Plucking the Eagle's Wings

connected to the time frame of the fullness of the Gentiles. Just as Jesus revealed signs of things that would happen before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, the cycles, patterns, and prophetic numbers are signs to get our attention today. These signs reveal the fullness of America's assignment to preach the message of Christ to the world. "And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness unto all nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14) I emphasize again that the word "end" in this passage does not allude to the end of the world, but to the end of one assignment and the beginning of another. When the assignment of the true church is completed, God will turn His attention to Israel and the false world church will be given control of the nations (Revelation 17 and 18). It is interesting to note that, in Scripture, the number four represents the world system. There are four seasons in the year, four points on the compass, four rivers that flowed through the garden of Eden, and so forth. Using the meaning of the numbers, the 44th president could suggest the globalization of a new world order that would fit quite well with the prophetic Scriptures where all buying and selling are conducted with the use of a universal mark (Revelation 13:16-18). Israel and Renewing the Covenant Many older scholars believed that God would renew His covenant with Israel at the time when Christ would set up His kingdom on earth during the 1,000-year (millennial) reign. Yet, when reading the book of Revelation, the inspired author paints a clear picture of how 144,000 Jewish men will be protected during the first half of the tribulation. The two witnesses will be anointed to minister and to pronounce judgment on Gentile nations during the first forty-two months. So, it becomes clear that God begins His spiritual dealing with His natural seed, the Jewish people, just after the Gentiles complete their mission of preaching the Gospel to the Gentile nations. Once the church

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