Genesis 1:14     "Then 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.....' "

Luke 21:25     "And there will be signs in sun and MOON and stars......"     This scripture is about these End Times in which we are living (since Israel returned as a nation in 1948).

In 1492 Columbus sailed for the New World, and in the centuries to come Jews would flee European persecution for freedom in the New World.  In 1493 and 1494 lunar eclipses happened on Passover and Tabernacles both years.  In 1948 Israel returned as a free, independent nation for the first time in 2669 years since 721 BC.  In 1949 and 1950 lunar eclipses happened on Passover and Tabernacles both years.  At Passover of 1967 a lunar eclipse occurred, and on June 7, 1967 Israel captured the true "City of David", East Jerusalem, in the Six Day War.  Later that year at Tabernacles a lunar eclipse occurred, and lunar eclipses happened at Passover and Tabernacles of 1968.  Please note that each of these events were GOOD events for the Jewish people and Israel---------Freedom from persecution, Israel becomes a state, Israel captures its true, eternal capitol, East Jerusalem.

Just once in the 21st century will these Passover / Tabernacles / Passover / Tabernacles lunar eclipses occur------   2014 and 2015  ------and these eclipses on Jewish feast dates like this will not occur again for 500 years!

The 2014 and 2015 lunar eclipses will again mark a GOOD event for the Jewish people and Israel, but what will that GOOD event be?  There are only two GOOD events remaining for the Jewish people and Israel in these End Times-------the building of the Third Temple and the Second Coming of Israel's long-rejected Messiah, Who is Christ.  The 2014 and 2015 lunar eclipses cannot mark the Second Coming as that is a minimum of 7 years from now as the 7 year Tribulation Period has not yet begun.  So that leaves just one GOOD event that these eclipses could be associated with, the building of the Third Temple!  And when you think about it, is that not the proper order of things?  Freedom from persecution, Israel becomes a state, Israel captures East Jerusalem, and NOW in proper order Israel builds the Third Temple!  All very GOOD events!

The first lunar eclipse has already occurred back in April of 2014 at Passover.  Three eclipses now remain, later this year at Tabernacles, and then at Passover and Tabernacles of 2015.  So, how will Third Temple construction begin within this time frame?

I have a theory, but what I believe is a very good theory.  I will lay it out here, but remember that it for the moment is just a theory!  Time will tell whether it bears out to be true.

But first a little more introductory material.  Jesus died on Passover in the first century, rose on the Feast of First Fruits (Easter), and the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost.  His blood sacrifice fulfilled Passover, and his body sacrifice fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread (the seven days after the one day Passover feast).  In just 53 days from Jesus going to the cross till Pentecost, four Old Testament Jewish spring time feasts were fulfilled by New Testament events.  There are two Old Testament Jewish fall feasts that will be fulfilled by end time New Testament events.  Many believe that the Rapture will fulfill the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), and the Second Coming will fulfill the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), with each of these end time events happening at the fall Jewish feasts just like the First Coming events happened at the spring Jewish feasts.

But for the Rapture there are actually two possibilities.  The Rapture may fulfill the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), but there is another possibility.  In Matthew 24:31 Jesus sends forth his angels with a GREAT TRUMPET, and they gather together his elect from one end of heaven to the other to return with Him at the Second Coming.  This may happen at Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets) and fulfill this Jewish Feast, and then ten days later the Second Coming fulfills the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).  This would be most interesting in that the four spring Jewish feasts were all fulfilled in a 53 day time period, and the two fall Jewish feasts would be fulfilled in a 10 day time period.  This would "free up" the Rapture to occur virtually anytime during the year it occurs, and follow the "sudden destruction" event, which throughout scripture in the Old and New Testaments the Rapture must be associated with.  Remember that the coming of the Son of Man is JUST LIKE the days of Noah, and in Noah's day there were no Jewish people yet and and the Jewish feasts were yet to be given by God.  So the Rapture could indeed be "free" of the Jewish feasts.

SO, HERE IS MY THEORY, BUT REMEMBER THAT RIGHT NOW IT IS JUST A THEORY, BUT I MUST SAY A MOST INTERESTING THEORY!

Let's say that the lunar eclipse pattern of 1967 and 1968 holds true this time around.  Remember that in April of 1967 the first eclipse happened at Passover, and then on June 7th of 1967 Israel captured East Jerusalem.  In April of 2014 at Passover the first lunar eclipse occurred.  And this year too in early June a BIG event happens.  It just so happens that June 4th of this year (2014) is Pentecost.  Remember that the Church Age began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended (Acts 2).  So, let's say in theory that the Ukrainian situation explodes in early June of this year, or perhaps that Israel finally must move against the Iranian nuclear facilities in early June (or it will be too late to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons).  Or perhaps both occur and the "sudden destruction" event is underway.  THE RAPTURE HAPPENS around Pentecost, and the Church Age ends around Pentecost just as it began at Pentecost!  In the future this "sudden destruction" event associated with the Rapture will likely come to be known as WW III.  Immediately after the Rapture the antichrist arrives on the global scene, and he spends the summer of 2014 pulling together the "sudden destruction" mess that is upon the world.  When Israel attacks Iran, Iran will likely release its proxies (Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and even the Palestinians) to fight Israel.  Saudi Arabia and Jordan will likely come in on Israel's side to fight Iran.  If Ukraine explodes, Russia will be engaged with the European Union and the U.S.  Iran and Russia might very well lob some missiles into the U.S.  Many Rapture dreams have detailed missiles coming into the U.S. at almost virtually the same time that the Rapture is occurring, with believers in Christ rising in the air to meet the Lord, and looking down to see explosions in numerous American cities.  In Revelation 6:2 the antichrist on a white horse goes out "conquering, and to conquer".  The antichrist in the summer of 2014 using satanic power pulls the "sudden destruction" mess together, demands finally "world peace", and gains the trust of the nations including Israel and the Palestinians.  

Then, at Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) in the fall of 2014 the antichrist makes the Daniel 9:27 covenant with Israel, the Palestinians, and many other nations.  The Palestinians get their state, and Israel gets the right to build the Third Temple.  The 7 year Tribulation Period officially begins, yet the only people who will know this will be those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior AFTER the Rapture, which occurred back in June of 2014.  The remainder of the world will be deceived by the antichrist, as he makes promises to finally bring peace to the world, and better times ahead.  America will have been devastated by the "sudden destruction" event, as will many other places in the world.  At first it will be voluntary to follow the guidance of the antichrist, but in a short time all will have to tow the line to follow the New World Order under his leadership.  Those who resist will be placed in FEMA camps around the U.S, and as time goes by many of those will be tortured and killed (many by beheading----Rev. 20:4).

The power base of the antichrist will be the European Union, and he will take his place at the head of its government.  But in the months to come (the late fall of 2014 and the winter of 2014-15), Iran is feeling the sting of its defeat to Israel, and Iran plots with Russia to attack Israel.  Then in the spring of 2015 at Passover, Iran with Russia and the other nations outlined in Ezekiel 38 and 39 attack Israel and the "Russian invasion of Israel" is underway.  Take a very close look at Jeremiah 16:14 & 15.  These two verses tell us that in the future the celebration of Passover will change from "coming out of the land of Egypt" to "coming out of the land of the north".  This is why I have always believed that the Russian invasion of Israel will occur at Passover time, and when God intervenes and Russia and her allies are defeated, Jews will pour out of Russia (the land of the north) and come home to Israel.  The Russian invasion of Israel MUST occur when Israel is dwelling securely (see Ezekiel 38:8, 11, & 14), and the only time from 1948 till the Second Coming that Israel is dwelling "securely" is during the false peace granted by the antichrist during the first half of the 7 year Tribulation Period.  So, Russia and her allies attack Israel at Passover of 2015 (and there is a lunar eclipse at that time!), and God Himself intervenes and the attacking force is defeated.

With Israel jubilant in her victory, and the antichrist providing a false peace (Israel thinks it is the real peace as she is deceived and looks to the antichrist as her political deliverer), Third Temple construction gets underway in earnest in the late spring and summer of 2015.  And so Temple construction is underway, and in the fall of 2015 at the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles the last lunar eclipse occurs!

NOW THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS MY BEST THEORY ON HOW THE TIME INTERVAL OF THE FOUR LUNAR ECLIPSES OF 2014 AND 2015 WILL PLAY OUT!  I BELIEVE STRONGLY THAT THESE FOUR LUNAR ECLIPSES WILL MARK THE ONLY REMAINING GOOD EVENT FOR ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE BEFORE THE SECOND COMING, THAT IS THE BUILDING OF THE THIRD TEMPLE!

Neil Lipken