Fly Like an Angel

Isaiah 40:31 – “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

We can move mountains (Math 17:20). We can walk on water (Math 14:29). Yes, and we can “mount up with wings like eagles.” (Isaiah 40:31) How? By faith “nothing shall be impossible unto you.”(v.17:20).

I was watching an eagle in flight when for no apparent reason it began spiraling upward. With its powerful wings, the great bird soared ever higher, dissolved into a tiny dot, and then disappeared. This flight reminded me of the words of Isaiah… “but, those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.” (v.31)

Eagles, which are birds of prey, are mentioned thirty-four times in the Bible. This is more than any other bird of prey. It must have some significance, therefore, for believers and readers of the scriptures.

Eagles fly better, longer, higher, faster and more impressively than any other bird. What other attributes are there of eagles that make it so important for us, that we can “mount up with wings like eagles” ?

They have long broad wings, very well suited for gliding and soaring, plus massive legs, and more. But, importantly for us, their “swiftness and strength” is a particular characteristic we are likened to in the scriptures.

Ancient Delphi, a haunt for eagles and a popular archaeological site in Greece, is about two and one-half hours (180 km) from Athens, and was considered in ancient times as a religious sanctuary and oracle, a cult that was established in 8 B.C.
It was a place favored by emperors, and considered the “center of the known world,” where heaven and earth met.

In ancient Greek mythology, Delphi was the meeting place of two eagles, released by Zeus and sent in opposite directions. Where they met indicated the center of the earth. Delphi was known as the center of worship for the ancient God Apollo, son of Zeus. But, with the spread of Christianity, the sanctuary lost its meaning, and was permanently closed down with a decree of emperor Theodosius the Great.

Ancient Delphi’s spectacular scenery and dramatic ruins on a mountain slope, however, still remain, and is still the “meeting place” of eagles, their “sanctuary.” It is surrounded by jagged mountains (Mt. Parnassos), and to reach it from the valley was like the proverbial “passing of a camel through the eye of a needle.”

Above the ruins of the ancient Greek temple of Delphi, we can see eagles, nested, soaring, and hanging in the sky at great distances, ominously swooping down closely overhead at frightening speeds, streaking through the air with a gleaming flash and rushing sound to capture and overpower their prey, crushing and killing it with their awesome and powerful, heavy-taloned feet.

All in all, the princely eagle symbolizes for us, not only strength, but a “watchfulness,” and a “perspective,” nowhere else to be found, for it is able to see twice as well as people and are able to detect very small movements many kilometers away! There is an old proverb from the Talmud that says that an eagle in Babylon can see a carcass in Palestine, which incidentally, is rich in eagles.

What does all of this, therefore, lead us to? Why the elaborate descriptions of this magnificent bird, its haunts, its characteristics, but based mostly on qualities of seeing from afar with a deep and brilliant perspective?

Well, as they approach their prey at exceptionally high speeds, they must be able to adjust the focus of their eyes rapidly. In order to do this, eagles have well developed muscles controlling the curvature of the lens to be able to focus better. Furthermore, they have a hunting strategy based on these qualities.

We, too, can have this celestial perspective, and sharply focus on the “big picture,” the future, with our human qualities of understanding, that we may “with renewed strength mount up with wings like eagles.” How is this possible? This will be illuminated further by the following scriptures, in our approach to Jesus. We’ll see afar.”

John 17 is a prayer we need to memorize. We can endlessly study John 17 as we study the sanctuary or the Law. It is, however, the Lord’s own personal prayer to His father. It is Christ’s high priestly prayer. In it we see His grace and mercy to the multitudes. We can, in this prayer, look deeply into the heart of Jesus, the Son of God.

It is like a golden ladder to heaven. We can be there now, today! In fact, we are there today. The Sabbath comes down today and every Sabbath Day.

Jesus, firstly, prays for Himself (v 1-5); then the disciples (v 6-19); followed by us (v 20-26). Jesus says, “I desire.” The Father and Son, we can see, are the same and One God. What a great God!

He prays for us, all Christians throughout the whole age of man. Furthermore, He speaks seven times of “Christians given to Him by His Father.” (v 2, 6). Jesus Christ’s prayer is ascending to His Father. He desires “that they,” (you, I, and we), be one, He loves us so much. The Saviour’s arms are around us. We are like the disciples, or even closer.

Because of the divine and trustworthy generosity of God, He has given us three precious gifts; three major themes with an astonishing perspective. We, like the high-soaring eagles, will vividly see this as we focus in on this marvelous prayer of Jesus in John 17. We will be able to see into Heaven by the heavenly prayer of Jesus in His intercessory prayer, the greatest and longest prayer in the Bible, and with three divine messages for us.

Six times Jesus mentions unity, “that they may be one; even as We are One. Just as We are One in them and We in them.” (v 22). He speaks here, also, of a unity of leaders and disciples. This is not doctrinal; it is not just a common cause; it is not that. But, it is the sharing of the same life; the Holy Spirit; one with them.

In fact, it is a unity of a shared life. This is often misrepresented badly. How? By confessing to one who is prejudiced is a bad policy. It breaks the unity; racial, economic, envy, boasting, hatred, pride, etc.

We may be one. This is the foundation for people getting along together. It has already been laid down. The Spirit is in us. It is the gift of oneness in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ in us (Romans 12:5).

It is found in the blood stream; in the blood. It is the “blood-beat.” For, there’s life in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11).
If Jesus Christ is in us, it is reflected by our conduct, words, countenance, appearance, mannerisms. We will have that “sanctified look;” “At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 17:7).

2. GOD’S SHARED GLORY

This glory is the glory of the cross (v 24). It is already given to us; conferred upon us. But, we sinned away our glory. But, Jesus Christ on the cross gave His glory on the cross, not a penalty, but glory, and was “received up into glory” (1 Timothy 3:16). We received the joy and glory of the indwelling cross (Psalm 73:24).

“The wise shall inherit the glory.” (Proverbs 3:35). “Heaven came down and glory filled my soul.” The glory of God radiated, like rays of the sun. It is the glory of Jesus Christ, without the veil! It will be seen by human beings. I cannot, and I do not believe anyone could describe it fully.

It is as if I were to describe the ancient Parthenon Temple, a finely dimensioned archaeological structure in Athens, Greece, the greatest building that crowns the Acropolis. It was designed and built by the Greek architect, Pheidias, the noblest work of this famous sculptor.

It was a temple built to please the gods and as a shrine of the goddess, Athene, the city’s patron goddess, in ancient Greece. It was founded in 447 B.C., and even today is one of the most visually satisfying buildings to be seen anywhere in the world. It is a rectangular building, with a central room and a surrounding porch built with the post and lintel system.

Its dimensions are 69.5 meters long x 30.88 meters wide x 10.4 meters high and consists of 46 impressive fluted Doric style columns, entirely built of white marble, with huge bronze doors at each end. During the Christian era the Parthenon was used successively as a church, a mosque and an arsenal, but was hit by a Venetian shell in 1687, and nearly destroyed. Athens was visited by the Apostle Paul twice, preaching from the Areopagus, and Mars’ Hill (1 Thessalonians 3:1; Acts 17:15-34).

Pitifully Inadequate

The Parthenon, in essence, cannot be fully described from the above. If words, therefore, are inadequate to describe the Parthenon, Areopagus, or Mars’ Hill, how can we describe Jesus Christ in all His glory? It is impossible. It is totally inadequate. “Father, I desire that they also, whom You gave Me, may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me” (v 24). Moreover, “the wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools.” (Proverbs 3:35).

We are now bordering on the brink of intellectual acumen or perception, as we penetrate deeper into the eternal gift of love. The Father loved His Son from eternity, before He created the sun, moon, and stars. God alone, poured His love and affection on His Son (2 Tim 2:9). You were loved from all eternity, as His Son! All eternity! This is beyond all human comprehension… mind boggling! God said, “we loved them so much we have to redeem them, rescue them!” This is precious, because it is an undeserved love. It is precious because He loved us! It is precious because the price paid for sinners is as much as he loved His son! (1 Corinthians 13:13).

The church is an oasis in the desert. It is planted in the middle of a dirty world. But, “they are not of the world.” (v16). They have been accepted, forgiven, reconciled. We need to preserve this purity. It is a struggle, actually, with impurity, and impurities! Many more battles lie ahead.

Our moral sanity and stability is at stake in a world that is a lifeless, reactionary desert.
But, the church is an island of hope in a lost world. The believers’ security and safety rests upon the Father’s faithfulness to His Son, Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:8).

In Jesus Christ we receive His forgiveness. Turn to Jesus. That is our message of hope, for failures, disappointments, life”s heartbreaks and tragedies. These can put an end to our resilience, our endurance, our nerves, and bring us to our knees.
But, if we put our hope in the Lord and rely on Him, He “renews our strength.” The key to our endurance lies in the exchange of our limited resources for God’s limitless strength. And, it is ours for the asking! With God’s strength we can “run and not be weary” even when days become over-demanding. With His strength, too, we can “walk and not faint,” even though the way appears dreary and long. The psalmist exclaimed, “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You.” (Psalm 84:5).

He will renew your failing strength, because He is a God who cares for you. “He gives power to the weak.” (Isaiah 40:29). “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail, but those who wait on the Lord, shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.” (Isaiah 40:30,31). “For thou art the glory of their strength” (Psalm 89:17).

Look Up

There is an old story told, and only a story, of an abandoned eagle’s egg in a tree. Some children preserved it until it hatched, and put it in a pen of chickens. It began to act, look, and call like a chicken! One day the eagle saw an eagle soaring beautifully overhead. The mother hen said to the little eagle, “don’t look up! You are a prairie chicken, and nothing but a prairie chicken!”
But, with Jesus Christ, we don’t look down. We look above, far up unto the sacred, peaceful, breezes and heavens for Unity, Glory, and Love.

Believe! Be encouraged! You’re an “eagle” ! AMEN.