2014-2015 Blood Moons: Why?

2014-2015 Blood Moons: Why?

Some Christian watchmen have rightly pointed to signs in the sky in 2014 and 2015–the so-called Blood Moons–as events to which all people, believers and non-believers alike, should pay attention. There is no need to repeat their detailed information. Rather, the purpose here is to look at why God is doing this.

Nevertheless, though not wishing here to go through a thorough presentation of the matter, it may be helpful to give at least a brief introduction to the subject, for those not yet aware of the coming, rare events in the sky in 2014-2015.

BASIC FACTS

A tetrad is a sequence of four total lunar eclipses. Such a sequence can vary in frequency over the centuries, with some having many and others few or none. For instance, in the astronomical record, there are no tetrads from 1582 to 1908, but 17 tetrads occur from 1909 to 2156. In 2014, there are two solar eclipses and two total lunar eclipses. In 2015, there are also two solar eclipses and two total lunar eclipses. (All information above is from the official NASA web page).

Thus the scientific facts alone are enough to make us take note of what happens in the sky in these two years. In just two years, something that sometimes does not happen for centuries occcurs in a short time span. This in itself is rare enough. But other intriguing facts of history increase the demand for attention dramatically beyond this. Those facts have to do with Jewish feast days and the association of the history of calamitous or momentous events in the world with those feasts.

In 1493 and 1494, for example, shortly after the Jews were exiled from Spain, there was a tetrad at the dates of Passover and The Feast of Sukkot. Then no tetrads occurred until 1948, when Israel once more became a nation. Another occurrred in 1967, in the six-day war, when Israel recaptured Jerusalem. Other than 2015, a tetrad will not happen again in this century. What is even more notable is that two of the lunar eclipses will happen during Passover and The Feast of Sukkot, (or the Feast of Tabernacles) in 2015, along with two solar eclipses that same year falling on other noteworthy Jewish calendar dates.

Besides tetrads, it is known from the Bible that God has used other signs in the skies to announce important moments in history to the world. There was the Star of Bethelehem at Jesus’ birth, and the general pattern declared in places such as Gen. 1:14 and Ps. 19:1-7. In the latter passage, Ps. 19:2 says that the night sky “reveals knowledge” and ends (v. 7) with the statement that the knowledge revealed by signs in the sky “makes wise the simple” (ESV). In other words, those who would otherwise pay no attention to God’s message of salvation and warning of his coming wrath over their sin will not be able to ignore the signs in the skies which he sends, for they will be visible to all the world. It is God’s way of giving the lost one last chance to amend their ways and come to him for salvation, by giving them a sign and message they cannot ignore.

This is the answer to the question of “Why?”. God sends signs such as tetrads because he is the God of love and wishes that no one perish (2 Pt. 3:9). He sent one astonishing sign to the world in the death and resurrection of his Son (Lk. 2:34). But, as that Scripture says, it is a sign that is opposed by the wicked. Therefore, God sends other signs to pursuade them to repent. This is similar to how he graciously provided two signs for Moses to perform to convince Pharaoh to let the people go from slavery.

“Then the Lord said, ‘If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second’ (Ex. 4:8 NIV).

But whether they believe either the first sign or the second or neither, the signs in the sky at least will be a witness that God provided undeniable warning to the whole world that the end is near and the time to repent is now.

The sending of his only Son as savior of the world was a gracious act and sign of God for a lost and wicked world. But Scripture says that, “Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness, even in a land of uprightness, they go on doing evil, and regard not the majesty of the Lord” (Is. 26:10 NIV).

Many choose to ignore this gracious warning sign given to the world in Jesus Christ. That happened thousands of years ago and is viewed as having little significance to many people in their lives. That was then, this is now. Very well, then God will do something that will shake them from their complacency and make them take notice. He will make something happen in the skies in their own lifetimes that will be dramatic and impossible to ignore.

“I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, ‘My idols did them; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’ You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them? From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew of them'” (Is. 48:5-7 NIV).

In this scientific, modern age, many people have no regard for what God says in his Word, but only for what scientists say in their words. Their idols are satellites and computers made of metal and other materials fashioned by human hands. Yes, they can predict the eclipses of the heavenly bodies and so claim that they knew in advance that these things would happen. But they cannot interpret their meaning. To them it is all a mechanical operation of a mechanical, material system, with no inherent meaning or purpose. Only when a servant of the Creator of these heavenly bodies declares to them why these things are happening are they able to hear the deeper meanings of these events.

“For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7 ESV).

The events themselves are no secret. As was said, even the scientific observors of the cosmos can predict when these events will occur. What they cannot predict or know is why, except for a purely mechanical interpretation, which entirely misses the real significance of these events, that they are signs from God to mankind, warning the world to repent from its wickedness because judgment is coming for that wickedness.

But the world seldom pays attention to similar warnings from God in his Word. They ignore his words because they cannot see him and do not believe he even exists. But they can see the moon and know that it exists. Therefore God will use something they can see to lead them to believe something they cannot see.

The world and all its inhabitants are servants of God (Prov. 16:4), for all things serve his purposes, even the wicked (Ps. 119:91). But even though all are God’s servants, “by mere words a servant is not disciplined; though he understands, he will not respond” (Prov. 29:19 NIV).

In these last days, God is greatly increasing both the number and frequency of his warnings and signs that the end is near and that all mankind has little time left to escape his wrath over its wickedness. Yet for all his gracious signs, the world pays little attention. His fist is raised, ready to strike the earth with blows in righteous judgment, but the world does not see it.

“O Lord, your hand is lifted high but they do not see it” (Is. 26:11 NIV).

Therefore, because they refuse to hear his words or see his raised fist, that fist must fall. For many in this world, the only way they learn is the hard way, through having harsh and painful judgment fall upon them. Only then do they finally learn.

“When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness” (Is. 26:9 NIV).

Yes, finally, then they learn. But then it is too late. What good is it to know that God punishes unrepentant sinners when that judgment has already fallen? God has spoken many words of warning in his Word. Many take those words of warning far too lightly. They have to learn the hard way, at the cost of their souls, that they were foolish to believe the leaders of the world’s false religions that there is some way other than through Jesus Christ to become right with God. Both the people who eagerly listen to such words and those who rule over them as their religious leaders will suffer the same downfall.

“Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken” (Ps. 141:6 NIV).

How tragic and unnecessary is such a fate. God warns both in his Word and in the skies that he is God and that his wrath is coming. One of those signs of warning are the tetrads of 2014-2015. We do not yet know what catastrophes will shake up this world around these dates. It very likely will be war, economic meltdowns, government collapse, and havoc in the natural realm. Most likely each of these will occur at various times and ways. I fully expect Russia to keep on taking more and more countries; the Chinese economy is in dire trouble which they try to hide; and natural catastrophes will increase in nature and frequency all over the world. Whatever accompanies these tetrad dates, they are meant to be warnings of even worse to come. My prayer is that all will pay heed to the warnings and come to Christ for salvation and protection. So I say to all what our precious Lord and Savior said concerning such things:

“Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Lk. 21:26-28 NIV).