A series of rare lunar eclipses occur between 2014 and 2014, with the first, with the first 'blood moon' eclipse, which took place early Tuesday morning, April 15, 2014.
Stargazers were mesmerizd as they looked up to see the moon blushing, as the eclipse began at about 2 a.m. ET on the early hours of Tuesday and lasted about 3.5 hours. The eclipse was full by 3 a.m. ET
The next three lunar eclipses are expected to appear on Oct. 8, 2014, Apr. 8, 2015 and Sept. 28, 2015.
A lunar eclipse happens when Earth, the sun and the moon align in a way that makes Earth's shadow falls on the moon, giving the moon a dark color. The moon will appear to look blood-red, which happens when earth deflects the sun's light.
A small group of Christians see the lunar eclipse series as a sign of End Times and the second coming of Jesus Christ, an event described in biblical prophecy.
This belief is based on biblical prophecy. In Joel 2:31, the Bible says, "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD comes."
Megachurch pastor, televangelist and author John Hagee is warning his congregation and the rest of mankind that there's a "world-shaking event that will happen between April 2014 and October 2015."
Hagee, who is founder of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, TX, believes the "four blood moons," (four consecutive and complete lunar eclipses) also known as a lunar tetrad, is a significant event.
The televangelist and author had garnered vast amounts of attention as the date of the first blood moon drew near. Hagee believes the event will change world history, which he discusses in his book Four Blood Moons: Something is About to Change. He will be airing a TV special on GETV regarding this topic on Tuesday, April 15, the first night of the tetrad.
The 'blood moons' will also coincide with Jewish holidays. This year's lunar eclipses on Apr. 15 and Oct. 8 concur with the Jewish Passover and feast of the Tabernacle. Lunar eclipses falling on Apr. 4 and Sept. 28, 2015 also concur with the same Jewish holidays.
NASA also believes the lunar tetrad – four successive blood moons – is also very unusual and that it will be a unique sight to behold,
This series of rare astronomical events only happened a handful of times in the last 2000 years.
The last three times have coincided with globally significant religious events.
The tetrad that took place in 1493, saw the Catholic Spanish Inquisition expel Jews. It was an event that changed western Europe dramatically.
The second tetrad took place at the same time the State of Israel was finally established in 1949, after years of struggle.
The last tetrad, which occurred in 1967 happened at the exact same time of the Six-Day Arab–Israeli War.
"Every time this has happened in the last 500 years, it has coincided with tragedy for the Jewish people followed by triumph. And once again, for Israel, the timing of this Tetrad is remarkable," Pastor Hagee told Express News.
According to Earthsky.org, three out of four of the blood moons cannot be viewed from Israel.
Although Pastor Hagee believes that the upcoming tetrads are significant, Rev. Mark Hitchcock, a preacher and biblical prophecy expert in Edmond, Oklahoma says he doesn't believe the eclipses are related to Bible prophecy.
Hitchcock pointed out that while rare astronomical occurrences can often be read about in the Bible, the upcoming lunar eclipses is not one of them.
In his recently released book, "Blood Moons Rising: Bible Prophecy, Israel and the Four Blood Moons," Hitchcock, who serves as senior pastor of Faith Bible Church, explains his stance on the universe's upcoming event.
The Oklahomian reports that Hitchcock began writing his book because many people were asking him whether the blood moons were linked to prophecy. His colleagues were also overwhelmed with questions about the 'blood moon' eclipses. Hitchcock shared that the growing interest resembled the fascination people placed in the Mayan calendar's end of world prophecy on December 21, 2012.
"The difference in the Mayan calendar idea in 2012 was that it really was kind of outside the Christian world." However, Hithcock stated, "This is a prediction being made by Christian pastors and Christian teachers." The Oklahoma-based pastor explained that after examining historical and scriptural information, he believes that "the conclusions they draw on this blood moon prophecy of 2014 and 2015 are not valid."
The eclipse on April 15 was observed from all around the world, from the central Atlantic westward to eastern Australia.
