50 - Jubilee & Pentecost

Seven sevens and then one more - the Jubilee year of liberty and the fiftieth day when the Spirit came at Pentecost.

Fifty is the number of release and new beginnings in Israel's calendar. Every fiftieth year was a jubilee, when Israel was to 'proclaim liberty throughout all the land,' freeing Hebrew servants and returning family land to its owners. Fifty days after the sheaf of firstfruits came the Feast of Weeks, later called Pentecost from the Greek word for 'fiftieth,' and on that day in Acts 2 the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples in Jerusalem. Because fifty follows seven sevens, many readers see it as fullness opening into a new beginning. The Levites also retired from regular service at fifty.

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Meaning: Liberty, release, the Jubilee, and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost

Key Occurrences

The Year of Jubilee every fiftieth year (Lev 25:10-11)
Fifty days counted to the Feast of Weeks (Lev 23:15-16)
The Spirit poured out on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4)
Levites cease regular service at fifty (Num 8:25)

Key Chapters

Leviticus 25 The Sabbath Year and Jubilee 9 min read After seven sevens of years, the fiftieth year brings liberty, rest and the retu... Acts 2 The Day of Pentecost 6 min read On the fiftieth day the promised Spirit comes, filling the disciples and launchi...

Key Passages

Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land

Leviticus 25:8-11

After seven sevens of years, the fiftieth year brings liberty, rest and the return of each family to its inheritance.

A⁸nd thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.

⁹ Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. ¹⁰ And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. ¹¹ A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.

The Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-4

On the fiftieth day the promised Spirit comes, filling the disciples and launching the church's witness.

A¹nd when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. ³ And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Did You Know?

Every fiftieth year Israel was to proclaim liberty throughout the land. Land returned to its original families and Hebrew servants went free. The Jubilee was a built-in reset for the whole nation.

Pentecost comes from the Greek word for "fiftieth." Israel counted fifty days from the firstfruits sheaf to the Feast of Weeks. On that feast day the Spirit fell, and about three thousand were added to the church.

Jesus began His ministry by reading Isaiah 61, a passage about liberty for captives and "the acceptable year of the Lord." Many hear in it an echo of the Jubilee. In Christ the great release has come.