On Friday, July 27, the full moon will pass through the shadow of the Earth. According to Vox.com, the blood moon will last for 103 minutes, the longest “blood moon” lunar eclipse of the century, lasting 26 minutes longer than the last total lunar eclipse, in January. Although most of the world will be able to see the blood moon, most of North America will not.
The eclipse will best be seen the Middle East, southern Asia, Africa, and the Indian Ocean.
Space.com reports the moon will remain in the earth’s shadow for nearly 4 hours total. The event known as a Blood Moon occurs when the moon moves completely into the deepest part of Earth’s shadow, known as the umbra. The moon turns red instead of going black. The red color comes from some of the sunlight going through Earth’s atmosphere. The sunlight bends and falls onto the moon’s surface. (Earth’s air also scatters shorter-wavelength light — think of colors such as blue or green — which leaves behind red at the longer-wavelength end of the spectrum.)
The upcoming blood moon is not only of interest to astronomers and star-gazers, however. It has also drawn the attention of end times speculators and pastors.
Christian John Hagee and Mark Blitz explained that this blood moon is part of a series of unique astronomical events which signal what the Bible predicts in Acts 2:20 and Revelation 6:12.
According to Mirror UK, Hagee and Blitz particularly point to what they call the “tetrad”–four consecutive lunar eclipses which began in April 2014 with six full moons in between.
Whether you believe an event like a blood moon has prophetic significance, or is simply part of the way God created the heavenly bodies, it is most certainly an opportunity to marvel at the wonder of Creation.
Publication Date: July 27
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