Evangelical Lunatics: "Blood Moon" Madness

"Thus says the Lord:
'Learn not the way of the  nations,
Nor be dismayed by the signs of  the heavens
Because the nations are  dismayed at them,
for the customs of the peoples  are vanity.'"
- Jeremiah 10:2-3

It seems less than a coincidence that I watched the lunar eclipse this morning, and then the verses above, Jeremiah 10:2-3, came up in my daily Bible reading. This eclipse was the second (the first was April 14-15) in a rare tetrad of eclipses, i. e., successive total eclipses, with no intervening partial eclipses. The other two will be in 2015.

These eclipses have been designated "blood moons" by John Hagee, due to the redness associated with the appearance of the moon during a full eclipse (the refraction of sunlight through the earth's atmosphere appears red, the same phenomenon that causes the red light at sunrise and sunset), as a way to connect them to prophecies regarding Israel (according to his interpretation) that describe the moon appearing like blood (such as Joel 2:31). In other words, while all full eclipses appear red, Hagee has designated these eclipses as "blood moons" purely on the basis of his whim. The fact that it also sells his book is completely coincidental.

Hagee claims that past "blood moons" were signs of significant events in modern-day Israel. for example, he mentions the independence of Israel in 1948. Perhaps it was a mistake to be so specific, because those "blood moons" took place in 1949-50, not 1948. Furthermore, of the current "blood moons," three of the four - including the one this morning - won't even be visible in Israel. How can they be signs to Israel, if they aren't visible in Israel?

The problem is that the whole thing is an invention of the fevered imagination of John Hagee. Yet it has a segment of the evangelical community whipped up in fear. Or, as Jeremiah says, in superstition.

The Bible certainly does mention astronomical signs for eschatological events. I happen not to think they're intended to be taken literally. However, whether they are figurative or literal, to look to the heavens as predictors of coming events is the mentality of the pagan, not the Christian. I am sure that both Hagee and his Hagettes would loudly, and properly, decry the use of astrology by Christians, yet they have done that exactly, simply changing the terminology! It is this pagan worldview, baptized though it be, that is judged by God in the words of Jeremiah above.

No matter what name a person puts on it, to adopt a pagan worldview is to be a pagan, and thus to be under the judgment of God.

And for John Hagee, to lead people into superstition brings an extra judgment, as Jeremiah also says. He adds (Jer. 10:21), "For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered." The stupidity of Hagee is already plain to see; I hope that his deceived flock will scatter, as soon as the falsity of his prophecies is revealed.