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``Watch and pray, therefore, that you would be counted worthy to escape the judgment that is coming upon the earth and be able to stand before the Son of Man'' (Luke 21:36).

``Prophecy and Current Events" is published bimonthly by: ``To His Glory Ministries".

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Maranatha!

Moon, comet putting on a light show Sky watchers in North America will get a double show this weekend as the moon goes into partial eclipse and Comet Hale-Bopp shines longer and brighter in the night sky. Starting Sunday at 9:58 p.m. ET, the moon will start to drift into the darkest part of Earth's shadow, slowly turning rusty red. By 11:39 p.m., more than 90% will be in shadow; just a thin crescent will be visible on the upper left side. The event should be visible throughout North America. Western Europe and parts of Africa and the Middle East will see it the morning of March 24. "What makes this special for most observers is that it's the last partial eclipse that will be seen for several years," says Fred Espenak, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The next partial lunar eclipse won't come until July 1999 and will be visible mostly in the western USA. But just 40% of the moon will be dark. The next total eclipse comes in January 2000. The color and density of Earth's shadow on the moon varies according to the amount of volcanic activity on the planet. When volcanic ash is thick in the atmosphere, Earth's shadow tends to be dark. But because there is little ash in the atmosphere now, most of the moon will appear reddish, with a bright top that resembles a polar ice cap. Some observers point out that the moon will look the way Mars might appear - polar ice cap and all - if that planet were just half a million miles away from Earth. Mars is 48 million miles from Earth at its closest point. Mars will be visible Sunday night as a bright orange dot to the upper right of the moon. Mars will be separated from the moon by a little more than the width of a fist at arm's length. "A lunar eclipse is not of much scientific interest, but it is a beautiful natural phenomenon," Espenak says. "It's a chance to just get out with the kids and enjoy nature. And even if you're in the city with all the city lights, you can still get a good view." Comet Hale-Bopp, meanwhile, is growing brighter as its time on the celestial stage shortens in the hours before dawn and lengthens in the hours after sunset. It passes closest by Earth Saturday at 122 million miles; it will be at its brightest from Monday to April 10. Comet watchers on the West Coast, especially the Pacific Northwest, are in for a bonus Sunday when the lunar eclipse will cleanse the sky of moonlight right during prime comet-watching time. After dusk, the comet will be high in the northwest section of the sky. Hale-Bopp is about to pass through a region where solar wind turbulence will cause it to lose part of its curved, bluish tail of electrically charged gases. It will still have its yellowish dust tail. "The tail might start acting up," says Steve Maran, spokesman for the American Astronomical Society. "You might see the tail break off, but the comet will grow a new one."