Total Solar Eclipse Darkens the Earth
Is Amos 8:9 a future prophecy or has it been fulfilled? The answer is found in the context; that is, we need to know what was written before the prophecy and what immediately follows. But first, here is the prophecy,
It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord GOD, “That I will make the sun go down at noon
And make the earth dark in broad daylight. Amos 8:9 (NASB)
In order to understand the prophecy we need some background information. First, the book of Amos was written by the prophet Amos about 755 B.C. It contains prophecies about Israel’s enemies: Syria (Amos 1:3-5), Philistia (Amos 1:6-8), Phoenicia (Amos 1:9-10), Edom (Amos 1:11-12) Ammon (Amos 1:13-15), and Moab (Amos 2:1-3). Then a brief prophecy about the southern kingdom of Judah is given (Amos 2:4-5) and Israel. The prophecy against Israel begins in Amos 2:6 and continues to the end of the book (Amos 2:6-9:15).
Amos prophesies that the northern kingdom of Israel would be judged in the opening verse, that is, in Amos 2:6,
Thus says the LORD,
“For three transgressions of Israel and for four
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they sell the righteous for money
And the needy for a pair of sandals.”
Amos 2:6 (NASB)
Amos is primarily about judgment upon Israel. The reasons of God’s judgment upon the northern kingdom of Israel are given in Amos 3:6:14. Amos 7:1-8:14 prophesies that judgment could not be avoided. The northern kingdom of Israel’s destruction is described in Amos 9:1-10. Then Amos 9:11-15 is a prophecy that promises the rise of the Messianic kingdom. God gave this last prophecy to encourage the nation. So, the prophecy is primarily against the northern kingdom of Israel.
The second important point is that Amos 8:1-4 describes the coming judgment. Maybe the two significant descriptions in the chapter are given in the final verses of the chapter. Amos 8:9 prophesies of the “sun going down at noon” and “the earth being dark in the day.” That is, when the sun should be shining in the middle of the day, the earth will be dark. That describes a solar eclipse. The total solar eclipse described in Amos 8:9 occurred in 783 B.C. For proof that a solar eclipse did occur on that date, the NASA Eclipse Website documents the total eclipse of 783 B.C. Then the last part of the chapter warns that a famine was coming – a famine of the words of God. They would search for the words of the Lord, but they would not be found.
Third, this prophecy cannot refer to the second coming of Christ since at His coming the sun, moon, and stars will all be darkened and disappear and not just the sun (Joel 3:15; Matthew 24:29-30).
Fourth, the prophecy about the second coming of Christ occurs in Amos 9:11-15 since it describes the restoration of Israel. The second coming of Christ is still a future event that comes before the millennial kingdom is established.
Conclusion
Amos 8:9 is a prophecy that was fulfilled in 722 B.C. when the Assyrian army invaded the northern kingdom of Israel and destroyed the people. A total solar eclipse was part of the coming destruction. That is what Amos 8:9 describes. So, the book of Amos is past, fulfilled prophecy until the end of chapter nine.