The Moon as a Sign and the Prophesied Blood Red Moons

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When God set up the universe, He created ways to communicate with us. One way He communicates is through the moon, sun, and even stars (as in the star that was prophesied in Numbers 24:17 which led the Magi to the Christ Child centuries later. See Matthew 2:1-12.).

When God communicates with people, the Bible often calls these "signs." In the New Testament stories of Jesus (the Gospels), when Jesus performed a miraculous healing, these were often called "signs," especially by the writer John.

In the very beginning of the Bible, in the story of creation, God clearly tells us He will use the moon for "signs." This is prophecy. Here is Genesis 1:14 in a couple different English translations:

"And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years…' " (Genesis 1:14, English Standard Version - ESV).

Nearly identical except for a couple of words is the King James Version:

"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:…" (Genesis 1:14, King James Version – KJV).

And from the newer New International Version:

"And God said, 'Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years…' " (Genesis 1:14, New International Version 2011 – NIV).

In the NIV that I usually prefer (from 1984, which is no longer available), part of this verse is translated:

"…and let them serve as signs to make seasons and days and years…" (Genesis 1:14, NIV 1984).

The newer NIV as well as the other older and well-respected translations make it clear that these heavenly bodies are for more than seasons, days, and years; they are for "signs." The newer NIV states it as "signs to mark sacred times." I like that.

So what is the point of all this about the moon? Two things:

• Prophecies in the Bible talk about the sign of the moon turning red and the sun turning dark – including prophecies Jesus himself spoke.

• We may very well see the moon turn red next week. (Tweet that!)

Thanks to www.Morguefile.com 

We are going to talk about this more, one step at a time. Let's finish today with looking at some of the prophecies in the Bible that most Christians believe have not been fulfilled, and so they are yet to be fulfilled in our future:

"The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD" (Joel 2:31).

"The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine" (Joel 3:15).

"The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord" (Acts 2:20, Peter is quoting Joel 2:28-32).

Isaiah also spoke of this:

"For the stars of the heavens and their constellations  will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising,  and the moon will not shed its light" (Isaiah 13:10).

Then, when his disciples asked Jesus what the signs of the "end times" would be, Jesus himself quoted the Isaiah passage:

"Immediately after the distress of those days 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken' " (Matthew 24:29).

"But in those days, following that distress, " 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light' " (Mark 13:24).

Jesus also said:

"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea" (Luke 21:25).

Finally, long after Jesus' death and resurrection, John wrote of the vision he saw of the "end times":

"I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red" (Revelation 6:12).

We are going to talk more about the sign of a red moon because we can expect some red moons in our future, and we even know the dates. Furthermore, they will occur on spiritually significant dates.

In 2014 and 2015 there will be a total of four lunar eclipses. When four eclipses appear, this is called a tetrad. An eclipse is one of only three situations that occur naturally that can cause the moon to appear red. Because of these Bible prophecies above, these four eclipses are becoming known among many as the "Four Blood Moons."

Significantly, these four lunar eclipses will occur on the first and the last of the seven Feasts of the Lord—meaning on Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles—two years in a row: in both 2014 and 2015. (Tweet that!)

We are going to look at the seven Feasts of the LORD on Friday, April 11. But first, tomorrow we are going to look at the Jewish calendar and how it works, because that is important in understanding all of this.

On Saturday, April 12^th, we will look at the natural causes in nature that can cause the moon to appear red.

Then on Monday we will look at times in history when this same tetrad of four lunar eclipses on the same major Feasts of the LORD, two consecutive years, occurred. (Tweet that!) Yes, it has happened before. And significant events occurred in Israel and in the world at those times. So please stay tuned…and invite your friends to join us on this fascinating journey.

Special Note:

In anticipation of the first of the four lunar eclipses occurring next week, we're discussing information important to understanding their significance. (Tweet that!) Here's our coming schedule. Please invite your friends or your entire church to join us:

• Day 10, April 9: The Moon as a Sign and the Prophesied Blood Red Moons
• Day 9, April 10: How the Jewish Calendar Works
• Day 8, April 11: The Prophetic Significance of the Feasts of the LORD
• Day 7, April 12: What Causes the Moon to Turn Red Like Blood?
• Day 6, April 14: "Tetrad" of Four Lunar Eclipses on Jewish Feast Days in the Past
• Day 5, April 15: The First Lunar Eclipse on Passover 2014 (and why I don't expect anything to happen that day.)

Jesus Gives "The Sign of Jonah"

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Earlier in Jesus' ministry, the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus for a miraculous sign. This always seemed strange to me since it seems Jesus was performing miracles often. Nevertheless, as a test to see if he was the Messiah, these officials asked for a "sign."

(In the Bible, especially in the book of John, the word "sign" means a miracle or a "miraculous sign.")

Jesus never performed a miracle solely for the sake of performing a miracle. He was not a show-off or a circus act. Jesus only performed miracles when he had a much larger message to share through it. (Tweet that!)

Therefore:

"He answered, 'A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth' " (Matthew 12:39-40).

Sometime later some of the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus to test him by asking him for a sign from heaven. He said:

" 'A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.' Jesus then left them and went away" (Matthew 16:4).

The gospel-writer Luke also recorded this:

"As the crowds increased, Jesus said, 'This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah' " (Luke 11:29).

The sign of Jonah which Jesus was referring to, as Jesus made clear in the first Scripture passage above, refers to the three days, though no one would probably have read this verse as prophecy. In the original story of Jonah found in the Old Testament we are told this:

"But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights" (Jonah 1:17).

Jesus takes this verse and applies it to himself as a sign. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the big fish for three days and three nights, so Jesus would be in the grave for three days and nights. And that is exactly what happened. (Tweet that!)

After the people watched Jesus die on the cross, after the Roman soldiers verified that he was dead, after Pilate gave Joseph of Arimathea permission to take Jesus' body down and after Nicodemus helped Joseph bury him, Jesus laid in the tomb for three days and nights.

And then…

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus" (Luke 24:1-3).

And that is how the prophecy Jesus spoke and applied to himself, the prophecy of "the Sign of Jonah," was fulfilled. (Tweet that!) So the Pharisees and Sadducees got the miraculous sign they asked for that proved Jesus was the Messiah! (Tweet that!)

Jesus was in the grave for three days and then rose from the dead!

Special Note:

Tomorrow we are going to take a side trip on our journey to Easter. In anticipation of the first of the four coming lunar eclipses occurring next week, we're going to...

1. cover some of the Scriptures and prophecies concerning the moon as a sign (Tweet that!), 
2. get a primer on the Jewish calendar, 
3. look at the prophetic significance of the Feasts of the LORD, 
4. talk about causes of red or "blood" moons, 
5. and discover past "tetrads" of four lunar eclipses on Jewish Feast days in history and what happened then. 

I think you'll be fascinated! Don't miss it. And please invite your friends or church to join us.You can also use the share buttons at the bottom of each post to share this.

Here is the schedule:

• Day 10, April 9: The Moon as a Sign and the Prophesied Blood Red Moons
• Day 9, April 10: How the Jewish Calendar Works
• Day 8, April 11: The Prophetic Significance of the Feasts of the LORD
• Day 7, April 12: What Causes the Moon to Turn Red Like Blood?
• Day 6, April 14: "Tetrad" of Four Lunar Eclipses on Jewish Feast Days in the Past
• Day 5, April, 15: The First Lunar Eclipse on Passover 2014 (and why I don't expect anything to happen that day.)

Nicodemus Brought a Mixture of Myrrh

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On Friday we talked about Joseph of Arimathea taking Jesus' body to his own grave. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, accompanied Joseph and helped him.

Here is how John, the close friend and follower of Jesus, described the scene:

"Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds" (John 19:38-39).

There is a prophecy in the myrrh. (Tweet that!)

Myrrh was one of the three gifts brought by the Magi to Jesus at his birth. Matthew, another follower of Jesus, wrote of the Magi's visit to the newborn Jesus:

"On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh" (Matthew 2:11).

In the first book in my 3-book "Prophecies Fulfilled" series, Prophecies Fulfilled in the Birth of Jesus, we explored the significance of the three gifts from the Magi and how these gifts were prophetic, picturing what Jesus would do in his life…and death:

• Gold was a gift fit for royalty, for a king.

• Frankincense is an incense used by priests when making offerings and sacrifices at the Temple. Incense was also burned on the Incense Altar inside the Temple and symbolized the prayers of the people rising to God, a sweet aroma pleasing to Him.

• Myrrh was a fragrance used in embalming dead bodies for burial.

The gift of myrrh was a prophecy of and predicted Jesus' death. And when he died, Nicodemus brought a large amount of an expensive mixture of myrrh for Jesus' burial. And so another prophecy was fulfilled. (Tweet that!)

He was Assigned a Grave with the Wicked

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Isaiah, who worked as a prophet from 740 B.C. to at least 681 B.C., wrote prophetically of the Messiah. In Isaiah 53:9, he tells us:

"He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth."

This prophecy was fulfilled as the rich man, Joseph of Arimathea, kindly donated his own grave and obtained the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, then placed the Lord in his own grave.

Remember that death is the ultimate consequence of sin. (See the March 19 post, "The Prophecy in the Crown of Thorns.") Only the wicked—meaning those who sin—die. Without sin, there is no consequence of death. Jesus was sinless. He shouldn't have died. He died because he took upon himself the sin of the whole world. (Tweet that!)

The sinless, holy Messiah was laid in a cemetery along with other dead bodies, those of the "wicked" who had died because of their sin. And so Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled. (Tweet that!)

"As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb" (Matthew 27:57-61).

The Curtain in the Temple Ripped In Two

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In the Temple in Jerusalem, there were two rooms. The Holy Place was the front two thirds of the Temple and contained the Lampstand, the Table of Bread, and the Incense Altar. The back one third of the Temple was called the Holy of Holies and contained the Ark of the Covenant. These two rooms were separated by a large, beautiful curtain.

The Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant sat represented the very throne room of God where His presence resided. The great curtain separated—and protected—the people from the presence of God. This protection was necessary because sinful humans cannot just come into God's holy presence.

God cannot, or will not, tolerate sin in His presence. (We talked about that more on March 24 in the post "Jesus was The LORD's Goat," and March 25 in the post "Lifted Up Part 1.")

So sin must be dealt with before we sinful humans can enter the presence of God. (Tweet that!)

Dealing with the sin of every sinful human is what Jesus did on the cross. But he doesn't force that on us. It's available to everyone, but it's only applied to those who will reach out and grasp it and take it as their own. You gotta want it. If you do, salvation is available to you through Jesus. (Tweet that!)

Once Jesus paid the penalty for the sin of every human who ever lived with his blood shed on the cross, the way into the presence of God was opened. (Tweet that!)

This is why the great curtain ripped in two. The way to God was now open.

Scripture tells us the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Seeing how this curtain was around 60 feet tall, who do you think did the tearing? Who opened the way for you and me to enter God's presence?

Have you taken the option available to you through the death of Jesus to have your sins paid for so you can step into the presence of God? If not, why not do so today by telling Jesus in prayer that's what you want to do? (Tweet that!)

"And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split" (Matthew 27:50-51).

Special Note:

You can read more about how the Temple in Jerusalem reveals Jesus' work to redeem us in my next book, book three in the "Prophecies Fulfilled" series, Prophecies Fulfilled in the Life of Jesus. (Release date not yet set. You can check for availability here: Dianne's Amazon Author Page, and watch for announcements on the "Prophecies Fulfilled Books" page by clicking on the tab at the top menu on this blog.)

Not a Bone Broken

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Yesterday we talked about Jesus as the Passover Lamb. Do you still have any doubts that Jesus is the ultimate Passover Lamb? Well then, check this out: (Tweet that!)

God is into details. He gives us the broad picture so we will "get it"—whether that's a message He is communicating to us (such as Jesus is our Passover Lamb) or a prophecy of something that is to come. But then He also throws in a detail or two…just in case we might think something is just coincidence instead of believing it is the invisible God at work. (Tweet that!)

One detail in the story of the Passover lamb in Exodus seemed strange to me from the first time I read it: God strictly instructed that none of the bones of the slain Passover lamb were to be broken.

Seriously, how could the bones of a dead lamb possibly matter? Well, it matters because this is yet another detail that connects the Passover lamb to the sacrifice of Jesus, the ultimate Passover Lamb.

In the instructions for that first Passover, God said:

"It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones" (Exodus12:46).

God, through Moses, reiterated the instructions for future Passover remembrances in Numbers:

"They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations" (Numbers 9:12).

King David wrote prophetically of the Messiah about 1,000 years before the birth of Jesus. In Psalm 34, speaking of God, David wrote:

"He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken" (Psalm 34:20).

When the event of the crucifixion of Jesus occurred, John records not only what happened to the ultimate Passover Lamb, but John directly connects Jesus to the above prophecies of the Messiah (Tweet that!):

"But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs… The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: 'Not one of his bones will be broken'" (John 19:33, 35-36).

That not a bone was broken in the crucified Lord Jesus Christ is an amazing detailed prophecy fulfilled. (Tweet that!)

Jesus the Perfect Passover Lamb

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You're probably familiar with the story of the first Passover. This was the last of the ten plagues God brought against Egypt. We discussed the 9th plague, the plague of darkness, yesterday.

The instructions for Passover were given to Moses, who passed them on to the people, in Exodus 12:

"…each man is to take a lamb … slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs… The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you" (Exodus 12:3, 6, 7, 13, NIV 1984).

This is where the term "Passover" came from: "...I will pass over you" (Exodus 12:13).

For those families and homes who did not slaughter the lamb and paint its blood on the doorframes of their homes, the death angel did not pass over them but entered their home and killed the firstborn son.

This is a picture of Jesus, the perfect Passover Lamb. (Tweet that!)

Jesus was sacrificed on Passover. He was perfect, without sin or flaw. For anyone who is willing to accept his blood and apply it to the doorframes of her or his heart, the death angel will "pass over" her or him meaning even though this person dies physically, each will be raised to life for all eternity with Jesus.

Have you believed God? Have you obeyed God? Have you accepted the blood of Jesus as your Passover Lamb? Are you saved from eternal death by his blood? (Tweet that!) If not yet, you can do that today by simply telling him so in prayer.

You're running out of time. (We all are. See the note below the coming lunar eclipses on the next two Passovers, which this year is less than two weeks away.) No more delays. Do it today.

Jesus said, "As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified" (Matthew 26:2, NIV 1984).

Passover is coming. This year, in 2014, Passover begins on April 14^th at sundown and runs through sundown April 15^th. This year, in 2014, and also next year, 2015, there is going to be a total lunar eclipse on Passover. I believe this is spiritually significant. (Tweet that!) We are going to talk more about the coming lunar eclipses that will occur on Passover, as well as on the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall of 2014 and 2015, on posts here from April 9^th through the first eclipse on April 15^th. (Tweet that!) Please be sure to stop back during those days. And please direct your family, friends, and others you care about here also.

You will be able to read more about these spiritually significant lunar eclipses on significant Jewish Feast days in my coming book, Prophecies Fulfilled in the Life of Jesus. (Release date not yet set. To check to see if it's available, please visit my Amazon Author page here.)