The Sign of the Blood Moons

Today we are going to take a break from the Gospel of Luke and spend the next two weeks looking at the latest issue that has surfaced among prophecy circles.  I am talking about the Blood Moons.  Over the last 6 or more years there has been increasing chatter about the coming blood moons of 2014 and 2015.  Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries in Bonney Lake, WA is one of the first to point out this phenomenon.  It was later picked up by John Hagee who has recently written a book called, “Four Blood Moons: Something is about to change.”

You may notice by such a title that there are no specific predictions being made.  Rather, it is pointing to something that is occurring and explaining why we should pay attention to it.  So let’s first look at what these blood moons are and why many are starting to talk about them.

What Are Blood Moons?

Prophecy scholars like Mark Biltz and John Hagee are looking to two passages in the Bible that refer to the moon being turned into blood before the Day of the Lord.  Generally scholars take such language to be speaking of what the phenomenon will look like rather than being literal.  So the moon will not literally turn into blood.  But rather, it will look blood red.  The biblical passages are Joel 2:30-31 and Revelation 6:12, 17.

Joel – “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 coming of the great and awesome Day of the Lord.” (NKJV)

Revelation—“I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood…the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (NKJV)

This has been generally interpreted as references to eclipses or atmospheric dust, smoke, and particulate.  It could also be a combination of both.  If you have been in areas where there are forest fires you have probably seen the moon and sun both look blood red as well as many other colors.  In these two passages we are warned that such visuals will be connected to the 2^nd Coming of Christ.  Thus the term blood moon is used to refer to the above situations.

From the scientific angle there is no technical term: blood moon.  Scientists have explained why the moon can appear to be red during a total eclipse.  But they do not use the term “blood moon” for this.  Depending on the makeup of any particulate in the atmosphere, the moon can be anywhere from brown to orange to red to black.  Thus blood moon is a description rather than a technical term.  However, scientists have determined that eclipses, both solar and lunar, follow cycles that can be mapped out with a computer.  In fact, NASA has done this on their website; figuring out the eclipses back to 2,000 BC and forward to AD 3,000.  In this mapping they have noticed that it is rare for 4 Total lunar eclipses to happen in a row.  They have called this phenomenon a tetrad.  Now April 2014 through September of 2015 we are going to have a tetrad of Total Lunar Eclipses.  This has happened 54 times since the days of Christ (that is less than 3 per century). 

Mark Biltz was following up his interest in the coming eclipses and noticed that a rare tetrad was coming up in 2014.  But when he looked at the dates he noticed something else.  All four eclipses landed on biblical feast days.  Here they are:

2014   Apr 15  Passover   Total Lunar Eclipse

2014   Oct 18  Passover   Total Lunar Eclipse 

2015   Mar 20 Religious New Year   Solar Eclipse 

2015   Apr 04  Passover   Total Lunar Eclipse 

2015   Sep 28  Passover   Total Lunar Eclipse

So What Are People Saying?

Mark Biltz is a pastor within the messianic community.  So he already is sensitive to the biblical calendar in ways that most Christians are not.  He followed up the other tetrads back to Christ and even forward and what he found shocked Him.  Of the 54 tetrads only 7 have all aligned with the feast days.  The tetrad in 2014-2015 would be the 8^th.  Before we go any further it is important to look at some biblical background to the moon and biblical feast days.  In Genesis 1:14 it says, “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;’” (NKJV)  Now at the creation of the sun and moon we are told their purpose.  The word for signs is like the idea of a signal.  It points you towards something, whether to pay attention to it or avoid it.  Now Joel and John made it clear that God was not just signaling when months or days begin by these celestial objects.  He also would use them to signal the Day of the Lord.  Similarly there is more to the word “seasons.”  It does not just mean spring, summer, fall, or winter.  It literally means an appointed time or scheduled event.  This same word translated “seasons” is the word translated feasts in “The Feasts of The Lord.”  The feasts were the appointed times or scheduled events that had been made by God Himself.  Leviticus 23:2 says, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.’” (NKJV)  Now these divine appointments, in which Israel re-enacted past events in ceremonial form, were prophetically pointing forward to future events.  Without even knowing it, Israel had been performing “dress rehearsals” of coming divine appointments.  Thus Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Passover were all fulfilled at Christ’s first coming in the year of His death and resurrection.  The death of the Lamb of God, the provision it would release, His resurrection, and the consequent World Harvest of the Gentiles, were all divine appointments scheduled by God.  However, there are 3 more “feasts” or divine appointments to come at His Second Coming. 

Now when Mark Biltz looked back at the tetrads to see that only 8 coincided with biblical feasts this is what he found.  The dates are all AD.

1. 1.    162
2. 2.    795
3. 3.    842
4. 4.    860
5. 5.    1492
6. 6.    1949
7. 7.    1967

Now the last two really jumped out to him.  These tetrads that landed on biblical feasts were at significant dates for Israel.  In #6 Israel had just become a state.  In #7 Israel had just taken Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.  The year 1492 sticks out because of Columbus.  However, it was also a year that King Ferdinand of Spain kicked out any Jews who refused to convert to Christianity.  While he increases persecution of the Jews, his support of Columbus would pave the way for a place of great refuge for Jews, i.e. America.  So is something going to happen?  What could it be?  Should we be worried?  We will look at these questions more next week.

Let me just close with this.  God has said over and over again in His Word that He has set a time to judge the nations of the world, and that He would do that through Jesus.  Whether Mark Biltz is on to something or not, you need to have made your peace with God while it is still possible.  No one likes to get caught, put in jail or punished for wrong-doing.  However, the whole world has a date on which it will be brought before Heaven’s court.  Are you ready?  Confess your sins, believe on Jesus, turn from your sins, and become a disciple of Jesus today.

Blood Moons Audio