2017 is being celebrated by many in Israel as the Year of Jubilee although the exact date or year is uncertain. The hype about 2017 is based on a prophecy by Rabbi Judah ben Samuel in 1217 that the Messianic Kingdom would begin in 2017. Obviously, this is not biblical and Christians should not be following these man-made predictions. However, Jubilee is significant for Christians because it is the second coming of Jesus to establish the Messianic Kingdom:
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. (2) And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; (3) and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. (4) Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (5) The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. (6) Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. (7) When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison...”. Revelation 20:1-7
Jubilee is also special year for the Jews because God had commanded that the Jubilee Year must occur after seven sets of seven yearly intervals (49 total):
“‘You are also to count off seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven Sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall sound the ram’s horn everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month (almost October); on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and [a]proclaim freedom [for the slaves] throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee (year of remission) for you, and each of you shall return to his own [ancestral] property [that was sold to another because of poverty], and each of you shall return to his family [from whom he was separated by bondage]. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee for you; you shall not sow [seed], nor reap what reseeds itself, nor gather the grapes of the uncultivated vines. 12 For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its crops out of the field. 23 ‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; you are [only] foreigners and temporary residents with Me. 24 So in all the country that you possess, you are to provide for the redemption of the land [in the Year of Jubilee]. Leviticus 25:8-12 & 23 Amplified Bible)
The return of land to its original owner was unique to the Jubilee. God has reestablished Israel in the land. The land belongs to God and God is working out His eternal purpose through His people. What He is doing will bring glory to His name alone. It is a miracle that Israel exists today even though they are surrounded by nations who seek to destroy them and unfortunately many governments, non-governmental organization (NGOs), Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, and international communities are aiding this hatred.