We did not declare ourselves prophets. 

We were just men who attempted to look at the Bible and world history through the lens of Israel and test the claim which was: whatever God does in the world He does in Israel first. We listed all our predictions in appendix B of that book and promised to score ourselves based on what actually happened beginning September 2015.

Today, we find ourselves once again nearing the end of a Sabbath rest (Shemitah) year. So how did we do in the last seven years, and what might the next seven years hold?

Allow me to first share a few points in which I am so grateful to God that we managed to get right, or almost right.

What we predicted well.

We went against the prevailing Christian view of that time, and predicted the Blood Moons were not a sign of the end of days and/or physical war against Israel, but a sign of God’s covenant promises to Israel. As such we predicted a spiritual awakening of the people of Israel, and of Israel becoming a major player on the world stage. Indeed, no entity like Iran or Syria launched an assault against the nation, and instead Israel has signed the Abraham Accords extending peaceful relations in the Middle East. With regard to spiritual awakening, the last seven years in Israel has seen an exponential increase of Jews who visit the Temple Mount, and a Jewish awakening of teaching Torah to the nations of the world. See the book Lighting up the Nations for more.

We predicted that 2016-2017 would have characteristics of a Jubilee. In fact, our second book, Jubilee NOW! Final Edition, is my favorite book in the sense of how thoroughly it covered the Jubilee from both Christian and Jewish standpoints. While we didn’t expect it, this book ultimately revealed a beautiful harmony between the Jubilee of the Jewish world and the Jubilee of the Christian world. The key to everything was the year 1967, which remains in my mind the single most important year in world history in at least the last thousand years.

Speaking of the Jubilee, in a scientific bombshell event, the world of astronomy had its biggest discovery in decades when on that same day the Jubilee year began, Rosh Hashanah 2015, the first gravitational wave was detected.

So-so predictions.

We predicted that the redefinition of marriage by the Supreme Court in the Shemitah year summer of 2015 would unleash a plethora of other kinds of lawlessness in the world, but that God would give us seven years of grace to reconsider what we have done before unleashing His judgment for it. We compared the abortion ruling to the atomic bomb, (that splits atoms apart) and the gay marriage ruling to the even more powerful hydrogen bomb (which fuses atoms together). This marriage prediction we made has had mixed results. First, not many Christians have considered a connection between the gay marriage ruling and the recent unleashing of all manner of hate against God-loving people. Second, for the readers who DO connect the gay marriage ruling to the increased lawlessness, then it seems that we did not get seven years of grace. So we are either wrong in the prediction, or we are wrong in the timing.

What we completely missed.

Our biggest prediction miss was in putting forward the notion that the USA and the Western world might be economically peaking in summer of 2015. That did not take long to prove wrong, and indeed the surprise win by Trump in 2016 sent the economic markets soaring, about which we have since written.

Gidon and I were pleased with the way Trump interacted with Israel during his first term in office from 2016-2020, even moving the US embassy to Jerusalem. Trump was referred to by Israel as the strongest US Presidential friend of Israel since Truman, who supported the formation of the Jewish State of Israel in 1948. Yet, neither of us see that Trump’s repeated blessing of Israel according to Genesis 12:3 has been realized in his life, at least not yet. Then, just a few weeks ago, things got even worse for Trump. Federal investigators may now legally use every piece of paper in his south Florida residence to indict him for any anything that pleases them – no restrictions – anything that could stop him from successfully running for President in 2024. 

So to clarify, even though it happened years after the book, we still got caught by surprise that Trump’s blessing of Israel would not result in a 2020 win. It did not, and so now we watch with great interest what happens between now and November 2024!

What did the last Seven Years hold?

I consider the most interesting chapter in our book Israel FIRST! to be Chapter 16, Shemitah: God’s Seven Year Forecast. In this chapter we suggested a new idea that Leviticus 26 can still apply as a roadmap for Western nations today.

Leviticus 26 begins with a list of many blessings for an Israel that obeys God’s commandments, and then beginning in verse 14 declares a series of penalties for an Israel that disobeys God’s commandments. Most fascinating is that the ensuing penalties are broken into four groups of seven phrases. Specifically, if Israel begins to get off track, they will have a group of punishments come upon them. And if they don’t listen, then God will punish them seven times more for their sins, and with a new list of punishments added.

Our key insight was to ask the question, what if the use of “seven phrases” and the explicit mention of the term “seven times more” indicated a time frame of seven years aligned with the seven year Shemitah cycle? If we were to start with the Shemitah year in 2001 then the four seven-year periods would have the following characteristics, as are summarized below.

Fall 2001 to Fall 2008

(ONE) I will appoint over you a sudden terror, (9/11 was a sudden terror)

(TWO) Consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away;

(THREE) also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up.

(FOUR) I will set my face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies

(FIVE) and those who hate you will rule over you,

(SIX) and you will flee when no one is pursuing you. (Think about the aftermath of 9/11 and how much time, energy and money was spent to protect against a second attack that never came).

(SEVEN) if also after these things you do not obey me…..

Fall 2008 to Fall 2015

(ONE) I will break down your pride of power, (US begins to lose its worldwide stature)

(TWO) I will also make your sky like iron; (much drought in this time period)

(THREE) and your earth like bronze. (much drought in this time period)

(FOUR) Your strength will be spent uselessly,

(FIVE) for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit,

(SIX) If then, you act with hostility against me.

(SEVEN) and are unwilling to obey me…..

Fall 2015 to Fall 2022

(ONE) I will let loose among you the beasts of the field, (the unleashing of radical Islamic terror against the West happened for about two full years beginning September 2015)

(TWO) which will bereave you of your children (see comments below)

(THREE) and destroy your cattle (see comments below)

(FOUR) and reduce your number, (see comments below)

(FIVE) so that your roads lie deserted, (see comments below)

(SIX) And if by these things you are not turned to me,

(SEVEN) but act with hostility against me…..

During the last seven years we watched these seven phrases very closely. The first item came true right away, but many of the others have been elusive. Then Trump won in 2016, the economy soared, and none of the rest seemed to fit!

However, now that we are nearing the end of 2022, it does seem that most of them can be considered to have been partially fulfilled. Consider “so that your roads lie deserted” which clearly happened during the pandemic: both cars and airline flights were shut down. What about “bereave you of your children”? Some have told me they believed that this may refer to the pandemic that separated the old from the young. Then we have the many young people that have died in the opioid epidemic. And what of the parents who watched their children leave the faith in the last seven years? Next, I had always assumed that the words “reduce your number” meant a “reduction in the number of people,” but if you lived through America’s 2020 election, the reduction in “number” could be taken literally! It felt to so many that the beasts of the field were let loose and reduced our number (of votes) in the last election! But, the biggest phrase that was not happening at all during the Trump years was “and destroy your cattle.” The term “cattle” we thought, must be something that hurts everyone’s pocketbook in a really big way. Why? Because in Biblical days, the number of cattle one had was the first measure of wealth! Our nation started to limit oil production. That was interesting – but not definitive enough or pervasive enough in my opinion. But, then came inflation. And so with about 10% annual inflation right now, I am willing to declare that:

The “cattle” that we in the USA have come to trust in the most, is our “federal reserve currency – the US Dollar.” The inflation of the dollar is destroying some of those very dollars, so in that sense, “our cattle are being destroyed.”

What do the next Seven Years hold?

I won’t say that the Leviticus model for how God interacts with Western Nations is perfect. It could be completely off base. It may also be partially right, but God’s mercy lasts much longer than just 28 years! For instance, it might be that the 28 year cycle predicted in the book is traversed multiple times, on the way to a nation’s downfall, with each pass having more items fulfilled.

But, for the sake of argument, let’s assume that the model works at least partly. Then what might we expect in the next seven years? Let’s look at the next section of punishments listed in Leviticus 26:25-27.

Fall 2022 to Fall 2029

(ONE) I will bring upon you a sword which will execute vengeance for the covenant

(TWO) and when you gather together in your cities, I will send pestilence among you

(THREE) so that you shall be delivered into enemy hands

(FOUR) When I break off your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven and they will bring back your bread in rationed amounts,

(FIVE) so that you will eat and not be satisfied

(SIX) Yet in spite of this if you do not obey me,

(SEVEN) but act with hostility against me…..

The predictions here are quite dire. But remember: as in past years, their fulfillments may not necessarily be in full strength, and may well be spread out over the seven year period. 

The first one has a strong implication of people killing people. Keep in mind it may not be one nation against another nation, but rather civil wars within nations. The mention of “vengeance for the covenant” is interesting. Defiled marriage? Breaking of promises to Israel? 

The second one describing pestilence seems quite odd, given that we have just had a worldwide pandemic! But notice that here it seems to be saying that this time God is the author of the pandemic. In such a case, the severity must be higher, perhaps seven times higher. 

The third item of “being delivered into enemy hands” can be understood as follows: within a given nation, some people will be placed under the complete control of other people, on the basis of them being considered to be “enemies of the state.” 

The fourth item seems to indicate a severe shortage of industrial resources and infrastructure, and the fifth item implies that the “reduction of capital” will continue in a severe way since no one will be satisfied.

One very reasonable question that I have been asked is whether the recent overturning of abortion in the USA is enough to halt or suspend our downward spiral. I do hope so, but keep in mind that it does not prevent abortion in the USA, it only pushes the decision back to the states. I believe that half of the states states who reduce abortion will be blessed, but at least in the USA we do seem to be almost like “two nations within a nation.” In that sense, only one of these nations will be blessed.

What do we do now?

Let’s be quick to remind that the plans and purposes of God cannot be thwarted, and that regardless of the national punishments, great light and good CAN and WILL come about. We must all work and pray to bring in all the good Biblical promises God has for Israel and the world.

But, with regard to the next seven years, do I have any advice? I will tell you what I tell my friends. First, allow me to define the term “world elites.” That is my term for those who currently have power and influence on the earth, and who stand opposed to every good thing God intends for the world.

ONE. Stand for the truth of the Bible even when it’s unpopular and opposed by the world elites.

TWO. God gave the world the Internet as a force for good, and it has (generally) been so for most of its first 30 years. Today, the Internet is under attack by the world elites, but it is simply too big to control. It has gotten away from them, and we the people must use it to share ideas, information, and transact business between ourselves more than ever.

THREE. The current opinion of the world elites is that inflation will subside. While that could be true, I would suggest we make our plans with the assumption that inflation is here to stay. And if it does subside, don’t assume it won’t come back much stronger than ever in the next seven years.

FOUR. The world elites and big banks hate cryptocurrency, because they don’t control it. I have a feeling that cryptocurrency is another gift God is giving us to help us quietly transact business in the days ahead. If you are in your 70s or younger, consider setting up an account and putting a few dollars in there.

FIVE. Keep praying for Israel and watching for the prophetic signs. In the near term we should pray for its upcoming elections. Remember, what God does in the rest of the world He does in Israel first!

SIX. Take note of an emerging trend mentioned earlier in this article: the Jewish interest in the Temple Mount being a “house of prayer for all nations.” We as Christians need to get more educated about God’s plans and purposes for the Temple Mount because it is a beautiful antidote for the racial divisions that are being foisted upon us by the world elites. Christians need to visit the Temple Mount when they visit Jerusalem.

SEVEN. The author of our faith is also the finisher of our faith.

Shalom.

NOTE: If the assumptions behind this article change, we would not hesitate to write about it in this newsletter. Remember, we do not claim to be prophets, and even if we did claim to be, remember that all prophets “know in part and prophesy in part.”

Bob O’Dell is co-founder of Root Source along with Israeli Jew Gidon Ariel. Root Source makes Orthodox Jewish teaching available to Christians worldwide over the Internet to enrich the roots of their faith. Gidon and Bob have co-written Jubilee Now and Israel FIRST! which seek to explain many historical and natural events from a Jewish and Christian perspective. Bob’s latest book is Five Years with Orthodox Jews: How Connecting with God’s People Unlocks Understanding of God’s Word.