Consider the context of “the moon became as blood.” Revelation 6:12 (NIV), “I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red.” Removing the sixth seal symbolizes the opening and comprehending of hidden biblical truths.

"THE SUN" represents the light of the Gospel. At the cross, Jesus gave Himself as the ransom to free mankind from Adam’s death sentence. 1 Timothy 2:6, “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” The testimony and release from sin and death for the majority of mankind has obviously not yet happened. Presently, Jesus and His sacrifice are offensive to most people. “And he (Jesus) shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense…” Isaiah 8:14. Scriptural truths have been overshadowed by various human pseudoscience to reduce the value of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus as was depicted in the Cross.

“The moon became as blood.” If the truth of the Gospel of God represented by the sun was obscured, then the moon (moonlight is only a reflection of the sun’s light) represents the teachings of the Mosaic Law. The Law was a “shadow of good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1). The sacrifices of the Day of Atonement (Deuteronomy 16) depict the work of redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Some claim that the bloody sacrifices of the Jews (recorded in Exodus through Deuteronomy) were a barbaric act. Hence the moon (the Law sacrifices) seem bloody. But the Apostle Paul teaches these sacrifices were types of Jesus’ and His church’s sacrifices. They were the image of “better sacrifices,” Hebrews 9:23.

However, Acts 2:20 is referring to a literal eclipse of the moon. When Jesus was crucified on April 3, 33A.D., the sun was darkened (Matthew 27:45). Additionally, astronomical data reveals that there was a partial lunar eclipse. When the moon is eclipsed, it looks like it is a dark, blood red. Hence, the moon becoming as blood as both a literal and a symbolic fulfillment.