Can the cosmic signs of the Sixth Seal be described by solar and lunar eclipses in 2014 or 2015?

Email Received:

Mark Biltz has shown how the solar and lunar eclipses in 2014 and 2015 may explain the cosmic signs of the Sixth Seal in Revelation. Do you think that these signs can be explained by eclipses?

Ted's Response:

In 2008, Mark Biltz was on various shows, talking about the eclipses in 2014 and 2015, all of which will take place on significant dates of the Hebrew calendar. Parts 1, 2, and 3 of his "Prophecy in the News" interview are here, should you have an interest in watching/hearing them:

He presented some interesting information and points. His implication was that since the Fall of 2014 through the Fall of 2015 will be a "sabbatical year," then 2015 could be the year in which Jesus will return. Although I do not believe he used the word "rapture" in his interviews, I think that his indirect implication was that there could be a rapture in the Fall of 2008, and then the final seven years would commence. Of course, in 2008, there was no rapture event, nor was there any type of seven-year agreement, involving Israel, that could have fulfilled Daniel 9:27, thus commencing the 70th Week.

On this page at Biltz's website, he says that he never mentioned the word "rapture":

However, on that page, written earlier in 2008, he did imply that the "tribulation" could start on the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh haShanah) in the Fall of 2008. Of course, the one glaring fact that would seem to negate this was the absence of a seven-year agreement, involving Israel, at that time. It simply did not happen.

Mark Biltz makes this statement early-on in the first video: "The Bible talks about how the moon will turn to blood and the sun will turn to sackcloth before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And I thought, 'Well the plain meaning of the text would indicate a total solar eclipse and a total lunar eclipse.'" That is a foundation upon which he then constructs his hypothesis that one or more of the eclipses of 2014 and 2015 might be what accounts for the change of the sun and moon's appearance in Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:24, and Revelation 6:12.

But what if the "cosmic disturbances" of the Sixth Seal are caused supernaturally, rather than naturally? For instance, what would account for the stars appearing to fall from the sky? We certainly do not observe this in a typical lunar or solar eclipse.

I've always assumed that the sun turning dark and the moon turning blood red would occur at the same time. Obviously, a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse cannot take place at the same time. Here is a table showing the timing of lunar and solar eclipses in 2014 and 2015:

 Total Lunar Eclipse   Apr. 15, 2014   Passover 
 Total Lunar Eclipse   Oct. 8, 2014   Feast of Tabernacles 
 Total Solar Eclipse   Mar. 20, 2015   Rosh Chodesh Nisan 
 Total Lunar Eclipse   Apr. 4, 2015   Passover 
 Partial Solar Eclipse   Sep. 13, 2015   Feast of Trumpets 
 Total Lunar Eclipse   Sep. 28, 2015   Feast of Tabernacles 

The minimum amount of time that can possibly occur between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse is two weeks, but it is rare for one type of eclipse to follow the other by such a short amount of time. It can be seen, in the table above, that the total lunar eclipse of September 28, 2015, follows the partial solar eclipse of September 13, 2015, by fifteen days. That is about the closest together that a solar and lunar eclipse can be to each other. And that particular solar eclipse, which is only partial, certainly does not sound like what would be seen if the sun turns "black like sackcloth," besides the fact that the moon will not be turning red at exactly the same time (Revelation 6:12).

I believe that the events of Revelation 6:12,13 will have a supernatural cause, not a natural cause. After all, the very first thing that happens is a gigantic earthquake, evidently moving all the mountains and islands on the earth (6:14b), which certainly will have nothing to do with solar or lunar eclipses at all.

I associate the severity of all of the Sixth Seal events with the appearance of Jesus in the sky, visible by all, which arguably will be the greatest supernatural event in the history of mankind. The notion of automatically tying the cosmic disturbances to eclipses, as many people have done, always seemed very simplistic and naïve to me. Many people need to have natural explanations for everything.

For instance, many believe that a nuclear holocaust will be responsible for what happens in Zechariah 14:12,15. There very well may be nuclear detonations during the second half of the 70th Week. However, I do not believe that the plague described by Zechariah necessarily must be explained by nuclear contamination. The cause of the plague certainly could be supernatural.

Likewise, many times I have heard the supposition that the darkness that took place from the sixth hour to the ninth hour, while Jesus was on the cross (Luke 23:44,45), was due to a solar eclipse. The passage indicates that the sun was darkened and stopped shining. Of course, a solar eclipse was impossible, since there is a full moon on Passover; yet a solar eclipse can occur only with a new moon. Thus, it always seemed apparent to me that the darkening sun was due to a supernatural cause, rather than a natural cause, just as I feel most likely will be the case with the cosmic disturbances of the Sixth Seal.

Furthermore, none of this even addresses the fact that the events of the Sixth Seal will not occur at the very end of the final seven years (the 70th Week). There yet will remain the events, encompassing God's day of vengeance and wrath, to take place after the opening of the Seventh Seal; and Jesus will not return physically to earth until the blowing of the Seventh Trumpet. More details about this can be found in another email response: Are the Sixth Seal events at the very end of the 70th Week?

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