Sarkozy offers UPM support if Israel halts settlements~Chris Perver

Sarkozy offers UPM support if Israel halts settlements

Revived Roman Empire

Written by Chris Perver

Friday, 28 August 2009

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said he is willing to organize a second summit of the Union for the Mediterranean in support for Middle East peace, if Israel is willing to cease all settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the territories. The comments were made during his annual foreign policy speech to French ambassadors on Wednesday. Last week it was revealed that the Israeli government has unofficially haltedthe issue of tenders for new builds in the territories, but Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has objected to demands that the Jewish state cease construction in east Jerusalem. The Israeli government is presently working towards a compromise deal with the US administration which would acknowledge Israel's sovereignty over the city of Jerusalem. The Union for the Mediterranean, which was launched with much fanfare in July 2008 and has been hailed as the "best news for peace in the Middle East", collapsed after the resumption of conflict between Israel and Hamas at the end of last year. The Union for the Mediterranean was recently revived on the first anniversary of its launch, after Arab states agreed to participate again in the French project. Now with American focus on getting the Middle East peace process restarted, Sarkozy is pledging his support through the Union for the Mediterranean, to do whatever it takes to reach an agreement. While promising that France would do nothing that would harm Israel's security, the French leader stated there would be no peace so long as Israel continued its settlement expansion. Quote: ""In early September I will receive President Abbas to encourage him to accelerate the renewal of structures that in the near future will govern the Palestinian State. And I hope that today's meeting between the Prime Minister of Israel and the US President's envoy will finally lead to a specific, complete freeze on settlements and the revival of negotiations," he said on Wednesday in his annual foreign policy speech to France's ambassadors in Paris. "If that is the case, France, together with Egypt, with the agreement of the Swedish EU presidency and in concert with the United States, will invite all the member countries of the Union for the Mediterranean to hold a second summit this fall that would accompany the resumption of all three tracks of the peace negotiations," Sarkozy added. "It's time to settle this conflict. One mustn't wait any longer. Wait for what?," he said. A couple of days ago I commented on how I could not understand where this peace process was really going. I remarked that while it seemed US President Obama was bent on pushing some sort of agreement through, I couldn't really see him making much headway in regards to peace. I also said that I didn't know how many more agreements would come and go before we would reach the one that the Antichrist would enforce. Now the French President has promised to support this process, which Obama hopes will lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state within two years time. If Israel ends the settlement construction in east Jerusalem and the territories, the Union for the Mediterranean, also known as the 'revived Roman Empire', will give its official backing to the negotiations. That is an extremely significant development. And that is the direction I would expect this peace process to be going. Not only does this fit in with Daniel 9:26, which states that the Antichrist, who will strengthen a covenant between Israel and its neighbours, will be a ruler of the people who destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 70AD. But Sarkozy himself is Jewish and of Assyrian descent, which I believe the Bible predicts the Antichrist will be. Daniel 11:37 states that the Antichrist will not regard the God of his fathers, which suggests to me that he could be of Jewish descent. And Sarkozy has not hidden his grandiose desires to personally mediate in the Middle East peace process, and to preside as ruler over his Union for the Mediterranean project. I don't know who the Antichrist will be. But I do know this, that what we are seeing today is leading towards the fulfilment of these prophecies. And it will be very interesting to see just how Israel responds in the coming months. Sarkozy is right about one thing. One mustn't wait any longer. As I was telling a friend today, Enoch was translated into heaven many years before the flood came. Noah was hidden in the ark seven days before judgement fell. And Lot was dragged out of the city of Sodom on the same day it rained down fire and brimstone. We don't know the precise time the Lord will come to take us home. But we know He will come, for He has promised (John 14:3). Are you ready for that day? Have your sins been forgiven? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation? Don't delay any longer. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31). Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

End Time Wars - #2 The First War of Gog-Magog~David Regan (BPT)

End Time Wars - #2 The First War of Gog-Magog

By David Reagan

Every time a war breaks out in the Middle East, I receive a flurry of phone calls and email messages asking if it could be the War of Armageddon. This question is prompted by the fact that most people are familiar with only one end time war — the one that has been popularized in movies and novels as the "Battle of Armageddon." In reality, the Bible describes nine separate end time wars.

We have looked at the first of these battles — the War of Extermination based on Psalm 83. Next in the prophetic sequence is the First War of Gog-Magog based on Ezekiel 38-39, the war when Russia invades Israel with certain specified allies, all of whom are Muslim nations today.

2) The First War of Gog & Magog — Ezekiel 38 and 39

The security provided by the Psalm 83 war will not last long. The Arab nations will turn to their natural ally, Russia, and cry out for help.

And the Russians will be very happy to respond, for they have always dreamed of taking the oil fields of the Middle East. They will, therefore, launch an invasion for the stated purpose of helping the Muslims destroy Israel, but their unstated agenda will be to use the Arab invitation as an excuse to expand their sovereignty over all the Middle East. This ulterior motive is described in Ezekiel 38:12 where it says the Russians will come "to capture spoil and to seize plunder."

The invading armies will be supernaturally destroyed by God "on the mountains of Israel" (Ezekiel 39:4). The Lord will accomplish this destruction through earthquakes, pestilence, hail storms, fire, brimstone, and battlefield confusion (Ezekiel 38:19- 22). Even the Jewish people will recognize that the victory belongs to the Lord, and many will open their hearts to the Lord (Ezekiel 38:23). In fact, this event could mark the occasion when the 144,000 Jews of Revelation 7:1-8 accept Yeshua as their Messiah and are sealed by the Lord for special service throughout the seven year period of the Tribulation.

The greatest mystery concerning this war is its timing. Most have placed it at the beginning of the Tribulation. Others delay its start to the middle of the Tribulation. Increasingly in recent years, the tendency has been to place it before the beginning of the Tribulation.

The best discussion of timing that has yet been written can be found in Ron Rhodes' book, Northern Storm Rising. He concludes that it is most likely to occur 3 1/2 years prior to the Tribulation. One of his most important reasons for this conclusion is that Ezekiel 39:9 says the Jews will spend seven years burning the weapons captured in the war, and the book of Revelation says they will be run out of the land in the middle of the Tribulation (Revelation 12:13-17). Since the middle of the Tribulation will occur 3 1/2 years into that seven year period, that means the only way the Jews could spend seven years burning the weapons is for the war to start at least 3 1/2 years before the Tribulation begins. (Note: The "burning of weapons" could refer to captured nuclear fuel.)

Does this mean the wars of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 and 39 must occur before the Rapture? Not at all. The Rapture could occur anytime before, during, or after these wars. Keep in mind that the Rapture is not what marks the beginning of the Tribulation. The Tribulation will begin when the Antichrist signs a security treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:27). There could be a period of several years between the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation.

In the third installment of this "End Time Wars" series, we will look at the third and fourth wars in the end times sequence — both the Conventional and Nuclear Wars of the Tribulation.

Chief Palestinian justice: Temples never existed

Chief Palestinian justice: Temples never existed
Slams rabbis as 'liars,' claims Jews have no historic tie to Jerusalem

By Aaron Klein

Temple Mount in Jerusalem (Courtesy Todd Bolen BiblePlaces.com

JERUSALEM – The Jewish temples never existed, and Jews have no historic connection to Jerusalem, declared chief Palestinian justice Sheik Taysir Tamimi today.

Tamimi condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for stressing in Europe this week the long Jewish connection to Jerusalem.

Tamimi claimed "all Jewish rabbis and extremist organizations" as well as Netanyahu are lying when they state Jerusalem was a historically Jewish city.

He called such claims "baseless and untrue."

"Jerusalem is an Arab and Islamic city and it always has been so," he said.

Contradicting finds from scores of archeological digs, Tamimi claimed all of Israel's archaeological work since 1967 has not proven "that Jews ever had a history or presence in Jerusalem, or that their ostensible temple had ever existed."

During a WND exclusive interview in March 2007, Tamimi, one of the most influential Muslim leaders in Israel, took his assertions even further, arguing the Western Wall really was a tying post for Muhammad's horse, the Al Aqsa Mosque was built by angels, and Abraham, Moses and Jesus were prophets for Islam.

Tamimi is considered the second most important Palestinian cleric after Muhammad Hussein, the grand mufti of Jerusalem.

"Israel started since 1967 making archeological digs to show Jewish signs to prove the relationship between Judaism and the city, and they found nothing. There is no Jewish connection to Israel before the Jews invaded in the 1880s," said Tamimi.

"About these so-called two temples, they never existed, certainly not at the [Temple Mount]," Tamimi said during a sit-down interview in his eastern Jerusalem office.

The Palestinian cleric denied the validity of dozens of digs verified by experts worldwide revealing Jewish artifacts from the First and Second Temples throughout Jerusalem, including on the Temple Mount itself; excavations revealing Jewish homes and a synagogue in a site in Jerusalem called the City of David; or even the recent discovery of a Second Temple Jewish city in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

Tamimi said descriptions of the Jewish Temples in the Hebrew Tanach, in the Talmud and in Byzantine and Roman writings from the Temple periods were forged, and that the Torah was falsified to claim biblical patriarchs and matriarchs were Jewish when they were prophets for Islam.

"All this is not real. We don't believe in all your versions. Your Torah was falsified. The text as given to the Muslim prophet Moses never mentions Jerusalem. Maybe Jerusalem was mentioned in the rest of the Torah, which was falsified by the Jews," said Tamimi.

He said Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and Jesus were "prophets for the Israelites sent by Allah as to usher in Islam."

Asked about the Western Wall, Tamimi said the structure was a tying post for Muhammad's horse and that it is part of the Al Aqsa Mosque, even though the Wall predates the mosque by more than 1,000 years.

"The Western Wall is the western wall of the Al Aqsa Mosque. It's where Prophet Muhammad tied his animal which took him from Mecca to Jerusalem to receive the revelations of Allah."

The Kotel, or Western Wall, is an outer retaining wall of the Temple Mount that survived the destruction of the Second Temple and still stands today in Jerusalem.

Tamimi went on to claim to WND the Al Aqsa Mosque , which has sprung multiple leaks and has had to be repainted several times, was built by angels.

"Al Aqsa was built by the angels 40 years after the building of Al-Haram in Mecca. This we have no doubt is true," he said.

The First Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries.

The Temple was the center of religious worship for ancient Israelites. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God's presence dwelt. All biblical holidays centered on worship at the Temple. The Temples served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and were the main gathering place for Israelites.

According to the Talmud, the world was created from the foundation stone of the Temple Mount. It's believed to be the biblical Mount Moriah, the location where Abraham fulfilled God's test to see if he would be willing to sacrifice his son Isaac.

The Temple Mount has remained a focal point for Jewish services for thousands of years. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition.

The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed in about A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark what Muslims came to believe was the place at which Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven to receive revelations from Allah.

Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible 656 times.

Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night on a horse from "a sacred mosque" – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to "the farthest mosque" and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque became associated with Jerusalem about 120 years ago.

According to research by Israeli Author Shmuel Berkovits, Islam historically disregarded Jerusalem as being holy. Berkovits points out in his new book, "How dreadful is this place!" that Muhammad was said to loathe Jerusalem and what it stood for. He wrote Muhammad made a point of eliminating pagan sites of worship and sanctifying only one place – the Kaaba in Mecca – to signify the unity of God.

As late as the 14th century, Islamic scholar Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya, whose writings influenced the Wahhabi movement in Arabia, ruled that sacred Islamic sites are to be found only in the Arabian Peninsula and that "in Jerusalem, there is not a place one calls sacred, and the same holds true for the tombs of Hebron."

A guide to the Temple Mount by the Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem published in 1925 listed the Mount as Jewish and as the site of Solomon's Temple. The Temple Institute acquired a copy of the official 1925 "Guide Book to Al-Haram Al-Sharif," which states on page 4, "Its identity with the site of Solomon's Temple is beyond dispute. This, too, is the spot, according to universal belief, on which 'David built there an altar unto the Lord.'"

Russia Bolsters Military, Deploys Defense on NKorea

Russia Bolsters Military, Deploys Defense on NKorea

Thursday, August 27, 2009 12:11 AM Article Font Size

Russia’s top general said Wednesday that the military wants to buy a French helicopter carrier, has deployed advanced air defense systems on the border with North Korea and will press ahead in developing the beleaguered Bulava missile. Colonel General Nikolai Makarov, the chief of the General Staff, also said negotiations have resumed with the United States to set up a Moscow-based joint control center to track missile launches. In what would be a landmark deal, the military plans to buy a Mistral-class helicopter carrier — capable of carrying 16 helicopters, 40 tanks or up to 900 troops — and then jointly produce three or four additional carriers with France in Russian shipyards, Makarov said. “Before the year’s end, we plan to obtain contract agreements with a French company allowing the construction and purchase of this ship,” Makarov told reporters in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, where he was traveling with President Dmitry Medvedev.

End Time Wars - #1 War of Extermination~(BPT)

End Time Wars - #1 War of Extermination

By David Reagan

Every time a war breaks out in the Middle East, I receive a flurry of phone calls and email messages asking if it could be the War of Armageddon. This question is prompted by the fact that most people are familiar with only one end time war — the one that has been popularized in movies and novels as the "Battle of Armageddon."

The concept comes from the book of Revelation where it says that armies will gather in the end times at a place "which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon" (Revelation 16:16). This term literally means the Mount of Megiddo and refers to the ancient fortress of Megiddo that controlled the Valley of Jezreel. In English the word was transliterated as Armageddon, and the term came to be applied to the Valley of Jezreel which lies in front of Har-Magedon, running diagonally across Israel from Haifa to the Jordan River.

Most people are surprised to discover that there is no reference in the book of Revelation, or any other place in the Bible to the "Valley of Armageddon," nor is there any reference to the "Battle of Armageddon" — but more about that later. People are even more surprised to learn that Bible prophecy reveals nine wars in the end times and that Armageddon relates to only one of these.

The Next Prophetic War

Most prophetic scholars have long believed that the next great end time war will be the War of Gog & Magog that is described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. This, for example is the stated position of Joel Rosenberg in his popular book, Epicenter. This war will start when Russia invades Israel with certain specified allies, all of whom are Muslim nations today.

But I seriously doubt that the conflict described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 will be the next war of end time Bible prophecy. There are two reasons why I feel this way.

First, there is a condition for the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 that has not been met. Three times in Ezekiel 38 — in verses 8, 11, and 14 — it states that the war described in that chapter will not occur until the people of Israel are living "securely" in "unwalled villages."

Israel is not living in security today. It is bombarded daily by missiles from Gaza, and it is constantly under the threat of missile attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon. There is also the ever present threat of terrorist attacks, a threat that has forced Israel to construct a 400 mile long wall down the center of the country. In short, it is laughable today to even think of the Jewish people of Israel as living "securely" in "unwalled villages."

The second reason I doubt that the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will be the next end time war of Bible prophecy is because the nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38:5-6 as the allies of Russia do not include a single Arab state with a border adjacent to Israel. The nations identified are Persia (Iran), Cush (most likely modern day Sudan), Put (Libya and possibly Algeria and Tunisia), and two regions that lie within modern day Turkey (Gomer and Bethtogarmah). There is no mention of the nations that share a common border with Israel — namely, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Gaza.

Why are the nations located next to Israel not mentioned as allies of Russia? I believe the best explanation of this mystery is the one supplied by Bill Salus in his book, Isralestine. He proposes that the next end time prophetic war will be the one described in Psalm 83, a war between Israel and its neighbors. He believes this war will produce the conditions that are necessary for the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39, and I agree with that conclusion.

With that point clarified, let's now take an overview of the end time prophetic wars in their likely chronological sequence, starting with the first in this series.

1) The War of Extermination — Psalm 83

The psalm states that the immediate neighbors of Israel will launch a war for the purpose of "wiping out Israel as a nation" (verse 4). The nations described as being a part of this nefarious effort are those with a common border with Israel today (verses 6-8). The rest of the psalm is a prayer for the victory of Israel (verses 9-18).

The outcome of the war is not stated, but we know from other scriptures that Israel will be victorious. For example, in Zechariah 12:6 we are told that in the end times Israel will be like "a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples..." Also, in Amos 9:15 we are told that once the Jews are re-established in their land, "they will not again be rooted out from their land."

Bill Salus believes this war will result in an overwhelming victory for Israel, resulting in great territorial expansion and enhanced national resources. It will also produce the security spoken of in Ezekiel 38.

In the second installment of this "End Time Wars" series, we will look at the second war in the end times sequence — the First War of Gog & Magog.

Obama Plan: Temple Mount Under Arab-Muslim Sovereignty? Ain't Gonna Happen

Obama Plan: Temple Mount Under Arab-Muslim Sovereignty

by Gil Ronen

Follow Israel news on and .

(IsraelNN.com) The Middle East peace plan that United States President Barack Obama will unveil soon involves the creation of a Palestinian Authority state by 2011 and the transfer of Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem [presumably including the Temple Mount – ed.] to Arab-Muslim sovereignty, Saudi newspaper Al-Ukaz has learned.

According to the report published Sunday in Al-Ukaz, the Obama plan also includes the following elements:

• Some parts of eastern Jerusalem [presumably Neveh Yaakov, Pisgat Ze'ev and the like - ed.] would be transferred to Israeli control.
• There would be an international presence in the Jordan Valley and other parts of Judea and Samaria.
• The Palestinian Authority terror organizations would be disbanded and turn into political parties.
• The large settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria would not be dismantled.
• The fate of smaller Jewish settlement areas would be decided in a three-month-long negotiation period.

A reporter for the Saudi newspaper received the information from Hassan Harisha, the Second Deputy Speaker of the Palestinian Authority Parliament. Harisha told him that the U.S. has handed over a draft of the peace proposal to the PA and other Arabs for their perusal.

The plan also calls for Judea and Samaria to be demilitarized and for its airspace to remain under Israel control. Israeli-Palestinian Authority security coordination would be strengthened, and the Palestinian Authority state would not be allowed to strike military treaties with other countries in the region.

An “agreed number” of Arab refugees would be absorbed in the Jordan Valley area and in other parts of Judea and Samaria – especially in the area between Ramallah and Shechem.

An international fund would support the refugees and Israel would release Palestinian Authority prisoners three years after a diplomatic accord is signed.

Will he lay out a blueprint?
The Saudi report notwithstanding, the Washington Post's Jackson Diehl estimated Sunday that Obama will not go so far as to present a blueprint for a peace settlement, despite being urged to do so by several Arab governments.

"As the U.N. General Assembly meets in late September, Obama aims to announce the opening of a new negotiating process between Israelis and Palestinians, along with 'confidence-building' steps by Israel, the Palestinian Authority and a number of Arab governments," the columnist wrote. Obama "will probably lay out at least a partial vision of the two-state settlement that all sides now say they support, and the course that negotiations should take. More significantly, he intends to set an ambitious timetable for completing the peace deal -- something that will please Arabs but may irritate Israel."

A Messianic Look at Messiah's Return~Greg Killian(Foreword Michael James Stone)

Greg Killian is a Scholar.
He is rather focused in a obscure branch of Messianic movement that is certainly cultic, but He has a keen and intense handle on many Jewish Traditions that Aid Bible Scholars in Studying End Times.

I have known of Greg for 20 plus years, and like a Missler source, I might agree with Greg on some things, in most areas regarding Y'shua/ Jesus..., He and I disagree.

I feel Greg got caught up into Aramaic Heresy movement.

Alot of his research though, if you can understand it, (I am Jewish), is thought provoking...,

Read and see for yourself.

Michael James Stone




A Time For Judgment

By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)

The Saros Cycle. 3

Future Eclipse Details. 3

Eclipse Blessing?. 5

Kiddush Lavanah with an Eclipse. 6

The Yovel 6

Mashiach in 5775?. 6

In this paper I would like to take another look at the Lunar eclipses that I examined in 5755 (1995). This review was prompted by the fact that these past eclipses are virtually identical to the eclipses which we will see six years from now, in 5774 - 5776. This suggests that there is a pattern that HaShem is using to get our attention. Since, as we shall see, an eclipse serves as an evil omen, it is important that we understand what we are to do in order to show that we have learned the lessons that the eclipses are coming to teach.

The whole point of studying celestial events is to learn to understand the message that The Creator is sending to His people. If we waste our time with foolish speculations, then we will be trampling upon a very precious gift from HaShem. Therefore, I hope to bring out the lesson that needs to be learned and the actions that need to be performed in light of these eclipses, these judgments from HaShem.

The current year is 5768 (2008). This year is a Shmita (Sabbatical) year. The next year, 5769 (2009) is when we will say Birchat HaChama[1]. This very special blessing is recited on Nisan 14, 5769 (April 8, 2009) which is Erev Pesach. These are very auspicious times for us to serve and praise HaShem for His care of His people. These are the times for us to renew our love and avodah (service) for HaShem.

The following chart provides a summary of the two sets of eclipses:

5755 - 5756	5774 - 5776
Lunar Eclipse Nisan 15, 5755 (April 15, 1995) Pesach	Lunar Eclipse Nisan 15, 5774 (April 15, 2014) Pesach
Lunar Eclipse Tishri 14, 5756 (October 8, 1995) Erev Succoth	Lunar Eclipse Tishri 14, 5775 (October 8, 2014) Erev Succoth
Solar Eclipse Nisan 28, 5756 (April 17, 1996) The 13th day of the Omer	Solar Eclipse Adar 29, 5775 (March 20, 2015) The new year for Jewish kings.
Lunar Eclipse Nisan 15, 5756 (April 3, 1996) Pesach	Lunar Eclipse Nisan 15, 5775 (April 4, 2015) Pesach and Shabbat
Lunar Eclipse Tishri 15, 5756 (September 27, 1996) Succoth	Lunar Eclipse Tishri 15, 5776 (September 28, 2015) Succoth
Lunar Eclipse II Adar 15, 5756 (March 24, 1997) Shushan Purim	Lunar Eclipse II Adar 13, 5776 (March 23, 2016) Fast of Esther

The coming eclipses, in six years, are part of the next Shmita cycle and occur during the year of the Jubilee (Yovel). Now, since both the Shmita and the Yovel year provide us with extra time for Torah study, then we can begin to see the tikkun (correction) for the eclipses. If we study Torah then we will be less likely to fall into the sins which cause an eclipse.

I would like to look at these past eclipses as a contrast to the series of eclipses that will be visible in 5774 (2014). In this sequence of eclipses, there are five lunar eclipses and one solar eclipse.

We know, from celestial geometry, that a lunar eclipse can only occur in the middle of the Biblical month, and that a solar eclipse can only occur at the beginning of a Biblical month (Rosh Chodesh).

The first of every Biblical month is called Rosh Chodesh (new moon), and several of the festivals fall on the middle of the month (full moon). Thus the eclipses are poised to fall on Rosh Chodesh (solar) and the festivals. The fact that they come in groups, six months apart, is again related to celestial geometry.

If the eclipses fall at regular intervals, how can we relate them to our behavior and responsibilities? It would seem that they are just celestial events that are unrelated to our behavior. So, how can we KNOW that they are related to our behavior and that they are sent by HaShem to speak a specific message to us?

The fact that they are a specific message from HaShem can be learned from the Torah:

Bereshit (Genesis) 1:14-15 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: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

We know that these eclipse are related to our behavior from the oral Torah, Mechilta to Parshat Bo (second chapter) as well as in the Talmud:

Succah 29a Our Rabbis taught, When the sun is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for the whole world. This may be illustrated by a parable. To what can this be compared? To a human being who made a banquet for his servants and put up for them a lamp. When he became wroth with them he said to his servant, ‘Take away the lamp from them, and let them sit in the dark’. It was taught: R. Meir said, Whenever the luminaries are in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel since they are inured to blows. This may be compared to a school teacher who comes to school with a strap in his hand. Who becomes apprehensive? He who is accustomed to be daily punished. Our Rabbis taught, When the sun is in eclipse it is a bad omen for idolaters; when the moon is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel, since Israel reckons by the moon and idolaters by the sun. If it is in eclipse in the east, it is a bad omen for those who dwell in the east; if in the west, it is a bad omen for those who dwell in the west; if in the midst of heaven it is bad omen for the whole world. If its face is red as blood, [it is a sign that] the sword is coming to the world; if it is like sack-cloth, the arrows of famine are coming to the world; if it resembles both, the sword and the arrows of famine are coming to the world. If the eclipse is at sunset calamity will tarry in its coming; if at dawn, it hastens on its way: but some say the order is to be reversed. And there is no nation which is smitten that its gods are not smitten together with it, as it is said, And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments. But when Israel fulfill the will of the Omnipresent, they need have no fear of all these [omens] as it is said, Thus saith the HaShem,' Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the nations are dismayed at them, the idolaters will be dismayed, but Israel will not be dismayed. Our Rabbis taught, On account of four things is the sun in eclipse: On account of an Ab Beth din who died and was not mourned fittingly; on account of a betrothed maiden who cried out aloud in the city and there was none to save her; on account of sodomy, and on account of two brothers whose blood was shed at the same time. And on account of four things are the luminaries in eclipse: On account of those who perpetrate forgeries, on account of those who give false witness; on account of those who rear small cattle in the land of Israel; and on account of those who cut down good trees.

The eclipse of the moon and stars is caused by four kinds of sin:

(1) forgery,

(2) false witness,

(3) breeding small cattle in Israel (for they spoil the land), and

(4) cutting down fruit-trees.

Thus we see that our behavior brings us judgment from HaShem in the form of an eclipse.

Do you find this idea to be difficult given that our Hakhamim can predict with great precision eclipses of both the moon and the sun? Does this mean that people engage in forgery, bearing false witness, etc., with the same clock-like regularity as the movements of the sun and the moon?

The answer is yes! Anyone who seriously evaluates his own behavior will discover that we habitually fall into the same sins on a very predictable basis. It is only the Tzadik, the righteous man, who is working on himself who can look back and see that he no longer repeats his sins. Most of us are not like this. We are complacent in our study and in our mussar[2]. We do not work on ourselves.

The Midrash also teaches us that our behavior is related to an eclipse:

Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XXXI:9 R. Levi said: Every day the Holy One, blessed be He, sits in judgment on the globes of the sun and the moon which are reluctant to go forth to shine upon the world. What reason do they give? People burn incense to us, people worship us. R. Justa b. Shunem said: What does the Holy One, blessed be He, do to them? He sits in judgment on them and they go forth and shine upon the world against their will. Hence it is written, Every morning doth He bring His right to light--lo ne'dar {Zeph. III, 5). What is the meaning of ’lo ne'dar’? 'It does not cease.’ But the unrighteous knoweth no shame (ib.). People are not ashamed but worship them. They see them being punished^[3] but are not ashamed.^[4]

The Midrash is relating the fact that we pay undue attention to the celestial bodies. Because we do this, we fail to pay attention to the specific things that we can do to correct the eclipses in the first place. The Midrash specifically relates that we should be involved in Torah study so that we can properly worship and serve HaShem. Remember that if we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, then HaShem will rearrange the celestial bodies to show an improved future where we are no longer deserving of judgment. It behooves us to be doing the commands of HaShem that we learn through our Torah study.

The Saros Cycle

These two series of eclipses are separated by slightly more than eighteen years. This period of time is called a Saros cycle. There are roughly 29 lunar and 41 solar eclipses in an 18 year 11 day Saros period. This means that one Saros, of eighteen years+, after an eclipse, the Sun, Earth, and Moon return to approximately the same relative geometry, and a nearly identical eclipse will occur. Thus we would expect that the eclipses six years from now should be nearly identical to the eclipses we experienced eleven years ago. This also suggests that there is a connection between these sets of eclipses.

Lunar and solar eclipses are possible only when the Moon is close to one of the nodes of its orbit (i.e. the points where the lunar orbit, which lies on a plane displaced by five degrees from the ecliptic plane, intersects the ecliptic plane, where the Earth orbit lies). Now the sequence of nodes repeats itself every Saros, implying that the Saros typically defines the interval between two successive lunar or solar eclipses in a given point of the Earth.

Thus the Saros cycle teaches us that the eclipses which began in 5755 are related to the eclipses that begin in 5774. The Saros cycle connects these two series.

Future Eclipse Details

There will be a total lunar eclipse on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 (Includes Israel). This was Nisan 15, 5774 on the Anno Mundi calendar, which will be Pesach, G-d willing. This is year 17 of the 19 year cycle, it is a leap year (Full-leap). This is the sixth year of the Shmita cycle. We will read the following Torah and Haftorah on that day: Shemot 12:21-51, Bamidbar 28:16-25, Joshua 5:2 – 6:1 + 27 (Sephardim), Joshua 3:5-7; Joshua 5:2 – 6:1 + 27 (Ashkenazim).

There will be another total lunar eclipse on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 (Includes Israel). This will be Tishri 14, 5775 on the Anno Mundi calendar, which will be Erev Succoth. This is year 18 of the 19 year cycle, it is not a leap year (Normal). This will be a Shmita year.

There will be a total solar eclipse on Friday, March 20, 2015 (Partial eclipse in Israel). Which will be Adar 29, 5775 on the Anno Mundi calendar. This is a Shmita year. The next day will be the beginning of the new year for Jewish kings. It is also a very special Shabbat. It will be one of four special Sabbaths that will be observed before Pesach. It is called Shabbat HaChodesh. We will read the following Torah and Haftorah on this special Shabbat: Shemot 11:1 – 12:28, Yehezekel 45:18 - 46:15 (Sephardim), Yehezekel 45:16-46:18 (Ashkenazim). This Shabbat is also special because it is Shabbat Rosh Chodesh. We will read the following Torah and Haftorah for Rosh Chodesh: Bamidbar 27:15 – 28:25, Yeshayahu 66:1-24. Please be aware that all solar eclipses occur immediately before Rosh Chodesh.

There will be a total lunar eclipse on Saturday, April 4, 2015 (Includes Israel). This is Nisan 15, 5775 on the Anno Mundi calendar, which will be Pesach and Shabbat. This is year eighteen of the nineteen year cycle, it is not a leap year (Normal). We will read the following Torah and Haftorah on this day: Shemot 12:21-51, Bamidbar 28:16-25, Yehoshua 5:2 – 6:1 + 27 (Sephardim), and Yehoshua 3:5-7; Yehoshua 5:2 – 6:1 + 27 (Ashkenazim).

5776 AM (2016 CE) is a Yovel year according to Rabbi Yehuda + Rabbanan. See yovel1. The Yovel begins on Tishri 1, 5776. All Hebrew indentured servants go free during the Yovel year.

There will be a total lunar eclipse on Monday, September 28, 2015 (Partial in Israel). This will be Tishri 15, 5776 on the Anno Mundi calendar, which will be Succoth (Feast of Tabernacles). This is year nineteen of the nineteen year cycle, it is a leap year (Full-leap). This is the first year of the Shmita cycle. We will read the following Torah and Haftorah on this day: Vayikra 22:26 - 23:44, Bamidbar 29:12 - 29:16, and Zechariah 14:1-21.

Finally, there will be lunar eclipse on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. This will be II Adar 13, 5776 on the anno Mundi calendar. This will be the Fast of Esther.

The following table illustrates the connections between the two sets of eclipses:

Pesach	Erev Succoth	The 13th day of the Omer	Pesach & Shabbat	Succoth	Shushan Purim
Nisan 15, 5755	Tishri 14, 5756	Nisan 28, 5756	Nisan 15, 5756	Tishri 15, 5756	II Adar 15, 5756
April 15, 1995	October 8, 1995	April 17, 1996	April 3, 1996	September 28, 1996	March 23, 1997

	5775 is a Shmita Year			5776 is a Yovel (Jubilee) Year
Pesach	Erev Succoth	New year for Jewish Kings[5]	Pesach Weekly Shabbat	Succoth	Fast of Esther
Nisan 15, 5774	Tishri 14, 5775	Adar 29, 5775	Nisan 15, 5775	Tishri 15, 5776	II Adar 13, 5776
April 15, 2014	October 8, 2014	March 20, 2015	April 4, 2015	September 28, 2015	March 23, 2016

What is a lunar eclipse, and why will the moon be red?^[6]

The earth, lit by the sun, casts a long, conical shadow in space. At any point within that cone the light of the sun is wholly obscured. Surrounding the shadow cone, also called the umbra, is an area of partial shadow called the penumbra. The approximate mean length of the umbra is 1,379,200 km (857,000 mi); at a distance of 384,600 km (239,000 mi), the mean distance of the moon from the earth, it has a diameter of about 9170 km (about 5700 mi).

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes completely into the umbra. If it moves directly through the center, it is obscured for about two hours. If it does not pass through the center, the period of totality is less and may last for only an instant if the moon travels through the very edge of the umbra.

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only a part of the moon enters the umbra and is obscured. The extent of a partial eclipse can range from near totality, when most of the moon is obscured, to a slight or minor eclipse, when only a small portion of the earth's shadow is seen on the passing moon. Historically, the view of the earth's circular shadow advancing across the face of the moon was the first indication of the shape of the earth.

Before the moon enters the umbra in either total or partial eclipse, it is within the penumbra and the surface becomes visibly darker. The portion that enters the umbra seems almost black, but during a total eclipse, the lunar disk is not completely dark; it is faintly illuminated with a red light refracted by the earth's atmosphere, which filters out the blue rays. Occasionally a lunar eclipse occurs when the earth is covered with a heavy layer of clouds that prevent light refraction; the surface of the moon is invisible during totality.

Eclipse Blessing?[7]

Is there a bracha, a blessing, for an eclipse? Jews have a blessing for everything that brings us benefit. This suggests that if there is no blessing for a significant event, then there is no benefit to the Jew. So, is there a bracha for an eclipse? No, we do not have a bracha and we do not say a bracha for an eclipse. The primary reason we do not say one, is that Chazal, the Sages, did not include eclipses on the list of Wonders of Nature upon which we say Berachot. Why did Chazal not include this phenomenon of nature on the "bracha list". An eclipse is as much a WOW kind of experience as a shooting star or a rainbow. It certainly leads us to marvel at the Creator's handiwork.

The Hebrew term for eclipse gives the answer away. Likui - defect. The Talmud states, as we read earlier, that a Likui of the Sun is a bad sign for the world; a lunar Likui is a bad sign for Israel. Being associated with bad signs, the eclipse was not assigned a bracha.

HaRav Chaim David HaLevi[8] raises the possibility that had eclipses been better understood in days of old, Chazal might have included them in the bracha oseh maasei bereshit with other natural phenomena.

It is probable, however, that Chazal were not relating to what eclipses actually are, but rather to what they appear to us to be. And this does not depend on the scientific details of the mechanics of an eclipse. During an eclipse, we witness the powerful, constant light and energy of the Sun being diminished. Or the light of a full Moon paling to a feeble glow. In both cases, we can read the chilling reminder that it is in HaShem's Hands as to whether we live in light or suffer in darkness. An eclipse might not be a bad sign of a particular event or time, but it still has the negative flavor that kept it off the bracha list.

Kiddush Lavanah with an Eclipse

Kiddush Lavanah, the blessing said after a new moon, can not be said during or after an eclipse as the moon is already waning at that point.

The Yovel

The Torah commands us to count seven times seven years and then celebrate the fiftieth year as a Yovel (Jubilee). We have written extensively about the Yovel in our study titled : Yovel. Proposed dates for the Yovel, from various sources, are detailed in our study titled: Yovel1. The student interested in the details should consult those studies.

One of the most interesting Yovel calculations comes from those who combine the opinion of the Rabbanan and Hakham Yehoshua. This novel idea[9] suggests that we count fifty years for the Yovel up until the destruction of the Temple. After the destruction of the Temple we revert to counting forty-nine years with the first year of the next cycle being the Yovel year.

Remember that the major purpose of the Jubilee was the freeing of slaves to serve HaShem rather than a terrestrial master, on their own land. This suggests that the events of the Yovel should be related to freedom and to a return to eretz Israel.

This novel calculation shows the following Jubilees and their significance:

Yovel Year 46 - 5678

Shortly after the beginning of the 46^th Yovel, the Balfour Declaration was ratified. Dated November 2, 1917 (17th Marcheshvan 5678), the Balfour Declaration is one of the biggest steps towards gaining international recognition for the Return to eretz Israel.

Yovel Year 47 - 5727

The next Yovel year, according to this calculation, was in 5727. In Iyar 5727 (June of 1967), Yerushalayim, Yehuda, Shomron, the Golan, and Gaza came under Jewish control for the first time in centuries, and the move back to these areas, of eretz Israel, began.

Yovel Year 48 - 5776

This coming Yovel, and its events, are yet to be seen. Never the less, we can learn what kinds of events to expect.

By combining Rabannan’s count and R. Yehuda’s count, we find that the last Yovel year was 5727 (1967CE), the year of the 6-Day War. This was the 48th Yovel year starting from the time of Ezra in 3416. The Yovel year which is 49 years later is 5776. Perhaps the year following would be a fitting time for the Sanhedrin to assume or rather to resume its role in counting of Shmita and Yovel and to assume its role of leadership of Am Israel. This next Yovel would start the 49th Yovel period. Rather fitting that the Sanhedrin would count the last Yovel before the 50th Yovel, a Yovel of Yovels. Remember that only the Sanhedrin can count and sanctify the Yovel year.

Mashiach in 5775?

Another interesting aspect of the year 5775, is that Mashiach ben David will arrive at the end of a seven year Shmita cycle, according to Chazal in the Talmud:

Sanhedrin 97a ‘Thus hath R. Johanan said: in the generation when the son of David [i.e., Mashiach] will come, scholars will be few in number, and as for the rest, their eyes will fail through sorrow and grief. Multitudes of trouble and evil decrees will be promulgated anew, each new evil coming with haste before the other has ended.’

Our Rabbis taught: in the seven year cycle at the end of which the son of David will come-in the first year, this verse will be fulfilled: And I will cause it to rain upon one city and cause it not to rain upon another city;^[10] in the second, the arrows of hunger will be sent forth;^[11] in the third, a great famine, in the course of which men, women, and children, pious men and saints^[12] will die, and the Torah will be forgotten by its students; in the fourth, partial plenty;^[13] in the fifth, great plenty, when men will eat, drink and rejoice, and the Torah will return to its disciples; in the sixth, [Heavenly] sounds;^[14] in the seventh, wars; and at the conclusion of the septennate the son of David will come (the first year of the next Shmita cycle). R. Joseph demurred: But so many septennates have passed, yet has he not come! — Abaye retorted: Were there then [Heavenly] sounds in the sixth and wars in the seventh! Moreover, have they [sc. the troubles] been in this order!^[15]

Thus we might expect Mashiach ben David in a Yovel year. Please bear in mind that we do not know for certain when the next Yovel year will be. Further, Chazal have commanded us to expect Mashiach every day. Maimonides codifies this in Principle number twelve of his thirteen principles:

Principle XII. The era of the Mashiach

And this is to believe that in truth that he will come and that you should be waiting for him even though he delays in coming. And you should not calculate times for him to come, or to look in the verses of Tanach to see when he should come. The sages say: The wisdom of those who calculate times [of his coming] is small and that you should believe that he will be greater and more honored than all of the kings of Israel since the beginning of time as it is prophesied by all the prophets from Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, until Malachi, peace be upon him. And he who doubts or diminishes the greatness of the Mashiach is a denier in all the Torah for it testifies to the Mashiach explicitly in the portion of Bilaam and the portion of “You are gathered (towards the end of Deut)”. And part of this principle that there is no king of Israel except from the house of David and from the seed of Solomon alone. And anyone who disputes this regarding this family is a denier of the name of God and in all the words of the prophets.

Let us look today for Mashiach, and let His Majesty explain how the words of Chazal are reconciled at His coming, Amen V’Amen!

* * *

This study was written by Hillel ben David

(Greg Killian).

Comments may be submitted to:

Greg Killian

7104 Inlay St SE

Lacey, WA 98513

Internet address: gkilli@aol.com

Web page: http://www.betemunah.org/

(360) 584-9352

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Send comments to Greg Killian at his email address: gkilli@aol.com

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[1] Birchat HaChama is the blessing of the sun which is the rarest, regularly said, blessing for the Jew. This blessing is recited only once every 28 years.

[2] The Hebrew term mussar (מוּסַּר), is from the book of Proverbs 1:2 meaning instruction, discipline, or conduct. This term is commonly understood to apply to specific actions to correct specific behavior.

[3] Reference to eclipse.

[4] Continuing to worship them though given proof of the non-divine nature of the objects of their worship.

[5] Rosh HaShanah 1:1

[6] "Eclipse," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.

[7] Rav Mordechai Shakovitzky z"l said that Oseh Maaseh Bereshit is NOT said on an eclipse, neither of the sun nor of the moon, because it is a "siman ra" (evil sign).

[8] Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv - Yafo; author of M'kor HaChayim and Assei L'cha Rav

[9] גילוי at http://keitzmeguleh.blogspot.com

[10] Amos 4:7

[11] I.e., not actual famine, but the first signs thereof, no one being completely satisfied.

[12] Lit., ‘men on whose behalf miracles occur.’ — Jast.

[13] Lit., ‘plenty and no plenty’.

[14] Either Heavenly voices announcing the advent of Messiah, or the blasts of the great Shofar; cf. Isa. XXVII, 13.

[15] Though troubles and evil decrees have come in abundance, they were not in the order prescribed.