“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. Luke 21:25-26 NKJV
I am sure from the questions I have received
that many of you are familiar with the subject of the coming “blood moons”. Because of the attention they seem to be
getting, I thought I would share a little about my
thoughts on them today. First and
foremost, the question we should all consider as believers is do they have some
significance that we should be aware of and if so, just what might that be? Since we have been called to watch for the
return of our Lord, is it possible these celestial events in the coming months
are a sign that His return is near, and a sign of impending judgment on an
unbelieving world?
“Watch
therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the
evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—“lest,
coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. “And what I say to you, I say to all:
Watch!” Mark 13:35-37 NKJV
First
of all, let’s consider why the coming events in the sky are so unusual. Eclipses of the sun and moon are nothing new,
and happen with enough frequency that most people are aware that they are a
natural occurrence in our galaxy. These
events have been recorded throughout history, and while in ancient times were
observed with fear and trembling, they are now understood to be a predictable
natural event. So if this is the case,
what is it about the coming eclipses that has generated so much interest and
authored so many articles and books within the community of believers?
Although
eclipses are common, what is about to take place in the next two years is not. What we are about to witness is a group of
eclipses which are known by astronomers as a “tetrad”. You see, when four lunar eclipses occur which
are both consecutive and total, they are called a tetrad. While eclipses may be common, tetrads are
not. More significantly to us, I
believe, is that the coming eclipses will not only be a tetrad, but they will
all occur on Jewish feast days. This is
what has caught my attention and many others to be sure, simply because I have
a hard time believing this is just a coincidence.
The sun
shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of
the great and awesome day of the LORD. Joel 2:31
NKJV
We
are told many times in scripture of signs in the heavens being used to announce
or reveal prophetic events. The question
we need to consider is if the coming tetrad has been ordained by God with the
purpose of warning those who watch that something prophetic is about to occur. We as believers have been commanded to watch,
and the Word is very clear about the responsibility that falls on those who
have been appointed as watchmen.
“Son of
man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the
sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory
and make him their watchman, ‘when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if
he blows the trumpet and warns the people, ‘then whoever hears the sound of the
trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his
blood shall be on his own head.
Ezekiel 33:2-4 NKJV
So
are the coming tetrads a sign from God telling us something prophetic is about
to occur and should we be warning people of them? Well, yes, no, and maybe. I suppose that is not the answer many of you
wanted to hear, but truthfully it is the best that I can do under the
circumstances. Are the tetrads a sign
from God? Considering that God put this
universe together and placed everything in it exactly where He wanted, and that
He commanded Moses when to observe His feast days, I believe the fact these
eclipses occur on feast days is certainly not a coincidence. However if you ask me if they are a sign that something prophetic is going to happen I can only reply maybe. We know for certain that there are unfulfilled prophecies yet to occur in regards to this world in general and Israel specifically, but to say that the tetrads are a sign something is going to happen is just not supported by what little we know. Now that is definitely not to say that something will not happen during the coming year. On the contrary, I personally believe we are about to see this world turned upside down the likes of which has not been seen in history. Are these tetrads a sign of this? Well, quite possibly they are but I cannot say for certain that this is the case.
I
charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus
Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His
kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.
Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 2 Timothy 4:1-2 NKJV
So
should we be telling others about these coming tetrads? I personally do not have a problem with that
but the one thing we need to be careful of is making them the focus, rather
than the Gospel we have been commanded to share. The Word of God is full of specific future
prophetic events that I believe we should be watching for, especially in the
coming months. Fulfilled prophecy is one
of the most useful tools we have for sharing the Gospel, and I believe the
coming year is going to give us plenty of ammunition to use in our task as
witnesses for Christ.
Is
something about to happen? Of that I am
sure. Just what it will be I have no
idea, but the one thing I do know is that it will present us all with
opportunities to share with others the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Whatever might happen in the coming months,
we know for certain that it has been arranged by God, and we as believers have
nothing to fear.
Yet in
all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am
persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor
powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any
other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans
8:37-39 NKJVKeep watching.
