Off the bat, I’m not a doomsday date setter. For one, it is unbiblical (Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32) and two, the stigma coupled with what awaits a false prophet is far too great (Matthew 7:15, Ezekiel 13:9). I do have a fascination with celestial occurrences which can be traced back to my childhood along with events of eschatological significance. I grew up watching the news about the famine in Africa which badly affected Ethiopia in the 80’s and it was also the time when there was extreme tension with America and the country formerly known as the USSR. Being so young, I used to be traumatized at the sound of helicopters. It automatically made me think of war (wars and rumors of wars).
The first celestial spectacle I witnessed was Halley’s comet in 1986. The article I linked makes for an interesting read on the probable correlation of the comet’s appearance and famine but still a theory. I was barely seven. After that was a solar eclipse I know happened when I was in elementary school. I remember the incident because my family happened to talk about the three days of darkness. I was still in the grip of a superstitious religious system at that time and being a kid, hearing things like that made my heart pound and thoughts about the end of days would flood my head. I wonder to this day why those things bothered me as a child and also if someone else had a similar experience which I’m sure is the case. I just haven’t met that person yet.
Then there’s the Perseid meteor shower in 2001, the blood red harvest moon I witnessed for the first time of 2011 with my family, and the most recent one to date I witnessed was one of the four blood moons of 2014-2015. I got up around 4-5 AM to see it. My husband was sleeping of course. I tried to get him to see it with me but he’s not too much into these things. My neighbor who came home from his night shift asked if I was okay since he saw me staring intently to the sky and that’s when I told him I was trying to see the blood moon. He could have thought I was looking at the moon and waiting for a cue to turn into some scary creature (lol). I tried to capture it but without a tripod, it looked like I took a picture of a sprite.
It is interesting my family happens to be situated in a path of totality in Salem, OR for the total Solar eclipse on August 21st. If this thing only happens every 87 years (I got this figure from the city’s monthly publication), then it would be quite a rare event indeed. The next time it will happen, I’d be six feet under or better yet, be out of this world by way of the rapture. Yes, I believe in harpazō (1 Thessalonians 4:17). It’s something I would like to witness not because it is touted by some as being an end time sign but simply because I find astronomical events interesting. It may be hard to believe but I was Science-minded before my encounter with Jesus Christ.
Some Christians have gone far too ahead and connected this to another solar event in 2024 and predicted of cataclysmic events. My interest dwindles the minute I hear people come up with predictions by way of codes and numbers. “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6). This is always a safe guide when it comes to biblical interpretation and most especially to end time prophecies. What we can expect however is a meteor or asteroid hitting the earth spoken of in Revelation 8. What is written will come to pass.
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”
Matthew 24:42
[Image Credit: Search engine result-tweaked. Special thanks to the OP]
I am also fascinated by astronomy. I remember a notable comet back around 1999 and I’ve seen a few meteors, a few lunar eclipses, and some partial solar eclipse. This will be my first total eclipse of the sun, and I’ll be driving several hours to see it. (I have family to stay with along the path.) I never made a bucket list, but if I had, this eclipse would have been on it. J.
A brother in Christ and one who’s also into astronomy, awesome! I noted the ones I have personally witnessed. This will be my first total solar eclipse as well. I intend to sit next to my sunflowers in the backyard and I’m hoping the OR clouds won’t foil my plans. Hmm, I don’t have a bucket list either. Not too late to make one. Thanks for the idea.