"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33) Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34) I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened." (Matthew 24:32-34) ... So what is Jesus referring to in this passage of scripture. .. As per usual, there are many interpretations, but the obvious one to me is that this is a summation of the previous prophecies Jesus tells His disciples concerning the 'end of days' in this same chapter. (Also see Mark 13 & Luke 21) .... And what were those specific prophesies He mentioned? .. The re-birth of Israel, unprecedented deception, false prophets & teachers, wars & rumors of wars, increased famine & earthquakes, pestilences of all sorts .... after which He tells us that these are 'the beginning of birth pains.' ..... And then the generation of which He is referring to is the one that will experience all these increasing signs .... THIS ONE! .... But then, we must remember that Jesus also said in Matthew 24:36 that "Know one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." .... OK ... So now we know that even though we will NOT know the exact date or time of the Lord's return, we WILL know the season. .... So ..... Is this it? ... Is this the season Jesus was referring to specifically? .... Personally, I truly believe that it is ... especially with the recent re-birth of Israel just a few short years ago. ... So now, having looked at scripture for verification, what about all the rapidly increasing buzz concerning the events that are supposed to take place this September? ... Without further ado, let's look at them ..... *The Shemitah Year - This basically is an ancient Jewish custom of forgiving all debts and letting fields lie fallow every seventh year (Jewish term for 'sabbath' year) .. According to Jonathon Cahn, author of "The Harbinger" & "The Mystery of the Shemitah," it is "a reminder that God is the source of all blessings, spiritual and physical alike. But when God is removed from the picture, the removal of blessings will ultimately follow. The Shemitah thus deals with a particular flaw of human nature - the tendency to divorce the blessings of life from the Giver of those blessings, to divorce the physical realm from the spiritual. It then seeks to compensate for the loss of the spiritual by increasing its claims over the physical world, pursuing more and more things, increase, gain ---- materialism. The increase of things, in turn, further crowds out the presence of God. The Shemitah is the antidote to all these things - the clearing away of material attachments to allow the work and presence of God to come in." .... The bottom line, according to Cahn, is this ... America, as well as the jews, comes under this judgement because it was originally set up under the auspices of the same God. .... OK, enough history. ... Now if it does also relate to America, what does it all mean? ... Right now we are at the end of the Shemitah year ... the final day being September 13. ... As for previous events concerning America, history shows that there have been eight in a row filled with devastating economic issues. ... Starting with the last two - 2001 & 2008 - we witnessed the two largest stock market point crashes in U.S. history, occurring on the SAME DAY of the Jewish calendar, the last day of the Shemitah year! ... There were also some devastating financial events in 1993, 1987, 1980, 1973, 1966 & 1958. ... Simply stated, for the past 50+ years, every Shemitah year has seen the U.S. experience financial upheaval. ... Coincidence? ... I doubt it. .. And will this closing of the Shemitah year be any different? ... If we look at just these past few days, it doesn't look like it. ... The U.S., as well as all world markets, are experiencing major upheaval as we speak. ... Today alone, we saw a 600+ point swing in the U.S. Dow Jones. ..... I will expound a bit more in closing .... *Four Blood Moons - Much has been said lately about this phenomenon ... So what exactly is it? .. This 'Four Blood Moon' sequence is called a 'Tetrad' which consists of four lunar & one solar eclipse in a given period of time. ... While this event occurs on occasion, seven of which will take place in this 21st century, only one of them, the tetrad of 2014-2015, will align itself with the 'Feast of the Lord.' ... So why is this worth discussing concerning world events? ... Only three others have aligned with the exact same Jewish calendar sequences .. and what happened then had massive consequences for the nation of Israel. ... The first was in 1493-94, which occurred during the Spanish Inquisition, which history tells us that the Jewish people were slaughtered en masse. ... The next was in 1949-1950 which was the period of the re-establishment of the Jewish state. ... The the next occurred in 1967-1968, the period of which the Jews recaptured their holy city of Jerusalem ... a major prophetic event. ...And finally then, we come to this 2014-2015 event, the fourth in the Blood Moon series. ... Take a quick look at the exact dates ... -Lunar Eclipse - Passover - April 15, 2014 -Lunar Eclipse - Feast of Tabernacles - October 8th, 2014 -Solar Eclipse - March 20, 2015 -Lunar Eclipse - Passover - April 4, 2015 -Lunar Eclipse - Feast of Tabernacles - September 28, 2015 What will happen with Israel this time around. .. Certainly only God knows, but if history is any indication, keep a close eye on Israel over these next few weeks. .. Something of great significance most likely will take place. .. I will give you my thinking on this in closing ..... So what else is being talked about for these coming weeks of September? .... I'll give you a brief list, some of which seem credible, while others mirror complete speculation .... You be the judge .... -9/13 - Shemitah Year ends ... -9/14 - Rosh Hashanah ... -9/15 - 'Jade Helm' military exercises scheduled to end ... -9/15 - 70th session of the UN General Assembly begins (possible Palestinian State recognition) ... -9/20-26 - "World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel" ... -9/21 - UN International Day of Peace ... -9/23 - Yom Kippur ... -9/23 - Pope arrives at White House on 266th day of the year, and is the 266th Pope (Why the 266 debate? .. It is the typical human gestation period from conception to birth) .... (I warned you!) ... -9/24 - Pope addresses U.S. Congress ... -9/25-27 - UN to introduce "The 2030 Agenda" - a plan that is a template for governing the entire planet ... -9/28 - Feast of Tabernacles begins ... -9/28 - Last of the 'Four Blood Moons' ... A few more ... Why does the date '9/23' keep popping up everywhere? ... Movies & concerts - the Pope's calendar - but the BIG one is this ... Sir Isaac Newton, engineering scientist and devout Christian, had a great interest in Bible Prophecy, especially the Book of Daniel. .. He developed a 'formula' from Daniel 9:25 that points to 9/23/15 as a key date (49 prophetic years, or 17,640 days from the time when the Jewish people are restored to Jerusalem, which occurred on 6/7/67, which is 9/23/15!) Two more ... The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is coming back on line in September ... And finally, on 5/21/14, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius issued a cryptic statement while with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. .. He said, "We have 500 days to avoid climate chaos." ... Going back 500 days out from 5/21/14, you arrive at 9/23/15! ..... Just sayin' .......... With all that said, what should we watch for specifically. ... I think there are two areas to focus upon .... America's financial situation, and, of course, some major event in Israel. ... First, is judgement coming to America, according to the Shemitah 'thinking?' .... Here's what we know for certain ... We as a nation have unapologetically embraced evil. .. In fact, our culture has been 'going down the toilet' for decades! .. We are extremely proud, arrogant, greedy, and cold-hearted. ... And I believe the possible last straw, besides the killing of millions of babies, is the absolute and complete desecration of Biblical marriage. ... The bottom line is this ... Unless we are 'spiritually shaken to the core' in these next few days and weeks, I truly believe that life in America as we know it will come crashing down. ... Even our great and patient God has a limit, and we most likely have crossed it. .... Particularly watch the financial climate during the next few weeks. ... As of this writing, it has already started and I believe it will not let up until we are 'taken to our knees.' As for Israel, what I believe we will see is an escalation of war with her neighbors, which could very well result in the Psalm 83 war scenario. .... This must take place before the Ezekiel war, and of course, the concluding war of all wars ... Armageddon. I will close with this comment from Donna Wasson (Now The End Begins) ... "If you have any doubt we are in the final seconds on God's prophetic time clock, please stop reading and get back under the rock you've been living under. You are completely clueless. ... Go on now ... go back to sleep." Like sister Donna, I truly believe that we are living in the final seconds of the Church Age ... I pray that each of you will get your 'spiritual houses' in order and that you & yours are ready for whatever God has for us here in America as well as our brothers & sisters in Christ wherever they may be. ... Luke 21:28 says it very clearly ..... "When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." ............ Hallelujah! Until next time, Red