If you are one of those people who believe that Israel has been replaced by the church and is no longer part of God’s plan, you will not find this information valuable. On the other hand if you believe that God meant what He said when He swore to Abraham and his descendants an everlasting covenant concerning the land He gave to him (Israel), you will be encouraged.
If you are an observant person no doubt you have heard about the Shemitah. The Shemitah was commanded by God as a full year of rest every seven years. Here’s what He commanded:
For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you (Lev. 25:3-6).
The message God was giving Israel was to trust Him for their provision. He promised that if they would let the land rest, and rest from their own labors in this seventh year, that God would bless them with provision. If they disobeyed Him this seventh year would bring economic and social collapse. In other words, the Shemitah was in effect for blessing when they honored Him or for curse when they fell away from Him.
The question before us is what if the Shemitah has always been in effect because God is in everlasting covenant with Israel and it works wherever His people are scattered. If we look at past history we see that in September or October when the Shemitah year comes to a conclusion that economic or political corrections often occur. Look at these details of recent Shemitahs:
2008: Wall Street suffered its largest decline. America eventually became the world's largest debtor nation.
2001- On September 11 the World Trade Center buildings, the symbols of America’s economic strength, were destroyed by an Islamic terrorist attack. A week later Wall Street had one of its greatest collapses on the last day of the Jewish Shemitah year.
1994: In a bond market collapse bond investors suffered over one Trillion US-Dollars in losses.
1987: On Monday, October 19, 1987, Black Monday, stock markets around the world crashed, dropping an enormous value in a very short time.
1980: The Federal Reserve raised interest rates dramatically to battle inflation, helping speed up the deep recession that we experienced early in Ronald Reagan's first term
1973: 10 days after the end of this Shemitah, the Yom Kippur War started. This war was between Israel and a coalition of Arab states lasted until October 25.
Of course we are in the days following the end of this year’s Shemitah on September 13. This occurs in connection with four Blood Moons which all occur on Jewish feast days. Three of these blood moons have already occurred and the last will be on September 28, one week from today. Some people see this as an unprecedented event that portends the end of the world or less serious disaster. I’m sensing that we will simply be given an alert from the Lord to realize that these are serious times and we need to be aware of what’s going on around us.
This will be a total eclipse of the moon in perigee, when it is closest to the earth. This is a very rare occurrence. NASA reports that it has only happened five times in the 20th century. People on the east coast will have a front row seat of most of the eclipse while the west coast will miss the beginning stages of the event. More detail is given on this occurrence here.
Some people say we should not pay any attention to such things and that they have no spiritual significance. I would point such people to Genesis 1:14-16 where the Lord says he gave the sun, moon and stars for “…signs and for seasons, and for days and years.” I would also point to the many warnings in the word that the sun, moon and stars will be involved as last days signs to planet earth (Joel 2:30,31; Amos 8:9, 10; Matt. 24:29; Rev. 6:12-14, etc.). God will use everything at His disposal to warn us and alert the world of impending judgment.
I have prayed about all of this and I get an alert in my spirit for this time of the year. I believe that God is about to allow something that will caution us to the need of being sober and awake in these perilous days. Pay attention to the Spirit who is speaking to the churches today. Do not be like the world or compromised Christians who are spiritually asleep and so involved with the world that they cannot see what is right before us.
Also, don’t be chasing after signs and wonders while ignoring the leading of the Spirit. Let Him lead you day by day. Stay close to Him while being sensitive to any means He may use to awaken or alert you.
Let’s see what unfolds. Above all stay close to our soon coming King and you can’t go wrong.
Photo Courtesy of Jeff's Flickr Page - All Creative Commons License
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