Signs in the Heavens

On December 21, 2010 there was a total lunar eclipse. There hadn’t been a total lunar eclipse on a winter solstice in nearly four centuries, since the year 1638. It has only happened one other time since the birth of Christ, so this was a rare spectacle indeed. We are told that the heavenly bodies are given for signs (Genesis 1:14), and how wise men discerned the heavens to know of the first coming of the Messiah (Matthew 2:2). We should also expect signs at his second coming. As I was looking out at the reddened moon, God immediately brought to my mind a passage that appears three times in Scripture: Joel 2:3, Acts 2:20; and Revelation 6:12. "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come."

Surely a lunar eclipse, the likes of which has not been seen in several hundred years, must be some type of sign. What might our Heavenly Father be trying to tell us? If “the sun shall be turned to darkness” is a reference to a solar eclipse and the “moon into blood” is a reference to a lunar eclipse, perhaps the study of upcoming solar and lunar eclipses would make an interesting study.

In researching this topic, I ran across a teaching by Pastor Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries. He used data provided by NASA that shows there is an interesting series of solar and lunar eclipses coming up in a few short years. Beginning in April of 2014, there will be four consecutive total lunar (moon) eclipses: April 15, 2014; October 8, 2014; April 4, 2015; and September 28, 2015. The number of lunar eclipses is to be expected, considering that there are two lunar eclipses every year, although total eclipses are not as common as partial eclipses, so to have four consecutive total eclipses is a rare phenomenon. The last total lunar eclipse was in February 2008, the next will be this coming June 15.

According to Wikipedia, total solar (sun) eclipses occur approximately every 18 months, and are visible from only a small part of the planet. Solar eclipses (partial or total) can occur 2 to 5 times per year. Solar eclipses during 2015 are set to occur March 20 and September 13. The first will be a total eclipse, the second a partial eclipse.

So of the dates given, what patterns, if any, emerge? April 15, 2014; October 8, 2014; April 4, 2015; September 28, 2015; March 20, 2015; and September 13, 2015. Other than being in the spring and fall, there doesn’t seem to be any definite pattern. But that is where Pastor Biltz’s study turned up something quite interesting. Being a Hebraic scholar and observer of the Biblical calendar, which is lunar based, he discovered that the dates have significance that we don’t see from our calendar. Of the lunar eclipses: April 15, 2014 is Passover; October 8, 2014 is Erev Sukkot (the eve of Feast of Tabernacles); April 4, 2015 is Passover; September 28, 2015 is Feast of Tabernacles.

We also see something notable with the solar eclipses. March 20, 2015 is the last day of the Biblical year, or “new year’s eve - religious”, and September 13, 2015 is the last day of the Hebrew civil year, or “new year’s eve – civil” which is the day preceding the Feast of Trumpets. (The two different new years roughly correspond to how modernly we are accustomed to New Year’s Eve at the end of December, and the end of a fiscal year, often the end of June.)

So the four lunar eclipses and two solar eclipses fall on significant days in the Biblical calendar, most either on the day of, or the eve of, annual feast days as set out in Leviticus 23 and observed in both Old and New Testament times. Studying these feast days is valuable for understanding end-time prophecy.

So what does all of this mean? That, my friend, is for the Holy Spirit to reveal to those of us who are seeking, but I do think it is safe to say that God is trying to get our attention. May you be praying for His guidance daily, and following the truth He shows you.

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Sources: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2010_lunar_eclipse ; El Shaddai Ministries http://www.elshaddaiministries.us/