The mystery of Shemitah is about the events happening in America and around the world that were predicted thousands of years ago. Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, author of The Harbinger and The Mystery of the Shemitah, says that these revelations are based on the Torah and other ancient Scriptures. To unlock these mysteries, one needs to know the five keys of Shemitah.
The first key is related to the Sabbath that Jews observe and is based on Leviticus 25:1-4, where we find that just as every seventh day was the Sabbath day, so every seventh year was the Sabbath year. The Shemitah of ancient Israel refers not only to the releasing of the land but also to the nullification of debt and credit ordained by God and performed on a massive nationwide scale.
The second key is the judgment sign based on Jeremiah 25:4-11. Cahn says the Shemitah was a sign of the nation’s covenant with God. Everything the Israelites had was dependent on the covenant and the relationship with God. It was entrusted to them but belonged to God, and if they turned away from God, then their blessings would be removed, or rather, they would be removed from their blessings.
The third key is the Shemitah as the prophetic sign. On one hand is the Shemitah as a religious sign of observance, the Sabbath year. On the other hand is a national cataclysm that sets a city on fire and wipes away an entire kingdom. One is all about release; the other, a nation taken by force into captivity and exile. Cahn says these realities do not go together but are one and the same. According to the account, that which fell upon the land of Israel in 586 B.C. was not just connected to the Shemitah. It was the Shemitah.
The fourth key is the Israel of the new world. Cahn says most would find it surprising to learn that America was consciously, intentionally and specifically founded after the pattern of ancient Israel. Its Founders saw it as a new Israel, the Israel of the New World. The New World was their new promised land, and the Massachusetts Bay was their New Jerusalem. Jonathan also says the legal system, the mountains of America, and the Hebrew language taught in school are all things that are linked to the nation of Israel and its foundations.
The fifth key is the Tishri Connection. The themes of Tishri match with the themes of Shemitah as both speak of God’s sovereignty, linked to judgment, both call the nations to return to God and are linked to the nullification, cancellation and release concerned with sin and debt. The only difference is that Shemitah is the seventh year and Tishri is the seventh month. Tishri is connected with the proclaiming of the Lord as King and Sovereign over the world, over the nation and over the lives of His people. The month of Tishri is also known as the time of judgment.
Hope in God
The destruction of the twin towers was not the end in the mystery of the towers. There would be another, says Cahn. It would rise up from the site on which the twin towers had been struck down—Ground Zero. It would become a symbol of the rebuilding of America in the wake of 9/11. American leaders would speak of it even before it came into existence and then, as it rose, hail its rising as a symbol of the nation’s pride and resilience. The tower would stand as the embodiment of America itself.
Cahn says this prophecy relates to the Tower of Babel in the Bible, found in Genesis 11:4. Babel was established, as they wanted to make a name for themselves due to pride and arrogance. Cahn says the events that are taking place in America are falling into the same lines.
To avert judgment, we must return one last time to the burning ruins of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The prophet Jeremiah had warned his nation unceasingly that the day of its calamity was coming. Jonathan says they could have averted if they turned back to God but they did not listen to the prophet. Today, Cahn says that America is heading down the same path but that there is still hope. He also says God is sovereign and for every prophecy, there is grace for fulfillment of that prophecy. Where there is repentance, there is revival, says Cahn.
The Present Shemitah
After much talk about the coming Shemitah Cahn talks about in his best-selling book, the date of Sept. 13 has finally passed. Although Cahn warns of the great shaking that is to come, he cautions against focusing on dates. He says that God could also choose to relent, and if that is the case, judgment will not come. Prayer and repentance is the key.
Cahn describes a great shaking that is coming to America and the world. He believes a shaking is coming in the financial and economic realms that could include a collapse. As the apostasy of America continues, and even accelerates, the nation looks to progress to judgment. Judgment can come in many forms, such as financial collapse, natural disasters, man-made disaster such as terrorism and war. Even though we have passed the end of the present Shemitah on Sept. 13, some form of judgment is possible. The next one will begin on Sept. 26, Yom Kippur, and end in September 2016.
Cahn also says the Supreme Court decision to allow gay marriage was a tectonic shift in the nation. He says that at that time, Christianity became a counter-culture faith rather than a cultural faith. Over time, the divide between Christians and non-Christians will increase. This will force people to be totally “dark” or totally “light.” Jonathan says people can prepare for this shift by getting “plugged in” to the presence of God in prayer and worship as well as ground themselves in the Word of God.
