(Marsha West – Christian Research Network) A total lunar eclipse will occur May 26, 2021 and will be visible in North America, South America, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific. Some call the full moon “Super Flower Blood Moon.” The moon will turn a reddish color; thus the term Blood Moon. It will be the second of 2021’s two supermoons and it is going to be the largest and brightest moon of 2021.
EarthSky writer Bruce McClure examines the Blood Moon phenomena in “What’s A Blood Moon?” McClure informs us that:
Around the year 2013, when the expression Blood Moon first gained widespread popularity, a Blood Moon didn’t refer to just any total lunar eclipse, but to a member of a special series: four totally eclipsed moons in a row, each separated by six lunar months, with no partial lunar eclipses in between. Such a series is called a lunar tetrad [four things in a row]. Two Christian pastors popularized the term Blood Moon in their book, in which they discussed the upcoming lunar tetrad (April 14 and October 8, 2014; April 8 and September 28, 2015) in apocalyptic terms.
The four lunar eclipses came and went, and, although the world didn’t end, we gained another dubious meme: Blood Moon.
It’s not that the words “blood” and “moon” never appeared together in the same sentence before 2013, especially as regards eclipses. A full moon nearly always appears coppery red during a total lunar eclipse. That’s because the dispersed light from all the Earth’s sunrises and sunsets falls on the face of the moon at mid-eclipse. For some decades at least, it’s been common for astronomy writers like us to describe an eclipsed moon as blood red. You just didn’t, until recently, hear the same eclipsed moon called a Blood Moon.
John Hagee and Mark Biltz, “spoke of the 2014-2015 lunar tetrad as representing a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. After all, the moon is supposed to turn blood red before the end times, isn’t it?” These men speculated that this would fulfill the last days prophecies in Joel 2:28-32: “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes” and the passage from Revelation 6:12: ”When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood.”
“That description,” says McClure, “sounds like two different astronomical events: a total solar eclipse and total lunar eclipse. Sun turned to darkness = moon directly between the Earth and sun in a total solar eclipse. Moon turned to blood = Earth directly between the sun and moon, Earth’s shadow falling on the moon in a total lunar eclipse. Solar and lunar eclipses are very ordinary and frequent happenings that have occurred many times in our lifetimes. In fact, every year there are four to seven eclipses, some lunar, some solar, some total, some partial.”
Later in his article McClure answers the burning question: How common is a tetrad of total lunar eclipses?
Depending upon the century in which you live, a lunar tetrad (four consecutive total lunar eclipses) may happen fairly frequently – or not at all.
For instance, in our 21st century (2001-2100), there are a total of eight tetrads, but in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, there were none at all. If we include all the centuries from the 1st century (A.D. 1-100) through the 21st century (2001-2100), inclusive, there are a total of 62 tetrads. The last one happened in 2014-2015, and the next one will happen in 2032-2033.
The 2014-2015 tetrad fell on the Jewish feasts of Passover and Tabernacles. That happens a total of eight times in these 21 centuries…
According to McClure:
The term Blood Moon in Biblical prophecy appears to have been popularized by two Christian pastors, Mark Biltz and John Hagee. They used the term to apply to the full moons of the 2014-2015 lunar tetrad – four successive total lunar eclipses, each separated by six lunar months, with no partial lunar eclipses in between. Nowadays, it seems, the term Blood Moon is being used for any and all total lunar eclipses.
When Will We Ever Learn?
Jonathan Cahn is a modern day “prophet.” Another in a long line of prophets who prophecy falsely, therefore the man is not to be trusted. In a piece I penned in 2020 “‘The Return’ – Jonathan Cahn’s Upcoming Prayer Event Produced By Wolves In Sheep’s Clothing” I revealed that Cahn has an abysmal track record:
Cahn predicted that September 25, 2014 to September 13, 2015 would be the Shemitah year. Two days before the year was to end, renowned theologian Dr. Michael Brown was asked where he stood on Shemitah as well as the four blood moons phenomena that was written about by Mark Biltz. (Biltz, who is Hebrew Roots, cunningly employs esoteric information in his writing that is highly unbiblical.) Dr. Brown replied, “For me, the jury is still out, and we will watch and see what is going to happen in the coming weeks.” The coming weeks came and went – and Cahn’s prophecy was not fulfilled. Following in Biltz’s footsteps, Prophet pastor John Hagee, who has more baggage than Samsonite, enticed a large number of Christians into believing the blood moons hype by reading his aptly titled book Blood Moons. In 2014 Hagee gave us fair warning: “God is trying to communicate with us in a supernatural way…I believe that in the 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.”
Why do I bring up Jonathan Cahn? For the reason that in his best-selling book, “The Mystery of Shemitah,” Cahn makes a connection between Shemitah and the Blood Moon tetrad. Unfortunately, his teachings about the Shemitah have become accepted by many Christians, including Church leaders, in spite of the fact that many esteemed Bible scholars have been highly critical of Cahn’s work. Anyone who dares to challenge the biblical accuracy of his book is denigrated by his followers, even after the highly touted event of September 2015 was a bust!
In less than 6 months from the date I wrote that article I’m returning to warn readers to pay no attention to the prophetic utterances of any so-called prophet, especially those who have a YouTube channel, regarding the May 26th Blood Moon. As I pointed out in my piece, prosperity preacher John Hagee came up with the Blood Moon prophecy and Mark Biltz helped Hagee put forth his end times scenario. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Hebrew Roots movement, see the research link below.) HRM is off topic, so all I will say is that those who are a part of the movement place a strong emphasis on Hebrew traditions and the Law of Moses, also that Christians must keep the Torah and that Christ’s death on the cross did not end the Mosaic Covenant, His death renewed it. There is no question that HRM is a heretical cult. With this in mind, why anyone would give creditability to Mark Biltz and what he has to say on Blood Moons is beyond me.
Now then, Cahn, Hagee and Biltz are clearly false prophets, as their predictions have not come to pass. As for noted theologian Michael Brown, a man who is highly respected in the charismatic community, the very least he could have done when asked about Shemitah and Blood Moons, was to alert the sheep that Mark Biltz is a false teacher and that HRM is decidedly unbiblical.
Warning To The Undiscerning
Some of you weren’t around when Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith predicted that the Rapture of the Church would occur before the end of 1981. (I believed him and was ready to meet Jesus in the air!) During the 1980s, dispensationalist writers and pastors spoke a great deal about the Rapture. Hal Lindsay was as popular as Jesus back then. His book “The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon” says it all. (I believed Hal too – and why wouldn’t I believe the author of “The Late Great Planet Earth”? Following its release, that book sold almost as many copies as the Bible!) Bestselling author of apocalyptic fiction Tim LaHaye who, along with Jerry Jenkins, penned the Left Behind series also wrote “Revelation,” replete with illustrations. There were several other books on this subject, but they were not nearly as popular. For example, John Gribbin and Stephen Plagemann’s “The Jupiter Effect” and Edgar Whisenant’s “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be In 1988.” We know now that all these writers were dead wrong in their predictions, but we forgave them for selling us a bill of goods because they sincerely believed they were on target. Or did they?
Books such as those mentioned above have sold millions of copies – literally millions. Who bought those books? Mostly Christians. (Full disclosure: Not only did I buy and read the earlier listed books, I also persuaded family and friends to read them.) I now know what I didn’t realize in the 70’s and 80’s: professing Christians who write sensationalist books make a bundle of money and live high on the hog off gullible, undiscerning Christians who purchase and promote last days books, movies and such.
Has humanity entered the era of the apocalypse, as some “prophets” would have us believe? Is the end of the world near?
Jesus made clear to his followers that no one but the Father knows when the end times will come. No man knows! I repeat, NO MAN. In Matthew 24:38-39, Jesus says, “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
The Blood Moon theory has always been nothing more than baseless speculation by the likes of Cahn, Hagee, Biltz, plus a whole host of others. False prophets also come to us via YouTube channels, both men and women, some of whom attract a large number of subscribers and visitors. These people seemingly have a lot of time on their hands as they sit and gaze into a computer screen, theorizing when the Rapture and/or Christ’s Second Coming will occur. Some of these “prophets” are brazen enough to set dates.
So – my question is, why didn’t the Lord Jesus return during the Blood Moon of 2015, as the prophets predicted He would?
Beware Of Appearances
Many people appear to be sincere Christians. They openly profess their love for Jesus…attend church regularly…believe in the Bible…they’re baptized…espouse a biblical worldview. Some are theologians, apologists, pastors, elders, deacons Sunday school teachers, missionaries. They run Christian seminaries, colleges, businesses…vote Republican…attend prayer events at the National Mall…hold prayer vigils outside Planned Parenthood abortion mills – so why would it cross anyone’s mind that those who profess a belief in Jesus Christ, do good deeds and work for Christian organizations might not be the real deal, the genuine article, saved by the blood of Christ, heaven bound when they depart planet Earth?
As I always say, a mouse in the cookie jar is not a cookie. For example, people who hold to the sort of unbiblical teaching found in Mormonism, Watchtower Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses) and Roman Catholicism; likewise, those who hold to Word of Faith, NAR/Latter Rain, Social Justice, and New Age spirituality. Basically, any sect, movement or person that embraces a false gospel are not the genuine article, not true believers — even when those who are involved in the aforementioned appear to be “godly” men and women who love Jesus, they are not His sheep. (Research religious sects and movements here)
Before we can know whether a person is a brother or sister in Christ, we must do what the noble Bereans did – we must go to the Holy Spirit inspired scriptures to make certain the beliefs people profess are in sync with what the Holy Bible teaches. (Acts 11:17) Sad to say, many professing Christians have abandoned the Truth and become swept into destructive and blasphemous doctrines.
Food For Thought
In case you’re not familiar with the term eisegesis, it means to take a passage of the Bible out of context and “impose upon” the text your own ideas. This is opposed to exegesis, which means to “draw out” from the text its originally intended meaning. Exegesis is the way we are meant to study, teach, and understand the Bible. ~ Gabriel Hughes
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. 2 Peter 2:1-3
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. John 3:36
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Copyright by Marsha West, May 2021