As I looked to the sky this past evening at what is being referred to as "The Blood Moon", I can not help but think about the buzz throughout Chistendom about the coming of the Lord. I am a firm believer that Christ is returning for his Church. I believe this, because Christ himself said so. I also believe it because the Bible itself makes it known. However, all this talk of Blood Moons and signs and wonders marking his return is foolishness and nonsense. Why do I feel this way? Because the same Christ that spoke of his return said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only". Why do I believe it to be foolish? Because the same Bible that tells of his return also tells us that his coming will be "like a thief in the night" (without warning). Those who delve into such eschatological deciphering in a vain attempt to determine what only God knows often do so to their own destruction. The belief that the Bible holds "secrets" that can somehow be "unlocked" through human understanding or even spiritual help is nothing new. It harkens back to ancient times of Kabbalah where practitioners utilized various strategies to open these secrets. The tools of the trade included astrology, numerology and other forms of mysticism. In the OT those who practiced such things were to be killed (Deut 18:10-12), and while I don't advocate such things in this day of grace, I do caution Christians who would harken to the teachings of such practitioners. I realize by this point you are either celebrating with my opinion, or you are ready to stone me. But before you decide to do either, I hope you will read the rest of this blog, as I hope to lay down some more biblical reasons to avoid jumping on board with this fanaticism.
I'm certain as you read the above, Bible verses were coming to mind that caused you to say, "But the Bible says..". Yes the Bible does speak of wars and rumors of wars, and signs and wonders. Let's look at Matthew's account of this together. (Matthew 24:1-44)
"And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his
disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus
said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall
not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as
he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying,
Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming,
and of the end of the world?"
First thing to notice is that the disciples are asking two separate questions. The first question is about the temple. Jesus just told them that it would be destroyed, and they ask, "When?". The second question is what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? They are not just asking about his return, but his return as it relates to the end of the world. These two parts coincide with one another, in which case they are not asking about the rapture of the church, but about his final coming when heaven and earth as we know it are brought to an end. So, Jesus' answer deals with these questions, and not the rapture. Revelation bears witness and support to Jesus' answer as well. Based on Revelation, this "End" will come after the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation. So unless one believes we are living in the midst of the tribulation now, there will be plenty of signs (like hail and fire mingled with blood, burning mountains being cast into the sea turning it to blood, burning stars falling to the earth poisoning the water, etc...) before his return. Be mindful as well that Revelation puts no emphasis on Blood Moons. In fact the only time we see this happening in Revelation is once in chapter 6. However even then it coincides with other signs such as darkening the sun and an earthquake. Not to mention that there are several other signs that are to proceed this "moon becoming as blood". For instance the Antichrist, world war and worldwide famine and massive death (1/4th of the world).
"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man
deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall
deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars
and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must
come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and
earthquakes, in divers places. All these
are the beginning of sorrows."
Many eschatologists or misinformed Christians use this verse to point to the near coming of Christ. But take note that wars and rumors of wars are not cause for alarm, because the end is not yet. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, famine, pestilence and even earthquakes are the beginning but not the end. Again Revelation gives us perspective on this in the first four seals. They are Antichrist, War, Famine and Death. All of these things have been going on from the beginning of time. So what makes these wars, earthquakes and famines any different? I believe that these things will not be like any we have ever seen before for will ever be seen again. Again the scale and magnitude will cause havoc worldwide.
"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted,
and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And
then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one
another. And many false prophets shall
rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of
many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be
saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
Again Jesus is answering about "The End". And again Revelation bears this out in the 5th seal. It is after this that the real end will come, and even that is only the beginning of the end.
"When ye therefore shall
see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in
the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in
Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down
to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field
return back to take his clothes. And woe
unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But
pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For
then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the
world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be
shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days
shall be shortened."
Here we see that "The End" will come after Great Tribulation, which is described as the last part of the end. And again these things will be unlike any that have ever been seen or will be seen again. Yes, we have famine. Yes, we have wars. Yes, we have earthquakes, but not like this. It is during this time when people shall proclaim Christ's return, but they are false prophets. No matter how big their signs are, even God's elect will be deceived. It still is not the time of his coming. Because when he comes everyone will see it at the same time.
"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or
there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible,
they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if
they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he
is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of
the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son
of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered
together."
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
"Immediately following the tribulation." What tribulation? The one discussed above: the worldwide panic, the wars, the persecution. Following that the sun will be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be shaken. First the moon will not give her light. It does not speak of a "blood moon", but instead speaks of total darkness. There will be no sunlight by day, no moonlight by night, not even the glimmer of a star. However, just for the sake of argument, if this speaks of a blood moon, then the 6th seal of Revelation bears this out as well. For after the martyrs of the altar comes this moon becoming as blood. Again this is accompanied by other signs as well. Following this he will send his angels with the sound of a trumpet (trumpet judgments that occur with the 7th seal). Then shall they gather together the elect from one end of heaven to the other (and from earth according to Matthew and Mark).
"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."
This is the answer to their second question. This is the gathering for the final battle and the coming of Christ. The answer to their first question follows.
"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
The stones of Jerusalem will be destroyed before that generation passed away. This came to pass as he had said in 70AD when Rome invaded and destroyed Jerusalem leaving only the western wall standing.
Lastly while not really addressing their question, Jesus adds this tidbit of information.
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."
This can be understood in one of two ways. Either he is giving more information about the previous discussion of his coming at the end, or this is a different coming. He has just spent several paragraphs telling us all the signs that will come. In fact we can look at those signs like a fig tree signaling summer and know that the end is near, however this coming seems to be unpredictable and without warning. On a normal day, he will come. When you don't expect him, he will come. Like a thief in the night, he will come, so be ready. I believe this is the rapture. God is not going to give us any warning of the coming rapture. There will be no sign or clue. When the father says it is time, it will happen and it will be done. So again I say that prophetic utterances of blood moons or any other sign of Christ's return for his church is foolishness. Yes, he will come. Yes, we are closer today than ever before, but you don't need signs to tell you that. You just need to be ready.
I close with these questions. Does there have to be a blood moon or any other sign that must take place before Christ can take his bride? Is there anything that is preventing him from taking us today or tomorrow or the next day? Was there anything that prevented him from taking us yesterday, or the day before? Clearly the answer is, "No". Then I ask why do we impose such restrictions on Christ's return for his church by making claims that this must happen, or that must happen? I ask, is God bound by nature? Is he somehow at the whim of natural phenomenon? Again the answer is, "No". So why do we act as if God must wait for nature to determine when things must happen. After all if he so desires it to happen, it will happen. If he wanted to make a blood moon during a time when there was not one scheduled (i.e. a natural phenomenon) then could he? Yes, he could. Then why are signs so important? Why put any faith in things natural phenomenons? Why are we pointing to signs in the heavens, when we should be pointing to their maker? Christ was right when he said, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign." We do not need signs, Christ has already revealed it. He even says, "I have told you". The bible is clear about what will happen. As I said at the beginning there are no "secrets to unlock". The bible was given as a revelation of who God is, not as a puzzle to be deciphered by the vanities of human mysticism.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
"Immediately following the tribulation." What tribulation? The one discussed above: the worldwide panic, the wars, the persecution. Following that the sun will be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be shaken. First the moon will not give her light. It does not speak of a "blood moon", but instead speaks of total darkness. There will be no sunlight by day, no moonlight by night, not even the glimmer of a star. However, just for the sake of argument, if this speaks of a blood moon, then the 6th seal of Revelation bears this out as well. For after the martyrs of the altar comes this moon becoming as blood. Again this is accompanied by other signs as well. Following this he will send his angels with the sound of a trumpet (trumpet judgments that occur with the 7th seal). Then shall they gather together the elect from one end of heaven to the other (and from earth according to Matthew and Mark).
"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."
This is the answer to their second question. This is the gathering for the final battle and the coming of Christ. The answer to their first question follows.
"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
The stones of Jerusalem will be destroyed before that generation passed away. This came to pass as he had said in 70AD when Rome invaded and destroyed Jerusalem leaving only the western wall standing.
Lastly while not really addressing their question, Jesus adds this tidbit of information.
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."
This can be understood in one of two ways. Either he is giving more information about the previous discussion of his coming at the end, or this is a different coming. He has just spent several paragraphs telling us all the signs that will come. In fact we can look at those signs like a fig tree signaling summer and know that the end is near, however this coming seems to be unpredictable and without warning. On a normal day, he will come. When you don't expect him, he will come. Like a thief in the night, he will come, so be ready. I believe this is the rapture. God is not going to give us any warning of the coming rapture. There will be no sign or clue. When the father says it is time, it will happen and it will be done. So again I say that prophetic utterances of blood moons or any other sign of Christ's return for his church is foolishness. Yes, he will come. Yes, we are closer today than ever before, but you don't need signs to tell you that. You just need to be ready.
I close with these questions. Does there have to be a blood moon or any other sign that must take place before Christ can take his bride? Is there anything that is preventing him from taking us today or tomorrow or the next day? Was there anything that prevented him from taking us yesterday, or the day before? Clearly the answer is, "No". Then I ask why do we impose such restrictions on Christ's return for his church by making claims that this must happen, or that must happen? I ask, is God bound by nature? Is he somehow at the whim of natural phenomenon? Again the answer is, "No". So why do we act as if God must wait for nature to determine when things must happen. After all if he so desires it to happen, it will happen. If he wanted to make a blood moon during a time when there was not one scheduled (i.e. a natural phenomenon) then could he? Yes, he could. Then why are signs so important? Why put any faith in things natural phenomenons? Why are we pointing to signs in the heavens, when we should be pointing to their maker? Christ was right when he said, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign." We do not need signs, Christ has already revealed it. He even says, "I have told you". The bible is clear about what will happen. As I said at the beginning there are no "secrets to unlock". The bible was given as a revelation of who God is, not as a puzzle to be deciphered by the vanities of human mysticism.
