LENT: Apr 11 - Joel 2:31

The sun shall be turned into darkness,

and the moon into blood,

before the great and the terrible day

of the LORD comes.

Joel 2:31

There is a lot of attention on the stars and moon in recent days.

This week the sun and and Earth and Mars were in perfect alignment. (This is not an uncommon occurrence. It happens about once every two years.)

But what is uncommon is what is about to happen next week. The first of four "blood moons." (You can look up the astronomical details.) But blood moons are rare. They generally occur once every several hundred years.

This, however, is the third set in the last 60 years. Many Bible students are intrigued by the fact that ...

·       The first of these Blood Moons occurred in the 1940s when Israel - after hundreds and hundreds of years of non-existence - became a country again. (Is that prophetic or coincidence?)

·       The second occurred in the 1960s when Jerusalem became fully unified under Israel. (Is that prophetic or coincidence?)

·       The third set – occurring next week – sees all four Blood Moons occurring on four major Jewish holidays. (Is that prophetic or coincidence?)

I will not make any predictions. But here is what I do know:

·       More than a quarter of the Bible is prophecy.

·       The specificity of prophecy is most thrilling when we examine the life of Jesus. There were hundreds of prophecies and hundreds of years of prophecies fulfilled to the letter in his lifetime.

·       Most Biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled.

·       The remainder are essentially end times prophecies.

·       The Old Testament, the New Testament, and Jesus himself prophesy about what will happen at the end of the age.

Are blood moons a sign?

I don't know! But what I do know is that …

·       We are always called to be watchful.

·       We are always called to be ready.

·       We are always called to examine our own hearts.

·       We are always called to witness to those whose hearts are cold.

In Christ's love,

a guy who always strives to be ready

– and is curious about what might

or might not begin next week!