Plucking the Eagle's Wings

Plucking the Eagle's Wings

has two sets of wings, a left and a right wing. America's two main political parties are generally referred to as the "left wing" (Democrats) and the "right wing" (Republicans). The eagle's three heads could, by a stretch of the imagination, represent the three branches of government— Judicial, Executive, and Legislative. Comparing the eagle vision with parts of American history is an example of how one might attempt to discern how the United States could be represented in Bible prophecy. In 2 Esdras, one can find possible parallels with the United States if verses are taken out of context. My primary interest in the vision of the eagle is that it symbolically predicted a future nation whose emblem would be an eagle. Ancient Roman Interestingly, eighteen hundred years before this, the eagle was the emblem of the Roman Empire. During the New Testament era, Roman soldiers carried poles called standards. Each standard had a brass eagle affixed to it to signify Roman authority. Colonial architecture imitated Greek and Roman architecture. The large columns on our federal buildings imitate Greek and Roman construction. Interestingly, ancient Rome had a hill called Capitolina, where the lawmakers met. In Washington, D.C., Congress meets on Capitol Hill. The Roman Senate directed the political affairs of the empire. The United States Congress meets to pass national legislation. Rome's most powerful figure was one man, Caesar, who headed the entire empire. America elects one person to be head of our "empire." Roman soldiers were the best trained fighting machines of their day, just as the United Stated military has been called the greatest battle force on earth. Daniel the Hebrew prophet described Rome as the iron empire in prophecy (Daniel 2:40). The iron (Roman) kingdom became so filled with idolatry and corruption that it began to rot from within and slowly deteriorate. In fact, all the previous empires of Biblical prophecy, including Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, were once invincible at their apex of power. If not conquered by an invading power, they died slow deaths in the morgue of immorality. Romans delighted in watching gladiator fights and racing chariots, while the Greeks enjoyed games like wrestling. Citizens became desensitized to violent entertainment and eventually, like

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