“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world.”
Luke 21:25-26
Between sundown tonight, April 7th, and sunrise tomorrow, April 8, we will be shown a sign in the heavens. A full super moon will be visible in the night sky, appearing some 15% bigger and 30% brighter than normal.
This particular moon is being called a pink super moon, not necessarily because of its hue but because this April moon typically corresponds to the early springtime blooms of Phlox subulata, a pink wildflower native to eastern North America. It is “super” in brightness and appearance because it will be a full moon visible at its closest point in its orbit around Earth — also known as perigee.
From a Biblical perspective, however, it is always interesting when impressive signs in the heavens correspond to the appointed feasts of the LORD, which typically are associated with the lunar cycles. Tonight’s pink super moon will also be considered a Paschal moon because of its proximity to the Biblical Feast of Passover and Resurrection Sunday.
Passover is considered one of the most holy days in Biblical history, as it represents the greatest deliverance in Jewish history — the Exodus from Egypt — and was a foreshadowing of the greatest deliverance in human history — the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Add this celestial phenomenon to everything else that is happening on a global scale in 2020, and one can easily awaken to the sobering reality that our Creator is doing His best to get our attention and force us to look heavenward. As Jesus Himself says …
“Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
Luke 21:28
Signs in the Heavens
From the very beginning, God told us that the sun, moon and stars were to serve as celestial signs — brilliant billboards in the heavens — that would provide ominous warnings and mark the appointed feasts of the LORD.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and he made the stars also.
Genesis 1:14-16
No wonder that the magi from the east were tracking astronomical signs in the stars when they discovered the birth of King Jesus in Bethlehem. No surprise that a solar eclipse accompanied the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Jesus, along with the Old Testament prophets, also predicted that the sun, moon and stars would play a major role in announcing His triumphant return to earth. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the Day of the LORD and the signs in the heavens that coincide.
“Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.“
Isaiah 13:9-10
Jesus builds on this imagery and reminds us to keep lookin up.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Matthew 24:29-32
Tonight’s super moon is a preliminary sign, a merciful reminder that God is on His throne and well in control of all the global chaos and this present crisis.
May we remember the faithfulness of our God when we observe the beauty of His creation tonight, and may we not worship the creation itself but the CREATOR who is forever to be praised.
Lift up your heads, O saint. For your redemption draws nearer than ever before!
Days of Noah 