Are Eclipses Signs of Judgment?

Once again, neither a lunar nor a solar eclipse is a sign of judgment, no matter what these loony false prophets say.

Mark Blitz on the Jim Bakker Show: "Because the Gentiles go by the sun for their calender, a solar eclipse represents judgment coming upon a nation. A lunar eclipse, because Israel goes by the moon, refers to judgment coming upon Israel."

That's not anywhere in the Bible. But what about where it says that the sun will be darkened and the moon turned to blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord? There are references to supernatural signs in the heavens. But eclipses are natural and calculable.

NASA has mapped every eclipse that will occur for the next 1,000 years. They know exactly where they will be visible from down to the mile, and how long their duration will be, down to the second. How are they able to do that? Because they're prophets? No! And neither are these other guys claiming eclipses are signs of judgment.

God created the sun and the moon for signs and seasons. Signs in this context meaning memorial or holy days. So since they mark time, they run like, well, clockwork. Psalm 8:3 says, "I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place." Psalm 104:19 says, "He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting."

Eclipses are not signs of judgment. They are a wonderous spectacle of God's created order. John 3:19 says that the appearing of Christ is the sign of judgment. So repent and worship Him before He appears a second time to judge mankind. But if the Lord tarries, expect the next eclipse to happen on time, as God has ordained it, when we understand the text.

Is an Eclipse a Sign from God?

An eclipse has never been a sign of any prophecy. You will not find eclipses as signs of judgment anywhere in the Bible. False prophet Jonathan Cahn, bestselling author of the Harbinger, loves pointing to signs in the sky, but even he admits they have no prophetic significance.

"The solar eclipse. Can God do something? Yes. Does God have to do something? No. These things can be signs of judgments or other things, but they can also be just a regular day, so be ready either way."

But if that's the case, he loses credibility. So in the same video, he goes back to saying these things do mean something and he's got a book coming out about them.

"The Bible says the stars, these things are signs, but what are they signs of? The Paradigm is going to be released. This is the most explosive book I've ever written. It's very much like The Harbinger. The Master Blueprint of what's happening now. It touches everything."

The people came to Jesus and said, "What sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But you have seen me and do not believe. All the Father gives me will come to me, and I will never cast them out. For I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me."

"This is the will of my Father that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:30, 35-38, 40) Jesus is the sign from heaven! Look to Him, when we understand the text!

West Wing Bible Lesson?

President Josiah Bartlet on the television show The West Wing, from season 2, episode 3: "I like how you call homosexuality an abomination [Leviticus 18:22]. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions while I have you here. I'm interested in selling my youngest daughter into slavery as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. She's a Georgetown sophomore, speaks fluent Italian, always cleared the table when it was her turn. What would a good price for her be?

"While thinking about that, can I ask another? My chief of staff Leo McGarry insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly says he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or is it okay to call the police? Here's one that's really important, because we've got a lot of sports fans in this town. Touching the skin of a dead pig makes one unclean, Leviticus 11:7. If they promise to wear gloves, can the Washington Redskins still play football? Can Notre Dame? Can West Point?

"Does the whole town really have to be together to stone my brother John for planting different crops side by side? Can I burn my mother in a small family gathering for wearing garments made from two different threads [according to Deuteronomy 22:9-11]?"

The God-fearing, Bible-believing Christian knows better than to get a Bible lesson from a fake president on a scripted TV show. Notice that all these arguments come from the Pentateuch, so writer Aaron Sorkin, with an agenda, ignores context and the entire biblical narrative.

The reference to slavery in Exodus 21:7 is not like American Civil War era slavery. It's protecting a woman from poverty and exploitation and giving her work. The Sabbath laws were fulfilled in Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8, Mark 2:28).

Footballs are made of cowhide, not pigskin. Google it. Leviticus 11 applied to ceremonial laws, and Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19) repeated by Peter and Paul (Acts 10:9-16, Romans 14:13-23, Colossians 2:16-17, 1 Timothy 4:1-4). A sentence of death wasn't given for planting different crops or wearing two different materials. The Israelites were to reflect holiness in all practice and life as the chosen people of God.

All the Law points to Jesus Christ, who kept the law perfectly, and lovingly gave His own life as an atoning sacrifice. Those who break God's law will still perish on the day of judgment. But those who believe in Jesus will be forgiven their sins, including the sin of homosexuality, still an abomination (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), when we understand the text.

What Does the Bible Say About Taking Care of the Environment?

Hey, have you heard? The polar ice caps are melting! We're all going to drown! Aaaahhh! Wait, God already said He wasn't going to do that again (Genesis 9:11). But the consumer-driven church still gets sucked into phony environmentalism, which has been branded "Creation Care."

Zondervan has published the Green Bible, which teaches us how... creation cares for us? That's panentheism! The forward was written by an Anglican priest who says there are parts of the Bible we need to ignore. (So did Zondervan remove those parts from their Bible?) The Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) has spearheaded a national "What Would Jesus Drive?" effort.

Rick Warren along with nearly 100 evangelical leaders and about 40 Christian college presidents called for federal legislation to reduce CO2 emissions because that's loving your neighbor. According to the book, The Compassionate Community: Ten Values to Unite America (pg. 195):

This same group's Evangelical Climate Initiative began running television and radio ads, stating: "As Christians, our faith in Jesus Christ compels us to love our neighbors and to be stewards of God's creation. The good news is that with God's help, we can stop global warming for our kids, our world, and for the Lord."

Uh, God is the one who cursed creation! He subjected all things to futility because of the sinfulness of mankind. But "the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God," at the return of Jesus (Romans 8:20-21).

God has a plan "for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and on earth" (Ephesians 1:10). He will wipe away every tear and death shall be no more (Revelation 21:4). But you cannot reverse the effects of Creation's decline. Who can straighten what God has made crooked? (Ecclesiastes 7:13)

God told mankind to have dominion over all creation, to fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis 1:28). That includes treasuring our resources and respecting all living creatures, there are verses about that (Proverbs 12:10-11). But the only global warming the world needs to be concerned about is the fire of God being stored up for the day of judgment and the destruction of the ungodly!

For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. (2 Peter 3:5-7)

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, when we understand the text!