[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during August 2026]
And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years’. God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.
Genesis 1 v14,16 [NIVUK]
One day last week a large proportion of the population of western Europe spent the evening staring at the sun. They were expecting to see the sun disappear, hopefully only temporarily. Such was the anticipation of this event that some hotels in Spain and Iceland were booked as long as four years ago.
In astronomical terms, the relative orbits of the Earth and the Moon can produce eclipses of varying degrees of totality fairly frequently. I recall watching a partial solar eclipse which covered 60% of the Sun when viewed from central England in October 1996. The next anticipated dates for major eclipses are in August 2027, primarily visible in Egypt, and July 2028, primarily visible in parts of Australia. But can we trust these astronomers’ predictions?
In around 835BC the prophet Joel made his own prediction about the sun and the moon:
The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.
Joel 3 v15 [NIVUK]
The context of this prophecy is God exacting retribution against the enemies of his people. As is often the case with many Biblical prophecies, the words can have both short-term and long-term fulfilments.
How often do you read the books that we call the minor prophets?
Are you tempted to dismiss them as merely history past?
In the example of Joel’s prophecy, the immediate context is that of the delivery of the people of Judah and Jerusalem from conquest by the armies of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. This took place some 135 years after Joel’s prophecy. However, many commentators suggest that the prophecy also has a future application:
But it has a further reference, to the great redemption wrought out for us by Jesus Christ, and the destruction of our spiritual enemies and all their agents, and will have its full accomplishment in the judgement of the great day.[1]
The gospel writer Luke tells us that Jesus himself spoke about armies gathering around Jerusalem and the celestial irregularities that would occur in the end times:
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.
Luke 21 v25 [NIVUK]
Last week, as the moon pursued its pre-ordained course, we saw the light from the sun disappear and then return.
Are you ready for the return of the Son of God?
References:
[1] Commentary on Joel 3, Matthew Henry, 1706
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © Steve Humphreys