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Sunday, August 13, 2017

The Moon and the Bible

Probably everyone who has ever lived and has had good eyesight has seen Earth's Moon many times. But because we are so used to looking up at it, this may detract from the fascinating fact that it is the only celestial body that humans can directly see its surface features with the unaided eye. One can look directly at the Sun, however permanent damage to the retina can occur within seconds depending on conditions.

With this in mind, consider some of the symbolic similarities the Bible provides when examining the relationship of the Sun and Moon to Jehovah God and Jesus. For instance, no human has literally seen God (Exodus 33:20; John 1:18; 1 John 4:12) and no one can directly see the Sun unaided. But, as mentioned before, we can all see the Moon and of course, thousands saw Jesus when he was on Earth.

What other symbolic similarities are there? Well, the Moon emits no light of its own but instead reflects light from the Sun. At Hebrews 1:3, we read that Jesus "is the reflection of God’s glory."

Yet another function of the earth’s natural satellite, as noted by the writer of the ancient Bible book of Genesis, is that the Moon serves as a light by night.—Genesis 1:16. Similarly, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will by no means walk in darkness, but will possess the light of life.”—John 8:12

Consider too, the comments made by the 07 7/15 Watchtower on p. 32: "Referring to the throne of David’s “seed,” the psalmist sang: “As the moon it will be firmly established for time indefinite, and as a faithful witness in the skies.”—Psalm 89:36, 37. The ‘luminary that dominates the night’—the moon—is a fitting reminder of the permanence of Christ’s rule. (Genesis 1:16) Concerning his Kingdom, Daniel 7:14 states: “His rulership is an indefinitely lasting rulership that will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be brought to ruin.” The moon is a witness that reminds us of that Kingdom and the blessings it will bestow upon mankind."

Another interesting example is the occurrence of a total solar eclipse. When the Moon is directly in front of the sun it blocks all light from it. Similarly, when trinitarians or others elevate Jesus as God (putting him in front of God) they are in total spiritual darkness.

Also interesting is how the first Passover in the year 1513 B.C.E. was observed about the time of full moon. The Bible definitely states that Christ is the Passover sacrifice (1 Cor. 5:7) and that he observed the Passover meal the evening before he was put to death. This also happened under a full moon. That is why we today always see a full moon when we observe the Lord's Evening Meal commemorating Jesus' death and sacrifice.

Note the following from Insight on the Scriptures:

"The Passover was always observed on Nisan (Abib) 14, being on or near the day of full moon, inasmuch as the first day of every month (lunar month) in the Jewish calendar was the day of the new moon, as determined by visual observation. Therefore the 14th day of the month would be about the middle of a lunation. The date of Jesus’ death is shown in the article JESUS CHRIST (Time of his death) to be Nisan 14, 33 C.E. Concerning the day of his death as reckoned on the Gregorian calendar, astronomical calculations show that there was an eclipse of the moon on Friday, April 3, 33 C.E. (Julian calendar), which would be Friday, April 1, on the Gregorian calendar. (Oppolzer’s Canon of Eclipses, translated by O. Gingerich, 1962, p. 344) Eclipses of the moon always occur at the time of full moon. This evidence strongly indicates that Nisan 14, 33 C.E., fell on Thursday-Friday, March 31–April 1, 33 C.E., on the Gregorian calendar.

"It was on the evening before his death that Jesus observed his last Passover meal and afterward instituted the Lord’s Evening Meal. Even before the Memorial meal began, the traitorous Judas was sent out, at which time, according to the record, “it was night.” (Joh 13:30) Since the days of the Jewish calendar ran from evening of one day to evening of the next, the Lord’s Evening Meal was celebrated also on Nisan 14, on Thursday evening, March 31." it-2 pp. 268-271; Lord’s Evening Meal - Time of Its Institution.

ALSO SEE: LUNAR ECLIPSES OF HISTORICAL INTEREST (Scroll down to Lunar Eclipses: 1 CE to 2000 CE)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEhistory/LEhistory.html

Interestingly, on the 2,000th year anniversary of Jesus’ death (2033), another lunar eclipse will occur.
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2033-april-14

2033 also marks the 120th year after 1914. Is this of any significance? Probably not. But I always keep thinking about these two Scriptures: "For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be." (Mt. 24:37) "Then Jehovah said: “My spirit will not tolerate man indefinitely, because he is only flesh. Accordingly, his days will amount to 120 years.” (Gen. 6:3)
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What Are The Odds That The Sun and Moon Seem Same Size?

"Solar eclipses result from a unique relationship between the sun, the moon, and the earth. The sun is tremendous in size, with a diameter about 400 times that of the moon. Remarkably, though, the sun is about 400 times farther away from us than the moon is. As a result, from our viewpoint the sun and the moon appear to be nearly identical in size. Thus, the moon can at times appear to fit perfectly over the sun." - When Night Falls at MiddayAwake! 02 8/22 pp. 21-24
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102002607

Something else to consider:

The Moon was much closer to the Earth in the past and the perfect fit was nonexistent. Since the moon's formation billions of years ago, it has slowly been moving farther away from the Earth. It was only much farther in this planet's history when both the sun and moon appear to be nearly identical in size.

What are the odds that a total eclipse of the sun - this unique phenomenon from a human's standpoint on Earth's surface - occurs only in the relatively slim time-line of planet Earth's history when humanity made it's appearance and are the only inhabitants who can truly appreciate it?

(To read about key ways in which the moon affects life on earth, see; The Role of The Moon
Our Unique Solar System—How It Got Here; 2/15/2007 Watchtower pp. 4-7)
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2007121#h=6