Shemitah Years

and Blood Moons

as Market Timing Tools

A free report brought to you by

American Vision, Inc.

Contributors:
Jerry Bowyer
President
Bowyer Research

Jay Ryan
Author
Signs & Seasons: Understanding the Elements of Classical Astronomy

Charles Bowyer
Research Analyst
Bowyer Research

Joel McDurmon, Ph.D.

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For More Information:

Jerry Bowyer
jerry@bowyerresearch.com
Jay Ryan
http://www.classicalastronomy.com/
and
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 Foreword
By Dr. Joel McDurmon
There is currently an explosion of interest in the Old Testament religious law of
“Shemitah” thanks to books like Jonathan Cahn’s The Harbinger. This wildly
popular book makes startling claims about catastrophic judgments and finan-
cial chaos allegedly backed by convincing historical evidences. Coupled with
the alleged coincidence of the Jewish Shemitah years as well as the “Blood
Moon” phenomena which have also recently been hyped, this message has
unnecessarily confused and alarmed even many level-headed Christians. In
fact, with the inclusion of historical evidences, even non-religious forecasters
are joining the prediction circuit, resulting in the shock and alarm of many in
the secular world as well, especially the financial industry.
The excellent paper which follows—and which I am proud to bring to you
from a friend of mine—addresses the “Shemitah” and “Blood Moon” issue
specifically from a historical, astronomical, and financial perspective. While I
will let the main paper do most of the discussion for itself, in this brief Fore-
word I want to make a few comments on the religious side of the equation,
as well as how this phenomenon has also recently been secularized and
leveraged primarily, it appears, for personal financial gain. It is my concern to
prevent Christians and many in the young libertarian audience as well from
being duped into sales pitches with fears built on religious chicanery.
It is my conclusion that The Harbinger, the Blood Moons materials, and the
particular use they make of “Shemitah” are unfortunately very misleading,
although The Harbinger in particular is presented in an engaging “mystery”
format very similar to The Da Vinci Code. Now that I think of it, The Harbinger
is written in the same genre—fiction pretending to be fact. As to accuracy in
regard to Christianity, however, the two deserve the same assessment.

Making Void the Word of God

The interest arises due The Harbinger’s bold claim that this “mystery” literal-
ly “holds the secret of America’s future.” Since the next “Shemitah” year on
the Jewish calendar occurs allegedly beginning this September, 2015, the
alleged big event has millions of readers anticipating imminent collapse.1
1. There are other persuasive aspects to The Harbinger as well, particularly its application of Isaiah
9:8–10 as an alleged parallel prophecy for America and the September 11, 2001 attacks. Space does not
allow a full analysis of all these points, but suffice it to say that my conclusion is very similar as that which
follows for the relevance of the Shemitah law.

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 2
But there are several theological problems with the presentation, not the
least of which is labeling the “Shemitah” as an “ancient mystery.” While this
may fool many of the unsuspecting or unknowing, anyone familiar with the
Bible (especially the Hebrew law) will tell you this is an absolute joke. The
“Shemitah” is a well-known principle that has been openly known and ex-
pounded by rabbis since it was first revealed as part of the Old Testament
law thousands of years ago. In fact, when I told an Orthodox Jewish friend
of mine that some Christian authors were making bold end-time predictions
based on it, he simply laughed and said, “That’s funny. Are they unaware
that we go through this every 7 years?”
Biblically speaking, a “mystery” is something that God has kept hidden for
centuries and only recently revealed in its fullness. This is what Christians
believe the gospel of the New Testament was in the time of Jesus Christ
(see Eph. 1:9). It is now no longer a mystery. But the Shemitah was never
hidden; it was openly revealed and read out loud to everyone from day one.
Far from being any new revelation, Jews have celebrated hundreds upon
hundreds of these Shemitot (the plural form of the word) without historical
incident and without anyone besides Jews, really, ever paying much at-
tention. There is nothing special or “prophetic” about them; they are com-
monplace, ritual occurrences. The only real problem here is that too many
Christians are ignorant of the Old Testament, and thus get duped!

What is the Biblical Shemitah?

So what is this “Shemitah”? It is simply part of the Hebrew system of Sab-
bath-rests. Most people are familiar with the weekly Sabbath: Saturday for
Jews and Sunday for most Christians. That’s one day out of seven. Less
well known is the Sabbath-year. In the law of Moses, every seventh year was
a Sabbath year, or “Shemitah” (“release”) year. In these years, all debts were
cancelled and anyone who had fallen into slavery or indentured servitude
was released.
Finally, after every seven Shemitah years (49 years), the law prescribed for
Israel to set aside the 50th year as Yovel, or a “Jubilee” year. In addition to
release of debts and freedom for indentured servants, in this year all land
in Israel was returned to its original owners or living descendants. This
way, whatever hardships may have fallen throughout life, the Jewish peo-
ple living in the land were never permanently disinherited from their family’s
inheritance.

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 3
For Christians, these laws ultimately had symbolic significance for the work
of Jesus Christ. When He first announced His earthly ministry, He did so in
terms of the fulfillment of the Jublilee. He did so by reading Isaiah 9 in His
local synagogue:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to
proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty
to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty
those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat
down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he
began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing” (Luke 4:18–21).
This “year of the Lord’s favor” in which “liberty” is given to the captives was
not only the fulfillment of Isaiah 9, but is widely recognized as a reference to
the spiritual meaning of God’s Jubilee system.

No One Today Celebrates Shemitah

The concept of fulfillment is important because it is here that we recognize
why the Shemitah principle can have no significance for anyone today, Jew
or Christian—at least not from God’s perspective. The entire ritual system
of the Mosaic law as a whole and in virtually every detail was fulfilled in the
life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is why Jesus told the Pharisees
(religious leaders of His day who claimed to be foremost experts and devo-
tees of Moses): “If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote
of me” (John 5:46).
But since Jesus has come, died on the cross, resurrected, and created a new
“living” Temple of His body (the body of all believers who follow Christ—see
1 Peter 2:4–5), we no longer need the old stone temple, sacrifices of lambs,
or the old Hebrew calendar of Sabbaths and moons. This is what the whole
biblical book of Hebrews is about: we now have a better covenant (the New
Covenant) with a better priest, better sacrifice, better temple, better temple
mount, better feast, better inheritance—better everything! And since that is
true, to seek to return to the old, inferior and earthly system is to do injustice
and disgrace to Christ!
The Apostle Paul makes these points prominently as well. To the Colossian
church he wrote, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions
of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 4
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to
Christ” (Col. 2:16–17).
Paul was teaching that since Christ has come, all of the former Sabbaths
and new moon festivals, etc.—which includes by definition Shemitah—are
superseded and have no further significance for the Christian. They were
merely “shadows” of the substance found in Christ. They have no place in
judging the life of the Christian. As relics of the Old Testament symbols now
replaced by the full truth in Christ, they have no prophetic significance ei-
ther. Indeed, Paul suggests that the Christian has fully “died” (Col. 2:20) to
the old elements of the ceremonial law.
For these reasons, the book of Hebrews announces the replacement of the
Old Covenant (Sinai, Moses) with the New Covenant, and it specifically states
that the Old Covenant had become obsolete. This is how the letter puts it:
In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And
what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away
(Heb. 8:13).
Think about that. The entire Old Covenant was “ready to vanish away” al-
ready in the first century when this letter was written. When you consid-
er that the whole book contrasts the New Testament fulfillment in Christ
against the old temple, sacrifice, and calendar system, you can understand
the first-century prophetic significance of this pronouncement. The Old
Covenant system was indeed “ready,” or “about to,” pass away at the time:
in AD 70, the Roman armies destroyed the city of Jerusalem and dismantled
the old temple block-by-block just as Jesus had predicted (Matt. 24:1–2).
From Christ’s ascension in AD 30 (roughly), the Old Covenant systems were
superseded. But Christ mercifully gave the Jewish people of the time an
entire generation—40 years—to repent and receive the message before He
had the nation and its old temple destroyed. From that moment on, nothing
about the old sacrificial or calendar system has had any relevance for the
Christian life or future.

But What about the Jews?

While it is true that those following the religion of Judaism have observed the
Sabbaths, moons, and Shemitah for centuries (as mentioned earlier), they
have done so in a way that essentially renders the spirit of the law null and
void. Before I explain the rabbinical version of this for today, let me explain a
bit of background.

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 5
First, we must consider a parallel case in which Jesus confronted the Phar-
isees (certain devout Jews) of His day for creating clever loopholes to get
around the substance of the law. This episode is recorded in Mark 7. It reads:
And he [Jesus] said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the
commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses
said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father
or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his
mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is,
given to God)—then you no longer permit him to do anything for his fa-
ther or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that
you have handed down. And many such things you do” (Mark 7:9–13).
The short explanation here is that under the Old Covenant system, sons and
daughters were expected to support their parents in their old age. But the
Pharisees had devised a system in which young men could falsely “dedi-
cate” their wealth to the temple, and yet still use that wealth for other pur-
poses as agents of that public body. Yet since the wealth was not techni-
cally their own, they were absolved of spending it on their parents. Jesus
rightfully rebuked this system for what it really was—a blatant violation of
the fifth commandment masquerading as religious piety!
It is key to notice what Jesus says at the end: “And many such things you
do.” You can find such legal wranglings throughout the Pharisees’ and rab-
binical commentaries on God’s laws.
Secondly, and related to the first point, you must realize that modern day
Judaism is nothing less than an extension of the Pharisees’ version of Juda-
ism in Jesus’ days. This is openly admitted by modern orthodox Jews and
Jewish scholars, and is not received as any kind of “antisemitic” slur. The
Judaism that survived the first century was almost exclusively the Judaism
of the Pharisees, and that is the version passed down to today.
In light of these things, therefore, we can understand why I argue that no
one—not even modern Jews—actually observe the Shemitah according to
the Bible. While they may observe the biblical day and the ritual in name, it
is usually in a “loophole” version very much akin to the way the Pharisees
of Jesus’ day created the temple-dedication rule that violated the fifth com-
mandment. The modern practice of Shemitah is one of those “many such
things” as Christ said.
So what exactly is this loophole? Well, there are many, but the main one is
very similar to the “Corban” rule Christ denounced. During Shemitah, all

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 6
debts between Jews are supposed to be released and cancelled. So you
would expect this to happen simply across the board: all debts get wiped
out and debtors get to start over, right? No. Rabbis have long since created
the practice of writing a “Prozbul.” This document hands over the debt to a
public court and makes the lender an agent of the public court. In rabbinic
rules, the Shemitah release does not apply to public agencies, only private
debts. So, this arrangement allows the lender to continue collecting his debt
even through the Shemitah year.
It’s pretty easy to see how this arrangement effectively does the opposite of
what the Shemitah law intended. Instead of cancelling debts between peo-
ple, it specifically makes sure they remain. Thus, what Jesus said about the
Corban rule above applies directly here also: these modern-day Pharisees
make void the word of God by their tradition.
As such, it’s also pretty easy to acknowledge that Jews don’t keep the
Shemitah law any more than anyone else. Christians don’t keep it because
it has been fulfilled and replaced by Christ. Modern Jews may not accept
this, but they don’t keep the law either because they have created a tradi-
tion specifically designed to avoid the heart of it. No one keeps Shemitah.
Aside from the fact that we can theoretically continue to count sevens into
eternity, the Shemitah is utterly devoid of any meaning or significance as a
religious concept, principle, or law.
This means there are only a handful of misguided reasons anyone would place
significance in it. Perhaps some Jews or Christians could attach to it some
mystical meaning, pretending there is some kind of secret, mystical principle
pervading the universe. Even if there are a few such people, they would be
appealing to pure fancy or claiming some special privilege of prophetic pow-
ers for themselves. Such a view would certainly not be derived from the Bible
either in regard to the doctrine of the Shemitah itself, any alleged secret pow-
er pervading the universe, or to their own private prophetic powers.
The only other option would be some sort of conspiracy theory. Perhaps cer-
tain people have determined certain patterns in history, and found it conve-
nient to create a story based upon it. Perhaps some people have connected
key historic events as nearly as possible with the seven-year principle, and
presented this story after-the-fact as fulfilled “prophetic” events or as predic-
tive of the near future?
Why would anyone invent such a conspiracy theory? Well, some people truly
believe the conspiracies they purport. Others create conspiracy theories out
of anger, jealousy, or even righteous indignation at the injustices of others
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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 7
(whether real or perceived). Still others perpetuate such theories for the pure
reason of selling books, newsletters, subscriptions, etc. And often, the truth
is a combination of these.
And that leads me to the last section of this brief Foreword.

The Shemitah Secularized

I had been asked several times about the predictions and claims made in
The Harbinger. For the most part, I considered it one more passing fad. I was
content to let it go the way of every other end-times prediction. I had already
written enough about John Hagee’s Blood Moons predictions: explaining
why he is certainly wrong in his biblical interpretation of it, and exposing why
his claims are without question a prediction of the return of Jesus for which
he ought to be held accountable. I honestly did not want to delve any further
into these related matters.
But then I saw a famous secular forecaster latch on to the Shemitah princi-
ple, specifically citing The Harbinger, and tying it together with a variety of
other events in a grand conspiracy theory that is allegedly going to climax
this September 2015! His YouTube video is approaching a million views. The
Shemitah and Blood Moons predictions have been secularized, turned into
a full-blown conspiracy theory, and they have gained a very broad audience,
primarily among young libertarians.
The whole thrust of this video is the threat of an imminent and inescapable
“event.” In fact, it begins with a statement very reminiscent of the language of
The Harbinger:
An event with profound implications takes place in September 2015.
A 3,000 year old mystery [ha!] called the Shemitah. Some are aware
of it, most aren’t. Elites on Wall Street call it the “end of a seven-year
cycle.” What they either don’t know or won’t say, however, is that
these endings are historically disastrous and this one may be even
worse. There are signs, both economic, financial and military that this
September 2015 could change everything about the way we live and
work … and even survive.
That’s pretty ominous. But worse, once I watched the video, I was imme-
diately angered. I realized this purported exposé and interview is nothing
more than a cleverly composed advertisement. I realized the “interview”
was being read from a script carefully prepared to induce action and reduce
inhibitions. I began to anticipate exactly where it was going. I knew it was

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 8
going to end with a “click here to get my free report!”—the classic first step
to get your name on an email list and then bombard you with sales offers for
investment newsletters.
Now, offering free reports in exchange for an email address is not neces-
sarily bad—it can be great free-market business. (In fact, it’s how you got
this free report.) But when religiously-charged conspiracy theories are pre-
sented as genuine concern to get free information to the public, but the
end-goal is really to sell investment newsletters not caring whether the great
conspiracy actually takes place or not—I consider that to be more than a
little disingenuous. And since my area of expertise includes the intersection
of culture and religion—specifically Mosaic law (like Shemitah)—I take it a
little personal when I see these things being twisted, and people confused
and deceived, for someone’s calculated personal gain.
I knew things were fishy when this financial expert’s story began to include
contradictory statements (pretty bad considering it was a prepared script!).
First he says he discovered the Shemitah principle in his private financial re-
search: “My discovery of it emerged as part of my financial analysis.” Then
just few sentences later he says, “I first heard of the Shemitah after reading
Jonathan Cahn’s book The Harbinger.” Well, which is it? This story sounds
fishy already.
Meanwhile, the video’s purposefully-chosen music builds anticipation, and
discussions of global-scale movements drives us to expect some coming
crisis this September. It’s the main thing you hear over and over: Septem-
ber, September, September. But then the analyst smoothly adds a subtle
disclaimer. He says the Shemitah event this September may actually not be
a big crisis after all! “It could just be the beginning of a long process that
unfolds, that takes many years to end in total collapse.”
Well, again, which is it? The irony here is that he is building anxiety with a
very short time window and focus on September. This will drive “act now”
sales. But he is also covering himself in case it does happen suddenly. It
could happen slowly over years. So, you know, keep watching. Keep hang-
ing on. Keep subscribing.
Yet we are assured, “Everything seems to be gravitating towards this Sep-
tember. Something’s going on. What that is, is anyone’s guess.” Indeed, it
must remain vague: “There’s too many variables to make a solid guess.”
And yet, “This is far too many coincidences that all seem to point to some-
thing massive happening around September of this year.”

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 9
“The U.S. seems to be ground-zero for this coming crisis.”
But there is hope here, believe it or not. Since you have the predictive expert
and his free report on your side, you can not only escape the calamity—you
can benefit from it. And not only benefit—you could rich off of it!
That’s right, “During any crisis, there’s always an opportunity to become
wealthy.”
“I’m telling subscribers of ways to—with limited risk—make a fortune if
some sort of market calamity occurs this September or October.” “Very few
market analysts see what’s going on, and so we have a great advantage
over them when the collapse comes.”
Note that: “subscribers.” Now we’re looking past the area of free reports.
But don’t worry my fear-herded, panic-stricken audience! You’re not only in
a small elite group with insider investment knowledge, you also enjoy “limit-
ed risk”! You stand to gain everything and lose very little! Wow! Just imagine
how it was that thousands of other Wall Street elites have totally missed this
Shemitah opportunity—even though the forecaster told you up front they
already know about it.
So then, finally, the action step comes: “We created a special report on how
to survive the coming collapse as well as how to profit from it.” All you have
to do is go to www.SurviveShemitah.com. And keep in mind that this guy re-
ally just has the public interest at heart: his report is free allegedly “because”
the information is too important to withhold from anyone.
Well, actually, there’s a bit more to it. I signed up, clicked through, and read
it. The lengthy report provides hardly any specifics on what to do to profit
from this crisis or even survive it. It is really just another long advertise-
ment—only this one ends with a sales pitch for a $39.95 three-month news-
letter or a $150 annual subscription. And there’s more. I won’t deconstruct
the ad entirely, but suffice it to say that it is expertly composed and contains
classic techniques for lowering resistance and driving one to a sale.
Now back up to the first moment you clicked on that YouTube video enti-
tled “SHEMITAH EXPOSED” and ask yourself whether this whole string of
events is really designed primarily for truth or for marketing. If you think this
is about informing the public, think again. It is about convincing the public
with fear tactics and a clever presentation.
Can this guy be right at all? Could he actually help you? Perhaps. But this
marketing campaign looks primarily designed for you to help him.

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 10

Conclusion
After scrutiny of the fundamental aspects of all these predictions—The Har-
binger, the Blood Moon predictions, and the secularized predictions drawn
out of them—I am convinced that they are not grounded in sound Biblical
teaching, Biblical law, Biblical prophecy, any alleged “prophetic” realm, or
religious truth. As I said, The Harbinger is in the same literary genre as The
Da Vinci Code, and it’s applications of Biblical teaching and history are on
the same level.
The secularized marketing scheme built upon this phenomenon I regard as
even worse. While it is probably the case that Jonathan Cahn truly believes
what he has written in The Harbinger and is perfectly sincere in calling Amer-
ica to repentance (and who would complain if this truly resulted!), the calcu-
lated marketing based on the fears associated with these issues in order to
sell investment newsletters is, in my opinion, without conscience.
I have now given religious and ethical objections to the phenomena out-
lined above. I have concluded that the Shemitah is biblically and religious-
ly annulled. It has no significance today except primarily for Jews who
don’t really observe it anyway, and for conspiracy theorists who use it to
advance their special interests, mainly profit. In the report that follows,
you will see a very experienced Christian financial analyst collaborate with
a Christian astronomer to confirm this case from historical, astronomical,
and financial perspectives as well.

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 Shemitah Years and Blood Moons
as Market Timing Tools
Introduction
The hypothesis that the years 2014–2015 are of high prophetic significance
based on the conjunction of lunar eclipses, Hebrew holidays, and an alleged
“Shemitah” year has gained rapid attention in evangelical Christian circles.
This approach has become more than the thought of one or two men; it has
become a movement. It appears that this movement started with the work
of Pastor Mark Biltz, was picked up by a messianic Rabbi named Jona-
than Cahn and by television evangelist, John Hagee. Books, DVDs, Study
Guides, blogs, and media appearances have multiplied as the interest in
this topic has intensified.

This white paper is not designed to examine one particular author and/or
one particular book. It is an attempt to test, factually, common claims asso-
ciated with this movement. Not every claim dealt with in this paper is held
by every promulgator of the general point of view. The reason for this more
general approach is that this paper is designed for the ordinary investor who
is troubled by these claims at the grassroots level, and at the grassroots lev-
el, these various ideas are widely drawn from various broadcasters, authors
and speakers.

Those interested in learning more about the individual views should consult
Blood Moons by Mark Biltz; Four Blood Moons by John Hagee or the books
of Rabbi Cahn who has been probably the most prolific of these authors and
the one most focused on financial consequences of the events.

Summary of the View

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn’s bestselling books, The Harbinger and The Mystery
of the Shemitah along with Rabbi Cahn’s numerous sermons and media
appearances propose the theory that a market collapse is likely to occur in
the fall of 2015 in close proximity with the lunar eclipse of September 28th,
and perhaps in the Spring in close proximity with the lunar eclipse of April
4th, and that other events of great prophetic significance are also likely to
occur this year. The theory holds that the law of Shemitah, that is the Torah
stipulation which mandates a debt ‘release’ every seven years, applies not
just to Israel, but to other nations such as the United States, as well.

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 12
Rabbi Cahn maintains that the Shemitah year system is turned from a bless-
ing into a curse, particularly a financial curse when it is not observed. In ad-
dition, it is claimed that 2014–2015 is a Shemitah year and that this, along
with the appearance of four lunar eclipses over a two year period (a tetrad)
which fall on Hebrew holidays, constitutes a great convergence. For this
reason the Rabbi suggests that investors be out of the stock market during
the times of these blood moons, especially the one which falls on the begin-
ning of Sukkot.

According to this point of view the Shemitah years are found below.1

Shemitah Years of the 20th & 21st Century

1902–1903 1972–1973
1909–1910 1979–1980
1916–1917 1986–1887
1923–1924 1993–1994
1930–1931 2000–2001
1937–1938 2007–2008
1944–1945 2014–2015
1951–1952 2021–2022
1958–1959 2028–2029
1965–1966 2035–2036
The Hebrew calendar is a Lunar calendar which starts and ends in
September or October on the Gregorian calendar.
The Shemitah/Blood Moon hypothesis does not seem to represent the main-
stream view of any major theological school or tradition. However, theolog-
ical difficulties are beyond the scope of this report. This paper is more con-
cerned with “fact-checking” various claims from history, financial data and
astronomy/celestial mechanics on which the theory rests.

Historical Issues
Historical Events Associated with Shemitah Years
There are some major issues with historical claims made by the Shemitah
theory advocates. The website www.shemi-tah-blood-moons.net, one of
the most popular Shemitah-theory sites, makes various claims about his-
1. Taken from www.shemitah-blood-moons.net.

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 13
torical events which are alleged to have occurred during the Shemitah years
of the first half of the 20th century.

Claim 1:
1917- America rises to power ending World War I. The rising of the
Communist State of the Soviet Union.
Reality 1:
While the U.S. did enter the First World War in 1917, they did not immedi-
ately end it. World War I ended 18th of November, 1918—a full year after the
end of the 1916–1917 Shemitah year. Stating that the war ended in 1917 is
simply false, and the impact the U.S. entrance into the war had on its ulti-
mate outcome is a matter of great debate among historians.

Claim 2:
1917- The defeat of Germany. The fall of the Czar of Russia.The fall
the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.The fall of the Turkish-Ottoman Empire.

Reality 2:
Again, incorrect. The Central Powers all collapsed in the Autumn of 1918.
In fact, the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires were improving their
standing in the war in 1917. The Germans and Austrians were able to focus
the vast majority of their military power on the Western front, as the Russian
revolution ended the Eastern Front. The Central Powers were favored to win
the war until General Ludendorff’s failed offensive in the spring of 1918. In
fact, the Allies suffered nearly two million more causalities by the end of the
war than the Central Powers.

1918 is a much more significant year in the course of the war and the course
of Christian civilization than the Shemitah year of 1916–1917.

Claim 3
1938- German Nazis attack Jewish businesses and burn Jewish Syn-
agogues on Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass.)

Reality 3:

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 14
Kristallnacht is, indeed, widely considered the starting date of the Holocaust,
and is thus an incredibly significant event in the history of the Jewish people.
There’s just one problem: it did not take place in a Shemitah year. The Shem-
itah year of 1937–1938 ended September 25th. Kristallnacht took place the
night of November 9th, 1938; well after the end of that Shemitah year.

More broadly speaking, September of 1939, the start of the Second World
War, is by any measure a more historically significant year than 1937–1938
Shemitah year.

Claim 4:
1945- Nazi Germany is defeated. The Atomic bomb is dropped on
Japan thus ending World War II. Japan signs peace treaty the same
week of the end of the Shemitah year.

Reality 4:
While historically accurate, (1945 is without doubt one of, if not the, most
significant year of the 20th Century) it cannot be used to support a pre-
diction of catastrophe in 2015. 1945 contained the end of one of the most
murderous states in human history, and the end of the world’s bloodiest
conflict. It was most certainly a good year, not a bad one. 1945’s Shemitah
year status might be considered evidence for a simply significant event
taking place in a future Shemitah year, but it is not evidence for a cata-
strophic event.

Claim 5:
1945- The United States becomes a military super power. The U.S.
dollar becomes the world standard currency. The United States is the
richest country in the world, and the world’s largest lender nation.

Reality 5:
Another historical inaccuracy: the treaty that established the U.S. dollar as
the world’s reserve currency was signed in July of 1944, two months before
the start of the 1944–1945 Shemitah year.

This is a more minor concern, but the super-power status of the United
States at this time is highly debatable. Generally, International Relations
scholars define a super-power as a state with significant global power pro-

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 15
jection capabilities, and the ability to fight two or more regional conflicts at
the same time. The U.S. did not have significant power projection capabili-
ties in Eastern Europe, the Middle-East or Sub-Saharan Africa until well into
the Cold War; in 1945, it needed to rely on partners, particularly the British
Empire, to project power in these regions.

Historical Events Attributed to Blood Moons

Lunar eclipses during the Biblical feasts are conventional occurrences for
the simple reason that the Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar. Certain Holy
Days occur on new or full moons precisely because they are timed to them.
It is no more surprising to find a full moon on the feast of Booths, than it is to
find the sun at its apogee in the sky at the same time that people are eating
sandwiches. Noon is the time when the sun is highest (or close to it), and we
schedule lunch at noon. There is nothing supernatural about this, except the
‘miracle’ of the regularity of the skies. The Biblical calendar is keyed mainly
to the moon; in fact, ‘new moons and festivals’ is a Pauline short-hand for
the keeping of Jewish festivals.

That having been said, the current “tetrad” of four consecutive total lunar
eclipses during the feasts of Passover and Tabernacles in 2014 and 2015
is admittedly rare. But apart from their astronomical significance, do they
possess ‘prophetic’ significance, or significance in terms of the rise and fall
of nations as advocates have claimed? The “Blood Moon” devotees have
asserted that previous similar tetrads have transpired with prophetically sig-
nificant events in Jewish history: accompanying the establishment of the
state of Israel in 1948 (a popular event with eschatologists); with the Six-Day
War between Israel and Egypt in 1967; and previously, with the expulsion of
the Jews from Spain in 1492.

However, a comparison of the relevant dates shows that the historical events
actually occurred before most or all of the eclipses of the associated tetrad.
The relevant historical event is bolded, and the astronomical events are in
orange.

1948 May 14 (Israel established)

1949 Apr 13 (Passover total eclipse)
1949 Oct 07 (Sukkoth total eclipse)
1950 Apr 02 (Passover total eclipse)
1950 Sep 26 (Sukkoth total eclipse)
1967 Apr 24 (Passover total eclipse)

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 16
1967 Jun 05 (Six Day War)
1967 Oct 18 (Sukkoth total eclipse)
1968 Apr 13 (Passover total eclipse)
1968 Oct 06 (Sukkoth total eclipse)
1492 Mar 31 (Jews expelled from Spain)
1493 Apr 02 (Passover total eclipse)
1493 Sep 25 (Sukkoth total eclipse)
1494 Mar 22 (Passover total eclipse)
1494 Sep 15 (Sukkoth total eclipse)
It does not seem that “signs in the heavens” would have much prophetic
value if they occur after the event with which they are associated. If it were
the case, if we were to continue the pattern established by these previous
tetrads, the current eclipses of 2014 and 2015 should have been preceded
by some Biblically significant event in Jewish history.

It also seems doubtful that such events can reasonably be inferred to act as
‘signs’ to the people of Israel if they are not visible from Israel. How can a
sign which appears only in the Western hemisphere, or even over the Atlan-
tic Ocean possibly be a sign for the people of Israel? Several of these blood
moons, that is lunar eclipses, were invisible from Israel. More on this below.

There have been other lunar eclipse/Biblical feast tetrads in history:

AD 162–163
AD 795–796
AD 842–843
AD 860–861

None of these events appear to coincide with any major event in Jewish
history. In fact, the first of these tetrads, 162–163 AD, takes place 30 years
after one of the most important dates in Jewish history: the Bar Kokhba
rebellion. The Bar Kokhba rebellion of 132–136 AD was a massive revolt by
the native Jewish population in the Roman province of Judea that resulted
in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Jews, the barring of Jews from
entering Jerusalem, and the outlawing of Torah law in Judea.

The year 795–796 did not see events of any very strong importance to the
Jewish people. The only major international event that took place in 795–
796 AD was the creation of a series of buffer states in northern Spain by the
Carolingian Empire. This had little importance in the larger Christian-Muslim
war in Spain, and no direct relevance to the Jewish people.

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 17
The tetrad of 842–843 coincided with no major event in the history of the
Jewish people or Jewish homeland. The only major event in this period was
a treaty that broke up the Carolingian Empire, but this was after a brief civil
war regarding dynastic affairs, not religion.

The final of these dates, 860–861, also did not coincide with any event of
major importance to the Jewish people. The most important date of 860–
861 was the defeat by the Byzantine Empire of the last Arab invasion of the
Turkish region again, this has no direct importance to the Jewish people.
The significance of this event in Christian history is also high debatable,
considering the Turkish state replaced the Arab states as the major threat to
Christian civilization just two centuries later.
One might think that eclipses portending events in the history of Israel
should be visible from Israel. However, this is not the case with the current
“Blood Moons.” As seen from Israel, the eclipsed moon would be invisibly
hidden below the horizon for three of the four eclipses of the 2014–2015 tet-
rad. Only the eclipse of September 28, 2015 will be visible from Israel, and
even then, the Moon will not enter the stage of total eclipse until less than
an hour before sunrise, local time. It seems unlikely that a set of eclipses
mostly invisible from Israel can have any value as portents concerning the
nation of Israel.

Moreover, some of the eclipses of the previous tetrads were also invisible
from Israel. The total lunar eclipses of 1493, 1494, 1949 and 1950 were at
least partially visible from Israel. However, both of the total eclipses of 1967
and one of the eclipses from 1968 were completely invisible from Israel.
The other eclipse of 1968 would have only been seen in a stage of partial
eclipse, just before sunrise. At the very least, there is no consistency to such
a pattern of “signs and wonders” as concerning the state of Israel. Thus,
there should be little reason to expect that the Israelis themselves would
have construed such eclipses as portents having any prophetic correlation
to the associated events.

There is no clear pattern with the blood moon tetrads suggesting any rel-
evance to the nation of Israel. Based on the astronomical circumstances,
there is no apparent significance of a tetrad of lunar eclipses that coin-
cide with the Biblical feasts. Certainly there is no reason to regard these
alignments as momentous and apocalyptic. Rather, these eclipses simply
represent a fortuitous convergence of celestial cycles, with the Earth and
Moon following the paths ordained by their Creator, determined beforehand

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 18
through modern celestial mechanics, and confirmed with our eyes by direct
observation of the sky.

Financial Data Issues

Rabbi Cahn notes that out of the ten largest stock market declines in the
past 100 years, eight occurred on Shemitah years, and this suggests a ma-
jor market correction is about to occur.

He does not provide underlying data for this claim, but our analysis shows
that this claim can only be based on point declines in stock markets, not
percentage declines. If one looks at single-day point declines, one can ver-
ify the eight-out-of-ten number.
However, there are problems with this use of data: historically, large point
declines can actually represent very small fluctuations in market value. That
is because over the long term, nominal values of stock markets have grown
vastly higher in response to gradual monetary debasement and rising price
indices. Today, with Dow Jones Industrial Avergage markets hovering near
18,000, it is common to have 300–400-point changes in any given day—
swings as large as the entire value of the Dow before the 1929 crash! In fact,
the great crash of 1929 did not occur on a Shemitah year and does not fall
in the list of ten largest point corrections in the last hundred years.

So, Rabbi Cahn is correct when he says that eight of the top ten largest col-
lapses have occurred in Shemitah years, but he did not point out that five of
those eight were all in a single year, 2008, and that the remaining three were
in 2001.
When one looks at percentage changes in market value, the standard mea-
sure of market corrections/collapses, we find only three of the top ten oc-
curred in alleged Shemitah years.

To be fair, Rabbi Cahn’s Shemitah years do underperform non-Shemitah

years by roughly 13.5 percent on average. This would be meaningful if the
Shemitah/Blood Moon hypothesis forecast mere underperformance during
these periods instead of catastrophic market collapse. (If that were the the-
ory, then, of course we would have to question the thesis in relation to ad-
equacy of the sample size, data-mining, and other statistical weaknesses.)

This chart shows the average percentage change in the price of the Dow
Jones Industrial Average for all years in green, Shemitah years in red, and

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 19
non-Shemitah years in blue. This chart is based on data organized in accor-
dance with the Jewish calendar year, which generally starts in mid-to-late
September.

This chart takes the average from 1903 to 2015.

On average, the Dow Jones price declined by 4.1 percent in Shemitah years,
and rose by 9.4 percent in non-Shemitah years. However, if you exclude
2008, the average decline in Shemitah years is only 2.9 percent.

In terms of the top twenty largest daily percentage declines in the Dow
Jones in history, nine out of twenty took place on Shemitah years. If you
exclude 2008 (which is an outlier year which contains several top twenty
market declines), only five out of twenty take place in Shemitah years. As for
the twenty largest gains, seven are Shemitah years, and two of those seven
were from 2008. In the last century, when you exclude 2008, the probabili-
ty for there being a major market correction in a Shemitah year in the 20th
century and early 21st century is slightly above 1/7.

Statistically, it’s hard to find justification for the claims that alleged Shemitah
years constitute high probabilities for major market corrections.

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 20

The Astronomy Behind Blood Moons

The “Blood Moon” theology we have been discussing places great signifi-
cance on the (accurate) fact that our current “tetrad” of four total lunar eclips-
es during 2014 and 2015 coincides with the Hebrew feasts of Passover and
Tabernacles (Sukkoth). This is used to suggest that the current tetrad is a
portent of another great event, perhaps even the return of Christ.

Some are troubled by these tidings, concerned that dire circumstances lie
ahead, wondering what the future may hold, unsure how to handle invest-
ments in light of such uncertainty. However, we should all rest easy in this
particular instance. The simple fact is, there is nothing remarkable about lu-
nar eclipses occurring during the Biblical feasts. In fact, it is a commonplace
natural occurrence.

It is important to distinguish supernatural “signs and wonders” from the

normal movements of the celestial objects. The cycles of the Sun, Moon
and planets are among the most regular and predictable of all natural phe-
nomena. The discovery of the natural laws that govern the celestial order
above was the triumph of the modern physics of Isaac Newton. It was by
this regularity that the LORD appointed the Sun and Moon to be time-
keepers (Gen. 1:14), that we might create calendars and know in advance
the times for planting and harvesting (Gen. 8:22). This predictability is es-
sential to our daily lives, for the annual cycle of food production, and for
many other things we take for granted, such as the agricultural commodity
futures market.

The precision of the modern calendar also enables eclipses of the Sun
and Moon to be accurately calculated for millennia backward and forward
through time. Important dates in history have been determined by the timing
of past eclipses. For example, the traditional dating of the birth of Jesus is
based on a chronology which depends on a mention by the Jewish historian
Josephus of a lunar eclipse that occurred towards the end of the reign of
King Herod the Great.

Similarly, future eclipses are foretold with minute precision. Eclipse predic-
tion is so accurate and reliable that it represents a type of “scientific Cal-
vinism” in which every eclipse that will ever happen into the distant future
is already predetermined, and written down in advance in tables of data.
These eclipses always come to pass as predicted. Simply put, there are no
surprises ahead where eclipses are concerned.

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 21
This regularity of the Sun and Moon is the basis for the Biblical feasts. Scrip-
ture states that Passover is timed to land on “the fourteenth day of the first
month,” which is understood to be the first Full Moon of spring (Lev. 23:5).
Similarly, the Feast of Tabernacles is given as “the fifteenth day of the sev-
enth month,” which occurs at the Full Moon of fall, on the opposite side of
the year, six lunar months apart from Passover (Lev. 23:34).

The days of the months for these feasts are found by counting the number
of days from the first appearance of the Moon in the evening sky, which is
the Rosh Chodesh or “beginnings of the months” in the Hebrew lunar cal-
endar (Num. 10:10). Our generation is unaccustomed to observing the sim-
ple monthly cycle of the Moon’s phases, even though it is before our eyes
every day of our lives. But the Moon’s phases are very easy to understand
for anyone, even little children, who will consistently make observations at
sundown and sunrise over the span of a month.

Lunar Eclipses are Natural

An eclipse of the Moon occurs when the Moon enters the Earth’s shadow,
which can only occur during a Full Moon. Some eclipses just graze the Earth’s
shadow, being a partial eclipse, but some are total, when the Moon is fully
immersed in the darkness of the Earth. This is different from a solar eclipse, in
which the Moon blocks the Sun and casts its shadow on the Earth, which can
only happen during a New Moon, on the opposite side of the month.

The rules for finding lunar eclipses are very similar to those of the Biblical
feasts: at least two lunar eclipses always occur every year during the times
of the Full Moon, and two lunar eclipses are always paired to fall at opposite
Full Moons, six months apart, also on opposite sides of the year.

The Moon’s orbit is slightly tilted to the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, and lu-
nar eclipses can only occur when the Moon crosses the plane of the Earth’s
orbit during the Full Moon. Otherwise, we would have an eclipse every
month during the Full Moon. Due to a complex gravitational interaction with
the Sun and the Earth, the Moon’s orbit slips backwards, so that eclipses
can occur in any month of the year, following an 18-year eclipse cycle.

The bottom line is, the Moon’s orbit lines up so that pairs of lunar eclipses
coincide with Passover and Tabernacles about one-sixth of the time, or ev-
ery six years. However, any particular lunar eclipse is not visible from every
location on Earth, nor is every lunar eclipse is total.

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 22
For the most part, people do not usually pay attention to such things, and
most do not understand the Full Moon connection to both eclipses and
Biblical feasts. So these events usually go unnoticed and unreported. It is
only due to the recent “Blood Moon” hype that attention has been drawn to
this commonplace association of eclipses with the feasts. But there is surely
nothing supernatural about the convergence of these natural, predictable
lunar calendar cycles.

The Biblical Blood Moon Defied Nature

During a total eclipse, the Moon can take on a reddish-orange color, causing
a “bloody” appearance, evoking Joel 2:31 and Acts 2:20, and the “breaking
of the sixth seal” in Rev. 6:12. But each of these prophecies also mentions
a concurrent darkening of the Sun, as in a total solar eclipse. But this can-
not happen at the same time as an ordinary lunar eclipse, since the Moon
cannot be in two places at once! Further, the causes of solar and lunar
eclipses were well understood in New Testament times, and were common-
ly known even then to be natural phenomena and not supernatural signs.
So the ancient hearers of these Scriptures were undoubtedly looking for a
supernatural event to fulfill these prophecies, rather than the commonplace,
twice-annual lunar eclipses.

The only reason that this convergence of eclipses with Hebrew feasts seems
significant today is just that few people have actually paid attention to these
cycles prior to the current “Blood Moon” hype. Investors and everyone else
can place their trust in the LORD, and remain confident that 2015 will come
and go like any other year, at least with respect to lunar eclipses and Bib-
lical feasts. But as with all things theological, believers should search the
Scriptures like the Bereans (Acts 17:11) and discuss the matter with their
pastors. With financial matters, consult with a financial advisor who shares
your values before engaging in major portfolio changes based on popular
eschatological speculations. Take time to look at the sky and learn to ob-
serve the amazing clockwork the Creator has placed over our heads.

Conclusion
While a close theological examination is beyond the scope of this report,
even a cursory look indicates problems with the current Shemitah hype. For
example, no starting date is given for the Shemitah system, so we simply
do not know from the Bible whether this even is a Shemitah year. Various
Rabbis have various opinions, none of which they claim as certain.

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Shemitah Years and Blood Moons as Market Timing Tools 23
Furthermore, Rabbi Cahn’s version of the Shemitah hypothesis (the one
most prominent in the current wave) simply does not square with the Torah
because it omits a fiftieth (Jubilee) year. More deeply, a review of the Torah
shows that the Shemitah system is closely related to themes about avoiding
fear and worry, resting and not grasping at financial gain out of fear. This is
a major theme of Leviticus 25, the locus classicus of the Shemitah law in the
Torah. It is ironic that an instruction designed to counter fear and grasping
seems to have become a source of fear and grasping in this current wave of
eschatological speculation.

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