His young ones feast on blood; and where the slain are, there he is.” —Job 39:30
In this scripture, God is talking about the eagle. In Luke 17, Jesus teaches that in the end times, “One will be taken and the other left.” The apostles ask where:
“Where, Lord?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.” (Luke 17:37)
We’re going to look at three important words in this scripture: carcass (body), vultures (eagles), and gather.
BODY
In the Bible, we read about the physical body and the body of Christ. Let’s look at this scripture:
For although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I delight to see your orderly condition and firm faith in Christ. (Colossians 2:5)
In this scripture, the Greek word for body is sarki:
Definition: flesh
Usage: flesh, body, human nature, materiality; kindred.
In context, the apostle Paul is talking about his physical body. Now let’s look at the word body in the following scripture:
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church. (Colossians 1:24)
In this scripture, the Greek word for body is somatos:
Definition: a body
Usage: body, flesh; the body of the Church.
We don’t even have to guess as to the usage of this word because Paul tells us that Christ’s body is the church. Now let’s go back to Luke 17:37, in which many popular Bible translations use:
“Where, Lord?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.” (Luke 17:37)
Although many translations use the word carcass, the Greek word is soma:
Definition: a body
Usage: body, flesh; the body of the Church.
A carcass is a dead body. The definition and usage of soma has nothing to do with death. Let’s look at the parallel scripture in Matthew 24:
Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. (Matthew 24:28)
In this scripture, the Greek word used for carcass is ptoma, which means a fall:
Definition: a fall, a misfortune, ruin
Usage: a fall; a carcass, corpse, dead body.
By comparing scripture to scripture, we can use the word ptoma from Matthew and the word soma from Luke to get a more complete picture. The correct usage of the word ptoma would be a fall, that is, a fall of, or a ruin of, or a misfortune of the body of Christ, which is the Church. This could represent Christian persecution during the great tribulation. Let’s listen to the apostle Paul:
By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. (1 Thessalonians 4:15)
Paul says, “We who are alive and remain.” Remain from what? Paul is talking about the survivors in the end-times persecution of the Church who will still be alive at the coming of Jesus Christ. These are the ones who will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and this happens on the day of the Lord from Revelation 6:16-17, in the 6th seal. Jesus will appear during a time of great tribulation to rescue his bride. Paul also uses the phrase and remain. The Greek word for this phrase is perileipomai:
Definition: to be left remaining
Usage: I leave behind; pass: I am left behind, remain, survive.
We read about these saints in the 5th seal.
EAGLE
In Luke 17:37 and Matthew 24:28, many translations use the word vulture. In regard to the word eagles, the King James Version gets it correct:
And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together. (Luke 17:37, KJV)
The Greek word used is aetoi:
Definition: an eagle
Usage: an eagle, bird of prey.
Now let’s look at this same word in the book of Revelation:
The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. (Revelation 4:7)
In this scripture, the Greek word for eagle is aeto:
Definition: an eagle
Usage: an eagle, bird of prey.
Now let’s look at this word in chapter 8:
And as I observed, I heard an eagle flying overhead, calling in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the remaining three angels!” (Revelation 8:13)
In this scripture, the Greek word for eagle is aetuo:
Definition: an eagle
Usage: an eagle, bird of prey.
So, using the word vulture is incorrect. We can verify this with the Vulgate from the late 4th century. Here’s Luke 17:37:
qui dixit eis ubicumque fuerit corpus illuc congregabuntur aquilae
The Vulgate uses the Latin word aquilae:
Definition: an eagle
The Greek word aetoi means eagle, not vulture.
GATHER
Are the eagles gathering together or are they gathering something together? Let’s go to Matthew 24:
And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:31)
In this scripture, the Greek word for the phrase they will gather is episynaxousin:
Definition: to gather together
Usage: I collect, gather together, assemble.
Let’s look at this scripture:
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers, (2 Thessalonians 2:1)
In this scripture, the Greek word episynagoges is used for the phrase gathered together:
Definition: a gathering together, an assembly
Usage: a gathering (collecting) together, assembling.
Let’s look at this scripture again:
“Where, Lord?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.” (Luke 17:37)
In this scripture, the Greek word episynachthesontai is used for the phrase will gather.
Definition: to gather together
Usage: I collect, gather together, assemble.
Let’s remember that the Greek word soma from Luke 17:37 has nothing to do with a carcass or dead body. It simply means body:
Definition: a body
Usage: body, flesh; the body of the Church.
The same goes for the word vulture. The Greek word is aetoi means eagle:
Definition: an eagle
Usage: an eagle, bird of prey.
The King James Bible got 2 out of 3 correct. The eagles aren’t themselves gathering together, they are gathering the body of Christ during a time when there’s no other way out. Here’s Matthew 24:31 again:
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, KJV)
The eagles represent angels, the elect is the body of Christ, and the word gather means gathering the elect. In Luke 17:37, Jesus Christ tells us that in the time of the end, wherever the body of Christ is, the angels will gather them to him, those of us who are alive who are left from the great tribulation. This will happen during the world reign of the antichrist.
There’s a major false teaching in the world called the pretribulation rapture. It teaches that Christ’s return is imminent and will happen before the antichrist. This is a heresy. Concerning the rapture, there is no “pre”, “mid”, or “post”. It’s simply when the rapture happens, and it happens in Revelation 6:17-18 on the day of the Lord, which is the 6th seal. On this day, Jesus Christ will appear and send out his angels to gather those of us who are alive who are left. All of Revelation 7 is the rapture. The dead in Christ will rise first. After the rapture, still on the day of the Lord, God’s wrath begins on the world (see Revelation 8). The following prophecy from Amos is a shadow of the rapture of the body of Christ:
This is what the LORD says: “As the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites dwelling in Samaria will be rescued having just the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch. (Amos 3:12)
This prophecy represents Christian persecution in the last days (5th seal in Revelation 6). The Shepherd represents Jesus, and the lion represents Satan (or the antichrist), who will be tearing apart the body of Christ during the time of great tribulation. Our Shepherd won’t have much left to snatch from the lion’s mouth, just a leg and a piece of an ear. A body consists of many parts:
If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. (1 Corinthians 12:15-16)
So, according to the prophecy in Amos 3, there won’t be much of a body left in the time of tribulation. Jesus Christ will appear during this time and rescue those of us who are alive who left. The body of Christ at that time will be just a couple of legs or a piece of an ear.
1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:1-3; cf. Revelation 7:2)
Peace to all and may our Lord Jesus Christ return soon.
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (1 Peter 5:4)
Futile World 