Tanypteryx writes:
Faith writes:
which is often understood to refer to both a solar and a lunar eclipse occurring in close proximity
Interesting, but of course, solar and lunar eclipses always occur in close proximity, almost exactly 2 weeks apart. First a solar eclipse during a new moon and then a lunar eclipse during the next full moon.
Well then that duo is to happen before the Day of the Lord.
Well, that "duo" happens every six months of every single year. It would be like tying a prophecy to when the three stars of Orion's belt point to the star Sirius, which is always.
The orbital plane of the moon is inclined from the orbital plane of the earth (AKA "the ecliptic"). As you recall from jr-high geometry, two planes intersect along a line. The line where the earth's and moon's orbital planes intersect is the Line of the Nodes which always points in the same direction, though it does slowly shift due to precession.
In order for there to be an eclipse, the sun and the moon must be positioned on that Line of Nodes (the earth always is). Every six months, the earth's revolution around the sun brings the sun in line with the Line of Nodes. When that happens, we have a solar eclipse when the moon falls on the Line of Nodes at the new moon and a lunar eclipse when the moon falls on the Line of Nodes at the full moon.
Thus, every single year at six-month intervals we have at least two solar eclipses and at least two lunar eclipses. In addition, it is common for a lunar eclipse to be bracketed by two solar eclipses or a solar eclipse by two lunar eclipses. Of course, for us to observe any of those eclipses the shadows must lined up just right, so we don't observe all of them, but they do still occur with great regularity, in pairs and sometimes in triples, every six months of every single year.
You may as well tie the timing of a prophecy to a day when the sun rose in the east.