Plucking the Eagle's Wings
Plucking the Eagle's Wings
times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings" (Daniel 2:21). The seventy years completed another prophetic cycle. The hand of God moved world leaders into position on His chessboard. One more move was needed to place Communism into checkmate! The Prophetic Role of Karol Wojtyla On May 18, 1920, Karol Joseph Wojtyla was born in Wadowice, Poland. While the Nazis occupied Poland, Karol pursued his studies and worked as a stonecutter to maintain his work permit that kept him from being deported or imprisoned. He joined the UNIA, a Christian democratic underground group. Jewish organizations like B'nai B'rith testified that he helped Jews find refuge from the Nazis. In 1942, he began studying for the priesthood and was ordained a priest on November 1, 1946. By 1967, he became a Cardinal and in 1978 at the age of 58, Karol Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II. Near Assassination of Reagan and the Pope Both Ronald Reagan and the Pope survived assassination attempts on their lives. The Pope was shot at Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican in Rome, Italy in 1981. Reagan was shot on March 30, 1981 in Washington, D.C. Both men credit Divine Providence for their protection. The Pope gave credit to Mary, and Reagan gave credit to God for his recovery. Former Secret Service agent Louis Mason served four American presidents—Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan. Louis directs security for Voice of Evangelism in our larger meetings. As Louis drove from the Hilton Hotel in Washington on the afternoon Reagan was shot, he heard on his scanner, "The president has been shot!" He immediately rushed to the hospital. He later learned that six shots were fired within ten feet of the president. A bullet ricocheted off of the bulletproof limousine door and entered Reagan's chest about one inch from his heart. Agent Jerry Parr's quick reaction may have helped save Reagan's life as he thrust the president head first into the protective limousine. Under such circumstances, the agent is to hit the president in the stomach to buckle his body and push him downward into the vehicle. When inside the car, Reagan commented to the agent, "I think you broke my rib." Upon seeing blood the agent said, "Sir, you have been shot!" In his biography An American Life , Reagan said, "I remember looking up from the gurney trying to focus my eyes on the ceiling tiles
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