It’s been one week since the solar eclipse. And I must admit that the amazing wonder of the recent eclipse has turned my mind toward the sun, the moon, and the stars.

God has quite a bit to say about these lights and their purpose. For thousands of years, men have been observing these lights.

Gen 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 years:

Gen 1:15  And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

Gen 1:16  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

It is obvious that, from the beginning, God intended for the earth to be inhabited, and that He was creating a world of order. (If we will allow ourselves, we can see God’s divine order everywhere.)

In Gen 1:14, we see these lights had four main purposes: to give light, for signs, to control the seasons, and to determine our calendars. For our purposes today, let’s focus on one of the four purposes. God plainly declares that the sun and the moon are for signs.

Signs — (in the sense of appearing); a signal (literally or figuratively), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc.: – mark, miracle, (en-) sign, token.

These two lights are used by God to give us signals. God states they will be used by Him for this purpose.

Consider:

Joe 2:30  And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

Joe 2:31  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Joe 2:32  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Act 2:16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

Act 2:17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

Act 2:18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

Act 2:19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

Act 2:20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

Act 2:21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Rev 6:12  And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

These three passages reference the sun and the moon being used by God for a sign. Joel and Luke both write that salvation is the end result of these events. So, then, what is significant about last Monday’s solar eclipse? Is it a sign with the same magnitude as these Scriptures reference? I am not sure, but it can be a signal to those of us who are in Christ’s church.

I have been taught, in symbolism, that the sun represents Jesus and the moon represents the church.

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

There are many interesting facts about the moon that support this symbolism: its surface is actually red like blood, it reflects the sun’s light, it is to rule and overcome the darkness of the night, it affects the times of planting and harvesting…

So, what is symbolized when we have a solar eclipse? You can make a positive and a negative observation. Today I choose to make a positive application.

As I thought about last week’s eclipse, it was like the moon and the sun were having a private moment together. For a moment in time, they were face to face and the earth was turned off.

We are living in an hour when this desperately needs to happen.

The church needs to have an intimate moment with Christ. The church will one day experience the Rapture, but in the mean time we must become directly aligned with the sun/Son. This may cause the earth/world to pause and look at us both. We, the church, can then move out of the way again so that the world/earth can see the sun/Son.

I am afraid the church keeps trying to change the world without an eclipse.

One of the best thing you can do is, every now and then, quit worrying about the state of the world and get face to face with Jesus.

“Facetime” with Jesus soon.

Love God, Love Others, Live Obediently,

Pastor