Was Shemitah Ever Associated with Bad Omens in the Bible?

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

In my previous article on the Shemitah, I talked about how Jonathan Cahn teaches that the end of this current Shemitah (Sabbatical Year ending September 13, 2015) *may* bring some terrible events to America. The events would *possibly* be connected to economic failures, that’s of course, if they happen at all.

All of this got me to thinking and wondering. Has the Shemitah in the Old Testament ever been associated with bad omens? Here is the way God explained through Moses the principle of the Sabbatical Year.

“At the end of seven years you will make a release. And this is the manner of the release: to release the hand of every creditor from what he lent his friend; he shall not exact from his friend or his brother, because the time of the release for the L‑rd hasarrived,“ (Deuteronomy 15:1–2)

It appears as though the Shemitah/Sabbatical Year was a very good thing, at least for people who had outstanding debts. At the end of the seventh year (or the actual Sabbatical Year), Jews were supposed to release fellow Jews from debt. This was called the “time of release.” Of course, it’s because they did not observe it that got them into deep trouble with God.

What I find a bit disingenuous is that here in America, we have never practiced this as a rule. People/creditors did not automatically release others from their debt at the end of every seven-year cycle. While it can be argued that our bankruptcy laws are based loosely on the Sabbatical Year, they’re actually quite different. In Israel, creditors voluntarily released people from their debt (or were supposed to). In America, to file for bankruptcy actually costs around $2,500 due to attorney fees.

This is not the way it worked in ancient Israel. People who owed money at the end of seven years were supposed to be simply freed from their debt. The debt was simply forgiven. In America, when filing bankruptcy, not only does a person have to pay to do so, but their credit is essentially ruined for up to ten years.

By the way, I’m not saying the way America does bankruptcy is wrong. I’m simply pointing out the differences between America’s bankruptcy laws and Israel’s forgiving of debt under the Shemitah or Sabbatical Year. It wasn’t only forgiving debt, but allowing the land to lie fallow every seventh year.

In America, the good farmer will rotate his crops so that fields will lie fallow once every so often. This allows the land to renew itself after the toll that planting and harvesting can take on that plot of land. However, in today’s corporate farm world (family owned farms under contract to corporate food giants), the land isn’t often allowed to lie fallow. Tons of chemicals – fertilizers, growth hormones, and pesticides – are continually pumped into the ground so that crops will grow. It’s an overuse of land because of the demand for food and the main reason for greenhouse emissions, though they won’t admit that part.

There are examples of when Israel did not keep the Sabbatical Year. In fact, this is exactly why the Jewish people were captured by Nebuchadnezzar and taken out of Israel/Jerusalem and into Babylon. If we read Jeremiah carefully, God added things up and pronounced judgment of 70 years of captivity for the Israelites due to their failure to obey God over time. It all added and God kept the record.

“Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying: “At the end of seven years ye shall let go every man his brother that is a Hebrew, that hath been sold unto thee, and hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee”; but your fathers hearkened not unto Me, neither inclined their ear.” (Jeremiah 34:13–14)

The Israelites failed God. They simply ignored the Sabbatical Year requirements. Because of it, they got themselves into trouble of their own making. Daniel 9:2 explains the problem as Daniel had been studying the book of Jeremiah.

“in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.“

It is clear then that God took the Sabbatical Year seriously…for the nation of Israel. If we are going to say that America is part of that (which it is not), then we would have to agree that since the founding of this nation, at the end of every 7th year, all debts should have been forgiven, the land was to lie fallow, and creditors would essentially do a “reset.” It has not been that way at all, yet Jonathan Cahn has come along to try to make us believe that whether we knew it or not, America was in “covenant” with God right from the beginning and God was keeping track.

Cahn preaches that calamity *might* happen at the end of this current Sabbatical Year (September 13, 2015). He also says it might not. He should make up his mind because God was always very precise in the Old Testament when He spoke through His prophets. Today? Apparently, not so much.

I saw Jonathan Cahn on the new Jim Bakker Show (yes, that Jim Bakker) a while ago. Bakker lost all credibility when he sinned by cheating on his wife with Jessica Hahn, and allegedly stealing or misusing funds provided by donors to his “ministry.” He went to jail for it. He came out, got a bit of a face lift and started all over again, with a new wife, a new outlook, and a much smaller studio.

After having Jonathan Cahn on his show (which to me, would have been a laugh riot if not for the fact that he and Cahn actually believed what they were ballyhooing), Jim Bakker added prepping materials to his website. You can see everything he sells right here. They’re called “Survival Items” and you can get everything from power units to foods (including gluten-free!), to everything in between. Isn’t that neat? Bakker has all kinds of things he wants to sell you, based on the belief that “something bad is going to happen.”

Jonathan Cahn has been pushed to the fore mainly via the efforts of Joseph Farrar (World Net Daily or WND). Interestingly enough, WND also has a store where they sell…guess what? Yes, preparedness materials. In fact, they offer 7 pages of items for sale, things from books/booklets to soaps, to foods and fuels to things in between. So not only do these folks push and sell Jonathan Cahn’s books, but they push preparedness items for the something that “may” happen by or on September 13, 2015.

But what if nothing happens this September? No worries. Another Shemitah cycle will start all over again, with the Sabbatical Year happening seven years later. This will give people plenty of time to start determining dates for other things including the Rapture. There’s never an end to it. In truth though, something will eventually happen, but not because of the Shemitah. It will be due to the times in which we live, just prior to the physical return of Jesus. Things are ramping up and it is wise to understand this.

Unfortunately, while too many Christians are focused on the Shemitah, people who need to hear the gospel plunge headlong into eternity. Why? Because too many Christians are focused on the Shemitah. They gather in groups, talk about all the fascinating “dates” and “facts” presented by Cahn, Blitz, and others. Because of it, they cannot even see the truth, that spiritually dead people are passing right in front of them in desperate need of salvation. Those people need to hear the truth of the gospel (which I noticed is never clearly stated in “The Harbinger”). Instead, they get “date-setting” and “worrying about tomorrow” all based on the erroneous belief that Israel and America are inextricably tied together and what befalls one (Israel) will befall the other (America) unless there is repentance. What utter hogwash! Bad things will happen in this world and they will continue to worsen, but not due to the Shemitah!

If you’re one of the Christians who believes Jonathan Cahn is a man of God who speaks the truth, I would implore you to put his books down and take it up with God’s Word. People today are extremely gullible. In fact, too many have what Paul calls “itching ears,” that Paul speaks about in 2 Timothy 4:3.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires…“

This is where we are today, folks. There is no “sound doctrine” in Cahn’s books! Too many Christians with itchy ears love what they hear even though Cahn lacks real biblical grounding. One guy told me that by ignoring Cahn’s warnings, I’m ignoring the “boat” that Cahn and others like him are building. The problem is that their boat uses a screen door for a hull.

I fully understand the times in which we live. Things are growing worse. Persecution is heating up. The times are becoming terrible. My job has never changed though. I’m told to go out, preach the gospel, and make disciples of people from all nations (Matthew 28:19 et al). Jonathan Cahn’s “Harbinger” and “Shemitah” add nothing to that at all. Stop being deceived!

Next time, we will discuss the judgment of nations, also known as the Sheep and the Goats Judgment. Is America going to be judged? Absolutely. Do we know when it will occur? Why yes, yes, we do! No, I’m not setting a date, but simply pointing out where it falls on God’s timetable. Join me then, will you?

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective