Blood Moons, Shemitah, and the Need of This Hour

For the past couple of years I have been inundated by a tidal wave of information and articles dealing with the fact that we are about to experience the last in a tetrad of blood moons on September 28th of this year.  


Let me explain a few things as I get started on this subject.  First of all let me explain what a blood moon is.  A blood moon occurs when there is a lunar eclipse.  The moon during these events takes on a red hue - thus the name, “blood moon.”  The next thing I need to explain is what a “tetrad” is.  That is when in a period of 2 years a series of four blood moons take place.  This is a very rare occurrence - made even more rare because these four blood moons that have been happening have all fallen on Jewish holidays since 2014.  The final blood moon will happen on September 28, 2015, which also happens to be the date of Sukkoth for this year (The Feast of Booths).  The other blood moons in this tetrad have taken place on Passover (April 15, 2014), Sukkoth (October 8, 2014), and on Passover (April 4, 2015).    This is a very rare occurrence, happening only 9 times in the last 2000 years.  But there is one more thing that is happening on the 28th of this month.  On that day it will also be the day of the Shemitah.  What is the Shemitah?  In the Old Testament Israel was to forego planting of crops every 7 years (Leviticus 25).  After 7 or these 7 year periods (49 years) there was to be a “Jubilee year” or a Shemitah of Shemitah’s.  On that year every debt was cancelled - and the Jewish people would return to the land of their tribe to receive it as theirs once again.  Now I know that all this may seem strange to you - but hopefully this will all make sense in just a few more sentences.  

What is happening on September 28th is that on the same day there will be the fourth in the tetrad of blood moons, a Jewish feast day (Sukkot), and the day when the Shemitah of Shemitah’s takes place.  All this coincides on Monday, September 28th, 2015.  This is the only time this will happen in the last 2000 years.  Because of this strange coordination of days all falling on the same day - the world of prophecy teachers and followers has made predictions and prognostications at a fever pitch rate.  Having recently read several of these sites recently I want to make a few comments about the whole “blood moon” craze that is happening among prophecy teachers and predictors.  

Some prophecy teachers have made some hefty predictions about what will or may happen on this coming Monday.  Everything from nuclear war to the financial collapse of the United States to the invasion of Israel have been put out on the internet and in chat rooms and other venues.

Now I will probably not win a prophecy guy popularity poll for saying this, but though I find all this interesting and even fascinating from a Bible scholar point of view, I am concerned that “blood moons” and the “shemitah” and “tetrads” are what are consuming us spiritually in the prophecy movement.  Whether or not some spiritually significant event is going to happen on September 28th I do not know.  What I DO know is that I don’t believe that God would have us focus on this kind of pseudo-biblical scholarship as a means of primary guidance for our lives.  

Over the years I’ve been a student of biblical prophecy, I’ve noticed that there is a sad tendency for this movement to latch on to the sensational rather than on solid exegetical study of the Scriptures.  I’m not sure how many books have been released based on the latest, greatest prophecy sensationalized claim since I’ve become a believer.  But I think I could probably fill an entire bookcase with them.  What is sad is that all of them have fallen short of delivering on the date of the rapture - or the next big prophetic event happening on or near the date they have given.  What is even sadder is that I’ve watched people get all fired up about “blood moons” or oil or the next middle east crisis, but not have a passion to study to show themselves workmen approved so that they could handle the gospel and the Word of God rightly.  The usual end of all this is that fewer are interested in prophecy - not because it is a study unworthy of our attention - but far more because of the most recent crack-pot whose wild-eyed predictions went south in the end.  

Apart from the whole “blood moon” saga or recent days - there has been enough evidence to fill a whole room of bookshelves when it comes to what is happening in our world - and its relation to the 2nd coming of Christ.  All we have to do is to study our Bibles to see that the events spoken of in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 and other places in prophecy are upon us.  What I find most disturbing about our current focus is that it lacks a call to repentance and return that we desperately need in this hour of the church.  All the time that we spend tracking down the history of Shemitah events, blood moon events, and tetrad events are historically interesting - but they don’t seem to be bringing the kind of deep conviction and repentance that always comes when true revival is coming from God.  Where are our hearts when it comes to the sin in our own lives as well as the breath-taking sprint towards sin in our society?  Where is the concern about the lack of God moving mightily to break hearts in His church in our day?  Where is the call to desperate prayer that should be attached to claims that it all may be over in a matter of a few days?  These are the things that concern me when I read through the most recent predictions of the prophecy experts.  The prophets of the Old Testament made predictions to be sure.  But their predictions were almost always side by side with a call to repentance and return to God.  Their predictions (which by the way either came true - or are going to come true) were part of God calling His people to return to Him with all their hearts!  

OK - let’s say that we have until Monday the 28th before a world-changing event is about to take place.  Don’t you think we should hear with that a call to extra-ordinary prayer, repentance, and an almost insane boldness in preaching the message of the gospel?  I honestly don’t know if the 28th and the last of the tetrad of blood moons on the Shemitah of Shemitah’s is going to yield a world-changing event from God.  What I do know is that my own heart needs to be revived - needs to be broken much deeper over my sin and my disobedience - needs to be much more deeply concerned about the lack of holiness, prayer, and Holy Spirit power in the church - needs to be far more concerned over the multiple millions who need to hear the gospel.  And - whether the blood moon day materializes in a shocking event or not - those other things still remain.  What am I going to do about them?  That may be the more “life-changing” event that needs to happen!  Would you join me in praying that it would?

---