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"Watch out, so that no one will take you captive by means of philosophy and empty deceit, following human tradition which accords with the elemental spirits of the world but does not accord with the Messiah. " Colossians 2:8
Blood Moons - the Aftermath

by haRold Smith
a citizen of the Commonwealth
(Ephesians 2:12)
Why all the concern over these eclipses? Some people see an apocalyptic sign in these four eclipses (they call them a lunar tetrad), occurring as they do at the time of Passover and Sukkot in 2014 and 2015. What is a tetrad? It’s four successive total lunar eclipses, with no partial lunar eclipses in between, each of which is separated from the other by six lunar months (six full moons). The first Blood Moon eclipse in the ongoing series of four happened on the night of April 14-15, 2014. The second one took place was October 7-8, 2014, and the third one (the shortest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century) was April 4, 2015. The fourth and final total lunar eclipse of the ongoing lunar tetrad (four total lunar eclipses in a row, spaced at six full moons apart) fell on the night of September 27-28, 2015.

What is most interesting to note concerning the "Blood Moon" phenomena with its surrounding prophecies is that phrase never appears in scripture! In fact, it does not even appear in astronomical jargon nor does it appear in any historical reference until Mark Biltz originated discussion of this topic in 2008. Biltz coined the term “blood moon” to refer to total lunar eclipses. To say that he coined that term is because there is not any reference to lunar eclipses being called blood moons prior to Biltz's use just a few years ago. Biltz has called lunar eclipses “blood moons” as if this had been a common practice for a long time. Unfortunately, with all the media attention to this, this use of the term blood moon may have now slipped into common usage. Biltz started using this term because red is the most common color of a totally eclipsed moon, and blood also is red. Despite the fact that not all lunar eclipses appear red, Biltz teaches that a lunar eclipse likely was what the prophet Joel had in mind when he spoke of the moon being turned to blood before the great and terrible Day of YHVH (Joel 2:31). The "Blood Moon" theorem, associated with the coming of the Messiah and subsequent earthly destruction, was then popularized by John Hagee's 2013 book, Four Blood Moons: Something is About to Change, who borrowed heavily from Biltz. So, then, what are we to make of these prophecies?

"...when a prophet speaks in the name of YHVH, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that YHVH has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him." Deuteronomy 18:22

Prior to this last lunar eclipse, the Father told me to wait until after everything was over to post this article so as to judge the prophecies being flung around concerning blood moons, the coming of the Messiah and the end of the world. For weeks, my in-box had been flooded from those who said they were speaking for "God". These were panic-stricken prophecies, calls to all night prayer, fasting vigils and urgent repentance over all the iniquity that has been committed by America - instilling dread and fear. We were told that, if those things were done with earnestness, if we would "hold on to the end" in our belief, the unrighteous would be vanquished and "God" would prevail. So - what happened? Nothing. Since the last lunar eclipse - nothing has happened. Did YHVH make a mistake? Did we as a people fail the test and need a spanking? Did the enemy overwhelm YHVH's Kingdom (click on highlighted words to view content)? No. What happened was that there were a lot of people who thought more highly of themselves than they should have by proclaiming themselves to be speaking for YHVH, without really knowing His Nature, things that He never said. How can I say that? Because scripture tells us to judge prophecy (1Corinthians 14:29). "Visions", "dreams" and "phenomena" all fall into that same category as well. Scripture gives us the test to determine the validity of whether the Father is actually in something - or not.

...the apocalypse??!?

The primary test of prophecy, as indicated in the verse from Deuteronomy 18:22 above is - does it come to pass (Jeremiah 28:9). The seriousness with which the Father places on such speaking is still measured with considerable weight, not something to be taken lightly. If it does not come to pass, simply put - it is not YHVH. In the original Book, those prophets were given one opportunity to be wrong. If it didn't come to pass, they were stoned to death by others - those of YHVH's family. The last article illuminated how that, just as it is impossible for light and darkness to occupy the same space at the same time, so it is with life and death - you are either one or the other, there is no middle ground. YHVH is the Source of Life. If we are not abiding in His Presence of Life, we are abiding in death. Death is anything apart from Life. Those disseminating death should be held accountable as abiding in darkness by those of YHVH's family.

When the Father asked me to clear my table for Him (see Arrows of Famine), He promised me that if there was anything of Truth I might be casting away - He would be faithful to put it back on the table. Test the spirits, He told me - listen to everyone, but question everything. Dreams, visions, prophecy, as well as phenomena should all bear the brunt of scrutiny. But, how is that accomplished without becoming cynical? We judge it. We judge it by whether it comes to pass - or not. All of the prophecy put out by those concerning the blood moons was - false. They are to be considered as false prophets and, frankly, not to be trusted with their handling of anything. They are disseminating death. There has been a spirit of deception like none other before loosed upon this earth to try to give a worldly explanation about what is written in scripture. If we are not careful, even the very elect would be deceived (Matthew 24:24). You have been given the tools to judge for yourself where these things come from - but judge wisely.

Those who promote the blood moon thesis frequently quote from Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:15-21 - but, what they fail to include is the whole of the passage that says the sun will also be darkened and that there will be signs in the earth of "blood, fire and vapor of smoke". The latter passage from Acts has Peter pointing out the fulfillment of Joel when he quotes things like the outpouring of the Spirit and being saved by calling on the Name of YHVH at Shavu'ot (Pentecost). Since Peter here quoted directly from Joel 2, as far as Peter was concerned - on that day, he considered all of that passage to have been fulfilled. The foretelling of this event is also found in Amos 8:9 where it says: "And it shall come to pass in that day, says YHVH, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day." The actual Hebrew rendering is "I bring the sun in the noons and I darken to land in day of light". There is really no suggestion in any of these accounts that the sun actually set at noon, but the darkness does apply.

We know that something immense happened on that day because of references of the event by others. About 52 CE the Samaritan historian, Thallus, wrote his Histories (Habermas, Gary. The Historical Jesus, pp. 196-7, College Press Publishing Company, 1996). Though no copies survive, we do have quotes of it from others. Thus Julius Africanus, a renowned third century historian writing about 220 CE, refers to the Histories and says: "Thallus, in the third book of his Histories, explains away this darkness as an eclipse of the sun - unreasonably, ...of course, because a solar eclipse could not take place at the time of the full moon, and it was the season of the Paschal full moon that Christ died." Apparently, Thallus attempted to ascribe a naturalistic explanation to the darkness during the crucifixion. Africanus rightly argues that a solar eclipse could not have occurred during the lunar cycle of the Passover, as this diagram shows. He also questions the link between an eclipse, an earthquake, and the miraculous events recorded in Matthew's Gospel. Eclipses do not set off earthquakes and bodily resurrections. We also know that For Africanus, naturalistic explanations for the darkness at the crucifixion were grossly insufficient.

...moon eclipse 9-28-15

Phlegon was a Greek historian who wrote an extensive chronology around 137 CE and in it he says: "In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (i.e., 33 CE) there was 'the greatest eclipse of the sun' and that 'it became night in the sixth hour of the day [i.e., noon] so that stars even appeared in the heavens. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea'." (Maier, Paul. Pontius Pilate [Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1968], p. 366). Phlegon's citation is a fragment from Olympiades he Chronika 13, ed. Otto Keller, Rerum Naturalium Scriptores Graeci Minores, 1 [Leipzig Teurber, 1877], p. 101. Phlegon provides powerful confirmation of the Gospel accounts. He identifies the year and the exact time of day. In addition, he writes of an earthquake accompanying the darkness, which is specifically recorded in Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 27:51). However, like Thallus, he fallaciously attempts to interpret the darkness as a direct effect of a solar eclipse. A solar eclipse could NOT have caused darkness at the crucifixion because they can’t occur during a full moon and a full moon was the occurrence of the Pesach (Passover) at which Yeshua was crucified. We can be certain of what the Bible says about the three hours of darkness which occurred during the crucifixion. It started at noon and ended at 3:00 in the afternoon. Eclipses only last for several minutes - not three hours.

We have just survived a number of dire forecasts and predictions; Shemitah, Blood Moons and enough internet chatter and reposts to turn anyone’s hair white with worry. The Bible is not a book of formulas or mathematical codes that lead to treasure troves, the Ark of the Covenant or the true path of the Exodus. It is guide to living a righteous life and being a part of the Kingdom of YHVH. But if you believe in YHVH’s Words and read them as they were transmitted to the narrators in the scriptures, you will be calm and much wiser. Do I really need to point out once more that those who made the blood moon predictions are, according to the Torah, false prophets. When do you think we will finally get over our insatiable need to know the future? No one does, not even Yeshua.

Lastly, there is yet another book being popularly circulated as coming from the Father because it uses scripture to predict the future of America - the Harbinger. Folks, this is a self-proclaimed novel, a work of fiction. Am I the only one to see the ambiguity here? Simply being in print does not make it Truth. The idea of hell being a place of eternal punishment only became most prominent when Dante's Inferno was written in 1314, depicting an allegorical journey through hell - but, this book is also a work of fiction written to support the Catholic theology. One simply has to look at how embedded that thought has become in the "wisdom" of today's current culture to realize the effect false words have on people. Respectfully, you can believe what you want but, I promise you, there is no comparison between Jonathan Cahn's words and Yeshua's parables. And Yeshua never attempted to capitalize on His revelations.

"I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering." Isaiah 50:3

???Questions???
Please feel free to email me at harold@hethathasanear.com. While not claiming to have all the answers, it would be an honor to partake with you of what the Spirit is uncovering.