Is The Last Day Coming on Friday?
Astronomers have said that on this Friday the moon will turn red in some parts of the world. This is due to a lunar eclipse, where the earth blocks sunlight from the moon. For more than 100 minutes, the moon will turn a reddish orange.
Because of this natural phenomenon, some people think that this is one of the signs of Judgment Day. For the prophet Joel declared, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:31–32). Jesus also talked about the signs of the Last Day: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Matthew 24:29).
However, note that “the moon [turned] into blood” or darkness, is just one of several events happening before the Last Day. We are not to conclude from this that Friday is the Last Day. Both passages point to celestial events that surpass natural phenomena.
The least that we can say is that the lunar eclipse on Friday should remind us that Judgment Day is certain to come in the future. We need always to be ready for whenever Jesus returns—because it will be sudden, people will not be prepared, and all people will stand before the throne of Jesus to receive either heaven or hell.
Joel also gives us hope in these words, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” To call on the Lord is to worship Him, to trust in Jesus as our Savior from sin and death, and to continue in prayer that God would “forgive us our trespasses, lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil.” As we live in baptismal grace, receive the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of sins, and continue to hear and believe the Gospel of our salvation; we will be prepared for the Last Day—whenever Jesus comes.
