THE SHEMITAH JUDGMENT?

According to the Jewish calendar, the next Shemitah year will be the year 5775 after Creation, which runs from September 25, 2014, through September 13, 2015.

As we see the Wall Street Financial Market plunges and then slightly recovering many believers are asking themselves, is this indeed the ‘Shemitah judgment’ coming over the United States that will culminate on September 13, 2015 with a total collapse of the American economy as has been prophesied by several preachers and televangelists? The answer to this question is unequivocally NO!

The Shemitah has nothing to do with God shaking the American Economy or causing a famine, nor is it about judgment!

The Shemitah is a Jewish Sabbath year which was an obligation given specifically and ONLY TO THE NATION OF ISRAEL as we can read in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy 15:1-5 (NLT):

“At the end of every seventh year you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money. This is how it must be done. Everyone must cancel the loans they have made to their fellow Israelites. They must not demand payment from their neighbors or relatives, for the Lord’s time of release has arrived. This release from debt, however, applies only to your fellow Israelites—not to the foreigners living among you. “There should be no poor among you, for the Lord your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession. You will receive this blessing if you are careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today.”

The context of these verses are, that at the end of seven years, debt was to be released, and the ground given rest. Again, the Shemitah year has nothing to do with God shaking the American Economy or causing a famine, nor is it about judgment as some of these teachers falsely proclaim. This seven-year sabbatical was ONLY FOR THE NATION OF ISRAEL!

There is NO BIBLICAL SUPPORT whatsoever 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!

I have heard false teachings of so-called Bible scholars who twist the Word, claiming ‘extra biblical revelation’, even though the Bible warns NOT to add to or take from His Word (See Proverbs 30:6, Deuteronomy 4:2, and Revelation 22:19). Unfortunately, many take these teachings to heart and fall for this hype, instead of studying God’s Word for themselves in proper context!

This Shemitah judgment is nothing but a hyped up “fear” propaganda that helps these false prophets sell their books, videos, and travel from seminar to seminar charging big entrance fees. The September 13 Shemitah judgment is also good for the sales of survival foods, as well as generators, shortwave radios, water filters, solar panels, seeds for up to 70 acres of food, you name it!

Jesus warns us that there will be all sorts of calamities coming over this world in these last days, but that we should NOT PANIC!!!

Jesus also said that we will be hated and persecuted all over the world because we are His followers and that many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people! And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come! (See Matthew 24:1-14)

For this reason Jesus commanded us to:

“Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” Mark 16:16-18 NLT

HOW TO DEAL WITH HOMOSEXUALS IN THE CHURCH

You hear this more and more lately, pastors who are saying that they are proud to have homosexuals in their church. Like Hillsong Senior Pastor Brian Houston, who the other day responded to the rumor that the New York City Campus has an openly gay couple directing the choir. He said:

"Hillsong's position on homosexuality and gay marriage has not changed and is consistent with Scripture. As I have stated previously, I believe the writings of Paul are clear on this subject. Several months ago when one of our choir directors made an unexpected public statement regarding his engagement to a man who sometimes sang in the choir, it was a complete surprise to us as well," Houston says.

"It is my understanding that they have not been involved in an active leadership or ministry role since," he continues. "That said, we still love them and acknowledge that they—like all of us—are on a journey, and our role as a church is to assist them on this journey with grace and compassion."
But the writings of the apostle Paul says, that instead of being proud of having practicing homosexuals in the church and assisting them on their journey with grace and compassion, we should be mourning in sorrow and shame, because those who are insisting on living in the sin of homosexuality, which falls under the category of sexual immorality, must be removed from the church fellowship and handed over to Satan!

The purpose of church discipline is to save the sinner: "That his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus returns." It is designed to "wake the
sinner up" to the eternal death he is facing unless he repents!

We should realize that sin like this is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough. That is why we need to get rid of the old “yeast” by removing wicked people from among the church. Then the church will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast! Christ is our Passover Lamb that has been sacrificed for us. Therefore we celebrate Him, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth! The church will be without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault!

For this reason, the apostle Paul also wrote:

“I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that.  I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.

It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

“Don’t you realize that those who practice homosexuality will not inherit the Kingdom of God?”

The church should have homosexuals testify that once they were sinners like that. But now they are cleansed, made holy and made right with God because they called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Spirit who saved them and set them free!!!

1. Corinthians 5:1-13, Ephesians 5:27, 1. Corinthians 6:9-11

INSTINCT VERSUS SPIRIT

People who follow their natural instinct do not have God’s Spirit in them. They do whatever their instincts tell them. These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They scoff at things they do not understand. These people are not spiritual and that’s why they cannot receive the truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

Spiritual people do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, they speak words given to them by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others!

People who follow their natural instinct belong to this world, they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But people who are spiritual belong to God, and those who know God listens to them. If they do not belong to God, they will not listen to them. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception!

Jude 1:10, 18-19, 1. Corinthians 2:13-15, 1. John 4:5-6