The Moon to Blood

Of Prophets and Kings

Pastor Mike Cooke

1.Does the Bible talk about the moon being turned to blood?

  • Genesis 1:14

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.”

  • Joel 2:31; Acts 2:20

The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

  • Revelation 6:12-13

The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.

2.What causes the moon to turn red in appearance?

  • A solar eclipse is when the Moon passes through the shadow of the Earth.
  • This occurs about twice every year, during a full moon.
  • The red color is due to the refraction of light through the Earth’s atmosphere.

3.Where did the Blood Moon Prophecy originate?

  • In 2008 Mark Blitz, pastor of a Hebraic Roots church (El Shaddai Ministries, Tacoma, WA) discovered a correlation between blood moons and the Jewish holidays, and begin to predict the beginning of the Great Tribulation in 2008 and the Second Coming of Christ in September 2015. When it did not occur, he changed his prediction.
  • In 2012 Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn published “The Harbinger: The Ancient Mystery That Holds the Secret of America’s Future,” claiming that 911 was a message of judgment and warning on America. In 2014 He published “The Mystery of the Shemitah: The 3,000-Year-Old Mystery That Holds the Secret of America's Future, the World's Future, and Your Future!” claiming every Sabbath year to be predictive of calamitous events.
  • In 2013 John Hagee, pastor of Cornerstone Church in El Paso, TX, a devout Dispensationalist and Zionist supporter of Israel, wrote “Four Blood Moons: Something is About to Change,” claiming that every time a tetrad occurs on Jewish feast days, something traumatic and “world-changing” happens to Israel (In 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain and Christopher Columbus discovered America, giving the Jews a place to go; In 1948, the modern state of Israel was born with the help of America and Great Britain; In 1967 Israel won the Six-Day War and recaptured Jerusalem).
  • See also “Blood Moons: Decoding the Imminent Heavenly Signs,” Mark Blitz, 2014; “Blood Moons Rising: Bible Prophecy, Israel, and the Four Blood Moons,” Mark Hitchcock, 2014.

4.How significant is a “blood moon tetrad?”

  • A “tetrad” is a series of four total lunar eclipses occurring six months apart.
  • 62 tetrads have occurred since the first century AD (none from 1600-1900).
  • Of those, 8 have coincided with the holidays of Passover and Tabernacles (Sukkot).
  • Since the Jewish calendar is lunar, and Passover and Sukkot are on full moons, about one in six lunar eclipses will occur on one of these feasts.
  • Of the current tetrad (Passover 4/15/14; Sukkot 10/08/14; Passover 4/4/15; Sukkot 9/28/15) only one will be visible from Israel.
  • There is no scripture making significance of a tetrad.

5.How did the Pagan cultures respond to red moons?

  • The Mayans believed the moon was being swallowed by a jaguar.
  • The Chinese believed they foreshadowed famine or disease.
  • The Mesopotamians believed the moon was being attacked by demons, which threatened the life of the king.
  • Christopher Columbus predicted a lunar eclipse in 1504 to make the Jamaicans believe that he was a god so they would supply his men with food.

6.What does the Bible say about using the sky to predict the future?

  • Deuteronomy 18:10-12

There shall not be found among you anyone who . . . practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens . . . for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. (ESV)

  • Isaiah 47:13-14

“You are wearied with your many counsels; Let now the astrologers, those who prophesy by the stars, those who predict by the new moons, stand up and save you from what will come upon you. Behold, they have become like stubble.” (NASU)

  • Jeremiah 10:2

This is what the Lord says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them.”

  • Matthew 12:39

He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

  • Colossians 2:16-17

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

  • 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

7.How can we know the truth from a false prophecy when we hear it?

  • Beware anyone who claims to have unlocked secrets predicting the future.
  • Beware anyone who focuses on numerology or astronomical events.
  • Beware anyone who takes OT prophecies out of their intended context.
  • Beware anyone who makes money from prophesying fear and doom.