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Parallels In Eclipses
The prophet Joel wrote,
“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to
blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD”
(Joel 2:31).
When the church began on the day of Pentecost, Peter
quoted the above prophecy and explained,
“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was
a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which
God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” (Acts 2:22).
Peter
told the audience that Joel’s prophecy of the moon’s turning to
blood was fulfilled on the cross.
Revelation 6:12
also refers to the moon’s turning “blood red.”
When considering these three scriptures, I see amazing
parallels in eclipses; a red hue accompanies both solar and lunar
eclipses!
The Psalmist (Psalms 89:35-37) in the first two
verses refers to the coming of Jesus as King, then verse 37 states,
“… established forever like the moon, the faithful
witness in the sky."
How is Jesus like the moon?
First, He came as light into a dark world (John 1:1-5);
secondly, just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, Jesus
said,
“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”
(John 14:9)
Since the moon orbits earth, there are times when the
earth’s shadow darkens the moon to create a lunar eclipse.
During a total lunar eclipse, the moon is not completely
dark; it is faintly illuminated with a red light refracted by the
earth’s atmosphere; this filters out the blue rays, causing the moon
to have a reddish appearance, a reminder of Jesus’ blood.
Even more amazing is a solar eclipse, which perfectly
symbolizes Jesus’ crucifixion.
Jesus, symbolized by the moon, came between the earth and the
Father, a picture of the sun.
Once the moon begins to darken the sun during a solar
eclipse, it takes exactly three hours to complete its journey.
“From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness
came over all the land” (Matthew 27:45.
When the sun is in total eclipse, the earth takes on
a reddish caste, reminding us of the blood of Jesus shed while
suspended between heaven and earth.
What an amazing link between a solar eclipse and the
spiritual eclipse of Jesus’ crucifixion!
Once a solar eclipse occurs over a specific earth location,
it will not happen again for 360 years, but Wilsie and I were
blessed to witness such an event over Midland, Texas.
No wonder scripture says, “The moon turned to blood.”
When lunar eclipses or solar eclipses occur, I cannot
help but marvel over the truth that God not only created light,
GOD IS LIGHT!
By: Eli Borden |
