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Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Showing posts with label Shmitah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shmitah. Show all posts
Thursday, September 3, 2015
"I Have Gathered My Myrrh With My Spice" ✡ Christian Fufills Prophecy on Temple Mount
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Mathematician: Shmittah Market Trends Point to "Really Bad" Crash in September
Mathematician: Shmittah Market Trends Point to "Really Bad" Crash in September
“On this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his own property.” (Leviticus 25:13)
Men wait in a breadline during the Great Depression in New York City, 1932. (Photo: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)
One mathematician is looking to the Bible by using information gleaned about the Shmittah cycle to predict trends in international stock markets.
Thomas Pound is an educator and mathematician with a passion for statistical analysis in the financial arena. Several years ago, he corresponded with a financial advisor who was using a decennial analysis to determine which years were optimum for investor returns. According to the theory behind decennial analysis, which was first proposed in the book “Irrational Exuberance” by Yale Economics Professor Robert Shiller, years ending in the number eight yielded better returns than other years. Years that ended in seven were even less lucrative than normal.
Armed with 144 years of market data going back to 1871, Pound set out to test the validity of this theory. As Pound explained to Breaking Israel News, “Being a statistician, if somebody makes a claim, then statistically, it should hold up.”
After performing an Analysis of Variance significance (ANOVA) test, Pound discovered that there was some basis for the financial advisor’s strategy of avoiding investing in years that ended in seven. It gave him a statistical advantage of 100 base points, with years not ending in seven averaging an annual return of 10.19 percent, compared to an overall average of 9.04 percent.
All would have been well and good, however the theory also advised investing heavily during years that end in the number eight. Pound sought out to learn why and the results were divinely enlightening.
Similar to the decennial theory, the Shmittah cycle takes place in a set of seven years. People who follow the market recognize the years 1973, 1980, 1987, 2000 and 2007 as years which the market saw a significant collapse.
The biggest ever single-day stock market crash occurred on September 29, 2008, when the Dow Jones Index crashed, losing $1.2 trillion in market value. This day also happened to be the day before Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, signalling the end of the Shmittah cycle.
After a friend told him about a theory linking the seven year Sabbatical year to the stock market, Pound deepened his research. With little knowledge of the Shmittah cycle and expertise in statistical and stock market trends, Pound sought out to discover a statistical link between the market and Shmittah.
Applying the same ANOVA test to the Shmittah cycle, Pound’s research revealed that the sabbatical years were the only group of years in which the market cycle averages consistent significant losses since 1871. He also saw that Shmittah years were the most volatile years of the cycle. More surprisingly, the difference in loss was greater than that noted in Professor Shiller’s decennial cycle.
“Statistically, it appears that the calendar years in which the Sabbatical year ends are worse than the other six years, and that difference is significant based on the data I have,” Pound told Breaking Israel News.
With mathematical precision, Pound quoted King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 11:2, “Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth,” as practical advice to prepare for the inevitable Shmittah market crash. He notes that while the stock market is cyclical, this bit of Biblical wisdom advises we diversify our portfolios.
Pound pointed out that according to the decennial theory, 2015 should be one of the better years for investing in the stock market. However, according to the Shmittah theory, we are due for a market crash. As Pound succinctly put it, “In September, we can expect something really bad.”
Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/48068/shmittah-market-trends-point-to-really-bad-crash-in-september/#jEIRLiMzvyomrjxD.99
Monday, August 31, 2015
Biblical Preppers: How to Ready Your Family for the End of Days
Preppers and the Redemption: How to Ready Your Family for What Lies Ahead
“Guard yourself and watch your soul very well.” (Deuteronomy 4:9)
A young girl plays with a gas mask as Israeli postal workers distribute gas masks to residents of Jerusalem, August 12, 2012. (Photo: Noam Moskowitz/Flash90)
With the recent stock market slump, the dangerous Iran deal, the end of the shmittah year and the final blood moon coinciding, preppers, also known as survivalists, can look to the Bible just in case things get worse before they get better.
Preppers are people who actively prepare for local, national and international emergencies. They were once thought of as conspiracy theorist crazies stocking up hundreds of cans of beans and dozens of rounds of ammunition. Today, preppers are gaining credibility in the increasingly chaotic world in which we live.
Preparation is nothing new to the Jewish people. The Israelite slaves prepared for the exodus from Egypt by taking a year-old lamb into their homes on the 10th of the Hebrew month of Nisan and slaughtering it on the 14th day (Exodus 12:3-6). The Jews prepared for three days at the foot of Mount Sinai in advance of receiving the Torah (Exodus 19:15). And today, Sabbath observant Jews prepare in advance each week for the Sabbath.
If it’s prudent to be prepared, what are some reasonable acts average people can take to ready themselves for what might be coming, as the possible End of Days approaches?
Most people think of food and water first. Water is critical and should be the first thing you store. Calculate a gallon (4 liters) of water per person per day. For most people, that’s going to take a lot of space. As an example, you would need 18 six-packs of 2-liter bottles of water for a family of four for two weeks.
Although recommendations vary from three days to six months, typical advice is to have two weeks worth of canned or other non-perishable food, such as peanut butter, dried fruit, nuts and seeds set aside for emergency use. Honey doesn’t spoil and some people suggest having salt as part of your emergency food kit.
What about cash? Depending on your cash flow, it’s good to keep cash in small bills in a safe place, because banks and ATMs may shut down. Food and fuel shortages could also cause sharp increases in prices.
Fuel could turn out to be life-saving. Keep your car’s fuel tank full and consider storing extra gasoline if you have a way to do so safely. Consider purchasing a generator and definitely keep candles with matches and lighters in your prep kit.
Other things to consider including with your household preparation kit – essential medications, basic first aid supplies and toilet paper. If you live in Israel, it’s important to make sure your gas masks are up to date and are the right size for children.
None of these suggestions are intended to cause alarm and are prudent steps most anyone can take. If you research prepping, it’s easy to get overwhelmed at the number of things that are possible to do to prepare. Don’t get caught up in apocalyptic scenarios.
Bottom line, take reasonable precautions and have faith, along with having a Bible, a prayer book and other religious articles at the ready.
Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/48003/preppers-redemption-ready-your-family-days-ahead-jewish-world/#B2itr3FEhtESwaJL.99
Monday, July 13, 2015
Shemitah and the Messiah: Could This Be the Year Before His Arrival?
Shemitah and the Messiah: Could This Be the Year Before His Arrival?
“For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce. But in the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest, a Sabbath to the Lord.” (Leviticus 25:3)
image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/idf-gaza-nature-flowers-agriculture-children.jpg
Israeli soldiers seen walking among the flower beds at Nir Yitzhak, Southern Israel, on the spot which was a staging area for Israeli tanks and soldiers during last summer’s “Operation Protective Edge”. (Photo: Edi Israel/FLASH90)
In a recent Breaking Israel News article, we presented some statements made by Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, a highly respected rabbi in the Orthodox world, in which he instructed Jews to come to Israel soon “or there won’t be enough room on the airplanes.”
Many readers were interested in his statements and wondered about the source for the Rabbi’s insistence upon connecting the coming of the Messiah with the year after the Shemitah, the Sabbatical year. The issue takes on particular urgency since the current year is a Sabbatical year, ending September 13.
Sources close to Rabbi Kanievsky explain that he is not making a prophetic statement predicting a certain time period. The Rabbi is simply relating to well-known classical sources on the subject that discuss the Messiah and place it in a specific time-frame.
According to the sources, the year after the Shemitah has a special significance relating to the Messiah. There is a possibility, perhaps even a probability, the Messiah will come the year after the Shemitah, though if he does not, it in no way negates or contradicts the Rabbi’s statements. This requires a bit of explanation.
This year, 5775 in the Jewish calendar, is a Shemitah year. The Shemitah comes every seven years, making it a form of Sabbath that occurs on a yearly, rather than a weekly, cycle. The Sabbath is generally characterized by a cessation that signifies accepting God’s greater authority in the world. Practically during the weekly Sabbath, this means a cessation of labor, showing that despite spending six days working for the material, we stop on the seventh day to show that God is the true master. The same is true for the Shemitah year. We work the land for six years, and on the seventh, we leave the land fallow and the fields are left open for anyone to come and take of the fruit. There are several other cases of cycles of seven that are related to this, for example the seven year cycle of a Hebrew slave before he is set free, as described in Exodus 21:2. Another aspect of the Shemitah year also has implications for loans, for the same reason.
Shemitah was commanded to Israel at Mount Sinai. After 40 years in the desert, the Jews entered the Land of Israel, but the land must be owned in order for it to be forfeited as the verse specifies. So 14 years later, after they had completed conquering the land, they began counting the seven year cycle. The first Shemitah year was the 21st year after the Jewish nation had entered the land.
The Shemitah is part of a larger framework of seven Shemitah cycles, in which we count 49 years, and then the 50th year is the Jubilee year, as described in Leviticus, chapter 25. The Jubilee year is observed only when all of the Nation of Israel is in the Land of Israel. Therefore, when the Jews returned from Babylonian Exile, since many chose to remain in the Diaspora, the Jubilee was not observed. For the same reason, it is not observed today in modern Israel.
It is interesting to note that despite the initiation of the Shemitah year being determined by the actions of the Jews, it worked out that the first Shemitah year was a multiple of seven since the creation of the world, according to the Jewish calendar. The year after the destruction of the Second Temple, 3829, was also known to be a Shemitah year, 547 seven year cycles since the creation of the world. The current Hebrew year is 5775; precisely 825 Shemitah cycles.
The Babylonian Talmud in the Tractate of Sanhedrin, 97a, brings the verse from Amos 9:11:
“On that day, will I raise up the fallen booth (Sukkah) of David.”
This verse comes in the context of a prophecy about God bringing the nation of Israel back from exile among the nations. Amidst descriptions of the days preceding the Messiah, the Talmud says:
“As it is written, in that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen. Our Rabbis taught: in the seven year cycle at the end of which the son of David will come-in the first year, this verse will be fulfilled.”
The Talmud is saying explicitly that the Messiah will come in the first year after the Shemitah. It should be noted that the Talmud describes the days before the Messiah in depth, and they are especially difficult times.
Rabbi Kanievsky was, of course, familiar with this source and was aware we are now in a sabbatical year. His instructions to come to Israel took into account that there was a much greater chance that the Messiah will be coming next year. It is interesting to note that Rabbi Kanievsky was very diligent about observing the Shemitah and ruled by more stringent rulings concerning this Biblical commandment.
image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/rabbi-chaim-kanievsky.jpg
In addition to the sources brought in the previous article, a recording was made in the aftershock of the horrifying terror attack in November in a synagogue in Har Nof, Jerusalem. Rabbi Kanievsky was asked how to comfort the people so they would be less afraid. He said, “atonement” (kappara) many times. When pressed for an explanation, he said, “It is an atonement before the Messiah can come.”
Rebbetzin Chana Bracha Seigelbaum, founder and director of Midreshet B’erot Bat Ayin, makes a remarkable observation that emphasizes the role of the Shemitah in the process of national redemption:
“It is not surprising that every year following the Shemitah year has been significant in our possession of the Land of Israel…Most of the change in the borders of the state of Israel took place the year following Shemitah year. For example, it was Shemitah year in 1966, and the following year, during the Six Day War, we recaptured Yerushalayim and Gush Etzion. The next Shemitah year was in 1973. This year was followed by the devastating Yom Kippur war. Following the Shemitah year in 1980, we relinquished Sinai to Egypt. After two cycles of Shemitah, in 1995 the Oslo agreement brought bouts of terrorism in its wake.”
It is clear that Rabbi Kanievsky was relating to Babylonian Talmud, which says specifically that the Messiah will come in the year following the Shemitah. Whether it will come after the Shemitah year we are presently about to complete has yet to be seen. What is undeniable is that there is a clear significance to the time period immediately following a Shemitah year in terms of national redemption.
Rabbi Kanievsky called upon people to do Tshuva, repentance, that leads to a return to faith and good actions in order to actualize the unique potential for redemption that is within us right now. If our actions are correct and coincide with God’s will, then the Messiah will come.
Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/45001/shmitah-messiah-this-year-arrival-jewish-world/#tuGJuzS1OmQxA58p.99
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