#384

The Great American Eclipse - Again

Looking To The Skies

The heavens are telling the glory of God; they are a marvelous display of his craftsmanship. 2 Day and night they keep on telling about God. 3-4 Without a sound or word, silent in the skies, their message reaches out to all the world. The sun lives in the heavens where God placed it 5 and moves out across the skies as radiant as a bridegroom going to his wedding, or as joyous as an athlete looking forward to a race! 6 The sun crosses the heavens from end to end, and nothing can hide from its heat. (Ps 19:1-6, TLB)

A great deal of people are fascinated by stellar activity and this isn’t a new thing. Astronomers are constantly intrigued by studying the heavens. We even have massive telescopes above our planet to view the galaxy and some of the pictures we see from them are nothing short of spectacular. In the verses from the book of Psalms the psalmist tell us that God actually speaks to us through the heavens so there is a spiritual element to these stars. On a base level they tell us about how big God is and that He actually exists as we read in this article from gotquestions.org:

Psalm 19:1 states, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” This is one of the clearest biblical statements that nature itself is meant to show the greatness of God. These words are in the present tense. That is, the heavens “are declaring,” and the sky “is proclaiming” the creative work of God. It’s a continual display. What we see in nature is meant to constantly show us that God exists and tell us how amazing a Creator He truly is.

Is God telling us more than that He exists, though? Is there more to this communication than simply a grand argument to support that there is a Divine creator?

Events In History Are Connected To Stellar “Signs”

As we approach another total eclipse over the United States there are some who think that the one in 2017 and now the one in 2024 are more than just a Psalm 19 generic example of God’s design and existence. As with the popular blood red moons tetrad talk back in 2014 and 2015, these eclipses are generating a lot of talk within the Bible prophecy community and for good reason. These two eclipses are only seen over America and happen very rarely. There are ripe for speculation and some think over speculation. Before the one in 2017, the last time a total solar eclipse was visible by only America was in 1776 and we all know what happened that year. In retrospect, having these two total solar eclipses happen so close together could very well be a sign to us that God is speaking. Did those fighting for independence in 1776 realize there was a message in the skies from God? We don’t know. But we can speak to 2017 and now 2024. And in the information age, we have a lot of ways to pick them both apart and trust me, a lot of people have and continue to do so. Any search online will open you to the world of a great deal of data on the 2017 eclipse with people drilling down to the tiniest specs of statistics to figure out just what God was telling us. Bible author Troy Brewer in a video tell us that he believes about these eclipses:

Now, anytime, guys, that God Almighty speaks a word through the sun, he's talking to the nations. Anytime that the Lord would speak a word through the moon, he is speaking to his covenant people prophetically, that would either be Israel, or, or it would be the bride of Christ. Or, anytime that God Almighty is speaking through the stars, he's prophetically speaking to his children, children of inheritance. Hey, Abraham, let me talk to you about all these babies you're going to have. Let me show you, let's go, let's go find out the story in the stars. Amen. Because the whole Bible was in the stars, and God Almighty pointed out all of those promises to him. Don't you love the word of God? I love how awesome Jesus is.

Common Cities

Much was made of the 2017 eclipse and that the path of the eclipse went over 7 cities named Salem which in Hebrew means peace. Brewer tell us this about that occurrence:

So, it's like, okay, so it goes through there, and this, and this great, this great American eclipse, it goes through the United States, and it actually starts as Salem, Salem, a town called Salem. And then, it passes over seven cities called Salem. It is the craziest thing. Like, what? It's only, it's only actually in its totality about 130 miles wide, and it passes over seven cities actually called Salem. So, this prophetically speaks of a couple of different things. Number one, Jesus is the prince of peace, and so, we know that Salem is a word for peace, like Jerusalem, city of peace, or Absalom, son of peace. And so, it's, but it's the peace that's found after total reconciliation with the Lord himself. It's how he rules and how he actually reigns. So, like, okay, so it's doing this, it's going across there, it hits seven cities actually called Salem. Like, that's a big deal.

He goes on to make a connection to another seven year period in the Bible, one I think you’ll recognize:

I'm going to tell you about another move of God and another sign in the heavens because the word in that first one was this: Boom, the clock is ticking, and you got about seven years. Can anybody remember anything that has a seven-year cycle, and what that's all about? Right, that's, that's Egypt. It's the word of Joseph. And so, it begins, seven years, it begins a seven-year cycle. But it exits a place that is where the Civil War started, Fort Sumpter. The last place that the shadow actually touched was a place called Fort Sumpter, and that's where the Civil War began. Like, it ends in a place where the Civil War begins, at the end of the seven.

If you’re like me, this seems like it is playing out like a scene from The Princess Bride where one of villains taunts the hero with his great knowledge and the hero responds with “Truly, you have a dizzying intellect.” But I digress. According to Brewer and others the last 7 years have been a time for unity and a warning and opportunity for repentance. And the actual duration of the eclipse in 2017 was 1 hour and 33 minutes which some say points to Psalm 133 which says this:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Ps 133:1, KJV)

I don’t know about you, but the last 7 years have been anything but unifying.

Another Set Of Cities

Since we made a cottage industry about the cities the 2017 eclipse crossed it is only fitting that we take a look at the common cities the 2024 one will cross and this time it is pretty uncanny. There are 38 cities named Salem in the United States, but the common cities the upcoming eclipse passes over is rarer. What city is that? Nineveh. There are only 7 such cities named that in America and it not likely a coincidence that this heavenly event hits them all. I was skeptical about the 2017 named cities of Salem, but this one is harder to dismiss. Again, going back to Brewer, the Biblical connection is quite a bit stronger:

So, now, I want to fast forward, six years, six months, and six days later, we have another eclipse in the United States that puts an X across the United States. Where it crosses is a place that's called Little Egypt. I was telling you about that. And this one, my friends, this one, this one's a little bit different. Why is that? Because it goes over seven cities in the United States, they have the same name. What is it? It is the name Nineveh. Are you kidding me? No, I'm not kidding you, friends. As a matter of fact, whenever I, whenever I first begin to discover this, I nearly fell down. Because there is, it first goes over Nineveh, Texas, then it goes over Nineveh, Missouri, then it goes over Nineveh, Indiana, and then it goes over Nineveh, Ohio, and then it goes over Nineveh, Pennsylvania, and then it goes over Nineveh, Virginia, and then it goes over Nineveh, New York, before it goes over into Canada.

As one would expect, if there is a Biblical connection to be made, looking in the Scriptures to find anything about Nineveh is fairly easy and even a small child knows stories about Jonah and Nineveh. Jesus, when replying to those demanding a sign from Him said this:

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. (Matt 12:38-39, NKJV)

So if the last eclipse gave us 7 cities called Salem, what does this one tell us? Let’s turn to the Bible story and see if we can figure it out.

An Eclipse And Repentance

According to Troy Brewer with a little help from Biblical scholar Donald Wiseman, an eclipse occurred when Jonah preached a message of repentance to the Assyrians. Wiseman actually was a wise guy according to this description of him in a Wikipedia post: (he) was a biblical scholar, archaeologist and Assyriologist. He was Professor of Assyriology at the University of London from 1961 to 1982.

I’d say he would be a good source on the story of Jonah and he maintains that the great Assyrian Eclipse coincided with Jonah’s visit as another Wikipedia post attests:

The Bur-Sagale eclipse occurred over the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh in the middle of the reign of Jeroboam II, who ruled Israel from 786 to 746 B.C. According to 2 Kings 14:25, the prophet Jonah lived and prophesied in Jeroboam's reign. The biblical scholar Donald Wiseman has speculated that the eclipse took place around when Jonah arrived in Nineveh and urged the people to repent, otherwise the city would be destroyed. This would explain the dramatic repentance of the people of Nineveh as described in the Book of Jonah. Ancient cultures, including Assyria, viewed eclipses as omens of imminent destruction, and the empire was in chaos at this time, struggling with revolts, famines and two separate outbreaks of plague.

Brewer connects the dots for us this way:

There was this terrible event that happened in Israel, and when this terrible event happened, it was the Assyrians attacked them, and they went from city to city to city, destroying, I believe it was 29 different cities. And I was, I mean, when they destroyed them, it looked like October 7th event. It was horrible. And then they got all the way to Jerusalem, and God Almighty told the king, he said, don't worry about it, they're not going to be able to get you. I'm going to protect you. And they went to besiege Jerusalem, and then one angel came, and that one angel killed 185,000 Assyrians. One angel. And like, wow. Well, then he went home, you know, with his tail between his legs, and he's like, oh my gosh, and he goes home. But then he, he wanted people to forget that the angel of the Lord had actually destroyed his army, so he built this incredible place in Nineveh, and he built up this, this amazing palace, and it had all these pictures and all these stories of how he had slaughtered the Jews.

He then adds this:

Fast forward a few years later, God Almighty tells Jonah, I want you to go to that palace, and it's in a place that is called Nineveh. And while you're there, I want you to go, and I want you to preach repentance to him. Jonah said, no, I'm not going to do it. Then we all know the story, he first, he first prepared a great fish, and then God Almighty prepared a worm. He goes from fish to worm, and poor old Jonah. But whenever he gets there, he has to walk among those pictures, and he has to walk among those places, and all those terrible stories of the inhumanity that this king had done to his people just a few years earlier.

Jonah was already ticked about having to go these people who not long before tried to slaughter them and then he sees the denials of what God did to protect them. But God got the King’s attention with a sign in the heavens. An eclipse.

God Got Their Attention

I like how Brewer sums up the account in the book of Jonah:

And then, if you look right there, that is where it was at, at exactly on 763 BC. And so, like, what is that? That is the day that Jonah, the prophet, walked into Nineveh. And you know what happened? There was a solar eclipse. Like, okay, what? Yes, there was a solar eclipse. So why did they repent, by the way? You know, and you can look, when was June the 15th of 763 BC? It was the first of Elul on the Hebrew calendar. And then, what did this brother say? He said, 40 days, and I'm going to watch you burn. I'm done with y'all. And they were like, oh no. Well, they actually repented. And it's like, well, why did he see 40 days? Because 40 days after the first of Elul is the Day of Atonement, which is Judgment Day. It's like, boom. Well, Elul is also the month of repentance. And do you know what happened? Those people actually said, uh, we don't want to mess with this guy. Their God killed 185,000 of our soldiers, and the second this dude walked in, there was a solar eclipse. And we always know that a solar eclipse means a word to the nations.

Which begs the question about what is God trying to tell us in 2024? Brewer summarizes things like this:

Now, guys, whenever you see eclipses just like this, as you're seeing right now, you're actually seeing a miracle. Because God Almighty placed it in our firmament in such a way that even though the sun is 400 times bigger than the moon, it's also 400 times farther away from the moon, from our perspective in our firmament, which means from our field of vision, they look exactly the same size, just about the size of a quarter. So, God Almighty wants us to see these things. He wants us, he wants these things to get our attention. I mean, when the sun starts to go dark, it gets your attention. So 2017, this eclipse comes across, and it's, it's amazing. It, it, it, it's the whole, all of the United States came, um, came out to look at it. It's beautiful. And I'm telling you, it is the sign of Jonah the prophet. Like, well, that's bad news. No, it's a word of repentance. It's a word of, hold on, church. It's a word to the nation.

Final Thoughts

Do we actually only have a short amount of time before God judges America? Will there be a great earthquake on April 8th like some are thinking? The path of this eclipse does pass over the New Madrid Fault. I simply don’t know. I’ve even heard some people say God told them not to travel at this time. It’s hard to know, but what I do know is that God does warn His children before times of judgment to let them prepare and not be caught off guard by them. But I also know that the day to repent doesn’t need to show up with a lot of bells and whistles. Yes, sometimes it does like in the case of Jonah and Nineveh and other instances in the Bible, but overall, now is the best time to repent. Period. We shouldn’t need an eclipse to tell us that. And if He needs to send us one, well that is a testament to the church not listening up to this point. That’s a good place for an amen or an “Oh me.” When Jesus sent a letter to the church in Ephesus in the book of Revelation He told them this:

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. (Rev 2:5, ESV)

Maybe God is telling us this is a Nineveh moment on a national level. And maybe it is the same thing for the Body of Christ. As an aside, the 2024 eclipse will last 3 hours and 4 minutes and Psalm 3:4 says this:

I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. (Ps 3:4, KJV)

Perhaps that’s not a coincidence, either.