Unleashing the Beast

250 / U NLEASHING THE B EAST

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come (Joel 2:31). Could the billowing smoke, veiling the sun, and the red moon be an allusion to what Joel saw in a vision thousands of years ago? Or is there another application to the sun being darkened and the moon turning into blood? After the Gulf War, I learned that many rabbis believed that a sackcloth sun, or the sun being darkened, could suggest a complete solar eclipse. The rabbis taught that a solar eclipse is a bad omen for the world. Rabbi Meir made another observation when he said, "When the luminaries are in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel." According to the rabbinical interpretations of eclipses, a solar eclipse is a sign of trouble for the world and a lunar eclipse is a sign of trouble for Israel. No more than seven eclipses can occur in one year. Twice in the 20 th century there were seven total eclipses. Both years, 1917 and 1973, were filled with prophetic implications. During the seven eclipses that occurred in 1917:  The Russian Revolution occurred, introducing communism, and World War I was coming to an end.  Occurring in December, the seventh eclipse coincided with General Allenby liberating Jerusalem from 400 years of Turkish rule.  The Belfour Declaration was signed, giving the Jews