just simply over the moon?

Animation above shows moons shadow cast on earths spinning surface.

The previous post focused on the smallest components and patterns in the most intricate of God’s creations.

Time to look up once more.

Our worldview is rooted in our limited comprehension of the earth around us and depends very much from what vantage point we are viewing everything. Many things affect our outlook, such as the position of our dwelling place, the location and calibre of our lifestyle, as well as how we observe and process information, and interact with the world around us.

For one moment instead of thinking of ourselves standing on the earth looking up at the stars in the sky; embrace the reality that from any point on the surface, we are in fact actually staring down into the infinite abyss of the universe, with only gravity holding us to the surface of the earth.

(That’s where we instinctively reach for a seatbelt!) Every day we see the sun and almost every day we see the moon;this is because God said in Genesis 1:14 that He created the sun, (greater light) for day and the moon, (the lesser light) for night, for the seasons and for a way to measure and count the days, months and years.

After the Exodus God set the Israelites back on a lunar calendar to help them leave behind the Egyptian sun worship and solar based calendar.The size of our Earth and Moon in comparison to our Star, the Sun.

Today our calendar is again solar-based. It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582, (which is not all that long ago). The Gregorian calendar is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It was adopted from the Julian calendar involving a correction to the length of a year. The reform was adopted initially by the Catholic countries of Europe. The last European country to adopt the reform was Greece, in 1923.

The Gregorian reform contained two parts: a reform of the Julian calendar as used prior to Pope Gregory XIII’s time and a reform of the lunar cycle used by the Church, with the Julian calendar, to calculate the date of Passover, (Easter).

From the lunar month cycle he extended the days of each of the 12 months and it is there that we lost the Lord’s original set days which were based on the lunar moon cycle.

The orbits of the Earth and Moon around our star can be accurately forecast and thus depended upon to give those observing it a specific time each year.

Until the printing press and almanacs became available, the phases of the moon were the only worldwide source of seasonal information for agricultural/farming and planning ahead. Nowadays we hardly notice the phases of the moon as we rely so much on modern technology.ECLIPSE FEVER IS TAKING AMERICA BY STORM AND EVERYONE IS, ‘SEEING STARS’ AND IN THIS CASE our moon is PASSING IN FRONT OF OUR VERY OWN STAR, the sun.In less than a month, on 21st August, the orbital paths of the earth and moon will converge during the daytime. As the moons orbit takes it between the earth and the sun, its relative distance will block out the sun for a short period of time as its shadow transverses the surface of the earth. It will only be seen along the mapped path above.
There is much excitement about the upcoming heavenly spectacle. For the first time in 100 years (99 to be exact) that an eclipse can be seen over a 70 mile wide track by people living in the continental United States.Eclipses occur more frequently than every 100 years and are seen more commonly from other locations due to the orbital path of the moon.Having experienced several, it is indeed a unique experience and very strange, as the moons mass passes between earth and the sun and blocks the suns brilliant light from reaching our planet.

Then daylight turns to dusk and the birds stop singing.

All of nature thinks that it’s night-time and there is an eerie silence.

But it doesn’t last long!

The brevity is rooted in the movement of the dark shadow of the moon known as the umbra. When you are inside the umbra, the entire solar disk of the sun appears to be covered by the dark disk of the moon.

In short the moons umbral shadow will take a leisurely trek across the USA covering 2,496 miles (4,017KM)

It will take just 90.7 minutes for the moon to pass fully across the sun, whizzing by at an average speed of 1,651 mph (2657km)/h.

During its path across the sun, the moon allows the corona of the sun to glint briefly looking like a gigantic diamond ring in the sky. 
A corona is an aura of plasma that surrounds the sun and other stars.

The Sun’s corona extends MILLIONS of miles/kilometres into space and is most easily seen during a total solar eclipse, but it is also observable with a coronagraph.

The word “corona” is a Latin word meaning “crown”, from the Ancient Greek κορώνη.

The diamond-ring effect occurs both at the beginning and end of totality.Second diamond-ring effect at end of totality August 11, 1999 during a total solar eclipse.

Where the last rays of sunlight pass through the valleys on the moon’s limb, and the faint corona around the sun is just becoming visible, this is when it resembles a ring with glittering diamonds.It’s a most spectacular sight, which lasts only seconds.The highly transient diamond ring effect really shows that the universe is not as static as it appears to be.

There are other stunningly visual moments during transition called Bailys Beads.In itself the eclipse is nothing more than the heavens that God created doing exactly what He set them in place to do.

They have followed His directive for millennia and have been viewed by multiplied millions of human eyes over the centuries. The Scriptures speak of them and astronomers have mapped their orbits. All the visible constellations have names and tell the greatest story of all time. His-story.

The Scriptures tell us that God put the heavens that we see in place for signs and for seasons and Jesus reminded us of that in the book of Matthew.

In 1 Chron. 12:32 The tribe of Issachar and his children were noted for their knowledge and observations of the heavenly bodies and the times and seasons that their movements indicated. Maps were made of the heavens millennia ago, for they were a living calendar for agriculture and especially for God’s people Israel to follow His Appointed Times.

The birth of Jesus was written in the starry sky and led the Magi from the East to Him as they saw ‘His star’ in the constellations and understood it’s significance. They paid attention, should we be any less interested?

Jesus Himself told us of the signs to look for prior to His return in Matthew 24.

The Revelation of Jesus to John also speaks of many signs in the skies above.

In recent years there have been many unusual sights in the heavens. During the years 2014/5 there were four ‘blood moons’ and eclipses occurring ‘coincidentally’ on exact days of the Appointed Times of the Lord celebrated during the calendar year.

There is no specific Hebrew word meaning coincidence, as all things in the Hebraic mindset and Hebrew thought are designed and orchestrated by God/Hashem. In Hebrew nothing ‘just happens’ there is no luck, no chance, it is all by His co-ordinated design and planned from before the foundation of the world.

That being so, it may behoove us to pay attention to the skies above, look to the heavens for our redemption draws nigh. We are not told to look down and at our circumstances but encouraged to look up to where our Father exists in the heavens.

Shamayim in Hebrew (שָׁמַיִם).

In the Greek ouranos οὐρανός, οῦ, ὁ.

The Hebrew word shamayim a plural form meaning ‘heights’, ‘elevations’. It is constructed of two parts: sham (שָׁמַ) derived from Akkadian samu meaning “sky” or “lofty”, and Hebrew mayim (מַיִם) meaning “water”.

In Genesis 1:6 Elohim separated the “water from the water”. The area above the earth was filled by sky-water (sham-mayim) and the earth below was covered by sea-water (yam-mayim).

The Hebrew word for the sun is shemesh. It follows the same construction, where “shem” or “sham” (Akkadian: samu) means “sky” and esh (Akkadian: ish) means “fire”, i.e. “sky-fire”.

יָרֵחַ ‘yareach’ meaning ‘moon’  Phonetic Spelling:  (yaw-ray’-akh)

אָ֫רֶץ  ‘eretz’ meaning ‘earth’  Phonetic Spelling: (eh’-rets)

By some scholars calculations we are in the year 5778 and other scholars say that there are some 200+ years missing from the calendar having been miscalculated by some rabbis and scribes.

If that is correct we could be nearer the year 6000-16!

It is good to remember that it’s not just 2017 years that have passed in total, that it simply the number of years since Jesus came the first time and was on the earth physically. There is some 4000 years prior to that as the story contained in scripture from Genesis began approximately 6 thousand years ago. If this is correct and we look at the reference to a day as a 1000 years; we are right in the cusp of entering the 7000th year which is symbolic of His Rest, (Shalom) indicating the start of the prophesied 1000 year reign of Messiah as He returns.

The only question is, are we ready, are we prepared for His return? Where are our hearts Focused?

It may not be in our lifetime that He returns, but what If it is?

Are these heavenly signs pointing to His soon return? Will He fulfill ‘the appointed times’ this coming September?

Even if it’s not this year, being ready and prepared spiritually is up to each individual and to make certain we have shared the good news of salvation and forgiveness through Jesus blood with everyone we can.

We looked at Israel, 70 years the nation. 50 years with Jerusalem as its capital and the significant date recently, when Jews were once again able to pray freely on the Temple Mount. We are now counting down to the first of the 3 fall Appointed Times dates and the 40 days of Teshuvah. Teshuvah is a time of repentance and soul-searching in preparation for the time of repentance that immediately precedes Rosh Hashanah.

It is always good to remember that numbers are important to the Lord and that every Hebrew letter has a numerical value. Nothing is insignificant or coincidental in God’s plan of the ages. Let as keep our eyes on the Lord and on the heavens where He is and on the apple of His eye, His beloved Israel.

Perhaps it is significant that 21st day August, day of the eclipse, is exactly one month to 21st September, which this year is Rosh Hashanah.

Jesus said no man knows the day nor the hour of his return but the Father only. Does this indicate it’s possible to know the season or the year?

All we can know for certain is what the scripture says

One thing is sure, it’s time for us to look up and away from the things that so easily draw us away from the Lord and from His presence. It’s time to focus on Him and not ourselves. We need to be as Jesus said, ‘about our father’s business’, pleasing Him by our lifestyles and our obedience to His commandments.

There’s only one sunset and its been going around the earth since God created the sun. (Gen.1:14-19)

and as you are watching that sun set…someone on the other side of the earth is watching the exact same sun rise!It takes the whole ocean and the moon to erase one footprint in the sand

 and everything we eat is processed sunshine…

Your shadow is a confirmation that light has travelled nearly 93 million miles without interruption…

only to be prevented from reaching the ground in the last few feet by your presence! Consider that we have never actually been in the same place twice, as the earth and the solar system we are part of and even the entire known galaxy, are all in constant motion through space.  

Not all starlight that we see is the same age, some of it possibly millions of years apart even though it reaches our eyes at the same moment.

Many of the stars we see in fact no longer exist, so we are literally looking back through time.

This being true, the night sky isn’t simply a single moment in the universe but rather a patchwork, a compendium, a compilation of countless years in the breadth of eternity. The Song of Solomon speaks of the bride as the moon but finishes by speaking of her as the sun. The final picture and mystery of the bride goes from moonlight to sunshine.The moon and the sun are two different kinds of light.

The moon is a light that shines conditionally. There has to be nothing blocking its face, nothing hiding it from the sun.

The sun shines regardless of where it’s facing, or anything blocking it, because its nature is to shine.We are the ‘bride’ and we are still in the moon phase, reflecting our Saviour’s glorious light.We’re rejoicing, but oftentimes our joy is conditional. The real victory comes when you move from the moon stage to the sun stage. Then the light of the glory of God is coming from within our being and we have completed the transition from glory to glory.

It’s when your joy moves from being conditional to becoming unconditional, then you truly praise Him, not just when things are good, but when things look terrible – at all times.You shine not just because things are shining around you, you shine because you are a light to the world.That’s what a light does – it shines.

You’re the bride, and the bride begins as fair as the moon, but ends as bright as the sun.Commit to being the light of Messiah today and shine like the sun!(The above image of a partial eclipse in 2012 was taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite.)

Final caveat.. although it’s tempting to stare at the sun during a solar eclipse, if you try to do so without protection, you could damage your eyes.

Shalom family and friends, be safe as you continue to enjoy the wonders of our Fathers Creation.