Heavenly Signs or Natural Phenomenon: Part II :: By Randy Nettles
Many people thought the purported Revelation 12 “sign” or constellation that aligned on September 23, 2017, was a heavenly sign for the Rapture. I don’t know why they would think this, as the Church is never mentioned, even in an allegoric way, in Revelation 12. Only the Woman (Israel), the Child (Jesus), and the Dragon (Satan/Antichrist) are in view in this chapter. Jesus was a descendant of Mary, who was Jewish. Jesus is the “male child” of verse 5a, who will one day rule with a “rod of iron.”
The only possible connection to the Church is Jesus’ ascension into heaven, in verse 5b, where the Greek word “harpazo” is used. (Strong’s G726 – harpazo: to seize, snatch, caught up). However, the bride of Christ (and her future harpazo/rapture) is never mentioned in Revelation 12, only Jesus’ ascension. The bride of Christ is not the “male child” mentioned and is not a descendant of Mary/Israel.
If there is to be a “Revelation 12 sign” in the sky, it will be a sign for the Jews, probably on or before the beginning of the 3.5 years of the Great Tribulation, as that is what verses 6-17 are referring to. Also, if there is to be a great wonder in heaven (a constellation) of Virgo and the Sun and Moon and a crown of 12 stars in Leo, then there must also be a great wonder in heaven (a constellation) for the great red dragon that is mentioned in verses 3 and 4. Here is a good website that casts doubts on the actual constellation in the sky on September 23, 2017, (and also 2023) being the Revelation 12:1-2 sign: Biblical signs in the sky on September 23, 2017? | Astronomy Essentials | EarthSky
Robert Breaker of YouTube fame (The Revelation 12 Sign Reborn: Don’t Look Up! – YouTube) now believes the September 23, 201, alignment was not the Rev. 12 sign but was possibly a heavenly sign of a historical event that occurred some 74 days later. On December 6, 2017, Donald Trump and the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel and made plans to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Breaker also believes this same sort of constellation (slightly different) will occur again and could be the real Rev. 12 sign. It will align again or be “reborn” six years later (from September 23, 2017) in September of 2023. He believes this will be the sign that precedes either the Rapture or something of great import to the Jews, such as the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. It’s strange to me that this “sign” in 2017 was a “once-in-a-lifetime event,” but now it is to realign in 2023, only six years later. Instead of the planet Jupiter in Virgo, now it will be a comet by the name of Child. I guess you could call me a skeptic.
LUNAR ECLIPSES SIGNIFYING THE END OF THE AGE?
2015 appeared to be a possible prophetic year for Israel and the world. It was the second year of a tetrad (four consecutive total lunar eclipses), with both years aligning with the Feasts of Passover (Nisan 15) and Tabernacles (Tishri 15). There were also many significant and historical events occurring in that year. Several eschatological writers wrote articles concerning these events and astronomical signs. Daymond Duck wrote The Last Generation :: by Daymond Duck – Rapture Ready on September 28, 2015. Jan Markell wrote Blood Moons: Harbingers or Hype? :: by Jan Markell – Rapture Ready on August 7, 2015, and yours truly wrote The Fall of 2015 :: by Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready on July 2, 2015.
Regarding the tetrads, here is part of what I wrote eight years ago, “The last two lunar eclipse tetrads occurring on these feast days of the Lord were in 1949/1950 and 1967/1968. These two tetrad cycles had three common denominators regarding the Jewish state: 1) War for Israel. 2) Israel acquired more land by defeating her enemies. 3) Mass immigration of Jews to the homeland.”
There was a total lunar eclipse that was visible from Israel on September 28, 2015, on Tabernacles, just three days after the U.N.’s fifteen-year plan for the Agenda for Sustainable Development. This lunar eclipse is part of Saros cycle #137. The next lunar eclipse of Saros cycle 137 is on October 8, 2033, which is also on Tabernacles. This one will not be visible from Israel. Both of these eclipses will have occurred during Tabernacles in the second year of tetrads. These are the only two eclipses out of 78 total eclipses of Saros cycle 137 that are part of a tetrad.
There is something significant about the number 137 for this lunar Saros cycle. It’s almost like God is trying to tell us something. As I have written about before in 137: Number of God in Scripture and Science :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready, 137 is the number for God. However, I am willing to admit that 137 being the Saros cycle number for the lunar eclipse in 2033 (the fourth one in a tetrad) on Tabernacles could be a coincidence.
SOLAR ECLIPSES SIGNIFYING THE END OF THE AGE?
There was a total solar eclipse (only partial in Israel, Europe, North Africa, etc.) that occurred on March 20, 2015 (on Nisan 1). Remember solar eclipses are supposedly signs for the Gentiles. About three months past the solar eclipse of 2015, on June 26, 2015, same-sex marriage was made legal throughout the United States by the U.S. Supreme Court. On September 3, 2015, on Trumpets, there was a partial lunar eclipse. 22 days later, on September 25, 2015, the 193 countries that make up the United Nations agreed to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. About three months later, in December 2015, almost 200 nations consented to the Paris Climate Change Agreement, including the U.S.
Solar eclipses also occur in Saros cycles, which are numbered also (independent of lunar eclipses). The total solar eclipse of March 20, 2015 (Nisan 1) was part of the Saros cycle #120. The next total solar eclipse of Saros cycle 120 will occur on March 30, 2033. 120 is an interesting number for this Saros cycle as it looks portentous for the end of the age. Moses was 120 years old when he passed away. “And he said to them: I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, You shall not cross over this Jordan” (Deuteronomy 31:2).
LUNAR AND SOLAR ECLIPSES AND THEIR SAROS CYCLE NUMBERS
Saros solar eclipse cycle #137 began in 1389 AD and will end in 2633 for a duration of 1,244.08 years. There are 70 solar eclipses in this cycle. Let’s see how they compare to the lunar cycles of #137. As a matter of fact, let’s compare the tetrad lunar cycles of 2014-2015 (Saros cycles 122, 127, 132, and 137) with the solar cycles of 2000-2002, which have identical cycle numbers. We will also compare the tetrad lunar cycles of 2032-2033 (Same Saros cycles as 2014-2015) with the solar cycles of 2019-2020, which also have identical cycle numbers.
TETRAD LUNAR ECLIPSE LUNAR SAROS SOLAR ECLIPSE SOLAR SAROS
DATE CYCLE # DATE CYCLE #
April 15, 2014 – Passover 122 Dec. 25, 2000 122
Oct. 8, 2014 – Tabernacles 127 June 21, 2001 127
April 4, 2015 – Passover 132 Dec. 14, 2001 132
Sept. 28, 2015 – Tabernacles 137 June 10, 2002 137
April 25, 2032 – Iyyar 15 122 Jan. 6, 2019 122
Oct. 18, 2032 – Heshvan 15 127 July 2, 2019 127
April 14, 2033 – Passover 132 Dec. 26, 2019 132
Oct. 8, 2033 – Tabernacles 137 June 21, 2020 137
SOLAR ECLIPSES OF THE 21ST CENTURY
I would say 2001 and 2020 were two of the worst years in recent American history. One of the worst catastrophes for America was the 9-11-2001 attacks on America’s soil. Many would say the solar eclipse of June 21, 2001, might have been a “sign” that preceded this catastrophic event. It was a precursor of the end of the age and of Revelation 6:3-4 where the rider of the red horse will take peace from the earth and “that people should kill one another.”
Of course, 2019 was when the first human cases of Covid-19 were identified in Wuhan, China. WHO declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2000. Covid-19 raged throughout the world for several years, killing millions of people. Several vaccines were developed for COVID-19 by December 2020, which have proven ineffectual and probably even deadlier than the pandemic. Once again, there are those who would say the solar eclipse of Dec. 26, 2019, was a sign that preceded the pandemic. It was a precursor of Revelation 6:7-8, where the rider of the pale horse, Death, will kill a fourth of the earth.
In my article, The 30330 Man :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready, I talked about how , on July 31, 2019, at the end of the Democratic presidential debate, Joe Biden told the viewers to “go to Joe 30330” to support him, and I speculated on why he chose those numbers. Well, we found out in 2020. Some astute person calculated that 2020 divided by 666 (the number for the Antichrist) is 3.0330. I believe 30330 is the number or sign for the “spirit of the Antichrist” that is alive and well on planet Earth and is paving the way for the man of sin. Somehow, Joe Biden won the November 3, 2020, election for president of the U.S. and has shown us why that number was chosen for him.
“Joe Biden’s tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. On the first day of his presidency, Biden made an effort to revert President Trump’s energy policy by restoring U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement and revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. He also halted funding for Trump’s border wall, an expansion of the Mexican border wall. On his second day, he issued a series of executive orders to reduce the impact of COVID-19, including invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950, and set an early goal of achieving one hundred million COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States in his first 100 days.” {1}
Joe Biden and his administration, the Deep State, the super-wealthy progressive elites, and the Democratic party are deliberately destroying this country. There is no way to sustain the massive illegal immigration into this country caused by the Biden administration policies and the subsequent debt it will cause. It will destroy this country, sooner rather than later. Some would say the June 21, 2020, solar eclipse (Saros solar cycle 137) was a sign of impending doom that would destroy America, starting with Joe Biden’s reign as president of the United States. This appears to be the case.
SOLAR AND LUNAR ECLIPSES IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST AND THE SECOND COMING
Regarding solar and lunar eclipses throughout the 1st century BC and AD and the 21st century AD, I have found something unusual, although it could just be a huge coincidence. I’ll let you be the judge. While I was doing research on my article, A Proposed Chronology of the Life of Jesus Christ (rev310.net), I began looking up eclipses that occurred during the timeframe of Jesus’ life and a possible timeframe for His return.
My theory was that there should be four heavenly signs/eclipses (two solar and two lunar) that coincided with the “Moeds” of the Lord, in the year of Jesus’ birth, the year of his death, and the year of His return. These eclipses would appear in the “four corners” of the world, as these events were momentous for the Jews and the whole world. The lunar eclipses would be for the Jews, and the solar eclipses would be for the Gentiles. 4 is the biblical number for creation, in which the Word spoke the world and its inhabitants into existence.
The “Moeds” that these eclipses would appear on would include the new moon Feasts of Nisan 1 (not a Feast of the Lord but very important nevertheless) and Tishri 1 (Rosh Hashanah or Trumpets). The full moon Feasts would include Nisan 15 (the Jews’ Passover) and Tishri 15 (Sukkot or Tabernacles). At least one of these solar eclipses (Nisan 1 or Tishri 1) or lunar eclipses (Nisan 15 or Tishri 15) should be visible from Jerusalem, as these biblical events were occurring in the land of Israel but had an impact on the whole world.
JESUS’ BIRTH AND DEATH
I set the limits at 10 BC for Jesus’ birth and 40 AD for his death, adding many years to the possible timeframe of his birth and death according to historical and biblical sources. The only year within the acceptable timeframe that contained two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses (on the Feast Days mentioned) for Jesus’ birth was 5 BC. The next closest years for Jesus’ birth (with the necessary criteria) were 14 BC and 5 AD, which are too early and too late for Jesus’ birth. The dates for the eclipses in the 1st century BC and AD are Julian calendar dates.
JESUS’ BIRTH – 5 BC
Nisan 1 – March 8, 5 BC – Partial solar eclipse that was not visible from Israel
Nisan 15 – March 23, 5 BC – Total lunar eclipse that was visible from Israel
Tishri 1 – September 1, 5 BC – Partial solar eclipse that was not visible from Israel
Tishri 15 – September 15, 5 BC – Total lunar eclipse that was visible from Israel
See AstroPixels – Moon Phases: -0099 to 0000. (Note: 00 is I BC, -01 is 2 BC, etc.) and AstroPixels – Moon Phases: 0001 to 0100 for verification of these dates.
JESUS’ DEATH
Regarding the death of Jesus, there are three years that fit within the possible timeframe with the necessary criteria. They are 32 AD, 33 AD, and 34 AD. However, I think 32 AD and 34 AD are disqualified, as Passover (Nisan 14) was on a Sunday in 32 AD (April 13) and Monday in 34 AD (March 22), Julian calendar dates. The correct day for Jesus’ death (IMO) was Thursday. 33 AD is the only year, of these three years, with a Thursday crucifixion. Also, 34 AD had two lunar eclipses that were only Penumbral, which sometimes are hardly visible (not much of a sign). The next closest years for Jesus’ death, with the qualifying criteria, were 15 AD and 51 AD, which are way too early and way too late.
JESUS’ DEATH – 33 AD
Nisan 1 – March 19, 33 AD – Total solar eclipse that was not visible from Israel
Nisan 15 – April 3, 33 AD – Partial lunar eclipse that was visible from Israel
Tishri 1 – September 12, 33 AD – Annular solar eclipse that was visible from Israel
Tishri 15 – September 27, 33 AD – Partial lunar eclipse that was visible from Israel
See AstroPixels – Moon Phases: 0001 to 0100 for verification of these dates and years.
Note: The April 3, 33 AD partial lunar eclipse was one of the Saros cycle # 71 lunar eclipses. Two Saros cycle 71 eclipses before this one, was the March 13, 4 BC partial lunar eclipse that Josephus wrote about. He said there was a lunar eclipse that occurred shortly before King Herod’s death. If the 4 BC eclipse is Herod’s eclipse, then the 5 BC year looks good for the birth of Jesus. Both of these partial lunar eclipses would have been seen from Israel. See A Proposed Chronology of the Life of Jesus Christ (rev310.net)
JESUS’ RETURN TO THE EARTH
The soonest the Second Coming can occur is 2030 (about 3 months left) if you believe in a seven-year Tribulation that precedes it. However, it doesn’t have the necessary criteria. There are two acceptable years for the Second Coming that do have the qualifying criteria regarding four eclipses on Feast Days. They are 2033 and 2034. I will list both; however, I don’t like 2034, as it has a Penumbral lunar eclipse on Passover.
I prefer the year 2033 for Jesus’ Second Coming as it is the second year of a tetrad (2032-2033), and as I have mentioned earlier, it is part of Saros cycle #137. I also like it for various non-astronomical reasons that I have stated in earlier articles. This is not a prediction or date-setting for the Second Coming, just a theoretical scenario based on astronomical data.
Note: The nearest year beyond 2034 for the return of Jesus Christ, with the qualifying criteria, is 2062.
JESUS’ RETURN – 2033
Nisan 1 – March 30, 2033 – Total solar eclipse will not be visible from Israel
Nisan 15 – April 14, 2033 – Total lunar eclipse will be visible from Israel
Tishri 1 – September 23, 2033 – Partial solar eclipse will not be visible from Israel
Tishri 15 – October 8, 2023 – Total lunar eclipse will not be visible from Israel.
I believe Jesus will return on the Feast of Trumpets, as King of kings and Lord of lords. If the year is 2033, Trumpets will occur on September 23, which is the same date as the “Revelation 12” constellation in 2017. Coincidence? It could be, although the Feast of Trumpets will not occur on September 23 again until 2071.
JESUS’ RETURN – 2034
Nisan 1 – March 20, 2034 – Total solar eclipse. Partial seen from Israel
Nisan 15 – April 3, 2034 – Penumbral lunar eclipse seen from Israel
Tishri 1 – September 12, 2034 – Annular solar eclipse not seen from Israel
Tishri 15 – September 28, 2034 – Partial lunar eclipse seen from Israel
See AstroPixels – Moon Phases: 2001 to 2100 for verification of these eclipses and dates.
THE SUPERNATURAL SIGNS DURING THE FIRST AND SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST
JESUS’ BIRTH
We all know the story of Jesus’ birth and how the wise men from the East came to worship him, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2). Herod summoned them to him and determined from them what time the star appeared. He then sent them to Bethlehem. “When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
Throughout the ages, scholars have debated what this “star” could have been and if it was even a natural phenomenon. Some have suggested a comet or a nova, while others believe it was a certain conjunction of planets and stars. I have come to the conclusion that it was a supernatural heavenly sign from God. Many times in the Bible, the word “star” is used for an angel (see Revelation 9:1: 12:4). It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that this is what the “star” was.
Luke 2:8-20 records the details of the shepherds who were living in the fields around Bethlehem during the time of the birth of Jesus. ”And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid” (Luke 2: 9). Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:10-14).
Perhaps this angel with the bright glory of the Lord shining around the shepherds was the bright star of Bethlehem. This angel of the Lord could have been the heavenly sign that brought the Gentile wise men to the true king of the Jews, and the baby in the manger was the earthly sign to the Jews. Both Jews and Gentiles were humanity’s witnesses to this spectacular event. The multitude of the heavenly host represented the angels of heaven as witnesses to the Lord’s incarnation.
JESUS’ LIFE
About the time of the start of Jesus’ ministry, when Jesus was about 30 years old, he was baptized by John the Baptist. “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22). I would say this definitely qualifies as a supernatural sign from God.
Jesus performed many supernatural miracles during his 3.5-year ministry, including walking on water, resurrecting people from the dead, turning water into wine, and, of course, healing multitudes of people. There is an interesting theory that amongst the multitudes who received a direct blessing from Christ, there are recorded in Scripture exactly 153 special individual cases. {Note:2} The 153 blessings correspond to John 21:11, where Peter and some of the other disciples went fishing after Jesus’ resurrection and caught 153 fish after the resurrected Jesus told them to cast the net on the right side of the boat. Of course, the 153 fish represent 153 miracles that Jesus performed and were recorded in the Bible.
Regardless if this is the true meaning of this verse (or if there is one), Jesus performed many miracles throughout his short life. “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25).
JESUS’ DEATH
Jesus was placed on the cross at 9 a.m. (Mark 15:25), then from noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over the whole land (Matt. 27:45). Darkness precedes death. During the 10 plagues of Egypt, darkness came over the land of Egypt for three days. After the plague of darkness in Egypt came the death of the Egyptian’s firstborn sons (Ex. 11:4-5). Likewise, on the cross, darkness preceded the death of God’s Son. This was supernatural darkness, as there is no astronomical event that could cause a three-hour darkness.
After Jesus yielded up His spirit, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:51-54).
The earthquake might not have been a supernatural event, although the centurion seemed to think so. The next event might also be considered a natural phenomenon, but I would imagine many Jews would have considered it a “sign.” After Jesus was laid in his tomb and the day was transitioning from Nisan 14 to Nisan 15 at sunset, a blood-red moon caused by a lunar eclipse was rising on the horizon in Jerusalem, Israel on April 3, 33 AD. Was that blood-red moon a natural phenomenon? Yes. Was it a heavenly sign for the Jews? Yes. The following website has a modern photo reconstruction of the Moon rising over the Mount of Olives on April 3, 33 AD (and some good information as well). How Lunar and Solar Eclipses Shed Light on Biblical Events – Associates for Biblical Research (biblearchaeology.org)
Of course, the greatest supernatural sign of all was when Jesus rose from the grave early on the first day of the week on Nisan 17. There were many witnesses who saw the resurrected Jesus, which proved He was the Messiah. Paul said, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that, He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that, He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all, He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).
JESUS’ RETURN TO THE EARTH
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call” (Joel 2:30-32).
”Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”(Matthew 24:29-30).
There is one more “sign” that needs mentioning. Sometime in the very near future, there will be a great sign to the Jews that their long-awaited Messiah (whom they missed the first time) is coming. It is a sign that will take place in the heavens and is commonly referred to as the Rapture. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
This heavenly sign will precede Jesus’ return to the earth by at least seven years (the long-awaited 70th seven of Daniel 9:24). So, to all you Jews and those who require a sign, when you see the heavenly sign of the Rapture, you know your Messiah is near, even at the doors; so look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws near.
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Randy Nettles
Endnotes:
{1} Presidency of Joe Biden – Wikipedia
{2} Numbers in Scripture by E.W. Bullinger
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