Upcoming “Biblical” prophecy conspiracies.

A friend presented me with a few videos “I must watch” concerning the upcoming solar eclipse and 23rd September. Here’s my response:

First Video: Prophecy Alert: “Solar Eclipse Valley Of Decision” For America 6 minutes

This guy’s dodgy – seemingly driven by a religious spirit or is just corrupted by the power of information. His mantra of “be saved” seems totally devoid of the compassion of our Lord. My claim suggests that he rarely preaches other parts of the Bible – just like the false prophets of old who only spoke what tickled the ears of their audience.

Joel 2:30 I will work miracles in the sky and on the earth: blood, fire, and clouds of smoke. 31 The sun will become dark, and the moon will become as red as blood before the terrifying day of the Lord comes.”

• A lunar eclipse can be described as the moon turning to blood – when the moon is shadowed behind the earth. = Moon – Earth – Sun
• A solar eclipse can be described as the sun turning dark – when part of the earth is shadowed from the sun by the moon. = Earth – Moon – Sun
• These two astronomical events are mutually exclusive and cannot coincide – the earth and moon cannot simultaneously shadow each other.
• This does not describe an eclipse, but rather an apocalyptic event similar to the miraculous judgements of Sodom or Egypt as being the source of the sky being darkened
• I understand the “day of the Lord” to be Jesus’ return at the end of the tribulation when he comes to judge the earth, although this can be stretched to imply the entire 7 years of Jacob’s trouble.

Joel 3:15 The sun and the moon will turn dark.The stars will no longer shine.

• The entire sky will be darkened – not just an eclipse.

Joel 3:17: Foreigners will never invade it again.

• Supports these events being putting an end to Israel’s tribulation of foreign invasions.

Second Video: WARNING…MUST WATCH!!!! THE ECLIPSE = TRIBULATION BEGINS 48 minutes

Jonah and the solar eclipse: This coincidence is speculative. I find the lack of mention of this in the Bible as strong evidence against this theory. Even if true, Mosul/Nineveh would have experienced a partial eclipse.

I’m generally wary of Steve Cioccolanti, but he may offer some value.

There’s an impressive bunch of numeric coincidences, some of which will prove to be forced when scrutinized.

The 23rd September Sun and Jupiter passing through Virgo happens 12-yearly – this theory is nicely debunked by Answers in Genesis The dragon image in Virgo sounds very similar to the Nibiru conspiracy. The connection with Revelation 12 seems very twisted. I understand Rev. 12 to paint a picture of Satan seeking to devour Jesus and the church. It also describes the outcasting of Lucifer’s angels. If this current event heralds a tribulation event, then we’re nearly half-way through and the 7 year treaty is about to be broken by an abominable sacrifice in the Jewish temple, causing the Jews to find refuge for 1260 days. There’s a few pieces of that puzzle sorely missing.

Third Video: 10 Strange Facts About The August 21st Solar Eclipse That Will Blow Your Mind

Again a lot of speculative gematria, with very little actual biblical basis.

Conclusion

We must be wary of the ancient superstition associated with solar eclipses. However we should never miss an opportunity to reflect on our righteousness and the potential that God may be warning us of our unrighteousness.

Matthew 24:4 Jesus answered them, “Be careful not to let anyone deceive you. 5 Many will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many people.

While this speaks of those claiming to be the Messiah, it also undertones those who preach in Jesus name, who are in fact preaching deception. There are many other cases throughout the Bible where such false prophets and believers distract God’s people unto destruction.

Deuteronomy 18:21 You may be wondering, “How can we recognize that the Lord didn’t speak this message?” 22 If a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name and what he says doesn’t happen or come true, then it didn’t come from the Lord. That prophet has spoken on his own authority. Never be afraid of him.

Godly prophets will not make false or exaggerated claims. Any who do should be ignored.

We are repeatedly warned against those who preach deception and distraction away from righteousness. 7 traits of false teachers is an excellent read, which provides us with tools to identify false teachers:

• Do they preach from God’s word or other sources?
• Do they preach righteousness first?
• Are they of godly character: patient, kind, loving or do they impatiently and arrogantly slander authority?
• Do they encourage seeking God’s word for truth or other sources?
• Do they produce godly disciples?

These videos are twisting the Bible to place America in Israel’s place and project doomsday sensationalism. This serves to make these authors seem important similarly to any other clairvoyant, but ultimately they distract many away from the gospel. When well-meaning Christians encourage others to listen to them, they discredit our faith as a bunch of superstitious crackpots. While the eclipse may be a warning to America, it would be illogical for God to place such signs in America as a warning to Israel or to announce his rapture. Many are concerned that America is suspiciously missing from end-times prophecy. It is totally wrong to look to America for signs of the tribulation, which will begin when a global emperor enforces a 7 year treaty with Israel.

I strongly advise you to put aside these false prophets and sensationalists, and seek a more rounded focus of theology:

• Ken Johnson is a great academic who reads ancient texts for fun. He has a great understanding of history and theology with a great openness to various interpretations regarding the fulfilment of prophecy.
• David Pawson is a Pentecostal theologian who is unapologetic in addressing the hard issues of modern society.
• Ravi Zacharias is an amazing apoligeticist who give great answers to antagonistic questions that separate people from God.
• Amir Tsarfati is a Jewish Christian with strong political connections and insight into current middle-eastern events. However I find him somewhat dogmatic in his views.
• Perry Stone is a southern US prophet with a deep understanding of ancient history, but also a bit too dogmatic.

A few facts I checked:

• 2017 Solar eclipse
  • Maximum duration: 2:40
  • Max width: 71 miles
  • Salem in Origin will experience 1:54 darkness from 10:17:21AM. = 8:17pm in Jerusalem – an hour after sunset at 7:18pm This disproves the claim of coinciding “sunsets” at Jerusalem and its namesake
  • Solar eclipse google map
• 2024 Solar eclipse
  • Maximum duration: 4:28
  • Max width 123 miles
• Total duration: 7:08 – pretty close to 7 minutes with room to sustain speculation

These conspiracy theorists bombard us with “facts”, some of them within speculative sustainability and others outrageously wrong.