Holy, celestial coincidences intrigue
Business tutor Diane Turner has spent 15 months researching the latest tetrad of blood moons, coinciding with Jewish festivals, and believes it is a sign of future events.
Turner, of Timaru, has since been nicknamed ‘Doomsday Diane’ by her family, but says they are actually supportive.
Far from believing everything she reads, Turner was brought up by atheist parents, gained a Bachelor of Business Studies from Massey University, became a Christian at 22, has established and run a number of successful businesses and is now studying Hebrew through the University of Jerusalem, as well as tutoring at Aoraki Polytechnic.
Her recent interest in the eclipses and holy days was fuelled by an acquaintance asking if she knew about them. This led her to do her own research and recently deliver lectures on what she has learnt at her home church, Gleniti Baptist.
The tetrad is a cycle of four lunar eclipses in a row, which occurs from time to time. What Turner is fascinated by is that the last three eclipses have landed on Jewish holy days; Passover in 2014, Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) in 2014, and Passover in 2015. Another eclipse is due on September 28, coinciding with this year’s Sukkot festival.
‘‘This will not happen again for 500 years,’’ Turner said.
The last time this happened was 1949 and 1950, which ushered in the establishment of the nation of Israel.
She sees the festivals as honouring the past and mirroring the future. The celestial movements alongside the festivals she believes signifies the onset of major world events.
Turner believes it is a way of God getting humans’ attention.