Plucking the Eagle's Wings

The Zero Cycle and the Deaths of American Presidents

death. The topic resurfaced again after the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, who had been elected in 1980, another year containing a zero. I once asked Louis Mason, a dear friend and former Secret Service Agent who was with Reagan during his administration, if the Secret Service Agency was aware of the zero year cycle. Louis replied that a few of the Christian agents had heard of it but, to his knowledge, it was never discussed in detail. The "zero cycle" or "zero curse" appears to have started after the death of those who fought in the Revolutionary War. Three early presidents who had signed the Declaration of Independence all died on July 4. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died the same day, July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after the Declaration was signed. James Madison passed away on July 4, 1831. William Harrison, elected president in 1840, rode in his January inaugural parade and afterward got a cold that developed into pleurisy. He died about 30 days after his inauguration and was the first president to die in office. Abraham Lincoln's Dream Twenty years later, Abraham Lincoln was elected. While living in Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln befriended Rev. James Smith, pastor of a Presbyterian Church. Smith recalled Lincoln's conversation before he became president. He had lent Lincoln the book, The Christian Defense . After reading it several times Smith said, "From then on Mr. Lincoln attended church regularly, even the prayer meetings and the revival meetings." At his farewell speech in Springfield, Lincoln said, "Unless the great God who assisted him (speaking of General George Washington) shall be with me and aid me, I must fail; but if the same Omniscient Mind and Almighty Arm that directed and protected him shall guide me and support me, I shall not fail. I shall succeed" (Source: America's Presidents and Destiny , Gordon Lindsay). Lincoln believed that dreams could predict future events. The day after his election, he went home and sat down before a bureau that had a swinging mirror. As he looked into the mirror, he saw a reflection of himself that had one body and two heads. One head was very pale. He jumped up and the vision vanished. When he sat down again he saw the same image this time much clearer. He told Mrs. Lincoln what he saw and she interpreted in to mean that he would be elected for two terms.

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