I had no intentions of blogging about this topic. However, within the past week I have had several people worriedly ask me my opinion about the four blood moons and fast approaching Sept 28, 2015. Therefore, I thought it might be helpful to those who follow my blogs to explore this topic with me.
If you’re not familiar with this topic, then let me first give a brief overview.
There is a natural phenomenon that occurs quite frequently in our galaxy and is visible from earth. It is called a blood moon. It occurs when the moon is eclipsed by the earth causing it to take on a red tint. The name “blood moon” is derived from the red shadow that can be seen. Occasionally, this blood moon will occur four times in a single year. When that happens it is called a “tetrad,” meaning “group of four.”
A tetrad in itself is not unusual. However, what has made this particular tetrad so popular is that each of the four blood moons happens to line up with four Jewish festivals. According to John Hagee (probably the most significant figure in this movement), a tetrad occurring on a Jewish festival is extremely rare.
Now, if you are a thinking person (I hope that you are), you may reply: so what! What is significant about four blood moons lining up with four Jewish festivals?
Well, according to Hagee it is very significant. Although I haven’t read his best-selling book on the subject, I have watched a number of his teaching videos on Youtube to try and get a handle on what he is claiming. He is quite convinced these four blood moons are very important. To prove his point, Hagee first quotes from the prophet Joel 2:31 which says, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood …” (emphasis mine) Hagee then shows where Peter quoted from this same passage in Acts 2:20. Hagee points out that God has placed the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens as signs to us, quoting Gen 1:14.
Hagee then suggests that whenever a tetrad occurs simultaneously with Jewish festivals that something very significant always happens. According to Hagee, three have occurred in the last 500 years. The first of these occurred in 1493-94. Hagee points out that this happened just after the Jews were expelled from Spain.
The second tetrad occurred in 1949-50, just after the Jews were recognized as an official nation. The third happened in 1967, around the time of the Six Day War in which Israel seized the Gaza Strip. Hagee believes that the four blood moons occurring in 2014-15 will signify another “earth-shaking” event.
In my estimation there are so many Biblical blunders involved in Hagee’s theory that the whole concept should simply be laughable. Unfortunately, many Christians aren’t laughing – they’re eating this stuff up. That’s because many Christians are simply Biblical-illiterate and will believe anything sensational that comes down the pike.
Before I engage with the Scripture that Hagee uses, let me first say something about the three tetrads Hagee mentions. Spain began expelling the Jews in March of 1492. The first blood moon didn’t appear until 5 months later, and the last wasn’t seen for another 16 months. How could anyone see this is a “sign” when the sign didn’t appear until after the event?
The next tetrad occurred between 1949-1950. Hagee lines this up with Israel becoming a nation. Again, the “sign” is a little late. Israel declared independence in May of 1948. Almost a year later, the first blood moon appeared, while the last one not for another 16 months.
The third of these three tetrads occurred between 1967-1968. This “sign” is a little closer to the named event. The first blood moon came in April and the second in June. It was in June of 1967 that Israel fought its Six Day War. However, it should be obvious by now that the event that Hagee selects can come before, after, or during the tetrad. In other words, he just has to find a “major event” that is proximate to the tetrad.
As you can see, for Hagee to now find a “major event” that lines up with the current tetrad, he just has to look for something newsworthy to occur between April of 2014 to around June of 2016.
Can I get a collective, “duh?”
Since major events happen nearly every day, it won’t be hard to find something significant if you are already convinced that there is something significant to find! This is called “newspaper exegeses.” It is trying to understand the Bible by reading the newspaper. No reputable Bible teacher should do exegesis that way.
It is extremely noteworthy to point out that Hagee lines up tetrads with what is going on with only the Jewish people. The New Testament writers tell us that in God’s eyes the Jews and Gentiles are now one “man” instead of two (Eph 2), and that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile (Rom. 10:12). What God has brought together, Hagee is apparently trying to keep separate.
Let me point out, after watching several of Hagee’s videos, that he never once takes the time to exegete – or explain in context – the passages he uses. For example, he loves to quote from the prophet Joel, who is repeated by Peter in Acts. Hagee always fails to disclose that Peter quoted Joel on the day of Pentecost and said “this” (the extraordinary events of that day) is what was spoken of by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16). In other words, Peter told his listeners that Joel’s prophecy was being fulfilled in their day, right before their eyes. Peter doesn’t talk about Jewish festivals lining up with blood moons. Furthermore, Peter quotes Joel in saying that there will be “blood and fire and vapor of smoke.” Yet, Hagee doesn’t mentions “blood, and fire and vapor of smoke” as something we will see with the blood moon. Why? Well, probably because that phenomenon doesn’t fit into his theory as conveniently.
Also, when Hagee reads from Genesis and claims that God has set the lights in the heavens to be signs for us, he always fails to point out that the same passage says what they will be signs for. Gen 1:14 says that the lights (sun, moon, stars) would be signs for seasons, days, and years. In other words, God said that we could calculate our days, seasons, and years by the movement of the heavenly bodies. That’s all. Obviously, Hagee is reading something into that passage that is not there. That’s unadvisable.
But, the most important fallacy to Hagee’s claim (in my opinion) is his insistence that Christians should be focusing our attention on a Covenant that God has made obsolete. The Old Covenant was offered to the Jewish people in Exodus 19. Then, throughout the Old Testament times God sent prophets who repeatedly prophesied that a new and better Covenant would be coming. Jesus ushered in the New Covenant and initiated it in the Upper Room in Luke 22. Once the New Covenant had come, the Old one began to fade away. In fact, the writer of the book of Hebrews called the Old Covenant “obsolete.”
Hagee and his followers are obsessed with the obsolete covenant. They get very excited about obsolete Jewish festivals, obsolete Jewish calendars, and obsolete Jewish rites. Instead of seeing the fulfillment of these things in Jesus – as the New Testament writers did – they are trying to see them fulfilled in a different way. The Apostle Paul wrote that these things had been like a shadow but that Jesus, who had cast it, had now come (Col 2:17) . It is as if Hagee and his followers are more interested in celebrating the shadow that Jesus has cast, rather than focusing in on the One who cast it.
The last of these four recent blood moons will occur on Sept 28, 2015. Since Hagee is looking for something significant to happen, you can bet that he will be searching the newspapers until he finds what he is looking for. Since significant things happen all of the time, Hagee will have no trouble finding something. Of course he will. The alternative is to recant and buy all the books back that he sold on the subject. And we know that he would never do that.
Oh, one more thing. If John Hagee happens to read this blog I would be delighted to publicly debate you on this subject. In fact, I’ll even the playing field for you by not bringing my Bible. I’ll just work from memory. Would you like to do this before or after the final blood moon? My schedule is wide open.
Peace,
dane
Dane Cramer is a backpacker, Christian blogger, jail chaplain, amateur filmmaker, and author of two books: Romancing the Trail and The Nephilim: A Monster Among Us