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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) |
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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.
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 out 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, and those left behind from
within the Church learn to repent or perish. With
this very possibly 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 I believe will be shortly after the sign of the Son of Man
appears in Heaven! At the time of the Rapture, the Bride of Christ and the
Five Wise Virgins will be taken up to the third Heaven where Yahshua
currently resides. This is where the Mansions that Yahshua has prepared for
His beloved followers are located, and where Yahshua’s Wedding Banquet has been
prepared. The
Bride of Christ and Wise Virgins are 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 Australia
and New Zealand, and Cygnus the Swan or Northern Cross that is spiritually
connected to North America through the North America Nebula.
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, was 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 was 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. This battle that will be fought not just in Although
Taurus the Bull signifies the blessing of Abraham on the Tribe of Joseph and
their enrichment of the world through these blessings, there is a malevolent
side to Taurus and the raging Bull of the Tribulation signifying the Beast
out of the Earth. In this appellation, the Pleiades on Taurus’ back signifies
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