Some of you may have already heard about the four blood moons that are to come in 2014 and 2015. For those who haven't, pastor and prophecy watcher Mark Blitz proposed at interesting idea a couple of years ago in relation to the timing of Daniel's seventieth week and the second coming of Christ...

Pastor Mark Blitz had been studying the Hebrew calendar in relation to the timing of the Feasts of the Lord. These feasts, or 'appointed times' ('moedim' in Hebrew), were intended to teach the nation of Israel God's prophetic plan for world history. There are seven of them. While these feasts have all had a specific purpose in Old Testament times, what is extremely interesting is that the first four feasts, namely Passover (Pesach), Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Pentecost, have all found a literal fulfillment in the person of the Messiah. It's as if each feast was purposely constructed by the Lord with the intention of bringing out some divine truth in relation to the plan of redemption for mankind. At Passover time, the Jewish people would remember their exodus from Egypt, and how they were delivered from bondage through the blood of the lamb on the door posts. John the Baptist proclaimed the Lord Jesus Christ to be the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”, John 1:29. Paul declares in 1st Corinthians 5:7, that Christ “our passover is sacrificed for us”. It is through His perfect sacrifice on the cross that we have been delivered from the bondage of sin and death (Isaiah 53:10). The Lord's body lay in Joseph's new tomb during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Leaven is a picture of sin, and David prophesied of the Messiah that God would not permit His body to see corruption in death, but would raise it to life again (Psalm 16:10). The Lord rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits. During Firstfruits the nation of Israel was commanded to bring the first fruits of the barley harvest into the Temple as a thank-offering to God (Exodus 23:16). It was to be a sure sign of God's blessing on the harvest to come. The Bible says the Lord Jesus Christ has become the Firstfruits of those that slept (1st Corinthians 15:20). Christ's resurrection was proof that God is satisfied with His sacrifice for sin upon the cross, and that a resurrection 'harvest' of all those who have put their trust in Him for salvation is sure to follow. After this feast the Jewish people were commanded to count fifty days (the Counting of the Omer), after which there was to be another feast, the Feast of Ingathering or Pentecost. At this feast two loaves were to be baked from the newly harvested wheat and presented before the Lord in the Temple. This was the only feast in which leaven was to be present in the offering (Leviticus 23:17). These two loaves were a picture of both Jews and Gentiles coming into the blessing of God through salvation. Numerous prophecies were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), relating to the brining in of the Gentiles into God's covenant promises (Isaiah 49:6, Malachi 1:11), and the pouring out of God's Spirit upon all flesh (Joel 2:28, Isaiah 44:3).

As you can see, these first four feasts have indeed found their fulfillment in the person of Christ. Three feasts still remain to be fulfilled. The Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. All three will find their true fulfillment in the Messiah a coming day. The Feast of Trumpets is known by many different names in Jewish tradition, including Rosh Hashanah – the Head of the Year, the Day of the Awakening Blast, Yom Teruah – Day of Shouting, and the Last Trump (there were three trumpet events during the Biblical year, this was the last of the three). Although the Scriptures give no reason for its initial inception, the Feast of Trumpets is synonymous with the resurrection of the dead, and Paul states that Christ will return for His church at the Last Trump and the dead shall be raised (1st Thessalonians 4:14-18). On the Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur, the High Priest was to bring the blood of a sacrifice into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle it before the Lord as a sin offering for the nation. The Day of Atonement was the only feast were the Jewish people were commanded to afflict themselves and show their deep sorrow for sin (Leviticus 23:27). I believe that this feast will find its true fulfillment at the second coming of Christ, when the nation of Israel shall “look upon me whom they have pierced” and “mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn”, Zechariah 12:10. The nation will afflict themselves for their sin in rejecting their Messiah at His first coming, and will be reconciled unto Him as Joseph was unto his brethren (Genesis 50:20). The Feast of Tabernacles is mentioned in Zechariah 14 and Revelation 21:3, and will find its ultimate fulfillment in the Millennial Reign of Christ on earth.

What's all this got to do with blood moons, you may be asking. The Bible teaches us that God created the moon and stars for a purpose. Both to give light upon earth (Genesis 1:16), and to be for signs and seasons, for days and for years (Genesis 1:14). The sun and moon have prophetic significance in Scripture. The wise men from the east recognized the appearance of a star as a sign that a new King, the promised Messiah, had been born in Israel (Matthew 2:2). The Bible tells us that the sun was darkened for three hours during the time that Christ was on the cross (Matthew 27:45). And the Old Testament prophets also foretold of a time when the sun would be darkened and the moon would not give its light (Isaiah 13:10, Joel 3:15). And the Lord Jesus Christ confirmed that prior to His return, “the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken”. Mark 13:24-25. The sun and moon being darkened are always signs of impending judgment. Through studying the Hebrew calendar Mark Blitz discovered that there are several eclipses of the moon and sun that are set to occur during significant Biblical Feasts over the coming two years. They are as follows...

Total Lunar Eclipse – Passover (15th April, 2014)

Total Lunar Eclipse – Feast of Tabernacles (8th October, 2014) (but feast actually starts 9th of October)

Total Lunar Eclipse – Passover (4th April, 2015)

Total Lunar Eclipse – Feast of Tabernacles (28th September, 2015)

I was very interested in Mark Blitz' study. I had also been studying the Hebrew calendar in relation to the timing of Daniel's seventieth week, and had created a database analyzing the Biblical feast days in relation to the Gregorian calendar. Blitz had claimed that these 'tetrads' – a series of four lunar eclipses that occur in a row, had only happened a few times throughout history on Biblical feast days, and that when they did something very significant happened in relation to the Jewish people. He said that these tetrads fell close to Israel's war of independence in 1948 and the Six Day War in 1967, and that 2014-2015 could be prophetically significant. I was intrigued. I copied in the NASA solar and lunar eclipse data into my database in the hope of discovering patterns that may be of some significance. I was able to pinpoint eclipses that are to occur on Biblical feast dates within the next few years.

Recently I expanded the database using a Gregorian to Hebrew date converter so I could analyze the past 100 years and next 100 years, to verify if these tetrads really do occur at times of prophetic significance in Israel. I also keyed in significant events in Israel's modern history to see if there was any correlation between the two. You can download the database here. It is in Access 2000 format. It is quite rough, but using the queries, you can analyze the data for yourself. This is what I have found.

Yes, tetrads did occur in the years 1949-1950, and 1967-68. There was also a tetrad in 1909-10, 1928-29, 1985-86 and 2003-04. In 1986 one of these eclipses did fall on Passover. 2014-15 will be the next series, then 2032-33, 2043-44, 2050-51, 2061-62, 2072-73 and 2090-91. It is true that in 1950 a lunar eclipse fell on both Passover and Sukkot – the Feast of Tabernacles. But not in 1949. In 1968 only one eclipse fell on Passover, the other eclipses fell on ordinary days. Likewise in 2014, the lunar eclipse will fall on the day prior to the beginning of Tabernacles, not on the feast itself. But the other three eclipses will fall on the Biblical feast days. The first three eclipses in 2014 and 2015 will also not be visible from Israel, only America and Australia. The final eclipse on the Feast of Tabernacles will be partially visible from Israel.

The Hebrew calendar is based on the lunar cycle, so there are going to be quite a few times when an eclipse of the full moon will fall on a Biblical feast day. There is no doubt things are hotting up in the Middle East, and in the next couple of years we could be witnessing the beginning of Ezekiel's war (chapters 38-39) or the destruction of Damascus (Isaiah 17). I also believe the Lord's return is near. But I think that the events prophesied in the Old Testament and spoken of by the Lord concerning the sun and moon will be earth-shattering events. What happened at Calvary was not an eclipse of the sun. Likewise the stars and the constellations withholding their light at His return cannot be explained by an eclipse lasting only a few minutes.

But no matter what happens, prophecy is surely being fulfilled. We have witnessed the regathering of the Jewish people back to their homeland, and the rebirth of the nation of Israel just as the Bible predicted (Ezekiel 37:22). And Psalm 102:16 states that “When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory”. That day is drawing near. Are you ready to meet Him? Have your sins been forgiven? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31).

Luke 21:36
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Photo credit: Collin R Erickson / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND