Sensational predictions about the imminent end of times have been sweeping the media in recent months.
There’s been wide, new – even secular – interest in the biblical Shemitah cycle, the blood-moons tetrad and the status of the Middle East.
There’s been a nuclear deal with Iran, which has vowed to destroy Israel, and more, to stir up the discussions.
Some have been looking to the sky with the idea that the great biblical Tribulation is about to begin.
But Mark Biltz, the man who discovered the blood-moons phenomenon, says he believes there now will be at least another seven years.
Before the end might begin.
“What is important to understand is this is a seven-year time frame according to the biblical calendar,” Biltz explained.
He suggests the Tribulation can’t just begin on any random date but must follow a certain structured plan.
“God reveals himself through patterns,” he said.
The goal, then, is to discover and be aware of those patterns.
Unfortunately, Biltz argues the vast majority of believers are blind to what the calls the “signs of the times” because they are following the world’s “pagan” calendar.
To truly understand what is happening, Biltz offers believers urgent advice – get on God’s calendar.
He explains Christians should study the calendar of Bible feasts and holy days laid out in Scripture. At the center of this system is the seven-year period known as the “Shemitah” cycle.
He said, “Every seventh year, known as the Shemitah year, the land of Israel was to rest, just as the people were to rest every seven days.”
The Shemitah cycle has been connected to major turning points in history by bestselling author and scriptural teacher Jonathan Cahn.
As explained in “The Mystery of the Shemitah,” the Shemitah cycle is linked to numerous stock-market crashes, the return of the Jewish people to Israel, and the Israeli conquest of Jerusalem.
Cahn also is profiled in “The Harbinger Man,” the stunning new movie about the life of “America’s Prophet.”
Biltz believes the Tribulation must begin at the start of a new Shemitah cycle. A new seven years began on Rosh Hashanah, September 13, 2015. And, as Biltz wryly observes, “Since it does not appear that the Tribulation started in 2015, praise God we know we are safe and have another seven years to get more work done for the kingdom.”
However, Christians should remain watchful, he said.
“On Rosh Hashanah in 2015, we began a new seven-year cycle that concludes on Rosh Hashanah in 2022,” Biltz told WND. “If the Tribulation did not start on Rosh Hashanah in 2015, it cannot start until the beginning of a new seven-year cycle meaning Rosh Hashanah of the years 2022, 2029, 2036, [2043], etc. These are the years that begin a new seven-year biblical cycle.”
Biltz’s arguments are built upon the prophet Daniel’s “70 weeks” prophecy, which he argues is built upon the Shemitah cycle.
As outlined in Exodus 23, God mandated the Israelites let the land “rest and lie still” on the seventh year after working the land for six years. According to Deuteronomy 15, debtors were also supposed to be released from their obligations during the year. This seventh year established as a year of blessing and refreshment, but if the command was not obeyed, the Shemitah would become a time of judgment.
“Almost 1,000 years before the destruction of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, the Torah foretold the reason for the eventual desolation would be because they would not obey the command to let the land rest in the seventh year,” Biltz told WND.
He cites Leviticus 26:32-35, which speaks of territory being brought “into desolation,” the scattering of the people, and the land lying in rest “because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.”
Biltz also says the book of Jeremiah predicts doom for those who break a covenant with God and “pollute” His name. According to prophet Daniel, 70 “weeks,” or these seven-year cycles, must take place before the return of Jesus to Earth.
He points to Daniel 9:24-27 as a guide for explaining what is going to happen.
This passage states “seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”
It also describes the return of the Messiah, the destruction of Jerusalem, and a final “one week,” which stands for the seven years of the Tribulation.
Biltz explains this passage describes events which must take place before the end times.
“The Messiah came, the city was destroyed and now we have one more ‘week’ of seven years for prophecy to be fulfilled,” said Biltz.
However, the whole system underlying this passage relies upon the Shemitah cycle. In Biltz’s opinion, this shows the Tribulation must also begin with a new Shemitah cycle.
Biltz urges Christians not to ignore urgent signs of the times and what he believes are direct warnings from God for Christians to get connected to the Shemitah cycle.
“The religious leaders in Jesus’ day were rebuked for not understanding the signs of the times,” says Biltz. “The message we are being sent is critically important – get on God’s calendar and repent.
“Although the Tribulation is not going to begin right away, that shouldn’t change our actions. God warns, and hopefully we obey,” he said.
