Mark Blitz is at it again. In 2014 he told us that Blood Moons were end-time signs even though there have been numerous times in history when the moon looked red. The prophet Joel was directed by the Holy Spirit to write the following:
I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness [Isa. 13:9-11; 24:23; 50:3; Ezek. 32:7]. And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes (2:30-31).
It’s important to pay close attention to what the Bible says before we do any interpreting. Notice that Joel does not say the Moon will look like it’s red. He says the Moon “will be turned … into blood.”
Peter quotes Joel in the book of Acts and repeats exactly what Joel had written (Acts 2:20). There are two things to take note of: First, Peter is not describing events in the distant future, and second, he says the Moon will be “turned into blood” and not just look like it’s red.
What’s the meaning of a bloody Moon? James Jordan offers a more biblical approach to the significance of a Moon that turns into blood:
[T]he turning of the moon to “blood” points, I believe, to something particularly Jewish: the sacrificial system. If they will not accept the blood of Jesus Christ, the final Sacrifice, then they themselves will be turned into blood. They will become the sacrifices…. That is what the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 was all about.
But Joel is issuing a warning. Those who listen can escape. “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of Yahweh will be delivered [Matt. 23:39]; for ‘on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape,’ as Yahweh has said, even among the survivors whom Yahweh calls” (Joel 2:32). Just as Isaac escaped death on Mount Zion because of the substitute ram that God provided (Genesis 22:14), so those who trust in the Lamb of God will escape the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Such is Joel’s warning, reiterated by Peter on the day of Pentecost [Acts 2:19-21].
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We see a hint of real biblical blood moon theology when the religious leaders chose Barabbas over Jesus:
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.” And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified (Matt. 27:24).
Sure enough, multitudes of Jews lost their lives in the great Jewish War. Josephus, an eyewitness to the savagery of Jerusalem’s destruction, writes, “the whole city [was] run down with blood, to such a degree indeed that the fire of many of the houses was quenched with these men’s blood.”
Sensationalism sells. It’s always been the hallmark of prophetic speculation. It’s not enough that Bible prophecy is scary enough, but it has to be made ridiculously scary and sensational to keep selling more books. Here’s Blitz’s latest:
For the last two thousand years people have been anxiously trying to analyze who the Antichrist might be and when he might be revealed. Many people have made preposterous claims, and of course, they have been wrong. If you’re not careful, you can get caught up in the debate and spend so much time arguing with other Christians over the details that you don’t accomplish anything for the kingdom!
To make matters worse, we now live in an era when, for the first time, we have the possibility of an artificial intelligence Antichrist, a human computer hybrid that will demand to be worshipped. Have you ever wondered if it’s OK to have Alexa, Siri, and other forms of artificial intelligence in your home? We know that the Bible says great deception is coming, so what is a concerned believer to do?
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It’s easy to determine the number, time, and identity of antichrist. First, there were “many anrichrists” (1 John 2:18). Second, these antichrists were alive in John’s day. Third, they denied that “Jesus is the Christ” and “the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:18-22):
Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
John makes it very clear that the antichrists were persons, not machines. They are a “who” not a “what.”
For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist (2 John 7).
Blitz’s timing is all wrong. John says, “it is the last hour” and “now many antichrists have appeared.” He was describing what was taking place in his day about real people.
It’s hard to sell prophecy books about prophecies that have already been fulfilled. Nearly every bad guy in history has been said to be the antichrist. In the 20th century, it was Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Gorbachev. Let’s not forget the popes of the Roman Catholic Church.
As expected, some Presidents have been tagged with the antichrist moniker. Ronald (6) Wilson (6) Reagan (6) who lived at 666 Cloud Road for a time. The address was later changed to 668 by his wife Nancy). Barack Obama also was said to fill the shoes of antichrist.
Here’s the latest by conspiracy nut Steve Quayle:
“The spirit, in my opinion, the Bible talks specifically of Antichrist, the literal devil, entering into him, just like he did Judas Iscariot. But what’s even more important, Jared Kushner’s address is 666 5th Avenue … If you take New York, and I do, as the commercial center of commercial Babylon, then what you’ve got is you’ve got someone whose name links with the time of the fallen angels—and it’s my position that the earthly kings, so many of them are fallen angels, if you will, in human drag, that’s really the only way I know how to say it—and the thing that is really critical is that it’s imperative that people understand that there’s a lot in a name. Because the name Jared, and that’s what’s interesting, means ‘descent’ or ‘descendant.’
“We’ve got the president, who is doing everything that he believes is right to do,” Quayle declared, “but his physical descendant is married to what could turn out to be one of the most villainous men in the world.” (Patheos)
Did you know that some of Hal Lindsey’s books were published by Bantam Books (e.g., the paperback edition of The Late Great Planet Earth, The Liberation of Planet Earth, and Road to Holocaust)? The address of Bantam is also 666 5th Avenue.
None of these things matter since antichrists are specifically defined in terms of time. They were roaming around in John’s day and were most likely unbelieving Jews. John describes them as “those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9; 3:9). They were part of that generation who rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah.