Tonight (last Sunday, September 26) is the third “blood moon.” Some big-name preachers say that there have been three in the last 18 months. Is there significance?

Tonight (last Sunday, September 26) is the third “blood moon.” Some big-name preachers say that there have been three in the last 18 months. Each one has fallen on a Jewish feast or very near and, each time this has happened, something very important has happened to the Jews and Israel. Is there any Biblical connection?
There are only two references in the entire Bible—one in the Old Testament and one in the New—which make a reference to any kind of “blood moon.” The Old Testament minor prophet Joel quotes God as saying this: Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed. And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls—God speaking, Joel 2:27-32. Peter quoted from this section of Scripture during his great Passover sermon (Acts 2). In context, God is speaking about the coming of the millennial kingdom, when His Son is physically ruling on the earth.
The second verse is at the end of the Bible, in the prophecies of the book of Revelation, during the last of the seal judgments where, as John describes it, I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”—Revelation 6:12-17. In both of these instances, God is using parts of His creation—the sun, the moon, the stars and the earth itself—as a means of proclaiming Himself and His righteous anger during this time of judgment. It is a darker picture of what David said about creation reflecting its Maker: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun—David, Psalm 19:1-4a. It is a similar vein to what the apostle Paul would write, in arguing that, just in view of creation, mankind has no excuse for his disregard and disbelief of God: The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse—Paul, Romans 1:18-20. And certainly that plays out in the section of Revelation where the sixth seal is being discussed; John saw people hiding themselves from the natural destruction occurring all around them, and understanding its source: the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!—Revelation 6:16b.
So why all the fuss about “blood moons?” Well, The Blood Moon Prophecy was a series of apocalyptic beliefs promoted by Christian ministers John Hagee and Mark Biltz, which states that a tetrad (a series of four consecutive lunar eclipses—coinciding on Jewish holidays—with six full moons in between, and no intervening partial lunar eclipses) which began with the April 2014 lunar eclipse is a sign of the end times as described in the Bible in Acts 2:20 and Revelation 6:12. The tetrad ended within the September 2015 lunar eclipse on September 27–28.
On April 15, 2014, there was a total lunar eclipse. It was the first of four consecutive total eclipses in a series, known as a tetrad; a second one took place on October 8, 2014, third one on April 4, 2015 and the remaining one took place on September 27, 2015. It is one of eight tetrads during the 21st century AD. As with most lunar eclipses, the moon appeared red during the April 15 eclipse. The red color is caused by Rayleigh scattering of sunlight through the Earth's atmosphere, the same effect that causes sunsets to appear red and the sky to be blue. Hagee also connects the solar eclipse of March 20, 2015 in the middle of the sequence.
The idea of a “blood moon” serving as an omen of the coming of the end times comes from the Book of Joel, where it is written, The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord—God speaking, Joel 2:31. This phrase is again mentioned by Saint Peter during Pentecost, as recorded in Acts, although Peter says that date, not some future date, was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. The blood moon also appears in the book of Revelation chapter 6 verses 11 - 13, where verse 12 says, I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red—Revelation 6:12.
Around 2008, Biltz began predicting that the Second Coming of Jesus would occur in the fall of 2015 with the seven years of the great tribulation beginning in the fall of 2008. He said he had “discovered” an astronomical pattern that predicted the next tetrad would coincide with the end times. When the prediction failed, he pulled the article from his website, but continued to teach on the "significance" of the tetrad.
Hagee would later seize on Biltz' prediction to write Four Blood Moons, which would become a best seller, spending more than 150 days in Amazon.com's top 150 by April 2014. For the week ending March 30, 2014, it was the ninth bestselling paperback, according to Publishers Weekly. By mid-April, Hagee's book had hit No. 4 on the The New York Times best-seller list in the advice category. Hagee's book (and subsequent sermon series at his home congregation, Cornerstone Church) did not proclaim that any specific “end times” event would occur (as did Biltz in his original prophecy), but claimed that every prior tetrad of the last 500 years coincided with events in Jewish and Israeli history that were originally tragic, yet followed by triumph.
Hagee and Biltz's speculations gained mainstream media attention in publications such as USA Today and The Washington Post. Earth & Sky reported receiving "a number of inquiries about Blood Moon", prompting a response. According to Christian Today, only a “small group of Christians” saw the eclipse as significant.
Writing for Earth & Sky Bruce McClure and Deborah Byrd point out that the referenced verse also says the "sun will be turned into darkness", an apparent reference to a solar eclipse. They note that since the Jewish Calendar is lunar, one sixth of all eclipses will occur during Passover or Sukkot. Furthermore, there have been 62 tetrads since the first century AD, though only eight of them have coincided with both feasts. Thus, the event is not as unusual as Hagee and Biltz imply. Additionally, three of the four eclipses in the tetrad were not even visible in the biblical homeland of Israel, casting further doubt on Hagee and Biltz's interpretation; even then, only the very end of the last eclipse was visible in Israel. Writing for Space.com, Geoff Gaherty said he was saddened that "'prophets of doom' ... view these life-enriching events as portents of disaster" and said the eclipse was "hardly something to be concerned about".
In January 2014, Mike Moore, the then General Secretary of Christian Witness to Israel, wrote a lengthy article dismissing the claims of Biltz and Hagee. Moore's view was that no significance can be drawn from the eclipses.
Of course, Christ had specifically disavowed anyone who threw out any specific timeframes regarding the end times. He famously said to his disciples, in the middle of a lengthy answer to their question about what the end times would be like, Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him—Jesus Christ, Matthew 24:32-44. The gospel of Mark adds these words of Christ to the discussion: No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with an assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”—Jesus Christ, Mark 13:32-37. And, as a final “amen” to the discussion of “when,” Christ closed His time on the planet with this moment with His disciples: So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven”—Acts 1:6-11. Christ’s message? Be ready—but also make sure I find you doing what I am giving you the power and the message to do: Spread my word, be my ambassadors. I’ll come when I come. Certainly Paul continued that message, telling the church of Thessalonica, Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape—Paul, I Thessalonians 5:1-3. And the apostle Peter essentially closed out his earthly life with these words: First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation—II Peter 3:3-15a. What we can celebrate is being able to watch an incredible nature, given to us by an intelligent Master Designer who keeps every last bit of it in place. Just think of the restored universe we are going to be able to enjoy for all eternity!