"Are Current Signs in the Sun, Moon, Stars Relevant?"

"I've been a solar physicist for 30 years, and I've never seen anything quite like this," says space physicist Richard Harrison.

And as Head of Space Physics at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, England--he should know.

What's he seeing?

A strangely quiet sun.

"If you want to go back to see when the sun was this inactive...you've got to go back 100 years."

Solar activity waxes (a solar maximum) and wanes (solar minimum) on an 11-year cycle.

And though the sun should be at its very maximum of activity right now--it isn't.

Instead of bursting with flares and exploding with coronal mass ejections, or even just teeming with sunspots...we've got almost nothing. Nada. Zilch.

It appears our sun is sleeping.

That's right, folks. Apart from the occasional flare or two, this sun has slept through almost 2 cycles.

"It's completely taken me and many other solar scientists by surprise," says Dr. Lucie Green of London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory.

Mike Lockwood, Professor of Space Environment Physics at the University of Redding, believes there's a significant chance the sun could become increasingly quiet.

The implications? No one knows for sure. Scientists are baffled, with opinions ranging from "expecting a little Ice Age to "not a big deal."

And then we have those spooky Blood Moons everyone is hyped-up about.

"Usually, lunar eclipses come in no particular order," NASA says. "A partial can be followed by a total, followed by a penumbral (very subtle eclipse), and so on. Anything goes. Occasionally though, the sequence is more orderly. When four consecutive lunar eclipses are all 'total', the series is called a "tetrad".

And this particular tetrad (occurring 2014-2015) has the added attraction of landing on Jewish Feast Days.

Coincidence? Perhaps.  "Feast Day Eclipse: What Do They Mean?"

And finally, gang, let's not forget we have an unusual astronomical alignment due on September 23, 2017.

The constellation Virgo (the Virgin) will be clothed with the sun (the constellation will be in the sky during the day), the moon will be at her feet, and the constellation Leo will be over her head, containing 12 stars instead of Leo's usual 9 a la Revelation 12:1-2. "Blood Moon UPDATE: Revelation 12 Connection?"

The Bible tells us in the last days "there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars" (Luke 21:25).

Do we claim these current signs are the ones Luke was referring to? Nope. The timing isn't right. Those signs come immediately before the Second Coming of Christ.

But just as we see a gradual increase in deception, global unrest, earthquakes,pestilences, etc. described as "the beginning of sorrows" in Matthew 24:8, these subtle signs in the heavens may also play a role in reminding us that time is running out. Luke 21:28 goes on to say, "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

Jesus spoke to His disciples about the importance of watching:

"Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near."

A wise man once said: "The beginning of sorrows literally means 'birth pangs'. The earth continually has birth pangs today (Romans 8:22)...during the tribulation, these 'sorrows' will increase in intensity and frequency until Jesus returns." -Philip W. Comfort, Ph.D.

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