The Stupidity of Hagee's Blood Moons Prophesy
Is this, like, the year of false teaching? Or is it just because I've spent most of my year in 1 and 2 Timothy that my radar is specifically pointed toward this stuff? Good grief but is there a lot of stupid going on. And if it offends you that a pastor just used the word "stupid" to describe false teachers and those who fall for their nonsense, it's in the Bible.
Everyone survived the first Blood Moon, right? I even stayed up until 4:00 last night (or this morning) watching the eclipse. Why, because I thought some end-times prophesy was going to be fulfilled? No, because I haven't seen one since I was 12. I remember being grumpy about it. My dad woke me up at 2am to tell me the moon was eclipsed. I walked outside, took one look at it, ho-hummed and went back to bed.
The last few times there's been a lunar eclipse, it's been cloudy and I wasn't able to see it. But last night was a beautifully clear night. I got to see my first lunar eclipse in two decades, and it didn't disappoint. It was a very pretty sight, a beautiful sign of God's creation. That's all it was a sign of.
Let me cut to the chase -- John Hagee is a false teacher. He's making bank off of this "Blood Moons" thing. The news is giving him free press for two reasons: 1) They know John Hagee is making Christians look stupid, and 2) Because it's fear-mongering which keeps people glued to the news. The whole thing is a money-making ploy. It has nothing to do with end-times or evangelism or eschatology or any of that.
I'm not going to go through Hagee's whole presentation of the Blood Moons. This can actually be scattered very quickly. Here's a quote from John Hagee from a sermon of his about this so-called Blood Moons prophesy...
This series of four eclipses in a row has happened before, and it will happen again. In fact, there will be 8 lunar tetrads this century alone. That means 8 times in less than 100 years will there be a series of four eclipses in a row. There have been tetrads since the time of Christ, and yes, there have been periods of no tetrads. But I shouldn't even have to point any of this out, because Joel and Peter say nothing about the frequency or rarity of lunar tetrads.
And SECOND: The sun and the moon cannot eclipse simultaneously. Any third grader should understand how an eclipse works. In a lunar eclipse, the earth is between the sun and the moon. In a solar eclipse, the moon is between the earth and the sun. It is not possible for the sun and the moon to be eclipsed at the same time!
Eclipses are not events that the entire globe can witness. Only a certain portion of the planet is able to observe the totality of any eclipse. Lunar eclipses are limited to the dark side of the earth. The view of a complete solar eclipse covers a much smaller area. Take a look at this map of the next solar eclipse to be viewed from North America in 2017. An eclipse cannot be a sign for the whole earth when the whole earth can't see it!
If anything, this is evidence that Mark 13:24-26 is not talking about an eclipse at all. Hagee even skipped the verse where it says, "and the stars will be falling from heaven." He does go on to say that this "sign" the earth will see is God displaying his control over the sun, moon, and stars. No Christian should doubt that. I absolutely believe that to be true.
But in the last days, God is not going to display that control through common lunar eclipses. He's not even going to do it by creating a second moon to stick up there in the sky so that the sun and the moon are able to eclipse at exactly the same time. (Seriously, that's one of the most bone-headed comments I've ever heard from the pulpit. The verse describes the sun and moon eclipsing at the same time? Just wow.)
Come on, people. Don't be duped by this stuff. Jesus said that prior to his return, "False christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand." (Matthew 24:24-25)
Christ is coming back, and no one on earth will be able to mistake the sign of his return. It's going to be bright, and it's going to be loud (1 Thessalonians 4:16). And it won't be during an eclipse. Hal Lindsey did this exact same thing back in the 80s, and he was shown to be a total fraud. Hagee will, too. Call him what he is. He's a False Prophet.
Everyone survived the first Blood Moon, right? I even stayed up until 4:00 last night (or this morning) watching the eclipse. Why, because I thought some end-times prophesy was going to be fulfilled? No, because I haven't seen one since I was 12. I remember being grumpy about it. My dad woke me up at 2am to tell me the moon was eclipsed. I walked outside, took one look at it, ho-hummed and went back to bed.
The last few times there's been a lunar eclipse, it's been cloudy and I wasn't able to see it. But last night was a beautifully clear night. I got to see my first lunar eclipse in two decades, and it didn't disappoint. It was a very pretty sight, a beautiful sign of God's creation. That's all it was a sign of.
Let me cut to the chase -- John Hagee is a false teacher. He's making bank off of this "Blood Moons" thing. The news is giving him free press for two reasons: 1) They know John Hagee is making Christians look stupid, and 2) Because it's fear-mongering which keeps people glued to the news. The whole thing is a money-making ploy. It has nothing to do with end-times or evangelism or eschatology or any of that.
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| I just don't see what the big dea--OH MY HEAVENS THERE'S A SKULL IN THE MOON!! |
I'm not going to go through Hagee's whole presentation of the Blood Moons. This can actually be scattered very quickly. Here's a quote from John Hagee from a sermon of his about this so-called Blood Moons prophesy...
"God has said through Joel and Saint Peter, 'Listen, when this happens, it's unusual!' Jesus said in Mark 13:24-26, 'But in those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, then they shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.' That verse describes a time in the future when the sun and the moon will eclipse at the same time. And God sends planet Earth a signal that something big is about to happen."Okay, FIRST: Joel and Saint Peter did not say a series of "Blood Moons" was unusual. No where do they say that. In fact, lunar eclipses are very common, even on Jewish holidays (part of Hagee's song-and-dance is that these eclipses occur on Jewish holidays). This has no prophetic significance whatsoever. The Jewish calender is based on lunar cycles. It's not even coincidence that a lunar eclipse should occur on a Jewish holiday. That happens very frequently.
This series of four eclipses in a row has happened before, and it will happen again. In fact, there will be 8 lunar tetrads this century alone. That means 8 times in less than 100 years will there be a series of four eclipses in a row. There have been tetrads since the time of Christ, and yes, there have been periods of no tetrads. But I shouldn't even have to point any of this out, because Joel and Peter say nothing about the frequency or rarity of lunar tetrads.
And SECOND: The sun and the moon cannot eclipse simultaneously. Any third grader should understand how an eclipse works. In a lunar eclipse, the earth is between the sun and the moon. In a solar eclipse, the moon is between the earth and the sun. It is not possible for the sun and the moon to be eclipsed at the same time!
Eclipses are not events that the entire globe can witness. Only a certain portion of the planet is able to observe the totality of any eclipse. Lunar eclipses are limited to the dark side of the earth. The view of a complete solar eclipse covers a much smaller area. Take a look at this map of the next solar eclipse to be viewed from North America in 2017. An eclipse cannot be a sign for the whole earth when the whole earth can't see it!
If anything, this is evidence that Mark 13:24-26 is not talking about an eclipse at all. Hagee even skipped the verse where it says, "and the stars will be falling from heaven." He does go on to say that this "sign" the earth will see is God displaying his control over the sun, moon, and stars. No Christian should doubt that. I absolutely believe that to be true.
But in the last days, God is not going to display that control through common lunar eclipses. He's not even going to do it by creating a second moon to stick up there in the sky so that the sun and the moon are able to eclipse at exactly the same time. (Seriously, that's one of the most bone-headed comments I've ever heard from the pulpit. The verse describes the sun and moon eclipsing at the same time? Just wow.)
Come on, people. Don't be duped by this stuff. Jesus said that prior to his return, "False christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand." (Matthew 24:24-25)
Christ is coming back, and no one on earth will be able to mistake the sign of his return. It's going to be bright, and it's going to be loud (1 Thessalonians 4:16). And it won't be during an eclipse. Hal Lindsey did this exact same thing back in the 80s, and he was shown to be a total fraud. Hagee will, too. Call him what he is. He's a False Prophet.
