One of this month's most awaited astronomical events is the October 8 lunar eclipse, also known as the blood moon. Aside from details about how to catch the phenomenon, there also have been reports about the event being a sign that the world is ending.
Is this true?
"Only eight times in 2,000 years have these total lunar eclipses or blood moons occurred on the biblical holidays of Passover and Tabernacles two years in a row," Pastor Mark Biltz told WorldNetDaily. "The last one of the series happening next year is more than a once in a lifetime event but a once in all of human history event!"
"The total lunar eclipse will be a supermoon seen from Jerusalem on the Feast of Tabernacles at the conclusion of 7th year of the Shemitah cycle! This is the one day when all of Israel was to be in Jerusalem to hear the King of Israel read from the Torah," the author of "Blood Moons: Decoding the Imminent Heavenly Signs" added.
It can be recalled that previous end of days rumors involved a Mayan prophecy concerning the last month of 2012. This time, talks about this anxiety-inducing occurrence centers around Jewish holiday observances.
"All these signs, coming together at one time, are potentially the culminating signals that God is closing this chapter of human history," he explained further. "This could be the final curtain call before the Great Tribulation mentioned in the Bible. God has always wanted to warn His people, and the rest of the world, before He intervenes. What better way to communicate to us than through the universal language of heavenly signs that speak to every tribe, tongue, and nation?"
Meanwhile, Texas pastor John Hagee said that the blood moon tetrad is a sign from God that says he's "coming soon," as noted by USA Today.
"I believe that the heavens are God's billboard, that He has been sending signals to planet Earth, and we just haven't been picking them up," Hagee said about the four blood moons occuring this year and the next. "God is literally screaming at the world: 'I'm coming soon.'"
A spokesman for Hagee later told the news source that the televangelist "has not associated the blood moons with the end of days."
Inquisitr said that while lunar eclipses are not unusual and are actually "quite common," those that coincide with Biblical events "happened just a few times in thousands of years."
"Previous tetrads, in 1492, 1948 and 1967, coincided with such events as the expulsion of Jews from Spain at the end of the Inquisition, statehood for Israel, and the Six-Day War," USA Today pointed out.
Based on these declarations, it can be said that the blood moon tetrad may have something in store for a certain group of people, such as the Jewish, but doesn't necessarily signal the end of the world. Unless certain unfortunate incidents coincidentally occuring during the tetrad escalate on a global level.
Your thoughts, readers?