Science gives us an explanation for solar and lunar eclipses.
The Sun is darkened during a solar eclipse.
The Moon is darkened during a lunar eclipse.
The Moon blocks the sunlight during a solar eclipse.
The Earth blocks the sunlight during a lunar eclipse.
The Sun turns black as sackcloth of hair during a solar eclipse.
The Moon turns red as blood during a lunar eclipse.
Is there a biblical reason we have solar and lunar eclipses? Did people go through an eclipse and worry ... could this be the Day of the Lord? Probably.
Revelation 6:12 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...
When the 6th seal is opened the sun and moon will be darkened... How?
I imagine people think God will flip a switch and ... bing... the sun and moon will be darkened. Then the Second Coming and the Rapture run their course and... bing... the sun and moon will be back to normal.
Notice... there is no time frame for these events. Nothing says how long the sun and moon will be darkened... let alone how long the great earthquake will last. Some people say everything just takes a few minutes. Others say all of these events are just a day long. I lean towards 5 days for everything, start to finish.
I think God gave us solar and lunar eclipses as an example of what the Day of the Lord... the Second Coming... is going to be like. A solar and lunar eclipse takes hours to run their course. They are the darkest at the peak of the event and then the event subsides and they start to shine again. I don't think the sun and moon will be darkened when God magically flips a switch and turns things off and on. They are going to follow along the lines of an eclipse where something... or someone... blocks the light for a couple of hours.
I imagine the sun and moon are darkened when the heavenly host starts showing up on the Day of Atonement aka Yom Kippur. This part of these events will last hours... like a solar and lunar eclipse. I believe the heavenly host will be positioned between the Sun and the Earth... from the eastern-most to the western-most point... from the northern-most to the southern-most point... "causing" the Sun to turn black as sackcloth of hair and the moon to turn red as blood. Who are the heavenly host? I think that includes all of the angels and beings God created including the millions, if not billions, of saints who are coming with Jesus.
The bible doesn't say the Rapture takes place while the sun and moon are darkened. Most people assume it does. But does it? How long are the sun and moon darkened? How long does the Rapture last? How long does the great earthquake last? How long does the sign of the Son of Man last? How long does the Second Coming last? How long does it take for the stars to fall from heaven?
The bible says every eye shall see him... in the dark? Maybe. The sun and moon will be darkened. But, the bible says Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
I'm thinking the sun and moon are darkened but then Jesus shows up and provides the light. Wait a minute. If Jesus is the light over Florida at noon then China would be in darkness at midnight. Here is where people start to conjecture things like... Well... Jesus is omnipresent so when he comes he will be present and seen by everybody all over the world at the same time. There will be tv cameras broadcasting the event and therefore that is how Jesus will be seen by everybody in the world at the same time.
No. I don't think these events hinge on media coverage. Jesus won't need help from the media to be seen. Jesus told the pharisees they would see him coming in clouds... when he was on earth the last time. They died and went to hell. I don't think there are Big Screen TV's in hell.
The bible also says Jesus will come with great power and great glory. That glory could be the light that shines when the sun and moon are darkened. That could be how everybody will see Jesus up in the clouds. Will he be like a dot in the sky, like a pilot in an airplane that you can't see? You know that plane has a pilot, you just can't see him. Or maybe it's something else more powerful and glorious? I don't know.
What I do believe is solar and lunar eclipses point to the Second Coming. They are a picture of what that 'day' will be like.
The heavenly host will essentially cause the impossible to take place at the same time... a solar and lunar eclipse during the Second Coming.
I unapologetically separate the Second Coming from the Rapture. Why? Because the Pre-Trib doctrine suggests the Second Coming and the Rapture are the same event. They take place at the same time and they just last minutes... maybe only a couple of hours. It could happen today. It could happen anytime.
I try to distance myself from anything posited by the Pre-Trib rapture. Since Daniel's 70th week is 2555 days long I think the 'missing' 5 days is found between Yom Kippur, aka the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths. I think The great earthquake, the sun and moon being darkened, the stars falling from heaven, the sign of the Son of Man, Jesus coming in the clouds, the dead in Christ gathered first and then those who are alive and remain... will take some time to accomplished... up to 5 DAYs to complete. To me that would be GREAT power and GREAT glory.
What are we told to pray? To Thine be the Kingdom and the POWER and the GLORY forever. Forever is a long time... not just a couple of minutes or hours.
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