Let us consider our nearest neighbor in space – the Moon. This is Thingazh (Nila) meaning month in Thamizh and Chandr in Sanskrit (Chandrayaan 1 and 2 (moon vehicles) were sent to its orbit by the Indian scientists). Moon is the natural satellite of the earth and we see its full face once every twenty-eight days. Except for a couple of astronauts (there is serious apprehension about this as per some social media posts), none has seen the dark side of our moon. Shockingly, the original videos of man’s first advent and his landing on the moon are lost according to NASA. Israel (and India, recently) crash-landed an unmanned vehicle on the moon’s surface ‘polluting’ it with tough tardigrades. China is sending another soon.

The Moon has a definite influence on the stability of our planet. It plays a significant role in the rise and fall of tides due to its mass and gravitational effect on the earth. If it were a bit closer, the tides would rise so high (and fall so low) that many countries would disappear from the face of the earth and the whole continent of Australia would find no place in the globe. A little further, our earth would spin faster and upset the length of the day and night, ultimately upsetting Time. (In fact, the Moon is moving away from the Earth at the rate of three to four centimeters per year, as per the scientists). The other probable effects are: The tilt of the earth might be altered producing a change in seasons and climate; earthquakes and volcanic eruptions might increase due to the disturbance to the core of the earth.
Moon’s eclipse by the earth – the lunar eclipse – and the Solar eclipse are (still!) interpreted unwisely by the Hindus as invisible planets (!) that exist in the form of snakes swallowing the moon and the Sun respectively which gave rise to Raahu and Kethu in Indian astrology. Raahu has a snake’s body and a man’s head; Kethu has a man’s body and a snake’s head.

The moon has been worshipped from time unknown (Deu 4:19) in various civilizations; God condemns it. The stickiness of this practice is seen today in India (Easwaran wears the moon’s crescent on his ‘sadai’/lock of hair). A Muslim’s life is governed by the crescent (almost all Islamic nations depict this in their flags). Buddhism and Jainism have significant connections to the moon too. Take note, the moon is under the feet of the woman of Rev 12!

The moon’s glory is limited as it only reflects sunlight. God created it to shine during the night and be for a sign and for seasons and for days and years (as He did, the sun) – Gen 1:14. God also warned man that he should not worship it (Deut 4:19) as it would one day be subject to man (empowered by God, of course!) which happened during the time of Joshua around 1200 BC. Joshua commanded the sun as well as the moon to stand still – Josh 10:12, 13 and they did, until a certain God-determined objective was met.

(Interestingly, the moon might be in for a significant kick from the earth soon, resulting in the length of the days & nights on the earth being shortened – Rev 8:12. However, there might be a spiritual interpretation to it).

In fact, according to the Lord Jesus Christ, this moon is set to turn red on the last day (Matt 24:29) when He will return and then, the need for the moon would cease. While the statement of the Lord might sound counter-intuitive, scientists agree that there will be an end to the moon too (apart from the earth and the sun) but the time frame that the scientists set for this ‘cessation’ is only much longer (millions of years, as do they for the origin of the moon!). The city New Jerusalem on the New Earth would keep receiving the light of the Lamb; the glory of God would be sufficient for its eternal existence. To know further, read on.