Does a mystery that is 3,500 years old hold the key to what is going to happen to global financial markets in 2015? Could it be possible that the timing of major financial crashes is not just a matter of coincidence? In an article entitled “If Economic Cycle Theorists Are Correct, 2015 To 2020 Will Be Pure Hell For The United States“, I examined a number of economic cycle theories that seem to indicate that the second half of this decade is going to be a nightmare economically.
But the cycle that I am going to discuss in this article is a lot more controversial than any of those. In his most recent book, Jonathan Cahn has demonstrated that almost all of the major financial crashes in U.S. history are very closely tied to a seven year pattern that we find in the Bible known as “the Shemitah”. Since that book was released, I have been asked about this repeatedly during radio appearances. So in this article I am going to attempt to explain what the Shemitah is, and what this Biblical pattern seems to indicate may happen in 2015. If you are an atheist, an agnostic, or are generally skeptical by nature, this article might prove quite challenging for you. I would ask that you withhold judgment until you have examined the evidence. When I first heard about these things, I had to go verify the facts for myself, because they are truly extraordinary.
So precisely what is “the Shemitah”?
In the Bible, the people of Israel were commanded to let the land lie fallow every seven years. There would be no sowing and no reaping, and this is something that God took very seriously. In fact, the failure to observe these Sabbath years was one of the main reasons cited in the Scriptures for why the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon in 586 BC.
But there was more to the Shemitah year than just letting the land lie fallow.
On the last day of the Shemitah year, the people of Israel were instructed to perform a releasing of debts. We find the following in Deuteronomy chapter 15…
At the end of every seven years you shall grant a relinquishing of debts. This is the manner of the relinquishing: Every creditor that has loaned anything to his neighbor shall relinquish it. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother, because it is called the Lord’s relinquishment.
This happened at the end of every seven years on Elul 29 – the day right before Rosh Hashanah on the Biblical calendar.
So what does this have to do with us today?
Well, if you go back to the last day of the Shemitah year in 2001, you will find that there was an absolutely horrifying stock market crash.
On September 17th, 2001 (which was Elul 29 on the Jewish calendar), we witnessed the greatest one day stock market crash in U.S. history up to that time. The Dow fell an astounding 684 points, and it was a record that held for precisely seven years until the end of the next Shemitah year.
At the end of the next Shemitah year in 2008, another horrifying stock market crash took place. On September 29th, 2008 the Dow plummeted 777 points, which still today remains the greatest one day stock market crash of all time. It turns out that September 29th, 2008 corresponded with Elul 29 on the Jewish calendar – the precise day when the Bible calls for a releasing of debts.
So on the very last day of the last two Shemitah years, the stock market crashed so badly that it set a brand new all-time record.
And now we are in another Shemitah year. It began last fall, and it will end next September.
Could it be possible that we will see another historic market crash?
Author Jonathan Cahn has correctly pointed out that we should never put God in a box. Just because something has happened in the past does not mean that it will happen again. But we should not rule anything out either.
Perhaps God is using His calendar to make a point. Cahn believes that if we are going to see something happen, it will probably occur as the Shemitah year comes to an end…
Cahn has pointed that, according to his research, the worst of the worst usually happens at the end of the Shemitah year, not at the beginning. In fact, the last day of the year, Elul 29 on the Hebrew calendar, which will occur on Sept. 13, 2015, is the most dreaded day.
The pattern revealed in “The Mystery of the Shemitah” is that the beginning of the Shemitah’s impact is often subtle, but leads to a dramatic climax.
“The beginning may mark a change in direction, even a foreshadow of what will come to a crescendo at the Shemitah’s end,” he said.
And this time around, far more people are paying attention. Back in 2001 and 2008, most Americans had absolutely no idea what a “Shemitah year” was. But now it is being talked about on some of the most prominent alternative news websites on the Internet. For example, the following is what Joseph Farah of WND has to say about the Shemitah year…
Farah believes the date Sept. 13, 2015 bears close watching – though he is quick to admit he has no idea what, if anything, will happen in America.
“A clear pattern has been established,” he says. “I don’t believe it’s a coincidence what happened in America on Elul 29 in 2001 and 2008. It would be foolish to ignore the possibility that a greater judgment might be in the works – especially if America continues to move away from God and His Word.”
The Shemitah year that we are in now does end on September 13th, 2015 – and that falls on a Sunday so the markets will be closed.
But what it comes to the Shemitah, we aren’t just looking at one particular day.
And it is very interesting to note that there will also be a solar eclipse on September 13th, 2015. Over the past century, there have only been two other times when a solar eclipse has corresponded with the end of a Shemitah year. Those two times were in 1931 and 1987, and as Jonathan Cahn has told WND, those solar eclipses foreshadowed major financial disasters…
In 1931, a solar eclipse took place on Sept. 12 – the end of a “Shemitah” year. Eight days later, England abandoned the gold standard, setting off market crashes and bank failures around the world. It also ushered in the greatest monthlong stock market percentage crash in Wall Street history.
In 1987, a solar eclipse took place Sept. 23 – again the end of a “Shemitah” year. Less than 30 days later came “Black Monday” the greatest percentage crash in Wall Street history.
Is Cahn predicting doom and gloom on Sept. 13, 2015? He’s careful to avoid a prediction, saying, “In the past, this ushered in the worst collapses in Wall Street history. What will it bring this time? Again, as before, the phenomenon does not have to manifest at the next convergence. But, at the same time, and again, it is wise to take note.”
So what is going to happen this time?
We will just have to wait and see.
But without a doubt so many of the same patterns that we witnessed just prior to the financial crash of 2008 are happening again right before our very eyes.
It has been said that those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Perhaps you believe that there is something to “the Shemitah”, or perhaps you think that it is all a bunch of nonsense.
But at least now you know what everyone is talking about. What you choose to do with this information is up to you.
Michael T. Snyder is a graduate of the University of Florida law school and he worked as an attorney in the heart of Washington D.C. for a number of years. Today, Michael is best known for his work as the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and The American Dream. If you want to know what things in America are going to look like in a few years read his new book The Beginning of the End.
You may also like:
10 Things to Do on the Day The Economy Collapses
US Nuclear Target Map. Do You Live in The Danger Zone? (Video)
The 7 Lost US Nuclear Bombs That ISIS is trying to Get Their Hands On
Why is Pentagon in a Hurry to Move back to the Nuclear Base under the Mountains?
Jonathan Cahn, the one who started this hype and stuff about the shemitah claims the shemitah brought about economic collapse, draughts, lack of food, social upheaval, etc – all the same things that will happen this September 2015 to the U.S., but what does scripture say?
Scripture says the shemitah was only for Israel and there are no prophecies stating that it was to be applied to any other nation besides Israel. We also see the shemitah was a total blessing with no lack of food or deadly wake as Cahn claims. Consider the following scripture…
“And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” 21 Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. 22 And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.” Leviticus 25:20-22
Another problem with Cahn is that he focuses so much on the stock market and NOT on the debt which scripture says is to be wiped away. Hmmm…
What about the foreigners?
Any time we look at scripture we need to look at the context of the passage. We don’t want to misapply God’s word to a place, time or people in which it was not intended. Let’s look at the passage often quoted by ‘Rabbi’ Cahn, Deuteronomy 15:1-4…
“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. 2 And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD’s release. 3 Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, 4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—“
Here we see that the releasing of debts is not mandatory in regards to foreigners. Notice the part that says ‘you may require it’. So when it comes to foreigners, you may require it or you may not. This context disproves Cahn and his followers when it comes to applying the shemitah to foreigners (release of debts and not stock market investments). In the United States there are about 5-7 million Jews and a total population of 318.9 million (2014 figures) via the census dot gov website. If we say there are 6 million Jews in the U.S. they only make up about .018 percent of the population. So if we apply what the scripture says about the shemitah to foreigners, we see there is the option for Jews to release foreigner’s debts or not. We also do not see any command from God stating that foreigners must release debts to other foreigners. This is huge and it’s something that ‘Rabbi’ Cahn does not write in his books or tell his followers. If you’re going to pull scripture out of context and ignore key elements as Cahn has done with Deuteronomy 15, then how can we trust his conclusions? Simply we cannot.
What I find interesting is that Cahn supports his shemitah teaching on stock market numbers, percentages, etc. but is the stock market the actual record of debt for the United States? No. The stock market is investing money in companies in exchange for a slice of ownership in that company. If that company does well, then the investor makes a profit on his investment; if not, there is a loss. Now this is different than debt which is defined as something that is owed or what one is bound to make payment to; it’s an obligation to pay something. For example, if you buy a house and have a loan, you make payments until the principle, the purchase price of the home, and the interest, what you pay the bank for them lending you the money, is paid off. Till that house is paid off, you’re in debt. The same is done with other consumer debts (car loans, credit cards, personal loans, etc.). Now there is another debt and that is the debt of the government. This debt is placed upon citizens in the form of taxes. The more debt our government incurs the more taxes we pay. So these two things, the stock market and debt are very different. But ‘Rabbi’ Cahn hopes that you don’t know the difference between these things and later on you will see why.
The biggest problem with Cahn and his shemitah and its ‘wake of destruction’ it causes is that it’s not in the bible! That’s right, the bible says it’s a releasing and wiping away of ALL DEBTS and there is no mention or example of it having a ‘deadly wake’. NONE of the market crashes in U.S. history have done that, ever! Consider the Sept 2008 ‘crash’ that only dropped 6.98%. God and His word says ALL DEBTS will be wiped away but it was the stock market investments that only dropped 6.98% and later recovered (BTW the stock market is invested money and not a record of debt in the U.S. as we stated before). In regards to actual debt levels, it actually increased during this ‘crash’. Remember the response to this ‘crash’? It was a government bailout of over 700 million dollars – massive debt that was placed upon the citizens of this nation. We also saw during this time the increase of consumer debt as well. So why doesn’t Cahn use the actual debt figures during these time periods? Why does he use stock market figures and not reference any debt levels? Perhaps because they go against his unbiblical ‘deadly wake’ and shemitah claims. If he actually reported the debt levels before and after this time people would see the truth. So what do the debt levels actually show? Consider the following…
We see that the median household debt has increased every year from 2000 to 2011. So much for the shemitah having an actual effect on the U.S.
If we look at the National Debt of the U.S. by year we see a steady increase of debt each and ever year from 1930 to the present).
Cahn claims that the shemitah applies to the U.S. but from 1930 to today we see no wiping away of any debts whatsoever. What we do see is a steady increase in debt levels. Now Cahn states that even though George Washington made a covenant vow to God back in 1789, however the shemitah was only RECENTLY applied to the U.S. – which we see no prophesies or teachings of in scripture and its very confusing when you think about it. Apparently the collective sin of the nation from 1930 to 2001 was not bad enough for God to apply the shemitah and its deadly wake of economic destruction. I guess the year 2000 and before the U.S. was righteous before the Creator? I don’t think so. So what Cahn does is take similar things in recent history and the bible, and comes to the conclusion it must be a secret revelation or mystery explained. The problem is many things in history are similar to scripture but that does not mean it’s true or in accordance with scripture, or does that mean it’s a secret revelation. There have been thousands of prophesies about the end times, rapture and tribulation and they are all based upon the similarity of the times and scripture but as we know all have failed.
Now Cahn claims that the shemitah has only recently been applied to the U.S. and offers no in context scriptures to back up the lack of shemitahs from 1789 to 2001. God and His word states “that My word goes forth and accomplishes what it was set forth to do” ref. Isaiah 55:11. Interesting is that we see the shemitah was only applied to Israel and no other country. There are no prophesies about a person making a covenant with God in a land far, far away and how the shemitah will be enforced upon that nation, or it being used as punishment against any nation. For whatever reason is that is known only to Rabbi Cahn, the shemitahs started in 2001 and again was seen in 2008. If what Cahn is teaching is true then we should be able to see a huge drop in debt levels during those two years and afterward; remember scripture says it’s a TOTAL wiping away of all debts. So what do we see in the following …
From 2001 to 2002 we see an increase of debt! Wait a second, ‘Rabbi’ Cahn states that was a shemitah year so according to God’s word we should have seen a total wiping away of debt. Instead we see an increase of over 420 million dollars (420,772,553,397)! So what do we see when we look at the 2008 shemitah year? What about the 2008 to 2009 debt levels? Opps! It’s another debt increase of over 1.8 billion dollars (1,885,104,106,599). No wonder ‘Rabbi’ Cahn doesn’t tell anyone about this – it would ruin his book and DVD sales!
Other facts show that U.S. debt has steady increased since 1930, with no wiping away ever recorded! Again something that Cahn never discusses.
According to these facts, the debt levels show an increase each and ever year. So the very thing Cahn teaches, that debts will be wiped away (government and consumer debts), the opposite actually happened. There has NEVER been a time in U.S. history where ALL debt was totally wiped away. These debt levels actually increased during this times! Yet when this is presented to Cahn all you hear are crickets. Is this how a man of God is supposed to act?
The fact that government and consumer debts have risen considerably and consistently during these so called shemitah years leads us to come to one of two conclusions.
1. That the bible is not true; that God lied and He did not do what He said He would.
Or…
2. That ‘Rabbi’ Jonathan Cahn is a liar, a false teacher and a false prophet.
Those are the only two options, the question is, in light of all the facts, who are you going to follow?
Disclaimer
Now I agree that people need to repent, confess, believe and follow the Messiah. There are things that Cahn teaches which are true. What I, and others have issue with are the massaging of facts, the lies, the use of out of context scriptures, and the constant stream of mysteries, secrets and extra-biblical revelations that he promotes. I find the fear mongering, his lack of preaching the gospel and discipleship, specifically heartfelt torah observance disingenuous. What I see is a high concentration on promoting his books, DVDs and studies on teachings that are not based on solid bible hermeneutics. There is too much focus on the shemitah, which does not apply to Americans and that results in the real truth of God’s word taking a back seat.
Summary
There are many things wrong with ‘Rabbi’ Jonathan Cahn’s teachings but here I wanted to address the easiest ones which can be tested against scripture and the historical facts of our country’s debt levels from 1930 to the present day. The largest facts being that government and consumer debt levels that rose during the years that Cahn states the shemitah had occurred and afterward. It’s amazing what scripture actually says versus what Cahn states. If there is conflict found in Cahn’s or anyone else’s teachings should we follow that or God’s word? Scripture states we are to follow Him and His word.
Today you have to choose whom you shall serve.
As Christian you become part of Israel. You can’t say for example when you accept a blessing meant for Israel, but day I am a foreigner, when it means having to accept the releasing of s brother from a debt. I am sure if you are the one being released you would say I am Israel. Cahn, I think understands that you either join the body of Yeshua or remain a foreigner. Yeshua is Israel. Understand that has a Christian you are saying it’s too Yeshua and no being a foreigner. You become part of a tribe. But you can’t say I am Yeshua’s bit I am a foreigner. You are ab citizen ok the Kingdom.
Like Yeshua said now follow the commandments and go in Shalom.