The Blood Moons: Grasping at False Hope
By Nathan Jones
Why do people grasp at sensationalist prophecies like the Blood Moons?
Ever since 2008 when a pastor from Tacoma, Washington by the name of Mark Biltz announced that he had discovered an astronomical phenomenon that might point to the date of the Lord's return, there has been much hoopla over what he calls the Blood Moon phenomenon. The resulting Blood Moon mania has simply swept Christendom over the past few years, causing some to conclude that a significant prophetic event will befall the world in September 2015.
Dr. David Reagan and I will discuss this theory and answer the question above on our latest Christ in Prophecy television episode. Watch below or click an icon above for a mp3 and transcript.
Grasping at Hope
Nathan Jones: I once asked a relative who was very much into this Blood Moon mania at the time for she thought something big was going to happen. I asked, "Why are you into this Blood Moon theory? There's nothing biblical about it. This Blood Moon Tetrad is not in the Bible and cannot show when Jesus will come. She answered, "I'm just so tired of waiting for the Rapture. I just want hope. I want something there that will help me believe that Jesus Christ is coming soon."
How true! People are tired of waiting for the Rapture, and so they are grasping at straws wherever they can. The problem is, as soon as these events such as Y2K and Hale-Bopp and all come and go, people give up on believing in the soon return of Jesus Christ. They get tired of waiting for Jesus to return.
Dr. Reagan: Yes, they get disillusioned.
Nathan Jones: Then they wipe out all 31% of the Bible being Bible prophecy. They wipe it all away and say, "Forget it!" We are seeing that disappointment growing in the churches, for many churches are no longer interested in Bible prophecy anymore. They are giving up, too. Giving up on Jesus is a dangerous, dangerous thing to one's faith.
Dr. Reagan: I would just emphasize that if you really understand what God has promised for the future, you get excited. Bible prophecy is a sensation. In fact, the hardest part about prophecy is to believe some of the things that God has promised for the future. Henry Morris once said about the book of Revelation that it's not hard to understand, it's just hard to believe. If you believe what it says, let me tell you, you'll get excited.
God has promised that one day very soon His Son is going to appear in the Heavens. The Rapture of the Church is going to occur; we're going to be taken out of here. We are going to be given glorified bodies. I won't have any arthritis anymore and none of the problems I have right now. We are going to be given immortal bodies. We are going to be living with the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven until He returns to this earth. We are coming back with Him. We are going to see Him crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Nathan Jones: Amen! You've gotten me excited.
Dr. Reagan: We are going to see Jesus reign over this earth and bring peace, righteousness and justice to this earth. We're going to be there when Jesus defeats Satan completely and totally. We are going to be taken up and put in that New Jerusalem that Jesus is preparing right now. We are going to see the greatest fireworks display in all of history as this earth is heated up, and the New Earth and new heavens are prepared for us. We are going to come down and live on that New Earth forever in the presence of Almighty God and Jesus in our glorified bodies.
What do we need sensationalism for? The Lord has promised us the most sensational future you can possible imagine.
Nathan Jones: It is all very exciting!
Return to the Source
Dr. Reagan: Nathan, what is your advice for people as they seek to understand God prophetic Word?
Nathan Jones: I would say to people that they can trust the Bible. Go to the Bible for your Bible prophecy. Read that. Don't go outside the Bible and seek out extra-biblical prophecies. Don't get all excited about Nostradamus and Y2K and all this nonsensical stuff. Stick to the Bible. Stick to a literal interpretation of the Bible. You'll get excited about it, I promise. A third of the Bible is Bible prophecy, so there's a lot there to get excited about.
Dr. Reagan: I grew up in an Amillennial church that taught us that the Lord was never going to put His foot on this earth again. He just wasn't going to do it. He wasn't going to come back and reign over the earth. They argued we were in the Millennium right now. That is the majority viewpoint in Christendom today, that we are in the Millennium now. I'll tell you what, if we are in the Millennium now, the Lord is doing a very poor job of reigning over this earth, because every nation on planet earth is in rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ this very moment. No, we're not in the Millennium now.
What God promises about the Millennium is for real. During Christ's reign the wolf will lie down with the lamb. The lion will eat straw with the ox. The earth will be flooded with peace, righteousness and justice as the waters cover the sea. These are the promises of God, and they are going to take place in a literal, earthly kingdom. If you can believe that, let me tell you, you can get excited.
I have so many preachers who say, "I just don't pay any attention to Bible prophecy because it is all pie in the sky. It all has to do with the future and nothing to do with the present." But, if you can ever convince people in a Church that 1) Jesus is really coming back and, 2) that it's an event that can occur any moment, their lives will be transformed. The reason is because they will be committed from that point on to evangelism and to holiness. They'll be lining their lives up with the Word of God and getting serious about the Lord's return.
Nathan Jones: And that's our blessed hope.
Dr. Reagan: That is indeed our blessed hope.
Nathan Jones: Our hope is not Y2K or even, Blood Moons. No, our hope is in Jesus Christ.
Dr. Reagan: We should not put our hope in all these sensational prophecies that people get so excited about, but that really are not in the Word of God. They are not based on the Word of God.
I urge people to get into the Word. Stay in the Word! Learn what the Word promises, and that's all the "sensationalism" you will ever need.
And all His people said AMEN!
By Nathan Jones
Why do people grasp at sensationalist prophecies like the Blood Moons?
Ever since 2008 when a pastor from Tacoma, Washington by the name of Mark Biltz announced that he had discovered an astronomical phenomenon that might point to the date of the Lord's return, there has been much hoopla over what he calls the Blood Moon phenomenon. The resulting Blood Moon mania has simply swept Christendom over the past few years, causing some to conclude that a significant prophetic event will befall the world in September 2015.
Dr. David Reagan and I will discuss this theory and answer the question above on our latest Christ in Prophecy television episode. Watch below or click an icon above for a mp3 and transcript.
Grasping at Hope
Nathan Jones: I once asked a relative who was very much into this Blood Moon mania at the time for she thought something big was going to happen. I asked, "Why are you into this Blood Moon theory? There's nothing biblical about it. This Blood Moon Tetrad is not in the Bible and cannot show when Jesus will come. She answered, "I'm just so tired of waiting for the Rapture. I just want hope. I want something there that will help me believe that Jesus Christ is coming soon."
How true! People are tired of waiting for the Rapture, and so they are grasping at straws wherever they can. The problem is, as soon as these events such as Y2K and Hale-Bopp and all come and go, people give up on believing in the soon return of Jesus Christ. They get tired of waiting for Jesus to return.
Dr. Reagan: Yes, they get disillusioned.
Nathan Jones: Then they wipe out all 31% of the Bible being Bible prophecy. They wipe it all away and say, "Forget it!" We are seeing that disappointment growing in the churches, for many churches are no longer interested in Bible prophecy anymore. They are giving up, too. Giving up on Jesus is a dangerous, dangerous thing to one's faith.
Dr. Reagan: I would just emphasize that if you really understand what God has promised for the future, you get excited. Bible prophecy is a sensation. In fact, the hardest part about prophecy is to believe some of the things that God has promised for the future. Henry Morris once said about the book of Revelation that it's not hard to understand, it's just hard to believe. If you believe what it says, let me tell you, you'll get excited.
God has promised that one day very soon His Son is going to appear in the Heavens. The Rapture of the Church is going to occur; we're going to be taken out of here. We are going to be given glorified bodies. I won't have any arthritis anymore and none of the problems I have right now. We are going to be given immortal bodies. We are going to be living with the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven until He returns to this earth. We are coming back with Him. We are going to see Him crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Nathan Jones: Amen! You've gotten me excited.
Dr. Reagan: We are going to see Jesus reign over this earth and bring peace, righteousness and justice to this earth. We're going to be there when Jesus defeats Satan completely and totally. We are going to be taken up and put in that New Jerusalem that Jesus is preparing right now. We are going to see the greatest fireworks display in all of history as this earth is heated up, and the New Earth and new heavens are prepared for us. We are going to come down and live on that New Earth forever in the presence of Almighty God and Jesus in our glorified bodies.
What do we need sensationalism for? The Lord has promised us the most sensational future you can possible imagine.
Nathan Jones: It is all very exciting!
Return to the Source
Dr. Reagan: Nathan, what is your advice for people as they seek to understand God prophetic Word?
Nathan Jones: I would say to people that they can trust the Bible. Go to the Bible for your Bible prophecy. Read that. Don't go outside the Bible and seek out extra-biblical prophecies. Don't get all excited about Nostradamus and Y2K and all this nonsensical stuff. Stick to the Bible. Stick to a literal interpretation of the Bible. You'll get excited about it, I promise. A third of the Bible is Bible prophecy, so there's a lot there to get excited about.
Dr. Reagan: I grew up in an Amillennial church that taught us that the Lord was never going to put His foot on this earth again. He just wasn't going to do it. He wasn't going to come back and reign over the earth. They argued we were in the Millennium right now. That is the majority viewpoint in Christendom today, that we are in the Millennium now. I'll tell you what, if we are in the Millennium now, the Lord is doing a very poor job of reigning over this earth, because every nation on planet earth is in rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ this very moment. No, we're not in the Millennium now.
What God promises about the Millennium is for real. During Christ's reign the wolf will lie down with the lamb. The lion will eat straw with the ox. The earth will be flooded with peace, righteousness and justice as the waters cover the sea. These are the promises of God, and they are going to take place in a literal, earthly kingdom. If you can believe that, let me tell you, you can get excited.
I have so many preachers who say, "I just don't pay any attention to Bible prophecy because it is all pie in the sky. It all has to do with the future and nothing to do with the present." But, if you can ever convince people in a Church that 1) Jesus is really coming back and, 2) that it's an event that can occur any moment, their lives will be transformed. The reason is because they will be committed from that point on to evangelism and to holiness. They'll be lining their lives up with the Word of God and getting serious about the Lord's return.
Nathan Jones: And that's our blessed hope.
Dr. Reagan: That is indeed our blessed hope.
Nathan Jones: Our hope is not Y2K or even, Blood Moons. No, our hope is in Jesus Christ.
Dr. Reagan: We should not put our hope in all these sensational prophecies that people get so excited about, but that really are not in the Word of God. They are not based on the Word of God.
I urge people to get into the Word. Stay in the Word! Learn what the Word promises, and that's all the "sensationalism" you will ever need.
And all His people said AMEN!
