In his Predictions for the Last Blood Moon, prophecy scholar John Hogue reviews the portents he has noted for the first three Blood Moon events, and then describes what world shifts and potentials will be unleashed by the fourth. In the process, he discusses the current hoopla surrounding the Blood Moons and contrasts the religious, dogmatic interpretation of Biblical prophecy with the scholarly, open-minded sort. That discussion contains, I think, the primary value of this short book.
Blood moons are total lunar eclipses. The "blood" designation comes from the moon being illuminated by sunlight in the red wavelength, as refracted through earth's atmosphere, at the point of totality. That is, the moon takes on a red color at the height of a total eclipse. When this happens four times in a row, each separated by six full moons and with no partial eclipses in between, it's called a tetrad.
This book's tone is Mr. Hogue's usual blend of scholarly discussion, no-holds-barred commentary, and points made with yoga-like-twisting word-play and irreverent humor. For example, in reference to a red moon eclipse, he says:
"Is she going menstrual—“ turning to blood” as some dire and unclean portent of the Lord God on the rag, reckoning a final day of judgment and doom upon mankind?"
And when discussing the tendency of people to assign dire meaning to indifferent events, he says:
"Omens are the “oh!” of men projecting alarm on innocent and natural phenomena."
Such passages provide levity to guide the reader through some heavy material.
Because the term, "blood moon," is derived from a passage in the Old Testament Book of Joel that is considered prophetic, the recent (as of this writing) tetrad has been seized upon by the fundamentalist crowd as being a sign from God that portends events leading to the Second Coming. Mr. Hogue reviews this idea in some detail in the Introduction, noting it's descent from the writings of Hal Lindsey (The Late Great Planet Earth) in the 1970s to current tomes by John Hagee, Rev Mark Blitz, and (I'm sure) many others.
Mr. Hogue dissects the narrow, "Bible-based" fundamentalist assertions (especially Hagee's) in the light of his own broader-based studies of prophecy. He points out Hagee's errors in Biblical and historical interpretation, and notes that Hagee's book (Four Blood Moons) is more about supporting dogma than about relating fact or discovering new truth.
In noting the motivations for sheer business success of Hagee and others, Mr. Hogue says:
"Their recipe for success : cook up a thick stew of hubris, hope and fears in religious pot boilers based on a watered-down broth of badly translated Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew ancient texts."
The problem with this fundamentalist, end-times stew is that the ardent partakers of it tend to direct us to a bad place (and some of them are government leaders, and they do seem to dominate the US military). As Mr. Hogue says:
"In my view, such Christian theologians along with their Jewish and Islamic counterparts all unconsciously promote a dogmatic eschatological dream that drags the Middle East, and perhaps the whole world, down into their apocalyptic nightmare without any salvation waiting at the end as anticipated reward."
Such words will offend the fervent, fundamentalist, evangelicals and Mr. Hogue has already tussled with them on his website, but there's no getting around that. Especially if you're to address Biblical material honestly, and Predictions for the Last Blood Moon, in my opinion, does just that.
In regards to actual prophetic implications of the Blood Moons, Mr. Hogue uses his tool of astrology to evaluate them. In chapters for each Blood Moon of the tetrad, he examines them in the light of the associated positions of the sun and stars, and in the strength of astrological "windows of influence" in force at the time. What he finds are the directions in play for world events that the Blood Moons underscore. These are, in a nutshell:
1st Blood Moon: 15-Apr-2014
"Nationalistic impulses" prompt renewed violence in Ukraine between the NATO-backed Kiev government and the Russian-backed Donbass fighters.
2nd Blood Moon: 08-Oct-2014
The Syrian Civil War spills over into Iraq in the form of an "invasion" by the ISIS group. This prompts a return of American "advisers" to Iraq.
3rd Blood Moon: 04 Apr 2015
The US and Iran put together a framework for an agreement on Iran's nuclear program, and later the deal itself is brokered (on Jul 14). But the "deal" is a bad one for Iran (they get some sanctions lifted but lose most all control of their nuclear program and open an invasive door to the west). Unbiased observers think there is much beneath the surface here and Mr. Hogue's oracle seems to agree.
4th Blood Moon: 28 Sep 2015
According to Rev Hagee and company, this is the last Blood Moon before the start of the Tribulation and the event of the Rapture (Christians taken off of the earth by Jesus Christ at his Second Coming). Mr. Hogue's interpretation (based on astrology and the writings of Nostradamus) is the possibility of nuclear war between the US/NATO and Russia, with Iran being involved as a flashpoint.
I'll let you read the book to get the specific predictions for the Blood Moons, but be aware that they are not in the form of inevitable predictions as is the case with Biblical prophecies expounded on by the fundamentalists. That is, rather than "this will happen because God said it would in His Word," we have astrology and the words of seers over the ages to indicate some definite tendencies coming together with certain possible consequences--if we don't do something about them.
That may sound like hedging, but it's really not. It is, in fact, the actual result of the study of prophetic works (like parts of the Bible and the writings of Nostradamus and other seers). A skilled, honest, prophet (or psychic sensitive) can examine this material and make definite predictions and/or comment on the likely directions of nations and nature. Warnings and wisdom come from such study.
Where Mr. Hogue expounds on this in Predictions for the Last Blood Moon, is, in my opinion, the book's chief value. I don't think I've heard him talk about this view of prophecy as being NOT inevitable so much and so well as he does in this book's fourth chapter. It struck a chord with me, especially in his relating this concept to the evangelical proponents of Biblical prophecy (i.e., the Hal Lindsey vein). Because this fundamentalist culture is where I come from, I recognize the reality he is talking about and can only "amen" passages such as:
"Inevitability has been embraced by Bible prophecy watchers like John Hagee who shepherd their flock into a state of powerlessness wherein they cannot envision the future beyond being fixed and immutable. I have looked into the same scriptures, and more than this, I have compared one tradition’s take on the future with others because belief in destiny’s inevitability can only thrive if you limit your imagination or surrender it to self-puffed-up pundits playing holier than thou."
I also recognize Mr. Hogue's knowledge of the Bible as it relates to prophecy and Christian doctrine. I can appreciate the sympathy he extends to those "born again believers" when he says:
"If you find yourself every Sunday sitting in a massive, super-charged, super-churched “ pew ,” deep down hides a girl screaming mindlessly at the Beatles. Know this, that rocking and holy rolling to a shepherd Fuehrer playing religious hysteria’s “flock” star is slowly taking your intelligence under the “screaming-at-the-Beatles” spell of mass mindlessness. No true spiritual understanding is possible."
And that's very true. Been there; done that; got the T-shirt.
Though Predictions for the Last Blood Moon is a short book (some 66 pages), it contains much of substance that challenges the "inevitable" view of prophecy and blind-belief systems. In examining the prophetic implications of the recent Blood Moon tetrad, it highlights the trends of current events we should be wary of. For those not satisfied with the dogma of the usual Bible prophecy "scholars," it offers alternative thoughts that can be pursued in Mr. Hogue's other works (several are listed at the book's end, with sample chapters).
And for those spiritually seeking their way through life, this book offers encouragement and suggests a tool for enlightened understanding--wake up and meditate!
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