After writing about the blood moon hype, I began to think about the other statement that also accompanies “the moon turning to blood”, in the bible.
This statement is often used to ridicule the bible’s science, but is this statement intended to be taken literally, or is something else in view here? Here are a couple of the passages;
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: Matthew 24:29
And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. Mark 13:25
There is a principle of bible interpretation that we need to use to understand what is going on here. We need to compare Scripture with Scripture. God always explains what He means in other passages regarding the same events. By comparing separate passages, we are able to deduce what is literal, and what is meant to describe something using idioms, and figurative language.
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. Joel 3:14-15
Could it be that the same phenomenon that darkens the sun and moon is the same event that causes the starlight to disappear? I think this is exactly what is being said here. But, there is more;
For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. Isaiah 13:10
This passage is in the context of a different event, the first destruction of Israel, but we see that here the dimming of the sun, the moon, and the stars is linked by an atmospheric phenomenon, in this case, the smoke of burning Israeli cities.
What about the moon turning to blood? Should we understand that the moon will literally turn to blood? Very obviously this passage is describing the appearance of the moon, as a result of a similar atmospheric phenomenon. Note also that the context is a similar time frame as the Matthew 24, and Mark 13 passages.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. Joel 2:31
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: Acts 2:19-20
I don’t think the passage Peter was quoting was entirely fulfilled in that day, this section appears to be reserved for the time just prior to, and during the Tribulation period. The fire mentioned here, is likely a combination of volcanic activity, as well as the nuclear destruction of many cities, all in a very short time frame.
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; Revelation 6:12
The 1883-84 eruption of the island of Krakatoa illustrates the point.
The eruption darkened the sky worldwide for years afterward, and produced spectacular sunsets throughout the world for many months. British artist William Ashcroft made thousands of colour sketches of the red sunsets half way around the world from Krakatoa in the years after the eruption. The ash caused “such vivid red sunsets that fire engines were called out in New York, Poughkeepsie, and New Haven to quench the apparent conflagration.” This eruption also produced a Bishop’s Ring around the sun by day, and a volcanic purple light at twilight. (from Wikipedia)
Very clearly some of the events in the three passages in Joel will result from increased volcanic activity, but just as the destruction of Israel, prophesied in Isaiah 13, caused similar phenomena, it is very likely that the wars Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24:6 will also result in a red appearance of the moon, and the stars complete disappearance.
It could very well be that as a father and son go out in a cloudless night, that the son will ask his father “dad, where are the stars?”, and the father will answer “They aren’t there, I think they have fallen to earth.”
This is all the phrase means. It could be accompanied by a meteor shower, however, should it occur during the Gog and Magog war, and that would complete the illusion of the stars falling to earth.