The Full Moon will pass through the Earth’s outer shadow this weekend and subtly darken during what is known as a penumbral eclipse. Although penumbral eclipses are a fairly regular event, some Christians believe they are linked to passages in the Bible. Total or Blood Moon eclipses, in particular, are often linked to prophecies in the Book of Joel and Book of Revelation.
According to Christian scripture, God will signal the start of the end times with signs in the heavens and the Earth.
In the Book of Revelation, which details prophetic visions of the world’s demise, the Moon is described as turning red.
Revelation 6:12-14 reads: “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake.
“The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
“The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.”
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The Moon also turns red in the second chapter of Joel, where the titular prophet describes “the Day of the LORD”.
The prophetic passages describe the manifestation of God in the end days, followed by natural disasters and cataclysm.
Joel 2:29-32 reads: “Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
“I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.”
An eclipse can also be interpreted from a passage in the Gospel of Matthew, where a solar eclipse is connected to the end times.
Matthew 24:29-30 reads: “Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.”
Another passage, Ezekiel 32:7 reads: “And when I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud And the moon will not give its light.”
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Revelation 8:12 also reads: “The fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them would be darkened and the day would not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.”
Many prominent Christian evangelists and conspiracy theorists link these passages to modern-day doomsday predictions.
There is, however, no scientific or religious reason to draw connections between the natural phenomena and scripture.
Lunar and solar eclipses have been occurring long before and long after the Bible was written.
The Bible also very clearly states no one knows when the final hour will strike.
Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
“For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.
“That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
Jesus also said: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”
