Reflections on the Eclipse

My wife and I had the joy of traveling to South Carolina in 2022 to watch the last eclipse. It was quite remarkable. It was at that time that we began planning to go see the next eclipse, which took place a few days ago. The next one will be in 2044, and chances are I might see that eclipse from a true heavenly place—but, you never know!

There has been a lot of discussion, especially in various social media channels, about the spiritual implications of the eclipse. The fundamental questions are “is the eclipse in some way tied to end-time events?” and “is God trying to tell us something through the eclipse?” These questions involve discussions that imply, in one way or another, the eclipse is connected to some type of prophetic event involving Israel and the Jewish people. So, of course, these discussions always have my ear!

I have heard a variety of theories about the linkage of this eclipse to the end times, and I thought that maybe I could add a bit to the discussion by writing something biblically sound. I prayed and asked the Lord for some insight and then it hit me . . . there is a major lesson from God’s Word to learn from the eclipse that involves Israel, the Jewish people, and the end of time! May I share this with you?

The End-Time Vision of the Prophet Jeremiah

“‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lorf, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah’” (Jeremiah 31:31).

This passage continues through verse 34 and shows that the original audience for the new covenant message was the Jewish people. Yet, the application of the prophecy expands beyond the children of Israel and is, in part, fulfilled among both Jewish and Gentile Christians today (Hebrews 8:7–13). Christians are now enjoying a foretaste of what the Jewish people will experience when that great day comes when all of Israel will be saved and turn to Jesus as Savior (Romans 11:25ff).

So how are believers in Yeshua experiencing the new covenant today? First, both Jews and Gentiles who enter the new covenant through faith in Jesus the Messiah have the law of God written on their hearts, which causes those who are born again by the Spirit of God to obey God rather than disobey Him. Secondly, they receive the forgiveness of their sins through the shed blood of the Messiah Jesus on Calvary. 

“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Jeremiah 31:33)

What will one day happen to the nation of Israel has now already taken place among both Jews and Gentiles who have accepted Jesus as their Messiah. And one day this will happen to the Jewish people at the time of national repentance, also predicted by the prophet Zechariah:

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son (Zech 12:10).

On the other hand, there is more to come! And this “more to come” is related to the second coming of Jesus as, when He comes to establish His earthly kingdom, the knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters fill seas. Also, there will be peace among nations and all peoples, as even the torn Middle East will no longer be in conflict. According to Isaiah 19:23–24, Israel, Egypt, and Assyria will walk arm in arm in the kingdom.

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

So, What Does the Eclipse Have to Do with This Glorious Future Day?

It is necessary to continue reading and move past Jeremiah 31:34 to verses 35–37 where, according to my dear friend Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum (with tongue firmly in cheek), the prophet instructs his readers on how to destroy the Jews!

Jeremiah prophesies,

Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; the Lord of hosts is His name: “If this fixed order departs From before Me,” declares the Lord, “Then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever.” Thus says the Lord, “If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,” declares the Lord (Jer 31:35–37).

So, what does this have to do with an eclipse?

Let me offer my simple definition of an eclipse: an eclipse occurs when the moon blocks the sun (fully or partially). But thankfully, an eclipse is not permanent, it is a temporary phenomenon. Otherwise, it would mean that somehow the order of creation had changed, and this is impossible for neither people nor nature can alter the order of God’s creation.

According to Jeremiah—the weeping prophet—not only is it impossible to change the course of the sun, moon, and stars but it is also unrealistic to think we can change the tides of the seas. Have you ever noticed that the oceans stay within their divinely ordained boundaries?

Indeed, as we read in the first chapter in the book of Genesis, God created the heavenlies according to His sovereign pattern. And if the planets were to align in a way that was contrary to creation, then this would be a temporary, heavenly anomaly. Certainly, the seas sometimes cross their divine boundaries as we saw with Hurricane Sandy and the Thai Tsunami of 2004 but, thank God, the seas always return to their God-ordained limits. In other words, the order of creation is miraculous and established by God himself. Momentary changes do occur, but creation usually snaps back to its original design as ordained by the heavenly designer.

According to Jeremiah’s words, the only way to destroy the Jewish people is to do what is impossible and that is to permanently alter the course of God’s creation. If you can destroy the sun, the moon, and the stars and instruct the oceans to overflow on a regular basis, then you can force the hand of God to revoke His covenant of faithfulness to the Jewish people.

As much as God is committed to the order of His creation—the heavens and the earth—He is similarly committed to the unshakeable nature of His covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Neither Hamas, Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Taliban, Isis, Iran, Syria nor any other country or group will be able to destroy the Jewish people any more than we might alter the very order of God’s Creation.

According to Zechariah 12:9–10, the day is coming when we will see the nations perched on the doorstep of Israel, seething with hostility, and prepared to destroy the Jewish people. Yet, in that day the Jewish people will cry out to Him whom they have pierced and mourn for Him as one mourns for an only begotten Son. Then, in Zechariah 14 we read that His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which will be split in half and the enemies of Israel will be conquered. The Lord Jesus will return in power and glory and sit on His rightful Davidic throne throughout the kingdom period.

Thus, we see that God will not allow the nations supposed to be blessed by Israel to turn on Israel and destroy His chosen people. He made sure and certain promises to the Jewish people that are irrevocable. Hallelujah!

Next time you look at an eclipse, wearing the proper glasses of course, and see the light of the sun blocked by the moon, you will remember that it is a passing phenomenon, as God set a heavenly order in place that cannot be destroyed. And the same goes for the Jewish people who are bound by an unconditional covenant and destined to fulfill His plan for the nations. We cannot destroy what God has created, and we cannot annihilate the people He created and called for His holy purposes to be a blessing and light to the nations. The Jewish people cannot be permanently eclipsed any more than His creation. And you don’t need to wear special glasses to see it.