I keep thinking about this fall and the Shmitta year. Before I say any more, I feel the need to say that this is one of the two times of the year when admittedly I get a little bummed out as a watcher as the season of spring high watch days gives way to the dog days of summer and the reality for me sets in that we are probably stuck here for another long hot summer; the other similar time is when the high watch days in the fall pass and the reality settles in that I am probably going to have to endure another brutal, cold winter. So this is my mindset right now, and I know that there may be other opportunities for alternate interpretations of Pentecost coming up, but I am settling in thinking we will probably see a long hot summer with plenty of severe birth pains - but I am extremely hopeful for this fall. I can’t help but think of this Shmitta cycle and how it might just mark out the tribulation coming up and that would be the surest sign that our days are limited. I keep thinking how it is SO OBVIOUS from the Bible that God has used 7 year cycles and keeps working in 7 year cycles throughout history - there are far too many scriptural examples for me to reference. This has caused me to wonder again about the fig tree “generation” and Israel. We like to use May 14th, 1948 as a start date to the fig tree generation, rebirth of Israel, etc. and rightfully so - it is a nice, neat, tidy day on the calendar that seems obvious enough and that we can point to. But as we all know, and have previously experienced, a timeline theory is just as good as the speculative start and or end dates - its like a computer program - garbage in, garbage out. If you start off with a faulty date, you wind up with rubbish. We know from Acts 1:7 that God has placed the times and the seasons under his own authority and so we are sometimes perplexed and wish we knew exactly what date God has picked. We know from Acts 17:31 that He already has a day picked out and appointed so wouldn’t we love to peek at His calendar? But what I keep thinking lately is about that May 14th, 1948 start date and how we have used that over and over to form a basis of the start of the prophetic clock, but what if that date is just a construct of men? What if it was faulty from the start? What I am trying to say is what if God did not recognize Israel as reborn on the same date as we did? What if - because God seems to work in 7 year cycles - what if He did not recognize Israel or the “start” of the “prophetic clock” until the next Shmitta cycle which would have been 1952 I think. This would also be very significant because this year marks the 10th Shmitta of modern Israel or 70 years - again a very significant number of years with which God has used to measure Israel in the past. This is what just keeps tumbling around my head lately is maybe this Shmitta IS significant and also maybe this explains why Israel has seemingly passed the 80 year minus 7 year tribulation deadline for the fig tree generation - maybe we are looking at it all wrong. We have been counting Israel as 74 now according to man’s eyes, and June 20th which just passed would have need the last possible date for Israel to have a 7 year tribulation and still not exceed 80 years as interpreted by Psalm 90 - but if God counts by Shmitta cycles, perhaps Israel is only 70 in His eyes? Add another 7 year tribulation and Israel will be 77 in God’s eyes at the end of the tribulation well within the 70-80 year generation mentioned in Psalm 90. I don’t really know, I just thought I would share my speculations because I am really starting to feel that there is something significant about this upcoming 7 year cycle. I am basing all of these speculations based upon what we know we are permitted by God to know about His calendar and His appointments with man. We know that He works in 7 year cycles. We know that this He freely revealed to man in the prophecy of the “sevens” of Daniel chapter 9 and we know that there is one week of “seven” left to be fulfilled, so I think it is reasonable to associate these sevens with the Shmitta cycle and speculate that the tribulation might fit into one of these sevens and which is coming up fast this fall and that the rapture would necessarily come at some point before this next Shmitta begins. By the way, one other interesting tidbit - did you know that 7 divides evenly into 5999? Not exactly sure what to do with that extra year but 6000 years of human history is awfully close to 857 Shmitta cycles - I just thought that was interesting. Curious to hear your thoughts and feedback. Derrick — great thought! I have held to the Shmitta cycle for a long time. It fits, as you say, to God’s normal process of time for Israel, for man, and for the 6000 year cycle of the earth with the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth to equal 7000 years - again a cycle of 7. God appears to delineate time by the creation pattern of weeks, months, and years via the lunar cycle. At the end of the seven cycles of Shmitta (Sabbatical years) is the Jubilee (Hebrew: יובל yōḇel). The Jubilee requires all twelve tribes to be in the land. Jubilee is every fifty years (Lev. 25:8-17). Every fiftieth year, all leased or mortgaged lands were to be returned to their original owners, and all slaves and bonded laborers were to be freed (Lev. 25:10). During the Day of Atonement (Numbers 36:4), the blowing of a ram’s horn would indicate the start of the year of Jubilee at the end of a Sabbatical cycle. Consider the -3 BC (Jesus’s birth) as the year benchmark as the template of time based on Jesus’ life and Sabbatical Cycles of time, 27 AD was the 7th year of that Sabbatical Cycle. So 28 AD (per God’s calendar – 2028 AD = 2000 years (marks a 6000 year old earth). With the Jubilee being 2029 and Jesus’s return to earth for the 50th Jubilee (year of release) year cycle end date. Subtract 7 years of judgement for Israel’s sin and the removal of the Bride (which must occur first) and you end (or start) at 2022 for the Bride to be taken out before God’s wrath and judgement is poured on the earth. It is not so far fetched Derrick and a high probability that with Sept 26 (our known equal date) as the end of the cycle. Shmita year is 2021–2022 or Anno mundi 5782 in Hebrew calendar with a start on 09/6/2021 to 09/26/2022 2022 + 7 years = 2029 Yom Teruah (assuming a given date in 2022 + 1260 days in) - which is the date (Yom Terran - trumpets) that Jesus read the scroll of Isaiah in AD28 to begin his ministry (so that his ministry would be 3.5 years long to die at 33 related to Adam who sinned at 33 [presumed]) after his 40 days of temptation (like Israel wondering 40 years) [so much symbolism from God that we miss]…… Still praying for an imminent (any minute) return but certainly not opposed to the sooner than later call for the church at the end of the sabbatical cycle this year….. :prayer-hands: Although the technical 80 year 'generation' mark has passed, it is quite certain that many of those from 1948 and before, are still alive and kicking. My mom, born in 1931, just stopped teaching her bible study, at 91 (she is dong well). So people who comprise the 1948 generation are still with us, whether or not that significant generation number of 80 has passed=gives me hope! If the Shemitah Cycle is accurate then the Last Generation would not have begun until (if I recall correctly) 1952 so it would end this year. True, if we are on the correct Shemitah (shmitta) cycle. Going back in time to The Who is Who in Roman history at the time of Christ’s birth is some of what we have to go on and then you have the lunar cycles —- sure glad I did not have to set up the seasons, would have been a mess for sure :mdrmdr: :calvin I was born in 1052 and would love to leave this Earth at the age of 70 closing out the shemitah! TR That sounds correct Yohanan, I think we are in the Shmitta year this year and this fall begins a new 7 year cycle - if this is the case, then if the new Shmitta cycle indeed does represent the tribulation 7 years then we should be out of here on or before Elul 29 (September 24/25th) the day BEFORE Rosh Hashanna when the new cycle (tribulation?) begins - or certainly even before that works with me! Tammie, good call on the Jubilee years, yes I have been considering the same thing and have heard that this next year coming might be a Jubilee year. There are several good videos on Youtube explaining this some from El Shaddai ministries (Mark Biltz) and some by Rockislandbooks (CJ Lovek) - I think both of these guys are basing their calculations on a 49 year Jubilee cycle rather than a 50 year cycle, which is kind of like the alternate views on calculating Pentecost- hey if it pans out I’m cool with that! Also I was just curious - in my original post I mentioned that 857 seven year Shmitta cycles would be 5999 years so out of curiosity I looked up 857 in the strongs concordance and 857 in the Hebrew is “atah” which means to bring, come, arrive as in Deuteronomy 33:2 “And he said: “The Lord came from Sinai, And dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, And He came with ten thousands of saints; From His right hand Came a fiery law for them.” 857 in the Greek is “aphediea” this word appears in Colossians 2:23 as “neglect” “These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.” But a more literal translation is “a” without or not “phediea” sparing - so it would be more literally be translated “without sparing” the body. I just thought this was interesting because the 857 in the Hebrew and Greek seem to convey a message to me that when the Lord does come (maybe at the end of 857 Shmitta cycles?) He will “atah” Come “aphediea” without sparing. He will spare us who have trusted in Him like it tells us in Malachi 3:16-18 “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, And the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name. “They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them As a man spares his own son who serves him.” Then you shall again discern Between the righteous and the wicked, Between one who serves God And one who does not serve Him.” But when He comes He will not spare those that have rejected Him. Interesting stuff… By the way, Nann, does your mom actually remember the rebirth of Israel in the news? If so that is so cool and she certainly gives us a good representation of “that generation” And TR - maybe you will be our marker to look for since you are about to mark your tenth Shmitta year also! TR I do hope you meant 1952 — I don’t believe in the present age anyone is alive or allowed to live for 970 years :whistle: :wacko: I know of Mark Blitz and his ministry - have not followed him any though. And CJ Lovik from Rock Island books is as I have watched the Berisheet prophecy drawn out and the updated one, very thought provoking and actually fun to watch the artistry. Just found this one and am listening now Hi Derrick, my mom does remember the rebirth of Israel, she was 17. She is has been an enthusiastic watcher for years! I'm praying she will hold on and go up when we all go together!
