Bashan Ministries - Blood moons

On Friday, 27 July 2018, what was said to be the longest lasting Blood Moon event occurred, lasting for 1 hour and 43 minutes.
On April 15, 2014 a total lunar eclipse occurred.

It was the first of 4 total eclipses in a series that happened again on October 8, 2014 April 4, 2015 & September 28, 2015.

Some people made major "prophetic declarations" back then about them that, in my opinion, never happened.

Was there any real significance?
Many theories and stories abound. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Which one of them, if any, is true?”

By way of answer, let us see what the word of God says about such matters and the best starting point is at the beginning...

The beginning Times & seasons Noah Fruitfulness & blessing

When God created man in His own image and likeness, He issued a command that I believe was the first command given to man. He said-
Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” Genesis 1:2.

When Noah emerged from the ark, God issued a similar command.
Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. Genesis 9:1.

From the outset, God revealed His desire for us. It is alluded to by John, saying-
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 1:2.

God's desire and plans for us are good. He has our good in mind. His plans for us are good plans.
...I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11.

God has never changed His mind. He made a promise to us through Noah not to destroy the planet again.
Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose.
And the LORD was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things.
As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” Genesis 8:20-22.

The Blood Moons may be considered to be given as signs and seasons, but I seriously doubt if they indicate a global catastrophe of any kind. What might or might not happen withsuch events will not affect christians, because we will be gone! This is coming into eschatological or end time studies embracing the return of Jesus and we shall now briefly touch on this.

Tell us Jesus

Towards the close of His earthly ministry, Jesus went to Jerusalem and His disciples pointed out the features of the Temple to Him.
He stated that the Temple would be destroyed and this is now a historical truth. Matthew 24:1-2.
They then started asking Him questions as seen in Matthew 24:3-

When would this happen?
What would be the sign of Your coming?
What happens at the end of this age?

Jesus' first statement was one of warning.

Do not let people deceive you!
Many false Christs will come!
There would be wars.

Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Matthew 24:3-6.

Notice that He said these things were not the signs of His return!
Jesus continued on a discourse about many things and spoke of false prophets who would come saying that Jesus is here or Jesus is there and told them not to believe them! See Matthew 24:23-28. We have had our fill of them and all the "prophecies" have come and gone without change.

Jesus then spoke about the sign of His coming in Matthew 24:30-31.

What we must understand that Jesus spoke of many things. This is prophecy. Some prophecies have already been fulfilled. Some are being fulfilled today and some are yet to be fulfilled.

Jesus also spoke about the prevailing conditions on earth prior His return. He mentioned the events of Noah's day and of two people in close proximity to each other, one of whom would be taken and the other left behind. The word "Rapture" does not appear in scripture, but it describes the event we believers look for.

Only two of the illustrations He used are conclusive.

One is the Church herself. He spoke of earthquakes and other events, but said that they were not definitive signs of His return. He did however clearly state-
And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14 (emphasis mine).

The generation in which we live is the most evangelized generation to exist. They did not have electricity, airplanes, the Internet or satellite and all these things are now common place and are used as tools to get the Gospel out!

The other sign is the nation of Israel.
Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near.
In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. Matthew 24:32-34.

In bible typology, the fig tree often represents the nation of Israel. He said that when this nation starts to grow (as it did in 1948) that the generation that witnessed both these events would be alive when He returns. I was born in 1942, so I could say with some degree of accuracy that I saw it start, so that implies that I will be alive when Jesus returns.

Signs

If God uses the universe comprising the sun, mooon and stars as indicators, then are events like the blood moons signs to look for and if so, what do they mean?

Blood moons Light sources Prophecy

PROPHECY:
Because many people associate the Blood Moons with bible prophecy, it behoves us to see what is meant.
Prophecy is-
1: an inspired utterance of a prophet
2: the function or vocation of a prophet specifically : the inspired declaration of divine will and purpose
3: a prediction of something to come

It thus declares the mind and will of God and relates to both present and future events. The utterance is by divine inspiration under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and, contrary to some popular beliefs, prophets still exist today and still declare by God's intentions.

The ministry and function of prophets and prophecy differ between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The utterances and revelations of Old Testament prophets looked forward in a future time.
Hebrews 1:1 states that God spoke to us by such men and women, but things changed when Jesus came.

Prophets in the New Testament are still appointed to their office, but in a different way. Their ministries should tend to be more for edification, exhortation and comfort in the Church.

Prophecy... genuine biblical prophecy is complete.
Everything is now recorded in scripture. We would be wise to heed the wod of Peter who said-
...we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.
Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. 2 Peter 1:19-21.

Paul complemented this when he said-
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Perhaps it may be better to concentrate more onliving right before God in the here and now that to speculate on what might or might not happen. We must be prepared of course, which is why scripture is given to us... to prepare us and equip us for every good work.

Sometimes we do not see everything clearly, but it is there and as I have stated elsewhere, most such prophecies have already been fulfilled. The few that remain to be fulfilled... in the sense of future events, such as what people call End Time Prophecy are subject to much debate. It need not be so.

At the mention of this term, many people immediately think of the Book of Revelation, Armageddon, the end of the world, the antichrist, the tribulation and so on. They link what is recorded there with Old Testament prophets like Ezekiel and Daniel and whole doctrines are formed by various interpretations, forgetting several basic facts.

The first thing to remember is that the Book of revelation is all about Jesus and His plan! As John said, it is The Revelation of Jesus Christ!
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Revelation 1:1.

People can become confused when they think of all other things and this is evident when they call it the book of revelations (notice the plural). It contains certain elements of prophecy, but it really is all about Jesus.

Prophecy, especially what is often regarded as End Time Prophecy, takes on a whole new dimension when we get this right. Please remember that most prophecies, especially those relating to Jesus (some 300 to 350 or perhaps more), have already been fulfilled.

Some are being fulfilled as you read this page and there are a few others yet to be fulfilled. This may happen in our lifetime, or in an age to follow, but I believe that we are definitely in the closing phases of their fulfilment.

The bible contains various means of communication with us. It is a history book; a book of testimonials; a book that reveals the family tree of many people; a book that we could describe as a user manual that helps us to live in a modern world.
It contains types and shadows, illustrations and parables to assist us in understanding what could sometimes be impossible to understand. For example, how would a prophet of one thousand years ago describe a nuclear submarine? Would he describe it as an iron whale that swallowed men?

Jesus used such means often. When asked about certain matters, He used common and easily understood objects of events to illustrate spiritual matters. Someone asked HIm, "What is the Kingdom of Heaven like?" and He said, "It is like a seed" and the message was conveyed.

The word of God is also spiritual! It is God breathed. It must be understood by the impartation of spiritual truth, or by revelation. Good exegesis, hermeneutics and similar theological terms are OK but often lack the input from the author to give us the real truth therein. Theology is often intellectually based which is contrary to the spiritual truth that can only be gained by revelation.

When it comes to such topics like this present discussion, we can easily become side-tracked.
Look at Isaiah 55:12 as an example. It states-
you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Trees are trees! They do not have hands. Mountains cannot sing because they do not have voices. In such instances, God conveys a truth using figurative language and it is wonderful indeed. In like manner are the Blood Moons to be taken literally or are they figurative? When the bible says that the moon will be turned to blood, what does God really mean?

It may sound simplistic, but God means what He says. We miss the mark when we read things into His words to suit our personal viewpoints. When reading scripture we can take it literally or figuratively. If, in this instance, the moon literally turns into blood, we are in trouble. It it is symbolic we need to know what the illustration means and the best way to do that is to go to the source Himself! If all scripture has been given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit according to 2 Timothy 3:16, we have to allow Him to give us His understanding on what He said.
Anything else is man-made, or... intellectually based and this is where religion takes over. A preacher I know said that it takes a good theologian to mess things up. He is right! Think about it.

With regard to prophecy therefore, we must be careful in accurately dissecting it. Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:15 to study the scriptures diligently and rightly divide the word of truth. If we can divide it rightly, we can also divide it incorrectly. That word divide means something like cutting a straight line with sharp incisions.

To do that we need to know some basic things and ask pertinent questions such as-

To whom is God speaking?
When did He speak?
Under what conditions or circumstances did He speak?

Error enters when we think that God is dealing with the Church, whereas He is dealing with Israel, or vice-versa.

God has a covenant with Israel what is still valid. He speaks in terms of an everlasting covenant or one that lasts for one thousand generations.
There is the New Covenant that has been made with the Church and it is totally different to those made with Israel. The church has not replaced Israel.
According to Paul, There are three classes of peoples with whom God deals. They are the Jews, the Church of God and Gentiles (see 1 Corinthians 10:32).

As for our subject matter, we need to ascertain if there really is any significance at all prophetically and if so, who is involved? There are what I call Rivers of Revelation and this brings us to the next segment.

Rivers of revelation

RIVERS OF REVELATION:
We closed the last segment with comments on correctly understanding what God has said in His word. If He created everything in existence by His word, there must be an element in it that is life producing. The word of God has to be the every expression of His character and nature. His very being has been revealed to us in what we call the bible, but all too often theologians reduce its supernatural or spiritual aspect into human logic. It cannot be done!

When the prophets of old spoke to us, they did not have the resources we do to analyse and parse words and phrases as we do. They spoke! They described what they saw, or passed on what God had told them. There was no private interpretation of it in the way modern theologians seem to fear. They had a touch of some kind from God and shared it and this is recorded for our benefit today in the bible. No one has the ability or privilege of altering one jot or tittle to suit to suit his or her theology.

Prophecy is a river of revelation. The prophet Ezekiel spoke of the experiences received when God showed him in visions and by angelic visitation many things. He wrote of one such experience as follows-

... then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple. I noticed that water was flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from under the right side of the temple, from south of the altar. He led me out by way of the north gate and brought me around the outside of the outer gate that faces toward the east; I noticed that the water was trickling out from the south side. When the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured 1,750 feet, and then he led me through water, which was ankle deep. Again he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was now knee deep. Once more he measured 1,750 feet and led me through the water, which was waist deep. Again he measured 1,750 feet and it was a river I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I had returned, I noticed a vast number of trees on the banks of the river, on both sides. Ezekiel 47:1-7.

The preacher in Ecclesiastes 1:7 wrote-
All the streams flow into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again.

The Psalmist said-
There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. Psalm 46:4.

There are many rivers of truth and revelation flowing from God. They start in Genesis and continue flowing to Revelation. Genesis 2:10-14 states that there was a river parting into four heads to flow out to bless the earth and John saw the river in the city of God on a great and high mountain in Revelation 21:9-10 and 22:1-3.

These streams of truth and revelation are many and varied. They embrace everything that is theological, prophetic, types and shadows, eschatological and have practical application. Each individual stream conveys its own message; an element of truth and an element of revelation, but each individual stream is incomplete, flowing into the full ocean of God’s immense knowledge and wisdom. One such stream is the river of covenant. In the covenants there are waters that may be ankle deep, knee deep, waist high or so high one must swim in it and allow the current to sweep you along.

God is a Covenant Making and a Covenant Keeping God and He established covenant with His people in many ways but we need to see them to understand what he is like and what he is doing.

Scientists say that we blink approximately twenty-five times every minute and that each blink takes one fifth of a second. By such calculations, on a 60Km (40 Miles) journey at 60Km per hour, half of that journey would be taken with our eyes closed. That means we shall travel for 30Km with our eyes closed.

Many people travel life with their eyes closed, not fully realizing how much God has chosen to reveal Himself and how much he has for us. Much can be missed by not having our eyes open along this amazing journey that lasts for an eternity. Knowing this, God has placed certain navigational aids or beacons along the banks of the river for us to navigate from our beginning of our journey to successfully reach our destination. The Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament are some and they list the feasts of Israel.

Throughout Church history there has been a chasm of misunderstanding between the Church (the body of Messiah) and the Jewish people. Both Christians and Jews have falsely concluded that there is little real or practical connection between Christianity and Jewish life. However, often based on ignorance or false presuppositions.

There is no escaping the inherent Jewishness of Jesus.
He was a Jew living in the land of Israel and called Jews to follow him. His early followers considered themselves to be Jews who had found the promised Messiah and naturally continued the Jewish expression of their faith.

Many Christians have not understood this rich heritage on which our faith is built. Part of this heritage can be discovered in the Moeds, or God’s holy appointed festivals and seasons. The Feasts of the Lord, or the biblical holy days, teach us about the nature of God and his plan for mankind. A classic passage in regard to the holy days is found in the New Testament.
So don’t let anyone pass judgment on you in connection with eating and drinking, or in regard to a Jewish festival or Rosh-Chodesh or Shabbat. These are a shadow of things that are coming, but the body is of the Messiah. Colossians 2:16–17.

We often refer to this passage as a message to avoid legalism, but there is another truth stated. The festivals or feasts of Israel hold tremendous lessons for us because they are shadows or models of God’s plan.

The Gospel message may be found in the Feasts of Israel and deserve much attention elsewhere. We therefore present a brief overview of them only here to determine if there really is any association with them and the blood moons, prophetically speaking.

There are some people who major on this, saying that there is real significance. It is not up to me to agree or disagree with their teachings. It is up to you to conduct your own research on the matter. I have however been asked on numerous occasions about this topic because people have become confused, even afraid of those teachings and that... is not right. God does not want us to have such emotions. He wants us to know the truth.

I present what I have researched to you for your own assessment.

Let us now look briefly at the Feasts of Israel.