2017 Great American Eclipse as seen from Oregon (Mander)
On August 21, 2017 a total solar-eclipse known as the ‘Great American Eclipse’ traveled across the U.S. in a west to east arc. The eclipse arc –called the ‘path of totality’– started at Salem, Oregon and exited at South Carolina. Carbondale, Illinois had the longest time in shadow at 2 minutes and 41 seconds, while Nashville, Tennessee was the only major city with substantial time in totality at over 2 minutes. The eclipse path was 70-miles wide, traveled through 14 states, and was only visible to the continental U.S. (Great American Eclipse).
The 2017 eclipse is thought to be the most viewed in history, and repeatedly comments from those who witnessed the darkened sky indicated it was a dramatic and moving experience.
There are a lot of interesting facts about the 2017 eclipse, including:
- The 2017 total solar eclipse was the first to visit just the U.S. since the nation’s founding in 1776.
- It started in the 33rd state – Oregon.
- The first city in the eclipse path was Salem, Oregon, which is named after Jerusalem.
- The eclipse began in Oregon at the exact moment of sunset in Jerusalem.
- The eclipse was 40 days before Yom Kippur — the Day of Atonement.
The eclipse had one other unusual characteristic as well. On September 23, 2017– thirty-three days after the eclipse–an astronomical alignment occurred that appeared to meet the description of the sign in Revelation 12:
Revelation 12:1-2: Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.
This alignment did indeed occur and also appears to meet the description of this sign of Revelation 12, but it remains controversial and not all agree as to its importance. We will look at this more in depth in a later chapter. Regardless, the eclipse of 2017 was a significant event, but perhaps even more astonishing is that after this first eclipse comes a second–and even more dramatic–total solar eclipse to occur in the years right after this. Seven years after the first Great American Eclipse of 2017 comes the second Great American Eclipse which will occur in 2024.
On April 8, 2024 a total solar eclipse will sweep across the U.S., this time passing through Texas and moving upwards through the north east exiting at Maine (Great American Eclipse).
This eclipse will be even more dramatic than the 2017 eclipse, because the path of totality will result in darkness ranging from 3 minutes and 22 seconds on the Maine coast to 4 minutes and 27 seconds in the southwest part of Texas.
Comparing the paths of the 2017 and 2024 eclipses shows a very interesting fact, the eclipse paths intersect – and not only do they intersect, but they intersect directly over the New Madrid Seismic Zone.
Here is the plot of the 2017 and 2024 eclipses that shows the intersection point:
The New Madrid Seismic Zone is a major fault line located where the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers meet, dividing the land into three regions. Between December 1811 and March 1812 this area recorded some of the most powerful earthquakes in U.S. history. Three historic earthquakes occurred that were estimated to be magnitude 7.0 to 8.0. The February 7, 1812 earthquake caused witnesses to record that the Mississippi River ran backwards for several hours (The New Madrid Seismic Zone).
If we overlay the paths of the solar eclipses of 2017 and 2024, we see an intersection at the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers – centered near the town of Carbondale, Illinois, which was also the town that was longest in shadow in 2017. In another oddity, this area is nicknamed ‘Little Egypt’ (Audrey&Harry). This area of the town of Carbondale is directly over the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Earthquakes like those of the 1800s would devastate the region today, and given sufficient magnitude might even permanently alter the physical landscape of the U.S.
In 2017, Steve Cioccolanti of Discover Ministries pointed out that the last time a total solar eclipse crossed the U.S. was 100 years ago on June 8, 1918 – which was the year of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic that left 675,000 Americans dead. The death toll worldwide was estimated at 50 million (1918 Pandemic (H1N1 virus)). Steve actually remarked in 2017 (based on the occurrence of that eclipse) that we might be facing a coming pandemic, and also sees the intersection of the eclipses as possibly indicating a coming earthquake.
He pointed out some other interesting things about the eclipses as well.
Video: Is the USA in the Bible? Great American Eclipses of 2017 & 2024 – Real End Time Signs?
The August 21, 2017 coincides with 1st of Elul of year 5777 on the Jewish calendar. Elul is the twelfth month of the Jewish calendar and comes from the word ‘harvest’. The future April 8, 2024 eclipse coincides with the 1st of Nisan of year 5784 on the Jewish calendar. Nisan is the first month of the Jewish Calendar. The name denotes a celebration of God and the miracles He brought to pass during the Exodus from Egypt; and also note that Passover occurs during the month of Nisan. We also know that the number seven in the Bible denotes something being completed.
As we consider the seven-year period between these eclipses – bookending a global pandemic – these references to harvest, celebration of Exodus miracles, and completeness might give us hope that something positive will eventually come out of this time.
Throughout the Bible we encounter solar, lunar, and astronomical signs as markers for Biblical events. Jesus stated in Luke 21:25 that in the End Times “there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars.” At the crucifixion of Jesus there was darkness reported in the land for three hours:
Luke 23:44-45: Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.
The ninth plague of Moses upon Egypt was three days of darkness:
Exodus 10:21-22: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.
More examples of the use of darkness occur in descriptions of the Day of the Lord:
Isaiah 13:10: For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
Joel 2:10: The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble;
The sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars diminish their brightness.
Amos 8:9: “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
In the Bible we see the darkening of the sun and moon as potential warnings regarding times and seasons. Rabbi Yehuda Shurpin, editor of Chabad.org, states “An eclipse is not caused by sin. Rather, it is an indication of a trying time, a time when there is a natural predisposition for sin, and for strict judgment of that sin” (Shurpin).
We do not know what will occur at the second Great American Eclipse in 2024; nor are any predictions being made here. However, since 2017 we have seen a series of national and global events that seem to give emphasis to the period of time between these two eclipses. It is hard to witness this era and not have the sense that something important is happening.
It may be that this time period is to serve as a season of warnings with the two eclipses serving as the marker events. It is possible that the intersection of these eclipses over the New Madrid Fault is akin to the message given to ancient Nineveh by the prophet Jonah – and in that day they headed Jonah’s warnings and were spared God’s judgement. As the unrelenting events of this seven-year eclipse period pass by, perhaps the image of these eclipse paths crossing over the U.S. will also be something that just passes by – and will either symbolize our repentance…or the last warnings from God that were left unheeded. And as such, perhaps in the future there will be no more warnings – only events.
Regardless, it remains noteworthy that these two eclipses intersect at the New Madrid Seismic Zone, especially as we live in a tumultuous time marked by a long running national rebellion against God, that has been marked by the appearance of harbingers…and a modern-day Elijah.
Next – Chapter 6: A Modern Day Elijah
