Posted August 27, 2026
This evening, 96.2 percent of the surface of the moon will be covered by Earth’s shadow and take on a reddish-orange hue. This is known as a “blood moon” lunar eclipse.
Time notes, “It’s not often that 3.6 billion people—or 44.4 percent of the world’s population—look at the same thing at the same time. And it’s not often that something comes along that’s worth the attention of all those billions.” But such is the case with tonight’s eclipse, at least in the view of the writer.
When I saw the article, my first thought was that 50 percent of the world’s population can see the same thing every day when they look at the sunrise (assuming the skies are clear). Then, some hours later, the other 50 percent can see the same thing. Thus it has been since the first sunrise and will be until the last.
My second thought was that another event is coming which everyone will see in that moment, regardless of where they are on our planet: Jesus “is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him” (Revelation 1:7).
Here’s the question: How can everyone on a round planet see the same thing at the same time? We can’t all see the same sunrise or the same lunar eclipse at the same time. How will “every eye” see Jesus when he returns?
One answer to the question is highly relevant to us all today.
In addition to the prediction that everyone will see Jesus when he returns, our Lord foretold that “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). As with his return, how will all 8.3 billion people on our planet hear the gospel?
It is estimated that more than three billion people have never heard the message of salvation. I met some of them when I was a missionary in East Malaysia, people who had never heard the syllables “Jesus Christ.” Many of the “unreached” peoples are unreached because they live in places that are off limits to Christian missionary efforts.
However, there is a way both predictions could be fulfilled soon.
There are fewer people in the world without internet access than those who are without gospel access. Digital technology is welcomed by governments that forbid Christian ministry. And while less than 1 percent of Western church expenditures go to reaching the unreached, technology companies are spending vast sums of money to expand their global reach, as are companies that want to use such reach to sell their products.
Accordingly, ministries such as ExploreGod are reaching the world in unprecedented ways. They were begun by my friend Walt Wilson and have become the world’s largest digital evangelism and discipleship ministry. They and others are leveraging communicational technology with the goal of giving every person on our planet a chance to hear and respond to the gospel.
In addition, if everyone has access to the internet, everyone can see what the internet broadcasts. What if Jesus’ coming were broadcast digitally in this way? Wherever he returns on our round planet, if everyone had access to the internet, everyone on it could see the event for themselves. This was not possible in previous generations, but is more than plausible in ours.
Does this mean that Jesus’ coming in our generation is certain? That’s a different question.
As I have noted in various books and articles over the years, there are a multitude of interpretive approaches taken by scholars with regard to the end of history. Some expect the church to be “raptured” out of the world, while others disagree. Some think there will be a literal millennial reign of Christ on earth (Revelation 20:1–6), while others view this text as more symbolic.
Whatever we think about the end times, we can know that our Lord will do whatever is best. He created time and transcends it. He made this planet and will return to it in his own way on his own schedule (Matthew 24:36).
In the meantime, we can do our part to prepare our world for his return by sharing the news of his love with everyone we can in every way we can. And we can prepare our own hearts as well.
Henri Nouwen has long been a spiritual mentor for me. Father Nouwen earned doctoral degrees in psychology and theology and taught at the University of Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard. He wrote thirty-nine books, selling more than seven million copies. Many of his insights into the human condition resonate deeply with me.
Consider this statement from Life of the Beloved:
Aren’t you, like me, hoping that some person, thing, or event will come along to give you that final feeling of inner well-being you desire? Don’t you often hope: “May this book, idea, course, trip, job, country or relationship fulfill my deepest desire.” But as long as you are waiting for that mysterious moment you will go on running helter-skelter, always anxious and restless, always lustful and angry, never fully satisfied. You know that this is the compulsiveness that keeps us going and busy, but at the same time makes us wonder whether we are getting anywhere in the long run. This is the way to spiritual exhaustion and burn-out. This is the way to spiritual death.
George MacDonald, the Scottish writer who was so influential in the life of C. S. Lewis, once said, “In whatever man does without God, he must fail miserably, or succeed more miserably.”
Conversely, if we live every day as if it were our last day, one day we’ll be right. And every day, we’ll be blessed.
The English poet John Donne famously wrote,
What if this present were the world’s last night?
Mark in my heart, O soul, where thou dost dwell,
The picture of Christ crucified, and tell
Whether that countenance can thee affright.
By contrast, John Calvin asserted,
“Let us consider this settled: that no one has made progress in the school of Christ who does not joyfully await the day of death and final resurrection.”
Will you live today so that you await the return of Jesus not with fear but with joy?
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