'Tetrad' alignment of Mars, Earth and sun could mean end of days is approaching | Mail Online
Next week begins the start of the 'Tetrad,' a series of lunar eclipses
The four 'blood-red' moons are followed by six full moons
The cycle finishes at the end of September 2015
It coincides with an alignment of Earth, Mars and the sun
The chance alignment has only happened three times in the last 500 years
Some Christians believe the Tetrad, is a signal the end of the world is near
Tetrads are associated with significant religious events
Also known as the 'Tetrad' since it involves four successive total 'blood-red' lunar eclipses each followed by six full moons, NASA has confirmed it started Tuesday night and will end on September 28, 2015.
In the 21st century tetrads are a frequent occurrence, with nine sets in total, but this has not always been the case.
From 1600 to 1900, for example, there were none at all.
The Book of Joel in the King James Bible makes a prophecy about the blood moons and the end of the world: 'The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD comes.'
In 1493, the first Tetrad saw the expulsion of Jews by the Catholic Spanish Inquisition.
The second happened in 1949, right after the State of Israel was founded. And the most recent one, in 1967, happened during the Six-Day War between Arabs and Israelis.