Unleashing the Beast

268 / U NLEASHING THE B EAST

T HE S IGN OF THE G RAND C ROSS Prior to the new millennium, a total solar eclipse over the Middle East was interpreted by some as a sign of the time of the end. On August 11, 1999, a total solar eclipse occurred over Israel. In Europe and the Middle East, from start to finish, it lasted from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., about three hours. At the time of the eclipse, four planets—Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, and Uranus—were positioned in such a manner that, if a person were to draw an invisible line from one planet to another, it would form an X-shaped cross. Called a "Grand Cross," this unique sign becomes more interesting when you consider the time in which the eclipse and the positioning of these four planets occurred. Christian astronomers point out that on Passover, April 28 in A.D. 28, the same four planets were in a similar position to form a Grand Cross. Some scholars believe this was the time of the crucifixion. If April 28 in A.D. 28 is the first day, and we move forward using the ancient 360 day a year prophetic calendar, then 2,000 years later (720,000 days) the date is August 11, 1999, the same day the three-hour eclipse occurred from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The New Testament notes that as Christ hung on the cross, there was darkness upon the earth for three hours, from the third to the ninth hour (Luke 23:44). This was from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Both days fell on a Wednesday. One of my secular Muslim friends in Jerusalem told me that Muslims living in Jerusalem and the West Bank fell