On Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 from 5:52 a.m. to 7:22 a.m. (EDT) there was one of the longest lasting total eclipses of the moon. The eclipse was to be visible to most of the populated world. The timing was almost perfect for the eastern USA-many would have seen it as they went to work. The time was an hour earlier throughout each time zone to the west (2:52 a.m. Pacific time), and 11:52 p.m. on August 27th in Hawaii.

 

The moon was not to completely disappear, but was to turn a dark red as it continues to be lighted by refracted light from the earth's atmosphere. This brings to mind the three places in the Bible that talk about the moon being "turned to blood". While we understand the physical cause of the event today, that should not stop us from understanding that it may be a prophetic sign to us from our Father in heaven.

 

I believe that He has given me some understanding of the meaning of these three scriptures: Joel 2:23-32: Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you -- The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls.

 

While these verses certainly have application to the physical nation of Israel, it is also clear that the "children of Zion" are the Church-the body of called out believers wherever they are. The Eternal is promising both a former and latter rain which appears at the outpouring of his Spirit on that Pentecost when the Church began, and at a later time in the future. The first few verses, above are quoted and explained by the apostle Peter:

 

Acts 2:16-24: But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

 

 

Rev 6:1-8 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see." Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword. When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine." When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

 

These four horses are the evil powers that have persecuted Christians and mankind in general since the time of Peter until now. The common explanations of the first three seem largely correct: false religions, war and famine. All three of these, however seem to deceive most of the people: they believe that they are supposed to follow their religious or political leaders on a white horse, they believe they are ensuring their own safety by going to war (whereas God promises to protect a righteous people, not the one with the best army), and they think that high food prices or rationing is necessary to ensure that everyone is fed (while governments pass laws supporting centralized food control but limiting the size of private gardens and preventing people from selling milk from their own cows or goats to their neighbors).

 

 

Rev 6:9-11: When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

 

These verses reveal the meaning of the book of Joel and explain what happened from the time of our Savior until now. He died for the sins of mankind, and many of the apostles and disciples died spreading his message. The evil forces of the four horsemen caused their death.

 

This as well as Hebrews 11 and other passages of Scripture identify the Eternal's true servants as those who were so committed that they were willing to die for their belief and mission. We do not find similar verses praising those who have all of their doctrine right, but who have no ministry or mission to the rest of the world. This does not mean that the only faithful believers are those who died for their faith, but the attitude of being willing to die for one's belief and keeping that attitude when other believers around us are dying for their belief's is very important.

 

Numerous people come to mind when we see this definition:

 

Rev 6:12: I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.

 

Just before August 28th, 2007 something could have happened to blacken the sun? If it had, do these two signs together signal the opening of the sixth seal? Again, I have no revelation on this matter. But I feel compelled to write that others may watch. It may be that some other future atmospheric disturbance, not related to an eclipse, causes both the sun to be blackened and the moon to be red like blood.

 

Rev 6:13-14: And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

 

I do not know what these signs will be, but I will be watching for them. As far as I know, the stars are all still in the sky. But it is interesting that just yesterday, the whether map showed a line of storm warnings that extended all the way across the country. Winds were as high as 100 miles per hour.

 

Rev 6:15-17: And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

 

These words are the "other side of the coin" Joel 2:32. Revelation tells us that the mighty and powerful men of the earth, and all of their servants, will be afraid of the Lamb and want to hide. Joel tells us that the remnant of His people will be saved at this time.

 

I believe that it is significant that this Eclipse occurred in the middle of the Hebrew month of Elul. (Lunar Eclipses can only occur at full-moons which are, by most understandings, always in the middle of the month). The month of Elul has been traditionally seen as a month of repentance, immediately preceding the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement.

 

It is also interesting that during this same month the financial system in the USA is now closer to collapse than it has been for decades. A stock market crash, closing of the banks and/or hyper inflation are very likely. Since most of it is built on confidence, official sources are slow to talk about how bad it is. But one report I read stated that the Federal Reserve had to create 50 billion dollars of new money in a day to prevent defaults, whereas 1 to 2 Billion had been sufficient in the past.

 

I do not know if these signs of Joel and Revelation are coming to pass in the next few days, or if it will be many years from now. There is not another "moon turning to blood" eclipse of similar magnitude until June 15, 2011. Also of interest, while slightly weaker in magnitude there will be a total Lunar eclipse on both Passover and the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles in the years 2014 and 2015. That is 7 and 8 years from now. Some readings of Revelation include seven years of tribulation and a year for the "day of the Lord."

 

Again, I do not have any specific revelation here. But I do know that our Father wants us to continually examine ourselves and ask: are we living our lives for Him or for ourselves? Are we living a life full of His Spirit that others see and ask us for the reason of the hope that is within us? (1Pet 3:15) Or do we blend in so well or are we so far removed from others that nobody knows we are a believer? What are we doing to spread His truth to others? If we do not have miraculous gifts as the early apostles did, are we using the resources we do have to help others? I am continually amazed that even though most young people leave the Church of God groups, it seems many of their parents would rather "hear or tell a new thing" (Acts 17:21) or provide social activities for themselves than provide a place where their young people meet others of similar belief and retain their beliefs. But this is only one of many tasks that is going undone. There is a great need for ministries to the aged, to prisoners, to addicts of all kinds and to many others who would listen to us if we would only find them and talk.

 

As Joel mentions an early and latter rain, one will expect that powerful gifts of the Spirit will again be poured out upon believers. Upon whom will these gifts be poured out? "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much" (Luke 16:10).

 

If the "world were to fall apart" during the next few days, would we be confident that our Father would care for us and provide for our needs? Or would we be ready to fight our neighbors to provide for our own needs? Would we be ready to follow a dictator's every order to keep our food rations coming-even if that meant turning in fellow believers, who are proclaiming this to be a judgment from God-contrary to the dictator's decree?

 

Again, I do not know if the "moon turning to blood" on August 28, 2007 portends any imminent disaster. But it certainly can serve as a reminder of the prophesied events that will come to pass. Whether it be this year, 2014 or some distant future year, we need to be doing our Father's work in faith and strength.

 

Rev 12:10-12: Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."

 

This article has been edited as if it were written after the August 28, 2007 Lunar Eclipse, when in actuality it was written probably a few days before that eclipse happened. Since it was such short notice it could not be printed before the eclipse, and yet there was so much good information within the article that it could not, not be printed, so we only edited it from a future tense to read as if it were past tense the rest is as it was written. Laura Lee