The final blood moon in the current tetrad will occur on Sunday evening. Is this just another wonder of God’s creation, or could this be a sign from God regarding Israel?
What is a Blood Moon?
Scientifically speaking, a blood moon occurs during a total lunar eclipse. It is a time when the earth comes between the moon and the sun and the shadow of the earth covers the moon. The shadow appears dark until the moon is fully eclipsed, at which point the shadow of the earth on the moon’s surface suddenly changes. Instead of dark, it appears red.
Simply put, the moon appears red during a total lunar eclipse because of sunlight that is filtered and refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere.
Blood moons happen most years, and often multiple times per year.
What is a Tetrad?
A blood moon tetrad is when four total lunar eclipses occur in sequence without any other partial or full lunar eclipses occurring between them.
In terms of the commonality of blood moon tetrads, we have had six in the past 100 years.
Where and when can I see the blood moon?
The final blood moon in the current tetrad happens this weekend. On Sunday night/Monday morning, with the blood moon taking place at around 3:10am UK time on Monday, 28 September 2015.
You will be able to see the lunar eclipse happening from around 2am for about an hour, the blood moon starts from around 3:10am. After that (about 4.30am) the moon will be partially eclipsed until it becomes a full moon once more around 5.30am.
You can find out what time to view the blood moon in your area by clicking this link: www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/uk
Why is this tetrad so significant to Christians?
This tetrad of blood moons is significant to Christians for a number of reasons. While blood moons are common, and tetrads, while rare, are still fairly regular, the significance of this tetrad is where it falls in the year. Each of the four blood moons in this current tetrad occurs on a Jewish feast day.
In the last 2,000 years only eight tetrads (including this one) will have fallen on Jewish feast days. Three of those seven occurred during the last 70 years. What is so surprising when we look at these tetrads is the historically important dates regarding Israel.
If you were to look back at Israel’s modern history, there are probably two dates which stand out the most. The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and the Six Day War and the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967. Well, guess when the last two tetrads fell on Jewish feast days? That’s right, they occurred around the two most important dates for the modern state of Israel.
The current tetrad cycle is coming to an end this Sunday, and the next tetrad to occur on the Jewish feast days will not happen again for another 500 years.
The dates for the 2014/2015 tetrad are as follows:
- 15 April 2014 (Passover)
- 8 October 2014 (Feast of Tabernacles)
- 4 April 2015 (Passover)
- 28 September 2015 (Feast of Tabernacles)
What does this mean for Israel and the World?
Pastor John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel, believes the four blood moons are a sign from God regarding Israel and the Middle East. In 2014, Pastor Hagee released his book, “Four Blood Moons: Something is About to Change” which went on to be a bestseller on the New York Times list.
In his book he details the history of the blood moons, linking them to major events for Israel and the Jewish people. And looks at the science of the blood moons and links Bible prophecy with current world events.
In the Bible, blood moons are mentioned in several verses. The most significant of which is in Joel, where God says there will be “wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire… the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”
It is important to note that in between these current four blood moons there was a total solar eclipse, in which the sun “turned to darkness”. As well as the moon turning to blood.
This has led some Christians to believe the blood moons and solar eclipse combined are a sign that Jesus is returning soon. Others have predicted that means it is the end of the world. Unfortunately, this kind of conjecture brings with it much ridicule in the secular press, and Pastor Hagee has not been immune to their criticism. The secular press have often chosen to misquote Pastor Hagee with headlines like “American Pastor predicts end of the world”, which is a false statement. While Pastor Hagee believes Christ is coming back, and soon, he has not said the Blood Moons herald the Messiah’s return.
“There’s a sense in the world that things are changing and God is trying to communicate with us in a supernatural way”, says Pastor Hagee.
“I believe that in these next two years, we’re going to see something dramatic happen in the Middle East involving Israel that will change the course of history in the Middle East and impact the whole world.”
He said these comments in January 2015, and since that time the world has witnessed the continued rise of radical Islam, which has ravaged the Middle East. There is the mass migration of people into Europe which is currently dominating our headlines. The nuclear deal with Iran was also struck this year. Last year the Gaza war took place and with it the fires of anti-Israel sentiment were stoked to a point where hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of all major cities of the world against the Jewish state. And last year we saw a 400% rise in global anti-Semitism against the Jewish people and it continues to rise.
Are these the events the four blood moons are warning of? Or is there something more to come? One thing is for sure, this world is changing and if ever there was a time to pray for Israel and the Jewish people, that time is now.
Christians United for Israel UK (CUFI UK)
