The Sun and Moon in the Last Days

In Joel’s prophecy about the “last days” he gave us these words of the Lord, “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come” (Joel 2:30-31).  This statement that the sun would be darkened and the moon turned to blood has been repeated several times in other verses of scripture.  Peter quoted it on the day of Pentecost, and according to Orson Pratt, “It was not referred to, however, with the intention of declaring its fulfillment at that time, but merely to inform the unbelieving Jews that it was the same Spirit which Joel spoke of” (see Acts 2:19-20).  In John’s revelation he also referred to the prophecy, saying, “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.”   This refers to sometime shortly before the second coming of the Savior when the “great day of his wrath is come” (Revelation 6:12, 17).  

In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord used the same language several times, clearly emphasizing that this is an important sign of the time for us to be aware of.  In an 1830 revelation the Savior revealed, “But, behold, I say unto you that before this great day shall come the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall be turned into blood, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and there shall be greater signs in heaven above and in the earth beneath” (D&C 29:14).  In the same year to Orson Pratt the Lord said, “But before that great day shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be turned into blood; and the stars shall refuse their shining, and some shall fall, and great destructions await the wicked” (D&C 34:9).  In 1831 in another revelation containing many of the signs of the times we read, “And before the day of the Lord shall come, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be turned into blood, and the stars fall from heaven” (D&C 45:42).  And in the olive leaf revelation of 1833 the Lord said, “For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the stars shall become exceedingly angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig tree” (D&C 88:87).  There’s no doubt that the Lord endorses this prophecy of Joel and that it is a sign we should be watching for in the last days. 

So what exactly does it mean for the moon to be turned to blood?  Joseph Fielding Smith said in 1966, “Eventually the sun is to be turned into darkness and the moon as blood and then shall come the great and dreadful day of the Lord.  Some of these signs have been given; some are yet to come. The sun has not yet been darkened. We are informed that this will be one of the last acts just preceding the coming of the Lord.”  This suggests, as I think most of us would understand the prophecy, a symbolic fulfillment yet to come in which the moon appears as blood—perhaps meaning that it will appear to be red.  It may be that fires burning on the earth will cause the moon to appear red.  Interestingly, President Hinckley in 2001 in general conference quoted Joel 2:28-32, which includes this prophecy of the moon turning to blood, and he said, “The vision of Joel has been fulfilled.”  His emphasis, though, was on the incredible advancements the world has seen and how the Spirit has been poured out upon us as Joel prophesied.  I’m not sure that we can conclude from his brief statement tat the prophecy about the moon has really taken place.  At any rate, it’s clear that as the day of the Lord approaches there will be signs in the heavens that we should pay careful attention to.