Biblical Astronomy | Try-God.org

The Total Solar Eclipse of March 20th, 2015

The Total Solar Eclipse of March 20th, 2015

The Total Solar Eclipse on the first day of Spring and the Equinox is a central day, not only in the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, but also the Hebrew Calendar. This day marked by a Super-moon Total Solar Eclipse falls on Nisan 1 as the first day of the Hebrew Ecclesiastical year, is mirrored in the Fall with another Solar eclipse falling on New Years and the Feast of Trumpets on 9-13-2015. These two key days divide the Hebrew Calendar in half since this fall feast marks the start of the civil year for Israel. When we consider that 2015 is a Jubilee/Shemmitah year for Israel, we find a powerful emphasis placed on the holy days of 2015 by the Hand of the Almighty, with the capping of the Blood Moon Tetrad in 2014-2015. These two Solar eclipses falling on Hebrew feast and holy days in the Jubilee year of 2015, not only represent a perfect division of the Hebrew Calendar according to Nisan 1 and the feast of Trumpets, but also in the case of the Nisan 1 Total Solar Eclipse falling on the Spring Equinox, we see an emphasis on the division of Day and Night, because the Spring and Fall equinoxes divide the length of the day and night equally. We can see important references in this light, and evidence of the Almighty Creator working in the Creation record of Genesis 1.

Genesis 1:1-5

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. ²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. ³And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ⁴And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

In verses 4-5 above, The Creator-God instituted an initial act of division on the first Day of Creation, by separating and distinguishing between the light of Day and the darkness of Night. It is very important to note that God did this not only prior to the two great lights of the Sun and Moon being created on the fourth day, but even before the firmament, or the expanse of the Universe holding the celestial bodies was created on the second day! Thus only the Creator Himself could have been the Source of Light prior to the creation of these celestial bodies, since as verse 3 tells us; He Alone was in the Beginning, as the Source of Light and Life in the Heavens and Earth He created. Another basic division we can see is found in the Creation of Heaven and Earth itself, since the Heavens above the firmament, also called “Heaven of the Heavens,” are set aside as a dwelling for the Creator, while the earth is set aside for His creation.

Genesis 1:6-8
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. ⁷And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. ⁸And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

The Creation of the firmament of heaven was a secondary act of basic division by God, creating what we call the Universe, separated the waters above the firmament of heaven from those under or within the “Bubble Universe” that would contain the Sun, Moon and Stars, that did not appear till the fourth day. Obviously, the Biblical record of the Creation event does not agree with the scientific theory of “cosmic evolution” of stars and planets, but details an “ex-nihilo” Creation, where God spoke into existence that which had no prior existence. The Biblical definition of “Creation” requires no raw materials to work with, which sets it apart from any scientific version of our origins that man has ever proposed.

Genesis 1:14-19
¹⁴And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: ¹⁵And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. ¹⁶And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. ¹⁷And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Four Blood Moons — Blood Moon Tetrad Divided by the Nisan 1 Total Solar Eclipse

The Creator God established His initial division of light from darkness on the first day, by creating the celestial bodies of the Sun, Moon and Stars ruling over the temporal world of days and nights in His Creation. This not only established the Creator’s Temporal order over His Creation, by spinning the heavenly bodies in their orbits God established the cycles and circadian rhythms of “days and years” ruling over the four kingdoms of life on earth, but it also witnessed to the celestial gospel of someone significant to come; the redeemer of mankind-Jesus Christ, who will set the fallen Creation back in order. A primary focus of this Blood Moon Blog has been the heavenly signs marking the victorious return of Christ, as seen in the Blood Moon Tetrads taking place on Hebrew feast and holy days over the last 200 centuries, as the “seasons” or seasonal festivals God set aside for man’s observance in Genesis 1:14. The graphic above depicts another important division in the Jubilee year of 2015, dividing the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, with the Nisan 1 Total Solar Eclipse on March 2oth. A Blood Moon Tetrad has been defined as four successive Total Lunar Eclipses, falling on Hebrew feast or holy days, without partial lunar eclipses interspersed between them. Also each Total Lunar Eclipse is divided by six lunar months on the Hebrew Calendar. When we include the Partial Solar Eclipse on the Feast of Trumpets this fall, then we have six Hebrew feast and holy days in 2015, where “the Sun is turned into darkness and the Moon into Blood,” as prophesied in [Joel 2:31].

Nisan 1/March 20th of 2015 is also unique because when the Sun sets, it marks not only the start of a new day, but also the dawning of the Jubilee and ecclesiastical year in Israel. This key day on the Hebrew Calendar is marked by sunset which opens a special Sabbath festival taking place between the Total Solar Eclipse and the Spring Equinox on March 20th. As we may recall from the previous post on our Try-God Blog; The Birthdate of Jesus Christ [read more], when opening his ministry to Israel during a Jubilee year, Jesus found the place in Isaiah’s scroll [Isa. 61:2], and he declared that time as the “acceptable year of the Lord,” in a 7-fold prophecy; (Lk. 4:18-21). Then Jesus stopped short in mid-sentence, and closed the book telling those present, that scripture in Isaiah had been fulfilled in their ears, because the next phrase of the prophecy is still future. The gap of time symbolized in the comma separating those two phrases, representing our current Age of Grace is rapidly nearing completion. As we are actively watching the heavenly signs associated with the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, marking the time before the great and terrible day of the Lord, we must ask ourselves if we are prepared to meet the Lord when he comes. This brief study has pointed out the following seven areas we have seen the Lord’s division in creation;

* Division of Light from Darkness
* Division of Day from Night
* Division of the Firmament
* Division of the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015 by the Total Solar Eclipse of 3-20-2015
* Division of the Hebrew Calendar
* Division of the Hebrew Jubilee
* Division of the Equinox

As we have seen the Lord’s division in Creation, so we will also see his division within the nation of Israel.

Matt. 25: 31-36
³¹“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy^[c] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

Let us all be vigilant and on watch, doing the Lord’s work so that we can inherit the eternal blessing that he has set aside for the faithful.

Blood Moon Lunar Eclipses surrounding the Birth of Christ

Blood Moon Eclipses Surrounding the Birth of Christ

For those planning to view the Blood Moon Lunar eclipse Wednesday morning 10-8-2014, they have a treat in store for them. This event takes place at sunrise while the Blood Moon will be setting, providing a very rare opportunity to see the rising Sun and setting Blood Moon in the skies at the same time. This adds spice to an already tasty menu of Blood Moons on Hebrew Feast and holy days, such as tomorrow’s Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. The events surrounding this Blood Moon Tetrad just get more amazing the closer we approach their conclusion. Why could this be? Perhaps its because when the Almighty spun the stars and planets in their courses, at Creation, He knew the critical significance attached to marking the great appearances of His only begotten Son.

The Creator’s perfect prophetic plan of redemption naturally accounts for all contingencies. This includes not only all aspects of his Written Word being upheld, but also with the full support of the witness of His Creation. As He set the truth of the coming redeemer-Jesus Christ in His Written Word, He also backed these truths with many signs and wonders on earth, and in the heavens. These Heavenly Signs spoke to those with eyes to see, just as loudly as the witness of the Scriptures. Just as this was the case with the first coming of Christ, so it is with his imminent Return. In this light, our examination of the Blood Moon Tetrads takes on added meaning and depth for the end times, since God provided a blueprint of heavenly signs, starting over 2000 years ago, marking the birth of Christ, that provides the keys to our recognition of his Second Coming. We find this Scriptural record in Revelation 12.

Rev. 12:1-2 “Now a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the Sun with the Moon under her feet, and on her had a garland of 12 stars. 2 Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.”

Virgo marking the birth of Christ — **Virgo Clothed in the Sun with the Moon at her Feet on 9-11-3BC-Tishri 1.**

This Scripture gives us the keys to decipher the celestial signs marking the first and second coming of Christ. A sign in the heavens in verse 1, refers to a celestial sign on the path of the Sun, called the ecliptic in the heavens. On this path which the Sun takes through the heavens in its annual course, there is only one sign of the zodiac depicted as a singular woman-Virgo the virgin. Virgo is clothed with the Sun for 20 days every year, which is one of the 12 keys of the “Celestial Prelude” listed below. However the Moon only appears at the feet of Virgo one day each year while she is clothed with the Sun. This was September 11th in 3 BC marking the birth of Christ, [Rev. 12:2].

This heavenly sign took place again in autumn of 2017, after the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015 [Joel 2:28-31]. We will take a detailed look at a comparison of these signs in an upcoming study, which this serves as the basis for, but for now let’s continue with the heavenly signs of Christ’s first appearance. The Apostle Peter refers to the return of Christ in his second epistle;

II Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic Word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

We as Sons of God, don’t have to wait for the return of Christ to stand in his delegated authority to us, because the power of Christ in us, is a spiritual reality in our Christian new birth. As we stand on this authority of the arisen daystar in our hearts; [II Pet. 1:19], all kingdoms of darkness in this world are already under our feet. As we find in the chart below, an aspect of the darkness of the world is symbolized not only in lunar occultations in April of 6 BC, but also the luni-solar eclipses of 7-1 BC. This reveals prophetic patterns that the Heavenly Father wrote into His celestial epistles for those with the understanding to decipher and believe the truth of this stellar witness, marking the long-awaited return of the promised seed.

The heavenly signs setting the pattern of the birth of Christ, starting at the first Jupiter-Saturn union of 7 BC, set forth specific signposts that the Magi were on the lookout for starting in 3 BC. These preliminary signs from 7-5 BC provided the Magi the blueprints they would need to recognize the heavenly signs identifying the time frame of the birth of Christ. When I first posted this study 20 years ago on our Try-God.com website, it fell in a category I called the “Celestial Prelude,” The fact that the heavenly signs of this dress rehearsal unfolded over a period of 2 years was also a clue of what the Magi could expect, when the curtain actually arose on the celestial pageantry of the birth of Christ. Below is a reprint of the key points that were posted in a “Summary of the Celestial Prelude,” which serves as a good starting point for review, in light of the modern context of the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015.

As we see in the charts comparing the heavenly signs of 7-5 with those of 3-1 BC, the stellar pattern of conjunctions is strikingly similar. Some points that would have caught the Magi’s attention are as follows:

12 Characteristics of the Celestial Prelude

• Jupiter was clearly marked as “his star.”
• Jupiter was involved in a triple planetary Conjunction.
• Jupiter was involved in a series of planetary conjunctions.
• Jupiter’s retrograde motion would play a key role.
• Jupiter’s triple union was followed by a massing of planets.
• This massing of planets was followed by a Mars Conjunction.
• The Jupiter-Mars Conjunction was followed by a series of lunar occultations, and total “Blood Moon” lunar eclipses.
• This series of conjunctions would last about two years.
• The annual twenty days when the Sun is in Virgo would be a key.
• The September 15th alignment of Jupiter, Saturn the Earth and Sun in 7 BC that occurred in the evening at sunset, directed the Magi’s attention to the end of the 20-day period when Virgo was “clothed with the Sun.”
• The lunar eclipse on September 15th of 5 BC established that the Magi should be watchful of lunar activity during this time. This framed the 42 minute period between Sunset and Moonset on the only day of the year when Virgo “was clothed with the Sun with the Moon under her feet.”
• The September 15th Heliacal Rising of Jupiter and Saturn foreshadowed the Heliacal Setting of the star Spica, between the setting Sun and Moon in Virgo, identifying a key 30-minute period when the birth of Christ took place.

These twelve stellar pointers provided by the Hand of the Heavenly Father left no doubt as to the time of year, the specific day and even the time of day for the Magi to recognize the time frame of the birth of the only begotten Son of God. Since we have this detailed account of the celestial setting marking the birth of Christ, it is fitting that we reconstruct the specifics of the solar and lunar eclipses leading up to the birth of Christ, for comparison with the modern Blood Moon Tetrads for insight. The following chart includes the solar and lunar eclipses, up to and including the Lunar Eclipse marking the death of Herod in Jan. of 1 BC.

Solar and Lunar Eclipses from 7-1 BC

Lunar Eclipses BC Solar Eclipses BC Hebrew Feasts Planetary Unions BC
4-14-7 Penumbral 4-29-7 5-27-7 Jupiter/Saturn
5-13-7 Penumbral 10-23-7 9-15-7 Jup-Sat-Earth-Sun aligned 10-8-7 Penumbral 4-18-6 Annular 10-5-7 Jupiter/Saturn
11-7-7 Penumbral 10-13-6 Total 12-1-7 Jupiter/Saturn
4-4-6 Partial 3-8-5 Partial 2-25-6 Jup/Sat/Mars
3-23-5 Total 4-6-5 Partial 3-5-6 Jupiter/Mars
9-15-5 Total 9-1-5 Partial 3-5 Comet/nova
3-13-4 Partial 10-1-5 Partial 3-4 Comet
9-5-4 Partial   2-15-4 Total    5-19-3 Mercury/Saturn
1-31-3 Penumbral 8-21-4 Annular 6-12-3 Venus/Saturn
2-27-3 Penumbral    2-15-3 Total    John-Baptist born 8-31-3 Mercury/Venus
3-2-3 Penumbral 8-10-3 Annular   9-11-3 Christ’s Birth
8-26-3 Penumbral   Tishri 1 Trumpet Feast 9-14-3 Jupiter/Regulus
9-11-3 JC’s Birth 2-5-2 Hybrid 4/20-27 Passover 2-17-2 Jupiter/Regulus
1-20-2 Partial 7-31-2 Hybrid 5-8-2 Jupiter/Regulus
7-17-2 Partial 6-20-1 6-17-2 Jupiter/Venus
1-9-1 Total 7-19-1 4/8/2 Passover disrupted 8-27-2 Massing: Jup-Venus-Mars-Merc
7-5-1 Total    12-14-1 Hanukkah-Magi w/ Jesus 12-9-2 Venus/Mars
12-29-1 Partial 12-26-1 Partial

*Solar and Lunar eclipse info is provided from the NASA website on Solar and Lunar eclipses.

The Jupiter-Saturn triple Conjunctions in 7 BC, highlighted by a planetary alignment on Sept. 15th 7BC, initiated a pattern of heavenly signs that reappeared in September of 5 BC with a pair of lunar eclipses. On 9-5-5BC there was a partial Solar eclipse, with a Total Lunar eclipse following 10 days later on 9-15-5BC. These heavenly signs exactly 2 years apart, pointed out to the Magi that they should be on the lookout for heavenly signs marking the birth of Christ, in the next 2-year period in September of 3 BC! Since September marked Hebrew New Year’s Holy day, called Rosh Hashanah starting the sacred seventh month of Tishri, on September 11th 3BC, the Magi would have been on notice with their eyes riveted to the heavens for the signs denoting the coming of the prophesied King of the Jews. As stated in the summary above, the lunar activity in 5BC established that the Magi should be watchful of lunar activity during this time, two years later in 3BC. This framed the 42-minute period between Sunset and Moonset on the only day of the year when Virgo “was clothed with the Sun with the Moon under her feet.” [Rev. 12:1]. This period in mid-September towards the end of the annual 20-day time-frame when the “Sun was clothing Virgo,” was also marked by the first of 3 unions of Jupiter and Regulus in 3-2BC, showing a celestial coronation ceremony where the king star Regulus in Leo, the sign marking the Lion of the Tribe of Judah [Rev. 5:5], was crowned by the king planet Jupiter as a result of Jupiter’s retrograde motion in Leo. [read more] This was a key aspect of the Creator’s singular means of depicting the crowning of His Promised Seed in the heavens.

Although there is no overt Blood Moon Tetrad marking the birth of Christ, there is critical lunar activity, without which the Magi would not have fully realized the heavenly signs surrounding Christ’s birth. It is also noteworthy that these specific heavenly signs marking the birth of Christ are framed by four Total lunar eclipses between March of 5 BC and July of 1 BC. In light of the remarkable Blood Moon Tetrad activity involving the history of Israel that would follow over the next 2000 years, this is certainly significant, and may qualify as a preliminary sign to be cognizant of, not only Total lunar eclipses in general, but lunar eclipses in sets of 4 particularly.

With these heavenly signs from 7-1 BC marking the specifics of the Birth of Christ, we should not be surprised to see similar celestial events marking the much awaited and prophesied return of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is in fact what we are seeing in light of ther dual significance of Revelation 12:1-2. The biblical truths of this scripture tell not only of Christ’s birth, but also his second coming, established by similar heavenly signs marking both events. As we are witnessing during the time of writing this study, the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, we are on a sharp watch for any heavenly signs that resemble those around his birth, and the signs from the Hand of the Almighty pointed out in the chart above, give us the basis of this search. This in truth serves as a divine check and balance system in Biblical Astronomy, because as we see the blueprints of heavenly signs that told of the first coming of Christ, we will see a racpitualtion of heavenly signs marking his triumphant return.

As far as the next Blood Moon Lunar eclipse is concerned on the Feast of Tabernacles–October 8th 2014, like the full moons of previous months leading to the Sukkot Blood Moon, known as a Super Moons, due to their position and distance to the earth, they are closer than normally seen. This 2nd Blood Moon in the 2014-2015 Tetrad is characterized by a series Super moons in the previous months capped of by a Sukkot Blood Moon. This is important because as the Blood Moon Tetrad series continues into 2015, the Super Moon will return again, only this time as part of the 4th Blood Moon of the series. Also, this month’s Blood Moon takes place in the constellation Pisces, which is noteworthy, because historically the sign of the fishes symbolized the land of Israel. The fact that the heavenly signs from 7-5 BC almost all occur in Pisces, is interesting because for the Magi, the constellation Pisces symbolizes the House of Jacob, and as they followed the King’s Star Jupiter, it explains why the Magi came to Jerusalem looking for the King of Israel. Pisces is also critical due to the Precession of the Equinoxes, which shifted from the Age of Aries to the Age of Pisces in 7-6BC, marked by the triple union of Jupiter and Saturn during that time.

We trust this article provides some added perspective on the Blood Moon Tetrad, historically and Biblically so we can decipher the signs the heavenly Father laid out in the skies, in His perfect Foreknowledge.