A Gathering of Eagles -
A Hidden Parable
“For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” -Matthew 24:27-28 (NKJ)
Did you ever read the preceding passage and wonder what it truly meant? For many years, I have repeatedly pondered this passage during Bible studies and have had various interpretations of it. However, as time went by, all of these interpretations proved to be incorrect or lacking in some way. My understanding of the hidden Parable-style message behind Yahshua’s words as quoted above from Matthew 24:28 was slow in coming because I had mostly referred to this verse as it is preserved in Matthew, in which the word for body refers to a dead body or carcass. However, in the rendition found in Luke 17:37, the word for body does not indicate that the body is dead and so it lends itself to several more interpretations than the passage as it is recorded in Matthew’s Gospel.
As
shown in the Scriptures listed on the next page and in the illustrations on
this page, the two passages in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke containing the
references to bodies and eagles together are translated differently, which
suggests that they have a hidden dual meaning. In addition, they are worded
much differently in the newer translations of the Bible such as the New
International Version as opposed to the New King James and King James Bibles.
This suggests that there is a mysterious hidden agenda behind the differences
in these translations. In fact, it is as if the meaning of these passages was purposefully
disguised or hidden:
New King James Version:
Matthew 24:27-28 - “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” (NKJ)
Luke 17:37 - “And they answered and said to Him, ‘Where, Lord?’ So He said to them, ‘Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.’” (NKJ)
New International Version:
Matthew 24:28 - “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.” (NIV)
Luke 17:37 - “’Where, Lord?’ they asked. He replied, ‘Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.’” (NIV)
There are many reasons why these passages are so difficult to understand. In the New International Version of Luke, for example, the body referred to is called a dead body, whereas the King James Version does not refer to a dead body. In fact, the Greek word used to refer to the body in Luke’s version of this parabolic passage is “soma”, and this word is usually always used to refer to a living body! However, in either translation, Matthew’s rendition of the passage uses the word “ptoma”, which always means a dead body or carcass of non-specific origin.
In the Greek texts used for the King James and New International Bible Versions, the word translated as eagles is “ahetos”, which according to Strong's Concordance usually refers to an eagle, though it can refer to other large birds of prey. So far as I can tell, therefore, the translators of the New International Version used the word “vulture” in both Matthew and Luke’s version of the passage based on Matthew’s use of the word “carcass” alone. So we really NEED to ponder why the newer translations refer to that bird as opposed to the eagle, since it is fairly certain that both groups of translators knew that these Bible references to birds of prey really are meant to identify a specific type of person.
But before we can determine what these parabolic passages mean fully, we need to analyze them further to figure out what is being implied beneath the surface. First of all, though eagles can and do eat carrion too, the mental picture we have of eagles is much more pleasant than for vultures, which are seen as dirty and disgusting. In addition, the word “vulture” can be used to refer to a greedy or unscrupulous person with no love or compassion. Could it therefore be that the NIV translators wanted to give the impression that the persons being gathered are evil rather than good, whereas the King James translators saw these people in a more godly light?
Fascinatingly, in the King James Versions, we are told that these eagles “will be gathered together”, whereas in the New International Version, both passages simply say that the eagles “will gather” where the body is. Looking at the Greek, Matthew’s Gospel uses the Greek word “sunago” translated as “will be gathered together”, whereas Luke’s passage uses the compound word “episunago”, which is almost identical in meaning to “sunago”, except that “episunago” emphasizes the idea of being gathered together into one place. So why does the New International Version simply translate this as “will gather”? Adding to the translation mystery of this enigmatic passage concerning eagles and carcasses, Matthew quotes Yahshua as saying:
“And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” - Matthew 24:31
Interestingly, this passage is often quoted as referring to Yahshua’s Second Coming. However, as shown in my preceding article “The Rapture Connection to the Sign of the Son of Man” (Web: http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/Sign-of-Son-of-Man.html, PDF: http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/Sign-of-Son-of-Man.pdf), there is no mention whatsoever of destroying the wicked at the Battle of Armageddon in this passage, but only a reference to gathering up the “elect” or “elektos”, and this term means “favorite” or “specially chosen” and refers to born-again saints.
Now that we have analyzed these passages both in Greek and English and in modern and ancient renditions, we can prayerfully make an educated guess about their true meaning. One thing that stands out in my mind is that eagles are the kings of the air. Among the largest of the world’s birds of prey, both golden and bald eagles can fly higher and soar longer than any other kind of bird due to their incredibly large wingspans. In addition, they have very sharp eyesight and can see farther than most other birds. In fact, it is estimated that eagles can spot prey as small as rodents on the ground while soaring a mile or more up in the sky.
Eagle imagery is also used in the Gospel in the Stars to
refer to the elect in the constellation Lyra the Harp, which was traditionally
drawn as a harp in the shape of an eagle to signify the saints praising Yahweh God
in worship. In addition, although it is a decan sign of Capricorn the Goat-Fish,
the constellation
Now, looking at these gathered eagle passages in the Bible
with the Star Gospel in mind, it has become clear to me that Aquila the Eagle
is first of all a messianic symbol signifying Yahshua as a wounded eagle that
took on the image of the evil serpent and scorpion imagery in Scorpio to redeem
those He loves so that they will love Him in return. My Language of God Series
Books also clearly show that Aquila is a symbol connected to the
Sadly, however, the land that once sheltered Christians and
Jews is now turning its back on both and declaring them to be enemies of the
state. Meanwhile, Muslims are being given the power to practice their own
faith, which is decidedly antichristian, without restrictions. With this trend
on the rise in every sector of life in
When I was on college campuses in the USA and in Canada over
30 years ago, there were groups of Muslims in the libraries and other public
places that were being given free reign to promulgate their religion and pass
our free Korans and literature about the Islamic faith. I remember having
several heated debates with these Muslims that often left me feeling shaken and
confused about my own faith, which Muslims view as polytheistic and aberrant. However,
though I would have welcomed the same opportunity to discuss my faith with
fellow Christians, I never saw any Christian groups being allowed to pass out
free Bibles and religious tracts on Campus in heavily trafficked public areas
like the Muslims were. And given the state of the Union today, if it was so
evident way back then, I can only imagine how much worse it must be now since
praying to Jesus or Yahshua has practically become a federal crime in
Chillingly, I have also been made aware that huge scores of men in US prisons are either Muslims or members of the Nation of Islam, a primarily American religious movement that combines Muslim and Christian beliefs and appeals greatly to militant groups among people of color. Furthermore, these Muslims are actively promulgating their religious beliefs to the other inmates and are winning many converts. So, if US prisons are ever forced to shut down, there will be scores of murderous thugs let loose on the streets with an innate hatred of all Christians and Jews instilled within them by their religion.
I shudder at the thought and pray we are taken to the Third Heaven in the Rapture before this eventuality, since it is quite evident today that many black and white members of our Congress and our own President and his cabinet may secretly be Muslims or members of the Nation of Islam. I suspect this based partly on the unprecedented government support of and open immigration given to Muslims over the past 30 years as well as on speeches given by some top government officials that paint all Muslims in a highly favorable light and refer to the Koran as “holy” while leaving that expression of reverence out of any reference to the Bible.
Based on this recent turn of events, is it any wonder that
the birds of prey in these passages about the gathering of eagles were changed
from eagles to vultures? Could these birds have truly been meant to be a veiled
reference to born again saints? In addition, could some humanistic, atheistic,
and Muslim-loving liberals in the world have had something to do with the use
of the word vulture in the new translations? Could these ideological socialists
that now control most churches, publishing houses, government offices, schools
and institutions of higher learning in
Considering my research into the meaning of these parabolic passages about eagles being gathered in Matthew and Luke thus far, it appears that the King James Version passages reflect the true and godly intent of Yahshua’s words. Furthermore, their meaning ties in perfectly with the message given in Matthew 24:31, which is that the elect are the ones who are to be gathered up, NOT the wicked. In addition, the King James Version passages reflect their hyperbolic duality rather than disguising this quality of the passages as the New International Version does.
Referring to the King James Version and based on what I have discovered in my research, Matthew’s rendition of the gathered eagles passage may have the following parabolic meaning: “When the Body of Christ is spiritually dead for the most part and the cup of the Church of Laodicea’s sin has reached its fullness, I will come and gather together the eagles among them who are still seeing Me clearly and soaring ever upward toward Me.”
Meanwhile, Luke’s rendition of this passage appears to be speaking to the true Body of Christ, which necessarily will consist only of the eagles or high-fliers among those who claim to be believers. In this case, Luke’s passage can be paraphrased to mean the following: “When the Body of Christ has grown as big and reached as high as it can go, I will gather together the true saints among them and bring them to my Father’s House in Heaven to attend the Wedding of the Lamb.”
To strengthen my interpretation of these passages, I found
several Old Testament passages that appear to fully support my conclusions. The
first one listed below is from the book of Exodus and features Yahweh God
speaking to the children of
“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” - Exodus 19:4-6 (NKJ)
This passage speaks of believers being raised up unto salvation on eagle’s wings in order to become treasured leaders and priests in God’s holy Kingdom. Likewise, in one of the most uplifting passages found anywhere in the Bible, the prophet Isaiah referred to believers having their strength renewed as if they had eagle’s wings:
“But those who wait on Yahweh shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not be faint.” - Isaiah 40:31 (NKJ)
Uncannily, this beautifully inspiring passage in Isaiah appears to be connected to an earlier passage in the same prophetic book that refers to the resurrection of the dead bodies of the saints in the Rapture:
“Your dead shall
live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who
dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast
out the dead. Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind
you; 
hide
yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For
behold, Yahweh comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth
for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more
cover her slain.” - Isaiah 26:19-21 (NKJ)
After describing the dead being raised to life, this passage in Isaiah refers to the judgment of the wicked after the dead are raised and hidden in God’s secret chambers. It therefore seems to have a direct correlation to the enigmatic passages in Matthew and Luke about the gathered eagles as well as to Yahshua’s statement that He is planning to come again to snatch up His Bride and bring her to His Father’s House (John 14:2). While there, the Bride of Christ will inhabit the many lovely mansions that have been prepared since Yahshua returned to Heaven after His resurrection.
In conclusion, it may have been Yahshua's intent to use these odd passages to refer to the living body of spiritual eagles that will be gathered up out of both a physically living and yet spiritually dead Church body on the Earth so that they can dwell with Yahshua and the Father in Heaven while the world is being judged for its sins during the Tribulation.
With this being the case, it would behoove us all to fly as high and see as far as we can into God’s Kingdom before Yahshua comes for us in the Rapture, which will be shortly after the sign of the Son of Man appears in Heaven! Could this heavenly sign of the Son of Man be the Grand Cross that will form in the heavens surrounding our Earth beginning this June 26th and that will last until July 12th, 2011?
This seems plausible to me because, at least in Gentile
Christian circles, the symbol of Christ’s Cross has signified our Messiah
Yahshua for the past 2,000 years. Furthermore, the Bride of Christ is primarily
to be made up of Gentile and Lost Israelite believers, as revealed through the
crosses in the Star Gospel found in Crux the Southern Cross that is
symbolically connected to
It is also interesting to note that these two heavenly crosses are in close proximity to the two centaurs found in the constellations that represent the godly line of believers descended from Seth, Noah, Shem and Abraham by faith. These are Sagittarius the Archer and Centaurus the Centaur, which is a decan of Libra that signifies Yahshua as a willing sacrifice for our sins that was offered up in sacrificial love. Fascinatingly, these two messianic centaurs frame Scorpio on either side and appear to be restraining and holding back the malevolent Scorpion. In addition, these centaurs appear to be aiming bows readied with arrows at Scorpio’s heart, ostensibly with the intent to destroy the evil that this unholy and unclean heavenly scorpion represents.
Eerily, a broken cross, which is popularly called a peace sign, will be formed in heaven on December 21st, 2012, with planets lined up in the adjacent Zodiac signs Sagittarius, Scorpio, and Libra. In addition - in direct opposition to Mercury in Scorpio - the Messiah planet Jupiter will be resting in the sign of Taurus the Bull, whose right horn represents the strength of the redeemed Tribulation Saints who will fight the Antichrist and his evil plans during the Tribulation period until Yahshua returns to fight the wicked at the Battle of Armageddon - a battle that will be fought not just in Israel but simultaneously all over the world.
At that time, Yahshua and His armies will be fighting those represented by Taurus’ left horn, which signifies Apostate, New Age, and Muslim Anti-Christianity riding on the back of the economic and political Beast out of the Sea.
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