In my article from a year ago entitled “The Total Solar Eclipse of July 22, 2009,” I discussed the solar eclipse which occurred over India and parts of China on that particular date. I also talked about two other significant solar eclipses — one which happened the year before on August 1, 2008, which was seen over Russia, and the other, which will be occurring this year on July 11, 2010. This one will be visible in the southern Pacific Ocean regions from the Cook Islands to Easter Island, and in southern Chile and Argentina.
To help us better visualize these eclipses, here are maps from NASA depicting each of their paths:
…
(click on image to enlarge)
…
Careful study of these images reveals that during the first eclipse on August 1, 2008, it traversed across the northern hemisphere of the earth; during the second eclipse on July 22, 2009, it made a path across the central part of the earth; and in this year’s total solar eclipse on July 11, 2010, it will move across the earth’s southern hemisphere. This is quite interesting.
Also in last year’s article, I explained that these three eclipses have no noticeable significance when looked at only from the perspective of the Gregorian calendar. But if we convert the above dates to Jewish calendar dates, we will notice that they all fall on the same date, the 1st of Av, three years in a row.
To help us grasp the importance of this, imagine if three total solar eclipses happened on, let’s say, Thanksgiving Day, three years in a row. Even though this particular holiday falls on a different Gregorian calendar date each year, it’s still recognized as being “Thanksgiving.” So if this heavenly event happened for three consecutive years on Thanksgiving, would that be a noteworthy event? Of course it would!
It’s the same here with the three solar eclipses that are occurring on the 1st of Av in 2008, 2009, and 2010. This date is right in the middle of Israel’s three weeks of mourning which commemorates many catastrophic events that have happened in their history during this time. This time of mourning begins on Tammuz 17 and ends on Av 9. However, the last nine days are the most intense, beginning with the 1st of Av. This is why this date is so significant.
So, we have three total solar eclipses occurring on a very meaningful day on the Jewish calendar three years in a row. Is this a sign, and if so, is it directed to the nation of Israel or quite possibly to the rest of world?
Here is a quote from my article written just prior to last year’s eclipse:
“Pastor Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries says that solar eclipses are generally warnings to the Gentile nations (from God) that judgment will soon follow. Some Biblical prophecy scholars have surmised that this is exactly what happened last year with the first solar eclipse in this triad. Shortly after that event, there was a global financial collapse. Could this have been the first judgment to the Gentile nations or was it a mere coincidence?
This year, there is speculation that tomorrow’s eclipse could mean that war will ensue in the near future. There is no argument that war is definitely looming on the horizon and, interestingly enough, it involves the nation of Israel. However, since last year’s post-eclipse financial crisis involved the whole world, and if these eclipses are truly warnings of judgment from God, will the next one mean a war is coming that will encompass the entire world? It’s been said that if war breaks out between Israel and Iran, this could set the stage for World War III.
If tomorrow’s eclipse does, in fact, signal the soon start of a global war, then what judgment could next year’s solar eclipse possibly bring with it? Could it be pestilence, disease, or famine, which are all aftermaths of war, or could it be something totally inconceivable?”
As we can see, the war between Israel and Iran has not happened, yet – although the threat is still there. And instead of it looming on the horizon now, it seems to be moving “extremely close to shore.” At the time this article is being written, there is increased United States military presence in areas of the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, and the Persian Gulf, as well as other strategic points in the Middle East. Middle Eastern countries such as Israel, Iran, and others, have amassed troops in these areas, as well.
Here is an excerpt from The Debka File dated just four days ago:
“In a rare move, Iran has declared a state of war on its northwestern border, debkafile’s military and Iranian sources report. Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps men and equipment units are being massed in the Caspian Sea region against what Tehran claims are US and Israeli forces concentrated on army and air bases in Azerbaijan ready to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.” (The Debka File, “Iran on war alert over ‘US and Israeli concentrations’ in Azerbaijan,” July 6, 2010)
So, war could be a reality very soon, perhaps even on a worldwide scale.
Also, the world is still reeling from the financial crisis that happened shortly after the eclipse in 2008. Unemployment rates are rising in the United States, as well as in other countries around the globe, and there seems to be no end in sight.
Of interest, there have been many great and terrible earthquakes in various places over the past year which have caused great loss of life and unimaginable suffering. The one that is still fresh in our memories is the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010 which killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people. Some of the people there are still living in tents and out in the open in horrid sanitary conditions.
Finally, this article would not be complete without mentioning the present major oil leak spewing into the Gulf of Mexico at an alarming rate. This has been ongoing since April 20th of this year. Gulf coastlines from Florida to Louisiana have been tarnished by oil from the spillage. Also, there has been a great loss of jobs because of this disaster as well as diminished state tourist revenue for the affected Gulf Coast states.
Such monumental catastrophic events are happening in our world today on a global scale. Could these three consecutive eclipses be a warning to all of us that the times spoken of in the book of Matthew, Chapter 24 are upon us and that the end of this age is near?
The way things are shaping up, we could very well know the answer to this question very soon.
_____________________________________________________________
Eclipse map images provided by “Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA’s GSFC.”
His Reflections 