A blood moon rising ...

A view of the blood moon fully eclipsed. Photo / Nick Reed

A rare astrological event next week could herald the end of days, according to some Christian groups.

The fourth lunar eclipse in just two years, known as a "tetrad", takes place on September 28.

Some Christians believe the celestial event - dubbed a blood moon - could mark the start of terrible events.

Their views are based on a passage from the Bible that says: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord comes."

Their fears are not helped by the fact that each of the four blood moons in this tetrad have fallen on Jewish holy days - April 14 last year (Passover), October 8 last year (Feast of the Tabernacle), April 4 this year (Passover) and September 28, the first day of this year's Feast of the Tabernacle.

According to those preparing for the apocalypse, this could be a sign of the Old Testament prophecy predicting the end of the world, the New York Post reported.

The rare event on September 28 will make the blood moon look up to 14 per cent larger because it is nearer the Earth than at any other point in its elliptical orbit.

But there's a chance the end of the world will pass unnoticed in New Zealand - the eclipse won't be visible from here.

Alan Gilmore, former head of Mt John Observatory at Lake Tekapo, said the earth had been around for 4.5 billion years and four blood moons wouldn't change that.

"It's just bunkum. They're pretty things to watch but that's the beginning and the end of it."