The End is Near, Maybe
Evelyn
Smith
September 29, 2015
Now that the blood moons have come and gone, self-proclaimed
Christian “prophets” can look back and perhaps relate them to current events,
such as the influx of Middle Eastern immigrants to Europe, which will surely
fast-forward the rise of Islam there.* Then again, the gospel of Matthew in the
New Testament reveals that Jesus told his followers that they won’t know the
exact time of his return, but they should always be prepared:
36“But about that day
or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son
of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they
knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.
That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in
the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding
with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42“Therefore keep
watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But
understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the
thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be
broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at
an hour when you do not expect him.
Matthew 24: 36-42 (NIV)
Meanwhile, the night of the final lunar eclipse, the
heavens did declare the glory of God,
so if sky watchers didn’t catch the last of four lunar eclipses in the space of
two years, they can go to several Websites for photos of the event:
Amazing photos of the rare supermoon total lunar
eclipse of 2015. (2015, September
28). Retrieved from http://www.space.com/30586-supermoon-lunar-eclipse-2015-blood-moon-photos.html
Best photos of the total lunar eclipse. (2015,
September 28). EarthSky. Retrieved from http://earthsky.org/todays-image/best-photos-september-27-28-total-lunar-eclipse
However, even before the event, prognosticators like
Mark Biltz are doing a little back pedaling, not necessarily warning of the
Rapture, but predicting hard times occasioned by a failure to repent. However, they can’t help but add that
matching astronomical events with Jewish feast day anniversaries can predict
that bad times are ahead unless sinners repent.
Austin, Jon. (2015, August 27). Rare ‘blood moon’ event in FOUR weeks will
bring huge earth-destroying earthquakes.
Express.com. Retrieved from http://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/584602/Rare-Blood-Moon-September-huge-earth-destroying-earthquakes-prophets-warn-USA-pope
Two American evangelists in an effort to pedal their
books are predicting catastrophic events that will correspond with Pope
Francis’ visit to the United States as well as the last of four blood moons,
thus signaling the second coming, the destruction of the world by earthquakes,
and growing tensions in the Middle East that result in World War III (Austin,
2015, August 27, para. 1-6).
Mark Biltz, of Washington state, has connected the
occurrence of lunar eclipses with the founding of the state of Israel, May 14, 1948—lunar eclipses occurred the day
before Passover, April 23, 1948, and the first day of Sukkot, October 18, 1948;
the Six Day War, June 5—12, 1967--a lunar eclipse again occurred the day before
Passover on April 24, 1967, and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492,
although a tetrad of lunar eclipses occurred in 1493-94. All of which supposedly points to the
significant of the third of the blood moons on
the eve of Passover, April 3, 2015, and on September 28, 2015, the first
day of Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight-day harvest festival commemorating the 40 days the Hebrews spent wandering in the wilderness upon their flight from Egypt to the Promised Land that runs from sunset on September 27, through October 4, 2015, in Jewish year of 5776 **(Austin, 2015, August 27, para. 9).
Furthermore, Austin notes that Biltz is currently monitoring the reoccurring frequency of earthquakes (Austin, 2015, August 27, para. 10). Similarly, Hagee has linked April’s blood moon with the Ukrainian offensive against Russian separatists (Austin, 2015, August 27, para. 20).
See also:
**Rich, Tracey R. (2011). Sukkot. Judaism 101. Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday5.htm
Furthermore, Austin notes that Biltz is currently monitoring the reoccurring frequency of earthquakes (Austin, 2015, August 27, para. 10). Similarly, Hagee has linked April’s blood moon with the Ukrainian offensive against Russian separatists (Austin, 2015, August 27, para. 20).
See also:
**Rich, Tracey R. (2011). Sukkot. Judaism 101. Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday5.htm
Blood moons’ discoverer fires back at ‘end of world’
claims. (2015, September 8). WND.
Retrieved from http://www.wnd.com/2015/09/blood-moons-discoverer-fires-back-at-end-of-world-claims/
Responding to an article in the Independent, Mark Biltz, head of El Shaddar Ministries, claims that
the blood moons don’t necessarily predict the Apocalypse, but they do predict a
“possible major war involving Israel and an economic collapse” (Blood moons,
2015, September 8, para. 1-2).
Consequently, Biltz contends that these signs in the Heavens are
summoning the world to repent (Blood moons, 2015, September 8, para. 8-9), and
they were coupled with current events, for September “is shaping up to be a
perform storm of global catastrophes”—that Biltz catalogs in detail (Blood
moons, 2015, September 8, para. 10-13).
He then argues that “what is important is not just what signs are in the
sky, but the dates when they are taking place (Blood moons, 2015, September 8,
para. 13). Biltz thus urges Christian to return to the “biblical calendar”
(also known as the Jewish calendar) and study the importance of the Shemitah
cycle (Blood moons, 2015, September 8, para. 20). Then like the Jewish prophets of old, Biltz
warns that “America is inviting judgment” (Blood moons, 2015, September 21).
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalms 19:1
|
Gemma Lavendar, editor of All About Space Magazine, notes that the moon will be closer than
usual the night of the last of the four blood moons, September 27th-28th,
so sky gazers should be able to pick out its feature with binoculars and
telescopes (Gee, 2015, September 1, para. 5-7), and NASA is making asteroid
detection a top priority (Gee, 2015, September 1, para. 11). Meanwhile, some Jewish mystics and Christian
fundamentalists are predicting doomsday (Gee, 2015, September 1, para.
17).
What
is a Blood Moon?
A blood moon
occurs when it reflects the sunlight in the Earth’s atmosphere, turning the
full moon a golden, coppery, or rusty red color when it is low in the sky, near
the horizon (Gee, 2015, September 1, para. 22).
What
is the Blood Moon Prophecy?
Mike Biltz and John Hagee first proposed that four
consecutive lunar eclipses between April 2014 and September 2015 signified the
end of the world, taking their cues from the New Testament--Acts 2: 20 and
Revelation 6:12--and the Old
Testament--Joel 2:31 (Gee, 2015, September 1, para. 23).
Why
all the doom and gloom?
The Reverend Efram Rodriguez is so sure of impending
tragedy that he has contacted NASA about his vision of an asteroid measuring
2.5 miles hitting Puerto Rico, triggering a magnitude 12 earth quake (Gee,
2015, September 1, para. 26).
So
when is it likely to happen?
The target date most often proposed for this dire
events is between September 21 and September 28, 2015, between Yom Kippur, or
Jewish New Year’s, and the first day of Sukkot, a festival also known as the Feast of
Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths (Gee, 2015, September 21, para. 27-29).
What
are the scientists saying?
Paul Chodas of NASA’s Near Earth Object Center has
issued a disclaimer (Gee, 2015, September 21, para. 30).
Leopold, Todd.
(2015, September 1). Blood moon
has some expecting end of the world. CNN.
Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/01/living/blood-moon-biblical-prophecy-feat/
The final blood moon in a series of four consecutive
lunar eclipses (April 15, 2014; October 8, 2014; April 4, 2015, and September
27-28, 2015) fulfills biblical prophecy, signaling “a world shaking event”
between April 2014 and October 2015, according to fundamental Christian
minister John Hagee (Leopold, 2015, September 1, para. 1-4). Since Hagee first publicized the link between
lunar eclipses and Jewish holy days through the centuries, skeptics and
scientists have quickly dismissed his claim that this tetrad necessarily
forebodes a coming catastrophe since it’s only logical that lunar eclipses coincide
with Jewish holy days, for 62 lunar eclipses have occurred on Jewish holy days
since the first century of the Common Era (Leopold, 2015, September 1, para.
10).
Millward, David. (2015, September 9). End of the
world fears that ‘blood moons’ will lead to apocalyptic meteor strike. The
Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11852689/End-of-the-world-fears-that-blood-moon-will-lead-to-apocalyptic-meteor-strike.html
United States pastors John Hagee and Mark Biltz have
heralded the last of the four lunar eclipses, or “blood moons” in a tetrad that
coincides with Jewish holy days in 2014-2015 as an omen that the end of the
world and the second coming of Jesus Christ is at hand (Millward, 2015,
September 29, para. 3-6). To quell any
fears, NASA has responded that it “knows of no asteroid or comet currently on a
collision course with Earth, so the probability of a major collision is quite
small. In fact, as best as we can tell,
no large object is likely to strike the Earth any time in the next several
hundred years” (Millward, 2015, September 29, para. 11-12).
Mitchell, Andre. (2015, September 1). ‘Blood moon’ this September could be biblical
sign of Apocalypse, pastors say.
Life. Christian Today. Retrieved from http://www.christiantoday.com/article/blood.moon.this.september.could.be.biblical.sign.of.apocalypse.pastors.say/63472.htm
Citing Acts 2:20 and Revelation 6:2 as proof texts,
Mark Biltz and John Hagee claim that the last in a tetrad of four blood moons
particularly since it follows on the heels of Pope Francis’ visit to the United
States [and coincides with the first day of Sukkot, September 27-28th] signify a “potential apocalypse”,
Biltz even forecasting a possible “great earthquake” around the time
surrounding Yom Kippur and Sukkot between September 21st
to September 28th (Mitchell, 2015, September 1, para. 1-5). Meanwhile, Hagee
hedges his bets by pointing to possible “dramatic events in the Middle East”
(Mitchell, 2015, September 1, para. 7).
So what else is new?
Nelson, Sara C. (2015, August 9; updated 2015,
September 9). Blood moon to coincide
with asteroid apocalypse on 28 September.
Huffpost Tech. United Kingdom. Huffington
Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/09/08/blood-moon-coincide-asteroid-apocalypse-28-september_n_8104668.html
Viewers will enjoy a brief video publicizing the
astronomical significance of blood moons while Nelson publicizes the doomsday
vision of Efrain Rodriguez, who believes that a huge asteroid will crash into
the ocean near Puerto Rico between September 22nd and 28th,
2015, causing a massive earthquake and tsunami (Nelson, 2015, August 9, para.
7-8).
Ohlheiser, Abby. (2015, April 3). Everything you need to know about the ‘blood
moon’ apocalypse debate. Acts of Faith. Washington
Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/04/03/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-blood-moon-apocalypse-debate/
Ohlheiser believes that both John Hagee and Mark
Biltz’s books “are built on a Dan Brown-esque imposition of coded messages and
signs on biblical history and the Bible itself” (Ohlheiser, 2015, April 3,
para. 6). For example, Root’s Source Gideon Ariel claims this
sign corresponds with the idea that on the fourth day of creation, God created
the sun and moon (Ohlheiser, 2015, April 3, para. 7).
Last year, Mark Biltz told the Washington Post that the blood moons predict a “good chance there could be a war with Israel” and an “economic calamity” (Ohlheiser, 2015, April 3, para. 8-9). However, while speaking with World Net Daily, he narrowed the extent of their effect since noting that solar eclipses predict future events that contain a message for the entire world while lunar eclipses serve only as a message to the Jewish people (Ohlheiser, 2015, April 3, para. 10).
In the meanwhile, Biltz and Hagee have established a
rivalry concerning the blood moon theory, Biltz accusing Hagee of taking credit
for what Biltz believes was his original theory after he noted a connection
between NASA’s charts of eclipses and the days that Jewish holy days fall on
the Jewish calendar in 2008 while Hagee first published his book in 2013, a
year after Biltz told Hagee about this coincidence. Hagee, in turn, claims that he popularized
the concept after also looking at the same NASA eclipse charts (Ohlheiser, 2015,
April 3, para. 14-16).
What makes the lunar eclipses “unique” is their alignment
with major Jewish holy days--Passover and the festival of Sukkot in 2014 and 2015 (Ohlheiser, 2015,
April 3, para. 18). Biltz nevertheless believes that this calamitous prophecy
is already coinciding with disasters around the world, citing “the Russian
invasion of the Ukraine, the advance of ISIS, a conflict between Israel and
Gaza, the overthrow of Yemen, upheaval in the Middle East and economic
meltdowns”, although admittedly not all of these events only concerned
Israel. Moreover, Biltz also predicted
that God’s wrath will continue into 2016 while also theorizing in 2013 that the
blood moons served as divine warnings to President Obama about his Middle East
policy (Ohlheiser, 2015, April 3, para. 20 & 22).
Of course, series of lunar eclipses occasionally
correspond with Jewish holy days since the Jewish calendar follows a lunar
cycle, and Passover always begins on a full moon (Ohlheiser, 2015, April 2,
para. 24).
Staufenberg, Jess. (2015, September 8). End of the world fears sparked by ‘blood
moon’ and meteor strike prophecy. The Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/end-of-the-world-fears-sparked-by-blood-moon-and-meteor-strike-prophecy-10491339.html
Staufenberg claims that fundamentalist Christians
fear that the fourth consecutive lunar eclipse, or “blood moon”, since April
2014 that also corresponds with Jewish feast days will signal an apocalyptic
meteor strike, but NASA authorities down play this coincidence (Staufenberg,
2015, September 8, para. 8, para. 1-4). Staufenberg then cites three biblical
proof texts before referring readers to the works of Mark Biltz and John Hagee,
American pastors, who have matched lunar tetrads to significant events in
Jewish history and noting that those who follow their prophecies are worried
about the period around Yom Kippur,
or the Jewish New Year, and the date of the lunar eclipse, September 28, 2015
(Staufenberg, para. 10-11).
During the last few years, however, the blood moons
prophecy has spurred the interest of Christians in the Jewish calendar.
Williams, Matt. (2015, April 1). A red moon—NOT a sign of the Apocalypse! Universe
Today. Retrieved from http://www.universetoday.com/19969/red-moon/
Red-hued or copper-colored moons have a scientific
explanation, although the recent blood moon prophecy makes them a harbinger of
impending doom (Williams, 2015, April 1, para. 3). The moon appears to be red under the
following natural conditions:
Generally, when the moon is low in the sky just
after moon rise before moon set, red light can pass through the atmosphere,
causing the moon to look red (Williams, 2015, April 1, para. 5-6).
Specifically, particles in the air from fires or
volcanic eruptions can scatter blue and green light away, causing a red-looking
moon. Also, during
a lunar eclipse, when a full moon passes into the Earth’s shadow, or umbra, it
darkens so that red light passes through the atmosphere and reflects off of it
(Williams, 2015, April 1, para. 7-8).
In all instances, the moon is more likely to appear
red when it is low in the sky. At this
point it is dimmer than when it reflects white sunlight (Williams, 2015, April
1, para. 9-10).
______
*For an earlier take on the Blood Moon prophecies, go to the following Blogger post: Common sense interpretation of the Blood Moon’s revelation. (2014, March 1). Retrieved from http://evelynelainesmith.blogspot.com/2014/03/common-sense-interpretation-of-end-time.html
