Darkening of the Sun and Moon

Twenty-five years later the next sign appeared that was mentioned in the prophecy—the darkening of the sun and moon. In conversation with His disciples on the Mount of Olives, Jesus had clearly pointed out the time for this prophecy's fulfillment. “In those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light” (Mark 13:24). The 1,260 days, or years, ended in 1798. A quarter of a century earlier, persecution had almost completely died out. Following this persecution, the sun would be darkened. On May 19, 1780, this prophecy was fulfilled.LF 129.3

An eyewitness in Massachusetts described the event this way: “A heavy black cloud spread over the entire sky except a narrow rim at the horizon, and it was as dark as it usually is at nine o'clock on a summer evening....LF 129.4

“Fear, anxiety, and awe gradually filled the minds of the people. Women stood at the door, looking out at the dark landscape. Men returned from their work in the fields. The carpenter left his tools, the blacksmith his shop, the tradesman his counter. Schools were dismissed, and the children ran home in fear. Travelers asked for shelter at the nearest farmhouse. ‘What is coming?’ was the question on every lip and heart. It seemed as if a hurricane was about to sweep across the land, or as if it was the judgment day, the end of all things.LF 129.5

“People lit candles, and hearth fires glowed as brightly as they do on a moonless evening in autumn.... Birds flew to their roosts and went to sleep, cattle gathered at the pasture gates and lowed, frogs peeped, birds sang their evening songs, and bats flew around. But the human knew that night had not come....LF 129.6

“Congregations came together in many ... places. The texts for the impromptu sermons consistently were those that seemed to show that the darkness fulfilled Bible prophecy.... The darkness was the deepest shortly after eleven o'clock.”^{4The Essex Antiquarian, April 1899, volume 3, number 4, pages 53, 54.}LF 129.7

“In most parts of the country it was so dark in the daytime that the people could not tell what time it was by either watch or clock, nor eat, nor manage their home duties, without the light of candles.”^{5William Gordon, History of the Rise, Progress and Establishment of the Independence of the U.S.A., volume 3, page 57.}LF 130.1