Conspiracy theorists will fear Wednesday's Blood Moon could symbolise the end of the world as we know it.

The first total eclipse in two years will be visible from the Pacific Ocean, Asia, Australia and large parts of the Americas on May 26.

With it, the Moon will take on a reddish colour as prophesied in the Bible for when the "dreadful day of the Lord comes".

Belief in the natural phenomenon took on a new lease of life in 2013 when a pair of Christian ministers suggested that the "tetrad" could bring the end of the world.

According to John Hagee and Mark Blitz, the world-ending "tetrad" is a series of four eclipses that occur within the time frame of Jewish holidays, with six full moons in between.

During the January 31 Super Blue Blood Moon six months ago, Christians and conspiracy theorist alike were urged to brace for the end of the world.

At the time, the biblical Book of Joel was brought up as proof the Moon turning "into blood" is an apocalyptic sign, ExpressOnline reports.

Popular Christian conspiracist Pastor Paul Begley said: "The Devils' back has got to be breaking. It’s the birthing of the end times.

"We are living in the final days. It's all about the super blue blood moon, it is a prophetic sign of the end times."

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In 2013 Hagee predicted: "In these next two years, we’re going to see something dramatic happen in the Middle East involving Israel that will change the course of history in the Middle East and impact the whole world."

Blitz adds: "All these signs, coming together at one time, are potentially the culminating signals that God is closing this chapter of human history.

"This could be the final curtain call before the Great Tribulation mentioned in the Bible. God has always wanted to warn His people, and the rest of the world, before He intervenes.

"What better way to communicate to us than through the universal language of heavenly signs that speak to every tribe, tongue, and nation?"

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The prophecy which has inspired such ideas is when Peter quotes the prophet Joel 2:30–31 saying: "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes."

Other conspiracists will however argue the Blood Moon was foretold by the Book of Revelations which talks about great earthquakes, the sun turning black and the moon "becoming as blood".

The moon's change in colour happens due to an effect known as Rayleigh scattering which is caused by the moon dipping into the Earth’s shadow during the eclipse.

Some light from the sun will still reach the moon but the sunlight will bend and scatter through the Earth’s atmosphere, filtering out green and violet bands of the visible spectrum.

This effect, which turns sunsets orange and the skies blue, will make the moon appear red.

The claims of Hagee and Blitz who put Israel and the Middle East at the centre of the symbolic apocalypse, have been comprehensively rubbished by astronomers, biblical scholars and theologians, Pakistan Today reports.

Ironically no recent eclipses have even been visible from Israel. There have also been plenty of tetrads during Passover and Tabernacles yet nothing of significance in Jewish history has subsequently unravelled.

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