The following is an excerpt from the book “The Sixth Day Rapture, The Shabua Principle” by Gary R Wood.

At the creation of the world, God established a principle or formula that was to be used by Israel in its worship of God, and by the Church to understand the last days. The Hebrew term that relates to this principle has been mentioned in several Rapture-related books through the years, but it was not recognized as an important principle or formula. It is the basis for establishing the seven-year period. This principle, when understood and applied, explains the problems associated with the various Rapture concepts. It then removes the cloud that has hindered this subject for years. I’ve named this principle the “Shabua Principle”. 

Genesis 2:1-3  “Thus  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were finished, and all the host of them.And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”

When God created the world, He rested the seventh day. He blessed it and commanded man to honor it from that day forward. The seventh day was established as a memorial to God. In the law given to Moses, Israel was commanded to honor the seventh day by not working. It was to be observed as a holy day, a day dedicated to God–it is the Sabbath. God set Himself as an example concerning the seventh day when He rested. He required man by law to also rest the seventh day. The seventh day belongs to God.

Exodus 20:9-11 “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

The Sabbath meant more than a day of rest. The Hebrew word means “to be free from exertion, to be free from suffering, to get rid of unpleasant things, to celebrate one’s freedom”.   As Christians, it means to celebrate our redemption from pain, suffering, labor, and debts owed.

 THE NUMBERING SYSTEM IS ESTABLISHED

In the law given to Moses, God commanded a system of measuring time. This is the Shabua Principle, which establishes the sabbatical year (shemittah). A year in the Julian calendar is 365 days, with an additional day every four years. In the Hebrew calendar, a year is 360 days. (This will play an important part in understanding the last seven years.) The purpose for the sabbatical year is for man to give honor to God in other areas of his life. It is an example, or shadow, of God’s redemption for man.  We see it in His commandment to give the land a rest every seventh year.  What we can see in the Shabua Principle is that God dictates what will and will not be done on the seventh day.

Leviticus 25:1-5 “And the Lord spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.”

Leviticus 25:8 “And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.

The commandment given to Israel basically has two parts. First, God commanded the land to sit idle every seventh year.  They were not allowed to plant anything the seventh year. Through the centuries, farmers have learned the importance of letting the land rest, and rotating the crops. This allows the land to replenish itself. God called this seventh year a Sabbath. It is a sabbatical year, or a Sabbath year.

The second part of this commandment has to do with the forgiveness of debt. It was common practice when a debt could not be paid, for the creditor to take a family’s son or daughter as an indentured servant in lieu of payment. We see Elisha dealing with this problem during his time.

2 Kings 4:1 “Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.” 

In this instance, the woman has a small portion of oil. Elisha commands the woman to gather all the pots and vessels she can; and when they are gathered, to begin pouring the oil into the empty vessels. The power of God intervenes, and the small amount of oil in one vessel fills all the empty vessels they gathered. She is then instructed to sell the oil and pay the debt.  Many families were forced to surrender their children, because they could not pay their bills.                      

In some cases the creditor would take a widow’s ox or donkey; and in some cases if there were no children, they would take their houses and clothing. God commanded every creditor to forgive all debts in the fiftieth year. By law, they were to return back to their families all bondmen and women that were exchanged for a debt. Any possessions such as livestock, homes, wagons, or clothing were to be returned to the original owner, and all debts were to be forgiven.

The forgiveness of debt was not limited to the fiftieth year. God commanded all bondsmen to be released every Sabbath year (every seventh year). Not only were they to be released, but the creditor was to send them away with a liberal offering. God recognized that many of these people would be released into poverty, if there was no program set in order for them to start their new life. They are told to do this in remembrance that God redeemed them from Egypt. The releasing of the bondsmen was in honor of that redemption. Just as the Israelites left Egypt with gold and silver, God commanded the owners of the bondsmen to provide the released slaves with enough money for a fresh start.

Deuteronomy 15:12-15 “And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty. Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.”

 In the Shabua Principle, Israel is commanded to measure time in periods of seven years.  He says that every seventh year is to be honored as a Sabbath (sabbatical year). It is to be honored by the release of slaves, return of property, and letting the land rest.  After seven Sabbath years (forty-nine years), the fiftieth year was to be declared the year of jubilee. In every fifty years, there were seven Sabbath years.

 In the Shabua Principle, Israel is commanded to measure time in periods of seven years.  He says that every seventh year is to be honored as a Sabbath (sabbatical year). It is to be honored by the release of slaves, return of property, and letting the land rest.  After seven Sabbath years (forty-nine years), the fiftieth year was to be declared the year of jubilee. In every fifty years, there were seven Sabbath years.

 How important is the Sabbath to the Lord? If you broke God’s commandment and worked the seventh day, you were to be killed. To work on the Sabbath was direct rebellion against God. Whether it is the Sabbath day or the sabbatical year, it belongs to God–it is God’s Day. The seventh part, whether it is a twenty-four-hour period, or a one-year period–belongs to God. He makes it a holy time, a time for redemption from all debts and bondage, and He simply asked Israel to honor it.

Exodus 31:15 “Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.”                           

God continually shows how important the seventh part is throughout the scriptures. It is in the seventh part that he brings victory to his people:

• Joshua was victorious over Jericho on the seventh day!
• Naaman was  cleansed  from  leprosy  after  he  dipped  in  the Jordan seven times.
• Elijah’s servant sees rain coming after the seventh trip.

When God established the seven-year land Sabbath, He knew there would be concerns about what they would eat that year if there was no harvest.  God tells them that the harvest in the sixth year will be three times the normal harvest. This will provide them enough food to store and use during the sabbatical year.

Leviticus 25:20-22 “And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? Behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase. Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year and eat ye of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.”

This is an incredible gift God has given Israel. Not only do they not have to work on the Sabbath, but God has also allowed them a year-long vacation from planting, hoeing, and harvesting. You must remember, most people were farmers either growing food for profit, or at least maintaining a garden to provide  much of their food. Here God promises them prosperity, and all they have to do is observe the sabbatical year. Unfortunately, they rebelled against God’s Word .

Let us jump ahead approximately nine hundred years after the shabua commandment was given. Daniel, a prophet, a true man of God, finds himself captive in Babylon, along with Israel.  He is heartsick, because he knows Israel is supposed to be  blessed, enjoying a land of milk and honey. Instead, Israel has been forced into captivity; and the Israelites are now the slaves of the Babylonian Empire.

While in captivity, Daniel reads the book of Jeremiah and prays to the Lord asking for understanding.  He desires to know why Israel was taken captive, and what will be the future of Israel. As he reads the prophecies of Jeremiah, he understands  why they are imprisoned. He discovers that Israel disobeyed God and broke the shabua commandments. They did not honor the sabbatical year.

Daniel 9:2-5 “In the first year of his reign, (Darius) I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the Word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:”  

Jeremiah prophesied that Israel would go into captivity. He told the Israelites they would be taken captive and serve the Babylonians for seventy years. The other prophets ridiculed him, claiming the prophecy was not true–that Israel would not suffer.  Jeremiah  was  even  thrown  into  prison  for  his prophecies. It seems the religious people of that day rejected any idea that God would either bring or allow suffering upon His people. They sought to kill Jeremiah for his prophecy, but God protected him. Another prophet, Urijah, also prophesied the same punishment upon Israel (Jeremiah 26:20-23). He was taken by the leaders and beheaded.

 Jeremiah 25:11 “And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”

 After God tells the Israelites they will be taken captive, He warns them not to attempt to avoid their punishment. He tells them not to fear the king of Babylon, and that God will protect them and restore them. God knows they are arrogant and self-willed. He also knows they will attempt to flee to Egypt; so he tells Jeremiah to prophecy to them, and tell them not to consider fleeing to Egypt. The men of Israel claimed the following word was a lie, and that God did not speak these things:

Jeremiah 42:11-16 “Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the Lord your God, Saying , No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.” 

Just as God’s Word said, they decided to go to Egypt. They decided they would not obey the Word of God. They decided they would not suffer any tribulation, whether it was a mandate from God or not. All the people–men, women, and children–suffered for their disobedience.

Daniel read and understood the captivity of Israel. He understood by reading the book of Jeremiah why Israel was to be captive for seventy years. It seems over a long period of time, Israel disobeyed God and planted in the fields during the sabbatical year. Even though God blessed them with over abundance the sixth year for not planting the seventh year, they planted anyway. It was apparently for greed that they planted the seventh year. They had more than enough in their storehouses; and since the surplus of the seventh year was unnecessary, they may have sold it to surrounding kingdoms.

God tells them they are to be kept captive for seventy years so the land could rest. Israel desecrated seventy sabbatical years. Those years belonged to God; and He wanted them back. So as long as Israel was kept imprisoned by her captors, the land received the Sabbaths God had commanded for it.

 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 “And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfill the Word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years.” 

According to Jeremiah, Israel also disobeyed God concerning bondsmen. Israel obeyed a portion of the law and let the bondsmen go; but then, instead of forgiving the debt as commanded, they took the bondsmen back into slavery–again desecrating the sabbatical year.

Jeremiah 34:8-11 “This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them; That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother. Now when all the princes and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one  his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then obeyed, and let them go. But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.”

God told Israel the shabua commandments were given in remembrance of their redemption from Egypt. They were to show the same mercy to their bondsmen that God had shown them. The act of placing the bondsmen in slavery after freeing them was willful rebellion against God. It was an act of disobedience that would not go unpunished. It is for this reason, Daniel finds himself kneeling before God repenting for the sins of Israel, and asking for understanding.

Daniel wants to go home, and he mourns for Israel. He knows Jerusalem has been destroyed, the wall surrounding it has been torn down, and it doesn’t look like he will be returning to Jerusalem any time soon. At this point, Daniel understands the Shabua Principle, and that Israel is being punished for violating it. In the next chapter he is given a prophecy which will require the understanding of the Shabua Principle in order to fully comprehend the last days message.

I have seen a handful of Christian authors discuss the last seven-year period; but instead of referring to the seventieth week or seven-year period as a shabua, they refer to it as a heptad. I believe this is where a major mistake was made. Heptad is the Greek word for a group of seven. It has no religious or spiritual connotation—it just means seven years. On the other hand, the Hebrew word shabua, which is the word used in the Old Testament referring to the seventy weeks of Daniel, has a distinct and spiritual connotation. In the book of Daniel, shabua means a seven-year period in which the seventh year belongs to God. This seventh year is a sabbatical year, and is referred to as shemittah, the year of release. It is a year in which God requires all debt to be forgiven, all slaves to be freed, and the land to be allowed to rest. Understanding this, the Shabua Principle is vital to understanding the Day of the Lord, and the Year of the Redeemed.

The Shabua Principle is the foundation of time for which every event in the Book of Revelation takes place. The book The Sixth Day Rapture, The Shabua Principle is filled with hundreds of scriptures that lays out the end-time events in their chronological order. Unlike most end-time books that quote one scripture out of context and then spends several pages justifying the false doctrine, this book is scripturally sound. Gary Wood spent over 25 years studying and researching where the Church went wrong in determining the timing of the Rapture and who played a part in the abandonment of early Church doctrine.