It’s Rosh Hashanah 5775, is your Lamp Lit?

Shana Tova!  Today marks the beginning of the Jewish high holiday Rosh Hashanah, a celebration of the new year, a celebration of the creation of the world.  Once again, we pause and reflect on what has been, what is, and most importantly, what is to come.

With each new year comes a deeper understanding of what is occurring in the world.  This understanding is a gift from God, as we have all been given a unique dose of both wisdom and perspective.  As Rosh Hashanah 5775 is upon us, God is calling each and every one of us to use the wisdom and perspective he has given us to carry on in our unique calling.

This year it has been given to us to explore quantam physics, and its how it explains any number of phenomena, such as prayer and eternity, which are often dismissed by natural science.  It is a call to believe and walk in faith and courage.

It has also been given to us to present the healing miracles of Jesus presented in the Gospel of Luke, during the first ten weeks of 2015 on the Gregorian calendar.

It is now time to remind ourselves why Rosh Hashanah is especially important for those of us who believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah.

The Feast of Trumpets and the Messiah's Return

We are convinced that the Messiah, Jesus, is returning. We are equally convinced that it has not been given to any man to know the exact time of his return.

What we do know is that we will know the season of his return. The interpretations which we have heard of Jesus’s declaration recorded in Matthew 24:36 generally center around the premise that some sort of series of great catastrophes will be unfolding and a series of signs will be in some stage of fulfillment, implying that these things will mark the season of Jesus’s return.

Here at The Mint, we subscribe to a much simpler and more profound understanding of this scripture, drawn from an understanding of the Jewish wedding ceremony. Jesus will arrive during the fall season in the Northern Hemisphere.

In fact, based on the timing of His death and resurrection, the Passover, we believe that His triumphant return will logically take place over Rosh Hashanah. The celebrated Feast of Trumpets.

Feast of trumpets by Aleksander Gierymski (1850–1901): Painting of Hasidic Jews performing tashlikh (ritual washing away of sins) on Rosh Hashanah, placed on the banks of the Vistula River in Warsaw.

Not necessarily this fall, mind you. For it is impossible to know for certain. If one were to attempt to pick a specific year, the logical choices would be one of the upcoming Jubilee years, 2018 (starting on Rosh Hashanah 2017 on the Gregorian calendar) or 2068, or the final year of the 6000 year Jewish Calendar, 2240.

Yet it could be tomorrow, or the next day, as Rosh Hashanah has the element of uncertainty as to precisely when the new moon occurs. This detail fits nicely with Jesus’s declaration that we would not know the day or time.

With all of the things that are happening in the world, many have begun to speculate that the end is nigh.

Clearly, the end is always nigh, and calamities such as the ones humanity is currently suffering have always taken place to some degree ever since mankind chose to disobey God and turn their back on their Creator.

Today, with billions of us on the planet, these calamities are multiplied to a staggering degree. The good news is that God’s grace and mercy are experienced in abundance as well, and this will overcome all suffering and calamity as He daily establishes His Kingdom within and amongst us.

Rosh Hashanah may be the most important and least observed/understood holiday for anyone who is not Jewish.  However, what occurs over the next nine days will set the tone for the coming year.  They occurrences are of such magnitude that the Jewish title, the “days of awe,” may be the only appropriate descriptor.

The following is an excerpt from our teaching last year on the sixth sign performed by Jesus that is recorded in the Gospel of John, which took place during this season some 2000 years ago.

Sukkot and the days of awe

Under these circumstances, Jesus announced that He would not attend the upcoming Feast of Booths (Tabernacles), or Sukkot, the Jewish Festival which follows Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, which was the holiest day of the year. Jesus’ initial reluctance to attend the Feast, and ultimate decision to attend, has great significance, both for our understanding of the sixth sign and for Jesus’ future second coming.

As you may recall, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, marks a new beginning. The Jews believe that on this day the fate of each person for the upcoming year is written by YHWH in theBook of Life. The days (approximately 9) between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, known as the the days of awe, are spent in deep reflection, fasting, and prayer. It is a time of confession and repentance, it is a time of recognition that we are but dust, yet infinitely precious in YHWH’s sight.

The Jews believe that the fate which is written on Rosh Hashanah is then sealed by YHWH on Yom Kippur, at which point the Feast of Booths begins. It is our speculation that Jesus made the decision to ultimately attend the Feast of Booths to symbolically seal His fate. He would give His life for humanity on the upcoming Passover.

Yom Kippur is regarded as the Sabbath of Sabbaths, as such, it is only appropriate that the Jewish leaders who were looking for a reason to kill Him, would carefully observe Jesus in hopes of catching Him breaking their observance of the Sabbath.

As Rosh Hashanah begins, we hold fast to our faith, cleanse our minds and spirits, and resolve to love and forgive as God has loved and forgiven us.   May this year be filled with a generous portion of wisdom and perspective, and the faith and courage to use it to fulfill our calling.  The Messiah is coming, the trumpet is about to sound!

Is your lamp lit?

The New Labor Market – Scotland’s Lesson to Labor

9/19/2014 Portland, Oregon - Pop in your mints…

The results of the Scottish referendum on independence are in, and in the maneuvering leading up to the vote as well as the results themselves, the Scottish question has brought to light a new dynamic that many economists, including yours truly, have been late to properly identify:  The astronomical rise in the cost of labor that is on the horizon.

What do Scottish/English politics and the labor market have in common?  Nothing, really, save the dynamic between an overlord (England/Employer) and underling (Scotland/Employee), and the rapidly changing status quo.

First, a brief overview of the Scottish referendum from an economic standpoint. Astute readers will note that we have an extremely basic understanding this.  That said, the little we do understand serves our metaphor.  As such, we dare not risk deepening our understanding at this point.

Our aforementioned understanding is the following:  As part of the United Kingdom, Scotland enjoys a £32 Billion per year block grant, for which it cedes approximately £7 Billion per year in North Sea oil tax revenues, and approximately £16 Billion in other taxes rendered to England, bringing England’s net subsidy to Scotland to roughly £9 Billion per year.  You can read more about the economics of Scottish Independence at the ever Clairvoyant Market Oracle.

Scottish Independence YES Vote Panic

As you can see at the end of the above video, the chances of Scotland actually voting “Yea” for the referendum were extremely far-fetched and rightfully cause for panic.  Furthermore, we observe that the reaction of the English, predictably, was to cave to Scottish demands for autonomy and, ultimately, an increase in the net subsidy in exchange for remaining part of the UK.

As the Scottish economy represents roughly £160 billion annually, it is clear that the £9 billion hit in terms of the subsidy loss would be devastating.  Devastating as it may have been for the Scottish people, the loss was at least calculable and to some extent containable.

On the other hand, while England appears to have forfeited a good deal of autonomy, not to mention being out a net £9 billion on the Scottish subsidy, their zeal to keep Scotland in the UK is explained by one simple fact:

Scotland is irreplaceable, and for England to forfeit its allegiance now is not only to turn its back on a union forged over the course of 300 years, it is to look forward to a future of Balkanization and an incalculable demise in its political and economic power as the sun finally sets on an Empire that at one time could rightfully claim that the sun never set upon it.

Do you now see how the metaphor applies to the labor market fellow taxpayer?  In simple terms, Employee (Scotland) threatens to leave Employer.  Employer reacts by giving employee more autonomy and pay. 

This scenario is playing out across certain cross sections of the US Labor market and is about to have a tremendously disruptive effect on what many have come to understand to be the status quo in terms of Corporate employment.

While it may be true that, unlike Scotland, most employees are replaceable, it is also true that with each employee that walks out the door, an incalculable amount of synergies and institutional knowledge leaves with them.  Couple this loss of intangibles with the fact that the employee that will be hired to replace them is likely to be 1) More expensive, 2) Less productive, and 3) Less loyal than the one that just walked out the door.

Like Scotland, many employees are finding that, while they have something to lose by leaving their employer, the loss is calculable and often more than compensated for by the potential gains awaiting them as the current game of musical chairs disrupts the low cost of labor, a hidden subsidy that many corporations have come to rely on.

While it may appear that employees, like Scotland, have much to lose and little to gain by declaring their independence and seeking new alliances, in reality it is the corporate status quo, such as England, that stand to lose the most in this latest game of musical chairs.

In the end, England will pay dearly for maintaining its alliance with Scotland.  Will your employer pay dearly for you?  You may be surprised by the answer.

Stay tuned and Trust Jesus.

Stay Fresh!

David Mint

Key Indicators for September 19, 2014

Copper Price per Lb: $3.13
Oil Price per Barrel (WTI):  $92.41

Corn Price per Bushel:  $3.31
10 Yr US Treasury Bond:  2.58%
Bitcoin price in US:  $396.09
FED Target Rate:  0.09%
Gold Price Per Ounce:  $1,216

MINT Perceived Target Rate*:  0.25%
Unemployment Rate:  6.2%
Inflation Rate (CPI):   0.2%
Dow Jones Industrial Average:  17,279
M1 Monetary Base:  $2,747,800,000,000

M2 Monetary Base:  $11,479,800,000,000