Stock up on supplies and find a fallout shelter, it’s 2012 all over again.

This past Sunday night marked a rare astronomical event. There was a lunar eclipse during a super moon, which made the moon appear much larger and redder from our view on Earth. This was also the last blood moon in a tetrad series, meaning it was the fourth blood moon to rise over the past two years, something that has not happened since 1982.

Sounds cool, right? Not to some religious leaders and their faithful flocks.

Pastors John Hagee, Mark Biltz and Irvin Baxter all believe this blood moon represents the start of troubled times for the citizens of Earth. Books have been written on the topic, and many people buy into the hype and paranoia of an end-of-days scenario.

Historically, the Jewish people, who are God’s chosen people, have come against great tribulation close to the time of past blood moons. With this blood moon falling on the night of a super moon, these pastors believe the end of the world could be very near.

Some people, such as Biltz, say we still have at least a thousand years left on Earth. Baxter, however, feels the moon is a harbinger of doom, citing it as the beginning of the seven years of tribulation before Jesus Christ himself returns. Hagee, in the meanwhile, wrote a best-selling book on the topic.

These men believe that God uses the “heavens,” or the sun, moon and stars, to communicate with His people on Earth. The Bible certainly backs this view up, as astronomical bodies are often mentioned in the book.

One Bible verse, Joel 2:30-31, explicitly mentions a blood moon rising before the end of the world. NASA, however, released a statement saying it is highly unlikely an asteroid will strike the Earth on or around the time of the blood moon.

The religion versus science debate rages on even today. Whether you place your trust in God or in NASA, the choice is yours. However, I do not think the world will be ending because of a blood moon.

Firstly, if the world ended when the blood moon rose, you would not even be reading this.

Secondly, the Bible also states that no one knows when the world will come to an end. Certainly, this means one cannot predict the end of the world.

As a Bible-believing Christian, I think I can trust enough in that to not have to worry about the end of the world. Not to say that the world will not be ending soon, but it seems highly unlikely.

Those who advocate the blood moon prophecy are probably looking to make a quick dollar selling a book about it. Perhaps they just like seeing people freak out about having only a little while left to live on the earth.

To me, though, the end of the world cannot simply be predicted. Maybe this moon does mean something, though many scientists state that it is not such a rare occurrence as it is made out to be. It could signal the start of the beginning of the end, or something to that effect. There is no way to accurately say what will occur, if anything at all.

Regardless, it is an amazing astronomical event that many hopefully got to see on Sunday night. One can only hope or pray this blood moon brings only good photo opportunities and time spent outside at night.

We made it through Y2K and 2012, though, so I think we should be able to handle whatever this blood moon throws at us.

Share