Blood Moon Prophecy - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

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Pastor John Hagee, 2007

Blood Moon ProphecyFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Blood Moon Prophecy is a theory studied and taught by some Christian ministers, such as John Hagee andMark Biltz, which states that an ongoing tetrad (a series of four consecutive lunar eclipsescoinciding onJewish Holidayswith six full moons in between, and no intervening partial lunar eclipses) which began withthe April 2014 lunar eclipse is a sign of the end times as described in the Bible in Acts 2:20 and Revelation6:12.

Contents1 Overview2 Media attention and critics3 Tetrad4 References5 External links

OverviewOn April 15, 2014, there was a total lunar eclipse. It was the first of fourconsecutive total eclipses in a series, known as a tetrad; a second onetook place on October 8, 2014, third one on April 4, 2015 and theremaining one will take place on September 28, 2015. It is one of eighttetrads during the 21st century AD.[1] As with most lunar eclipses, themoon appeared red during the April 15 eclipse.[2][3] The red color iscaused by Rayleigh scattering of sunlight through the Earth'satmosphere, the same effect that causes sunsets to appear red.[2] Hageealso connects the solar eclipse of March 20, 2015 in the middle of thesequence.

The idea of a "blood moon" serving as an omen of the coming of the endtimes comes from the Book of Joel, where it is written "the sun will turninto darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible dayof the LORD comes."[4] This phrase is again mentioned by Saint Peterduring Pentecost, as recorded in Acts,[5] although Peter says that date,not some future date, was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. The bloodmoon also appears in the book of Revelation chapter 6 verses 11 - 13,[6]where verse 12 says " And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal,and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as



Total solar eclipse of March 20, 2015

blood"

Around 2008, Biltz began predicting that the Second Coming of Jesuswould occur in the fall of 2015 with the seven years of the greattribulation beginning in the fall of 2008. He said he had "discovered" anastronomical pattern that predicted the next tetrad would coincide withthe end times. When the prediction failed, he pulled the article from hiswebsite, but continued to teach on the "significance" of the tetrad.

Hagee would later seize on Biltz' prediction to write Four Blood Moons,which would become a best seller, spending more than 150 days inAmazon.com's top 150 by April 2014.[3] For the week ending March 30,2014, it was the ninth best selling paperback, according to PublishersWeekly.[7] By mid-April, Hagee's book had hit No. 4 on the The New

York Times best-seller list in the advice category.[3] Hagee's book (and subsequent sermon series at his homecongregation, Cornerstone Church) did not proclaim that any specific "end times" event would occur (as didBiltz in his original prophecy), but claimed that every prior tetrad of the last 500 years coincided with events inJewish and Israeli history that were originally tragic, yet followed by triumph.

Media attention and criticsHagee and Biltz's speculations gained mainstream media attention in publications such as USA Today and TheWashington Post.[2][3] Earth & Sky reported receiving "a number of inquiries about Blood Moon", prompting aresponse.[1] Despite the attention, it is not clear if many people actually believe the ideas. According toChristian Today, only a "small group of Christians" saw the eclipse as significant.[8]

Writing for Earth & Sky Bruce McClure and Deborah Byrd point out that the referenced verse also says the"sun will be turned into darkness", an apparent reference to a solar eclipse. They note that since the JewishCalendar is lunar, one sixth of all eclipses will occur during Passover or Sukkot. Furthermore, there have been62 tetrads since the first century AD, though only eight of them have coincided with both the feasts. Thus, theevent is not as unusual as Hagee and Biltz imply. Additionally, three of the four eclipses in the tetrad will noteven be visible in the biblical homeland of Israel, casting further doubt on Hagee and Biltz's interpretation.[1]Writing for Space.com, Geoff Gaherty said he was saddened that " 'prophets of doom' ... view these life-enriching events as portents of disaster" and said the eclipse was "hardly something to be concerned about".[9]

In January 2014, Mike Moore, the then General Secretary of Christian Witness to Israel, wrote a lengthy articledismissing the claims of Biltz and Hagee. Moore's view was that no significance can be drawn from theeclipses.[10]

TetradLunar eclipse tetrad 20142015



Ascending node

Descending nodeSaros Date Type Saros Date Type122 2014 Apr 15 Total 127 2014 Oct 08 Total

132 2015 Apr 04 Total

137

2015 Sep 28 Total

References1. Bruce McClure; Deborah Byrd (March 30, 2014). "What is a Blood Moon?" (http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-blood-

moon-lunar-eclipses-2014-2015). Earth & Sky. Retrieved April 4, 2014.2. Elizabeth Weise (April 3, 2014). "Blood moon eclipse on April 15 is a special event"

(http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/04/03/lunar-eclipse-april-15-blood-moon/7210901/). USA Today. RetrievedApril 3, 2014.

3. Sarah Pulliam Bailey (April 15, 2014). " 'Blood moon' sets off apocalyptic debate among some Christians"(http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/blood-moon-sets-off-apocalyptic-debate-among-some-christians/2014/04/15/00b76502-c4be-11e3-9ee7-02c1e10a03f0_story.html). Washington Post. Religion News Service.Retrieved April 15, 2014.

4. Joel 2:315. Acts 2:206. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+6:11-13&version=KJV7. "Bestsellers for week ending March 30" (http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/books/bestsellers-for-week-ending-

march-30-1.7600211). Newsday. April 3, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.8. Samantha Blake (April 5, 2014). "Lunar Eclipse April 15, 2014: Four Blood Moons a sign of End Times?"

(http://www.christiantoday.com/article/lunar.eclipse.april.15.2014.blood.moon.sign.of.end.times.when.to.watch/36566.htm). Christian Today. Retrieved April 6, 2014.

9. "Four Blood Moons: Total Lunar Eclipse Series Not a Sign of Apocalypse" (http://www.space.com/25409-four-blood-moons-tetrad-lunar-eclipse.html). Space.com. April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.

10. Mike Moore (20 January 2014). "Blood Moon Rising" (http://fromthetopcom.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/blood-moon-rising_20.html). Mike's Musings. Retrieved 31 October 2014.

External linksRobbins, Stuart. "Exposing PseudoAstronomy Ep 85: Blood Moons, Jewish Holidays, and the End of AllThings" (http://podcast.sjrdesign.net/shownotes_085.php). Exposing PseudoAstronomy Podcast.4 Blood Moons by John Hagee (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVCcZF2Yfn4)



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Categories: Apocalypticism

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Blood Moon Prophecy - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia