by Larry Vardiman, PhD
One of God’s great celestial events will be displayed in a swath of darkness in the middle of the day across the entire United States this month. A total solar eclipse will move from West to East about 375 miles north of Shasta Bible College, near Salem, Oregon on August 21. If you want to see it first-hand you will need to be in position ready to view it by about 9 o’clock in the morning on August 21. The Oregon State Police have issued an alert that they anticipate the possibility of hundreds of thousands of cars on I5 the day of the eclipse, so if anyone plans to go, they should arrive the day before and depart the day after the eclipse. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, casting a shadow on the earth. The moon completely blocks the solar disk so that only the sun’s outermost layers, the chromosphere and corona, are visible. An observer must be located on the daylight side of the earth and within the darkest, innermost part of the moon’s shadow (called the umbra) to see a total eclipse. Observers outside the umbra but within the outer, lighter shadow (called the penumbra) will see a partial eclipse. The moon’s umbra will trace a narrow path stretching from Lincoln City, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A NASA map showing the path is available at eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-maps. You should never look directly at the sun without proper eye protection since the intense light can permanently damage your eyesight. Sunglasses (even multiple sunglasses stacked together) are not sufficient protection; you must wear special solar viewing glasses to safely observe an eclipse. (NASA lists four manufacturers that currently meet international safety standards for such products at eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety. If you can’t obtain a pair of proper sunglasses in time for the eclipse, you can use an alternative method. Find a piece of thin cardboard about a foot or so square and punch a small hole in it with a large needle or a small nail. Then hold the cardboard perpendicular to the sunlight about 1 to 3 feet above a large piece of high quality white paper. An image of the sun will show on the paper below with any sunspots present that day and the eclipse moving toward the center of the sun. You may wish to perfect the technique a day or two before so you don’t miss any of the eclipse. A total eclipse is one piece of evidence that God has designed the planet we call home. A total eclipse showing only the outer fringes of the sun is unique to the earth. The moon appears the same size as the sun during an eclipse. The sun is 400 times further from the earth than the moon and the sun is 400 times larger than the moon. Consequently, the moon just blots out the entire disk of the sun. But, this provides a unique opportunity to study the solar flares, chromosphere, and corona of the sun. Another piece of evidence that God designed our earth and sun is that the peak intensity of radiation from our sun occurs in exactly the middle of the visible spectrum—the same wavelength that our eyes are most sensitive. Our bodies are also sensitive to other wavelengths such as infrared radiation, which our skin detects as heat, and even longer wave lengths, which our ears detect as sound, but our eyes are our best instruments at detecting the world around us. And our eyes can distinguish colors and light intensities over orders of magnitude at exactly the most intense part of the solar spectrum. If you get to a location where totality occurs, expect to see some significant affects unique to a solar eclipse. By the way, totality lasts less than three minutes, so be sure to get to your destination at least 15 minutes before totality is expected to start. In fact, the partial eclipse may start up to an hour before totality, so if you want to watch the full event, arrive even earlier. First, the sky will turn dark at totality except for a small ring of light around the sun. You won’t see any features on the surface of the moon in front of you except possibly for a small amount of reflected light from the earth. Stars may be visible away from the sun if your eyes adjust quickly enough to detect low intensities. The air temperature may cool by as much as 20 or 30 degrees. The wind may increase or become gusty. If you are away from traffic and the city, it may become very quiet. Animals and insects may act strangely because they think night has fallen. Listen for a rooster to crow. This could become one of the most unique experiences of your life. If you can’t travel to a point under the total eclipse in August, you may still be able to enjoy the partial eclipse. It extends for several hundred miles either side of the path of the total eclipse. You can still enjoy watching the moon “eat” into the disk of the sun and then move out again. The light will dim partially and seem like a storm is coming or dusk is approaching. However, the light will simply dim, not change color like the sky does at dusk. When the sun is rising or setting at the beginning or end of day it reddens as the light from the sun travels through a greater amount of atmosphere. However, during an eclipse in the middle of the day the distance through the atmosphere through which the light travels does not change. If you are really excited about solar eclipses, you may wish to get the full treatment by attending “The Solar Eclipse Seminar and Eclipse Viewing Party” conducted by the Institute for Creation Research at Jefferson Baptist Church in Jefferson, Oregon. It’s about 15 miles South of Salem, Oregon, just off Interstate 5. Dr. James J.S. Johnson and Dr. Jake Hebert will be leading the three-day conference from August 19-21. The complete address and contact information is: Jefferson Baptist Church, 15002 Jefferson Hwy, 99E SE, Jefferson, OR 97352 (541-327-2939). Did you know the best kept education secret in Shasta County is a four-year Christian college that offers accredited undergraduate and graduate programs specifically designed to prepare students for life and ministry? It's Shasta Bible College & Graduate School in Redding, CA. Not sure if you're called to earn a degree but still want to challenge your faith and want to grow closer to Christ, we have a few awesome evening courses that may interest you:
Starting January 8th, the following evening classes will be available at SBC:
For a list of courses and programs visit www.shasta.edu APPLY TODAY! Classes start Monday, August 28th! High School students who have not yet graduated from High School can get a 50% tuition scholarship to earn credits on campus before entering college. In order to qualify, students must complete the non-degree application, be accepted, and pay the application fee as well as the regular semester fees. A high school student can earn up to 16 units. Call 530-221-4275 today for more information!
Apply Today at www.shasta.edu/apply Your help is needed. Friday August 18 and Saturday August 19 have been scheduled as work days. This is the last weekend before school starts. Here's the plan:
Friday will be a yard sale to try to get rid of all of the extra furniture and other things that have accumulated because of the remodeling and upgrading in both the building and the dorms. What does not sell on Friday will be either moved to the street or taken to the dump on Saturday. You are welcome to bring things from home to contribute to the sale on FRIDAY. The yard sale will be Friday only. YOUR HELP is appreciated for any time slot. We will be cleaning also on Friday. Saturday will be a work day starting at 8:00 a.m. until noon. Come as soon as you can. Everyone is asked to help. We will need help inside and outside in both the building and the dorms. If you can't come on that weekend, but want to help with cleaning, please let one of us know. You can have a job and do it on your own time. We will be cleaning on Friday also, so come join in when you can. Prophetic Significance of the Temple Mount The past two weeks have seen amazing events taking place in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount. These events may well be a precursor to the fulfillment of important prophecies relating to the end times. To His disciples’ utter astonishment, Jesus foretold that the glorious Jewish temple standing in Jerusalem in the first century would be destroyed (Luke 21:5-6). This prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70 when the Roman armies first laid siege to Jerusalem, then invaded the city and completely destroyed the temple. Jesus went on to say that the site would continue to be “trampled by the Gentiles … until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (verse 24). For nearly two thousand years Jerusalem was indeed “trampled by the Gentiles” – by Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Persians, Crusaders, and Ottomans. Even after the Jews regained control of East Jerusalem in the wake of the Six Days’ War of 1967, the Temple Mount itself remained under the control of the Waqf, a Moslem trust under the jurisdiction of the country of Jordan. To this day, it is not permitted that Jews or Christians pray on the Temple Mount. The only people allowed to pray on the site are Moslems. The Moslem Waqf claims that they, alone, have authority to control what takes place on the Temple Mount. On Friday, July 14, 2017, three Arab terrorists emerged from the Moslem mosque (Al Aqsa) on the Temple Mount, armed with knives and guns, and murdered two Israeli police officers. The terrorists were subsequently killed by security forces. In an effort to prevent future terrorist actions on the Temple Mount, the Israeli government installed metal detectors and security cameras at the entrances to the site. Such a security move seems like a reasonable response to such a horrendous terrorist act. However, Moslem authorities objected in the strongest terms to such security measures, announcing a boycott of the site until the metal detectors and cameras were removed. As a result of this boycott, one of the most amazing things took place: for the first time in two thousand years, a few Jews actually prayed, unrestrained, on the Temple Mount! Such prayers are still discouraged by the Israeli police who do not want to upset the Waqf and risk starting a war with Israel’s neighbors, but still these few free, unrestrained Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount are amazing and are a possible sign that the “times of the Gentiles” may be nearing their end! On July 27, Israel capitulated to Arab demands and removed the metal detectors and cameras. While many decry this sign of weakness on Israel’s part (including the writer of this blog!), it is evidence that we are still living during the “times of the Gentiles.” Nevertheless, there is awakening within the hearts of the Jewish people, an intense desire to see the Messiah come to Israel’s rescue and the temple be rebuilt. As I write this blog on Tuesday, August 1, 2017, Jews around the world are commemorating one of their most solemn holidays, “Tisha b’Av” (Lit., “The ninth day of the month of Av”). It was on this exact same day in history that both the first Jewish temple (587 BC) and the second Jewish temple (AD 70) were destroyed by Gentile forces. From 1967 until today, only a few extreme Jews took much of an interest in the Temple Mount. However today, Tisha b’Av, record numbers of Jews ascended to the Mount to commemorate this holy day and seek the Messiah’s deliverance. A total of 1,263 Jews in all went up to the former site of the temple today, even though they were forbidden to pray. This did not go unnoticed by the Moslem authorities: The Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi said, “The number of extremists storming Al Aqsa reached its highest record since Israel’s 1967 conquest.” He was addressing the Islamic States’ cooperation conference in Istanbul. The Palestinian Authority earlier castigated the Jews praying at the Western Wall, the last relic of the second Temple destroyed nearly 2,000 years ago, for “desecrating the wall of Al Aqsa” in commemoration of their “imaginary temple.” [http://debka.com/newsupdatepopup/21179/Record-1-236-Jewish-visits-to-Temple-Mount-on-Tisha-Be%E2%80%99Av. Accessed 8/1/2017] The Bible speaks of a temple that will indeed be built in Jerusalem by the Jews prior to Jesus Christ’s Second Coming (see 2 Thessalonians 2:4; Daniel 9:27; Revelation 11:1-2). However, this temple will be desecrated by the antichrist, and Jewish worship will again be forbidden on the Temple Mount for the final 3 ½ years before Jesus’ return. What is the significance of all this? The events of the past 3 weeks have served to heighten interest in the temple and in the coming of Messiah among Jews like few other events ever have. Jesus will not return to earth until some seven years after the temple has been rebuilt in Jerusalem. With the increasing likelihood that the temple’s construction is imminent, we ought to be reminded that we should be ready for the return of Christ. For believers today, we know that the rapture of the church will precede the Second Coming by at least seven years. If the Second Coming looks near, how much nearer the Bridegroom’s call to His bride to come to the Father’s House! Maranatha! Dr. George Gunn is the Vice President of Student Services at Shasta Bible College & Graduate School in Redding, CA. He is a also an Associate Professor of Bible, Theology and Biblical Languages. Dr. Gunn enjoys all things caffeinated, technological and Dispensational. |
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