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By Pastor John MuncyThis is the single most deadly prophetic heresy in many years. It is based on something real, and on biblical Jewish feast days. But this teaching now promoted by John Hagee is profoundly heretical and violates the very words of Jesus Christ.There is a Satanic wolf howling
I'm convinced that the first of the four blood moons will be like every other day, with no big significant change in our world. And again later in October, when the second one occurs, and then when the other two blood moons show up 2015, I'm convinced that they will not usher in the coming of Christ, nor will that be the beginning date for the Great Tribulation. Of course, not everyone who believes the blood moon theory believes that either, but there are a large number of people expecting "major" events to arrive on those dates. The blood moon dates are as follows:
Let's go back to how this teaching got started…Back in 2008 a pastor from the state of Washington began teaching his small congregation that Jesus could possibly return in the fall of 2015 based on some alignments of Jewish festivals with lunar events that he had been studying. His insights caught on and soon became among the latest predictions from prophecy sensationalists who seem to enjoy trying to find the "hidden secret" of the date of the Second Coming. So with the help of the fast moving ideas on the Internet and those who love sharing the "latest Christian fads and trends", the blood moon teachings brought about a fresh new excitement to those looking for His appearing! And as we have discussed in the past, these "great discoveries" mostly generate a lot of hype without having much substance. As believers, we naturally all want to believe our Lord is coming soon, and so we anticipate it with great longing, and it only seems natural that, when we hear a new convincing bit of information, we admittedly jump on it. And I believe that is the case of this latest discovery of the blood moon tetrad. I won't go into all the details of what the blood moon tetrad is about, since most of you already know, so I will skip right to the reasons why I'm not so convinced this is the real deal. (This is where I'm going to lose some of you - but since you've read this far - stick with me a little further, please.) I have had some "red flags" going up about this for some time, and I didn't know what to do about it. I purposely avoided talking about it, hoping it would die down, but it hasn't. And seeing that this week starts the blood moons off, I felt I would share my thoughts with you all. My intention is to help bring credibility and integrity to such a wonderful and glorious doctrine of the return of Christ and to avoid being overly sensational! The return of Jesus Christ is indeed an exciting and pivotal teaching from the Bible, taking up about a forth of the Scripture, so we really do need to KNOW what we are talking about. So let me first make this clear: I wholeheartedly do believe that our Lord Jesus is coming back to establish His Kingdom upon this earth - and I believe it won't be long until that happens. As any honest Bible student can see, so many things are happening just exactly as the Scriptures said they would happen in the last days. So please don't read my words as skeptical about this wonderful truth from the Word! I long for that "Blessed Hope" and feel it won't be long until it comes to pass! But with that said, I'm a little apprehensive about the blood moon theory, and here are just four of my "red flags concerns" with the blood moon premise…
RED
FLAG #1 - |
WHAT IS THE KABBALAH?By Editor Steve Van NattanHere is a discussion by Texe Marrs on Kabbalahism. It is heavily loaded with occult and Satanic rituals. Here is an alleged "Christian" who plays with this Satanic system. This man is really a demon possessed pagan who woos people from a relationship with Christ to a relationship with Satan, as do all of those committed to the Kabbalah. And, that includes Mark Biltz. Jewish Kabbalahistic worship include vile rituals of dancing nude before black burning candles. Biltz is into this brand of Kabbalahism. |
Mark Biltz also teaches a very strange form of interpreting and understanding Scripture through a mystical belief system known as "Kabbalah" (see side box). This form of Jewish mysticism seeks to constantly find "hidden truths" not revealed to the average reader of Scripture. The blood moon teaching is a perfect example of "hidden truths".
Tragically, this form of interpretation and teaching leads to all kinds of prideful attitudes and heretical beliefs, which rejects "the simplicity of Christ" (2 Cor.11:3) and the cross as it dives into a sea of "extra-Biblical revelations". It is very important to remember that the teaching concerning the tetrads of blood moons ARE NOT STATED ANYWHERE in the Bible. This is an example of "extra-Biblical revelation" and needs to be referred as such. This should be a "red flag" to everyone!
Many who believe and teach Hebrew Roots doctrines stress the importance of reading and speaking Hebrew, because you "won't attain the level of truth unless you do". This of course, leads to a selective breed of "special Christians" - sometimes referred to as "the wise virgins" - who have a higher status and insights then other Christians.
These people have a tendency to belabor the importance of not saying "Jesus", since that is not His Hebrew name. The teaching goes so far to say that unless you say His name right, ("Yeshua"), you are not a real Christian, but a Greek pagan.
They further claim to have a special insight into knowing God and His Word better than anyone else. In his book, Mark Biltz argues that one cannot understand the Bible without understanding Hebrew. This teaching goes so "deep", that one must spend years studying the "hidden truths" in each letter of the Hebrew, and its numerical value, so one may decode the "real message" that is hidden from the average person.
However, according to the Scripture, the biblical requirements for understanding the depths of God's Word has nothing to do with knowing letters of the original Hebrew, or their numerical meaning, but has everything to do with having the Holy Spirit, the Author of the Bible, dwelling in your life.
(NOTE: I want to make it clear here that I appreciate many things that pastor John Hagee stands for when it comes to Israel and prophecy. He is a true friend of Israel and has taken a bold stand for many godly issues. However, I don't think he is infallible, and I'm sure he doesn't claim to be. Like all of us, he can make mistakes, and we should give him the benefit of being wrong every now and then. ?)
Contrary to what Mark Biltz and John Hagee strongly imply, the past blood moon tetrads did NOT "precisely coincide" with direct events for Israel. This is a foundational part of the teaching, but a major oversight of most. Actually, some of the dates of the blood moons are WAY OFF and are hardly served as "warnings", "signs" and "predictions", since THEY OCCUR LONG AFTER THE EVENT ITSELF. Also, there is a lack of consistency on whether the blood moons are "prophetic warnings of evil events to come for Israel or other lands".
Both are careful to point out that "NASA proves this", but they stretch the truth in their statement, first of all because NASA has nothing to do with the Biblical insights they are purporting, but merely record that various phases of the moons, including all lunar eclipse and blood moon dates. But if you want to do your own study, you will find that the dates do NOT perfectly align with Jewish events.
For example, both Mark Biltz and John Hagee skip the first two tetrads since they seemingly can't be associated directly with the exact dates of any Jewish events. So they start with the third set of tetrads and endeavor to connect the blood moons with the Spanish Inquisition. (This will be important to read carefully!) Even though the Spanish Inquisition began in 1478, with the Royal Decree in March of 1492, the blood moon did not actually occur UNTIL A YEAR LATER in 1493 and again in 1494. That is hardly what I would call a "prediction", seeing that the first blood moon did not happen UNTIL A YEAR LATER, AND THE SECOND ONE DID NOT OCCUR UNTIL TWO YEARS LATER! The way it is presented is that the blood moons happened right before the Inquisition, not years later.
The next so-called "tetrad match", which Mark Biltz and John Hagee mention, had to do with Israel becoming a nation. Of course, that glorious event, prophesied throughout the OT, took place on May 14, 1948. But, again, the blood moon DID NOT OCCUR UNTIL A YEAR LATER in 1949 with the second blood moon showing up in 1950. Sure, that's pretty close, but that is hardly a "predictive" blood moon, being that it happened a year later! Pretty close works with horse shoes, but not with Bible prophecy!
If one studies the "exact dates" of the blood moons around the dates they appear, they will find that they actually had nothing to do with any of the newly founded Israel's war victories or even the dates of when the U.N. made an official acceptance of the nation of Israel. So, to be honest, the dates aren't matching very well at all on this event, unless you think that way after an event is somehow predictive.
Here again, if the blood moons were to serve as a "prophetic sign", you would think they would at least PRECEDE the event to give a future warning of what was about to happen to Israel. But they don't show up until way after the event. This is important.
Next in line are the set of blood moons that were associated with the 6-Day War. However, in this case, only one of the four blood moons preceded the war, and it was not a bad event - but a good event. The first blood moon on March 24 happened just a little over two months before the war. But it wasn't until 10 MONTHS AFTER THE WAR WAS OVER THAT THE SECOND BLOOD MOON APPEARED, with then the last two blood moons showing up A FULL YEAR AFTER THAT! This does not seem to reflect the "precise timing" these gentlemen are claiming happened. I think we all know how easy it is to close your eyes and shoot at a target and hit it 25% of the time. Prophecy is about precision, not "hit and miss".
Deuteronomy 18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.Another point that needs to be pointed out is that some speak of the blood moons being an "omen" of bad events, yet Israel powerfully and miraculously prevailed in this war and gained much ground, so one must asks, "Are the blood moons warnings of bad events or signs of good events?" And how would one know which is true?
This is how a blood moon looks over Texas. There is more prophetic information in Texas'
famous Blue Bonnets than in Biltz' moons.Many are now predicting that something evil is about to strike Israel with the upcoming blood moons, but it is clear that not all blood moons happen to be connected to an evil event... only adding another bit of confusion in the mix. Which is it? (I hope you are seeing my point here. Either it is an indication of something bad or something good - because otherwise, it doesn't seem to be so predictive. How is it predictive if I claim in May something is going to happen to you? Well, sure something is going to happen, but that's a no-brainer.)
If these blood moons are somehow always meant to be "signs" to be used by God to forewarn or foretell Israel and the world, then God seems to have a bad system of date setting, since He misses the dates pretty badly. And I don't think God is that bad at His math.
Consider this, if I give a prophetic prediction that Israel is going to face hard time in a two-year space of time (such as 2014-2015), that really isn't so profound, friends. That precious nation has almost non-stop problems, every single month! You can almost close your eyes and lay your finger on an open calendar and where you finger falls say there is going to be something important for Israel on that date - AND YOU WOULD BE RIGHT! The odds are that for the next two years, four years, six year, etc., Israel is going up against many serious threats/victories!
Personally, I would not consider something to be a "prophetic warning" if it shows up two years after the event actually happened! This is not much of a "heads up", folks! And neither would I consider them effective at predicting bad events if some are good events. It's all very confusing if you look at the evidence. Nothing is consistent in the conclusions.
STRETCHING THE BLANKET
By Editor Steve Van Nattan
A tourist was buying an Indian blanket long ago in Arizona. The tourist commented that the blanket was too short to use.
The Indian told him that could be fixed. He cut a foot off of one end and sewed it to the other end, and the tourist was delighted.
Are you a dumb tourist or a noble Berean?
Obviously, something isn't adding up here either. And to be frank, I find it to be rather deceptive that when blood moons dates are referenced, and the "precise timings" as being associated with "exact dates and events" in Israel, they are "stretching the truth" a little. I would hope that these teachers would not be so dishonest to lay out the truth, without manipulating the evidence to fit their theory.
To make it to appear the blood moons were always BEFORE the events, rather than months and sometimes years AFTER the events and to claim they are warning signs of evil coming certainly reflects on the credibility of this teaching. This is why we all need to do our homework before joining the band. That is why the Berean Christians were seen as more "noble" because they searched the Scriptures daily to see if what was being taught was truth.
Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.It is always very important to keep in mind that the Hebrews used a lunar calendar, so it is no big surprise that full moon lunar eclipses, as well as blood moons would show up on the Jewish holidays. It was designed that way by God! Dozens and dozens of lunar eclipses coincided with the Jewish festivals of Passover and Feast of Tabernacles. This should not shock anyone who is aware that the Jewish calendar purposely follows the moon cycles.
Make no mistake; I do believe that very crucial things are ahead for the Jewish people. The majority of Bible prophecy surrounds the people and the nation of Israel. But this has nothing to do with phases of the moon, along with Jewish Festivals, despite the attempt to connect the two. It's bad enough to take leaping conclusions, but to be a bit deceptive with the dates and results is really wrong. Nothing is gained by doing such things. It only reveals the slippery research that has gone into the issue.
Setting dates to fit with Jewish festive is interesting but not necessarily accurate. One such example of this teaching is the one that insists that the Rapture must take place during the Jewish Festival of the Feast of Trumpets. While that sounds like a great opportunity for Christ to come for His Church, that would leave 51 other weeks off the calendar for Him not to come - and I am convinced that this is "bad teaching", for the Lord may truly come today! Saying He has to come on that Jewish celebration leaves us with month after month of not "looking for His coming"… which doesn't line up with proper truth regarding the immediacy of that day!
There seems to be a non-stop insistence among believers to overlook our Lord's clear teaching that NO ONE knows the day or the hour of His return. Some will even go as far to say that even though they may not know the exact "day or hour", that they can at least know within the week or month. This is simply not true, friends! Nothing seems to be more rebellious than the person who has convinced himself and others that they actually do know when Jesus is coming!
The point the Lord was clearly making is to STOP setting dates. It has to stop folks! It's totally wrong! It's trying to make Jesus a liar and it has NEVER worked anyway! Every single date setter has been proven WRONG!!! And every other one will be wrong too!
So, MARK IT DOWN… "NO ONE KNOWS"… NO MATTER HOW CONVINCING THEY SOUND… NO MATTER HOW MUCH "PROOF" THEY HAVE… "NO ONE KNOWS"!!!!
"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." (Matthew 24:36)
So unless YOU are God the Father, then, shut your mouth about your dates - or be made to look like a fool in front of people! The whole point of not knowing is to remain ready at all times! Be on the alert at all times… that's what "watch" means!
"Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." (Matthew 25:13)
So, if someone sets dates, IGNORE THEM FROM NOW ON! And that includes blood moons tetrads!
When people speak of blood moons being "in the Bible" as a part of the end times, they fail to see that huge difference in the common occurrence of moon phases as they compare to the dramatic events in Bible prophecy! Please read this passage very carefully…
Revelation 6:12-14 "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was A GREAT EARTHQUAKE; and THE SUN BECAME BLACK AS SACKCLOTH OF HAIR, and THE MOON BECAME AS BLOOD; And THE STARS OF HEAVEN FELL UNTO THE EARTH, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And THE HEAVEN DEPARTED AS A SCROLL when it is rolled together; and EVERY MOUNTAIN AND ISLAND WERE MOVED OUT OF THEIR PLACES."
Did you notice that? Anyone paying attention can see that what is happening here in the sixth seal is way more than blood moons we will be seeing in 2014 and 2015. The events listed above are many times more extraordinary than typical lunar eclipses and blood moons. This passage plainly speaks of huge catastrophe that changes everything! Note that the sun becomes black while at the same exact time the moon turns blood red. This is not normal! Because it is impossible for a normal solar eclipse and normal lunar eclipse to happen at the same time, other than this being an unusual event of "Biblical proportions".
Added to the sun and moon, massive amounts of asteroids (from the Greek word used when referring to "stars") fall to the earth, causing untold damage, along with a gigantic earthquake strikes, so powerful that mountains and islands move out of their places, and the heavens above the earth rips open! Ladies and Gentlemen, this is MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT THEN A BLOOD MOON TETRAD! This is a world shaking devastation of planet earth - and will be occurring in the beginning months of the Great Tribulation.
Make no mistake about it, this is not some natural astronomical occurrence that NASA can figure out! This is one of the most traumatic and dramatic events in the future for this planet! This is a part of the "day of the Lord" in which this world will get a major wakeup call! When Joel and Ezekiel and others write of this experience, you can mark it down, there will be no doubt about what happens next.
You can read these following passages: Joel 2:10, Joel 3:15-16, Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:24-25, Luke 21:25-26, Ezekiel 32:7-8, Isaiah 13:10, 13 and Isaiah 34:4 and you will be hard pressed to try to convince yourself that this is just from the four blood moon tetrad. The blood moon tetrads are NOT what these prophets were talking about. Absolutely no way!
This future phenomenon is so bad, that according to Isaiah, it will actually alter the earth's orbital position, for it will be moved out of its place. This is obviously something more than a blood moon; it is far more terrifying and devastating! This event will find even influential people running to the caves to hide out of fear…
Revelation 6:15-16 "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb."
This event WILL happen! But there are many other things that will lead up to this event! If people would take the time to read their Bibles instead of following the latest fads, they would not fall for all this other stuff.
I hope that after reading this post, some one will gather enough courage to stand with Scripture alone and stop falling for these huge leaps and conclusions that seem to keep much of the church in an endless "Carrot Dangling" Progression. We need to stop this hyped-up prophecy approach and let the Word of God speak plainly, without making big mistakes.
Let me conclude this post with this thought…
It's a "no-brainer" to say that things are about to happen in Israel soon! The Middle East is about to explode! Blood moons or no blood moons, something significant is about to happen to God's chosen people and chosen land! 2014 and 2015 will be years to keep your eye on Israel for sure! They may be very significant years for Israel and Bible prophecies indeed! Or they may be calm years. But we do know that things are going to get much worse before they get much better.
One final point. Because of the tilt of the earth, three of the blood moon tetrad will not be visible at all in Israel. Only the last one will be visible, and that only partially. This is important if the blood moons are to serve as some type of sign to the nation of Israel and its people.
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FOOTNOTE
By Steve Van Nattan- Editor of Blessed Quietness Journal
John Hagee is not the first one to try to predict prophetic things. The first heretic to lead many astray with sensational teaching was a man named Montanus.
AD 156 A man named Montanus declared himself to be the "Spirit of Truth," the personification of the Holy Spirit, mentioned in the Gospel of John, who was to reveal all truth. Montanus quickly gathered followers, including a pair of far-seeing "prophetesses", who claimed to have visions and ecstatic experiences supposedly from God. They began to spread what they called "The Third Testament, a series of revelatory messages which foretold of the soon-coming Kingdom of God and "The New Jerusalem," which was about to descend from heaven to land in Montanus' city of Pepuza, in Phrygia (modern-day Turkey), where it would be home for all "true" believers. The word was spread, and all were urged to come to Phrygia to await the Second Coming. The movement divided Christians into two camps, even after the New Jerusalem didn't appear. Whole communities were fragmented, and continuous discord resulted. Finally, in AD 431, the Council of Ephesus condemned Chiliasm, or belief in the Millennium, as a dangerous superstition, and Montanus was declared to be a heretic. Despite the failure of the prediction, the cult survived several centuries until it was ordered exterminated by Pope Leo I.
Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
LINKS:
By Steve Van Nattan- Editor of Blessed Quietness Journal
Here is the man who inspired John Hagee
Notice how he changes the King James English by claiming to know
how to translate the Hebrew correctly. Old trick.Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
sign- twa 'owth oth probably (in the sense of appearing); a signal (literally or figuratively), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc.:--mark, miracle, (en-)sign, token.
Biltz and Hagee pick the meaning that works for them. Hebrew, unlike Greek, is not precise. The context determines what is exactly meant. The King James Bible translators studied this and mad a choice which is the preserved Word of God. It is common to all prophecy gurus that they love to chase alternative meanings to build their case. The ancient rabbis tell us that the signs were to set the festivals, NOT to tell us of prophetic events. (Rashi)
Same text- seasons- dewm mow`ed mo-ade' or moled {mo-ade'}; or (feminine) moweadah (2 Chronicles 8:13) {mo-aw-daw'}; from Strong #3259; properly, an appointment, i.e. a fixed time or season; specifically, a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand):--appointed (sign, time), (place of, solemn) assembly, congregation, (set, solemn) feast, (appointed, due) season, solemn(-ity), synogogue, (set) time (appointed).
Again, this leaves many choices in the Hebrew, so Biltz and Hagee pick what works. "Festival" works best in the blood moon legend.
Necessary fiction- Biltz says the signs and seasons to predict his appearing. This is the necessary fiction all cults add to build their alien doctrine. Jesus said that we cannot tell the time of his return, but Biltz and Hagee claim God, in Genesis, said otherwise. How clever of these false prophets to correct Jesus for us. We also learn that NASA is God's minister of the plan. At least we are getting our money's worth out of that tax dollar.
Paul said, 1 Corinthians 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: Old Testament signs, even if hey imply feast days, are for the Jews, not the Christian Church. Biltz is projecting himself into the dispensation of Law and pretending he is a Jew (Hebrew Roots) so he can claim these signs in the moon are for Bible believers in the Church Age. This can only be done by using Hebrew Roots heretical inventions.
And, as John Muncy pointed out, the Jews in Israel will not see any of the eclipses. Why would God reveal all this to a bunch of Gringos, White Race and not his own people Israel? The Old Testament festivals and feast days and moon signs were for Israel, not John Hagee.
Joel 2:10 The earth shall quake
before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark , and the stars shall withdraw their shining: Biltz and Hagee use this text, laminate it to the Genesis text without ANY biblical permission, and come up with a large significance in the eclipses. The Bible does not make such a connection. Furthermore; the stars will also go dark. What does that have to do with the moon and eclipses. Science tells us there is no connection. Thus also, there is no connection between Joel 2 and Genesis 1. It is all hocus pocus and Mother Goose doctrine
Now, let us examine a more scholarly permutation of the facts:
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