BLOOD MOONS RISING: BIBLE PROPHECY, ISRAEL AND THE FOUR BLOOD MOONS

By now, it would appear that unless one lives completely isolated from any source of communicative devices, one has become aware of the impending Blood Moons tetrad: four lunar eclipses (two in 2014, and two in 2015) that will occur each time upon two of the major Jewish feasts.  Mark Hitchcock provides a convenient table in his book, and notes the following celestial events:

          04/15/2014 . . . . . Passover

          10/08/2014 . . . . . Feast of Tabernacles

          03/20/2015 . . . . . Total Solar Eclipse

          04/04/2015 . . . . . Passover

          09/28/2015 . . . . . Feast of Tabernacles

God has, according to Genesis 1:14, placed the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens “to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years . . .” and scientists have been able to pinpoint with great accuracy the upcoming celestial events that we have observed over the years; lunar and solar eclipses, solar flares, meteor showers, and so on.

And the religious community has not been hesitant to take advantage of the spiritual, emotional and psychological disturbances that such celestial events produce in the soul of man.  The impending Blood Moons mentioned above are no exception.  Prophecy conferences have sprung up almost overnight, offering “their” interpretation of what the celestial events of 2014 and 2015 are “communicating” to those of us on earth.  Prophecy speaker John Hagee is adamant; “The history of the world is about to change forever, and God is sending us messages on His high-definition billboard by speaking to us in the heavens – using the Four Blood Moons; the question is . . . are we listening?”

Mark Hitchcock has provided a balanced response to both the skeptic and the sensationalist alike in his book, Blood Moons Rising: Bible Prophecy, Israel, And The Four Blood Moons.  Noting that God, indeed, has placed his celestial lights in the heavens for a purpose, author Hitchcock nonetheless counsels proper grammatical, historical-cultural, contextual interpretation of the Scriptures as the appropriate starting point for any understanding of Bible prophecy. 

And his conclusions are Biblical as well.  The times and seasons are in God’s hands.  No man knows the day, or the hour.  But what we have is today, and the proper response is to be ready.  One shouldn’t be skeptical, and one doesn’t need to be overly distraught.  One needs to be prepared. 

Along with a well-researched bibliography, Mark Hitchcock has included three appendices.  The first is a copy of Leviticus 23, which provides details concerning the Feasts and Festivals that every Jew was to observe.  The second provides a series of Prophetic Checklists for The Church, The Nations, and for Israel, including the major prophetic events in the order of their predicted fulfillment as found in Scripture.  The third is a Proposed Chronology of The End Times, the author’s attempt to put all the pieces of the end times together in a chronological sequence.

While avoiding both skepticism and sensationalism, author Mark Hitchcock has provided an informed response to the issues surrounding The Four Blood Moons controversy.

5 stars for a reasoned response to religious sensationalism

BLOOD MOONS RISING

Mark Hitchcock

978-1-4143-9708-5

Religion / Current Events

Tyndale House Publishers

202 pages

$15.99 U.S.