Four Blood Moons – Is Something About To Change?

There has been much talk recently of the four “Blood Moons”, with the introduction of a book written by John Hagee as well as a follow-up movie. As end-times are quite important to the faith community, it’s important for us to biblically understand the topic. So, let’s talk about the End Times.

The end times actually began on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. This was also the beginning of the era of the church. God devotes a significant portion of scripture on the topic of the last days, and the driving reality that we must be ready for the coming of Jesus.

 

Therefore be ye also ready:for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matthew 24:44

Predictions

Many have taken to task the futile pursuit of predicting the time of the end.

  • Edgar C. Whisenant said that Jesus would return in 1988
  • …and then predicted He would return in 1992
  • …and then predicted He would return in 2011
  • Harold Camping predicted Jesus would return September 6, 1994
  • …and then predicted He would return in 2011

And now…

  • John Hagee, in his book, “Four Blood Moons: Something is about to change”, claims this special time will align with moon eclipses.

Blood Moons

First to note is that a “blood moon”, as spoken of in scripture, is not a literal moon turning to blood, but has to do with the appearance of the moon becoming red like blood. This is actually a natural occurrence that results from the sun’s light bouncing through the earth’s atmosphere during a total lunar eclipse, coloring the moon a deep shade of red.

Specifically, Hagee speaks of what is called a, “Tetrad” – or 4 blood moon eclipses that appear directly one-after-another. And, in this case, that Fall on Jewish Feast days.

Hagee claims there have only been three blood moon tetrads in the last 500 years.

However, according to the NASA website, from the year 1AD to the year 2013 there have actually been fifty-five tetrads to occur, and there have actually been seven to occur within the last 500 years.

Hagee also says the blood moons always happen on Jewish feast days (Passover and Sukkot), and always follow major events for Israel… Note this… DESTRUCTION, followed by PEACE.

    1. 1492 Jews expelled by Catholic church, Spanish inquisition (Fall of Spain), Columbus discovers America
      1. followed in 1493/1494 by four blood moons
    2. 1948 Holocaust (Jan 30, 1933-May 8, 1945), then Israel statehood – Rebirth of the Jewish nation
      1. followed in 1949/1950 by four blood moons
    3. 1967 Israel recaptured Jerusalem (6-Day War)
      1. followed in 1967/1968 by four blood moons

In his book, Hagee points to the present tetrad of blood moons that span 2014/15.

  • April 15, 2014 – Jewish Passover
  • October 8, 2014 – Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)
  • April 4, 2015 – Jewish Passover
  • September 28, 2015 – Feast of Tabernacles

If this Tetrad is to be significant as Hagee proclaims, then it would have been preceded by both destruction and peace for Jerusalem. Since the tetrad began April 15th of 2014, we can see that this has not happened.

Of the 55 tetrads that have occurred, there are 7 additional tetrads that aligned with Jewish feast days that Hagee doesn’t account for. Interestingly, these additional 7 tetrads have no coinciding major Jewish events. If that’s true, that makes 7 non-aligning tetrads against 3 aligning tetrads, which actually goes against the teaching that this occurrence is significant.

Hagee says in his book that this occurrence (a tetrad with a total solar eclipse in the middle) is exactly repeated in Acts 2. This is not true.

And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come. - Acts 2:19

Obviously, this is not describing a tetrad, but a single blood moon.

Also, Hagee believes coming tetrad will signal the great war between Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39 where Russia, Iran, Ethiopia, Libya, Turkey all invade Isreal.

Let’s look closely at the teaching again:

  1. 1492 Jews expelled by Catholic church, Spanish inquisition (Fall of Spain), Columbus discovers America
    1. followed in 1493/1494 by four blood moons
  2. 1948 Holocaust (Jan 30, 1933-May 8, 1945), then Israel statehood – Rebirth of the Jewish nation
    1. followed in 1949/1950 by four blood moons
  3. 1967 Israel recaptured Jerusalem (6-Day War)
    1. followed in 1967/1968 by four blood moons

We can see that the 3 tetrads he references do not signal an event, but they follow an event.

So, in order for the present tetrad to have followed a major world event for Israel, such as the great war of Gog and Magog, it would have had to happen and be peacefully completed sometime before April 15th, 2014. It did not happen.

Furthermore, the battle of Gog and Magog CANNOT happen now anyway. Scripture tells us that the battle of Gog and Magog is the same battle called Armageddon in the book of Revelation, which happens after the Tribulation and the Wrath of God. They both end at the same one-time event, the Supper of our Great God.

Thus saith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. - Ezekiel 38:17-20
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. – Revelation 19:17-20

So, since the Tribulation and Wrath are supposed to occur over a 7-year span, and Armageddon happens after that, we see that this is impossible to happen during this Tetrad, let alone before it.

Blood Moons in Scripture

Let’s look at the significance of blood moons mentioned in Bible. Note again, never does the Bible mention 4 blood moons, but rather only 1 blood moon in eight different passages of scripture. Also, in each of these passages, it never mentions or alludes to a destruction of Israel followed by peace.

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. - Matthew 24:29-31
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. – Luke 21:25-28
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. - Rev 6:12-14

A couple of important things to note here are that 1) the sun and moon signs appear after the tribulation, not before. and 2) the blood moon signifies the Wrath of God, not the Tribulation.

Also reference Joel chapters 2 and 3. There are others as well, but the important thing to extract is that each of these appear to be the same occurrence, and happen “immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days”, and not prior to as Hagee suggests.

If the timing Jesus spoke of is true, then the blood moons cannot be true links to the rapture, because the Tribulation has not happened yet.

The blood moon shown in multiple scriptures always indicates the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

In addition, Rev. 11:15 describes that Jesus will come after the Last Trump…

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

…and immediately after this, the wrath of God is poured out.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. - 1 Cor. 15:52-53

So, let’s recap the claims of the book:

  • Have there only been three tetrads to occur in the last 500 years?
    • No, there have been many more than that.
  • Have there only been three tetrads to occur that have been directly tied in to Jewish feast days?
    • No, there have been seven additional ones that are not accounted for in Hagee’s book.
  • Did the battle of Gog and Magog happen before this present Tetrad?
    • No, it did not.
  • Do blood moons signal that there will be a time of Destruction followed by a time of Peace for Israel?
    • No. According to the Bible, a single blood moon will give the signal that the second coming of Jesus is soon to occur.

So, looking at these facts, we see no true significance in the claims made by John Hagee’s book.

Will the present tetrad signal some major event for Israel like a World War 3 that will kill 1/3 of mankind? While it is POSSIBLE, there is no scripture to indicate it.

Will the present tetrad coincide with a major event for Israel? While it is POSSIBLE, there is no scripture to indicate it.

So, how should we approach the concern by John Hagee and Others that there is significance in these four blood moons? As we have just studied, there is no true significance. However, as Jesus said, we must always be prepared for his coming, and to reach the Lost world with the saving message of the Gospel of Christ.

Therefore be ye also ready:for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matthew 24:44

Author: Jay Jones

Jay is an author, veteran church planter, speaker, and the pastor of the Pentecostals of Kentwood. He's a passionate worshipper of Jesus Christ, a husband, daddy, pastor, and a ‘pretty good guy’. Jay is also an ordained minister of the United Pentecostal Church, where he currently serves as a Presbyter in West Michigan.

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6 Comments

  1. Thank You for this article. It brought some clarity me to.

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    • Thank you for the time and study you gave to this subject. It answered all the questions I had.
      Again,
      Thank you

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  2. While your assessment of the blood moons appears to be correct; your 7 year tribulation concept is unscriptural. In addition if you read all of Ma 24 Jesus said, after the tribulation He will gather together His elect… this sounds like this happens when Jesus said it happens and not otherwise. You are partly right and partly wrong scripturally.

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    • Paul, thank you for reading! While this article isn’t intended to debate (and neither is this comment), I’d like to clarify what you’ve read and may have misunderstood. My statement in the article regarding the seven years was, “So, since the Tribulation and Wrath are supposed to occur over a 7-year span, and Armageddon happens after that, we see that this is impossible to happen during this Tetrad, let alone before it.” What I find in scripture is a 7-year span which includes the Tribulation in the first 3-1/2 years and the Wrath of God in the second 3-1/2 years. In this view, Jesus’ statement in Matthew 24 fits fine. I hope that helps explain the intent of that sentence.

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  3. I guess one of the questions I have about the whole blood moon theory is how about the Nazi Holocaust of 1939-45 and AD 70? These were Israel’s two greatest blood baths. If these “tetrads” were God’s way of warning his “chosen” people why was there NOT any that coordinate with these dates. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, as many as 1 million Jews died in AD 70 in the Jewish war with Rome that resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem. With regard to the Nazi Holocaust, historians vary on the numbers, but some say as many as 6 million died. Why no blood moons on those dates???

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