This Tuesday night of October 7-8, 2014, there will be a “blood moon”. This blood moon will mark the first day of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles.
But that’s not all.
Because this blood moon occurs just after its closest point to the earth in its orbit, it will appear to be 5% larger than the previous blood moon, which occurred earlier this year on April 15, 2014, *during the Feast of Passover. *
But that’s not all.
This is only the second in a series of four blood moons. The next two will occur on April 4, 2015, also at the time of the Feast of Passover, and the last one will appear on September 28, 2015, at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Four blood moons in two years! And all of them at the time of Biblical feasts! That same pattern of blood moons has occurred only seven times since the death of Christ. Could God be trying to get our attention? Could He be trying to tell us something?
And they shall be for signs…
Does God really speak through signs in the heavens?
Actually, when God listed the purposes for the sun, moon and stars in Genesis, the first reason given for them was that they would be used for signs.
“Then 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’”—Genesis 1:14 (NASB)
So the answer is definitely, Yes! He does use heavenly bodies, like the moon, as signs to speak to us.
One of the most famous signs in the heavens was the star of Bethlehem that marked the birth of Jesus.
King Hezekiah was also given a personal sign from God that he would not die, but live an additional fifteen years, and that Judah would be delivered from the King of Assyria. As a sign that God would do this, the sun went backwards ten degrees (Isaiah 38).
But does the Bible mention Blood Moons?
So, God tells us in the Bible that He will speak to us through signs in the heavens. But does the Bible specifically say anything about blood moons?
Yes, it does. Blood moons are specifically mentioned three times in the Bible, all in relation to the end times. First in Joel 2:31 (NASB):
“The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”
Peter repeated this on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:20 (NASB):
“The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.”
The ultimate fulfillment of this is described in Revelation 6:12 (AMP):
“When He [the Lamb] broke open the sixth seal, I looked, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun grew black as sackcloth of hair, [the full disc of] the moon became like blood.”
So we should expect to see blood moons as we get closer to the return of Jesus; and these blood moons will have significant meaning for us.
Has this happened before?
There have been seven tetrads of four blood moons, all occurring in back-to-back years, at the time of Jewish feasts, since Christ’s death. This one, in 2014-2015 will be the eighth. All of them have signaled major milestones for Israel and for the Church.
The Last Three Tetrads
A tetrad of four blood moons, all occurring at the time of Jewish feasts, happened in 1492-93. At that time, Queen Isabella issued an edict expelling all of the Jews from Spain. At the same time, in 1492, Christopher Columbus “sailed the ocean blue” and discovered America, which has become a safe haven for millions of Jews since then.
In Church history, it was at this same time that the seeds of the Reformation were being sown. Erasmus’ Humanist movement began to stir moral reform among some church members, and it was only a few years later that Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli and John Knox ignited the historic Reformation movement that changed the Church forever and began the process of restoring what the Church had lost since the death of the original apostles.
The next time that a blood moon tetrad occurred in two successive years was in 1949-50, at the time of the first Arab-Israeli war when Israel won its independence and became a nation for the first time in 2,000 years.
This was also the time of great healing and evangelistic movements in the Church. Great ministries arose, like those of William Branham, Billy Graham, A.A. Allen, Jack Coe, T.L. Osborne and Oral Roberts.
The last time there was a tetrad of four blood moons in two successive years—all occurring at the time of Jewish feasts—was in 1967-68, at the time of Israel’s Six-Day War, when Jerusalem was recaptured, reunited and came totally under Israel’s authority.
In the Church, this was also the time of the Jesus People movement and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.
In all, there have been seven tetrads of blood moons that have occurred at the time of Jewish feasts, since the time of Christ. This tetrad of blood moons in 2014-15 will be the eighth.
Eight is often symbolic of new beginnings. For example, there are seven days in a week. The eighth day begins a new week. Also, Noah was the eighth person, according to 2 Peter 2:5, who stepped out of the Ark into a new beginning for humankind after the worldwide flood.
These blood moon tetrads always seem to mark a rise in Jewish persecution and significant changes to the physical boundaries of Israel. These tetrads also seem to signal great moves of God in the Church.
Something is up—and it’s big! After this one, there will be no more blood moon tetrads during this century.
This is huge, boys and girls. This is huge.
Even if you miss the blood moon event itself, as it passes through the sky this week, be alert and watchful for big changes coming to Israel and to the Church during these next two years.
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”—Luke 21:20–28 (NKJV)
Bibliography
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McKinney, C. (n.d.). The Reformation: 1500-1599. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from Church History Timeline: http://www.churchtimeline.com/1500.htm
NASA. (n.d.). Eclipses During 2014. Retrieved from NASA Eclipse Web Site: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2014.html
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Saunders, A. &. (2013, March 13). The Coming Blood Moons. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from Pray 4 Zion: http://www.pray4zion.org/TheComingBloodMoons.html
Stakelbeck, E. (2014, April 15). Divine Sign for Israel? Hagee Explains Blood Moons. Retrieved from CBN News: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2014/February/Divine-Sign-for-Israel-Hagee-Explains-Blood-Moons/
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Billy Graham. Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Graham
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