Acts 2:19,20 – And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
Today is a highly anticipated day for many, it is the day of “The Great American Solar Eclipse”. It is being called the greatest North American eclipse since the birth of our country. Eclipses are another piece of evidence that clearly shows God’s orchestration of all creation for His glory and as signs to us. From the first book in the Bible the Lord tells us that the “lights” in the heavens are given as signs to us, Gen. 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”. In today’s scripture, the Lord tells us that signs in the heavens would clearly point to the end of this age and the world as we know it. Is it possible that today’s eclipse has a message for us? Some clearly think it does. Here is a quote from the Sunday Express in the UK that believes it does.
“Many fundamentalist Christians see this (the eclipse) as a significant warning of the impending apocalypse, the second coming of Christ and the rapture. The “Great American Total Solar Eclipse” as it is called is said to be a warning sign from God, as it allegedly fulfills a Bible prophecy. Pastor Paul Begley, host of the Coming Apocalypse radio show, said the eclipse could possibly fulfill a prophecy recorded in the book of Joel. This states: “The sun shall be turned to darkness before the Day of the Lord come.” Mr Begley said “somebody sound the trumpet” because the eclipse may mean “we are living in the last days.” Writing for Unsealed.org, Gary Ray says the eclipse may mean that 2017 will mark the beginning of the Tribulation, a time the Bible describes as a period of conflict and suffering on a scale never experienced in mankind’s history.”
We obviously live in perilous times. The tribulation may or may not be imminent; this heavenly sign is designed to grab our attention and turn it to the Lord. This sign in the heavens, should cause us to focus our eyes on what really matters. When Peter preached today’s passage on the Day of Pentecost he was pointing the people to the risen Lord. Jesus is alive and these signs point to His soon return. As everyone enjoys the celebratory atmosphere surrounding today’s eclipse we have to ask ourselves if we are personally ready for what’s next.
2 thoughts on “ECLIPSED”
Pastor Frank, is there an Old Testament scripture that is similar to the one for today? I have a Jewish co-worker and we were discussing the eclipse as we were looking at it with solar glasses. I mentioned this scripture to her about the eclipse being a potential end time sign, but she immediately discounted it because it was in the New Testament.
Peter was quoting the prophet Joel
Joel 2:30 ¶ “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.