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Wall Street and the Shemitah

Should we be worried about September 13, 2015?

If you recall the stock market plunge in 2008, then you know about the 7 point percentage drop when trading for the day ended at a 777 point loss. At the time, several prophecy experts were taken aback by the number of sevens that paraded across the Wall Street ticker display. Why were they taken aback? The number 7 in the Bible has meaning.

About the number 7 Got Question writes, "...the number 7 is identified with something being 'finished' or 'complete.' From then on, that association continues, as 7 is often found in context involving completeness or divine perfection...a divine mandate is fulfilled." (Source)

Wall Street is the true American idol, perhaps the most notable of all. What better way to get America's attention than for God to write 777 across the ticker display? Some ministries propose this number is a warning about a divine mandate God would fulfill in the form of a financial judgment. Could that judgment be near?

Possibly, especially when Genesis tells of another time and another place where 7 was on display and judgment followed. After Noah and his family entered the ark, the door remained opened for seven more days (Genesis 7:4).

Why did God leave the door open for seven days after Noah and his family entered? What was the message of 7 then and what is the message of 7 today? Is there a connection between the two and should we care?

Gracethrufaith speculates on why God left the door open and writes:

God wouldn't have had Noah make the ark as big as it was for no purpose. It was big enough to accommodate anyone who wanted to enter...Therefore we can conclude that anyone who chose to get on board would have been accepted. The open door proves this.

It also proves that all those people who stood there looking at the open door for seven days had hardened their hearts beyond redemption. This is another way in which the time leading up to the 2nd Coming will be like the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37) when most of the world will deny the Lord even in the face of judgment. (Source)

Since 2008, seven years have passed since the stock market plunge. Today, America stands unmoved by the warning, choosing to stiffen its unholy resolve against God, Israel, and Christianity.

Generally, the seven years from 2008 until now would be unremarkable except for a recent book linking Wall Street to a Jewish practice known as the Shemitah Year*. The book is entitled The Mystery of the Shemitah and was written by Rabbi Johnathan Cahn**. It introduces a theory about a financial judgment coming upon a nation that forgets God (Psalm 9:17).

Shemitah is a term announcing release of debt or suspension of labor every seven years. According to Cahn's book, the Shemitah Year is a blessing and a release from debt for those who obey God; but, for those disobeying God, it's a curse and call for payment of debt or the wiping out of accounts:

Cahn has pointed that, according to his research, the worst of the worst usually happens at the end of the Shemitah year, not at the beginning. In fact, the last day of the year, Elul 29 on the Hebrew calendar, which will occur on Sept. 13, 2015, is the coming dreaded day.

The pattern revealed in The Mystery of the Shemitah is that the beginning of the Shemitah's impact is often subtle, but leads to a dramatic climax. (Source)

Two previous Wall Street events (supporting Cahn's theory) occurred in 2001 and 2008, resulting in stock market plunges:

The Shemitah Year of 2001: America was attacked by radical Islamic terrorists killing nearly three thousand people on 9/11 and this sad day became America's new day of...discredit and humiliation!

The Shemitah year of 2008: America experienced a stock market crash on September 29 when the market fell 777 points in one day. It was the greatest one-day decline in the history of Wall Street. (Source)

After the first event in 2001, the twin towers (a symbol of America's financial supremacy) were in ruin. Wall Street closed for six days until it reopened on September 17 to experience the collapse on the last day of the Shemitah year.

Seven years later in 2008, America scarcely survived another financial collapse on September 29. Many accounts were nearly wiped out.

The next Shemitah Year will end on September 13, 2015, seven weeks from the posting of this article. Rabbi Cahn and others believe this future date could mark the beginning of another financial collapse worse than the previous two.

Of course, not everyone agrees. Many argue the last two market crashes were by chance. They go on to reject the notion that the Shemitah year has anything to do with America and in particular with Wall Street. David James (in a book review of The Mystery of the Shemitah – by Rabbi Cahn) wrote:

The Shemitah (Jewish Sabbath year) was an obligation given specifically and exclusively to the nation of Israel, and there is no biblical support for the idea that God would either require any other nation to observe the Shemitah year or that He would impose a Shemitah-type judgment according to a seven-year cycle on any nation, including Israel itself. Beyond this, the Shemitah, being a Sabbath and an integral part of the Law of Moses, was completely fulfilled in Christ and is no longer in operation... (Source)

While some believe the hype for the coming Shemitah theory may deflate like air from a balloon, Got Questions defends Rabbi Cahn in one respect:

He is right that America needs to repent. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Proverbs 14:34). The United States of America very likely will meet the same fate as ancient Israel if its people do not repent. Americans need to give their hearts to God and exercise faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. To that end we should pray. (Source)

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Published 7-23-2015