the_zeeba

There are a lot of things written about the end times in the Bible that are still clouded in obscurity. Speculations of John's revelation are man. Good men differ on the interpretation of passages. One such passage is Revelation 4:7. Some see the eagle in this passage to refer to the United States, thus placing the United States in the end times. Others see it as the Greek empire or other kingdoms.


Rev 4:7 And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature like a calf, and the third living creature had the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle.


The eagle represents United States to the world right now. It is our symbol of freedom, of strength, of ferocity, and courage. It is on our money, it is on many seals used in our government, and it is a source of pride to Americans across the nation. Since the eagle is so symbolic of the United States, its easy to make the assumption that an eagle in the Bible represents the US.


However, the eagle is not unique to the United States. Many governments/kingdoms have used the eagle to symbolize their power. Assyria, Greece, Egypt, and more have place high significance in eagles, seeing them as (as we do) a symbol of power.


Another Revelation passage that mentions the eagle that some take to mean the US is Revelation 8:13.


Revelation 8:13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!"


I see two problems with that interpretation of this passage. The first is that it doesnt really make sense to me for the United States to be warning the earth of this. The second is that 'eagle' in this passage can also be interpreted from the Greek as 'angel,' which makes much more sense to me in the context. An angel warning the earth of coming tribulations makes more sense to me then the US. An additional plus with using 'angel' is you can take 'as it flew directly overhead' literally as the angel.... flying directly overhead. If you interpret the passage as 'eagle' and understand that to mean the United States, its hard to handle 'flew directly overhead.' I suppose you can say 'flying directly overhead' could refer to satellite relays and such, but I still would prefer 'angel' to 'eagle.'


Also to support the 'angel' view, the other tribulations (the 7 seal judgments, the 7 trumpet judgments, the 7 bowl judgments) are all brought by angels, so why wouldnt this warning (which comes between the 4th and 5th trumpet judgment) be brought by an angel?




The first passage (Rev 4:7) is much more likely to be referring to the US imo. Personally, I dont see that it couldnt refer to the US, and I dont see that it has to refer to the US. Im pretty flexible about most things in Revelation that cannot be interpreted literally.



So I would have to say that while I dont specifically see the US in Revelation, I also dont see any reason why it wouldnt be in the end times as a nation



Do you guys have any opinions? Do you see the United States as being in Revelation or not?

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evidence cannot create faith; it can only confirm it

Lewz

IMO we will never know where, when, or how, the world will end or whatever until it happens. And to speculate isn't worth the effort because we can't stop it if its going to happen.

the_zeeba

lol i pretty much think the same, but i thot since i was mod of the end times/prophecy section i might as well throw a few threads up

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evidence cannot create faith; it can only confirm it

solimor

You understand that the Eagle is become important for Americans because of the bible and not the other way around.

I cant really see the arguments as the End times doesn't refer to simple nation but human kind alike

the_zeeba

eagles have been important to civilizations because of their superiority to other animals. theyre majestic and regal, they were supposed to fly higher than any other bird by many cultures, indicating its status as superior.

there arent many references to an eagle in the Bible, and those references certainly dont strike me as something i would necessarily want to take the symbol of the eagle from as being that important. but maybe im wrong. do you have any info or docs about the eagle being important to the US because of the Bible?

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evidence cannot create faith; it can only confirm it

Ruzan

I heard the term "one world currency" last night on the news. All the talking heads discussing the world-wide stock failure.

Maybe my thread was not so dumb afterall.

(waits for 10 new flames)

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"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

Lewz

If the entire world ends because of this ill give you your props, but the world of man existed without the stock market and regardless of what happens now it still can.

Adamw

Apocalypse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the_zeeba

yeah.... i dont consider wikipedia a good source for anything other than a first overview of a subject. since this subject is more in-depth, wikipedia ftl.

edit: plus nothing in that article talks about america being or not being in the end times.

__________________
evidence cannot create faith; it can only confirm it

Adamw

It was to explain the origin of "apocalyptic" writings. They weren't even honestly used as an end of the world overview at first.

So basically, how could America be a part of it, if John didn't KNOW America would exist, and its basically just another form of literature designed to elighten people onto Christianity.

There's also speculation that these writings were used as well throughout this time period for Christian leaders to communicate during the persecution following Jesus' death.