Steve Munsey and his ignorance of the Jewish calendar

Munsey has the practice of finding numerology in the Bible and soliciting funds by what I call number gimmicks. All conclusions invariably have something to do with blessings due to donating money in that particular “number mindset.”

Munsey has claimed that this year, 2008, is an”8” year on the calendar, because there is an 8 in it. So we are to sow in multiples of 8. We will get many blessings if we give 80, 800, 8000, 80,000 etc dollars to his money solicitation.

What is dangerous is that he claims the Holy Spirit is using the modern roman, pagan calendar for his “revelations.” This is a gimmick, and it is not of God. It also insults the Holy Spirit.

God only uses the Hebrew calendar, and it goes in 7 year cycles only…..this happens to be the Shemittah year 5768, which is a sabbatical year of rest.

Shemittah just means to abandon, to leave to lie fallow. So it is really a 7 year, not an 8 year, and we know the Holy Spirit would be aware of that.

As a year of rest, there is no sowing or reaping expected by God.

In 2007, there was supposed to be enough gleaned for the 2 years of 2007 and 2008, and in the fall of 2008, the 1st year cycle will start over again.

What Munsey is teaching is totally against scripture. He is making things up. I bet next year he will use the number 9, with the same promises, because it is the year 2009 on the pagan sun calendar. Isn’t this a bit silly?

This Shemittah year is focused on human dignity, environmental aspects, trust in God, , rejecting the worship of property and money, support of the poor.

As an example the “abandonment of” (Shemittah – Shamot ) does not only have the land in mind, the bible also include debts and loans.

When the Seventh year starts on any Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah), all debts and loans are nullified, (between individual people, not institutions). Thus, God has a special way to remove debts, bring forgiveness of debts, and bring physical rest to the land and the person.

Munsey uses this year 2008 to the exact opposite, ie. a year to sow money in special number patterns, so that one may increase in property and wealth, as if materialism, not holiness, is the goal of the Christian.

There is no accuracy in his reasoning. He demonstrates very little understanding and proper interpretation of the Jewish scriptures.

Jesus made it very clear in his parable of the sower, that the seed was real, living seed, which represented the Word of God.

If he had wanted it to have a materialistic interpretation, he would have had the sower sow coins into the soil, so they could sprout more money.

We must all remember that the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom, and it is not made of dollar bills.

To encourage others in what may be a financially difficult time for them, I want to remind them where it says:

Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Jesus was saying that God will care for us if we put Him first, and obey Him.

Jesus also said

Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Mat 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

We can see in nature, that the animals do not sow nor reap, yet God provides for them. So we should be confident also, that sowing is not required for us to receive God’s provision.

All God wants is our love and obedience, faith in His son Jesus, and for us to show mercy to others in need. If we will do that, we can have confidence that our heavenly Father will take care of us, and send us what we need.

Be encouraged. For those that are faithful, everything will be ok.

References

http://www.shemittah.com/