End Times: What Does Each Faith Say About Solar Eclipses?

On Monday, April 8, a total solar eclipse will pass over much of North America, and millions will bear witness to the sky going dark – an event which the contiguous United States won’t see for another 21 years.

With eclipses, it seems, come end-of-the-world prophesies. During the 2017 eclipse, many predicted judgment day was coming.

Monday’s eclipse is no different. Christian social media influencers, for example, are sounding the alarm because the eclipse’s path of totality goes through a handful of towns named "Nineveh." 

For those who aren't religious scholars, there was a biblical city of the same name that was renowned for its wickedness. This connection, some say, is a sign that the end times are near.

Ancient Eclipse Prophesies

Nor are such dire prognostications a modern phenomenon.

Solar eclipses have been documented since at least 1223 BC, when an eclipse was recorded on a clay tablet in ancient Syria. There are records from ancient China and Ireland dating back even further that some scholars argue record eclipses too. And as long as eclipses have been happening, people have been ascribing celestial or spiritual meaning to them. 

The ancient Greeks believed that eclipses were portents from the gods, while the ancient Chinese believed solar eclipses were the sun being swallowed by a dragon. The ancient Incas believed eclipses were a sign of the sun god’s anger.

Much like today, ancient civilizations looked upon solar eclipses with awe, wonder, and fear... which got us wondering if these cosmic phenomena are mentioned anywhere in holy texts. 

So, what do the Abrahamic faiths say about eclipses?

Christianity

The Old Testament is full of references to the sky turning dark, often interpreted by biblical scholars as solar eclipses. In the Bible, the sky going dark is often used as both a metaphor of coming despair, as well as an illustration of God’s power.

• Isaiah 13:10: "The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light."
• Ezekiel 32:7: "When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light."
• Isaiah 38:8: "I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz. So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down."

Most interestingly, it is mentioned in the synoptic gospels that darkness overtakes Jerusalem during Jesus’ crucifixion for three hours, from noon to 3.

It was believed by early Christian scholars that this was a miracle, but some modern biblical scholars have interpreted this as a solar eclipse, and have tried to find the actual date of Jesus’ crucifixion using this information.

An actual solar eclipse would not be three hours, however, so others searching for a natural explanation have interpreted this event as a sand storm, confusion with a partial lunar eclipse, or simple literary flourish.

Islam

The Quran teaches that the sun, moon, and all creation was created by Allah. Muslims observe a special connection between their earthly faith and the cosmos, and eclipses are viewed as a special symbol of Allah’s power and majesty. Eclipses are so revered in Islam that they even perform a special prayer – the Salat al-Khusuf – during them.

There are two eclipses famously observed in Islamic tradition. The first is an eclipse that preceded Muhammad’s birth, which historians have linked to a documented eclipse that occurred 569 AD and which lasted around three minutes.

The second is a solar eclipse that occurred following the death of Muhammad’s young son Ibrahim. Many at the time believed it was a sign of Allah himself showing Muhammad his condolences, but per the Hadiths, Muhammad stated that the eclipse was not a sign of his son’s divinity, stating “the sun and the moon are two signs amongst the signs of Allah. They do not eclipse because of someone's death or life. So when you see them, invoke Allah and pray till the eclipse is clear.”

Judaism

Judaism holds a less rosy view of eclipses than the other Abrahamic faiths. Within the Talmud, eclipses are viewed as ill omens – a potential portent of divine anger. As is written in the Talmud:

“When the luminaries are stricken, it is an ill omen for the world. To what can we compare this? To a king of flesh and blood who prepared a feast for his servants and set a lantern to illuminate the hall. But then he became angry with them and said to his servant: “Take the lantern from before them and seat them in darkness.”

Because Jewish people follow a lunar calendar, it was believed that lunar eclipses, on the other hand, were a bad sign against the enemies of the Jewish people, and the target of ill omen could be determined by the eclipse’s location, the time of day it happened, and the color of the sky.

Curiously, ancient Jewish scholars knew that eclipses were predictable, calculable cosmic phenomena, yet still seemingly believed them related to the divine in some way.

Indigenous Cultures

Monday's solar eclipse will pass over many lands once inhabited (and some still) by tribes indigenous to North America. So, how did these tribes view eclipses?

For numerous Native American communities, an eclipse holds deep spiritual significance. Traditions vary from tribe to tribe, but some examples include:

• The Cherokee traditionally mark the eclipse by making loud noises, driven by the belief that this will deter a mythical giant frog from consuming the sun.
• The Navajo do not eat or drink during the event, choosing to show respect for what they view as a moment of rebirth.
• The Ho-Chunk people of Wisconsin regard both solar and lunar eclipses with high esteem as periods of transformation.
• The Hopi of Arizona view eclipses as moments for prayer and ceremonial practices, including the bestowal of traditional sacred names.

One other interesting note: Tenskwatawa, a Shawnee prophet and brother of Tecumseh, famously gained prominence by accurately predicting the eclipse of June 16, 1806. This prediction earned him increased support for his movement to reject European influences and oppose then-U.S. President William Henry Harrison.

The Eclipse Must Go On

Whether ill omen or holy blessing, for millennia, eclipses have been viewed by nearly every culture around the world as a sign from the divine.

People have believed for thousands of years that solar eclipses portend some sort of apocalypse, and so far, at least, they’ve all been wrong.

So, it’s probably safe to say that the world won’t end on April 8th (...and even if it does, who will be around to say "I told you so"?).

If you’re lucky enough to be in the eclipse’s path, it's worth considering the fascinating history behind this rare cosmic event and what meaning it might hold. 

What is your reaction? Do you think the solar eclipse holds spiritual significance, or is it purely a celestial coincidence?