Not An Age Of Ignorance
While scientific explanations were increasingly available to educated, literate ecclesiastes and some laypeople, it is not clear how far these ideas circulated among the broader population.
In an early 11th-century chronicle, Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg advised all Christians that eclipses were not caused by evil incantations or the celestial bodies being eaten, and they were powerless to bring an eclipse to an end by their actions.
Read more:Blood moon: lunar eclipse myths from around the world
This has been cited as evidence that some people believed that lunar eclipses were caused by magicians or moon-hungry monsters.
However, it is important to remember this comes from a source written by an educated churchman who may have exaggerated evidence of superstitious beliefs in order to then condemn them.
Yet even if we allow for these beliefs, the range of ideas surrounding lunar eclipses in medieval Europe reveal it was not the dark age of superstition and ignorance it is often assumed to have been.
What Does The Bible Say About Lunar Eclipses
Lets address blood moons, the astronomical phenomenon Christians seem to get especially excited about. Now, well cover some verses that discuss this topic.
Joel 2:31: The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
Why blood? Blood tends to represent a number of things throughout the Bible. We see it in the sacrificial system. Blood being shed to cleanse us of our unrighteousness.
We also see it in the blood of martyrs, like this harrowing scene found in Revelation 6:9. Interestingly enough, the moon turning bloody happens right after the martyrs ask God how long until he takes vengeance for the wrongs done against them. Perhaps the blood moon symbolizes the vengeance God will take for the wrongful murders of his saints.
Revelation 6:12: I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red.
For other great Bible verses on eclipses, check out this article here.
When Is The 6th Seal
We can tell when the sixth seal is opened by the events that happen at the time of its opening. Revelation 6:14-17 describes these events.
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand?
Notice that the heavens will depart like a scroll at the opening of the seal. This obviously is describing the Second Coming of Jesus because the men of the earth will cry, Hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne.
Since it is prophesied that the moon will turn to blood at the time of the Sixth Seal, then we can conclude that it will happen at the time of the Second Coming and the Battle of Armageddon.
Read Also: What Does The Bible Say About Dreams Of Snakes
‘super Blood Moon’ To Be Followed By A ‘ring Of Fire’
A new lunar eclipse or “blood moon” took place on Wednesday, and it was visible in eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean, and parts of the Americas.
A lunar eclipse is caused by the moon going through Earth’s shadow in space. This particular one was called a Super Blood Moon, and it was the first total eclipse since January 2019. The eclipse occurred as the Moon came closer to the Earth during its orbit.
According to Forbes.com, this “supermoon” full Moon moved into Earth’s dark central umbral shadow where it appeared as a “Blood Moon” for 15 minutes, briefly turning the lunar surface a reddish-copper color.
READ ‘Let There Be Light’: How God Kept Appearing Over and Over During America’s Missions to the Moon
Space.com explains a Blood Moon occurs when the moon moves completely into the deepest part of Earth’s shadow, but the moon turns red instead of going black. The red color comes from some of the sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere where it gets bent and colors like blue or green are filtered out, leaving behind longer wavelengths like the color red.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
Biblical Implications of Blood Moons
Even though there are scientific explanations for these types of Blood Moons, many Christians also see prophetic implications behind them. That’s because they’re directly mentioned in scripture.
What Does Bible Say About Blood Moon
Joel 2:31 states, This day the sun will be dark, and the moon will be dark, and the blood will flow before me. describing the sun and moon before the death and destruction of the Lord. Acts 2:20 says that before the great and significant event of the Lord, the sun will turn into darkness, and the moon into blood.
Read Also: Everyone Is Born A Sinner Bible Verse
Are We Sure The Final 7 Years Will Begin On April 29 2014
No. We cant be sure the final seven years will begin on April 29, 2014. That is the date John Kerry has set. It could take longer to get the deal done, or it could happen sooner.
But we are absolutely certain a peace agreement is going to be signed. Its prophesied in the Bible, and the prophecies always come to pass!
Blood Moons And Past Events
Four blood moons occur in 2014-2015, that is, four full lunar eclipses without partial eclipses in between. In 2014 and 2015, blood moons fall on the first day of the Jewish feast of Passover and the first day of Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles.
This rare lunar event in light of Scripture is the topic of two recent books: Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change by John Hagee, and Blood Moons: Decoding the Imminent Heavenly Signs by Mark Biltz and Joseph Farah. Biltz began teaching on blood moons in 2008. Hagee’s book came out in 2013, and Biltz released his book in March 2014.
Mark Biltz went to NASA’s website and compared the dates of past blood moons to Jewish holy days and events in world history. He found four blood moons in a row occurred near the time of the 1492 Alhambra Decree expelling 200,000 Jews from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition, near the founding of the state of Israel in 1948, and near the Six-Day War near Israel in 1967.
Also Check: Does The Bible Say Mary Magdalene Was A Prostitute
A Blood Moon Rises Over Californias Night Sky
The result was a full moon turned a bright shade of red on September 30. Igor A Chicherin posted a time-lapse video on Instagram which shows a red moon rising over Mount Shasta in in Siskiyou County, California. The spectacle was even seen outside of California as well. Dylan Robichaud, a National Weather Association certified meteorologist in Eugene, Oregon, reported on that date that the moon appeared orange this morning due to the smoke in the upper atmosphere from the California fires.
Why Are Christians Obsessed With Astronomical Phenomena
Weve touched on some of this above, that many apocalyptic texts point to rare occurrences in the celestial bodies as a sign that the Day of the Lord approaches. But I think its also important to note this verse:
Romans 1:20: For since the creation of the world Gods invisible qualitieshis eternal power and divine naturehave been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
All of creation points to a creator. We see the salvation story through the symbolism of trees, we see the end times through eclipses we get excited about creation because it shows us the story of our Creator.
Many of us yearn for when Christ will return. Especially for Christians who have grown older, they have seen the earth get more and more depraved throughout the years and cannot help but cry out, Maranatha!
Read Also: Examples Of Loneliness In The Bible
Sign Of The End Times: Super Blood Moon In 2021what Is Gods Warning To Us
Editors Note: In recent years, the celestial phenomenon blood moon has appeared frequently. Various disasters such as pandemics, earthquakes, and famines are getting worse and worse. The Bible prophecies about the last days have already been fulfilled, and the great and terrible day of Jehovah is near. The great disasters are now upon us, so how should we welcome the Lords return? This article has the answer.
As predicted by relevant experts, on May 26, 2021, a rare phenomenon will take place in the sky: A super blood moon, the biggest blood moon of this year, will be seen during a total lunar eclipse.
All manner of disasters will befall, one after another all nations and places will experience calamities: Plague, famine, flood, drought, and earthquakes are everywhere. These disasters are not just happening in one or two places, nor will they be over within a day or two rather, instead they will expand across a greater and greater area, and become more and more severe. During this time, all manner of insect plagues will arise one after another, and the phenomenon of cannibalism will occur everywhere. This is My judgment upon all nations and peoples.
Excerpted from Chapter 65 of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Excerpted from God Is the Source of Mans Life in The Word Appears in the Flesh
Excerpted from God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind in The Word Appears in the Flesh
What Does The Bible Say About The Sun Rising
He said, And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine
Also Check: What Is The Chronological Order Of The Bible
Does The Blood Moon Mean The End Of The World
The phrase blood moon is often popularly thought of like a scene from Roland Emmerichs movie 2012, or worse. This perception comes from prophets of doom who look to the sun, moon, and stars as sources of their prophetic insights. These prophets of doom look for signs of the times: snakes coming out of the wailing wall, red calves being born, shift in the earths magma river, seismic events in Alaska, increasing tremors at Yellowstone , and even solar and lunar eclipses as their sources for the doom and gloom of the last days. Then the prophets of doom make headlines because they sensationalize these various geological, astrological, etc. events into different codes that need to be deciphered, tetrads to be counted, and blood moons that will change everything as we know it.
Does the blood moon mean the END OF THE WORLD in this manner? In short, no. While the Bible does teach there will be an end to time and the world as we know it, the sensationalized, fear-mongering perspective is not the full meaning that the Bibles apocalyptic literature is trying to convey.
Does This Totally Discredit The Teaching Of The Four Blood Moons
As we have seen, the scriptures clearly say that the moon will be turned into blood after the Great Tribulation and at the time of Armageddon and the Second Coming of Jesus to earth. This being true, the prophecies about the moon being turned to blood cannot refer to the four blood moons of the last 500 years.
However, should the teaching of the four blood moons be totally ignored?
Also Check: What Is The Order Of The Bible
All Israel Shall Be Saved
Romans 11:25-26 tells us that all Israel shall be saved: For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
However, God specifically said that He would save the tents of Judah first. The first wave of Jewish revival will come at the time of the Abomination of Desolation.
The second wave will come at the time of Armageddon when Jesus returns to earth at the Mount of Olives. The Jews know that their Messiah will plant His feet on the Mount of Olives when He comes to earth. Zechariah 14:4 clearly teaches this.
In the heat of the Battle of Armageddon, their Messiah will descend from heaven, touching down on the Mount of Olives. The Jews will know their Messiah has come to save them from the invading armies of the Antichrist.
They will rush out to meet Him, falling down to worship Him. When they do, they will notice He has scars in His feet and in His hands. Zechariah 13:6 says: And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
Suddenly, their eyes will be opened. They will say, So youre Jesus. He will reply, Yes, I am Jesus.
The Nation Of Israel Reborn On May 14 1948 Just Before The Tetrad Of 1949
After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, Jews were driven into exile. For the next 1,878 years, the Jewish people were sifted through the nations of the earth. Yet, they retained their identity.
After Hitlers horrible holocaust during World War II, the Jews were finally granted a homeland by the nations of the world. On May 14, 1948, the modern state of Israel was born.
You May Like: How Many Verses Are In The Book Of Psalms
Will An Agreement Be Signed By April 29 2014
Whether we place any credibility to the teaching of the Four Blood Moons or not, there is going to be an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
If this agreement creates a Palestinian state in the West Bank leaving a Jewish minority there, and if it places the Temple Mount under a sharing arrangement with international supervision, then the final seven years to Armageddon will begin at that time.
The only question is: Will it be signed by April 29, 2014? John Kerry says, Yes! Whether he is right or wrong about the timing, a peace agreement is definitely coming. Its prophesied in the Bible and the prophecies always come to pass.
What Does The Bible Say About Blood Moons
Whether Blood Moons Warn of Biblical Events The Bible includes three mentions of blood moons: I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
Read Also: Scripture For Feeling Lonely
The Next Four Blood Moons
The next tetrad coupled with Jewish feast days will be April 15, 2014 September 28, 2015. Israelis and Palestinians, led by US Secretary of State John Kerry, began peace negotiations on July 30, 2013. Negotiations have been ongoing since that time.
When the negotiations were launched, Kerry promised Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the negotiations would reach an agreement in nine months. Together, they committed to achieve a peace agreement by April 29, 2014.
Bible Verses About The Red Moon
- Revelation 6:12-14And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely …
- Revelation 7:1-17And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east …
- Revelation 1:1-20The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of …
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds …
- John 14:1-31Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and …
You May Like: What Does The Bible Say About Eating Fat