Why John Hagee is certainly wrong about “blood moons”

John Hagee is a dispensationalist. I, too, am a dispensationalist. I also really dislike sensationalist prophesy books. I’m take a more Things to Come type approach to discussing eschatology. You know, a eschatology book without crescent moons, oil rigs, fighter planes, blood moons or anything else silly on the cover. That means I’m not disposed to like something written by Hagee. It was with some trepidation I agreed to look over a copy of Hegee’s Blood Moons book for a church member who found it insightful. I haven’t delved too far into it yet, but wanted to pass along a word of warning.

Hagee makes the remark that those who aren’t breathlessly awaiting Christ’s imminent return to rapture His saints are unsaved and have death and destruction in their future. (I’m at work and don’t have the page #, but it’s in there). To be frank, this is (1) stupid, (2) un-biblical, (3) irresponsible and (4) idiotic. I’m not sure how #1 differs from #4, but I felt the need for one more adjective …

Paul drew the line in the sand around the Gospel (Gal 1), not a nuance of premillennial eschatology. For this reason alone, I am not looking forward to reading the rest of this book. I believe Hagee is dangerous and gives dispensationalism a bad name.

Amen!!

I felt compelled to share with you some of Hagee’s most horrible follies, and these are just the one’s I’ve found by skimming 30 pages:

“America is filled with false prophets. Any person presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ who does not teach or preach the literal word of God is a false prophet … Some of these false prophets are now teaching there will be no rapture of the church!” (78).

• Facepalm #1 - Hagee basically says if you’re not a pre-tribulationalist premillennial, you’re likely a false prophet

“If you don’t believe in the rapture as described in the Bible, where believers rise to meet the Lord in the air, how will you know when the real Jesus comes to earth? … Anyone can wear a white robe and claim to be a descendant of King David” (81).

• Facepalm #2 - I just threw up. I’ll get back to that one later …

”The point is very clear: if you are not watching for His coming, you will not be counted ‘worthy to escape all the things that come to pass’ during the Great Tribulation. If you’re not watching for HIM, He’s not coming for you! If you are deceived into believing there is no rapture, prepare to stand in line to get your personal tattoo from the Anti-christ. If you refuse his marking, he will cut off your head. Are you interested in hearing about the Rapture now? (78-79).

“Jesus Christ is telling us to stay on the ALERT and to WAKE up! Because if we are not watching for His return, we will miss His coming and will not escape the future horrors of the Antichrist, and we will not receive the crown of life,” (87).

“The Bible is clear that only those who ‘watch’ will be counted worthy to escape those things that are coming on the earth,” (91).

• Facepalm #3 - This is clear heresy. Hagee is a false teacher and must be marked and avoided. I am not kidding. He intentionally capitalizes “Rapture.” He equates salvation with faith in the rapture, not in the person and work of Christ. He is essentially advocating works salvation.
• Facepalm #4 - Hagee equates the perspicuity of the doctrine of the Trinity with that of the rapture (85-86).

This man truly is dangerous.

Thanks Tyler. I wasn’t sure what all he believed. That stuff is heresy all right.

This is a good article featuring a rebuttal to Hagee by Dr. Jason Lisle from ICR. This bit is particularly imporrtant:

But Dr. Jason Lisle, an astrophysicist with the Institute for Creation Research, told Christian News Network that eclipses are “actually quite common.”

“In the 21st century,” Lisle said, “we will experience 85 total lunar eclipses, including the eleven that have already happened. A ‘tetrad’ is a sequence of four consecutive lunar eclipses separated by six months each. Tetrads are not all that unusual. The 21st century will experience 8 tetrads. So it is statistically inevitable that some of them will occur on dates of interest.”

Lisle further stated that lunar eclipses regularly coincide with Jewish holidays, since the Jewish calendar is based on the lunar cycle. Being surprised by an eclipse’s occurrence on a Jewish holiday, says Lisle, “would be a bit like being surprised that Thanksgiving falls on a Thursday for the next ten years in a row.”

[TylerR]

• Facepalm #3 - This is clear heresy. Hagee is a false teacher and must be marked and avoided. I am not kidding. He intentionally capitalizes “Rapture.” He equates salvation with faith in the rapture, not in the person and work of Christ. He is essentially advocating works salvation.

Tyler, I agree that Hagee is a dangerous false teacher.

But, you criticize him for capitalizing “Rapture”???

Most dispensational writers do, in my experience. It is tantamount to a proper name, the name of a particular event, the Rapture. For example, here is a quote from Tom Constable, of Dallas Theological Seminary.

Everyone dies eventually even though some live with the illusion of immortality. The fact that people try to perpetuate their reputations on the earth forever shows they want to live forever. However, man, like the animals, will eventually go into the grave. Of course, the psalmist did not mean that man’s fate is identical to that of animals in all respects. He only meant both die. Later revelation that saints living at the Rapture will experience translation without dying does not negate the psalmist’s point.

Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Ps 49:10. [Emphasis mine]

Perhaps I misunderstand you on this one, but capitalizing “Rapture” hardly seems evidence of heresy.

I meant that he seems to view it as a holy, divine event far out of proportion. It is almost as though it is the “Rapture,” and not His death and resurrection, that saves us! Taken in tandem with what else he Hagee said, it just seemed very odd. Maybe I read too much into it.

At best, Hagee is advocating loss of salvation for unbelief in the rapture. At worst, Hagee is (perhaps unwittingly?) advocating some novel scheme of works salvation: Christ + belief in rapture = salvation. Even if Hagee was carried away by rhetorical flourish, and was caught up in an ecstatic frenzy of apocalyptic imagery with visions of blood moons dancing in his head (over multiple pages!), this is inexcusable language.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/is-everything-about-to-change-the-fir…

The Four Blood Moons of 2014–15 tell us that God is getting ready to change the course of human history once again.

God is clearly speaking to us through the coming series of Four Blood Moons. The question is, are we watching and listening?

http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-a-blood-moon-lunar-eclipses-2014-2015

With some relevant quotes:

There are a total of 8 tetrads in the 21st century (2001 to 2100). But proponents of this Biblical prophecy regard the upcoming tetrad as especially significant because it coincides with two important Jewish holidays: Passover and Tabernacles.

The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar. In any year, it’s inevitable that a full moon should fall on or near the feasts of Passover (15 Nissan) and Tabernacles (15 Tishri). Nissan and Tishri are the first and seventh months of the Jewish calendar, respectively.

It is somewhat ironic that three of these four lunar eclipses are not visible – even in part – from Israel. The only eclipse that can be seen at all from Israel is the tail end of the September 28, 2015 eclipse, which may be observable for a short while before sunrise.

For instance, in our 21st century (2001-2100), there are a total 8 tetrads, but in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, there were none at all. If we include all the centuries from the 1st century (AD 1-100) through the 21st century (2001-2100), inclusive, there are a total of 62 tetrads. The last one occurred in 2003-2004, and the next one after the 2014-2015 tetrad will happen in 2032-2033. However, if we want to know which tetrads specifically fell on the Jewish feasts of Passover and Tabernacles, there appear to be a total of 8 in these 21 centuries:

1. 162-163 C.E. (Common Era)
2. 795-796 C.E.
3. 842-843 C.E.
4. 860-861 C.E.
5. 1493-1494 C.E.
6. 1949-1950 C.E.
7. 1967-1968 C.E.
8. 2014-2015 C.E.

Commentary (tongue-in-cheek and mostly true):

• I was born during a tetrad of blood moons (1949) (true)
• My full name with a number assigned to each letter divided by 17 X 3 in numbers is 666
• My Buick will roll over this next week to 66666 (true)
• I have a 6 in my house number (true)
• My full house number is 4260. If you add the 4 and a 2 you have a …… “6” (also true)
• Got to a Starbucks on June 6th (the sixth month and the sixth day of the month) and buy an extra-large double Caffè Misto … give the barista 6 one dollar bills … and your change will be 66¢
• Two of my favorite songs from my youth: Blue Moon and Moon River