seven year cycle of the Shemitah.
4) We have the seven age cycle of the bible story for the Earth
I see a pattern. Don't you?
Then, there's the funky little detail of the Year of Jubilee.
This one's special. I haven't studied Leviticus to see if there is something special for every 50 days, but I can't help wondering if the 50 year Jubilee pattern doesn't have significance beyond the cycle of years.
Could there also be a Jubilee of Ages?
I almost certainly think there is a Shemitah of Ages simply by looking at what's supposed to happen at the end of Revelation. The great white throne judgement is very reminiscent of the last day of the year of the Shemitah. The last day of the Shemitah is about the wiping out and forgiving of debts. If you relied on God during the year, as you were supposed to do, then you would be blessed in the last hour of the last day and into the following year. If not, you would be subject to judgment and repercussions for your misdeeds.
That sounds like the great white throne judgement to me.
But, why the Year of Jubilee? Why the extra year of reliance on God culminating in the restoration of inheritance and the freeing of slaves and prisoners?
If God has set a pattern as a sign of who he is and what he plans, then we can definitely look at this as a pattern for something greater - a Jubilee of Ages.
There are many passages in the books of the prophets, and in psalms, which say that God will not hold his anger forever. This has to be true in all things, not just in regard to Israel, since it is God, and he established Israel as an example to the rest of all of us. They are an example. He has punished the nation in the past for its misdeeds, and eventually restored the nation to its people.
Ezekiel 16:53 goes one step further - (Amplified translation) I will restore them again from their captivity, restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and the fortunes of Samaria and her daughters, and I will restore your own fortunes in the midst of them [in the day of the lord],... .
Sodom is definitely in no position to be restored to anything. But, the prophesy is that we will see Sodom, and probably Gamorah, again.
How can they do that if their inhabitants are burning in hell for eternity? Will someone simply take up the mantle? Hard to do without a heritage going back to that city.
One possibility is that God will restore people to life - like in Zoroastrian mythology - and their sins will have been forgiven after having done time in the lake of fire, or accepting Christ as your stand-in (that gift of grace) beforehand.
The year of Jubilee is one of my many reasons for believing so. If we have a Sabbath of days, and a Sabbath of years, and a 50th year after seven of those seven-year cycles, and we have what appear to be seven ages for the duration of man's time under the curse on Earth, then there might just be a larger Jubilee planned. One for the ages.
And, like the year of Jubilee for a nation, the Jubilee of Ages will be for all mankind, and maybe beyond mankind, at the end of which all prisoners and slaves will be freed and forgiven, and their inheritances restored.
In the case of the ages, the only prisoners I can think of would be those undergoing judgement in the lake of fire.
Now, when would this Jubilee of Ages be? Well, if we follow the pattern, it would be at the millenium or age following the last of the seventh in the seven-age cycle. 50 ages! Or, approximately 50,000 years, give or take a few days. (Each age has not been specifically 1000 years exactly, as far as I can tell.) Now, keep in mind that we are near the end of a Shemitah of Ages, so that means we would be looking at 43,000 years at most once we reach the conclusion of Christ's on-earth reign.
I have no reason to believe that there has been any other age cycles before this, but it could be possible there were. We do have the creation of the angels and others of Gods servants and other things not of this Earth that could have preceded us.
If so, your time in the fire could be as little as 1000 years. Without better knowledge of what's outside our Earthly, physical realm, we can only speculate.
But, you can rest assured that God will not be angry forever. If that's the case, the lake of fire, while potentially an eternal construct (it could be a part of God, himself), will not hold its prisoners for eternity as we currently understand the term. Maybe for an age or more. But, not forever.
