Late Monday evening, or early Tuesday morning, depending where you reside in the United States, people were treated to a rare occurrence – a full lunar eclipse where the earth passed between the sun and the moon, resulting in a strange appearance of the moon. The particles of dust in the earth’s atmosphere caused a reddish hue to appear when gazing at the moon – something better known as a blood moon.
Blood moons are relatively rare, sometimes with many years passing between sightings. However, 2014 and 2015 are unusual in that there will be a total of 4 blood moons within about 18 months – from April 2014 until September 2015. And if you miss all of these, then your next chance will be in 2032. Even more rare than blood moons are series or clusters of events within a relatively short time frame.
What makes some of this so interesting is that some people equate the appearance of blood moons with good news for Israel – as in the favor of God prior to the second coming, or the endtimes events leading to the apocalypse. Back in 1492, the year of a blood moon, Columbus discovered America, which became a safe haven for the Jewish people – the same year that Spain expelled the Jews and in 1948, another blood moon year, Israel became a state. According to those people who study these things, there have been numerous events that support the notion that God is getting ready to do something grand in Israel once again.
And one other interesting tidbit about the 4 blood moons occurring in 2014/2015. All of the dates coincide with Jewish holidays – either Passover or the Feast of Tabernacles – observed later in the year. So who knows whether God is planning something extraordinary for His chosen people, and what that might be.
The verse for this evening is from the prophet Joel. We are told, in Joel 2:31, “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.” My encouragement this evening is that God looks out for His people, both the nation of Israel and those people who profess Jesus as Lord and Savior. My prayer is that you will trust God that whatever He does, it is for the benefit of His kingdom and those people who believe in Him will be blessed in the process. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…