Billy Graham’s daughter falls in the long-running tradition of predicting death & destruction in the upcoming solar eclipse

On August 7, Billy Graham’s daughter, Anne, seemed to endorse a prediction that the coming eclipse will herald Judgement Day. In a blog post, Graham shared a YouTube video by pastor Steve Cioccolanti who suggested that the end of the world is near. In the 56-minute-long video, Cioccolanti drew on Hebrew scriptures and eclipses from biblical eras to point to his conclusion that the earth, as we know it, is about over. In the description for the video, Cioccolanti wrote “Don’t waste time! The Great American Solar Eclipse of August 21st, 2017 will occur 33 days before the Great Sign of Revelation 12 on September 23rd, 2017.”

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Graham and Cioccolanti are carrying on a long tradition of predicting an eclipse hearkening death and destruction. Here are a few:

  • Historian David Baron recently spoke with Science Friday and recalled an 1878 eclipse when Armageddon was imminent, Baron says “[Americans] were absolutely convinced that this was Jesus returning, and this was Judgment Day … they fell to their knee, they ran to church and in one tragic instance, a father decided he wanted to get to the other side as fast as possible to avoid Armageddon and he ran home with an ax. He killed his young son. And then he took a razor, sliced his own throat and killed himself.”
  • The 16th century prognosticator Nostradamus wrote that a “monster will appear in broad daylight” at “the eclipse of the sun” and that “none will have forecast the great cost.” Nostradamus was deliberately vague in his predictions, but an appearing monster cannot be a benevolent sign.
  • Spanish conquerors in central America watched as Aztecs made human sacrifices following an eclipse. They reportedly believed the sun was “in need of help from people.”
  • The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all mention an eclipse at the time of the Crucifixion. Matthew and Mark write “At midday the country was covered with darkness, which lasted for three hours.”

What do you think?

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