If we now go back two more cycles of seven, cycles of seven minutes, we end up at 8:46 a.m., the minute in which the first strike takes place—the exact moment 9/11 began.
From the Closing Bell to the Time of the Strike
Starting from the biblical “end of the seventh year,” the Shemitah’s climax, the mystery has taken us from the number 777 and the closing bell of one stock market collapse to the closing bell of the other. From there it has brought us to the day of September 11, 2001—and then to the hour of the attack—and then to the period of minutes in between the two attacks.
The Mystery of Sevens
The mystery of the Shemitah involves the striking of a nation’s financial and economic realms. And yet, as we have seen, it can extend beyond these realms to involve national calamities, even attacks on cities and nations, as it did in 586 BC and as it did on September 11, 2001. And the timing of these calamities is contained within the Shemitah’s mystery of sevens—in both 586 BC and AD 2001.
Between the crash of 2008 and the attack of 9/11 are 2,575 days. Within those days are 3,708,000 minutes. And yet the mystery pinpoints America’s greatest crashes and the attack of 9/11 down to the minutes—if not to the very minute.
And even without the mystery of sevens we have three of the most dramatic shakings in recent history, 9/11 and the collapse of Wall Street in 2001 and 2008, all connected to the mystery of the Shemitah—not only in their timing but in their origins. The crash at the end of the Shemitah of 2008 was linked to the crash at the end of the Shemitah in 2001. That crash, in turn, was linked to what happened on 9/11. In view of all this, we must once again take note of the Shemitah’s specific prophetic meaning—as the sign of judgment to a nation that has driven God out of its life and brought in idols and gods of increase in His place. In such a scenario the sign appears as warning of things to come.
We are now about to enter a new realm within the mystery of the Shemitah—a realm so different that one might wonder how it could be connected at all. And yet, as we will see, it is strangely connected and concerns the rise and fall of nations up to our day.
Chapter 16
The FIRST TOWER
Towers
TOWERS HAVE RISEN from the center points of civilization from the days of Egypt and Mesopotamia onward. From the beginning of recorded history they have stood as symbols of kingdoms, empires, cities, and cultures—embodiments of man’s aspirations, monuments to the greatness and glory of the powers that produced them.
The Migdalim
Though, in Scripture, towers can stand as symbols of strength and glory, they often stand as symbols of pride. The very first tower mentioned in the Bible is the most famous of all towers and their archetype—the Tower of Babel:
And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves . . . ”
—GENESIS 11:4
The account is filled with far-reaching themes and ramifications.
• The first is the theme of civilization. The tower isn’t built in a desert but appears within a specific context. First comes the city and then the tower. Towers are linked to civilization. They stand as symbols of the civilizations out of which they arise.
• The second is the theme of greatness. By building the tower, the people intend to make a name for themselves. The tower is the embodiment of man’s aspiration for greatness.
• The third theme will come into play further on.
The word for towers in Hebrew is migdalim, the plural of migdal. The word migdal comes from the Hebrew root word gadal, which can be translated as:
• “To increase”
• “To be lifted up”
• “To be promoted”
• “To wax great”
• “To be magnified”
• “To be enlarged”
• “To become great”
In Hebrew, even the word for towers is linked to greatness. This parallels the age-old function of towers as monuments and testaments of greatness. Even in our day the greatest of towers invariably function in some way as symbols of greatness.
In the past thousand years of history cathedrals constituted the tallest man-made structures on the earth. Accordingly, for most of this period, the institutionalized church of Europe constituted one of the greatest centers of power on the earth. But in the latter part of the past thousand years cathedrals have been replaced by secular buildings as the tallest man-made structures or buildings on the earth. The towers reveal a massive shift from ecclesiastical power to secular power.
Considering the connection of towers to greatness, and the connection in biblical Hebrew, could the rising of towers reflect the “lifting up,” the “waxing great,” or the rise to greatness of nations?
The World’s First Skyscraper
In the nineteenth century a new way of building was developed. Instead of using walls to bear the building’s weight, the building would be supported by an internal skeletal structure of iron or steel. This was not only more practical, but it also allowed for buildings to rise higher than ever before, paving the way for the creation of the skyscraper.
In the late 1860s construction began on what is considered by many to be the world’s first skyscraper. It would be built on American soil. It was called the Equitable Life Assurance Building. It is considered the first building in the world to combine great heights, usable stories, a lightweight fireproof construction, and an interior skeletal metal frame. It was also the first office building in the world to have passenger elevators. It was built in New York City at 120 Broadway. It was also the tallest non-cathedral building on the earth. And its rising would not be an isolated phenomenon—but the beginning of many such tall buildings.
The Rising Tower and the Changing of World Power
In view of the biblical connection of towers to increase, greatness, and rising, is it possible that the rising of this unprecedented tower in New York City is connected to a parallel changing and transference of world power?
The rise of what some consider the world’s first skyscraper in New York City signaled the end of Europe’s reign as the land of the tallest buildings on earth. The tower, which stood at 120 Broadway, heralded the age when American towers would reign supreme over every building on the earth, no matter what type or kind.
Did this change in the world’s towers reflect a shifting in world power as well? If so, the change would reflect a shift from the old world to the new. Did any such change take place?
In the last decades of the nineteenth century a dramatic transformation took place in the world. The period saw the rise of America’s industrial economy, large-scale agriculture, big business, and the largest economic expansion in American history. When did it begin?
The year recognized as its starting point is 1870—the same year that the American tower was completed. The tower marked the beginning of the “Gilded Age,” the nation’s massive transformation into an industrial power. The rise of the tower coincided with the rise of American world power.
Even more specifically, the tower was completed in the middle of 1870, on May 1. Behind the scenes a change was taking place. The change would profoundly alter the course of world history for the next century and beyond. The year that marked this colossal change began seven months after the tower was finished.
In 1871 America overtook the British Empire to become the nation with the largest economy on the earth. One of the meanings of gadal, from which the Hebrew word for tower comes, is “to be made large.” And that is exactly what happened. In 1870 the tower was finished. By 1871 America had become the greatest economic power on earth. It had been enlarged, lifted up, and made great.
This changing of world power in 1870–1871 would produce far-reaching repercussions in world history. It would determine the course of the First World War, the Great Depression, the Second World War, the Cold War, and the modern age as we know it.
The Rise of the Towers
As the twentieth century progressed, the ancient mystery linking migdal, the tower, to gadal, greatness, would continue to manifest. The rising of the towers would parallel the rising of American world power. And just as the American towers were reaching heights never before attained in human history, so too America itself was reaching heights of power no nation or empire in world history had ever attained.
The mystery of the towers, which began in the ancient Middle East, was now manifesting in the modern world and on American soil. The mystery stood at the center of the most massive shifting of world power in modern history. It stood behind the emergence of what would be known as “the American century.” And its repercussions would touch every part of the globe.
But as the twentieth century approached its end, there would be a new development in the mystery. And that change would have profound ramifications concerning our day and the future of America and the world.
As we move toward these ramifications and what they reveal concerning the future, we must first answer a question: What does the mystery of the towers have to do with the Shemitah?
Chapter 17
The FOUR TOWERS
The Days of the High Towers
BEGINNING WITH ITS rise to economic superpower and throughout the twentieth century, America erected the tallest towers on the earth, ever higher and higher. At the dawn of the twentieth century it would build the tallest building of any kind, surpassing the Ulm Cathedral in Germany. And then, at the beginning of the 1930s, it would erect the largest man-made structure, skyscraper or otherwise, on the planet.
Paralleling America’s rise to world power was the rise of New York City. As America became the greatest power on earth, New York City would become the chief of cities. In the twentieth century the city would become the world’s financial center, the world’s cultural center, and, in the eyes of many, the world’s capital—the center point of world power.
According to the mystery, it should not surprise us that in this same period it should also become the city with the highest towers on the earth. A disproportionate amount of the world’s highest buildings would now rise up from its pavement. Through much of the twentieth century it could boast of having eleven of the world’s tallest buildings.
As America’s towers attained greater and greater heights, so did the nation’s powers. America’s rise on the world stage would be dramatically propelled and accelerated by two world wars. Between the wars, in the center of the period, there would be an unprecedented explosion of activity in the construction of the world’s tallest towers. It would take place in the years 1930 and 1931. In that short space of time no less than four different structures held the mantle of the world’s tallest building—all of them in America, all in New York City.
The period of 1930–1931 bore another distinction. It was the time of the Shemitah.
The First Three Towers
The first of the four towers was the Woolworth Building—completed in 1913, just before the start of the First World War, it stood at 791 feet.
In the spring of 1930 it was surpassed by the second tower, the Bank of Manhattan Trust Building, which attained a height of 928 feet. Its reign would be short-lived. Less than thirty days after its completion it was surpassed by the third tower.
Upon its completion in May of 1930, the Chrysler Building became not only the world’s tallest building but also, in surpassing the Eiffel Tower in France, the tallest man-made structure on the planet. It was also the first man-made structure on the earth to exceed a height of 1,000 feet.
In the year 1930, in the timing of the Shemitah’s approach, three different towers bore the crown of the world’s tallest building. But when the Shemitah commenced, it would herald the greatest of the four towers and that which would become one of the most famous buildings were erected by human hands.
The Fourth Tower
The Empire State Building was begun in January of 1930 and completed in the spring of 1931, in the midst of the Shemitah of 1930–1931. It would rise to a height of 1,250 feet at its top floor and 1,454 feet at the top of its spire. The completion of the Empire State Building would mark the end of the most intense period of rising towers in human history. No other building would rival its height for years to come. It would reign as the world’s tallest building for four decades, longer than any other building in the twentieth century.
The Empire State Building would become an American and global icon. It would be called “the eighth wonder of the world.” It would stand as a symbol not only of human achievement, but, specifically, of American achievement. It would embody the soaring heights, the unprecedented power, and the unparalleled magnitude that American civilization had now attained.
It was a fitting symbol for what was about to take place. With the advent of the Second World War America would be lifted up to heights of power no nation had ever known. And the tower that stood in the midst of its greatest city would become the most visible and potent symbol of that rising and of those heights.
With the end of the Second World War, New York City was exploding with celebrations of victory. It was a new era in which America would be the head of nations. In the midst of the celebrations stood the nation’s soaring tower, dominating the city’s skyline and bearing witness of the ancient connect linking a civilization’s tower to its greatness.
The Tower and the Shemitah
The connection of the Empire State Building to the biblical Shemitah was not just one of timing but of circumstance. At the time of its rising, America was in a state of financial and economic collapse. The tower was built in the depths of the Great Depression.
The contrast could not have been more jarring—a nation sinking into the abyss of economic collapse and a colossal tower rising from its midst. It was because of the Great Depression that, a year after its completion, the Empire State Building remained overwhelmingly empty. The tower boasted of America’s glory, the greatness of its powers, the vastness of its resources, and the heights of its rising. The Depression, on the other hand, spoke a different message. It testified of a nation’s weakness, its poverty, its inabilities, and the collapse of its prosperity. America would ultimately recover from the Depression and continue its long rise to the heights of world power. But the connection binding together the rising of the nation’s towers and the Shemitah would continue.
There would, in future days, arise another building that would, likewise, boast of the nation’s greatness. But, as we will see, the mystery of the Shemitah would frame its rising. While towers, by nature, speak of power and glory, the Shemitah speaks of something very different. It reminds a nation that its blessings and powers come only from God. And, without God, they must fall.
The Towers and the Day of Warning
The Harbinger reveals a prophetic warning given to America at its first full day as a fully formed nation. The warning parallels the message of the Shemitah. It was, in effect, this: America’s blessings come from God. If the nation should ever turn away from God and reject His ways, then the blessings of God would be removed from the land.
The Harbinger reveals the date on which the warning was given, April 30, 1789.1 The date will reappear in the mystery of the towers, particularly in the key years of 1930 and 1931. The reign of the first of the four towers came to its end on April 30, 1931, the anniversary of the prophetic warning. The second tower was not only completed on the anniversary of the warning but was also erected on the same ground on which that warning
was given. The reign of the second tower ended soon after with the completion of the third tower that same spring. The third tower would stand as the tallest building on the earth for one year. Its reign would, in turn, come to an end on the same date, April 30, the date of the prophetic warning. For it was on April 30 that the Empire State Building became the tallest building on earth.
The Last Tower
Years later, after the World Trade Center was destroyed on 9/11, the Empire State Building would again stand preeminent as the tallest building in the New York skyline. In 2012 the rising tower of Ground Zero finally surpassed the Empire State Building to become the tallest building on the New York skyline. On what day did that happen? It took place on the date given in The Harbinger, April 30, which had been released four months earlier. The Empire State Building was surpassed on the exact same date on which it had surpassed the Chrysler Building as the tallest building on the earth. The Chrysler Building had, in turn, become the world’s tallest building after surpassing the previous title holder, which had been completed as well on that same date—the date on which the prophetic warning had been given to America.
So each of the four towers had either begun its reign or ended its reign on the date of the prophetic message, when America was warned against turning away from God. Now the fifth tower had ascended past the Empire State Building on the same date as well.
The mystery of the towers is linked to a national warning—and to the Shemitah. The towers boasted of the soaring heights to which American civilization had risen. But the Shemitah reminds a nation that all of its blessings come from God, and without Him they cannot remain. The prophetic message warned similarly that if America ever turned away from God, those blessings would come to an end.
The Mystery of the Shemitah: The 3,000-Year-Old Mystery That Holds the Secret of America's Future, the World's Future, and Your Future! Page 11