What is the blood moon prophecy and when did the first lunar eclipse in the tetrad happen?Phoebe CookeTechnology and Science – latest news | The Sun

THE blood moon is a rare splash of red in the night sky that gets stargazers excited.

But according to some bonkers conspiracy theorists, four of them in a row is a sign of disastrous times ahead.

The blood moon prophecy suggests that a blood moon in specific circumstances could be a sign of the end of timesGetty – Contributor

What is the blood moon prophecy?

The blood moon prophecy is a set of apocalyptic beliefs surrounding a tetrad, a series of four consecutive total lunar eclipses.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth lie in a straight line, casting a shadow on the moon in the sky.

During some of these eclipses, the moon briefly turns a reddish hue due to a trick of the light, earning the eclipse the nickname “blood moon”.

Some conspiracy theorists that a series of four total lunar eclipses in a row is a sign of troubled times ahead.

Called a tetrad, such a series is a fairly rare event. The last ones occurred in 2015, 2004 and 2003.

The blood moon prophecy was promoted by Christian ministers John Hagee and Mark Biltz but has been dismissed as nonsense by experts.

Disasters around the world including earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions happen regularly enough that it is inevitable that one will occur in the same year as a tetrad.

A blood moon seen at Glastonbury Tor in September 2015Getty Images – Getty

What are the end times theories?

The prophecy related to the beginning of end times as describe in the Bible in the Book of Joel, Acts 2:20 and Revelation 6:12.

The idea of a “blood moon” serving as an omen of the coming of the end times comes from the Book of Joel, where it is written “the sun will turn into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.”

This phrase is again mentioned by Saint Peter during Pentecost, as recorded in Acts, although Peter says that the date of Pentecost, not some future date, was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.

The blood moon also appears in the Book of Revelation chapter 6 verses 11 – 13, where verse 12 says: “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”.

In 2008, Mark Biltz began predicting that the second coming of Jesus would occur in the fall of 2015, saying he had discovered an astronomical pattern that predicted the next tetrad would coincide with the end times.

Hagee seized on the prediction to write Four Blood Moons, which became a best seller.

Unlike Biltz, he did not proclaim that a specific end times event would occur, but claimed that every prior tetrad of the last 500 years coincided with tragic events that were followed by triumph.

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Technology and Science – latest news | The Sun