The blood moon and the Gaza conflict

Tensions between Israel and Palestine escalated into a broader war, with Israel striking targets in Gaza.  It was the night of April 13, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when conflict started. Israeli police raided on Al Aqsa mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam. It has led to the worst violence between Israelis and Palestinians in years. Police officers armed with tear gas, grenades and rubber-tipped bullets burst into the mosque compound setting off hours of clashes with stone-throwing protesters in which hundreds were injured. The dramatic escalation occurred on Monday, May 10, and after that thousands Palestinians were killed and injured including children and women.

Fighting between Israel and Palestinians armed groups had decreased compared to previous years. But last year, in 2020, Israeli forces again started to pressurize Palestinians with discrimination and repression, sometimes by restricting trade and enforcing the travel ban on Palestinians in the occupied Gaza strip, limiting their water and electricity and other basic facilities of life, by lowering their economy. On the other hand, the Israeli government transferred its citizens into settlements with provision of security and facilities in the Occupied West Bank. According to the UN office of Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of 19 October 2020, the Israeli government demolished 568 Palestinians homes and other buildings in the West Bank last year, including in East Jerusalem, displacing 759 people. The cause described by the Israeli government is the lack of a permit for building which is impossible to obtain. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu believes that Israel is about to be able to ‘celebrate another historic moment in the history of Zionism’ with his determination to leave the people of occupied Palestine without a state. No other country in the world has racked up as many violations of UN Resolutions as Israel has.

On the other hand, Palestinians always sacrificed for peace. There was no major chaos in Jerusalem when US President Donald Trump unjustly recognized it as Israel’s capital and moved the US embassy there. Even when four Arab countries started relations with Israel, but why tensions escalated now? Of course, Israel is never far from war for the struggle of power and dreams of a reign like David’s who was the most powerful of Israel’s kings. According to the Quran, David was something more than a messenger, and was a divinely guided leader who established God’s rule on Earth.  ‘’O David! We have appointed you as a vicegerent in the land; so judge among people with the truth, and do not follow personal inclination, lest it leads you astray from the path of God. Surely, those who wander astray from God’s path- for them there is a severe punishment because they have forgotten the Day of Reckoning. (38.26 Quran) God would never be on the side of oppression. The Jewish interpretation of endtime prophecies not only misleads them in religious concepts but in state policies too, leading them towards oppression and violence.

But what effect do these predictions have? What can be expected more than a war which is already being waged against Palestine?   Who really owns the land in Palestine and the Temple site and who targets the innocent dwellers by keeping faith in illusions and then hopes for God’s mercy is no more a dilemma. There may be a truce now, but the end time predictions mean that it will not mean permanent peace.

Recently, there has been a surge of interest in heavenly signs relating to end-time Bible prophecies. For Christians and Jews, Jerusalem is the linchpin of their eschatology. Some religious leaders believe that the blood moon does signal the end of the world and some warn of a major turning point on Earth, though the details vary.

This month’s lunar eclipse can be called ‘super flower blood moon.’ Blood moon is about to rise in this month of May 26, 2021. The claim of a blood moon being a sign of the beginning of the endtimes originates in the Book of Joel where Peter quotes the prophet Joel saying:  “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke.  The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.”(2:30–31) Pastor John C. Hagee, a well-known Christian Zionist, of San Antonio, Texas, in his book, Four Blood Moons: Something Is About to Change, predicted dramatic though unspecific developments connected with Israel. He connected key events in Jewish history to several sets of four lunar eclipses (scientifically called tetrads) that had occurred around Jewish holy ^[days and significant events in Israel’s history. Mark Blitz’s Blood Moons: Decoding the Imminent Heavenly Signs (2014) is also linked up with biblical prophecies, lunar eclipses and historical events. According to Blitz, the Second Coming of Christ was expected in 2015. Hagee and Blitz’s claims all were related to blood moon series called Tetrad in 2015.They associate these lunar tetrads with the fulfillment of Bible prophecy concerning signs in the heaven. Before this, evangelist Harold Camping predicted the Second Coming on 21 May 2011.

The  blood moon tetrad series was over in 2015.The claims of Hagee and Blitz have been comprehensively rubbished by astronomers, biblical scholars and theologians. Furthermore, the eclipses haven’t even been visible over Israel, and the link to historical events is a bit patchy. Not only that, but there have been plenty of tetrads during Passover and Tabernacles during which nothing of significance in Jewish history happened at all. Later on, NASA’s remarks cleared it by saying, “In fact, as best as we can tell, no large object is likely to strike the Earth any time in the next several hundred years”. Moreover, Matthew 24;36 makes clear that only God knows the timing of such ,anyone who makes such a prediction is acting contrary to the word of God. According to Jesus,  only God knows when the end  of all things is at hand but that  we should live each day as if our last and be prepared for the Second Coming at any time.(Mark 13 32-33)

So predictions cannot reveal omens for the triumph of a nation and signs for endtime as only the Almighty knows the exact timing. All the prophets before Muhammad (PBUH) did not reveal Allah’s messages and divine knowledge in full, since they were sent only to one nation. Muhammad, on the other hand, was sent to all nations. The messages of the prophets before Muhammad were believed to have been either forgotten or distorted, but the Quran both corrects and confirms the sayings of the earlier prophets. All prophecy before Muhammad is incomplete and points to the coming of the final revelation. The Quran says “Verily the knowledge of the last hour is with God alone. He sends down rain, and He knows what is in the wombs,” (31:34) ”The Hour has drawn near and the moon was split ˹in two.”The prophet (PBUH) said,  “The sun and the moon are two signs of Allah; they are not eclipsed on account of anyone’s death or on account of any one’s birth. So if you see them, glorify and supplicate Allah, observe the prayer, give alms.”

It looks quite awful to follow such predictions that have no base and no implications.  Israel cannot achieve her targets by oppressing innocent citizens of Jerusalem. Their books do not persuade them for violence but they themselves target the dwellers of Palestine with unjust and atrocious cruelty. History shows that David, the very powerful king of Israel, was never unjust and he was a prophet of Allah. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.”  (Psalm 24:1–2)

But what effect do these predictions have? What can be expected more than a war which is already being waged against Palestine?   Who really owns the land in Palestine and the Temple site and who targets the innocent dwellers by keeping faith in illusions and then hopes for God’s mercy is no more a dilemma. There may be a truce now, but the endtime predictions mean that it will not mean permanent peace.