What do you know about the testimonies written in the heavens?
The first 16 verses of Genesis tell us that the sun and moon are our primary “greater” lights – greater than the stars.
“Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar” (Jeremiah 31: 35).
In Genesis 1:14, “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.”
"And so He sets this up, and He sets this up in order to communicate things.
I hear comments from a wide variety of people who wish Christ would return. They welcome the idea, as if it were going to solve the world’s problems. I’m always daunted by what will happen immediately before His return. Whatever joy He may ultimately bring, this world will undergo widespread catastrophes prior to the return.
Jesus was asked about the signs which would accompany His return. He answered in Luke 21: 25-26:
And there shall be signs in the sun…
[the most common sign is always an eclipse. For some reason the transit of Venus across the sun went largely unnoticed. But the sun waxes and wanes in both magnetic effect, sunspot activity and solar flares. It affects climate, electromagnetic fields, crops and all life.]
and in the moon…
[the most common sign are blood moons and eclipses. ]
and in the stars…
[these rotate predictably, but when they move from one age to another by the precession through the equinoxes, the new constellation was said anciently to be “a new earth.” And when the pole star moved from one to the next, the change was said anciently to be “a new heaven.” Both Aquarius and Polaris represent a change to a new heaven and a new earth.]
and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;
[most often associated with economic upheaval and warfare. But today there is both distress and perplexity from causes the modern world has no preparation to face and little hope of solving peacefully.]
the sea and the waves roaring;
[most often associated with tsunami activity.]
Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:
[most often associated with the lack of courage to face the adversaries and opposing forces that threaten our safety. It includes the inability to stand for principal and righteousness because men are weak. It also includes the growing cruelty of men toward one another.]
for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
[most often associated with apostasy and collapse of faith by men. But also includes distress felt by the angels who are over the earth and those sent by heaven to minister to others. The term “Powers of Heaven” is a proper noun, referring to angelic hosts.]
I’m not certain those who pray for the Lord’s quick return appreciate fully what they are asking."
“Everything that is written in scripture and all of the ordinances that were ordained upon the earth, in the heavens, were reckoned from the position of the earth. It’s not that the ancients were ignorant of what’s going on in the heavens. It’s that they viewed the heavens as being a testimony given to us on the earth. It is a geocentric—that is, from the surface of the earth—that that testimony is written.
From the surface of the earth, the sun occupies a space— Even though the sun is over 100 times larger than the earth, the space that the sun occupies in the firmament of the earth is exactly the same as the space in the firmament that is occupied by the moon, although the moon is 1/6 the size of the earth. From the surface of the earth they are identical in size. So much so, that when you put them on the ecliptic as they are located, one can block out the other entirely in an eclipse. Because all of these things were ordained by God to testify in the heavens about Him and about His work. And those things are bearing testimony, and they are telling you something."
In some ancient cultures, such as the Mayans and the Egyptians, solar eclipses were seen as powerful omens that signaled a time of great change and transformation.
In Navajo culture, an eclipse is about solemnity — not spectacle. It marks the end of a cycle and the power of when the moon and sun are in alignment. When the sun is blocked, it is undergoing a rebirth. It also is seen as the moon and the sun embracing each other.
The removal of light in an eclipse (of the sun or the moon) was seen as a bad omen in antiquity. The U.S. entered WW I which started July 28 of 1914. Three weeks later on August 21st of 1914, a total solar eclipse covered Eastern Europe. The area beneath this eclipse was Northern Europe and Asia. The darkness there seemed to signal the fall of the German, Russian, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian empires.
In the total solar eclipse covering all of North America on June 8th of 1918, 675,000 Americans died in a massive flu pandemic, whereas some 50 million people died of it worldwide. In that same year some 5,000 American soldiers lost their lives in World War I.
Is the empire of modern Babylon, led by the United States of America, about to end as well? Many believe this is the case. We too must be cleansed and prepared individually for what is coming.
In scripture, darkness is tied to ignorance, apostasy, and infidelity to God (primarily idolatry and our rejection of God). In Jewish tradition, a total solar eclipse or black sun has specific ties to coming judgment upon the Gentiles (those using a solar calendar), and to the people residing beneath the sign (such as in 2017).
A total lunar eclipse or blood moon has ties to judgment upon the Jewish people (as they use a lunar calendar). History reveals that the eight known blood moon tetrads have all involved judgments upon Israel, primarily via Islam.
There was a tetrad of blood moons in 2014-15, all on Holy Days. There were three blood moons in a row in 2018-19.
Some say they point to the red horse of the Apocalypse. In Revelation 6:4 the red horse is “given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword.” Many believe the three consecutive red lunar eclipses appear to symbolize coming bloodshed and war in connection with Israel.
Has anyone heard of the sign of Jonah?
In Matthew 12 we read of the confrontation between Jewish leaders and the Jesus Christ. They accused Him of doing His miraculous works by Satan’s power. He warned them of the unpardonable sin. Jesus was making the point that the Kingdom of Heaven had come among them, and that they were going to be excluded from it if they persisted in their rejection of Him because of unbelief. His warning troubled them, yet they were still not convinced that He was the Messiah. They believed they were righteous.
They had the Law of Moses, for example, and believed they lived it. The Pharisees then demanded a sign from Him. The Lord rebuked them for asking for another sign. He said they would be given one sign, “the sign of Jonah.”
It was a sign of His love for those who believe in Him. And it was sign of His great power over death and the heavens He created. As Jonah was in the fish for three days and came forth, Christ was in the tomb three days and came forth. Both of these men hailed from Nazareth. Both went forth crying repentance in the greatest empires of their day.
Part of this sign was a removal of light. A total solar eclipse occurred on June 15 of 763 BC, in the northern areas of what we today call Syria and Iraq. This ominous black sun was well known in the ancient world, recorded on Sumerian cuneiform tablets. Two months after this sign of warning, Jonah was sent by the Lord to preach repentance to the people who had seen it, those of Nineveh Nineveh was a big city —it took three days to walk across it.They had fallen into great wickedness. Jonah was reluctant to do the preaching, escaping instead onto a boat to Joppa. When a great storm came, he was thrown into the sea, after which he was miraculously brought forth onto dry land from the bowels of a great fish. He then went to Nineveh, preached repentance for 40 days. He said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4).
The Lord knew that the black sun would cause wonder and fear among the people. He also knew that it would help prepare the people to hear Jonah’s message of repentance. God sent it two months before Jonah began preaching at Nineveh. The king over the land and some 120,000 Gentiles in Nineveh all received his message, turning to the Lord. They proclaimed a citywide fast and dressed in burlap to show their repentance.
The same great sign is given to the Gentiles of America.
Will we also turn to the Lord? We read in Chronicles 7:
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).
What about the eclipse coming up, April 8, 2024? What is significant?
It will be the darkest U.S total solar eclipse for 217 years.
A long totality also means a darker totality, which could surprise eclipse-chasers who witnessed the early twilight-like light during totality in 2017 eclipse. The level of darkness is a function of the magnitude of a solar eclipse — the fraction of the sun's diameter obscured by the moon, affecting the width of the path of totality.
Totality crossed near the assumed setting of the Garden of Eden between Independence Missouri to the south and Galatin (near Adam-ondi-Ahman) to the north . This area is associated with New Jerusalem in the latter-days and supposedly with the rebuilt and rededicated Nephite Temple of Bountiful where Christ visited the remaining people at the temple after the great judgments upon the earth in the Book of Mormon (This is the opinion of many and may not be true.)
The story of the believing Nephites gathered to the center of the land for protection from the Gadianton robbers is the story of a people trusting in the Lord. It is considered a “type” for similar events that may occur in our day. Many believe it signaled judgment upon the United States and Canada (Egypt and Cush in Isaiah).
The eclipse appeared one month prior to John’s Revelation 12 sign. (Have you even heard of this?)
Some said it was tied to the potential rising up of the Davidic Servant into his important last-days mission. The Lord tells him to "awake and arise" in Isaiah 51:9. Most Christians who are aware of the Revelation 12 birth sign believe it is a marker for Christ's return.
However, between the 2017 eclipse and this great sign in the heavens, something of tremendous importance happened… the Lord answered a prayer for covenant and offered his covenant to a body of believers. Some labored together to organize a conference for the purpose of accepting and canonizing the new scripture effort, and enter into the covenant with the Lord. This occasion marked the first time any body of believers accepted the Book of Mormon by covenant. The scripture project itself is a sign that the Lord is again laboring in the vineyard. The day the scriptures were canonized, a different kind of labor began, 260 miles to the East, as the earth shook, touching off a swarm of earthquakes leading up to that Revelation 12 great sign in the heavens, 20 days later. These immense signs, signifying events prophesied for thousands of years, came AFTER all the required faith, labor and sacrifice were present and completed. They confirmed the faith of those who paid attention, and meant nothing to those who did not.
As many of you are aware, the upcoming eclipse will create an X if overlaid with the 2017 eclipse path as they move across the United States.
The two crossing black suns create a “bulls eye”. Some people tie this event geographically to three important settings as mentioned above.
The area of intersection is also the setting of some 40 ancient Hopewell fortresses, tied to the Nephites of 3rd Nephi (according to the opinion of some.) They had seven years of supplies stored. Northwest of these 40 forts is the current Nauvoo Temple.
The intersection is also tied to the oldest version of the 22nd letter Tav of the Hebrew alphabet which was an X mark. Later Jewish Rabbis changed it to the current mark that resembles an N to separate this last letter from the Christian cross mark. The T or X mark is a sealing mark of judgment. It is placed on the foreheads of the 144,000 in D&C 77:11, and those preserved in Ezekiel 9. It is a sign that “one has been weighed, measured, and is not found wanting.” Such have passed their judgment in this life. It is a mark of the promise of eternal life. As we are born again in Christ, we have our sins remitted. We experience the mighty change of heart, receiving the Holy Ghost as our guide. We are thus made new. This is one of main messages of scripture, and especially the Book of Mormon. Too few have sought and received this important gift of renewal.
It is up to us to decide the significance of this X bullseye. It could mean X marks the spot of the New Jerusalem. Or…. it may “cross” off that area from consideration. One person said the sign of the crossed eclipses is a rather ominous suggestion that we can be crossed out and we can be replaced unless, of course, we choose to repent. At any rate, it is something you may want to sincerely ask about. And don’t expect an immediate answer like a short order cook. We may have to browse the buffet.
Are there any other black suns to consider?
Four total solar eclipses 1999 to 2034 enclose the land God gave Abraham and his posterity as an eternal inheritance. The pathways of the four black suns create a wall around the covenant land.The chiastic center of the four black suns is 2016 and may be tied to the date of God’s judgment on those nations dividing up the covenant land of Israel—ending with all the land returned to the covenant rightful heirs. This same thing must occur in the only other Promised Land mentioned in scripture, America. Native Americans, considered the Remnant of Jacob in the Book of Mormon, must also be returned to their lands, as Promised by Christ in the Book of Mormon and by His statements to Native Americans at Walker Lake, Nevada in 1890. (Anybody heard of this appearance? )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_ClLBarhqg
I think one of the most important ways to look at eclipses was hinted at in a talk at the Unity in Humanity conference, Oct. 14, 2023, which was the same day as the "annular" eclipse across some of the United States, including the county where I live.
“I do wanna comment on the eclipse—like a snake, it gets a bad reputation. Oddly enough, the snake is not originally a symbol of the deceiver or adversary. Originally, it was a symbol of God. In order to mislead in the myth of Adam and Eve, the adversary assumed the form of the symbol of the snake which was a symbol of the renewal of life, shedding skin, rising from the grave and eternal life.
That has been co-opted and turned into the source of temptation and ultimately transgression against God and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. But, it wasn’t always so. I think we’re in the midst of a series of eclipses that hold some communicative value from on high. The one in 2017 and the one in 2024 are total eclipses. The total eclipse brings together a symbol of both the father and the mother in the image of God—created he them, male and female created he them—( in a statement at the beginning of the account of God’s dealing with this world in the book of Genesis found in the Bible).
Today’s eclipse is an annular which is unlike a total, in that this one is called a ring of fire.
Because the ring of fire leaves you still with the ring of the glory of the sun exposed, but the presence of the moon is still there. Unlike the ones in 2017 and 2024, this represents an agreement between both the divine father and the divine mother, the image of God, striking an agreement. I think you have to view the first eclipse 2017 and the one in 2024 as conveying a message and today’s signifying that the two of them are in agreement about that message.”
The message of much of scripture involves repentance and love for God and one another. They are the most significant ways we can prepare ourselves for all that lies ahead of us. God is in charge of everything else.
Some of the References:
https://www.totheremnant.com/search?q=eclipse
https://denversnuffer.com/2018/04/14-the-heavens/
https://denversnuffer.com/2016/04/signs-of-the-second-coming/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nWcqDxjNqU&t=8521s Oct. 14, 2023
