From Astronomy and the Bible, 1919.
Eclipse: An Abandonment of the Senses
By Mark Storer
Early civilizations did not understand eclipses like we do today, which possibly terrified them and led them to be uniquely superstitious, or perhaps it just made them more reliant on their primitive religious beliefs. Even today, with a fairly solid understanding of the movement of planets and stars, there are still those who believe, to paraphrase Shakespeare, there is more to heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophy.
To the Hebrew prophet Joel an eclipse was a sign of the apocalypse. He wrote, “The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.” But as early as three thousand years ago, Babylonians kept records of stars in their courses and predicted astronomical events. Eclipses happened, and early Christians as well as other civilizations knew about them and recorded and discussed them. Reactions like “God is angry with us!” or “The world is ending!” were becoming redundant. However, early Christians still saw these events as apocalyptic signs from God. The Book of Luke, Chapter 21 includes this passage: “And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the Earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” In the same gospel, “a darkness” came across the land when Jesus was crucified.
...
Subscribe to the New PRS Journal to read on...
To the Hebrew prophet Joel an eclipse was a sign of the apocalypse. He wrote, “The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.” But as early as three thousand years ago, Babylonians kept records of stars in their courses and predicted astronomical events. Eclipses happened, and early Christians as well as other civilizations knew about them and recorded and discussed them. Reactions like “God is angry with us!” or “The world is ending!” were becoming redundant. However, early Christians still saw these events as apocalyptic signs from God. The Book of Luke, Chapter 21 includes this passage: “And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the Earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” In the same gospel, “a darkness” came across the land when Jesus was crucified.
...
Subscribe to the New PRS Journal to read on...
Nothing comes from nothing. Manly Hall’s vision for the All-Seeing Eye was entirely supported by contributions from its readers who paid for their subscription with gifts made according to their means. Manly Hall wrote,
“This magazine is published and distributed privately to those who make possible with their financial support its publication. The magazine cannot be bought and has no fixed value. Like all of the ancient teachings which it seeks to promulgate, it has no comparative value, but the students must support it for its own intrinsic merit.”
