From:          "Lampholder Publications" <sammie@hiwaay.com>
To:            <heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
Subject:      Omens of the Blood Red Moon, The Lampholder Newsletter,
                    Special Edition #2, January 2000, Sr. Editor, Shirley
Ann Miller


                                                              THE
                                        LAMPHOLDER NEWSLETTER
                                        Special Edition #2, January 2000


                                        THE BLOOD RED MOON
 
Dear Friends:

    The prophet, Joel, depicts the signs preceding the Second Coming
of Christ and The Day of the Lord when he writes, "And I will shew
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 just before these verses in Joel 2,  it is written,

 "...that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons
and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams,
your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon
the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit" (vs. 28-29).

Lampholder Publications is a prophetic ministry, and The Lampholder
Newsletter is designed for you to read utilizing discernment. 

Spiritual discernment is reading between the lines of the written or
spoken word with a heightened sense of Spiritual awareness.  It is
the process of filtering words through Biblical truths whereby one
discerns error, and many times this means digging deeper than what
appears on the surface. Discernment allows you to know the difference
between what is of the Holy Spirit, and what isn't!

    In the year 2000, Spiritual discernment will be more important
than ever before.

With Deep Appreciation and Thankfulness,
Shirley Ann Miller
and The Lampholder Newsletter Staff
Lampholder Publications

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

                                    THE BLOOD RED MOON

--And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the   
   stars (Matt 24:11,25).                
                                                                       
 --The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into  blood,
before that great and notable day of the Lord (Acts 2:20).

--And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was
a great earthquake; and the  sun became black as sack-cloth of hair,
and the moon became as blood (Rev 6:12).                             

-Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not 
dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them
(Jeremiah 12:2.)

    When G-d created "...lights in the firmament of the heaven to
divide  the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for
seasons, and for days, and years," He obviously gave to mankind a
calendar and method for the calculation of time-periods (Gen 1:14-15;
Psalm 104:19).

     The prophet Joel refers to prophecy regarding Israel.  It is a
call to repentance and restoration for the nation of Israel, but also
judgment upon the Gentile nations and the signs preceding the Second
Coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

     Historically, "the course of empires and nations were changed
by the occurrence of eclipses," as attested to by Apian (1540) when he
wrote in regard to eclipses and their affect on Earth:

           And it is certain that the Sun and the Moon are the
           most powerful causes of events...and eclipses by which,
           beyond doubt, the affairs of the world are changed."

     In China, Rome, among the Turks and other nations it was
customary to beat drums to frighten the spirits and monsters (4,000+
years ago the monsters were contained in the constellations of the
Dragon and the Watersnake).  Correctly forecasting an eclipse brought
notoriety -- among those including Copernicus, Thales of Miletus,
Herodotus-- and sometimes great wealth; but likewise, incorrect
predictions brought  reproach.

    The early Rabbins considered an eclipse of the Moon (Lavanah) as
a "bad omen" for the nation of Israel.  Anciently, a "blood red
moon" symbolized violence, war, and evil factions rising up against
the nation  of Israel.  (1)  More importantly, a red moon
historically and Biblically  indicates a period of judgment (Isaiah
13:9-10; 24:23) for the wicked.

    Peculiarly, in early history many eclipses coincided with battles
and wars; or, if one prefers appropriately, many battles and wars
coincided with  eclipses (i.e a number of Persian wars, the Battle of
Syracuse, and another  observed by Alexander the Great).  Obviously,
the association with the color red (the blood moon) marks the
connection between violence, wars, and the shedding of blood; but
also, pestilence and plague such as the prophetic symbol of G-d's
approaching judgment.

     Lunar eclipses were even more frightening than solar because
of the perplexing problem of why the Moon suddenly, without
explanation, lost its light, and turned an obtuse arrangement of
yellow with dark-reddish colors.  This could only mean the gods were
angry and would bring great retribution upon a nation.  This is
verified by Apian and recorded in B.C.E. 172, "Livy in the fourth
book of the fifth decade  wrote that Caius Sulpitius Gallus of Lucius
Aemilius Paulus' army, when he conquered Perseus, the last king of
Macedonia, in Samothrace, and led him captive to Rome, predicted a
future eclipse of the Moon, which threw terror into the soldiers...."  (2)

     On January 20/21, 2000, North and South America will be witness
to  a spectacular "total lunar eclipse."  Totality will be
particularly  dramatic in North America, especially during a clear
night, but also seen in Western  Europe, and Africa--excluded are
Australia, India, and China.  The last total eclipse occurred in
September of 1997 and the next one is due in March of 2007.
 
     A full year can pass without a lunar eclipse, but the total
number of lunar eclipses in any one year can never exceed two.  A
total eclipse of  the Moon occurs when the Sun, Moon, and Earth
align, and the Earth passes between the Sun and a "full Moon" casting
the shadow of the Earth on the Moon (the full Moon must be directly
opposite the Sun).
 
    The dark, inner shadow (umbra) gives the Moon its dark, reddish
appearance, or "blood red moon;" and this being a full moon during
the Jewish month Tu B'Shevat, indeed brings to mind ominous
overtones that G-d will "punish the wicked."

    Now interestingly, this blood red moon occurs mid-point between
the two great Grand (or T-square) planetary conjunctions between
August 1999 - May of 2000, and the peculiar activity involving the
constellation of Sagittarius (see our 1999 Lampholder Newsletter
editions in our archives at http://www.LampholderPub.com/page2.html --
symbolic of the "arrow of the rider on the white horse," the first
of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

    Along with all of the above signs, also take into consideration
the prominence of Orion (Jan 22), Sirius, Aldebaran, the Pleiades
star cluster, and the near conjunction and sickle-alignment of the
planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and
Pluto.  Now combine all of this with the occultic reinterpretation of
the Jewish  symbol "Magen David," the six-pointed star, as marking
the beginning of the Age of Aquarius, and this should perk the
interest of end-time prophecy followers everywhere.


Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem...


References:

(1)  Wiseman, C., Connection Between Science and Revealed Religion,=20
       1802, pg. 83.

(2)  Ibid, pg. 98

***********************************************************************

                                   From the website:

         http://members.aol.com/gkilli/home/celestal.html


     What is a lunar eclipse, and why will Lavanah (Moon) be red?

The earth, lit by the sun, casts a long, conical shadow in space. At
any point within that cone the light of the sun is wholly obscured.
Surrounding the shadow cone, also called the umbra, is an area of
partial shadow called the penumbra. The approximate mean length of the
umbra is 1,379,200 km (857,000 mi); at a distance of 384,600 km
(239,000 mi), the mean distance of Lavanah (Moon) from the earth, it
has a diameter of about 9170 km (about 5700 mi).

     A total lunar eclipse occurs when Lavanah (Moon) passes completely
into the umbra. If it moves directly through the center, it is
obscured for about 2 hours. If it does not pass through the center,
the period of totality is less and may last for only an instant if
Lavanah (Moon) travels through the very edge of the umbra.

     A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a part of Lavanah (Moon)
enters the umbra and is obscured. The extent of a partial eclipse can
range from near totality, when most of Lavanah (Moon) is obscured, to
a slight or minor eclipse, when only a small portion of the earth's
shadow is seen on the passing moon. Historically, the view of the
earth's circular shadow advancing across the face of Lavanah (Moon)
was the first indication of the shape of the earth.

    Before Lavanah (Moon) enters the umbra in either total or partial
eclipse, it is within the penumbra and the surface becomes visibly
darker. The portion that enters the umbra seems almost black, but
during a total eclipse, the lunar disk is not completely dark; it is
faintly illuminated with a red light refracted by the earth's
atmosphere, which filters out the blue rays. Occasionally a lunar
eclipse occurs when the earth is covered with a heavy layer of clouds
that prevent light refraction; the surface of Lavanah (Moon) is
invisible during totality.

           What does the Bible have to say about red moons?

     Revelation 6:12-17 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There
     was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made
     of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, And the stars in
     the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when
     shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling
     up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
     Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich,
     the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and
     among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains
     and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who
     sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great
     day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"

     Joel 2:28-32 'And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all
     people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will
     dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my
     servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those
     days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood
     and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness
     and Lavanah (Moon) to blood before the coming of the great and
     dreadful day of the L-RD. And everyone who calls on the name of
     the L-RD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there
     will be deliverance, as the L-RD has said, among the survivors
     whom the L-RD calls.

     The Joel passage is also quoted in Acts 2:17-21

          What does the Talmud say about red moons:

    It was taught: R. Meir said, Whenever the luminaries are in eclipse,
it is a bad omen for Israel since they are inured to blows. This may
be compared to a school teacher who comes to school with a strap in
his hand. Who becomes apprehensive? He who is accustomed to be daily
punished. Our Rabbis taught, When the sun is in eclipse it is a bad
omen for idolaters; when Lavanah (Moon) is in eclipse, it is a bad
omen for Israel, since Israel reckons by Lavanah (Moon) and idolaters
by the sun. If it is in eclipse in the east, it is a bad omen for
those who dwell in the east; if in the west, it is a bad omen for
those who dwell in the west; if in the midst of heaven it is bad omen
for the whole world. If its face is red as blood, [it is a sign that]
the sword is coming to the world; if it is like sack-cloth, the arrows
of famine are coming to the world; if it resembles both, the sword and
the arrows of famine are coming to the world. If the eclipse is at
sunset calamity will tarry in its coming; if at dawn, it hastens on
its way: but some say the order is to be reversed. And there is no
nation which is smitten that its G-ds are not smitten together with
it, as it is said, And against all the G-ds of Egypt I will execute
judgments. But when Israel fulfill the will of the Omnipresent, they
need have no fear of all these [omens] as it is said, Thus saith the
L-RD,' Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the
signs of heaven, for the nations are dismayed at them, the idolaters
will be dismayed, but Israel will not be dismayed.

Talmud - Mas. Sukkah 29a

The second eclipse, on Erev Hag HaSuccoth, may be the second witness
to warn us of G-d's impending action. While Lavanah (Moon) is
eclipsed, Shabbtai (Saturn) will be in close conjunction with Lavanah
(Moon), in the mazzaroth (constellation) of Dagim (Pisces). Not since
the "Spica eclipse" of April 12-13, 1968, has the eclipsed Lavanah
(Moon) been in such close conjunction with a bright object.

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