פירוש על עבודה זרה 18:25

If the tanna remembers how many hundreds of years have passed into the years of the Messiah, meaning the third period of 2000 years, but does not remember the exact number of years, he can ask a scribe who counts by the secular years and add 48. So for instance if it is the year 325 in the secular years then it must be the 73rd year of the Messianic cycle, plus whatever hundred they happen to be in.

As with above, this is simply the opposite situation.

Huna provides a way of remembering what year in a sabbatical cycle one is in. Let’s say it’s been 153 years since the Destruction of the Temple (in 70 C.E.) He adds one year and gets to 154. That’s two sabbatical cycles, leaving us with 54. Those divide into 7 sabbatical cycles, leaving us with 5 remaining years. He has to add two for every 100 leaving him with 7. Thus the year 153 is a sabbatical year.

These sources suggest a messianic calculation. Why would one buy a field if he knew the messiah was coming? According to R. Hanina the Messiah will come 400 years after the destruction of the Temple. According to the baraita, the Messiah was supposed to come in the year 4231.

If this document is post-dated, meaning the date of execution seems to be later than when the loan actually occurred, the power of the creditor to seize the debtor’s property is lessened. He will only be able to seize property that was in the possession of the debtor from the time written in the document.