Good evening brethren and happy Sabbath! Just a quick reminder about the Ladies Tea in Hickory tomorrow and Sabbath School in Charlotte after services.

Blood Moon

Did you happen to see the Blood Moon last night? If not, below is a picture of what we saw at our home early on Friday morning. A Blood Moon is another term for a total lunar eclipse which is when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon.

The term ‘blood’ is used because during a total lunar eclipse, some wavelengths of light in the orangish-reddish hue still pass by the earth, thus causing it to appear red.  When there isn’t an eclipse, the full spectrum of light passes through, giving the moon its normal whitish-bluish hue.

Biblical Connection

As students of the Bible, we often connect the term Blood Moon with prophecy.  Blood Moons are mentioned three times in the Bible, with the first being in Joel 2, which primarily focuses on the Day of the Lord. Verses 30 and 31 read, “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.”

So, the natural question that piques people’s curiosity is: Was last night’s blood moon an end-time sign?

A Complicated Answer

The Bible certainly does make a connection to Blood Moons and prophecies.  However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Day of the Lord will begin on a certain Blood Moon.  The United States saw its last blood moon in November 2022.  There was one in May that year as well which covered the United Sates, as well as much of the rest of the world, including the nation of Israel.  In fact, there have been hundreds of Blood Moons occur all over the world since the prophecy in Joel.   Clearly, the Day of the Lord did not begin with any of those.

So what can we take from this, prophetically? While we can’t - and don’t even attempt to - predict a certain date for the Day of the Lord or any other prophecy, we can be reminded of something by this phenomenon. Jesus Christ is returning to the Earth, and it will be preceded by some very amazing and even frightful things.  But even during this time - whenever it occurs - we can have hope.  In fact, just after the mention of the Blood Moon is mentioned in Joel, it is immediately followed by these words, “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 trials and tribulation will come, we shouldn’t be overly focused on ‘doom and gloom.’ When we look up in the sky at the wonders which will unfold, always be reminded of God’s promise of salvation!