MUCH ADO ABOUT SOLAR ECLIPSE

By Akin Ojumu

A total solar eclipse is expected to cross parts of 15 states in the United States on Monday, April 8, 2024. According to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, about 31.6 million people live in the path of totality, i.e., the area where the moon will fully block out the sun.

Expectedly, the celestial event has generated a lot of buzz. Small towns along the path of the solar eclipse are agog with excitement and there’s exhilaration in the cities over which the solar eclipse is expected to pass. 

Not a few school districts have cancelled classes for the entire day. A state of emergency has been declared in one Texas county in anticipation of the huge crowd expected to flood to the county to watch the eclipse. Even my own office, which is in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, and miles away from the path of the eclipse, has also organized a solar eclipse viewing party. Trust your brother, he ain’t going.

Looking to cash in on the solar eclipse kerfuffle, local businesses are out with solar eclipse-themed merchandise. There are solar eclipse glasses, solar eclipse hamburgers, and solar eclipse fries. Additionally, some are hawking books, maps, shirts, pins, stickers and so much more. Breweries and bars are not left out either. These watering holes are issuing solar eclipse commemoratives to attract crowds to their viewing parties. 

The economic impact of the solar eclipse hype is real and tangible. Hotels in towns and cities along the path of the solar eclipse are fully booked despite the jacked up rates. By the time it’s all over, towns and cities along the path of the solar eclipse could see a combined $6 billion injected into their states’ economies. Tiny State of Vermont alone, which is along the path of the eclipse, is expected to rake in as much as $230 million in solar eclipse revenue.

Now, it should come as no surprise that Americans are making so much brouhaha over the solar eclipse. Being the consummate workaholics that they are, Americans are always looking for the slightest opportunity to come out of the depth of their busy lives for air and to let off steam. The upcoming celestial event presents such a perfect opportunity to do just that.

Very typical, false prophets, soothsayers, and diviners are also capitalizing on the solar eclipse furor.  As usual, they are reading all kinds of signs and omens in the solar eclipse. The celestial event has stoked the flames of end-time speculations. Doomsday conspiracy theorists of all shapes and sizes have been stirred into a frenzy by the solar eclipse.

These false prophets are predicting an impending great Day of Judgment. They claim to foresee terrorist attacks, biological warfare, and nuclear meltdowns coming to America. All of these, they believe, will usher in a new world order in which Christ will return and America, together with Israel, will rule the nations of the world.

Of course, there are Bible passages that talk about the sun being blacked out by darkness descending on the land. Here are just a few of them:

 “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day…” (Amos 8:9).

“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.” (Joel 2:31)

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” (Matthew 24:29).

“I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red…” (Revelation 6:12).

Doomsday conspiracy theorists cite these Bible texts to back up their wild speculations that the solar eclipse will bring doom and gloom upon America. But guess what? It’s all a pile of cow dung based on the figment of their darkened imagination and their faulty exegeting of the Bible texts outside their proper context.

Total solar eclipses are normal astronomical events that occur all the time. There’s a total solar eclipse visible somewhere around the globe about every 18 months. Those who seek signs and omens in them are charlatans out to exploit people’s fear. They simply want to capitalize on the mass hysteria in order to make a quick buck. The April 8th solar eclipse that’s expected to pass over the US is no more a harbinger of an apocalyptic event than the last one that occurred back in 2017.

All the hoopla about the solar eclipse is much ado about nothing. The ruckus is all a ruse created by hustlers and hucksters for their own financial gain. If there’s any biblical and prophetic meaning to be drawn from the solar eclipse, it should be a reminder to all of us of the greatness of the Almighty God. 

The cosmic event should awaken in us the realization and recognition of the majesty of YAHWEH. That the Creator of the universe is an awesome God is the only sign that should be seen in the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse.