We looked at the idea of riddles, dark sayings, and
parables, and that Jesus didn’t always speak in comparisons or speak in veiled
mysteries. More times than not the mystery lies in our own lack of
understanding. There are two sections in the gospels that speak about eagles and upon first look they seem to
be the same, however they are speaking about two different groups of people.
The order of the timeline for both sections is a little different and the words
used are a little different, rendering two events where eagles are present and
doing something. We also have added words and tenses to the text that change
the idea of what is taking place. This adds confusion as well. Since the Greek
text is very specific with its words, we find treasures when we look into every
word. Also we seem to have a bit of folklore regarding eagles which we will
also explore.
Jesus’ disciples ask questions, and that is helpful for us
to learn from. We may not comprehend the questions as we have done a poor job
of understanding the words. We have lumped events and ideas together which are
different happenings separated by time. The apocalypse
is Jesus being revealed from heaven as who he really is. The parousia is Jesus’ coming to judge. Both
the revealing and the judging happen consecutively. Let’s take note of this
word parousia as it is used a lot in
the context.
NT:3952 parousia
(par-oo-see'-ah); from the present participle of NT:3918; a being near, i.e.
advent (often, return; specifically, of Christ to punish Jerusalem, or finally
the wicked); (by implication) physically, aspect: KJV - coming,
presence.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc.
and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
In Matthew we are told that there are corpses and eagles. We
have assumed that the eagles were there to eat the corpses as part of
Revelation 19 when all the birds are called to a supper of the dead bodies of
people and animals. This is not the case. While eagles may be part of that supper,
all flying birds are called to eat. Not all flying birds are eagles. Because
eagles were unclean, translators have assumed this to be what Jesus was saying,
however as we will see, these eagles are doing something. Let’s look at this
verse broken down, then we will go back to the context.
Matthew 24:28G3699For
whereG1063 G1437everG1510.3might
be G3588the G4430corpse,
G1563there G4863[3will
be gathered together G35881the G1052eagles].
http://studybible.info/ABP_Strongs/Matthew%2024
Matt 24:28
28
|
o%pou
wheresoever 3699 hópou |
ga\r
For 1063 gár |
e)a\n
1437 eán |
h@|
is 5600 ¢¡ |
to\
the 3588 tó |
ptw=ma
carcase 4430 ptœ¡ma |
e)kei=
there 1563 ekeí |
sunaxqh/sontai will 4863 sunachth¢¡sontai |
oi(
the 3588 hoi |
a)etoi/
eagles 105 aetoí |
(Interlinear Transliterated Bible (TR Edition).
Copyright © 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved. [For more detail see
the full copyright page.])
NT:4430 ptooma, ptoomatos, to
1. a fall, downfall
2. that which is fallen; the (fallen) body of one dead or
slain, a corpse, carcass Matt 14:12(from Thayer's Greek Lexicon, Electronic
Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
NT:4863 sunago (soon-ag'-o); from NT:4862 and NT:71; to
lead together, i.e. collect or convene; specifically, to entertain
(hospitably): KJV - accompany, assemble
(selves, together), bestow, come together, gather (selves together, up,
together), lead into, resort, take in. (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's
Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright ©
1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
This word for corpse
or carcase is “not alive and whole”,
it has been killed. During the tribulation, people will have been martyred for their
faith. Wherever the dead bodies will be, the eagles will be, not to eat them
but to gather them. What are they gathering? The spirits and souls of the
martyred. This is not about the birds eating the dead bodies because in context
this is about the parousia, the
apocalypse. The eagles gather, the word “be” is not in the text, therefore
wherever a dead body is, the eagles will gather the dead.
The disciples ask Jesus in Matthew 24:3 three questions, 1)
When will the destruction of the temple happen, 2) What will be the sign of
your parousia, and 3) The end of the age. He answers the first question by
telling them that they themselves will be martyred. Those who endure to the end
of their lives will be saved. Then Jesus says the gospel must be preached in
all nations, then the end will come. Jesus says to look for what Daniel
prophesied because that is when the temple will be destroyed. When that all
starts to happen (around 70 AD) get out of the city. We know that the disciples,
as recorded in Acts, prepared by selling everything and leaving ahead of the
destruction. Jesus also says those days would be shortened, as in the devil
would not be allowed to inspire this military campaign for a long period of
time.
Now after the destruction of the temple, there will be a
time of false prophets and teachers who will say Jesus is on earth ready for
the parousia, the Day of the Lord, but don’t be fooled because Jesus won’t be
in one place. He will be so visible to the whole earth, it will be like lightning.
That will be the parousia. Not a hidden event, where one guy claims Jesus is
here or there, and showing false signs and wonders. The earth will not see
Jesus again until the Jews say “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord” Matthew 23:39. Then the Day of the Lord will happen. Jesus says that wherever
the dead bodies are, the eagles will gather. Dead bodies, whose dead bodies?
Those who reject the beast and his mark.
The next sentence, verse 29 says “Immediately after those
days”, what days? The days of the carcasses and eagles gathering. Immediately
after the martyrdom of those days, then
the heavens will be shaken. Then
Jesus will appear. Then
nations will mourn because they see Jesus. Then
Jesus comes in great glory. Then
Jesus sends the angles to gather the elect. Look at the time line of the word
“then”. That gives us very specific timing as to the order of things at the end
of the tribulation. The Day of the Lord comes after the dead bodies of the
martyred are gathered. Compare this to Revelation 20.
Rev 20:4-5 Then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were
those to whom authority to act as judges and to pass sentence was entrusted.
Also I saw the souls of those who had been slain with axes [beheaded] for their
witnessing to Jesus and [for preaching and testifying] for the Word of God, and
who had refused to pay homage to the beast or his statue and had not accepted
his mark or permitted it to be stamped on their foreheads or on their hands.
And they lived again and ruled with Christ (the Messiah) a thousand years. [Dan
7:9,22,27.] 5 The remainder of the dead were not restored to life again until
the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection AMP
First the eagles gather, sunago, the martyred (verse 28), then the angels gather up episunagoge, the elect (verse 31). Jesus
says to pay attention to those things as then we will know when his
parousia/apocalypse will take place. This generation/nation will not pass away
until the end of the tribulation. Jesus then gives a comparison to a fig tree
and says when you see these things, then Jesus’ parousia is close.
Jesus then goes on to answer question number three.
Remember 1) the temple will be destroyed, get out of the city; 2) the dead
bodies will be gathered by eagles, then he will be seen like lightning that’s
the coming, parousia. Jesus then answers number 3, when is the end of the age.
Jesus says Heaven and Earth will pass away, that is the end of the age. Verse
36 gives us Jesus’ answer. The Heaven and Earth passing away is the time that
we don’t know the day or hour. The Father knows and he alone knows when the
Heaven and Earth will pass away. That is the end of the age, after the temple
is destroyed, the Day of the Lord, and Jesus’ millennial reign, then Heavens
and Earth pass away.
Jesus goes on to reiterate the parousia, the Day of the
Lord, by comparing the days of Noah. Jesus explains that at his coming,
parousia, people will be going about their daily business and daily work when
one will be taken and one left. That is an unfortunate translation. Taken means received, and left means sent away. On the Day of the Lord people
will be separated, some will be received and some sent away. Go back to
Revelation 20:4 & 5, we have the martyred who are gathered by eagles. The
elect who are either alive or dead and gathered by angels. Then we have the
rest of the people who are destroyed with the sword of the Lord. Jesus uses a
comparison of a servant and then says that the evil servant goes to a place
with weeping and gnashing of teeth. Let’s read Revelation 19:21.
Rev 19:21 And the rest were killed with the sword that
issues from the mouth of Him Who is mounted on the horse, and all the birds fed
ravenously and glutted themselves with their flesh. AMP
Jesus answered the three questions the disciples had, again,
the destruction of the temple, the signs of the Day of the Lord, and the end of
the age. Jesus focuses on the first two more than the last as no one knows the
day the Heavens and Earth will pass away. Now we should compare what we just
learned to Luke 17. This section has some of the same elements, but different
timing, characters, and questions. In Luke, the Pharisees are asking when the
kingdom will come. They were looking for a date, they wanted a series of
events. Jesus’ answer was not what they wanted to hear.
Luke 17:20-22 Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of
God would come, He replied to them by saying, The kingdom of God does not come
with signs to be observed or with visible display, 21 Nor will people say,
Look! Here [it is]! or, See, [it is] there! For behold, the kingdom of God is
within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]. 22 And He said to
the disciples, The time is coming when you will long to see [even] one of the
days of the Son of Man, and you will not see [it]. AMP
The kingdom of God does not come with signs or announcements.
There will be nothing observable to the coming kingdom, which is the context to
the question the Pharisees were asking. The kingdom would come on the Day of
the Lord, but there would be nothing obvious, nor will it be a place on earth
that one can see, like a palace and its grounds. Then Jesus says the kingdom of
God is inside of you. That was a shocking statement, the rest of the context
that we will explore hinges on that very understanding. The kingdom of God
inside of people.
Luke 17:21G3761Nor G2046shall
they say, G2400Behold,
G5602here, G2228or, G2400Behold,
G1563there.
G2400For
behold, G1063 G3588the G932kingdom
G3588 G2316of God
G1787[2within
G14733you G1510.2.31is].
22G2036And he
said G1161 G4314to G3588the G3101disciples,
G2064There shall
come G2250days G3753when G1937you
shall desire G1520[2one
G35883of the
G22504days G35885of the
G52076son G3588 G4447of man
G14921to
see], G2532and G3756you
will not G3708see it .
http://studybible.info/ABP_Strongs/Luke%2017
Remembering who Jesus was speaking to, verse 22 is to the
disciples. He says they will desire to see one of the days Jesus will come but
they won’t see it with their eyes. Why, because they will be in heaven, either
coming back with Him or awaiting with those not in Jesus’ army for the kingdom
to be established. The disciples will not see Jesus’ parousia as a flash of
lightning. The further context tells us that they wanted to see the Day of the
Lord. First, however, Jesus was telling them that there was a period of time to
consider. Therefore if someone tells the disciples that Jesus is over here or
over there, as in his “revealing” do not go follow them. Jesus says he has to
suffer, then he says, as in the days of Noah and Lot, Jesus’ revealing will be
an unexpected event. The word for revealed in verse 30 is apokalupto, “uncovered”. Just like a lightning strike, Jesus’
apokalupto will be very visible. This is a different word than parousia. Jesus
then says’ in that day’. What day?
The day of the apocalypse. In the day of the apocalypse one will be received
and one will be sent, verse 34 and 35. Verse 36 may not be in the text, but the
same two words are used as to how people will be separated, some are received
and some are sent away. Jesus tells them that whoever loses his life will save
it. That clearly defines those who are martyred are saved.
The disciples then ask where, or what location will this
happen that some will be received and some will be sent away? Whatever spot the
body is in, the eagles will gather the people up. Now remember, first the
martyrs are gathered by the eagles before Jesus comes, and we also know that the
elect will be gathered by angels after Jesus comes. So this third group of
people are going to be gathered by the eagles. Who are they?
Luke 17:37 Then they asked Him, Where, Lord? He said to
them, Wherever the dead body is, there will the vultures or eagles be gathered
together. AMP
Luke 17: 37G2532And G611responding
G3004they
say G1473to
him, G4226Where,
G2962O
Lord? G3588And G1161 G2036he
said G1473to
them, G3699Where G3588the G4983body, G1563there G4863[3will
be gathered G35881the G1052eagles].
http://studybible.info/KJV_Strongs/Luke%2017:37
Luke 17:37
37
|
kai\
And 2532 kaí |
a)pokriqe/nte$
they answered 611 apokrithéntes |
le/gousin
and said 3004 légousin |
au)tw=|
unto him, 846 autœ¡ |
Pou=
Where, 4226 Poú |
ku/rie
Lord? 2962 kúrie |
o( 3588 ho |
de\
And 1161 dé |
ei@pen
he said 2036 eípen |
au)toi=$
unto them, 846 autoís |
%Opou
Wheresoever 3699 Hópou |
to\
the 3588 tó |
sw=ma
body is, 4983 sœ¡ma |
e)kei= thither 1563 ekeí |
sunaxqh/sontai
will 4863 sunachth¢¡sontai |
oi(
the 3588 hoi |
a)etoi\
eagles 105 aetoí |
(Interlinear Transliterated Bible (TR Edition).
Copyright © 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved. [For more detail see
the full copyright page.])
NT:4983 soma (so'-mah); from NT:4982; the body (as a sound
whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figuratively: KJV -
bodily, body, slave.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and
Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006
Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
This is not translated quite right. This word for body is different here than in Matthew,
which is “dead body”. Again translators added the word dead to the text in Luke to make these two passages alike, but that
is incorrect. This idea is this body is living and whole, not dead. If one is
martyred they could be dismembered, but these bodies are whole. At the very
least the spirit and soul are separated from the body at death, but these
bodies are whole. Wherever the saved living bodies are, the eagles will gather
them, these are people who will go to hades. Revelation 19:21 calls them the
remnant. Their bodies are destroyed by Jesus’ sword that proceeds from Jesus’
mouth, and the birds feast on the bodies. The spirits and souls of those who
accepted the mark of the beast are taken to hades by the eagles. Remember.
humans are three part beings. We are spirit, soul, and body, the body is the
tent or shell, we are our spirit and soul. The living bodies at the time of the
Day of the Lord become disembodied.
The body is left behind on earth, and the eagles take the spirit/soul to hades
where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The TR uses the word 4863 “to bring together”, but the NA27
uses the word 1996 which has the prefix epi attached to sunago, with denotes “above
gather”. This is the translator’s opinions. The living bodies are the ones
still alive on the earth on the Day of the Lord. Again the word be is not in the text and the word gather is not past tense, it should be “gather”
not “gathered”. The eagles are not gathering themselves, the eagles gather the living
bodies. These living bodies are not the martyred, obviously, and not the elect
who the angels gather. The question the disciples had is where will the sent away ones be sent from? Jesus’
answer is wherever there are living bodies the eagles will gather them. In
other words, unlike the white throne judgment, there won’t be a centralized
location for this event. It will take place anywhere there are living bodies.
In Matthew the order of events is that people will claim
Jesus is here parousia up through the time people are being martyred. The
eagles will be gathering the martyred before Jesus comes. Then, when Jesus
comes, the heavens shake and everyone sees Jesus’ coming. After that, the elect
are gathered by angels. These are those who are received, or as we mistakenly see translated, taken. In Luke the apocalypse comes when no one is expecting it and
the disciples want to know where it will take place that some will be sent away. Is there a central location,
a city, or place? Since Jesus already said they desire to see those days with
their eyes but they won’t see it, the disciples were not looking at a time but
looking for the location of the separation of the taken and left or received and sent away. Jesus’ answer is
wherever there are living bodies. So the eagles gather the martyrs before Jesus
comes on the Day of the Lord. The angels gather the elect, then the ones who are
not the elect and were left on earth are those who are gathered and sent away by
the eagles.
Remember the martyrs are killed all throughout the
tribulation, but mostly after the wrath of the Lamb, during the second three
and one half years. Those who do not take the mark of the beast will be killed.
Some who do not take the mark of the beast or worship the beast may still be
alive, and the angels will gather the elect, those living and those who died of
natural causes during the tribulation. The whole world sees Jesus and mourns.
Then the eagles gather the living, those who received the mark of the beast.
After the beast and false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire, the sent away do not live again until after
the one thousand years. The received
are received into the first resurrection, and live and reign as priests for one
thousand years. The second death at the white throne judgment has no power over
them. Those who stay dead for the one thousand years have to be judged by how
well they treated others at the end of the one thousand years. Some will live
and some will go to eternal punishment, which is called the second death.
One of the things we may over look regarding similar
passages where Jesus was telling the disciples the order of events is that this
was all conversational. Jesus may have told the disciples about the three
questions they had first, then later someone was asking about some of the
similar events and Jesus used some of the same ideas but truly they were
speaking about a different group of people. In Matthew’s account Jesus doesn’t
say where the sent away ones go. But in Luke’s account he does. In Luke’s
account Jesus doesn’t speak about the elect or the martyred, he is only
speaking about the living who are the sent away. If a group of people were
walking and talking to Jesus it would seem reasonable that as the disciples
were processing what Jesus said, they would come up with questions and find a
time to ask him. The disciples asked three questions, the destruction of the
temple, the parousia, and the passing away of Heaven and Earth, but in Luke
they want to know where the sent away ones will be sent from. Conversations
with Jesus are sometimes not complete in one sitting. I find it interesting
that we are not told who exactly is asking the questions, was it Peter, Mark,
John, or someone else? Today our questions might be a lot like theirs, except
we would most likely ask about the eagles.
What exactly are eagles and why do we have Jesus, on two
different occasions, speaking about them. Why are eagles gathering both dead
and living bodies at different times, once just before Jesus’ return with the
armies and once just before his millennial kingdom starts?
Many times in the Bible the eagle is used as an example of
the enemies coming against Israel. It seems they come against Israel for
judgment. On the other hand in Revelation 12, Israel is saved by an eagle.
Therefore, eagles are not only used for bad judgment but good judgment as well.
It is interesting that Jesus used them when speaking of the last days. From the
time of the Exodus eagles were used as a symbol of Israel’s deliverance which
is again noted in Revelation 12. A root of the word eagle in Hebrew means “separate”, which seems to be what the eagles
do in Jesus’ accounts. It may be that our avoidance of mythology has caused us
to disregard eagles and their symbolic and literal function.
Eagles are also used as symbolism for nations, compare
Daniel 7 to 2 Ezra 11 & 12. Nations are given symbols of lions, eagles,
bears, and leopards. Don’t read too much into this as our national symbols. In
the Bible these are terms given by Yahweh to the prophets, not taken as
symbolic figure heads for nations by mankind. However, Yahweh would be
indicating that one particular nation acts like a lion or bear or eagle and the
prophet would understand the nations’ actions in that manner. The symbols of
clean and unclean that we learned from the Letter of Aristeas is always about
the behavior of the unclean animal not the flesh itself. In other words, just because the United States
uses the eagle as a symbol does not mean it is automatically “the eagle”
indicated in the Bible. Neither does it mean that the United States acts like
an eagle. Nations come and go, evolve and dissolve, which is indicated by the
idea of the feathers from 2 Ezra. But Jesus wasn’t speaking of nations, he was
speaking of beings.
Ezekiel tells us of beings that have four faces, and these
beings came to earth just before the Glory of God was removed from the temple.
We noted quite some time ago that the Glory of the Lord came into the temple at
the time of Solomon, and through to the time of the Glory of God leaving the
temple, the Glory resided among booths of male prostitution, female
prostitution, incense burned to other gods, worship of the cherubim, and
worship of the stars and planets. The temple was in existence for about 400
years, but for over three hundred years many types of heathen practices took
place inside. This is why Hezekiah and Josiah tried to clean up these things,
and yet by the time of Ezekiel it was still going on and the Glory left. This
is the section that tells us about the Ophanim as the transporters of the Glory
and the other beings. Ezekiel 1:10 and 10:14 show that there are eagles which
we also see in Revelation 4:7.
When we look at the gospel in the stars we see that the Eagle
is a destroyer of the serpent. The eagle is the one who grabs the serpent with
its talons and carries it off. That was the original constellation of Lepus.
Lepus, a decan of Gemini, is shown as a rabbit, but older indications from the
Dendera show it as a serpent being crushed in the talons of an eagle under the
constellation of Orion.
Another interesting fact lies in the constellation of
Scorpio. As we have previously studied, the sun goes through the actual
constellation of Scorpio only six days per year (The six thousand year time
frame of the devil). Scorpio lies below the ecliptic except for its claw. The
rest of the month we mistakenly attribute to Scorpio, but it should actually be
attributed to Ophiuchus. Ophiuchus is the dominant constellation who is
standing on the scorpion, his heel being bruised while holding the serpent,
keeping it away from the crown. Ophiuchus was depicted in the Dendera as a bird
headed man, to show that he was the enemy of the serpent and scorpion. Luke
10:19 tells us this picture of the redeemed having authority to trample snakes
and scorpions. Subsequently, the picture of Ophiuchus represents the believer
taking authority over the enemies, as well as Jesus who is bruising the scorpion’s
head, while the scorpion bruises Jesus’ heel. The serpent that Ophiuchus is
holding is called Serpens. Within the
constellation of Serpens are interstellar clouds of gas or dust called the Eagle
Nebula. Interestingly the eagle cloud has a hold of the serpent which is also a
picture of the Holy Spirit holding back the devil who wanted to steal Jesus’
kingship.
Also in the star gospel the decan Aquila is an eagle in the
constellation of Capricorn. Its star names tell the story of a wounded eagle,
pierced; and is a picture of what Jesus endured for us. The star gospel does
not indicate eagles as unclean, therefore we know that that is a more modern
connotation which came when the law was distorted. Again we see the original
intent from prior to 300 BC in the Letter of Aristeas.
One more bird to take note of from the star gospel is
Cygnus, We depict this bird as a swan but the star names simply note it as a
bird. Its brightest star is called Deneb
which means “the judge”. Deneb shows up in Capricorn and in Aquila meaning “the
Lord or Judge comes”. Adige is
another word associated with this star which indicates it is connected to the
one coming to judge the earth in righteousness. It seems that the eagles Jesus
told us about do the separating and judging.
We have an interesting discrepancy that occurs in
Revelation 8:13, where the TR uses the word angel, the NA27 uses the word
eagle. This gives us another clue as to the idea that eagles in the context
that Jesus was speaking, as well as what Ezekiel saw, are beings, part of the
group of the sons of God. We know there are Angels, Cherubim, Seraphim,
Ophanim, Beasts, Elders, and Living Creatures which consist of a lion, an ox, a
man, and an eagle. All of these beings have a role to play in Yahweh’s
kingdom. Let’s look at the definition of
the word eagle and Revelation 8:13.
NT:105 aetos (ah-et-os'); from the same as NT:109; an eagle
(from its wind-like flight): KJV - eagle.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's
Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright ©
1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
NT:109 aer (ah-ayr'); from
aemi (to breathe unconsciously, i.e. respire; by analogy, to blow);
"air" (as naturally circumambient): KJV - air. Compare NT:5594.(Biblesoft's
New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew
Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International
Bible Translators, Inc.)
Rev 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through
the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters
of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which
are yet to sound! KJV
Rev 8:13 Then I [looked and I] saw a solitary eagle flying
in midheaven, and as it flew I heard it crying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe
to those who dwell on the earth, because of the rest of the trumpet blasts
which the three angels are about to sound! AMP
Rev 8:13G2532And G1492I saw G2532and G191heardG1520 oneG105eagle G4072flying
G1722in G3321mid-heaven,
G3004saying
G5456[2voice
G31731with a
great], G3759Woe, G3759woe G3759woe, G3588to the
ones G2730dwelling
G1909upon G3588the G1093earth,
G1537because
of G3588the G3062remaining
G5456sounds
G3588of the
G4536trumpet
G3588of the
G5140three G32angels,
G3588of the
ones G3195being
about G4537to
trump. http://studybible.info/ABP_Strongs/Revelation%208
Truly an eagle goes out flying in the mid heaven crying “woe”,
because of what is about to come on the earth. The angels are blowing the
trumpets and tribulations on the earth are getting worse. What we see then,
since Jesus said the eagles would be gathering the martyred and the living
towards the end of the tribulation, and John is seeing an eagle crying out,
that the class of eagles has a function in the end of days. As we saw there
must be many eagles gathering around the martyrs. Then after the elect are
gathered by angels, they will become priests during millennial kingdom. The
living from the earth are gathered by eagles, and will be sent to hades where
there is weeping and gnashing of teeth for one thousand years.
Eagles have a place and a function concerning judgment.
During the time of the trumpet judgments, an eagle flies through the heavens
crying woe, because of the tribulations on the earth. Eagles come to earth
during the tribulation wherever people are being martyred for Christ. They come
back at the end of the tribulation, after Jesus comes with his armies for those
who are going to spend one thousand years in hades. As part of the class of
living creatures and the cherubim class, eagles must be important to Yahweh. We
see from Matthew and Luke that they are important to Jesus and Jesus named them
specifically as the ones who gather.
Jesus also gave us some specific details regarding his
coming and as to when. The disciples were told they wouldn’t see it, therefore
don’t be fooled by those who claim Jesus is on earth. Why won’t Jesus’
disciples see his coming? Because they won’t be on earth at the time, they will
be in heaven and some will be coming back with him. Jesus reminds us that the
kingdom of God is within us, therefore if we try to save our lives we will lose
it. If we lose our lives we will have eternal life. At the time of the end of
the tribulation some people will be received into the millennial reign as
priests and have eternal life, and some will be sent away to hades and will
then go through the white throne judgment after the one thousand year
millennial reign. All of these things are not a mystery or a riddle. Jesus
spoke plainly and expected us to teach others so that everyone would know the
specific points of redemption and salvation at the end of the age.
