SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Brother Mark Biltz, a Christian pastor who was born a Jew, has made a remarkable discovery. After the lunar eclipse of this Spring which fell on the Feast of Purim, Brother Biltz became interested in eclipses and studied those coming in the future.
Using the websites of NASA and the U.S. Naval Observatory, he found that there will be an interesting pairing of lunar eclipses in the years 2014 and 2015. In these two years there will be total lunar eclipses on Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles (also called the Ingathering). Looking forward on the websites, he found that this will not occur again in the 21st Century.
Brother Biltz also had the patience to determine when this unique event last occurred. The dual, sequential lunar eclipses on Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles last occurred in 1967 and 1968. You may recall that 1967 was the year of the Israeli Six-Day War in which they captured the Old City of Jerusalem. The previous occurrence was in 1949 and 1950 immediately following the statehood of Israel in 1948.
There were two occasions of the sequential lunar eclipses on Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles in the 20th Century. To find the next occurrence Brother Biltz had to go back to 1493! We Americans remember 1492 as the year Columbus discovered America, but this year also has meaning for the Jews. After they were dispersed over all the Roman Empire about 135 A.D., the Jews became prominent and influential in many European countries. On the 9th day of the month of Av, 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain. That year they were also expelled from the Duchy of Mecklenburg in Germany, the island of Sicily and parts of Italy. It appears that these sequential lunar eclipses happen at critical times for the Children of Israel.
The Ninth of Av, also known as the Tisha b’Av, is a memorable day in Jewish history. Tradition has it that the twelve spies gave their faithless report regarding the Promised Land on the Tisha b’Av. As a result they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. The first temple, the Temple of Solomon, was destroyed by the Babylonians on the Tisha b’Av. The second temple, known variously as Zerubbabel’s Temple and Herod’s Temple, was destroyed by the Romans on, you guessed it, the Tisha b’Av.
The 17th of Tammuz, three weeks earlier, was the day the Babylonians breached the wall of Jerusalem. Also, the Romans did the same thing on the same day several centuries later. As a result, the three weeks from Tammuz 17 to Av 9 are known as the Dark Days, and are period of mourning for the Jews.
There is also an interesting sequence of solar eclipses beginning this year. On the first day of Av, 2008, 2009 and 2010, there will be a total solar eclipse. These solar eclipses happen right in the middle of the Dark Days. Though not as unique as the pairing of lunar eclipses on Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles, three sequential total solar eclipses in the summer is unusual.
I wish I could explain what all this means, but I am not able. All I know is that Jesus told us that in the Last Days there will be signs in the Sun, Moon and stars (Luke 21:25). There are no coincidences in the Lord’s plan or His timetable. The events just described have meaning. The Apostle Paul describes the Last Days in Second Timothy 3:1-5. He also tells us that the Day of the Lord will not happen until the Rebellion occurs. Look about you. Our nation, and most other nations, have rebelled against God and do not even acknowledge Him. Some churches have rebelled against the Sovereign Lord. It appears that the Rebellion is here!
For more information on Brother Biltz’s discovery and to see an interview with him, go to http://www.prophecyinthenews.com/index.asp