Other Signs

One thing we have yet to address is the time frame of this eclipse cycle. The 2017 eclipse occurred in August, and the 2024 eclipse took place in April. So everything happened within a seven-year window. Those who understand biblical chronology and God’s timing know the importance of the number seven. God created the cosmos in seven days. He established the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath, a day of rest for His people. Every seventh year was a Sabbath (Shemitah) year, where the land was to go fallow so that it might enjoy its Sabbath rest. After seven Shemitah cycles (49 years), the Jubilee (year 50) was celebrated. On that year, the land enjoyed another Sabbath rest, all debts were cancelled, all slaves were set free and all territory returned to its original tribal inheritance (God's original allotment of land to the twelve tribes of Judah). Sadly, there is no evidence that the people of Israel ever celebrated a Jubilee year.

In the book of Jeremiah, we are told that the Jews were taken captive to Babylon for 70 years due to their idolatry. Why seventy? Because Israel had not observed the Shemitah for 490 years. Therefore God physically removed them from the country to give His land its appointed Sabbath rest. (Jeremiah 25:11-12, 2 Chronicles 36:20-21)

We also take note of Daniel’s 70 Weeks, a prophecy laid out in Daniel 9. There were to be 7 and 62 weeks (of years, totaling 483) which would pass between the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince. Many Christians believe that the 70th week has yet to be fulfilled, and most of them consider the seven year period of tribulation ushering in the return of the Messiah to be that final week. 

Now let’s step back and take another look at our 2017-2024 eclipse map. The three paths trace the figure of Aleph in the ancient paleo-Hebrew script. Referring to the chart above, one can see that Aleph is the first  letter in the Hebrew alphabet, equivalent to the Latin letter A. It represents the ox, and is a picture of authority, strength and power. When we look at the 2023/2024 and 2017/2024 crossings, we see X’s: a clear X over the US, and another over Texas. X is the paleo-Hebrew letter Tav, the final  letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It pictures crossed sticks, and represents a sign, mark or monument. Taken all together, this could mean “I, the Lord, have spoken. It is done!” The Hebrew word for truth is emet, spelled aleph-mem-tav. Four times in the book of Revelation, Jesus proclaims that He is the Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet, the language in which the New Testament was written), the Beginning and the End. (Revelation 1:8, 1:17, 21:6 & 22:13) In the gospels, Jesus declared, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life – no man comes to the Father but through Me.”  (John 14:6)

Though the three eclipses appear to lay out God’s prophetic plan for the world, they also seem to have a specific message for America. An X across the US requires little explanation – it doesn’t appear to be a good sign. That it crosses at the center of population seems to indicate that God’s focus is on the people, not just our leaders. The fact that it lies between two major fault zones could indicate that judgment is at hand.

Looking at how far America has fallen since its birth, we clearly understand what would have caused God to set Himself against us. For all its many faults, America once stood as a beacon of light, hope and liberty to the world. Our founding was bathed in prayer by men who feared God, and understood Him as Creator, Provider and Protector. This nation was founded upon biblical principles, and the Founders ascribed to Him all glory.

As time went by, the gospel of Jesus Christ was carried by American missionaries throughout the world, a task many are engaged in to this very day. But now America is better known for our exports of wickedness, violence, perversion, materialism, deception, indulgence and depravity. We are ripe for wrath.

As a lifelong Texan descended from families with deep roots in the Lone Star State, I am saddened to see an unmistakable X on Texas as well. But I’m afraid God’s message is clear. Though Texas is considered by many to be freedom's last great hope, it is likewise under judgment. There is no salvation to be had in the institutions of man, only destruction. All the world will come under His judgment, and only the remnant shall be saved. There is none righteous – no, not one. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. (Romans 3: 10; Isaiah 53:6)

One final observation before we close. The tav can also be written as a cross. So visually speaking, we see reference to both judgment and salvation. The choice is ours.