Common Sense Interpretation of the Blood Moons Revelation

Illogical Fallacies, End-Time Prophecy, & Blood Moons

Evelyn Smith

 MS in Library Science, University of North Texas (2012)

Current events may draw readers to End-Time best sellers that point to signs identifying apocryphal events.   Upon reflecting on these contemporary commentaries, however, readers should also consider whether these works contradict science, history, and common sense.  In not thoroughly researching the science and history that might discredit their interpretations of Biblical prophecies, post-modern soothsayers do true Christian scholarship a disservice. That also means that critical readers need to apply what they have learned from science, history, and literary criticism to their analysis of contemporary books on prophecy. 

Addendum

January 7, 2015

The publication of John Hagee's Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change (2013) has focused the public's attention on a series of total lunar eclipses, the last two of which take place on April 4,2015, and September 28, 2015. Although Hagee ties these four lunar eclipses to Biblical prophecy, most articles published in October 2014 managed to keep the focus on the scientific aspects of this phenomena. Originally, the term “blood moon” was a synonym for a “harvest moon” before Hagee co-opted it to refer to a series of four lunar eclipses.

Blood moon. (2015). Time and Date. Retrieved from http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/blood-moon.html

“Blood Moon is a term popularly used for four total lunar eclipses tha happen in a row. The term has no technical or astronomical basis . . ." (Blood Moon, 2015, para. 1).

Lunar tetrad

Six full moons ball between two total lunar eclipses in a tetrad (Blood Moon, 2015, para. 3).

Rare series of eclipses

The 21^st century is slated to have eight tetrads of lunar eclipses—the first in 2003, the second in 2014-2015. The occurrence of lunar tetrads varies over the centuries (Blood Moon, 2015, para. 4 & 6).

Blood moons

The term “blood moon” might refer to a full moon's “bright coppery red” during a total eclipse (Blood Moon, 2015, para. 9).

Another end-of-the-world prophecy?

Because the 2014 and 2015 lunar eclipses take place on Passover and the Feast of the Tabernacles, these events suggest to some authors a connection to apocalyptic prophecy (Blood Moon, 2015, para. 10). All the same, eight tetrads have coincided with Jewish holy days since the first century C. E. (Blood Moons, 2015, para. 11).

Blood moons expert: Watch 2014 and 2015. (2013, October 19). WND Faith. Retrieved from http://www.wnd.com/2013/10/blood-moons-expert-watch-2014-and-2015/

San Antonio, Texas, Pastor John Hagee discussed his blood moons theory on Fox News in mid October 2014, citing the significance of four lunar eclipses falling on Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles in 2014 and 2015 (Blood Moons Expert, 2014, October 19, para. 1-2).  In Hagee's TV interview, he references the appearance of lunar eclipses on Jewish feast days in 1493 and 1947, 1949, and 1967, linking them with the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, the founding of modern Israel, and the Six Day War of 1967 (Blood Moons Expert, 2014, October 19, para 3-5).  He doesn't refer to Columbus' discovery of the New World as he earlier has done. However, Hagee again offers proof texts, taken out of context: Joel 2:31, Matthew 24: 29-30, and Acts 2:20 (http://biblehub.com) (Blood Moons Expert, 2014, October 19, para. 6-8).

Mark Biltz, who has also authored a book on the Blood Moons from a Jewish perspective, goes even further, tying the Blood Moons to a shemittah, or Jubilee year, for he also points to a solar eclipse on March 20, 2015, which Blitz notes is the beginning of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Chodesh-- since he believes that YWH created Adam about 6,000 years ago (Blood Moons Expert, 2014, October 19, para. 12 & 15).  A quick Web search indicates that Rosh Chodesh, or the 1st of Nisan 5775, falls on March 21, 2015 not March 20, 2015. 

See: http://www.hebcal.com/holidays/2014-2015

'Blood moon' lunar eclipse seen in Americas and E Asia. (2014, October 8). Science & Environment. BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29522648

The October 8, 2014, lunar eclipse began at 8 GMT on the East Coast of the United States, but it was visible in East Asia until about 10 GMT, during which time the Earth's shadow “fully covered the moon as sunlight “scattering off” the atmosphere made it appear red (BBC, 2014, October 8, para. 1-3) The last phase of the eclipse ended at 13:34 GMT after sky watchers in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Sydney took part in activities organized around the event (BBC, 2014, October 8, para. 5-7 & 11).

Brownfield, Ben. (2014, October 3). Blood moon returns early Wednesday, and this time it's bigger. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/03/tech/innovation/second-blood-moon/

The comparatively rare incidence of lunar tetrads, or four lunar eclipses within the space of 15 months, means “there are those who like to veil these astral junctions in mysticism . . . But that's no reason to go loony over cosmic consequences because there are none here.” The Jewish calendar s set on purpose to coincide with the moon's phases (Brownfield, 2014, October 3, para. 16-20).

Fitzpatrick, Alex.(2014, October 7). See the most stunning moments from 'blood moon' lunar eclipse. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/3475902/blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-watch/

Time Magazine features highlights from the SLOOH Community Observatory's 3.5 hour broadcast, which Time has condensed into a 2.07 minute video.

Grenoble, Ryan. (2014, October 7). Second lunar eclipse of 2014 to bring 'blood moon' October 8. Science. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/05/blood-moon-2014-lunar-eclipse-video_n_5928452.html

Huffington Post provides a NASA video of a 'blood moon' as well as a map illustrating where the October 8, 2014 lunar eclipse might be viewed, thus underlining the fact that lunar [and solar] eclipses are only available in certain time zones (2014, October 7, para. 1-2). Grenoble theorizes that total lunar eclipses go by the nickname “blood moons” since they reflect reddish sunsets and sunrises back on the moon's surface (2014, October 7, para. 4). Since this total lunar eclipse occurs only two days after a lunar perigee, when the moon is closest to Earth, it appears 5.3 percent larger than the total lunar eclipse that appeared April 15, 2014 (Grenoble, 2014, October 7, para. 5). The October 8, 2014, blood moon is the second in a series of four lunar eclipses known as a tetrad—an event not to be seen after September 28, 2015 until 2032-2033).

Lee, Jane J. (2014, October 8). Watch Earth's shadow create a “blood moon” total lunar eclipse. News. National Geographic. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141008-blood-moon-lunar-eclipse-space-science/

Early risers across the United States caught a rare glimpse of a total lunar eclipse, also known as a blood moon, before the sun almost totally blocked their view  (Lee, 2014, October 8, para. 1). This lunar eclipse was the second in a series of four consecutive total lunar eclipses (April 15, 2014, October 8, 2014, April 4,2015, and September 28, 2015), known as a tetrad,  a celestial event that will happen only seven additional times in the 21st century (Lee, 2014, October 8, para. 2 & 7). Since the moon dramatically changes color from “a light rusty orange to a blood red or black”, Lee contends that this greatly adds to the appeal of catching a glimpse of a total lunar eclipse (2011, October 8, para. 8). During a blood moon eclipse, the sun, Earth, and moon line up so that the moon slides into the Earth's shadow, and some sunlight leaks out “around Earth's periphery, filtering through its atmosphere and reflecting off the moon” (Lee, 2011, October 8, para. 9). The more dust and pollution there is in the atmosphere “the darker the red light cast on the moon” (Lee, 2011, October 8, para 10).

Malik, Tara, (2014, October 8). 'Blood Moon' total lunar eclipse of Oct. 8, 2014. Space.com. Retrieved from http://www.space.com/27380-blood-moon-eclipse-photos-october-2014.html

Space.com Has published a series of photos taken during the lunar eclipse on October 8, 2014; and yes, the moon has a reddish or coppery hue.

McClure, Bruce & Byrd, Deborah. (2014, October 7). What is a Blood Moon? EarthSky. Retrieved from http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-blood-moon-lunar-eclipses-2014-2015

Astronomers had not heard the term “Blood Moon” applied to a lunar tetrad, or a series of four total lunar eclipses, before John Hagee published Blood Moons in 2013 (McClure, 2014, October 7, para. 1-3). Furthermore, EarthSky doesn't have “any special knowledge about the Blood Moons of Biblical prophecy”; nevertheless, the Web page does provide some helpful links (McClure, 2014, October 7, para. 3). Bottom Line: McClure and Byrd's article should be a “go-to” source for Web surfers who want to take a scientific approach to this astronomical phenomena.

Neuman, Scott. (2014, October 8). The 'blood moon' eclipse was quite a show. NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/10/08/354570240/the-blood-moon-eclipse-was-quite-a-show

This NPR link provides some great photographs of the October 8, 2014, total lunar eclipse.

Stakebeck, Erich (2014, October 10). Divine sign for Israel? Hagee explains Blood Moons CBN News. Retrieved from http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2014/February/Divine-Sign-for-Israel-Hagee-Explains-Blood-Moons/

John Hagee believes that something “dramatic”  in 2014-2015 will happen in the Middle East that “will change the course of history” as signified by supernatural, astronomical signs (Stakebeck, 2014, October 10, para. 3-5). 

Four Blood Moons

In Hagee's bestseller, Four Blood Moons (2013), Hagee lays out the celestial signs—a series of four lunar eclipses that Hagee labels “blood moons” (Stakebeck, 2014, October 10, para. 6-8). Here Hagee cites Joel 2: 31 (http://biblehub.com/joel/2-31.htm) and Acts 2:20 (http://biblehub.com/acts/2-20.htm)

(Stakebeck, 2014, October 10, para. 10-11). But perhaps more significantly, he points out that this series of lunar eclipses falls on Jewish feast days (Stakebeck, 2014, October 10, para. 13).

Historical Significance

Hagee also links these eclipses to significant historical events that occurred around the time of lunar eclipses on Jewish feast days—Columbus' discovery of the Americas, Israel's rebirth as a nation in 1948, and the 1967 Six Day War wherein Israel recaptured Jerusalem (Stakebeck, 2014, October 10, para. 16, 18, & 20).

Nuclear Threat

Hagee also points to Iran's determination to become a nuclear power and political upheaval in Egypt and Syria (Stakebeck, 2014, October 10, para. 22).

Courtesy WSET TV

Applying Science to Biblical Prophecy

Scientific principles still hold when analyzing biblical prophetic references.  Readers therefore should discount claims that disregard established scientific facts (as opposed to scientific theories) when Internet and television evangelists come up with new interpretations of prophetic passages.  They should also look at entire Biblical passages in context instead of isolated verses:

Goodman, Jeffrey.  (2014, January 27).  Four blood moons. The Comets of God Blog.  Christian Post. Retrieved from http://blogs.christianpost.com/comets-of-god/four-blood-moons-19804/

John Hagee’s Four Blood Moons: Something is About to Change (2013) argues that the four blood moons that coincide with the Jewish holidays of Passover and Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, in 2014 and 2015 signal end time events since the pivotal events in Jewish history have taken place around the time of these holy days when lunar eclipse blood moons also appeared (Goodman, 2014, January 27, para. 1).

As the moon passes behind the Earth’s shadow, a lunar eclipse makes the moon appear red, although a moon also glows red if it is low on the horizon at sunset or sunrise, or if there’s a lot of the dust in the atmosphere.  However, the NASA Eclipse Web Site listing a series of four lunar eclipses, or a tetrad, that occur during Jewish holy days in two consecutive years, 2014-2015--gives the data that is the basis of Hagee’s line of reasoning (NASA, 2008, November 4; Goodman, 2014, January 27, para. 2).

Pastor Hagee thus claims that the upcoming blood moons signal the fulfillment of prophecies that relate to the return of Jesus Christ, and the rapture–a Christian eschatology term referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4: 17 (NIV) and translated into English from the Latin Vulgate rapiermur, which, in turn, comes from the Greek verb αρπαζω, or “harpazo”,  indicating that one is “taken away”—thus suggesting a sudden event in which believers “will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (Bible Dictionaary, n. d., para. 1-2; Goodman, 2014, January 27, para. 3).

Goodman, nevertheless, questions whether the red moons themselves signal the end time, or if they indicate that something else is happening.  Goodman argues that the blood moons don’t occur because of lunar eclipses, but instead the moon casts a reddish glow because comets, or more probably asteroids, have struck the Earth.  This predicted catastrophe, similar to the asteroid that struck the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period, then stirs up dust in the atmosphere, making the moon reflect a reddish light (Goodman, 2014, January 27, para. 4).

The impact of an asteroid, or asteroids, would filter out the blue/green light passing through the atmosphere, leaving red wavelengths unaffected.  Similarly, when a relatively small asteroid or comet exploded over Tunguska, Siberia, in 1908, the northern sky appeared on fire (Burns, 1933, November, p. 477; Goodman, 2014, January 27, para. 5) while the smoke and dust from wildfires in Southern California in late October 2007 made for a blood red moon (Carlson, 2007, October 25; Goodman, 2014, January 27, para 5).

The proof texts Hagee cites for blood red moons also clearly indicate that something other than a lunar eclipse is occurring:

19 I will show wonders in the heavens above

    and signs on the earth below,

    blood and fire and billows of smoke.

20 The sun will be turned to darkness

    and the moon to blood.

    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

Acts 2:19-20 (NIV)*

Since a solar and lunar eclipse can’t occur simultaneously, the blood moon that occurs before the Day of the Lord can’t be an eclipse by definition:  A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes behind the Earth at the time the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon are aligned, with the Earth in the middle.  A solar eclipse similarly occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. However, since the passage mentions both fire and smoke, it might refer to the impact of a comet [or asteroid] (Goodman, 2014, January 27, para. 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, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

Revelation 6:12-14 (NIV)

This second passage also provides several clues that comets have struck the earth:

There was a great earthquake;

And the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind;

The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up;

And every mountain and island was removed from its place.

The impact of a large asteroid would thus cause a large earthquake since a falling object’s kinetic energy converts into an explosion when it hits (Goodman, 2014, January 27, para. 7; Effects of an asteroid impact on Earth, 2013, April 25, para. 3).  This would also cause the atmosphere, or the heavens, to “recede like a scroll” just like in a nuclear explosion (Goodman, 2014, January 27, para. 7):  

On its way to the impact, the asteroid pushes aside the air in front of it creating a hole in the atmosphere. The atmosphere above the impact site is removed for several tens of seconds. Before the surrounding air can rush back in to fill the gap, material from the impact: vaporized asteroid, crustal material, and ocean water (if it lands in the ocean), escapes through the hole and follows a ballistic flight back down.

(Effects of an asteroid impact on Earth, 2013, April 25, para. 4)

Additionally, only the impact of a comet can produce sufficiently-sized earthquakes to move every mountain and island—12 or 14 on the Richter scale.  Indeed, an asteroid could pierce the Earth’s mantle, and this force would cause it to rebound whereupon the massive volcanic activity could move the plates of the earth’s crust (Goodman, 2014, January 27, para. 8; Catchpole, 2014, para. 3-4).

29 “Immediately after the distress of those days

“‘the sun will be darkened,

    and the moon will not give its light;

the stars will fall from the sky,

    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’”[a]

Matthew 24:29, which refers back to Isaiah 13:10; 34:4 (NIV)

A massive asteroid impact would throw up sufficient dust and generate enough fire so as to totally block out the sun and moon, so that temperatures drastically drops, photosynthesis stops, and the food chain collapses (Goodman, 2014, January 27, para. 9; Effects of an asteroid impact on Earth, 2013, April 25, para. 12). Moreover, 

Goodman interprets Matthew 24:29 to suggest that it might even disturb the gravitational orbits of the moon and neighboring planets (2014, January 27, para. 9):

30 I will show wonders in the heavens

    and on the earth,

    blood and fire and billows of smoke.

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.

Joel 2:30-31 (NIV)

Here Goodman reminds the reader that the cloud thrown up by the asteroid’s impact would be similar to the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion (2014, January 27, para. 10).  The ATLAS Project, whose mission is to serve as an early warning system for killer asteroids warns as well that “a serious asteroid impact is very similar to a nuclear explosion, for it includes a mushroom cloud (ATLAS, 2013, December 31, para. 2).

10 Before them the earth shakes,

    the heavens tremble,

the sun and moon are darkened,

    and the stars no longer shine.

Joel 2:10 (NIV)

Goodman again interprets this passage as the effect of an asteroid impact that would take place in the last stages of the Tribulation Period, described as the sounding of the fifth through seventh trumpet and the pouring out of the seventh vial in Revelation.  Thus, the four blood moons causes by a solar eclipse don’t necessarily signal that the prophetic events described in Revelation will soon take place (2014, January 17, para. 11-12).

References

Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System Project. (2013, December 31).  ATLAS Project.  Retrieved from http://fallingstar.com/

Burns, Gavin J. (1933, November).  The great Siberian meteor of 1908. Popular Astronomy, 41(9), p. 477.  Retrieved from http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1933PA.....41..477B

Carlson, Nick. (2007, October 25).  Red moon over San Diego.  Flickr.com. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/truelifeimages/1766830897/

Catchpole, Heather. (2014). Asteroid impacts cause crustal crisis: Study. ABC Science.  Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/04/07/2866114.htm

Define Rapture: Definition of Rapture. Bible Dictionary.  Retrieved from http://www.seekfind.net/Bible_Dictionary__Define_Rapture__Definition_of_Rapture.html#.Uw0UavldW_c

Effects of an asteroid impact on Earth. (2013, April 25). Astronomy Notes. Retrieved from http://www.astronomynotes.com/solfluf/s5.htm

Phases of the Moon. (2009, November 4). NASA eclipse Web site.  National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  Retrieved from http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phase2001gmt.html

___________

Faulkner, Danny.  (2013, July 12). Will Lunar Eclipses Cause Four Blood Moons in 2014 and 2015? Answers in Genesis.  Retrieved from http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2013/07/12/lunar-eclipses-cause-blood-moons

Mark Biltz, the founder of El Shaddai Ministries, a Judea-Christian group that preaches the message that Yeshua (or Jesus) is the Jewish Messiah, discusses the importance of the four lunar eclipses that fall on Passover and Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles,  in 2014 and 2014.  Since Jesus was crucified at Passover, Biltz believes that His Second Coming must occur at Sukkot; so for Bilitz, the four blood moons that occur during these holy days fulfill the prophecy of Joel 2:31 while the two solar eclipses that happen in 2015 signify prophetic consequences.  Faulkner, therefore, seeks to give a scientific explanation Biltz’s interpretation of these celestial events (2013, July 12, para. 1).

Why do total lunar eclipses often appear red?

When the earth’s shadow falls on the moon, this completes a partial or total eclipse.  However, the totally eclipsed moon reflects the color of the light contained in the earth’s shadow, or umbra. If the earth’s atmosphere scatters out shorter-wavelength light, this leaves mostly longer-wavelengths (red, orange, or yellow) in the earth’s shadow.  Hence, sunsets and sunrises as well as lunar eclipses are often blood red. Even so, lunar eclipses range in color and brightness, depending on dust and humidity levels at the time the eclipse occurs.  Faulkner  thus finds it “a bit presumptuous to assume that any particular future eclipse—or, in this case, four eclipses—must of necessity be blood moons” (2013, July 12, para. 2-3).  

How unusual are total lunar eclipses?

During the 21st century, 85 lunar eclipses are scheduled to occur, and the greatest length of time between two consecutive total lunar eclipses in only three years, although only a little more than half the globe can witness a part of any eclipse. So although lunar eclipses aren’t particularly unusual, the number of times they occur in a particular location is limited (Faulkner, 2013, July 12, para. 4).  

But what about the coincidence of the four eclipses of 2014–2015 with Passover and Sukkot?

Partial lunar eclipses occur every time the shadow, or umbra, of the earth obscures part of the face of the moon.  But a total lunar eclipse at the time of a full moon doesn’t occur each month since a full moon is normally above or below the earth’s shadow.   If a full moon occurs at a point where its orbit crosses the earth’s orbit around the sun in two places known as lunar nodes, a lunar eclipse takes place since the Earth’s shadow comes between the Sun and the Moon (Faulkner, 2013, July 12, para. 5-6; Types of solar and lunar eclipses, 2014, para. 6-8). 

Lunar nodes align with a full moon twice a year, and the eclipse seasons shift about 20 days earlier each year, so the possibility that a lunar eclipse will happen at Passover and Sukkot repeats itself roughly half of its 18.6 year cycle.  For example, between 1995 and 1997, two lunar eclipses fell on Passover and two fell on Sukkot, although not all of the eclipses were total (Faulkner, 2013, July 12, para. 7).

But isn’t it unusual to have a lunar eclipse on the same day as Passover or Sukkot?

“No, it’s really not that unusual” since Passover and Sukkot always occur on a full moon, or the fifteenth day of a lunar month, and are always six months apart.  Since the Jewish calendar follows a 19-year cycle that adds an extra month to the calendar every three years, a formula determines when the first of the month also occurs.  A lunar eclipse must happen on a full moon, and a full moon always happens on the 15th of the moon just as the spring and fall equinoxes must fall within a day of Passover of Sukkot (Faulkner, 2013, July 12, para. 8-11; types of solar and lunar eclipses, 2014, para. 8).

Illustrating the Recent Coincidences of Lunar Eclipses with Passover and Sukkot

Table 1 lists the 37 lunar eclipses that took place during the twentieth century that coincided with Passover or Sukkot; many of the dates exactly match these holy days while others are off a day or two. These make up about 1/6th of all lunar eclipses (Faulkner, 2013, July 12, para. 13 & 16).

From what vantage point must one view these eclipses?

Only the last of the four lunar eclipses can be observed from Jerusalem, so Faulkner thinks this isn’t much of a sign (2013, July 12, para. 17).

What about the two solar eclipses in 2015?

While Biltz claims that the first solar eclipse on March 20, 2015, is the first day of the Jewish ceremonial year, it is technically on the last day of the previous month and year (Faulkner, 2013, July 12, para. 18).  Moreover, the coincidence of solar eclipses at the beginning of the Jewish year is more common than might be supposed.  Table II lists the 19 of the 228 solar eclipses of the twentieth century that took place at the time of the Jewish New Year (Faulkner, 2013, July 12, para. 19).

Who will witness the two solar eclipses in 2015?

The path for the Passover solar eclipse on March 20, 2015, which is total, crosses over the sparsely populated Faroe Island and Svalvard in the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean (Faulkner, 2013, July 12, para. 20).  Passover, however, falls between April 3^rd and April 11, 2015.  The second Rosh Hashanah (or Jewish New Year) solar eclipse, on September 13, 2015, or the 1 and 2 Tishri, is partial, so unless it’s publicized, not many people will notice it (Faulkner, 2013, July 12, para. 21).

Summary

Although  four eclipses occurring in a row and at the same time as major Jewish festivals in relatively rare, this doesn’t mean that they will have apocalyptic significance (Faulkner, 2013, July 12, para. 22).

Reference:

Types of solar and lunar eclipses. (2014). Timeanddate.com.  Retrieved from http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/eclipse-information.html

____________

If Reading Prophetic Commentary,

Check for Biased Sources

Kovacs, Joe. (2014, February 23).  Un-eclipsed! NASA acts on blood-moons site. WND.  Retrieved from http://www.wnd.com/2014/02/un-eclipsed-nasa-acts-on-blood-moons-site/

Readers who find conspiracies behind almost every federal agency actions should note that the NASA Eclipse Web Site has come back online a week after WND accused the National Aeronautics and Space Agency of purposefully hiding its lists of solar and lunar eclipses the same day WND published an article that featured  Mark Biltz’s theory linking the four upcoming lunar eclipses during 2014 and 2015 with the Jewish holy days of Passover and Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, and the possible relationship of these blood moons to end time events.  While the NASA Website was unavailable, a hyperlink took users to the U.S. Naval Observatory, which provided the same information (Kovacs, 2014, February 23, para. 1-5). Kovacs also fails to note that WND publishes Biltz’s book and its publisher. Joseph Farah, writes its Forward.

When WND inquired if this sequence of events had anything to do with the blood moon article, Karen Smale, the Web editor for NASA’S Science and Exploration Directorate at the Goddard Space Flight Center, explained that the site wasn’t up-to-date.  The NASA Eclipse Web Site resurfaced Friday afternoon, February 21, but WND is still hoping to determine if public demand played any part in its rematerializing (Kovacs, 2014, February 23, para. 6-9).

Biltz, whose book and DVD, Blood Moons: Decoding the Imminent Heavenly Signs, occasioned the original WND article, claims that “all these signs, coming together at one time, are potentially the culminating signals that God is closing this chapter of human history . . . before He intervenes. What better way to communicate to us than through the universal language of heavenly signs that speak to every tribe, tongue, and nation?” (Kovacs, 2014, February 23, para. 10-11).

Upon compared the lunar eclipses found on the NASA Website with dates on the Jewish calendar, Biltz has discovered that the next four consecutive total lunar eclipse fall on the dates of Passover and Sukkot.  Furthermore, no similar series of four eclipses, known as a tetrad, occurred from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries, for it wasn’t until the early 20th century that this series of lunar eclipses returned.  What’s more, these too fell on Jewish holy days (Kovacs, 2014, February 23, para. 12-14).

Moreover, the last two times this tetrad of blood moods appeared were in 1948 when Israel again became a nation and in 1967 when Israel retook Jerusalem—a discovery that sent Pastor Biltz into performing a hallelujah dance (Kovacs, 2014, February 23, para. 15-16).   Biltz concludes that “God said in Genesis 1:14 that He created the sun and moon and stars for signals on His feast days . . . Now I had a key to unlocking the code” (Kovacs, 2014, February 23, para. 17). Accordingly,  Biltz is warning that “ Four total eclipses happening the next two years herald possible war in the Middle East as well as global economic collapse” (Kovacs, 2014, February 23, para. 18-19).

Similarly, Biltz notes that series of both partial and total solar and lunar eclipses have foretold of such important events as the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. (Kovacs, 2014, February 23, para. 20-21).  Biltz argues that since this pattern has happened only eight times in 2,000 years, it serves as an omen that can’t be ignored (Kovacs, 2014, February 23, para. 22). Farrah then further lauds Biltz’s discovery of this coincidence as “so detailed, so improbable, so mysterious it could only be the work of divine handiwork” (Kovacs, 2014, February 23, para. 26).

At this point, Kovacs takes an informal poll of readers to determine what the blood moons phenomenon signifies:

• Nothing, it's just a coincidence – a routine lining up of heavenly bodies;

•  With all that’s going on in the world, I don't have time to worry about it;

•  It's just superstitious nonsense;

•  I'll wait till it all shakes out in the next two years;

•  I would say God is definitely trying to get our attention;

•  I'd say it's time to familiarize ourselves with the biblical calendar;

•  Blood moons plus 'Harbinger' spells judgment is near.

    

      (Kovacs, 2014, February 23, para. 27)

Incidentally, the first evangelical linking of the term blood moon [in the singular] to eschatological events appeared in print in Hal Lindsey’s novel, Blood Moon, first published in 1996.

Check Historical Facts before Jumping on Any Prophetic Band Wagon

Menzie, Nicola. (2014, February 24). 'Blood Moon' Books Vie to Explain 'Prophetic Celestial Signs' Said to Have Ties to Israel.  CP Church & Ministry.  Christian Post.  Retrieved from http://www.christianpost.com/news/blood-moon-books-vie-to-explain-prophetic-celestial-signs-said-to-have-ties-to-israel-115097/

 In October, Worthy Publishing released John Hagee’s New York Times nonfiction best seller, Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change, that is currently leading a pack of similarly titled books that attempt to tie four upcoming lunar eclipses that correspond to the Jewish holy days of Passover and Sukkot to end time prophecies (Menzie, 2014, February 24, para. 1-2). 

The Bible and ‘Blood Moons’

Hagee selects the proof text Joel 2:28-32, and most particularly verse 31 in Joel--“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord”--as a pivotal sign that apocalyptical events will soon to occur, although the pastor also references  Jesus’ disclosure of when He would return in Matthew 24: 29—“‘the sun will be darkened,  and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” (Menzie, 2014, February 24, para. 2).

“Blood Moon” Bandwagon

In addition to Hagee's work released in October 2013, any recent bibliography of authors that associates this tetrad of blood moons with apocalyptic events should include the following selections:

• Biltz, Mark. (2014, March).  Blood Moons: Decoding the Imminent Heavenly Signs. WND Press.

• Hitchcock, Mark. (2014, April).   Blood Moons Rising: Bible Prophecy, Israel, and the Four Blood Moons.  Tyndale House.

• Ruhling, Richard. (2014, February).  Behold a White Horse: The Blood Moon at Passover, 2014 a Sign of Judgment. [Kindle only].  Richard Ruhling.

• Terrazas, Oscar John.  (2013, November).  Three Blood Moons-Signs of the Heavens. [Kindle only].  Oscar John Terrazas.
  

(Menzie, 2014, February 24, para. 3)

What Is a “Blood Moon?”

Most individuals call a full moon that comes immediately after a Harvest Moon that occurs at the time of the autumn equinox a Hunter’s Moon, but it can also be called a “blood moon” since it takes on a reddish appearance when it is low in the sky (Menzie, 2014, February 24, para. 4; McClure, 2014, February 3, para. 3-4).  Assigning the term “blood moon” to an entire series of eclipses is technically wrong, for the name only describes those lunar eclipses that occur in the fall (Menzie, 2014, February 24, para. 5; McClure, 2014, February 3, para.14).  Indeed, McClure’s EarthSky article confirms that applying the term “blood moon” to a series of four lunar eclipses that come both in the fall and the spring first appears in the writings of John Hagee.  McClure then emphatically asserts that astronomers won’t be using this term to apply to any consecutive lunar eclipses.  

When Will the Blood Moons Appear?

Two pairs of lunar and solar eclipse will take place in 2014 while Hagee only recognizes eclipses that fall on Jewish holy days in 2014 and 2015 (*).  The lunar eclipses that comply with the original definition of a Blood Moon, or Hunter's Moon, as a full moon that comes after a Harvest Moon appear in red boldface:

• *April 15, 2014 (Total Lunar Eclipse--Passover)

• April 29, 2014 (Annular Solar Eclipse)

• *Oct. 8, 2014 (Total Lunar Eclipse --Sukkot)

• Oct. 23, 2014 (Partial Solar Eclipse)

• March 20, 2015 (Total Solar Eclipse--1st Calendar Day of the Jewish ecclesiastical New Year) Question: Why doesn't Hagee include this solar eclipse in his argument? 

• *April 4, 2015 (Total Lunar Eclipse, Passover)

• Sept. 13, 2015 (Partial Solar Eclipse)

• *Sept. 28, 2015 (Total Lunar Eclipse, Sukkot)

Never mind that the solar eclipses, except perhaps the one that coincides with the Jewish New Year, don’t fit Hagee’s dispensational prophetic scheme (Menzie, 2014, February 24, para. 6-7).

Blood Moons as Prophetic Signs?

Hagee, a Christian Zionist, points out that four consecutive lunar eclipses have only fallen on Passover and Sukkot just three times in the last 500 years, and each time they served as harbingers of significant historical events in Jewish history:

• 1493 (5252-5253):  Here the eclipse of four blood moons, or rather the eclipse of two blood moons, coincide with Sukkot in the fall, and the eclipse of two additional moons takes place at the same time as Passover in the spring—Hagee equates this with the “fall of Spain” after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492 as well as God’s announcement that “the mantle of prosperity would fall on the United States [284 years later] since the U.S. would become a refuge for Jewish people.  Hagee obviously disregards the immense wealth that accrued to Spain following Columbus’ discovery [or re-discovery] of the New World.

• 1949-1950 (5709-5710):  Hagee links this series of blood moons with the recognition of Israel as an independent nation, although Israel actually declares its independence on May 14, 1948.
  

• 1967-1968 (5727-5728):   Hagee links these blood moons with Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War in 1967 and the unification of Jerusalem under Israeli rule.
  

Although Hagee argues that the Lord might be up to something, The Jewish Press is skeptical (Menzie, 2014, February 24, para.8-12; Yanover, 2013, October 6; updated 2013, October 11, para. 15).

What Does It All Mean?

 While Hagee's Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change is a best seller, some Christian reviewers are critical of his equating these lunar eclipses with end time events. Chris White, in particular, labels Hagee’s blood moons as “inconvenient” lunar eclipses (Menzie, 2014, February 24, para. 13-14; White, 2013, December 8, YouTube video).  However, to be fair to Hagee, in retrospect, some of his defenders have argued that some historical events have occurred around the time of a blood moon.

 

References:

McClure, Bruce.  (2014, February 3).  What is a Blood Moon?  EarthSky.  FAQS / Human World / Space.  Retrieved from http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-blood-moon-lunar-eclipses-2014-2015

Folklorists sometimes call a Hunter’s Moon a blood moon perhaps because it rises soon after sunset, so it takes on a reddish glow in the fall.  But all full moons have names that usually coincide with their months or seasons.  Thus, the Hunter’s Moon is a full moon following the Harvest Moon that occurs around the time of an autumnal equinox (McClure, 2014, February 3, para. 1-3).  Therefore, Harvest and Hunter’s Moons in the Northern Hemisphere during 2014 and 2015 technically occur only in the fall, but Mark Biltz and John Hagee have seized upon the label blood moon to designate four successive lunar eclipses with no partial lunar eclipses in between during the next two years.  Here the asterisk and the word “Blood Moon” in red boldface refers to their inaccurate appropriation of an astronomical term:

• *Total lunar eclipse: April 15. 2014 (Blood Moon during Passover)

• Harvest Moon: September 9, 2014

• Total lunar eclipse: September 28,2014

• *Hunter’s (Blood) Moon: October 8, 2014 (Blood Moon during Sukkot)

• *Total lunar eclipse: April 4, 2015 (Blood Moon during Passover)

• Autumn Equinox: September 23, 2015

• *Harvest Moon: September 28, 2015 (a lunar eclipse during Sukkot that Biltz and Hagee designate as a Blood Moon)

• *Hunter’s (Blood) Moon: October 27, 2015 (Blood Moon during Sukkot)

(McClure, 2014, February 3, para. 4-5 & 10)

Blood Moons in Biblical Prophecy

Hagee first made popular the term in Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change (October 2014), but both Biltz and Hagee represent this lunar tetrad as a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy since Joel 2:31 predicts that the moon turns to blood in end times.  But they also conveniently leave out the part about the sun turning to darkness (McClure, 2014, February 3, para. 6-8).

Astronomers, however, often refer to lunar eclipses as “blood red” when the atmosphere  scatters sunlight from sunrises and sunsets falls on the moon’s surface, making it take on a reddish glow unless recent volcanic activity makes it look more brownish or gray (McClure, 2014, February 3, para. 9). 

Thus, although eight tetrads occur between 2001 and 2100, these evangelists designate the 2014-2015 tetrad as “especially important” because they [more or less] jive with Passover and Sukkot (McClure, 2014, February 3, para. 11-12). Since the Jewish calendar follows a lunar calendar, a full moon almost always falls on or near Passover (15 Nissan) and Sukkot (14 Tishri), for these days fall in the first and seventh months of the Jewish year.  Ironically, however, three of the four lunar eclipses won’t shine over Israel, although the September 28, 2015, eclipse will be briefly visible from Israel before sunrise (McClure, 2014, February 3, para. 13-14).  

A series of four lunar eclipses that falls within six lunar months of each other may—or may not—be frequent, depending on the century.  In the 21st century eight total tetrads will occur, but in the 17th through 19th centuries no tetrads took place.  However, between the 1st through 21st century, 62 eclipses take place—the last in 2003-2004 and after 2014-2015 the next in 2032-2033 (McClure, 2014, February 3, para. 15-16).

But the total number of times the tetrads fall on the feast of Passover and Tabernacles is only eight (McClure, 2014, February 3, para. 16), and although a quick look through history turns up a few instances when the blood moon tetrads occur in the same year where momentous events happen to the Jewish people, for the most part, these events either occur to Christians instead of Jews, or else  they occur in near proximity to that calendar year but not on it:

• 162-163 C. E. (3599-3600)—Christian sources, including Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (1684), connect Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antonius with a fourth round of persecution of Christians beginning in 162 C.E.  Since this persecution might stem from a failure to sacrifice to the state’s gods, Roman authorities would have persecuted Jews and/or Jewish Christians as well.

• 795-796 C. E. (4555-4556)--Hagee points to the Carolinian forces, under the command of Charlemagne’s son Pepin, defeat of the Avars as relevant to Jewish history, but historians have traditionally pointed to Charles Martel’s turning back the Umayyad Caliphate in 732 (or 733) at the Battle of Tours (a. k. a. the Battle of Poitiers) as a decisive turning point in the military struggle for Europe between Christian and Islamic forces.

• 842-843 C.E. (4620-4621)—In 842 Muslims took Messina, Sicily, but Saracen raiders didn’t pillage St. Peter’s basilica in Rome until 846.

• 860-861 C.E. (4620-4621)—In December 861, the Abbasid Caliph al-Mutawakki was assassinated, staring a period of Islamic history known as the Anarchy of Samarra.  In 850, Mutawakki ordered non-Muslims living in Islamic territory, or the Dhimmi, to wear clothing marking them as infidels; Muslims destroyed their churches and synagogues, and Christians and Jews could no longer hold government offices.

• 1493-1494 C.E. (5252-5253)--Hagee links the downfall of Spain and the subsequent rise of the United States with this tetrad, but this is reaching since Spain really didn’t start to rise until 1492:  Ferdinand and Isabella actually expelled the Jews from Spain on March 23, 1492.  Also in 1492, Granada fell to Christian Spanish forces, ending 780 years of Muslim rule of the Iberian Peninsula.   On March 15, 1493, Christopher Columbus returned to Spain from his first voyage to the West Indies, and on May 4, 1493, Pope Alexander VI decreed that all lands west of the Azores belonged to Spain. 

• 1949-1950 C.E. (5709-5710)--Hagee stretches events that happen in 1948 to make them fit his tetrad prophecy:   On May 14, 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), Israel declared its independence from Britain.  In 1949, when David Ben Gurion was elected Israel’s first Prime Minister, and Israel was admitted to the United Nations, Ben Gurion proclaimed Jerusalem Israel’s official capital, and the Knesset passed the Law of Return.

• 1967-1968 C.E. (5727-5728):  Pay dirt—not to mention the only date within living memory that the public actually recalls correctly!  On June 10, 1967 (2 Sivan 5726), the Israeli Army defeated Egyptian, Jordan, Syrian, and Lebanese forces, adding the Gaza strip, the Sinai, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights to Israel.  When Israel officially annexed the Temple  Mount where the Dome of the Rock and the Wailing Wall now stand, many New Testament scholars believe that this fulfilled a prerequisite for future apocalyptic events to occur.

• 2014-2015 C.E. (5774-5775):

(McClure, 2014, February 3, para. 17)

As this time line shows, McClure is right to question why Hagee and company use the term “blood moon” to mean any full moon in a lunar tetrad “since “there’s no obvious reason why blood moon should be associated with this term” (2014, February 3, para. 18-19).

Bottom line:  

Although Hagee and Biltz have applied the term “blood moon” to four successive lunar eclipses in six months, this is a new meaning for a term that astronomers traditionally have only applied to a Hunter’s Moon that followed the Harvest Moon that appeared at about the time of the fall equinox.  Many historical events that involved the Jews for good or ill were also off by a year or even a few decades (McClure, 2014, February 3, para. 23).  As Chris White muses, coming close to hitting a mark should only count in horseshoes.

White, Chris. (2013, December 8).  The Bloodman Theory Debuked (2014-2015).  Bible Prophecy Talk.  [12:36 minutes].  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCcg8ht_3G0

This succinct discrediting of the blood moon theory points out how Hagee and Biltz stretch the concept of a blood moon to fit their message: 1) Scripture refers to a universal darkness that simultaneously blots out the sun, moon, and stars and takes place at the same time as a great earthquake—not to a series of four consecutive full moons that fall on Jewish feast days; 2) Equating blood moons with significant events in Jewish history isn’t very precise; for example, the 1493-1494 and 1949-1950 tetrads are off by a full year; and the 1967-1968 tetrad is off by ten months'  Lunar eclipses that fall on Jewish holy days happen with some regularity; for instance, this happened 37 times in the 20th century.  Although rallying humanity to repent so as to be ready for the Day of the Lord  is a time-honored, sound practice, White labels the blood moon theory as “little more than fluff and hype” (Chase, 2013, December 8).

Yanover, Yori. (2013, October 6; updated 2013, October 11). Messianic ‘Blood Moon’ Rising on Passover Seder Night.   Home » News & Views » Israel.  Jewish Press.  Retrieved from http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/messianic-blood-moon-rising-on-passover-seder/2013/10/06/

Never mind that Yori Yanover’s quotation, “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come” doesn’t match up with Joel 3:3-4, which judges the Nations:

3 [a]“In those days and at that time,

    when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

2 I will gather all nations

    and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[b]

There I will put them on trial

    for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,

because they scattered my people among the nations

    and divided up my land.

3 They cast lots for my people

    and traded boys for prostitutes;

    they sold girls for wine to drink.

4 “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done. 5 For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.[c] 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.

Although the verse Yanover quotes more closely matches  Joel 2:30-31--

 I will show wonders in the heavens

    and on the earth,

    blood and fire and billows of smoke.

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.

Joel 2:30-31 (NIV)

Prophetic proof texts in both the Old and New Testament are open to many interpretations, so Yanover is fascinated by the occurrence of “a string of four ‘blood moons’ will appear in the Jewish year 5775 (2013-2014) just as “enormous events”  in Jewish history took place around the time of four consecutive lunar eclipses that fell on Jewish holy days.  At least that’s the belief of Mark Biltz, “who runs a ‘Hebrew roots’ ministry in Tacoma, Washington, Red Moons” and  his “much better connected” blood moon theorist, John Hagee (October 6, 2013, para. 1-3 & 11).

Biltz bases his original observations on Genesis 1:14 since God uses the heavenly lights as signs, so the prophet Joel foretells that a blood moon will mark the “Day of the Lord” (Yanover, October 6, 2013, para. 4-5).

Yanover mixes up what happens during a partial lunar eclipse and a total lunar eclipse, but he understands that the earth’s atmosphere during sunset and sunrise refracts the sun’s wavelength enough to make the full moon appear red, and he also grasps the fundamental aspect of the prophecy that blood moons herald the return—or first coming, depending on whether the believer is Jewish or Christian--of the Messiah.  All of which makes Yanover and Biltz wonder about  the statistical odds of creating four blood moon lunar eclipses in a row most particularly during 2014 and 2013 (October 6, 2013, para. 6-7). 

To Yanover’s credit, however, he notes that the “Tetrad phenomenon” takes place “right after” instead of at the same time significant historical events occurred in 5710 (1949-1950) after Israel declared her independence in 5709 and 5728 after Israel reunited all of Jerusalem in 5727, and I 5654 (1493-1494) right after Spain exiled the Jews in 5653--a.k.a.1492 (October 6, 2013, para. 8 &10).

Admittedly, Yanover admits, “No, Virginia, we don’t believe in this stuff, we really don’t follow anything up in the heavens except our Father in Heaven, but you have to admit, this is pretty curious” (October 6, 2013, para. 13). All of which points out that Yanover, Biltz, and Hagee need to pay a little closer attention to details.

____________

McHyde, Tim.  (2014).   4 Blood Moons of Jesus Return? Mark Biltz Theory Debunked.  Escape All These Things.  Retrieved from http://www.escapeallthesethings.com/2015-blood-eclipses.htm

This post won’t even discuss Tim McHyde’s discrediting of the four blood moons theory by linking these eclipses with Wormwood, also known as Planet X.  Otherwise, McHyde is best known for his claim that the United Kingdom’s Charles, the Prince of Wales, is the Antichrist.

Conclusion:

As the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25: 1-13 warns, the followers of Jesus should always be ready for His return.  However, as Jesus told the disciples, only the Father knows when this will occur.   Meanwhile Christians shouldn't forget to use the minds that the Lord has given them.  Finally, believers shouldn't be so concerned with conspiracy theories and end time events that they fail to focus on witnessing and showing their love for God by loving their neighbors as themselves.

___________

Go to the Primary Source

Book of Revelation: Summary, Chapters, Video. (2014). Bible Study Tools. Retrieved from http://www.biblestudytools.com/revelation/

____________

End Time interpretations:

A Common-Sense Summary

• Futurists look on Revelation and other prophetic books as almost totally eschatological:  Derbyite Dispensationalists believe in the rapture, or the sudden removal of all true believers from the Earth before a seven-year period of Tribulation; however, a second group of Futurists holds that all believers pass through the Tribulation.   Critics of the Futurist viewpoint contend, however, that it is inconsistent with John’s statement that all the events in Revelation will soon come to pass.  This stance also doesn’t address the needs of the seven churches who received John’s letter.  But Futurists argue that other interpretations take away from any need for evangelical fervor.
  

• Adherents of the Continuous-Historical Method see Revelation as a symbolic forecast of the history of the Church. Wycliffe and Luther are among the Protestant theologians who have held this point-of-view.  This interpretation, however, attaches too much importance to the apostasy of the Roman Catholic Church and doesn’t really address the problems of first-century Christians.  It also dwells too much on timelines and dates.
  

• Proponents of the Philosophy of History Method see Revelation as a discourse on the ideas that underlie historical events rather than dealing with the events themselves.  On the other hand, this interpretation recognizes God’s hand in history.
  

• Preterists argue that all prophecies mentioned in Revelation have already taken place during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitan.  Adopting this viewpoint ensures that the reader believes that the book was very relevant to the churches that John advised.
  

• Advocates of the Historical Background Method remains true to the idea that John wrote Revelation to rebuke and encourage early Christians living in Asia Minor while remembering that John used symbolic language to conceal its message from readers outside of the Christian fold.

 

Reference:

Summers, Ray. (1951).  Worthy is the Lamb: An Interpretation of Revelation. Broadman Press: Nashville, Tennessee.

___________

Jewish Holy Days 

Rosh Hashanah (the first and second day of Tishri), or Jewish New Year, is curiously the seventh month of the official Jewish calendar that begins on Nissan 1. Leviticus 23:24-25 first institutionalized this holy day, symbolized by the ram’s horn, or shofar, so the Jews have long marked this day with introspection and prayer. Eating apples on Rosh Hashanah signifies a wish for a sweet New Year while taking small pieces of bread out of a pocket and casting them in flowing water represents the casting away of sin.  Jews wish each other “L’shanan tovah”, meaning “for a good year”.

Rich, Tracey, R. (2011).  Rosh Hashanah.  Judaism 101.  Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday2.htm

Yom Kippur (the 10^th day of Tishri), which translates as “The Day of Atonement”, is set aside as a day “to afflict the soul”, atoning for sins of the past year as commanded in Leviticus 23:26.  Thus, if an individual has wronged another during the past year, he or she must apologize before Yom Kippur.  Jewish law prohibits observant Jews from working on this Sabbath and forbids washing and bathing, anointing the body, a practice that prohibits makeup and deodorant, and wearing leather shoes.  Some Jews also wear white, suggesting purity.  This most important of Jewish holy days is spent in synagogue services.

---. (2011). Yom Kippur.  Judaism 101.  Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday4.htm

Sukkot, which translates as “The Feast of Tabernacles” (Tishri 15, the fifth day after Yom Kippur), marks the Z’man Simchateinu, or “the Season of Rejoicing”.  During this week, Jews build temporary booths or dwellings to commemorate their 40 days wandering the wilderness after the Exodus, as commanded in Leviticus 23:33 and the following verses  A sukkah, or booth, must have two and a half walls and be covered by a roof that won’t blow away in the wind.

---. (2011). Sukkot.  Judaism 101.  Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday5.htm

A relatively minor holiday, Chanukkah, or sometimes Ḥănukkāh (begins the 25^th day of Kislev), is an eight-day celebration that has become well known outside the Jewish community since it ordinarily occurs around Christmas.  This “Festival of Lights” has its roots in the dedication of the Temple after the successful Maccabee revolt against the Greek Seleucid Dynasty in 165 B.C.E.  This revolt started after the Greek defiled the Temple by sacrificing swine, and upon its cleansing,  the predecessors of the Pharisees found only one day’s supply of kosher oil to light its menorah, or a nine-branched candlestick, consisting of eight separate branches as well as a center branch.  However, this small amount of oil miraculously lasted eight days—the time necessary for more kosher oil to be prepared.  Thus, each night at dinner time during this festival, Jewish families add a new candle to the menorah that burns while they recite three blessings.  They also customarily enjoy fried foods, including latkes, or potato pancakes.  Children  play penny-ante gambling games with a dreidel, whose origins come from the tradition that Jews concealed the study of the Torah by starting to play gambling games when Greek officials happened along.

---.  (2011). Chanukkah.  Judaism 101 Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm

Purim (on Adar 14) remembers the story of Esther, or Hadassah,  and how she foiled the evil plot of Haman who attempted to hang her uncle Mordecai and destroy the Jewish people at the time of their exile in the 4th century B.C.  The winner of a nation-wide beauty contest meant to select Persia’s queen, Esther gradually revealed to her husband, the powerful King Ahasuerus, that she was Jewish in a series of meals to which she invited both the King and Haman whereupon the King commanded that Haman met the fate he meant to impose upon the Jews.  “Purim” translates as “lots” since Haman drew lots to determine the date for his planned massacre of the Jews on Adar 13.  Jews celebrate this spring holiday with the reading of the scroll, or Megillish, of Esther, hissing and booing and making noise whenever Haman’s name appears in the text, by giving food and drink to friends as well as giving to charity, eating lots of delicious food, and wearing masks and costumes.

---.  (2011). Purim. Judaism 101.  Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm

Pesach, or Passover, is an eight-day festival outside of Israel and a seven-day festival inside Israel that  commemorates the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt.  The first day of the Pesach, which always begins on the 15th day of Nissan, retells the Hebrews' preparation for fleeing Egypt, placing the blood of a Paschal lamb or goat on the doorpost and not taking the time to prepare leavened bread.   Accordingly, the Passover meal, or Seder, features lamb and unleavened bread.  Indeed, the name Pesach refers to the removal of yeast breads from the household as well as any puffiness or pride from the soul.   In preparation for Pesach, Jewish households spend weeks cleaning the house, getting rid of any yeast-breads.   The day before Pesach, first-born males undergo a fast.  The Thursday before Easter, or Maundy Thursday, which Christians identify with the Last Supper, corresponds to the last day of the Passover week.

---.   (2011). Pesach. Judaism 101.  Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/holidaya.htm

Shavu’ot, or the Festival of Weeks, which is also known as Pentecost, falls 49 days or seven weeks after the second day of Passover.  It references the bringing of the first fruits to the Temple in ancient Israel as well as the receiving of the Torah.  Observant Jews traditionally stay up all night reading the Torah while they also read the book of Ruth during this week.  A meal completely composed of dairy products is also eaten once during this week.

Christian liturgy designates the eight Sunday or the 50th day after Easter as Pentecost.  This date also falls nine days after Christ ascended to Heaven.  On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on Christ’s 120 followers, enabling these believers in Jesus’ resurrection to witness and speak in tongues as told in Acts 1:13-26.   

---. (2011). Shavu’ot.  Judaism 101.  Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/holidayc.htm

____________

The Jewish Calendar

The Jewish calendar is based on the lunar cycle, which runs for 29.5 days, so the Jewish year runs only 354 days.  An extra month, Adar II, then is added every two or three years. Each day begins at sundown, and the day of rest and worship, starting on Friday evening, Yom Shabbat, ends the week (Parsons, n. d., para. 2-3). 

The days of the week are Yom Rishon (a.k.a. Sunday), the first day; Yom Sheini,  the second day; Yom Shlishi, the third day, Yom R’vi’i, the fourth day; Yom Chamishi, the fifth day; Yom Shishi, the sixth day, and Yom Shabbat, the Sabbath, or seventh day (Rich, 2011, para. 18).

The official Jewish calendar year starts in the spring in the month of Nisan, although curiously, Jews celebrate the New Year, or Rosh Hashanah, the first two days of Tishri, which corresponds to the months of September and October on the Gregorian calendar.  The observance of Holy Days, falls under the commandment to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.  Orthodox Jews observance of the Sabbath Day is completely total; for example, they might not look at their e-mail or except phone calls on the Sabbath.  Similarly, Online classes for Hebrew University in Jerusalem don't meet during Jewish holy day weeks.

The 12 Jewish calendar months are as follows:

• Nisan (March/April): 1st month of the ecclesiastical calendar; 7th month of the civil year:  During the Jewish sojourn in Assyria, this 30-day month referred to the time when the barley was ripe.
  

• Iyyar (April/May): 2nd month of the ecclesiastical calendar; 8th month of the civil year:  This 30-day month translates as “rosette”.
  

• Sivan (May/June): 3rd month of the ecclesiastical calendar; 9th month of the civil year:  This 30-day month translates as “season”.
  

• Tammuz (June/July): 4th month of the ecclesiastical calendar; 10th month of the civil year:  This 29 day months is adapted from a month in the Assyrian-Babylonian calendar named after the Mesopotamian god Tummuz, a god of vegetation, who yearly descends into the underworld in a cycle of death and resurrection;
  

• Av (July/August) 5th month of the ecclesiastical calendar; 1lth month of the civil year: This 30-day month is of Babylon origin, but it marks a time of sorrows throughout Jewish history: the Temple was destroyed on the 9th of Av in A.D. 70, following the start of a Civil War in Jerusalem on the 7th of Av in A. D. 67; the 7th of Av also marked the start of the Spanish Inquisition in 1492 while Edward I expelled the Jews from England on the 9th of Av in 1290.
  

• Elul (August/September) 6th month of the ecclesiastical year; 12th month of the civil year: The name of this 29-day month comes from the Assyrian-Babylonian word for harvest.  Traditionally, Elul is a time of repentance.
  

• Tishri (September/October) 7th month of the ecclesiastical year; 1st month of the civil year: Tishri is an Assyrian-Babylonian word that translates as “beginning”; this 30-day month comes about the time of the autumn equinox.
  

• Cheshvan (October/November) 8th month of the ecclesiastical year; 2nd month of the civil year:  This 30-day month, which is also an Assyrian-Babylonian word, literally translates as eighth month.
  

• Kislev (November/December) 9th month of the ecclesiastical year; 3rd month of the civil year:  This 30-day month’s meaning may come either from an Assyrian-Babylonian word meaning thickened by plentiful rains or a Hebrew root meaning hope because rains are expected.
  

• Tevat (December/January) 10th month of the ecclesiastical year, 4th month of the civil year: The word “tevat” refers to a tenth or a talent; Tevat has 29 days.
  

• Shevat (January/February) 11th month of the ecclesiastical year; 5th month of the civil year: This month is associated with a new year for trees.
  

• Adar (January/February) 12th month of the ecclesiastical year; 6th month of the civil year: a saying from the Talmud notes, “When Adar comes, joy is increased”.  This 29-day month marks a time of preparation for Purim. A second month of Adar comes during Jewish leap years.

References

Parson, John J. (n. d.).  The Jewish calendar:  Mindfulness of the divine rhythm.  Hebrew for Christians.  Retrieved from http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Calendar/calendar.html

Rich, Tracey, R. (2011).  Jewish Calendar.  Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/calendar.htm/