15) Ezra's Eagle

A fierce eagle with twelve wings and three hidden heads rises from the sea, rules the world, splinters, and falls under judgment. That’s the haunting vision in 2 Esdras 11–12—and it may be the clearest map for understanding modern power, America’s role, and why deception in the last days will feel both irresistible and inevitable. We read the text closely, follow the angel’s own interpretation, and connect the trail of symbols across Daniel 2 and 7 and Revelation 13 and 19 to surface a consistent storyline: a dominant fourth kingdom, iron-strong yet fissured, animated by mystery and conspiracy until its hidden heads move from the shadows into open rule.

I walk you through the timing markers that matter. The second great ruler who outlasts the rest aligns with FDR’s four elections, staking the sequence in real history. From there, “great strivings” and a near-collapse appear, a moment that echoes Joseph Smith’s warning about the Constitution on the brink. The short feathers—abrupt or constrained administrations—flag the midpoint and the entry ramp to an unprecedented transition when three heads “renew many things.” That renewal likely feels like wonder: disclosures that rewrite assumptions, ancient knowledge brought to the surface, narratives that reframe time and law. And that is the trap. Revelation cautions that a blasphemous mouth dazzles the world, wages war for forty-two months, and brands allegiance with power over buying and selling.

We also tackle the question everyone asks: who are the heads? The text itself settles identities by events, not guesses—the great head dies in bed with pain; the others devour and are devoured; the final two are judged alive. Rather than pin names, we track structures: when covert power becomes overt, when pageantry of “renewal” distracts from seizure of control, when the nation totters yet does not fall. The practical charge is simple and hard: cultivate spiritual discernment, strengthen temporal basics, and ground your hope in Christ, not personalities or timelines. If even the elect can be deceived, the antidote is not sharper speculation but a steadier spirit.

If this exploration sharpened your lens, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest question about the timeline—what chapter do you think we’re in right now?

Transcript

Storm Delay And Opening

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome to the Black Swan Rising Podcast, an L10 production. For transcriptions, show notes, and extras, please visit us at the Black Swan Rising Podcast.com. Now, broadcasting across the world from the heart of the American Bible Belt, here is your host, Michael B. Rush.

Introducing Ezra’s Eagle Prophecy

Reading The Vision In Full

Ezra’s Fear And Last Days Context

Angelic Interpretation Begins

Daniel’s Beasts And Iron Mixed With Clay

Antichrist, Revelation, And The Mark

Identifying The Kingdom As America

FDR And The Longest Reign Clue

Great Strivings And Near Collapse

Joseph Smith’s Prophecy And Redemption

Short Feathers And Timeline Markers

Three Heads And Deep State Power

Disclosure, Watchers, And Deception

The Last Two Feathers And Siege

Who Is The Big Head Debate

Faith Over Speculation And Closing

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Hello, friends. Welcome back to the Black Swan Rising Podcast. I'm your host, Michael B. Rush. Well, sorry for the delay in this episode, or you know, better said, for missing last week. I'm sure that you are aware that there was a great big storm on the East Coast, and I was traveling and I got delayed by that storm, and I also had a head cold, and so I wasn't able to make that episode. So we're doing it right now. Okay, this episode is going to be about the prophecy of Ezra's Eagle. I have received tons of questions about this prophecy. It's one of the most common questions that I am receiving. It's just what are my thoughts on this prop prophecy in the light of current day events? And if you are unfamiliar with this prophecy, it is astounding. It comes from the Apocrypha. Second Esdris is the Greek name for Second Ezra. This is the same Ezra that's included in the Bible, but second Esdris comes from the Apocrypha. And if you are unfamiliar with the Apocrypha, the Apocrypha used to be included prior to the turn of the 20th century in every King James Bible. But just prior to the turn of the 20th century, the Church of England decided to yank it. And as a result of their yanking it, we do not, or many of us are unfamiliar with these apocryphal writings. That does not mean that these writings are not of benefit. Now, uh, from a purely LDS perspective, we have some interesting insights in the Apocrypha because one of the first things that Joseph Smith did when he restored the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was to do a translation of the King James Bible. And when he got to the Apocrypha, which at that time was included in the King James Bible between the Old and New Testaments, he asked the Lord if he needed to translate it. And the Lord told Joseph Smith that he did not need to translate the Apocrypha because it was already mostly translated correctly, and that anyone who read the Apocrypha with the guidance of the Holy Ghost would benefit by it. So that is interesting. So with that, what I would like to do is read this prophecy verse by verse, and then get into some of the commentary. Now the the prophecy of Ezra's Eagle is found 2nd Ezra Ezris, chapters 11 and 12. Now, chapter 12 is a it's not a verse-by-verse commentary, but it is a commentary on the entire vision that is given to Ezra by an angelic guide. And so I'll go through the entire prophecy and then I'm going to add my own commentary at the end when I'm reading the and the angelic commentary that is added. And that's how we're going to talk about some of these things. And I think that you will find this to be incredibly fascinating. So here we go. This is the prophecy of Ezra's ego. Then I saw a dream, and behold, there came up from the sea an eagle, which had twelve feathered wings and three heads. And I saw and behold, she spread her wings over all the earth, and all the winds of the air blew on her, and were gathered together. And I beheld, and out of her feathers there grew other contrary feathers, and they became little feathers and small. But her heads were at rest, and the head in the midst was greater than the other, yet it rested with the residue. Moreover, I beheld and lo, the eagle flew with her feathers, and reigned on the earth and over them that dwelt therein. And I saw that all things under heaven were subject unto her, and no man spake against her, no not one creature upon the earth. And I beheld and lo, the eagle rose upon her talons, and spake to her feathers, saying, Watch not all at once, sleep every one in his own place, and watch by course. But let the heads be preserved for the last. And I beheld, and lo, the voice went out not from her head, but from the midst of her body, and I numbered her contrary feathers, and behold, there were eight of them. And I looked, and behold, on the right side there arose one feather, and reigned over all the earth. And so it was that when it rained the end of it came, and the place thereof appeared no more, so that the next one stood up and reigned, and had a great time. And it happened that when it rained the end of it also came, like as the first, so that it appeared no more. Then came there a voice unto it, and said, Hear thou that hast borne rule over the earth so long, this I say unto thee, before thou beginnest to appear no more, there shall none after thee attain unto thine time, neither unto thee half thereof. Then arose the third, and reigned as the other before, and appeared also no more. So it went with all the residue, one after another, as that every one reigned, and then appeared no more. Then I beheld, and lo, in the process of time, the feathers that stood up on the right side, that they might rule also, and some of them ruled, but within a while they appeared no more, for some of them were set up, but ruled not. After this I looked, and behold the twelve feathers appeared no more, nor the two little feathers. And there was no more upon the eagle's body, but three heads that rested, and six little feathers. And I saw also that two little feathers divided themselves from the six, and remained under the head that was upon the right side, for the four continued in their place. And I beheld and lo, the feathers that were under the wing thought to set up themselves to have the rule. And I beheld and lo, there was one set up, but it shortly appeared no more. And the second was sooner away than the first. And I beheld, and lo, the two that remained thought also in themselves to reign. But when they so thought, behold there awakened one of the heads that were at rest, namely it was in the midst, for it was the greater than the two other heads. And then I saw that the two other heads were joined with it, and behold, the head was turned with them that were with it, and they did eat up the two feathers under the wings that would have reigned. But this head put the whole earth in fear, and bare rule in it over all those that dwelt upon the earth with much oppression, and it had the governance of the world more than all of the wings that had been. And after this I beheld and lo, the head that was in the midst suddenly appeared no more, like as the wings. But there remained the two heads, which also in like sort ruled upon the earth, and over those that dwelt therein. And I beheld, and lo, the head upon the right side devoured it that was upon the left side. Then I heard a voice which said unto me, Look before thee, and consider the thing that thou seest. And I beheld and lo, as it were a roaring lion chased out of the wood, and I saw that it sent out a man's voice unto the eagle, and said, Hear thou, I will talk with thee, and the highest shall say unto thee, Art not thou it that remainest of the four beasts whom I made to reign in my world that the end of their times might come through them? And the fourth came and overcame all the beasts that were past, and had power over the world with great fearfulness, and over the whole compass of the earth with much wicked oppression, and so long time dwelt he upon the earth with deceit. For the earth thou hast not judged with truth, for thou hast afflicted the meek, thou hast hurt the peaceable, thou hast loved liars and destroyed the dwellings of them that brought forth fruit, and hast cast down the walls of such as did thee no harm. Therefore is thy wrongful dealing come up unto the highest, and thy pride unto the mighty. The highest also hath looked upon the proud times, and behold they are ended, and his abominations are fulfilled. And therefore, appear no more thou eagle, nor thy horrible wings, nor thy wicked feathers, nor thy malicious heads, nor thy hurtful claws, nor all thy vain body, that all the earth may be refreshed, and may return, being delivered from thy violence, and that she may hope for the judgment and mercy of him that made her. And it came to pass, whilst the lion spake these words unto the eagle, I saw, and behold, the head that remained and the four wings appeared no more, and the two went unto it, and set themselves up to reign, and their kingdom was small and filled with uproar. And I saw, and behold, they appeared no more, and the whole body of the eagle was burnt, so that the earth was in great fear. Then I awaked out of trouble and trance of my mind, and from great fear, and said unto my spirit, Lo, this hast thou done unto me, in that thou searchest out the ways of the highest. Lo, yet I am weary in mind, and very weak in my spirit, and little strength is there in me, for the great fear wherewith I was afflicted this night. Therefore will I now beseech the highest, that he will comfort me in the end. And I said, Lord that bearest rule, if I have found grace before thy sight, and if I am justified with thee before many others, and if my prayer indeed be come up before thy face, comfort me then, and show me, thy servant, the interpretation and the plain difference of this fearful vision, that thou mayest perfectly comfort my soul, for thou hast judged me worthy to show me the last times. He said unto me, This is the interpretation of the vision. Okay. We have just read the vision as Ezra received it. Now, before we jump into the angel's interpretation of the vision, I think that we should just pause here and talk about Ezra's reaction to seeing the vision. It was one of fear. This was terrifying, the destruction that occurred to this country, which the eagle is certainly representative of a country. And Ezra understood that this was taking place in the last days. He calls it the last times, the time of the end, meaning the great and terrible day of the Lord. So this is the context that Ezra understood these things. But on the other hand, he didn't really quite know what it all meant because this was in a future period of time. So he needed someone to guide him. And now the angel is going to guide him through what all of this means. So we pick up with the angelic interpretation of this vision in verse 11 of chapter 12. And we're going to go through this because the things that the angel stops to shine a light on and says, This is what this thing means. This is important because it highlights to us the parts of the vision that are key for us to be thinking about. Okay. So we'll talk about this as we go along. Now in verse 11. The eagle, whom thou sawest come up from the sea, is the kingdom which was seen in the visions of thy brother Daniel, but it was not expounded unto him. Therefore, now I declare it unto thee. So we're talking about the visions in Daniel, as in Daniel in the lion's den, wherein he saw these four different beasts. Each of these beasts represented a kingdom that would have global domination in its day. Now, this, all of Daniel's visions, they build upon each other. You might recall the first vision that's discussed in the book of Daniel, which was actually a vision that was had by King Nebuchadnezzar. And that vision had this massive statue that was comprised of four different types of metal. And the four different types of metal represented the same different kingdoms that would exist upon the earth that would have global domination. And we understood that those kingdoms were the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, then the kingdom of Persia, then the Greco-Roman kingdom, and then you had this strange kingdom that would exist in the last days that was made of iron. And it something happened to that kingdom that fractured it. But the strength of iron remained in it, but it the iron pieces were put together with miry clay. And the angel told Daniel, Now, this miry clay, it it doesn't bond well. And then you have this very cryptic verse, and let me read this to you. This is Daniel chapter two, verses forty-one through forty-three. And whereas thou sawst the feet and toes, part of potter's clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided, but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, for as much as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with myory clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not cleave one to the other, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. Okay. So what we're talking about here is the it ties in with some of the other episodes that we have talked about. Like I said, Daniel's visions they build upon each other. Daniel is is referring to this statue. And remember, how many toes do we have? Well, we have ten toes. How many horns did the ferocious beast, the fourth beast that Daniel saw in his vision have at ten? How many horns did the you know seven-headed beast that the whore of Babylon rode upon have at ten? So we're seeing this symbolism that runs throughout all of these visions, and we're supposed to understand that something happens to this fourth kingdom, and it causes that kingdom to fracture. And it it should, I mean, that kingdom should be at the point of falling, but it doesn't fall, it it survives. And there are these people that are part of the kingdom, and we don't really learn a whole lot about them. It's just this strange reference that, and they're referred to as they, the they that uh Daniel is talking about, they mingle with the seed of men, but they don't cleave to men, just like clay doesn't cleave to iron. And this is strange. This is very, very strange language. Because later in some of the prophecies of Daniel, when we're talking about this this same thing, and I'm thinking about in the prophecies of Daniel chapter 7, which is, if I read the chapter heading for Daniel chapter 7, just so that you understand, Daniel sees four beasts representing the kingdoms of men. So these are the the four kingdoms that were explicitly mentioned in this prophecy of Ezra's eagle. And you'll recall that the lion that comes out of the wilderness and confronts this eagle refers to it as the fourth beast of Daniel's vision. So let me just read a couple of little extracts here from Daniel chapter 7, because this is some additional information that gives us context to this whole revelation. Because remember, the angel told Ezra that Daniel saw this stuff, but it wasn't expounded to him to the extent that it's being expounded to Ezra. So we need this for context. So I'm going to read in Daniel chapter seven, and I'm going to start with verse seven. After this, I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly, and it had a great iron teeth, and it devoured, and it broke in pieces, and it stamped the residue with the feet of it, and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up amongst them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots, and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. Okay, so this is interesting. You have this horn that rises up, and it doesn't say that it has a man's eyes, it says that it has eyes that are like unto a man's eyes. I think that is really interesting, particularly when taken in context with the vision of King Nebuchadnezzar, wherein the angelic guide explains to Daniel that there is a they that is coming, and they will mingle with the seed of men, but will not cleave to men. Okay, that's interesting stuff. And then Daniel questions his angelic guide in Daniel chapter 7. Again, we're gonna go to verse 19, wherein Daniel's gonna get a little more clarity on this fourth beast. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, whose teeth were of iron. Remember, the legs of Nebuchadnezzar's statue were of iron, and his nails of brass which devoured and break in pieces and stamped the residue with his feet, and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, before whom three fell, even of that horn that had eyes and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them. So here we learn that this is the Antichrist who is coming amongst this fourth kingdom, this kingdom of Ezra's eagle, who, when he comes, he will make war with the saints and overcome them. Now, this of course is very, very similar to the book of Revelation, where we learn about this Antichrist who comes in conjunction with this powerful beast that rises up out of the ocean in uh Daniel's Revelation. And in Daniel's Revelation, rather than being referred to as a horn, he's referred to as a blasphemous mouth. Listen to this. This is Revelation chapter 13, starting in verse 6. Sorry, starting in verse 5. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. So something happens to this kingdom, and I think that it is this event that. You know, causes those iron legs to fracture. And then after that fracturing event, this mouth continues for forty and two months. Okay, now in verse six. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And power was given unto him over all kindreds and tongues and nations. And all that dwelt upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, who was slain from the foundation of the world. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire to come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image of the beast, which had the wound by the sword and which did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he caused all, both bond and free, rich and poor, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead, that no man might buy or sell, save he had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. Okay, so clearly here all of these verses are related. And this is the context that we need to understand this country that is represented by Ezra's eagle. Okay, so this fourth kingdom is really represented by conspiracy, just like the Hor of Babylon, how in the book of Revelation she had written upon her forehead the name mystery. And this is the mystery of this fourth beast, is that it was had been controlled from the shadows. In today's vernacular, instead of using mystery, we would probably use conspiracy. There would be all kinds of conspiracies surrounding the true strings of power, and that they're the real power, so to speak, of this fourth kingdom was being controlled in darkness. And it would seem that this whole uh vision is uh essentially a countdown. These these feathers are counting down to when the three eagle heads awaken, who are in reality controlling, and the ones that are pulling the strings, they're the the force behind the throne, so to speak. And then they overtly take power. So this is the context that we're supposed to take away from this this passage when the angel says, These were the things that were expounded to your brother Daniel. Now we pick back up in 2nd Estras chapter 12, verse 13. Behold, the days will come that there shall rise up a kingdom upon the earth, and it shall be feared above all the kingdoms that were before it. Here the angel is indicating that this kingdom does not yet exist, that it's going to come forth in a future time period. Now we already understand that that future time period is the last days, because Ezra clearly understood that he had been shown something from the last times, meaning the days right before the end of the world as we know it. So we're talking about the events of the last days. This kingdom exists at that point. So you look at the world today, we're looking for a nation that has the governance of the entire world, the undisputed governance. In fact, if you recall to the wording within the prophecy itself, it said that there was not one person on the earth that would speak against the eagle. That doesn't mean that there weren't people on the earth that disliked the eagle. It's just saying that it was widely acknowledged by the inhabitants of the earth that this country was pre-eminent amongst all other countries. So if you look at the world today for the country that is pre-eminent, there is clearly only one nation that is head and shoulders above everyone else, and that is the United States of America. Now, it's important to understand that from the perspective of the feathers, we are talking about the leaders of this country, consecutive leaders, okay? Because the vision clearly said that they would serve by course. By course means one after another. In fact, the heads spoke to the feathers and said, listen, guys, you're not going to be awake all at the same time. You are going to be awake one after the next. So the feathers represent the ordinary course of this country. Better said, the long feathers represent the ordinary course. And the short feathers, well, they represent something is not normal. Okay, abnormal events that revolve around leaders. Okay, we're going to get more information about exactly what this means as we move along here. Now in verse 14. In the same shall twelve kings reign one after another. Now, here in the vernacular of the day, the world only knew kingdoms wherein kings reigned. Okay, if we're talking about the United States, clearly we are not talking about kings. We would be talking about presidents. Now, in the ancient world, it's very important to understand that anytime there was a change in a king, the kingdom itself renewed. It was as if it became a new kingdom under that king. It's not how we talk today. We don't refer to the United States of America as the kingdom of Barack Obama or the kingdom of George W. Bush or the kingdom of President Trump. But that is how the ancient world would have looked at these things. And so that's how it is described by this angelic guide. But we should understand it as the kingdom isn't changing so much as the leaders of the kingdom. Okay. So now we continue in verse 15, whereof the second shall begin to reign and shall have more time than any of the twelve. And this do the twelve wings signify, which thou sawst. Okay, so the angel here is pounding on the second king in these the sequence of twelve long feathers. And he tells us that he is going to be in office for longer than any of the other twelve long feathers. In the wording of the actual vision, it you know says that no one would be able to serve unto the half of this man's administration. So this is very specific language. And when we look at the United States of America, the precise nature of this language clearly identifies who we're talking about. Franklin Delanore Roosevelt. FDR was the only president in U.S. history, much less the feathers that we're talking about, to ever have been elected to four terms in office. So this is clearly in the vernacular of this prophecy, what we are to understand by this. And then in the precise wording of the prophecy, it says that before he began to appear no more, no other would be able to serve unto or attain unto the half of his time. And if you look at the word unto in the Webster's 1828 dictionary, which is the English that was used in the King James Version of the Bible, unto meant not to exceed. Okay, that's what unto is defined in the 1828 Webster's dictionary as meaning. So it's the meaning is obvious here. No other president by the end of this man's official term in office would be able to serve more than half as long as he had served. And this lines precisely with the United States of America. This doesn't just sound similar, it's exactly what happened. Roosevelt's fourth term began on January 20th, 1945. On March 21st, 1947, two years into the fourth term, Congress approved the 22nd Amendment, which limits all future presidents to no more than two terms. This is astounding. Now it is important to note that Roosevelt actually died, I believe, of a massive stroke in office before the end of his fourth term. But it was his elected fourth term that this happened in. And that is what I believe is to be understood by this very precise wording. So the angel is indicating this, highlighting this, so that we would be able to identify this country in the last days. And friends, if you look at every country that has had a position of global power, there is no other country that aligns so perfectly with this prophecy as does the United States of America. So I mean, you can dismiss this prophecy, you don't have to believe it, but you can't just ignore how it seems to align without and still, you know, be intellectually honest, in my opinion. This is astounding precision in a prophecy that aligns remarkably. So now we continue in verse 17. As for the voice which thou heardest speak, and that thou sawst not go out from the heads, but from the midst of the body thereof, this is the interpretation that after the time of that kingdom there shall arise great strivings, and it shall stand in peril of failing. Nevertheless, it shall not then fall, but shall be restored again to its beginning. Okay, again, we have astoundingly precise language here. It says in verse 18 that after the time of that kingdom there shall arrive great strivings. What are we talking about? We're talking about the countdown of these feathers. The feathers, they're counting down to a major catastrophic event that shatters the power of this country. Very similar to the shattering of the iron legs in Daniel's vision, that even though they were shattered, the kingdom retained power. And it retains power in large part because of this mysterious they that come that mingle with the seed of men, but don't cleave unto the seed of men. That is very interesting, particularly in the context of the other episodes that we have reviewed previously in the Black Swan Rising Podcast. It's referring to the Antichrist, meaning the Antichrist who comes will mingle with the seed of men, but he's going to be different from men. Now the angel is pointing out here that once this incredibly destructive event happens, which results in the three eagle heads rising to power, that the country will be at the point of collapsing, but that it will not collapse. Now, this language is very important and is going to be understood by Latter-day Saints around the world as eerily mirroring a prophecy from Joseph Smith. Now, I want to read this prophecy from Joseph Smith verbatim so that you can know exactly what it was that Joseph Smith said and why I believe that it sounds so remarkably similar to this. Listen to this. Even this nation, meaning the United States, will be on the verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground. And when the Constitution is upon the brink of ruin, this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean. He's re when he says this people, he is referring to the elders of Israel. And they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction. Then shall the Lord say, Go tell all my servants who are the strength of my house, my young men and my middle aged, etc. Come to the land of my vineyard and fight the battles of the Lord. Then the kings and queens shall come. Then the rulers of the earth shall come. They shall all come. Yea, the foreign saints shall come to fight for the land of my vineyard, and for this thing shall be their safety, and they will have no power to choose, but will come as a man fleeth from a sudden destruction. But before this time shall be, when those who are now my friends shall become my enemies, and shall seek to take away my life, and it shall be those who are now before me who will more furiously pursue me, and the more diligently seek to take away my life, and be more bloodthirsty upon my track than ever were the Missouri mobbers. You say amongst yourselves, as did they of old, is it I? Is it I? But I know these things by the vision of the Almighty. Now, if you would like to read this for yourself, you can find it in the Joseph Smith papers. It was recorded by Martha J. Nolton Corey on July 19th, 1840, in the Church's Historian Office in Salt Lake City. It was also quoted by D. Michael Stewart in an article that he wrote titled I Have a Question in the June 1976 enzyme on pages 64 and 65. So there's some really interesting information in that. So Joseph Smith stated clearly that the United States would be at the point of collapse, but that it would be saved by the elders of Israel and by foreign saints that would come. And then Joseph, you know, almost as if to prove that this prophecy was correct, gave another prophecy, that those who were standing then before him would be amongst the mob that would end up killing him. And that turned out to be true. So as that was true, so what must we believe that this other prophecy, wherein the United States will not collapse, even though it will come to the point of collapsing, it will be spared when it is saved by the foreign saints that come. Now, curiously, Joseph Smith gave some very interesting language that points us to another prophecy. And the the curious language that I'm talking about is when he said, Then shall the Lord say, Go and tell all my servants who are the strength of my house, my young men and my middle-aged, to come and redeem the land of my vineyard. That points to another prophecy. Well, it's really a parable that the Lord gave to the church regarding how the church this country, the United States, would be redeemed by power in the last days. And this is a very, very important prophecy, and you have to understand it in the context of Ezra Zegal. So it it helps to understand what's going on here. So I want to summarize this prophecy, but I want I want to point out this verse in particular so that you know that Joseph Smith was quoting this. This is this is coming from verse 55 in section 101 of the Doctrine and Covenants. And the Lord of the vineyard said unto one of his servants, Go and to get gather together the residue of my servants and take all the strength of my house, which are my warriors, my young men, and they that are middle-aged. This is exactly what Joseph Smith was talking about. Who are the strength of my house? Save those whom I have appointed to tarry, meaning there's a portion of this body that is not coming at this time. Only the warriors are coming. And go ye straightway unto the land of my vineyard and redeem my vineyard, for it is mine, and I have bought it with money. So this is a group of warriors that are not here, but that are going to come and save this country from collapse. They're going to save this country from the rise of these three eagle heads, and in particular, this terrible Antichrist that will come and that will have overcome the saints. This is the context. Now it's it's pretty remarkable stuff. And from the context of the other episodes, and I don't want to rehash all of this here. You have listened to some of these episodes. I believe that these foreign saints are absolutely referring to the restoration of the lost ten tribes. And you can go back and listen to some of the prior episodes where I expound upon that greatly, and I'm not going to re-rehash that here. So, but this is what we are talking about. Again, it aligns incredibly with the United States of America. Now we go to verse 19 of the angelic commentary. And whereas thou saw the eight small underfeathers sticking to her wings, this is the interpretation, that in him there shall arise eight kings whose time shall be but small, and their years swift, and two of them shall perish, the middle time approaching, and four shall be kept unto their end, beginning to approach, but two shall be kept unto the end. Okay, so here we learn that these small or contrary feathers, they're pivotal in marking the timing of these events. You know that when two of these little feathers have perished, you're approaching the midpoint of this the timing of this whole thing. And when you come to the four of the last six, you'll know that, hey, that happens right before this incredible event that shatters the kingdom. And then the very last two are kept until the end, meaning when the foreign saints come and redeem this kingdom. And this is important because when you go back to the original wording of this prophecy, and particularly I'm thinking about the wording that is in the 22nd verse of chapter 11, it says And after this, I looked and behold, the twelve feathers appeared no more, nor the two little feathers. So when this angel gave the supplemental information, it says, listen, when you see those twelve big feathers and the two little feathers, when all that goes on, by the time you see those two little feathers, you will know that that is the midpoint of this whole thing. So when you look at the the presidents in series, and it's very easy to do now that we know that the second of these feathers is FDR, you know that the second of these short feathers is Richard Nixon. The first was JFK, who was assassinated. Richard Nixon was forced to resign. And when you look at the timing there, you are right about the midpoint of this event, which means that the very destructive event that is going to result in the rise of the three eagle heads is eminent. Okay. So this timing is important. Now it's going to talk to us about the rise of the three eagle heads here in verse 22. And whereas thou sawst three heads resting, this is the interpretation. In his last days, meaning in the last days, immediately preceding the Lord's second coming, shall the Most High raise up three kingdoms. Now we're referring to not three separate countries, but we're understanding this as three separate dominions of three separate leaders, or maybe said a better way, three separate administrations within this country. This is what I think that the angel is trying to get us to understand. So again, I'm just going to pick right up at the beginning. This is the interpretation of the three heads. In his last days shall the most high raise up three kingdoms, and renew many things therein, and they have the dominion of the earth, and those that dwell therein, with much oppression, above all those that were before them. Therefore they are called the heads of the eagle. So one of the characteristics of the heads of the eagle is that during their three separate administrations, many things are renewed therein. Okay, I believe that what we can understand from this is that you are going to have information that was once known, restored in the administrations of these three kingdoms. And this is one of the tale tale signs that the angel wanted us to understand from this. What could this mean? Okay, given that these three eagle heads are represent the leadership of the dark, brooding, mysterious conspiracy, the power behind the throne, so to speak, of this kingdom. In today's vernacular, we would refer to these three eagle heads as being the head of the deep state. They are pulling the strings. When they finally take power, they begin to restore knowledge of ancient things. And I believe that they do this as a way to kind of shine a you know, present the world with a shiny object that takes the attention off of what they just did and pokes it to s points us to something even more spectacular that is astounding to us. And what could that be? Well, if you have watched the Age of Disclosure, you'll understand that there is a movement within the United States to disclose what is really going on in our skies and who these guys are that are flying around our most secure airspace in technology that is far beyond anything that we can match. I think that this is corresponding with this renewal of many things. And I I also think that it's going to be the introduction of the Watchers, which I believe that the Antichrist will be a watcher. And when the knowledge of the role that the ancient Watchers played in the history of this world is restored, I think that this is what Paul was trying to teach us in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 when this man would seek to sit uh change time and laws, meaning that everything that we thought we knew about the history of the world will be turned on its head and we'll realize we don't know anything. But according to Paul, this will all be an elaborate deception that the world may be sifted into the wheat and the tares before the great end, so that those that delight in lies will be carried away, swept away in this great deception. Whereas those that know the God whom they worship and can discern the still small voice for themselves, they will not be deceived. This is why our present situation is so precarious and why I believe that this podcast is so important. Because I think that the things that are about to happen upon the earth, most people don't have boxes for them. And because they have no box, when these things happen, they are going to be shocked and their faith is going to be rocked to such a tremendous extent that even the very elect according to the covenant can be deceived by the great miracles that will be performed in the eyes of all people. When these last two feathers come to power at the very end. Now, when these last two feathers come to power at the very end, they pluck up the eagle heads. In the words of Daniel that we already read, this stout horn that rose to power. He plucked up three of the ten horns by their roots and he supplanted them. I think we're talking about the same thing here. So let's continue on with the angels' interpretation of these things, and then we're going to jump in to some of the specific user questions, or listener questions, I should say. All right. For these are they that shall accomplish his wickedness and shall finish his last end. I believe that these that are being spoken of are the three eagle heads and the last two leaders. They are going to bring about this great deception that will result in the end of the world. And now in verse twenty-six, and whereas thou sawst the great head appeared no more, it signifieth that one of them shall die upon his bed and yet with pain. For the two that remained shall be slain with the sword. For the sword of the one shall devour the other, but at last he shall fall through the sword himself. Meaning, the biggest of these three eagle heads is going to die suddenly by unnatural causes in his bed with pain. And then the other two, one is going to rise right after him, and then he will be killed by the other one that remains, and then that one will be killed. And we can deduce from Daniel's vision that it is this Antichrist that is orchestrating their demise. For he's the one that plucks these three guys up by their roots and supplants them. And this is indicative that we're not talking about institutions, we're talking about individuals. For institutions do not die in their beds with great pain, but people do. And you know, clearly, this is a man, the big center eagle head is a man that dies in his bed with great pain. Now in verse 29. And whereas thou sawst two feathers under the wings passing over the head that was on the right side, it signifieth that these are they whom the highest has kept until their end. This is the small kingdom and full of uproar as thou sawst. Now, again, in the vernacular of this, the Antichrist and the beast, who I believe are the last two feathers of Ezra's eagle, they're not creating a separate kingdom. They're just ruling this kingdom with their own administration. And curiously enough, they are not doing it as individuals, but as co-regents of this kingdom. And that is something that has never happened before in the history of Ezra's eagle. So that's interesting. Now listen to verse 31. And the lion whom thou sawest rising up out of the wood and roaring and speaking to the eagle and rebuking her for her unrighteousness with all the words which thou hast heard. This is the anointed, which the highest has kept for them and for their wickedness unto the end. He shall approve reprove them and shall abrade them with their cruelty, for he shall set them before him alive in judgment, and shall rebuke and correct them. So here we have some very specific language wherein these two are brought up jointly before the Lord, and they receive judgment while they are yet alive. So they're not killed before the Father's anointed takes them to task in person. Now, when I read this in Ezra Siegel, this particular passage, I am immediately thinking of Revelation chapter 19, verse 20, which is talking about the second coming when Christ descends from the heaven on his white horse and combats the Antichrist and the beast. And I'm just going to read it here in verse 20, it says, and the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and then that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. That sounds very similar to for he shall set them before him alive in judgment, which is what Ezra Ziegel says. So, friends, I think that this is what we are to understand by this angel's description of these events, that Christ will be the one that takes these two to task, and they're not wiped out by the restoration of the Lost Ten Tribes. In fact, they continue for three and a half years, according to the explicit wording of Revelation chapter 13. And what are they doing for those three and a half years? Well, they're sieging Jerusalem. And Jerusalem will be upheld against their, you know, terrible siege by two prophets that will come, and also by a man named David, who will be the king of Israel in those days. And I don't want to get into that too much in this episode, or it will be a marathon episode. We'll have to talk about that man, or you know, really all three of those men in a subsequent episode. And I I know I've been receiving many questions about those, so I know that there are people that are very interested in that. So I'm going to punt that question until a later time, and we're going to continue winding up this revelation, because the angel is almost done with uh expounding this. And then he goes in verse 34. For the rest of my people shall he deliver with mercy those that have been pressed upon my borders, and he shall make them joyful until the coming of the day of judgment, whereof I have spoken unto thee from the beginning. This is the dream that thou sawst, and these are the interpretations. So the angel is saying, Listen, after the Lord delivers these two last short feathers to judgment while they are yet alive, and in the book of Revelation, they are cast into a lake of burning fire while they are still alive, then the rest of the earth is delivered into a period of peace where they are joyful, and that is what we refer to as the millennium. So clearly, this kingdom is these we're talking about events that precede the second coming and the last days. So, friends, this is why I am convinced that this revelation is talking about the United States of America. Now, something that the angel did not address, and that many users or again listeners of this channel have asked me to give my opinion on is the identity of the first of these eagle heads. And you know, I think that it is very important to, when we get into specifics, obviously the angel didn't provide any explanation here as to the identity of this man. He gave some really specific uh information that could easily lead to the identity of others and will ultimately identify this man with pristine clarity because we know that the first eagle head will die with great pain in his bed. So when that happens, the entire world will know with absolute surety that this is the big eagle head. Now, a lot of people are saying, Well, I think that Trump is the big eagle head. Okay. Well, if if that's true, it would have to you know fit well within the verbiage of this prophecy, and to me, it doesn't really fit very well to say that. And let me explain why it says because according to the the verbiage of this, and I I want to read this part again of the original prophecy that it's so that it's fresh in everyone's mind what the exact worded verbiage is, so that we don't try to hammer a square peg through a round hole here. Listen to this. And I beheld, and lo, the feathers that were under the wing thought unto themselves to have the rule. So, what feathers are we talking about? There's four feathers under the wing. Because remember, the last two that were reserved to the very end, they separated themselves from these four and went up next to the last of the eagle heads that would reign, meaning they would reign right after the last eagle head. So we're talking about these four uh short feather uh precedents, the first of whom, according to the series of these twenty precedents, would have to be Trump. This is what it talks about in verse 26. And I beheld, and lo, there was one set up, but shortly it appeared no more, and the second was away sooner than the first. Now, this is all the information that is given on these two. That Trump will appear no more, but he will be around longer than the second. Now we know that the second was Biden, and from the context of this prophecy, since both Biden and Trump are short feather presidents, there had to have been contrary conspiracies, if you will, because remember, it's the whore of Babylon that's pulling the strings and is the power behind the throne in this kingdom. And that upon the forehead of the Horror of Babylon is written the name mystery, or in the vernacular of our day, we would simply say conspiracy. Conspiracy theories surround this whore of Babylon. So Trump and Biden, the Hor of Babylon is all over trying to usurp the power of these two administrations. And that was very painfully clear to anyone with eyes to see that during Biden's presidency, Biden was not calling the shots. Biden could you know scarcely string two sentences together. And for most of his administration, uh he was MIA. And yeah, after he left, there was this massive scandal known as the Autopen Scandal, wherein Biden had signed all of these executive orders that he had no idea what it was that he was signing. And the question is, who was it that was creating all of these orders and what were they trying to achieve? And those answers have still not been given to us. And all we know from the explicit wording is that Trump would serve longer than Biden. And lo and behold, now Trump is the only feather in this entire series to have served two consecutive terms. And I never saw this coming. I never would have expected this to happen from the way that I understood this prophecy when I initially read it. And I initially read this prophecy a very long time ago. I first wrote about it back in uh 2014, but I had read it long before that. And you know, when I'm looking forward, I was looking forward from the context of history, and you know, in the past, the only way that a president had become a short feather was through assassination or forced resignation through threat of impeachment. So, you know, I took those and was projecting that to the future, saying, well, this is what it would have to mean to be a short feather president. Well, now we look at the presidency of Joe Biden, and Joe Biden was there the whole, you know, technically he was there the whole time, but in reality, he wasn't there at all. He was missing, and so he was MIA the entire time. So he was a short feather president in a completely different way. And Trump, he he's still around. He has not yet appeared no more, but he's the same guy. Uh and so if you're looking back on this now in 2020, with you know hindsight, that is 2020, then you can say, okay, well, yeah, this is what this means, that he was uh he is there longer than than Biden. Now, again, this is in no way what I originally thought that this meant. But friends, when I look at this prophecy, I just can't discard it. It it aligns too well with all of the other prophecies that are out there uh regarding the last days. And so when I'm looking at this and saying, how can it fit? Well, it fits in this regard. Now, what is the next thing that happens? Is the next thing that happens is you have two others that think in their hearts to take the rule, but the f the all three of the eagle heads wake up and say, Okay, no way, no way are we doing this. We are not told how this event happens. We know that they are thinking in their hearts to have the rule, and we know that President Trump will be a short feather president. How does Trump's administration end? I do not know, I have no idea. I only have concerns and worries and theories and projections. But I do not believe in the wording of this prophecy that Trump could himself be one of the eagle heads because he appears no more. So how can he appear no more and yet be the Eagle head? And then you have the specific prophecy that says that the three heads of the eagle usurp the power of the country by devouring the two would be leaders of the country that think in their hearts to have the rule, but are devoured before they can obtain it. There's there are only so many ways that people Can obtain the rule of a kingdom in the United States. And that is through an election wherein they are removed prior to being sworn into office, which frankly is what I thought was going to happen with Trump. I was very concerned that something was going to happen prior to him being sworn in. And thankfully, nothing happened. And he was not removed in some crazy way. But he has now endured longer than the second feather, which is Biden. So that prophecy makes sense in this context. But if something were to happen to Trump now, it would definitely make him a short-feathered president, and you would have a replacement via the presidential line of succession. That could be one way this happens. Is it the only way? No. You could have Trump taken out right before the end of his presidency, but before the next president is sworn into office. And they're thinking in their hearts to have the rule, but the eagle heads awake and say no way. That could be how this happens. Frankly, I hope that's how this happens because it would mean that we would have until the next presidential election. Now the only thing that I do know is that those two that think in their hearts to reign are devoured by the large eagle head. So if you were to say that President Trump was the large eagle head, he would have had to have devoured these two leaders. And the argument that you would have to be making is that he devoured them in the presidential election, meaning that this was Kamala Harris and Tim Waltz, which, you know, friends, I I just can't get behind that interpretation because everything that is in this prophecy is meant to help us identify what's going on. And if Trump's defeat of Harris and Waltz was so spectacular and so critical to the identification of this timeline, there would have been something special about it. And yes, of course, there was a little something special about it. Harris and Waltz are the only uh presidential candidates in this series that uh I can point to who never received a vote to become the the nominee of the Democratic Party. That's unique. But otherwise, every single election that this country has had that put every one of these feathers, be them long or short, into office, resulted in the defeat of other parties. And those other parties are never mentioned or identified as having been devoured by the people that beat them in ordinary due course. In fact, that's normal. It's the normal modus operandi of the country. So why call that out as being the key indicator for helping us to decipher where we are in the timeline? I just don't believe that. I think that when this actually happens, it will be more spectacular. It will be more obvious. In retrospect, you'll look back and say, yep, that's what it is. Now, friends, these things, it's all it's it's very important to hammer home. And there are people that just love to jump on people that share their opinions like jackals on wounded fawns, saying, C, see, see, you're wrong, you're wrong. Friends, I'm giving you my opinions and theories, and I am wrong about a great many of the things that I'm talking about. The objective of this podcast is not to give you all of the answers. That's not what this is about. The objective of this podcast is to get you to engage with this subject matter so that you can begin to wrap your mind about some of the craziest events that have ever or ever will occur in the history of the world. Events that will cause even the very elect according to the covenant to lose their faith. That's the purpose of the podcast. I'm not trying to be right on everything that I say. In fact, I readily acknowledge that I am going to absolutely be wrong about a great many things that I've uh spoken about. However, when you take all of these things and you know rid yourself of the absolute delusion that you alone see through the dark, the glass darkly, but yet you see things as they really are, and everyone else is wrong. When you when you realize, listen, I'm every bit the fool as the next guy. I don't have any inside track on this, but I am willing to engage and look at this not as an isolated you know data point, but in the context of all of the other data points. And when you do that, mercifully, they create this scatterplot of data that forms around the actual shape of what the events will look like. So whereas we don't understand things pristinely, we have enough data points that if we don't know what it is, we know what it sounds like. We know what it rhymes with. And that is the point of this podcast. Let's not get caught up in the minutiae of as you know Elder Maxwell said, let's not get caught up, caught up in the thick of thin things here. The identity of these people is not nearly as important as the context for which these events will be transpiring, and the fact that when these events are transpiring, people are going to be hemorrhaging faith like no other time in Earth's history. That is what we need to be preparing for. And that is what I hope that you take away from this whole prophecy of Ezra Zekel, not the identity and names of different people. That you know isn't important. And you know, even if I somehow miraculously knew the names of who these people were, I would be an absolute idiot to say that, you know, in a public forum. You know, whose testimony would be strengthened by that? If you if you're if you're not going to believe the promptings of the Holy Ghost in your heart when it whispers to you in a still small voice, why would you believe anything else? That is no one's testimony, no one is going to make it through the last days because of the prophecy of Ezra's Eagle. If you're going to make it through the last days, it's going to be because you have faith in the Son of God. If your testimony in the last days is based upon the prophecy of Ezra's Eagle, your testimony is built on sand and you will not make it. Your testimony needs to be built upon the rock of your Redeemer who is Jesus Christ. A foundation that is built upon any other idea, theory, or doctrine is insufficient to support your house in the coming day. You will be blown away like the foolish man who built his house upon the sand. So let's not get caught up in the thick of these thin things. We will know it when we see it. Okay. The identity of the big eagle head will be crystal clear because he will die with pain in his bed. Until that time, let's not worry about it. Let's not argue about it. Let's not belittle people for having a different idea than we do. We need to be working to build each other's faith up because the adversary is going to tear it down like nobody's business. Let's build each other, let's not tear each other down. All right, friends, I hope that this episode has been helpful to you. One thing is crystal clear to me we're in the last days. This is happening. And you know, we we need to gird up our loins because we are about to have people's hearts fail them for the things that they see coming upon the earth. And yeah, we we got to get our houses in order. I'm talking spiritually in order. The the financial house in order, yeah, we need to be able to do that to the extent that we can, but I am far more concerned about having my house in order spiritually. The prophets have been warning us for many years about the temporal preparations that we should have already engaged in. If you haven't heeded that counsel, get on the ball. But first and foremost, get your spiritual house in order. Believe me, I am no better than the least of us. I I need to get my spiritual house in order. When I say these things, I'm talking to myself. I'm looking at myself in the mirror, going, Oh my goodness, I can't believe that I'm 51 years old and I'm still a doofus. I just rely on the mercy of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. And I know that if I will place my trust in them, that through them my weaknesses can be made strong. But I need to retain my faith in them and seek to strengthen it and seek to strengthen the faith of my brother and my neighbor and not not be working to tear people down, but to build faith. So friends, that's that's it. That's all I've got for this episode. And I hope that this has sparked some you know promptings along the way of things that uh you want to dig into for yourself. And uh uh that is why you know this I'm doing this podcast. I I want to encourage you to dive into these uh prophecies for yourself and to seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Strive to draw nearer to the Lord, because as we draw near to him, he will draw nearer unto us. As we seek, we shall find. Till next time, friends, God bless.

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You have just finished an episode of the Black Swan Rising Podcast, an L10 production, hosted by Michael B. Rush. For show notes, transcriptions, and extras, please visit www.theblackswanrisingpodcast.com. If you enjoyed this episode, click the share button icon and send it to your friends and family. This will help to ensure the continued publication of future content. Michael thanks you in advance for sharing and looks forward to seeing you next time. Until then, keep seeking, for they that seek shall find.