A blood moon eclipse will occur on July 27 when the moon passes through the Earth's shadow and this full lunar eclipse is a particularly noteworthy one according to Accuweather.com as it reports that it will be the longest one this century.
The weather website's meteorologist Brian Lada said the full moon will turn blood red. It will be mostly visible in Africa, the Middle East, parts of southern Asia and the Indian Ocean.
Lada explained: 'Friday's lunar eclipse will be particularly special as it is the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century.
'The total phase of the eclipse will last for an impressive 1 hour and 43 minutes, while the entire eclipse, including the partial phases, will last for over 6 hours.
'One reason why this eclipse is lasting so long is because it is occurring when the moon is near apogee, or the point in its orbit when it is farthest away from the Earth, making it appear smaller than normal.'
As it's a lunar eclipse, stargazers will be able to observe the blood moon eclipse in the night sky without wearing any special glasses.
But it's not only astronomy fans who are interested in this special eclipse as some Christians believe that such celestial occurences are prophetic signs from God.
One of them is the American pastor Paul Begley, who thinks it's a sign that the End Times are near. In a live stream on YouTube this week, Begley said the world is in the 'era of the apocalypse.'
'There's no doubt something biblical is going on with the signs of the second coming of Christ,' he said.
But he said further into his livestream that the lunar eclipse on Friday should not be taken as a sign of the end of the world.
'July 27 is not the end of the world,' he said. 'But it is a sign of the Apocalypse and we are in the era of the Apocalypse. We're in the final days or the final chapter.'
There are several passages in the Bible that some Christians like Begley use to interpret the blood moons and eclipses. One of them is Joel 2:31, which says, 'The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.'
Another one is Luke 21:25, which declares, 'There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.'
Then in Acts 2:20, it states: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come."
And the book of Revelations says in chapter 6 verse 12, "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood."
Other Christians think Blood Moon theology as just a theory. Christian website GotQuestions.org says: 'The blood-red moon theory was always just that—a theory, regardless of the adamancy of some teachers.'
Listen to Paul Begley's livestream below and see what you think. Fact or just theory?
