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BLOOD MOONS AND THE COMING OF THE LORD
In Genesis 1:14 God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years”. God created the sun, the moon and the stars not only to give us day and night but also that they would be prophetic signs. The word here for seasons is ‘Mo’ed’ – the same word used in Leviticus 23 for the pilgrim festivals of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. The prophetic signs are currently coinciding with the prophetic seasons, so we need to be aware of what God is saying through His heavenly signs.
In Luke 21:25-28, Jesus said the signs in the heavens were indicators of His imminent return. 25 “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars... 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory”.
Joel 2:30-32, quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:19-21), connects the signs in the sun and moon to the ‘Day of the Lord’: 31 “The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.”
In response, Joel calls for a solemn assembly and repentance, as does Peter. This is exactly what the Day of Atonement is all about. Matthew 24:29 and Joel 3:14-16 both refer to the sun and moon being darkened at a time of tribulation and judgement on the earth. In Revelation 6:12-13, the sixth seal is broken resulting in a black sun, a blood moon and stars falling from the sky.
In a total lunar eclipse the moon can turn blood red due to dust and pollution in the earth’s air. A tetrad is when four total lunar eclipses occur in a row. Although solar and lunar eclipses occur regularly, tetrads come infrequently. Tetrads that occur on Jewish festivals are extremely rare. There have only been seven tetrads on Jewish holidays since the crucifixion of Jesus, and another on these feasts will not occur for centuries.
In the year 32 CE there were total lunar eclipses at Passover (April 14) and Tabernacles (Oct 7), and in 33 CE, there were partial eclipses at both festivals. Solar eclipses occurred on April 3, 33 CE, and April 7, 30 CE. When Peter quotes Joel in Acts 2, he may well have been referring to actual recent red moons.
Of the seven occurrences of tetrads on Jewish feasts, the last three are of particular interest in Jewish history. The tetrad in 1493-1494 followed the expulsion of the entire Jewish community (around 200,000 people), from Spain on July 30, 1492. The tetrad of 1949-1950 followed Israel’s declaration of itself as a nation in 1948, which resulted in the War of Independence against its five Arab neighbours. In the midst of the tetrad in 1967-1968 Israel recaptured Jerusalem in the 6 Day War in June 1967.
We are now in the eighth occurrence of a tetrad. On April 15, 2014 at Passover there was a total lunar eclipse. A Sabbatical year begins at the Feast of Trumpets on September 25, 2014. On October 8, 2014 at the Feast of Tabernacles the second total lunar eclipse occurs. The sun will be darkened by a total solar eclipse on Nisan 1, the first day of the religious year on March 20, 2015. A total lunar eclipse follows at Passover on April 4. S
Six months later, the civil year (Tishri 1–Feast of Trumpets) begins with a partial solar eclipse (Sept 13), followed two weeks later by another blood moon on the Feast of Tabernacles (Sept 28) – all within a Sabbath year in 2015. Mark Biltz has set it out like this:
The Jewish Talmud (book of tradition/interpretation) says; "When the moon is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel. If its face is as red as blood, (it is a sign that) the sword is coming to the world." Red moons are a sign of judgement or a warning of war. The Talmud (Succah 29a)gives four reasons for solar eclipses, which in today’s terms are: rape, homosexuality, murder and inadequate burial rites for the dead. Is our world not ripe for judgement?
Only the last red moon will be visible in Israel, but this is a super moon, when the moon is closest to earth. At least one lunar eclipse will be visible in most of the world, calling everyone to take note and finally look to Jerusalem for the grand finale. Is this coincidence??
29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” (Matt 24:29-31)
Jesus told us that when we saw these signs taking place we should: “...lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”(Lk 21:28) Sharpen your sickles and get into the fields, for the harvest is ripe. Watch out for a significant few years ahead.
- NASA link to lunar eclipse Oct 8, 2014:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2014Oct08T.pdf
- Mark Biltz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AteFVAICzps
(El Shaddai Ministries)
- John Hagee “Four Blood Moons” Worthy Pub, Tennessee 2013
- Web sites: http://redmoonrapture.com/
http://www.pray4zion.org/TheComingBloodMoons.htm
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