Another rabbit trail - Blood Moons and Tetrads

A blood moon (or red moon) occurs during a total lunar eclipse. That's when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, and the Earth's shadow cover the moon.  The moon doesn't always appear red when this happens, but light scattering in the atmosphere make the right conditions for seeing the moon become red.

A tetrad is the term given to four total lunar eclipses in a two-year period.  In the past 2000 years. there have been a total of 87 tetrads.  The most recent was in 2003-2004.  In this century, there will be 8 tetrads - the most that can occur in a century's time.

Research by a man named Mark Biltz showed that of the 87 tetrads since the time of Christ, only seven have fallen on Jewish moeds (feast days).  Those seven occurrences were in the following years:

• 162-163
• 795-796
• 842-843
• 860-861
• 1493-1494
• 1949-1950
• 1967-1968

This web site documents a lot of twists and turns in an attempt to show a prophetic character to the upcoming tetrads in 2014 and 2015.

Why are blood moons an interesting topic for study?

Let's peek at Joel 2:31 

“The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes."

In basic astronomical terms - that seems to describe two things: solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.

In Matthew 24:29 an Isaiah passage is referenced in conjunction with Jesus's return.

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."

Isaiah 13:10 describes judgement on the Day of the Lord

"For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash forth their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light."

In Revelation 6:12-13, there is a description of terror upon the world:

"I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind."


So, with this quick glance at a few scripture verses, I don't think it's possible to make any timeline correlations. This would need a full eschatology. It does seem apparent that the elements of the heavens give testimony to God's work.

Genesis 1:14:
'And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.'




With that in mind, what might the upcoming lunar and solar eclipses in 2014 and 2015 signify?  Going back to the Bible, we see these occurrences of unexpected darkness or eclipse:

Genesis 15:12 tells of Abram's journey into Canaan  [May 9, 1533 BC]

"Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him"

Amos 8:9 in prophecy of a pending judgement on Israel [June 15, 763 BC]

“It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord God,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon
And make the earth dark in broad daylight.



This same eclipse also passed near Ninevah, and could be the reason (along with plagues and invasions) Jonah found a populace prepared for change when he visited them in 759 or 758 BC.


On January 10, 1 BC, a total lunar eclipse seen in Jerusalem marked the date Herod the Great died (which places the birth of Jesus in late 3 BC or early 2 BC).


Based on Passover calculations after Herod' death, the death of Christ therefore was on Nisan 14 (Friday, April 3), and His Resurrection on Sunday, April 5, AD 33.  There was a lunar eclipse in Jerusalem on the night of Christ's death.  

Moonrise in Jerusalem on the evening of Friday, April 3, AD 33 was at about 6:20 p.m., right after sunset. The part of the moon that appeared first was in the full shadow (the umbra) of the earth. After several minutes, the remainder of the moon was seen; this lower part was in the partial shadow of the earth (the penumbra). The eclipse lasted until about 7:11 p.m., at which time the moon was restored to its usual brightness and coloration.

In addition, the writers of the Gospels note that darkness came over the land around noon and lasted for three hours. At that time, Jesus died on the cross - just as an earthquake struck the area.  After His body was taken down, the Passover moon rose in the east, and it was a dark, bloody red.

But nowhere in the Bible are mentioned tetrads.  There are several occurrences of the moon becoming dark, or like blood; and of the sun going dark - but no indications of multiple sets of eclipses.

It's good to keep our mind set on the Lord, and Jesus did not intend for us to be ignorant of the signs signifying his return; but I don't think tetrads are included in those signs.