Will the world end on September 28? Rare ‘super blood moon eclipse’ later this month could herald the apocalypse, says pastor
Fourth lunar eclipse in two years will take place on September 28 – and all of them fall on Jewish holy days
Similar astrological events in the past coincided with Jewish suffering
The fourth and final in this ‘tetrad’ will be a supermoon and appear larger
Lunar eclipses make the moon appear red and are called ‘blood moons’
Some Christians say this is a sign of the Apocalypse predicted in the Bible
Pastor says it could mark the dawn of a ‘hugely significant event’ for world
A rare astrological event later this month could herald the end of days, according to a pastor.
The fourth lunar eclipse in just two years, known as a ‘tetrad’, will take place on September 28, and each one has taken place on Jewish holy days.
The eclipses make the moon appear red – hence the name ‘blood moon’ – and the fourth and final in this tetrad will be a supermoon, making it appear larger.
Some Christians believe the celestial event could mark the start of terrible events, based on a passage from the Bible that says: ‘The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord comes.’
Their fears are not helped by the fact that each of the four blood moons in this tetrad have fallen on April 14, 2014 (Passover), October 8, 2014 (Feast of the Tabernacle), April 4, 2015 (Passover) and September 28, the first day of this year’s Feast of the Tabernacle.
According to those preparing for the apocalypse, this could be a sign of the Old Testament prophecy predicting the end of the world, the New York Post reported.
John Hagee, a Christian pastor who has written a book on the Tetrad called ‘Four Blood Moons: Something is About to Change’, told the Daily Express after the first blood moon in this tetrad that it marked the dawn of a ‘hugely significant event’ for the world.
‘This is not something that some religious think tank has put together,’ the notoriously outspoken church founder said.
Hagee said that every time there has been a tetrad over important days in the Jewish calendar, significant religious events have taken place.
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Some Christians believe the celestial event could mark the start of terrible events, based on a passage from the Bible that says: ‘The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord comes’
In 1493, the first Tetrad saw the expulsion of Jews by the Catholic Spanish Inquisition.
The second happened in 1949, right after the State of Israel was founded and the most recent one – in 1967 – happened during the Six-Day War between Arabs and Israelis.
In his book, Hagee says: ‘The heavens are God’s billboard.
‘He’s been sending signals to Earth, and we haven’t been picking them up. Two blood moons, in 2014 and 2015, point to dramatic events in the Middle East and, as a result, changes in the whole world.’
So it’s hoped that on September 28, people will see a large, bright full moon that’s red in colour.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in the shadow of Earth, and appears red due to light refracting differently and hitting its surface.
The rare event on September 28 will make the blood moon look up to 14 per cent larger because it is nearer the Earth than at any other point in its elliptical orbit.
Since 1900 there have only been five ‘supermoon’ lunar eclipses – in 1910, 1928, 1946, 1964 and 1982.
Standard lunar eclipses are more common and it’s thought that one can be seen from some point on the Earth every two-and-a-half years.
Lunar eclipses are causes when the Earth crosses between the sun and the moon, which passes into our planet’s shadow.
However, it doesn’t go completely dark or disappear from view completely, but instead turns red.
This is because of light bending in the Earth’s atmosphere and is the reason why lunar eclipses are sometimes known as ‘blood moons’.
‘It’s a projection of all the Earth’s sunsets and sunrises onto the moon,’ Noah Petro, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter deputy project scientist at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre
‘It’s a very subtle effect, and if any part of the moon is illuminated in the sun, you can’t really see it.’
‘They don’t happen all the time, and the sky has to be clear. It really gives you a chance to look at the moon changing.’
WHAT HAPPENS DURING A ‘BLOOD RED’ LUNAR ECLIPSE?
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in the shadow of Earth. This is an area known as the umbra, where light from the sun is blocked by our planet.
The light refracts differently in the atmosphere and, as it hits the moon, it appears red.
This gives rise to its ‘blood red’ appearance during a total eclipse, when the entire moon is in shadow. If it skirts the shadow, known as a partial or penumbral eclipse, the effect is less dramatic.
When the moon first enters the Earth’s partial shadow, know as the penumbra, a dark shadow begins to creep across the moon.
This gives the illusion that the moon is changing phases in a matter of minutes instead of weeks.
At the eclipse’s peak, the moon enters the Earth’s full shadow; the umbra.
At this stage, the Earth’s atmosphere scatters the sun’s red visible light; the same process that turns the sky red at sunset.
As a result, the red light reflects off the moon’s surface, casting a reddish rust hue over it.
WHAT IS A ‘SUPERMOON’ TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE?
The event comprises a full moon when it’s at its closest point to Earth, known as a ‘supermoon’.
It will look up to 14 per cent larger and 30 times brighter than usual.
This is combined with a lunar eclipse, which is when the moon passes behind the Earth into its shadow.
The eclipse will give the moon a red tint.
Mail Online.
