"In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth ..." as the book of Genesis tells the story of creation. It goes on to say that there was darkness on the earth, and God created the light and divided it with the sun for the day and the moon for the night. Not only were these heavenly bodies for light, but in His wisdom, God meant them to be guides at sea, in the air, and eventually in space. They were also to be used as signs to let us know when to plant and when to harvest. But God had an even more important reason to put these celestial bodies above the earth.
Jesus and His disciples had been celebrating the Jewish holiday known as Passover, and as they were leaving Jerusalem, the disciples remarked on how beautiful and mighty looking the temple was. Jesus warned them that the time would come when this magnificent building would be nothing more than a pile of rubble. According to history, this came true in 70 A.D. when the Roman legions destroyed Jerusalem and scattered the Jews throughout the Empire.
The disciples asked Jesus to tell them what would be the sign when all that He had prophesied would come to pass. Notice what Jesus said in Luke 21:25, "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with (bewilderment), the sea and the waves roaring ..." Jesus gave His disciples a look into the future in Matthew 24:4-14. During our lifetime we have seen false messiahs come and go; world wars; famines and diseases in Third World countries; earthquakes that cause tsunamis, sinkholes and mudslide and worldwide persecution of Christians.
In Acts 1:7, Jesus told His disciples that it was not for them to know when these warnings of prophecy would come to pass. He said in Matthew 24:36 that no one knows the hour or day; even the heavenly angels have not been informed. Only the Heavenly Father knows, and He isn't telling. However, God hasn't left us completely clueless. He told us to look up into the heavens and in the earth for signs that we are living in the prophesied "last days."
The Rev. John Hagee, pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, has written a book called "Four Blood Moons" in which he speaks about the "supernatural connection between celestial events and biblical prophecy." Just as He did in biblical times, God continues to control the sun, moon and stars to send our generation signs that something big is about to happen.
God said in Joel 2:30-31 that He would show wonders in the heavens and in the earth. "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come."
On April 15, 2014, many people in our hemisphere saw the moon change to a blood-red color. According to the scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), this coloring occurs when there is a total lunar eclipse. Some light of the sun passes through the Earth's atmosphere that acts like a prism and is passed on to the moon. While other colors in the light spectrum are blocked and scattered by the atmosphere, the color red is the only one that makes it through to the moon.
Although these blood-red moons and eclipses of the sun occur every 47 years, four red moons with a total eclipse of the sun, within a two-year frame, is extremely rare, like every 490 years. God's chosen people, the Jews, have experienced some type of event in their history. For instance, 490 years had passed between the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt to the Persian king's decree that the walls of Jerusalem should be rebuilt; and from the king's decree to the birth of Jesus was 490 years.
Other events affecting the Jewish nation during the four red moons and eclipse occurred in 1493 to 1494 when the Spanish Inquisition took place. From 1967 to 1968, the Jewish nation was at war with all the surrounding Arab nations who had vowed "to wipe Israel off the map." The Six-Day War was a miracle. God gave Israel victory after victory against their ancient enemies. There was no military reason for their victory; it was simply the hand of God.
In this year and the next, we are again experiencing four blood-red moons and a total solar eclipse. As pointed out, the first red-moon occurred April 15. What have we seen so far with Jews? The nation of Israel is amassing 40,000 troops and armament on the borders of Gaza and Palestine, ready to go to war with Hamas, who refuse to live in peace with their Jewish neighbors. The next blood moon will occur on Oct. 8. Also note that a total lunar eclipse will happen on March 20, 2015, and two more blood-red moons thereafter on April 4, and Sept. 28, respectively.
Jesus warned His disciples that before He would come to take up His Church from the earth, lawlessness would run rampant. In 1 John 4:23 it says that the "spirit of the Antichrist" is alive in the world. Judges 21 :25 records that after King Solomon died, there was no national leadership in Israel; "every man did that which was right in his own eyes."
Do you see the signs? God is revealing them to us every day. Are we heeding them? Jesus warned us in Luke 21:28 that when these things begin to come to pass, we are to be alert and not be asleep because your Redeemer is close to coming again. Are you ready? The King is coming!
Religion on 07/12/2014