Now that the tetrad of 2014-15 has passed, can we see what if anything God was highlighting?
The Bible states in Genesis that God uses the sun, moon, and stars for signs and seasons. The word ‘seasons’ is also translated as ‘festivals’ elsewhere in scripture so that equates to the Jewish Feasts which are marked in the Jewish calendar. This calendar is based around moon cycles unlike our Gregorian calendar which is based on the sun. The Passover for example, is always marked by a Full Moon and a lunar eclipse coincides with a Full Moon by definition. So what is a tetrad? It refers to four things in a group, so in the case of a full moon, the word is used to describe four successive total lunar eclipses, with no partial lunar eclipses in between.
Since the first century, there have been 62 tetrads with only eight coinciding with both Jewish feasts making them significant in a biblical sense. So why is this significant? Well as already mentioned, God gave the moon as a sign to mark festivals and when we look at the last four tetrads, what we find are periods of time that were very significant in Jewish history. Here are the last four tetrads. Take a look at the dates. Some might not mean anything to you immediately. Let’s take a look at each of these years to see what happened in Jewish history on these dates. What you will find are the most significant events in modern Jewish history. Here are the years of the last four tetrads:
- Tetrad of 1493-1494
- Tetrad of 1949-1950
- Tetrad of 1967-1968
- Tetrad of 2014 – 2015
So were these years significant for Israel, the Jews, or Bible prophecy in general? At first glance the year 1967 certainly stands out to most students of prophecy, but what happened in and around all the last four significant tetrads?
1493- 1494
The Spanish Inquisition was a significant event for the Jews that took place in 1492 just one year prior. That year, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain gave the Jewish population a mere four months to convert to Catholicism or leave the country. It is estimated that between 165,000 and 400,000 Jews fled the country at this time. As many as 50,000 decided to stay, converting to Roman Catholicism.
Many historians now believe that Christopher Columbus was Jewish and they believe his voyage to the west in 1492 was his way of escaping the Spanish Inquisition of that year which of course resulted in his discovery of America. Some studies of Columbus show he was a deeply religious man whose purpose was to sail to Asia to obtain gold in order to finance a crusade to take back Jerusalem and rebuild the Jews’ holy temple. Whether true or not, his voyage was not as is commonly believed, funded by Queen Isabella, but rather by two Jews who converted to Catholicism to avoid death. Louis de Santangel and Gabriel Sanchez advanced an interest free loan of 17,000 ducats from their own pockets to help pay for the voyage. Another prominent Jew, Don Isaac Abrabanel, who was a rabbi and Jewish statesman, also donated money for the voyages of Christopher Columbus.
Just a couple of months before 1493, Columbus discovered America and in 1493 there was a tetrad perhaps signifying how important these events would be for the Jews. As we know, Jews migrated to America to escape persecution resulting in the United States having the largest Jewish population on earth today with more Jewish people than even Israel. Certainly this was a significant time in Jewish history.
1949-1950
After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, Jews were driven into exile. The Jewish people were scattered through the nations of the world but still managed to retained their identity. After the WWII holocaust, the Jews were finally granted their homeland. On May 14, 1948, the modern state of Israel was born. In 1949, Israel was officially recognized as a legal state by the United States with Israel becoming a member of the United Nations in 1949 after the Israeli elections.
1967
God said many times in the Old Testament that He would place His name in Jerusalem. The Jews during their 2,000 years of exile turned their faces toward Jerusalem each day praying for the restoration of their beloved ancient city and the rebuilding of the temple. On June 7, 1967 the Jordanians launched an attack against Israel and west Jerusalem. Israel counter-attacked driving Jordan out of east Jerusalem, out of Judea-Samaria, and back into its own land across the Jordan River. Jerusalem was undivided and under Jewish control for the first time since the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD.
2014 – 2015
Islamic Caliphate
Looking back at what happened in 2014 and 2015 it seemed the most obvious event relating to Bible prophecy, Israel, and the Jews was probably the rise of ISIS. The leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed an Islamic caliphate from the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul in mid-2014. In 2015 the caliphate seemed unstoppable, but met some serious resistance with US air strikes. Despite that, ISIS maintained their ground. However, by 2016, ISIS was losing territory it had gained and in 2019 they were driven out of the last remaining pockets of land they held.
So was this significant to Israel or the Jews? Well it did seem at the time that ISIS could eventually attack Israel, but their defeat put a stop to that plan. This however led to a different problem that does relate to the Jews, namely the European migrant crisis. In 2015, millions of Muslims fled to Europe to escape ISIS and in the confusion many Muslims from Africa also took advantage of the opportunity to go to Europe for better economic opportunities. This wave of Muslims and the Islamic culture they brought with them led to increased persecution of Jews in Europe prompting many to live in Israel. But the impact for Jews could be much greater in the future due to the increase in percentage of Muslim Europeans due to immigration and a higher birth rate. In years or decades to come, parts of Europe could have a Muslim majority population leading to a more Islamic Europe than a Christian Europe that we know of today. Could this be the catalyst for what we read about the last days regarding the persecution of both Christians and Jews including death and even beheadings as we read in scripture? Well if ISIS was a catalyst, then yes a resurrection of an Islamic Caliphate in both the Middle East and parts of Europe could indeed bring some serious persecution of Jews and Christians.
Jerusalem
But there was an even more significant event during this tetrad? Yes there was. That event was the presidential campaign of Donald Trump which was launched on June 16, 2015, the same year as the tetrad. The following year in November 8, 2016, Trump became the President. On December 6, 2017, he announced the United States recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The US embassy was officially opened in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018 which coincided with the 70th anniversary of the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
In hindsight, if God was using this tetrad to show us a significant sign, then it was probably the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and its endorsement by the United States. It does follow the pattern of the other tetrads in question which relate to Israel, Jerusalem, and the Jews. However, Islamic immigration to Europe could also be a significant end time factor that could have a profound impact on both the Jews and Christians in the future.
Of course it has to be said that Trump is still the president and this King Cyrus type leader could enact many other major changes that will affect Israel and the Jewish people. Remember that during his administration he also defeated ISIS in Syria and Iraq and he is also making great changes to the relationship that the US has with China, which could in itself change things globally. It is also looking likely that he will win another term.
NOTE: The comments below are a topic that was started back in 2013. The speculation was what the tetrad would bring. It is now the year 2019 and with the benefit of hindsight, the above writing was written.
Proclaimer.
