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The term "Blood Moon" has no astronomical meaning but is a name used by the American evangelist, John Hagee, to bring attention to himself and sell the book he has written on the subject. | The term "Blood Moon" has no astronomical meaning but is a name used by the American evangelist, John Hagee, to bring attention to himself and sell the book he has written on the subject. | ||
Not to be outdone, [[Voice of God Recordings]] got on the Blood Moon bandwagon by publishing an article on September 25, 2015 a few days before the lunar eclipse which stated: | |||
:''This Sunday will mark the fourth blood moon in the 18-month tetrad of lunar eclipses. Although a tetrad is rare, it has happened many times in history. However, these four blood moons fall exactly upon Jewish feast days. This has happened only eight times since Christ: | |||
:*''162-163 A.D. | |||
:*''795-796 A.D. | |||
:*''842-843 A.D. | |||
:*''860-861 A.D. | |||
:*''1493-1494 A.D. | |||
:*''1949-1950 A.D. | |||
:*''1967-1968 A.D. | |||
:*''2014-2015 A.D. | |||
:''Eight occurrences in 2,000 years is rare by anyone’s standards, but this recent tetrad is unprecedented. The parallels between the Catholic Church, Israel, United States, and the blood moons are simply extraordinary. | |||
:''Are these simply coincidences, or is the Lord trying to show us something? We already know the hour is late, but this should always be on our minds: | |||
:''God sent a prophet with the ministry of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the children back to the faith of the Pentecostal fathers. This ministry foreruns the Second Coming of Christ. Small groups of people in every nation on earth have accepted this ministry, and their faith is increasing every day by hearing the Voice of God. They will surely have their garments white, oil in their lamps, and be ready for His Second Coming.<ref>Branham.org, Sept 25, 2015, ''Four Blood Moons''</ref> | |||
=Did William Branham refer to Blood Moons?= | =Did William Branham refer to Blood Moons?= | ||
In 2014, the website of Voice of God Recordings promoted the "Blood Moon" issue. | |||
In 1956, William Branham correctly identified that Acts 2:15–21 clearly states that Joel 2:30-32 was fulfilled when Jesus died on Golgotha. | In 1956, William Branham correctly identified that Acts 2:15–21 clearly states that Joel 2:30-32 was fulfilled when Jesus died on Golgotha. | ||
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As with most issues relating to prophecy, William Branham was completely confused on this issue and had no comprehensive theology on the phenomenon. He thought that the world was about to end and, therefore, his last references to the subject have him pointing to the end of the world taking place. He believed that this would happen by [[1977]]. | As with most issues relating to prophecy, William Branham was completely confused on this issue and had no comprehensive theology on the phenomenon. He thought that the world was about to end and, therefore, his last references to the subject have him pointing to the end of the world taking place. He believed that this would happen by [[1977]]. | ||
He was wrong. | '''He was wrong.''' | ||
=So what are we to make of the Blood Moons?= | |||
Wise counsel be to not pay any attention to people that set dates or point to '''Blood Moons''' in the heavens as being prophetic. | Wise counsel be to not pay any attention to people that set dates or point to '''Blood Moons''' in the heavens as being prophetic. | ||
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If you are working in the vineyard when the master returns, you will be rewarded. Those that are running around concerned about the when and not focused on the message of the Kingdom may not fair as well as those that have made themselves ready. | If you are working in the vineyard when the master returns, you will be rewarded. Those that are running around concerned about the when and not focused on the message of the Kingdom may not fair as well as those that have made themselves ready. | ||
==The Truth about Blood Moons== | |||
The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar. '''That means that their feasts and festivals always coincide with full moon events.''' It also means that lunar eclipses – which only occur when the moon is full – '''are not rare events in Jewish history'''. | |||
'''The lunar eclipse in 1492 wasn’t a “sign” of the expulsion of Jews from Spain. Why?''' Because the Tribunal that expelled them was established November 1, 1478 which occurred 15 years before the lunar eclipse. Hardly a sign or a warning is it? Plus, the Alhambra Decree, which officially ordered of expulsion of Jews from Spain, was issued in January 1492, which was about 15 months before the lunar eclipse that year. | |||
'''The 1948 eclipse is also not a sign of the Israeli war of independence. Why?''' Because that war began on May 15, 1948 and ended March 10, 1949. The first of the four lunar eclipses didn’t happen until just over a month after the war ended. Why would God give anyone a sign about something that had already taken place? That, by definition, is not a sign from God. | |||
'''The 1967 eclipse is not a sign of Israeli forces taking possession of the Old City of Jerusalem. Why not?''' Because that took place on June 7, 1967 and the lunar eclipse took place 44 days before that day, and – most importantly – it was not visible from Jerusalem. The next set of blood moons followed over the next year and a half. Again, after the fact. | |||
So, in what way are any of these “signs” of anything? It’s like someone shouting “Look out for that car!” an hour after your car accident. Most of these blood moon “signs” are not visible from Jerusalem, and/or occur long after the events have already taken place. | |||
Let’s be clear, nothing can truly be considered “a sign from God” unless a prophet of God speaks a prophecy – in advance of the event – and then the sign is given as a proof. That's the main problem that we have with William Branham - [[Proof of the Prophetic|there are no real prophecies that we can find.]] | |||
'''Keep in mind:''' No prophecy preceded any of these events and no one gave these lunar eclipses and signs in advance as proofs. No one predicted that the Jews would be expelled from Spain before it happened, for example. So just because things happen, we can’t run around looking for signs after the fact. It doesn’t work that way. | |||
Here’s another point: Tetrads (or the occurrence of four consecutive lunar eclipses) are very common. They are not rare. They happen very, very often, in fact. Over the last 4,000 years there have been numerous lunar tetrads (or Blood Moons) on record, and between 1999 BC and today '''there have been 111 Blood Moons.''' | |||
Do you know what significant events coincided with all of those? '''Nothing.''' Because they happen all the time and are therefore not “signs” of anything happening in the world. | |||
It would be like pointing to the migration of Canada Geese as a sign of some political shift in China. The two events are not related, and one of those events (the migration of Canada Geese) happens every year about the same time, regardless of what’s happening in Chinese politics. | |||
Of the 55 Blood Moons that have occurred since the First Century AD, there have been 7 which coincided with Jewish Holy Days, and none of them were seen as signs of anything significant at the time. | |||
To put everything in another perspective, here are some very significant events in the history of the nation of Israel which DID NOT coincide with any Blood Moon signs. | |||
There were no Blood Moons during: | |||
*1446 BC (Israel left Egypt in the Exodus) | |||
*1406 BC (Joshua entered Canaan) | |||
*723 BC (Ten northern tribes went into Assyrian Captivity) | |||
*587 BC (Judah went into Babylonian captivity) | |||
*538 BC (Cyrus proclaims the Jews could return to Canaan) | |||
*533 BC (Jews began return from Babylon and arrived in Jerusalem) | |||
*1-2 BC (Jesus was born) | |||
*33 AD (Jesus was crucified) *Solar, but not lunar eclipse | |||
*70 AD (Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed by Romans) | |||
*135 AD (Hadrian renamed the city of Jerusalem, killed many Jews and expelled the rest) | |||
*1943 AD (Hitler killed 6 million Jews during the Holocaust) | |||
Put another way, here are four more examples of when Tetrads (or a series of four Blood Moons) fell on all four Jewish feast days: | |||
*162 AD | |||
*795 AD | |||
*842 AD | |||
*860 AD | |||
'''Guess what significant historic events happened during these Blood Moons?''' | |||
Wrong! '''Nothing happened.''' This is why Voice of God Recordings and John Hagee totally ignore these, because they can't point to anything that seems to support their '''bogus theory'''. | |||
==The Lunar Calendar== | |||
Statistically, speaking, since Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles always happen on full moons, and take place on the 15th day of two different months within the year, there is a 1-in-6 chance that an eclipse will occur in at least one of these festivals annually. | |||
In the twentieth century, 37 of the 230 lunar eclipses fell on either Passover and Feast of Tabernacles, which is mildly fascinating, but completely irrelevant to anyone interested in Biblical prophecy. | |||
'''So, in conclusion, don’t waste your time – or your money – on anything related to this Blood Moon hoax.''' It’s designed to '''stir up fear''', and loosen your wallet. Nothing more. | |||
Jesus will return, but as He told us, “No man knows the day, or the hour, not even the angels in heaven, but my Father only.” (Mt. 24:36) | |||
Now, what if something significant DOES happen between now and the end of these four Blood Moon signs that are still forthcoming? Well, things happen all the time. My point is that if anything does happen in the world, we cannot point to the Blood Moons as any sort of prophetic sign. | |||
Enjoy the lunar eclipse. Take good pictures. Marvel at God’s creation. But don’t give in to the fear and the hype. | |||
The Blood Moons are not signs of anything other than the Glory of God as the Heavens declare His majesty and pour fourth speech all day long.<ref>subversive1.blogspot.ca/2014/10/the-blood-moon-hoax-exposed.html</ref> | |||
=Scripture= | =Scripture= | ||