The biblical passage of Joel 2:31 has been stirring up a frenzy of late, thanks to a best-selling book and newly released documentary by controversial American pastor John Hagee.

He’s convinced “something dramatic” is about to happen in Israel “that will change the course of history in the Middle East and impact the whole world”.

And it’s an event that is being heralded in the heavens: A succession of four “blood moons” — or a tetrad — is neatly divided by a total eclipse of the sun. The third of these blood moons falls in the middle of Easter — this weekend.

FOUR BLOOD MOONS

A blood moon is where our closest celestial companion passes directly behind the Earth from the sun. It is eclipsed. Through atmospherics and refraction, only the red light of the sun is bent far enough to illuminate the Moon’s surface in an eerie copper glow before it passes fully into shadow.

This weekend, the event can be seen across Asia, Australia and North America. Strangely, three of these blood moons won’t be visible in the Holy Land.

But it’s not really all that unique an event: Such a sequence of blood moons has been seen 62 times in the past 2000 years. Eight are expected this century.

Hagee neglects to say he only counted those that fell on Easter.

We recently survived the Mayan Apocalypse of 2012. So why should we worry this time?

Hagee says he has studied the past tetrads “carefully” and has become convinced they are a God-sent sign of what is to come.

“The Bible says in Genesis 1:14 ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day and the night and let them be for signs and signals’,” he says.

With his eyes back on the ground, the televangelist points to Israel’s fears about the Iranian nuclear industry — a debate now unfolding on the world stage — as being a potential trigger point.

“If Iran torments Israel the hand of God will destroy that nation,” he asserts.

SIGNS AND PORTENTS

“The four blood moon focus came when I saw on the internet that the four blood moons of 1492, 1948 and 1967 had happened only three times in over 500 years, but in each of these occasions the Jewish people were involved,” he states.

“In 1492 it was the explosion of Spain, the triumph was the discovery of America. In 1948 the trail was the holocaust, the thing that followed was statehood. In 1967 was the 6-day war; the thing that followed was Jerusalem was joined to the state of Israel.”

Actually, Hagee may be a bit out. Critics argue two of these blood moons actually happened in 1493 and 1949. So the events and the celestial alignments are a bit stretched.

It’s also not actually Hagee’s idea.

Competing pastor Mark Blitz has send a letter demanding credit for the “discovery” of the significance of the blood moons after having his say edited out of a documentary screened on the subject at the weekend.

Blitz believes the Second Coming of Jesus is due this year — with Tribulation (a time of trials before Armageddon) having begun in 2008.

GOD SAID IT ...

Hagee’s message is reaching a wide audience.

His Pentecostal television and radio ministry claims to be broadcast into more than 150 million households — including Australia.

He has a particular focus on armageddon, as well as strong opinions about Israel and Palestine. He asserts the Palestinian people don’t belong in the Holy Land, and that there is no Palestinian heritage, culture or language.

But the outspoken pastor has also been accused of ant-semetic statements amid his staunchly pro-Israel stance.

“There’s a sense in the world that things are changing and God is trying to communicate with us in a supernatural way,” megachurch founder Hagee decrees.

DIVINE DIVINATION

Astrology and divination are practices roundly condemned in the biblical texts. But Hagee insists his readings are different.

“People need to understand the difference between astrology and astronomy,” he retorts. “Astrology is a false science, astrology leads to the worship of the stars. Astronomy is an exact science, it’s the study of the stars.”

He compares his predictions to the way sailors navigate their course by the stars, as well as that of the Three Wise Men.

“It was the star in the east that the Magi followed to the birthplace of Jesus,” Hagee argues. “God has spoken through the sun, moon, and the stars to comfort us and to warn us of things that are coming.”

“God has a divine calendar and there is a set time that God is doing everything and he’s allowing us to see what hes doing by watching the Heavens declare the glory of the Lord.”

END OF THE MATTER

Hagee is hedging his bets a bit.

This weekend does not have to be a sign that the end times are upon us, he says.

“Something’s about to change” is almost as specific he gets.

Also, this blood moon is supposed to be a sign of something much harder to observe: That humanity is no longer “under God’s grace”, he says.

“There’s a sequence of prophetic events that the Bible says will happen. It does not, ever, give a timeline,” Hagee explains. “It just says ‘when you see the signs’ — and four blood moons is a very significant one — ‘the end of this age is coming.”

Wait. The 13th b’ak’tun (age) ended in December 2012, didn’t it?

And what is “the end” anyway?

“When people say the end, there is no end of the world because at the end of the millennial reign the earth is going to be renovated by fire, be recreated like the Garden of Eden and the world is going to exist forever,” he says.

So, is he right?

Bolon Yokte K’Uh didn’t turn up (that we know of) at the end of the 13th b’ak’tun (December 2012).

But it’s bound to happen eventually.

Hagee’s got it made: He’s raked in a mint from his ministry and book — which even made the New York bestseller lists last year.

Now, let’s sit back, enjoy the light show, and see what happens. Again.

@JamieSeidel