Shemitah

[sem4951]

I would like to know what the Church teaches with regard to Shemitah and “end times” prophecy.

 

[Church_Militant]

I suggest that you invest in What Jesus Really Said About the End of the World and stay off the conspiracy theory sites…especially the religious ones.:hypno:

 

[Stephen_says]

I recently read that not even all Jews observe the shemitah. The shemitah is only observed in the country of Israel.

There are a lot of bad things going on in this world, and believing that the world is going to end is a nice excuse for not trying to fix them. The end of the world has been coming for 2000 years, since the death of Christ, so we must all be prepared for it to happen at any moment, and you prepare by living a life firmly planted in faith.

Also, most end times proponents seem to be Anti-Catholic, and there are a lot of more uncharitable things I can say about end times proponents, but mostly they’re just looking for attention.

Peace

 

[petra22]

I suggest that you invest in What Jesus Really Said About the End of the World and stay off the conspiracy theory sites…especially the religious ones.:hypno:

I love your AVATAR, Church Militant. I think we all need armor today…

 

[mikekle]

I recently read that not even all Jews observe the shemitah. The shemitah is only observed in the country of Israel.

There are a lot of bad things going on in this world, and believing that the world is going to end is a nice excuse for not trying to fix them. The end of the world has been coming for 2000 years, since the death of Christ, so we must all be prepared for it to happen at any moment, and you prepare by living a life firmly planted in faith.

Also, most end times proponents seem to be Anti-Catholic, and there are a lot of more uncharitable things I can say about end times proponents, but mostly they’re just looking for attention.

Peace

I dont see that many people saying the world is going to end in regards to the Shemiath, rather they are saying some kind of disaster will happen, be it financial, natural or something else, of course this would not be the end of the world, it may be the end of our modern lifestyle, but thats bound to happen eventually, the world cannot keep going the way it is for long…houses of cards topple fairly easily (and suddenly).

People would rebuild society though, and hopefully learn from past mistakes, if you do not learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it.

 

[Cyberseeker]

I would like to know what the Church teaches with regard to Shemitah and “end times” prophecy.

The ‘Shemitah’ is the Hebrew equivalent for what we call the “Sabbatical Year.” It was the Old Testament practice of resting the land every 7th year and releasing of slaves. (Deuteronomy 15) Israel did not keep all of them, but about a dozen examples are recorded in the Bible including the period of the Maccabees.

Religious Jews follow it to this day, but conservative Christian Churches (including Catholic) teach that it was a uniquely Jewish custom fulfilled and ending in Messiahs first coming. However, theologians of all faiths have not spent much time studying it. Their neglect has given rise to the recent speculative “end-time” prophecies of which you speak. The worst offenders are “Hebraic Roots” heretics who are similar to the Judaizers of the 1st century.

 

[mikekle]

The ‘Shemitah’ is the Hebrew equivalent for what we call the “Sabbatical Year.” It was the Old Testament practice of resting the land every 7th year and releasing of slaves. (Deuteronomy 15) Israel did not keep all of them, but about a dozen examples are recorded in the Bible including the period of the Maccabees.

Religious Jews follow it to this day, but conservative Christian Churches (including Catholic) teach that it was a uniquely Jewish custom fulfilled and ending in Messiahs first coming. However, theologians of all faiths have not spent much time studying it. Their neglect has given rise to the recent speculative “end-time” prophecies of which you speak. The worst offenders are “Hebraic Roots” heretics who are similar to the Judaizers of the 1st century.

It is also a time when ALL debts are to be forgiven, I think this probably why it is not taken seriously, as not many people/ banks/ financial institutions would obey that.

 

[Stephen_says]

I dont see that many people saying the world is going to end in regards to the Shemiath, rather they are saying some kind of disaster will happen, be it financial, natural or something else, of course this would not be the end of the world, it may be the end of our modern lifestyle, but thats bound to happen eventually, the world cannot keep going the way it is for long…houses of cards topple fairly easily (and suddenly).

People would rebuild society though, and hopefully learn from past mistakes, if you do not learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it.

Hi!

In your original post, you did mention “end times prophecies”…‘End Times’ usually refers to the end of the world and the second coming of Christ, so you may understand where my answer came from…

Peace

 

[sem4951]

I recently read that not even all Jews observe the shemitah. The shemitah is only observed in the country of Israel.

There are a lot of bad things going on in this world, and believing that the world is going to end is a nice excuse for not trying to fix them. The end of the world has been coming for 2000 years, since the death of Christ, so we must all be prepared for it to happen at any moment, and you prepare by living a life firmly planted in faith.

Also, most end times proponents seem to be Anti-Catholic, and there are a lot of more uncharitable things I can say about end times proponents, but mostly they’re just looking for attention.

Peace

That has been my argument with people who keep saying all the problems in the world are somehow meant to be because “we are in the end times”…my response to them is, okay, so we just sit here and wait and hope for the world to end?

 

[Vic_Taltrees_UK]

People would rebuild society though, and hopefully learn from past mistakes, if you do not learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it.

If enough people of good will get enough opportunity, certainly.

Everything that has been said on this is very true. There is also the fact that Jesus called on us to be alert for some “signs of the times” and that there would be a specific sequence of events prior to His next coming.

We need not be as cock sure as some about the interpretations of the details but we do need to be sharp.

 

[mikekle]

If enough people of good will get enough opportunity, certainly.

Everything that has been said on this is very true. There is also the fact that Jesus called on us to be alert for some “signs of the times” and that there would be a specific sequence of events prior to His next coming.

We need not be as cock sure as some about the interpretations of the details but we do need to be sharp.

Yes, Jesus even scolded some people when they failed to recognize the ‘signs’ he sent in the past, no different that what is happening today, many people go to great lengths to prove we are NOT anywhere close to end times, yet when we look at the signs Jesus gave us, its pretty apparent most have or are happening, the difference between past times and now, is that so many are occurring at the same time, there is also a specific verse about people claiming these signs have always been around, but I cant think of it off the top of my head, It says something about “see these things have always been, even in the days of our fathers” ( I will look for that verse later today).

From what Ive seen and read there is a difference between end times (biblically) and those crying end of the world, end times refers to the second coming of Jesus, but the earth will still be here, basically it will still spin like it always has, still be weather, still be days, months etc, the ‘end of the world’ though, that is referring to a destruction of the planet, caused by something like an asteroid, fire, etc.

 

[StGerardMajella]

The ‘Shemitah’ is the Hebrew equivalent for what we call the “Sabbatical Year.” It was the Old Testament practice of resting the land every 7th year and releasing of slaves. (Deuteronomy 15) Israel did not keep all of them, but about a dozen examples are recorded in the Bible including the period of the Maccabees.

It’s one of the reasons given by the Jewish Sages as to why Israel was exiled from the land - I.e., the failure to keep the sabbatical year. Once exiled, the Land of Israel could then rest.

Religious Jews follow it to this day, but conservative Christian Churches (including Catholic) teach that it was a uniquely Jewish custom fulfilled and ending in Messiahs first coming.

We can learn much from our elder brothers in the faith.

However, theologians of all faiths have not spent much time studying it.

…to their detriment.

The worst offenders are “Hebraic Roots” heretics who are similar to the Judaizers of the 1st century.

Matthew 7:3 and John 8:7.

I would like to know what the Church teaches with regard to Shemitah and “end times” prophecy.

These are really two (2) distinctly separate topics. Very rarely would you ever hear discussion about the Shemitah in the Church, neither in sermons, readings, the Mass, etc. However, the Shemitah is very well-known among devout Jews, as the concept originates from the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible). Devout Jews intensely study the Torah their entire lives.

End times is a different topic. The Book of Revelations, as well as specific statements throughout the New Testament by both Christ and St. Paul, speak specifically to end-times prophecy. The Church does teach from these sources.

yet when we look at the signs Jesus gave us, its pretty apparent most have or are happening, the difference between past times and now, is that so many are occurring at the same time,

You would have to be pretty oblivious to world events, advances in technology, and our financial system, to not recognize that we are very much living at, near, or in end times. We are living in an unprecedented era just in terms of technology alone, let alone the current world events unfolding before our very eyes in the Middle East.

 

[Mintaka]

You would have to be pretty oblivious to world events, advances in technology, and our financial system, to not recognize that we are very much living at, near, or in end times. We are living in an unprecedented era just in terms of technology alone, let alone the current world events unfolding before our very eyes in the Middle East.

That’s exactly what they said in the year 500. And the year 800. And the year 1000. And then there were the Millerites in the early 1800’s…

Every moment since the Advent of Jesus Christ has been the endtimes, folks. Not a secret. In Latin, “the most recent times” and “the last times” are the same exact phrase.

On the other hand, we all should recognize that we’re always close to our own personal endtime - death - and in the words of Father Z, “GO TO CONFESSION!” It will do us more good to worry about souls than about earthquakes and wars and rumors of wars.