Why Did the Shemitah Come and Go Without Drama?

 9/22/2015 BOB O'DELL  charisma news

Palestinians clean up after a disturbance at the Al Aqsa mosque. (Reuters)

While many eyes were watching the U.S. financial markets on Friday, Sept. 11, and Monday, Sept. 14—the two open market days that surrounded the last day of the Shemitah year that ended Sunday—the markets were quiet. Markets then rose through mid-week before losing those gains to end the week unchanged. 

Exactly 14 years ago in 2001, on the last day of the Shemitah year—Elul 29—and just after the 9/11 attacks, the markets dropped precipitously albeit briefly. Then exactly seven years ago in 2008, a significant drop occurred on the last day of the Shemitah year, which signaled the start of the 2008-2009 recession. 

So why did "nothing happen" this time?  

Actually, something did happen, but before we reveal what, let us set the stage. 

God has multiple purposes for everything He does, and whatever He allows to happen is always a fascinating confluence of all those purposes. We are not Him, of course. His ways are above ours. But since He wants to be known, He encourages us to try to be those who have eyes to see. It is this encouragement that prompts this very article, even knowing that whatever we might see, to the extent it is correct, will not be the whole story. 

Why Was the Shemitah Quiet? 

First, while God is a God of pattern, He is not a God of formula. Had Elul 29 happened again to the very day, for the third time in a row with a large financial drop, would we not be tempted to see Elul 29 as a proven formula? Would we not go to our calendars and circle that date of Elul 29 seven years from now? Is that an outcome God wants? 

Second, the Bible states that God invented the Shemitah Himself, so clearly God's reputation is more in play than our own. 

It seems that God has decided to introduce the Shemitah to the larger world. On that basis, I will make the first two predictions of this article: Whatever happens in the days, weeks and months ahead will not result in a large scale mockery of God and the Shemitah cycle He invented. Furthermore, God will not put to shame the very people who have stuck their necks out saying "This Shemitah is from God." 

Jonathan Cahn's book was already partially vindicated by the drops of the market in August, although looking back it seems that a fairest interpretation of August in the context of Shemitah is more of a first-step or a warning, than as a complete fulfillment. 

Third, in the new book that Gidon Ariel and I have just released called Israel First! Your Key to Understanding the Blood Moons, Shemitah, Promises to Israel, and the Coming Jubilee, we assert that Christians have been overly focused on the United States as the centerpiece of God's purposes, and that the Shemitah cycle is one means by which God is encouraging us all to look for biblical anchors rather than cultural ones.

The fact that the August drops were driven from China, rather than the USA, has been a wake-up call to U.S. economists who have previously used U.S. economic numbers alone in predicting worldwide economics. No more.  

Ultimately, we see that Americans are being offered a wake-up call to repent from our inner belief that we created our own success, and that we can therefore fix our current problems apart from obedience to God. 

Fourth, in Israel First!, we propose a newly discovered scriptural model that may predict God's actions in the next seven years, because it fits so well the escalation of events in the last 14 years. A key result of this model suggests that God's actions towards us in the next seven years will not be as financially centered as they were in the past—because those financial warnings did not bring about enough repentance, and that what we will see ahead is going to get a lot more personal, and will necessarily cost the lives of many more innocent people. In fact, the verses even allude to a changing way of life.  

But let us hasten to say that the news is not all bad—because we are looking for a great spiritual awakening as well! When evils rise, so does God's grace! Financially, while our model predicts an impact less financially centered than in 2008, it does predict financial impact, perhaps spread over a longer period of time, maybe even in multiple waves. 

What Did Happen on Elul 29? 

With that background, it is time to tell what interesting things did happen on Elul 29 of this year! 

When we look at the events of Elul 29, having taken off our "financially focused lenses" and our "USA-centric lenses," several important things occurred.

First, on Elul 29, the leader of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahri, released an audiotape that included an all-points, worldwide bulletin to young Muslim men everywhere to begin carrying out jihadi attacks in the West. Analysts say that al-Zawahri is even more persuasive among jihadis than ISIS, who had just released a video two days earlier on 9/11 called "We Are Back in America."

Second, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also released a video taunting America for ever saying it could defeat Iran, and promising our humiliation if we ever tried. 

Third, after a disturbance at the Al Aqsa Mosque on Elul 29, about 500 people visited the Temple Mount on Tishri 1. That situation is ripe for escalation. If these were to become big stories in the coming months—a large increase of Islamic lone-wolf attacks in the West, a whole new level of contemptuousness from Iran now that the nuclear deal is certain and worldwide conflict over Israel's handling of the Temple Mount—then we might just look back at Elul 29 as a key turning point indeed. 

Finally, in a surprising twist, on Elul 29 Iran President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted "Shana Tovah" to the Jews, just like he did once before in 2013. What that means I would rather not even attempt to guess. 

Bob O'Dell is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Root Source.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW - Life in the Spirit is your Spirit-filled teaching guide. Encounter the Holy Spirit, hear God speak to you, and enjoy timeless teachings on love, mercy and forgiveness.LEARN MORE!

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn: The Harbingers Have Not Stopped

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn: The Harbingers Have Not Stopped

8/20/2015 JESSILYN JUSTICE  charisma news

Best-selling author Jonathan Cahn has a message for America, and he's answering your questions about the "great shaking."

"We have watched the apostasy of America continue," Cahn says. "It has continued and is accelerating. The harbingers have not stopped. They have continued to manifest, which are indications of a nation progressing to judgment."

For example, the Freedom Tower, which Cahn says is the one of the last harbingers, will be completed this year, the year of the Shemitah. 

In addition, relations between America and Israel are at their worst as President Barack Obama pushes forward with the Iranian nuclear negotiations. 

Standing alone, these events, along with some others, would be ominous. But as they all converge as once, Cahn says we need to take warning.

So what does that mean for us? Take a look!

To celebrate our 40th anniversary, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

The Charisma Podcast Network is now live. Subscribe now for free!

The Shemitah: Four Months Until Financial Ruin?

 5/14/2015 JESSILYN JUSTICE  charisma news

With the super Shemitah rapidly approaching, is Wall Street about to take a devastating turn? (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

According to Rabbi Jonathan Cahn's timeline, the "great shaking" is almost upon us. And while the New York Times best-selling author is quick to point out that God is not bound by the cycle, it doesn't bode well for the United States. 

Prolific author Paul McGuire agrees, and come September—the beginning of the Super Shemitah—America could face financial ruin because of how the country has turned away from God. 

"Our founding fathers understood that God is and was our source, and so that is that the fundamental principle of economic prosperity." McGuire said at the Prophecy in the News Conference. "The fundamental (principle) of economic prosperity is understanding that the source and everything you need is God Almighty. So when any individual or nation understands that the source of their economic blessing is God, they open the door to the powerful possibility of economic prosperity. The economic enginges begin to roar, the creative ideas that produce money and technology and businesses and entrepreurshiop begin to explode. It's God that gives the power to get wealth."

But when the nation turns away, it loses that blessing.  

As America makes the profane sacred—such as gay marriage, sexual lifestyles outside of marriage, abortion, etc.—Cahn can't help but point to parallels with Israel. 

"The Sabbath year was called the Shemitah, but it's to be blessing for Isarel. But when Israel turns away from God, what happen is the Shemitah comes back at them not as blessing but as a sign of judgment on a nation that has driven God out of its life," Cahn says. "And that strikes the financial realm, the economic realm and the blessings of prosperity or sustenance for the nation. Shemitah blessings turn to a curse when God is driven out."

And as we approach September and October—Cahn expects a wipe-out on Wall Street. Historically, he's accurate. 

Black Tuesday was Oct. 29, 1929. 

Sept. 11, 2001 had immense economic impacts. 

In September 2008, the U.S. treasury seized control of mortgage giants to help balance losses. 

Those are all Shemitah years. When the Shemitah year began last September, the United States lost it's financial superiority to China, sending stocks plummeting. 

With these results, the future doesn't bode well—especially with the super Shemitah beginning in September—even by secular standards, for the global economy. CNBC predicts plunging oil prices, an anemic global growth and spiked inflation for emerging economies.

C-SPAN reports predictions that the Federal Reserve policy, as well as Congress' ability to govern could affect the economy improving. The stock Market-Barometer advises caution in its financial forecast.

With so many markets depending on each other for financial success, McGuire says this is an indicator of the end times. 

"And the Bible says that in the end times, in the last days, that there will come a one-world economic system, a false prophet who will administrate the one-world economic system and the one-world economic system will be integrated with the one world religion, and this will culminate in a cashless society," McGuire says. "The world system is a control system that is both spiritual and economic. Money is all about captivity, slavery and control. That is its essential purpose. It's essential purpose is not an economic instrument of exchange. It's about control and the occult and spirituality."

The interwoven aspect of finances and spirituality comes into play as America seeks to legalize same-sex marriage, creating a slippery slope for sexuality and gender identity, which further distances us from God the creator. 

Many arguments around marriage equality center around tax benefits, and as the church continues to depend on the government for tax-exempt statuses, as well as programs to care for the impoverished, money again comes into play. Governments, at both the local and state levels, are levying taxes against residents, taking away from their financial gain. 

A complete turnaround from our dependence on the Lord is leading us to fall on our knees financially, both Cahn and McGuire say. As the Shemitah approaches toward the end of the year, our only hope is an appeal to heaven.