[Word count: 551. Approximate read time: 2-3 minutes]

“Is this the cycle recorded in the pages of history?
World, are you about to end?” —The Clark Sisters, “World?”

On St. Patrick’s Day this year, there was an earthquake centered near the area of Los Angeles where I live. People jokingly called it the Shamrock Shake, but for those 10 seconds, nothing was funny. It was the closest and strongest quake I’d ever felt as a lifelong Californian. And it was enough to scare the piss out of Chris Schauble on live TV.

A 4.4 on the Richter scale is hardly enough to cause significant damage, but it can make you evaluate what you really believe. When the ground started shaking, I reverted to my training, which is to get under a desk… and then pray like my mother taught me. When I was young, she outlined what the Bible says about events that would occur before Jesus returned. It included scriptures like these:

“‘But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.’ Then He said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.” —Luke 21:9-11 (NKJV)

“I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.” —Revelation 6:12-14 (NKJV)

Now I’m reading that CNN reports a “blood moon” will appear tonight. That’s a phenomenon during lunar eclipse where the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow causing it to appear blood red. Wait. Doesn’t the Bible say something about the moon turning to blood before the end of the world?

“And I will show wonders in Heaven above and signs in the Earth beneath, the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.” —Acts 2:19-20

A USA Today article says “evangelicals view the End Times not as the immediate end of the world, rather as a period when certain events must unfold, according to prophecy, over a long period of time prior to the return of Jesus.”

“But I need to know, if the world says it’s time to go, tell me will you freak out?” —Janelle Monae, “Dance Apocalyptic”

There’s probably no reason to freak out. The appearance of blood moons has happened many times in the last century. The Earth is still turning as we’re accustomed. But when you start seeing things that might substantiate a supernatural, apocalyptic prophecy? Due diligence demands that you at least look up for a second and make sure all is clear. I’m still not too sure about everything the Bible says. But when the rubber meets the road, what do you really believe?

“Are you ready for Jehovah’s return? Because if you not…”

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• ‘Blood Moon’: Rare Lunar Eclipse to be Visible From Earth (stopbeingfamous.com) — April 14, 2014
• Shamrock Shake Strikes Los Angeles (usnews.com) — March 17, 2014
• Does The Bible Predict The Blood Moon? (CNN Belief Blog) — April 14, 2014
• 13 End-Time Prophetic Events—In Exact Sequence (realtruth.org) — August 24, 2011