Will Biden Be a Short Feather? Correcting the Common 'Ezra's Eagle' Prophecy Interpretation.
After reading and watching the same mathematical error happen time and time again, it's time to put Ezra's Eagle back where it belongs.
Then, with the Super Shemitah beginning September 7, 2021, an economy close to collapse, international crises and a dying constitution, does Ezra's Eagle prophecy give us clues and a time-frame for what will happen next?
*Please remember to click on the underlined links added.*
Should We Read the Apocrypha?
There may be many who are not familiar with this prophecy. It's also not widely known in the Church because it comes from the Prophet Ezra's 2nd book which is in the apocrypha - not the bible. This can make many people uncomfortable thinking that because it's not canon, it's not worth reading. Here is what D&C says about the apocrypha:
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning the Apocrypha—There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly; 2. There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men. 3. Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be translated. 4. Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth; 5. And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom; 6. And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefited. Therefore it is not needful that it should be translated. Amen.
Thus we learn why it was not added into the modern Bible (though it was part of the bible until about the 1800's); many parts of it are true and many parts are not true, thus, those who can read it via the Holy Ghost can benefit but those who cannot receive it via the Holy Ghost should not read it. Here is an interesting read about the apocrypha under the Bible Dictionary.
Ezra's Eagle Prophecy, Part One
This is a very interesting prophecy found in 2 Ezra, made more fascinating by the fact that it still holds true when the math is done correctly. You can read 2 Ezra 11-12 (2 Esdras) for free online here.
Here is my fairly-brief-but-detailed synopsis of Ezra's vision:
Ezra sees a large flying eagle with three sleeping heads. The middle one is the 'greatest' of the three. It represents a kingdom that is greater than all other kingdoms (America).
There are 12 feathers (plus two more little ones, 2 Ezra 11:22) that represent its rulers. Of these feathers, eight of them are contrary (short) and represent the length of their rule. ***PLEASE NOTE - This is where the common mistake happens. Many add 12+8=20 feathers. This is incorrect. There are 12 feathers here, 8 out of those 12 are short. Then verse 22 adds two more small feathers for a total of 14 feathers.***
Each of these feathers take turns ruling, the second one rules much longer than the rest.
The vision changes. Ezra now sees six short 'wings' (feathers), two of which remove themselves and sit on the right eagle head.
Of the four short feathers that remain: the first tries to rule, but it's rule was cut short. The second one tries to rule, but is cut even shorter than the last. Then the third and fourth try to rule but the three eagle heads wake up and 'eat' them both simultaneously.
Now that the heads are awake, there are no more feathers and these eagle heads oppress the earth and have more governance than all prior rulers.
The middle head disappears, leaving the last two eagle heads to rule. Then the right head eats the left.
A great voice of a lion speaks to the remaining eagle head, saying it is the last of the four beasts that were made to rule, reproves it (it loved liars, etc) and says that the last eagle head has fulfilled the "abominations".
The last eagle head is destroyed and the two little feathers that were on it reign over a small kingdom that is "full of uproar" until they disappear and the great eagle is burned and the earth is in great fear.
Now, this vision wouldn't mean much without the vital interpretation given by the voice in 2 Ezra 12. Again, please follow along with the link above. I will give my brief synopsis here:
The Great Eagle = the kingdom seen in his brother Daniel's vision, a kingdom feared above all kingdoms.
12 Feathers That Rule = the 12 rulers of this kingdom ('feathers' interchangeable with 'wings'), the second one has a longer reign than the first. *Please note, there were two more feathers, making 14; 2 Ezra 11:22*
Eagle's Voice = This voice speaks in 2 Ezra 11:15-17 to Ezra about the 2nd feather. In the interpretation section it says that this represents a time in the kingdom when there was "great strivings" and the kingdom almost falls but then is restored.
8 Contrary Feathers = These are eight kings (out of the 12) of which their time to rule will be small. Two perish, four are kept "until their end begins to approach", and two are kept until the end.
3 Eagle Heads = Three 'kingdoms', (interchangeable with 'king' in following verses) with dominion over all the earth. Those who live there, (when the three heads reign in America) will experience much oppression, more so than those before them.
The Greatest Eagle Head = One king who dies upon his bed in pain.
2 Smaller Eagle Heads = They die by the sword; one kills the other then dies by the sword himself.
2 Little Feathers on Eagle Head = These two are kept unto the end by God. They rule over a small kingdom that is "full of trouble".
The Great Lion = This is he who is anointed by God to chastise and judge the wicked. He delivers the righteous in his mercy and makes them joyful until judgement day.
Interpretation For Our Current Day
Many great scholars have gone over this vision over many decades but that was before what we know now. Many individuals who have made videos and books on this prophecy now feel like it is not a true prophecy because of how they've added the feathers which inevitably lead to problems. I wanted to re-read this prophecy and see for myself if the feathers really line up with our U.S. presidents and have found many striking coincidences that match up with the feathers, the lengths of time they rule as well as some clues for the future. Let's go over it now!
One of the first questions that might come to your mind when reading this vision is, if the eagle represents America and each feather represents a ruler and its length represents the length of its rule, then which ruler or president do they represent? Obviously, we have had 46 presidents so far as of the date this article was written. There were not that many feathers. This book of Ezra is clearly about the last days, so how do we decipher which president the first feather represents?
Great question! The very large, (and glaring), clue is with the second feather in verses 13-17. It was the only feather who was able to rule the longest out of all the following feathers and was told that none would rule that long ever again. What does that sound like? The U.S. president who served the longest in office was FDR; President Roosevelt, he was serving his fourth term when he died of a stroke, (though there are other theories). A couple years after he died, the 22nd Amendment was ratified and put in place, making it so that presidents can serve no more than two terms in office. Thus fulfilling verse 17.
So if FDR was the second feather, it stands to reason that the first feather in this vision was President Hoover. Before we go on, I want to add one more connection that solidifies the place of the FDR feather but it requires me to skip to the interpretation of the voice that speaks to his feather in 2 Ezra 12:17-18:
17. As for the voice which thou heardest speak, and that thou sawest not to go out from the heads but from the midst of the body thereof, this is the interpretation:
18. 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 his beginning.
World War II began six years after FDR became president. The Nazi's were very close to succeeding; if they had been able to successfully take Russia, and they came close, they very well could have won. It was an incredibly horrific time in the history of the earth. Thankfully, the Nazi's lost and all was restored. This is quite the connection...or a very intriguing circumstance.
Correcting Feathers
Here we need to remember that the prophet Ezra lived over 2,000 years ago, had no basis to understand our day or how our politics work to understand what he was seeing so we need to give him some slack.
That being said, this is where many interpreters that I've seen - add - details to Ezra's vision that just aren't there and complicates things. For example, many think that he saw two short feathers towards the middle of the wing (no verses to back that up) or get too strict with their definition of a contrary (short) feather and instead use their English version of the word contrary instead of the interpretation of it found in 2 Ezra 12:19-21 . Also, as far as I have read, there are no connections or interpretations for the eagle's left wing verses right wing nor details for how many terms a short feather has to be, just that they're shorter than the rest. In such circumstances, we need to keep a fairly open definition.
Here is a common image used by many to interpret the length of feathers to U.S. presidents but some of the length of feathers are incorrect:
I am grateful for whomever made this graphic but there are some inconsistencies. For example, Nixon's feather shouldn't be as short as Kennedy's, he served almost a full two terms before he resigned whereas Kennedy was only in for three years (less than one term) before he was assassinated. These two presidents are often misinterpreted as the 'two middle short feathers' though, once again, nowhere does Ezra say there are two short feathers in the middle. It isn't specified. More inconsistencies here are, Ford, Carter and Bush. They should all be the same length as Hoover as they were all one term presidents. Otherwise this graphic is correct as in the order of each feather - just not the lengths.
I promise I'm not trying to drag on whoever made this but I have to be as clear and concise as possible to be honorable to Ezra's vision which has been dragged through the mud of late.
Now that important note is out of the way, let's get back to it.
Who Are the Long and Short Feathers?
We know for certain the 14 feathers begins with Hoover, this makes the 14th one Obama. Are there any other clues that help us to know for certain that Ezra is seeing U.S. presidents? Yes. In the interpretation section in chapter 12, there are specifics for who the eight contrary feathers are but I felt it was important to add two verses from chapter 11 as well:
2 Ezra 11:3, 11
3. And I beheld, and out of her feathers there grew other contrary feathers; and they became little feathers and small.
11. And I numbered her contrary feathers, and, behold, there were eight of them.
2 Ezra 12:19-21
19. And whereas thou sawest the eight small under feathers sticking to her wings, this is the interpretation:
20. That in him there shall arise eight kings, whose times shall be but small, and their years swift.
21. And two of them shall perish, the middle time approaching: four shall be kept until their end begin to approach: but two shall be kept unto the end.
In verse 21 it clearly says that two out of these eight rulers perish. Since President Hoover, only two have died while in office and they are FDR and Kennedy. That matches perfectly and is very clear. I think this verse, where it says "...two of them shall perish, the middle time approaching..." is where the misinterpretation for the two short feathers to be in the middle came from. Approaching the middle is not the middle; it happens before the middle - which FDR and Kennedy fit just fine.
U.S. Presidents who died in office:
FDR
Kennedy
Next, it says, "...four shall be kept until their end begin to approach..." Here again, there's that "approaching" word we need to be cautious of and remember to not be too strict about. Please note that the same thing goes with the word "end". "End" of what? End of one term? Two? An open interpretation is best with these terms.
What Counts as a Short Feather?
I have counted four types of presidential terms since Hoover. There are 1 term presidents, 2 term presidents, presidents who have died during their term and 'finishing' terms (such as Truman and Johnson who finished their deceased president's term then served one term of their own). Then Nixon and Clinton are in an investigated/impeached category though they are opposite; Nixon resigned before he was impeached due to scandal and Clinton was impeached due to scandal which wasn't successful enough to remove him. More on that later.
If we go by the 22nd Amendment that gives the max amount of terms a president can serve to two terms, then we can surmise that to be a regular long feather. Thus, a short feather would be anything less than a full two terms.
With that in mind, the four feathers who were "kept until their end [began] to approach" certainly served in office shorter than say the "two [who were] kept unto the end."
U.S. Presidents who only served one term or less:
Hoover
Ford
Carter
Bush Sr.
The last part of this verse is tricky, "but two shall be kept unto the end," and it really took me awhile because it didn't seem to really fit any of the candidates at first.
Nixon and Clinton. They are in our unique category. From the time of Hoover and up to Obama, Nixon and Clinton were the only two presidents who were heavily investigated and impeached. That is, Nixon absolutely would have been impeached due to the Watergate scandal if he didn't resign and Clinton was impeached due to the White Water scandal and a sex scandal but was able to survive it.
If we take the word "end" to mean the end of their term, there are only five U.S. presidents that fit into this category of a regular length feather. However, we know from 2 Ezra 11:20 that these eight feathers were short, but verse 21 contradicts this statement by saying that two out of the 8 had full length terms? I surmise it must have a different meaning; perhaps they would've or could've been a short feather but were prevented?
Thus, could we say that these two, Nixon and Clinton, were "kept unto the end"? You may say, but Nixon didn't serve a full term, he resigned. Yes, but think about it. Could we say that Nixon served a full term according to his dictates? He resigned on his own terms instead of being "cut short" as Ezra puts it; or forced, than lets say those who died or didn't serve two terms because they just weren't re-elected. Not because they didn't want to.
U.S. Presidents who were "kept until the end":
Nixon
Clinton
Two Extra Feathers
That's all the eight contrary feathers. It was about this spot in the prophecy that I remembered that in 2 Ezra 11:22 it says:
2 Ezra 11:22
22. After this I looked, and, behold, the twelve feathers appeared no more, nor the two little feathers.
No where else in the vision does it reference these two extra little feathers, it only specifically says that they are small. The Prophet Ezra doesn't ever give us the order of these short and regular and contrary feathers or when they ruled so it's up to us to fit the puzzle pieces together.
U.S. Presidents who finished a deceased presidents term and one of their own (1.5 terms):
Truman
Johnson
These are the only other two presidents who served shorter than the max two terms and they fit great. Now we have all ten short feathers out of the 14 total feathers. With some investigation and some basic knowledge of our history, we can say that these all clearly fit the presidents beginning with Hoover to Obama.
Ezra's Eagle Vision, Part Two
After Ezra sees the twelve and two feathers disappear, there appears six new 'wings' or feathers. Here's the synopsis of part two:
The vision changes. Ezra now sees six short 'wings' (feathers), two of which remove themselves and sit on the right eagle head.
The four short feathers that remain: the first tries to rule but it's rule was cut short. The second one tries to rule but is cut even shorter than the last. Then the third and fourth try to rule but the three eagle heads wake up and 'eat' them both simultaneously.
Now that the heads are awake, there are no more feathers and these eagle heads oppress the earth and have more governance than all prior rulers.
The middle head disappears, leaving the last two eagle heads to rule. Then the right head eats the left.
A great voice of a lion speaks to the remaining eagle head, saying it is the last of the four beasts that were made to rule, reproves it (it loved liars, etc) and says that the last eagle head has fulfilled the "abominations".
The last eagle head is destroyed and the two little feathers that were on it reign over a small kingdom that is "full of uproar" until they disappear and the great eagle is burned and the earth is in great fear.
Let's catch up - we left previously with Obama as the 14th feather and now we have four new feathers because two left to sit on the right eagle's head. What is unique about these four feathers is that they are all short and that each rule for less than the previous one.
Thus it stands to reason that the first of our new feathers is Trump. Amazingly, this still fits Ezra's vision. Trump's presidency was "cut short", not because he didn't want a second term, but because he wasn't re-elected (or was but was a victim of voter fraud - depending on your viewpoint.) Either way, the result is the same: short feather.
Now we have Biden as our current president at the time of this writing. To say that he is performing poorly is a great understatement. At the time of this writing, he has created a perfect storm in Afghanistan; people are being murdered and pile up in the streets, the Taliban is going door to door hunting down Christians and U.S. citizens, and much more. On video Biden turns his back and refuses to answer questions, laughs when he's confronted about his approval rating, which is in a free fall, and shifts the blame elsewhere while he is making deals with the terrorists. Biden is in such dire straights with his presidency now that even his own party is eating him alive, politically speaking.
The big question now is: will Biden be a short feather? Calls for his impeachment are getting louder and many people believe that the Democrats actually want Biden's VP, Kamala Harris, to take leadership for her much more liberal views. If that is so, will the Democrats aid in voting Biden to an impeach and convict? In my personal opinion, I highly doubt that Biden will last the rest of the year. Only time will tell.
Two Rulers Eaten Simultaneously
If Ezra's Eagle prophecy is correct, who would be the next two rulers after Biden that get eaten simultaneously? A better question might be, how do two presidents rule simultaneously? There are some theories I have but we just don't know.
One theory is: civil war. It's happened before and it will happen again. I say this because we have a very clear prophecy from Elder Orson Pratt in 1866 (roughly one year after the Civil War) who was at that time a member of the Twelve Apostles, that there WILL BE civil war in the last days. Some argue that this won't happen because Joseph Smith's Civil War prophecy has already been fulfilled. This is true, it has been fulfilled. However, these are two different civil war prophecies. The first one which is called, quite aptly, "The Civil War Prophecy" given by Joseph Smith on December 25, 1832 (The Coming of the Lord, pg. 35) It was fulfilled roughly 30 years later.
President Woodruff reiterated this prophecy in 1880 (pg. 55). However, Elder Pratt gave the most terrifying and detailed description:
"...New York, Boston, Albany, and numerous other cities will be left desolate. Party will be arrayed in deadly strife against party; State against State; and the whole nation will be broken up; the sanguinary weapons of the dreadful revolution will devour the land. Then shall there be a fleeing from one city to another, from one State to another, from one part of the continent to another, seeking refuge, from the devastations of bandits and armies; then shall their dead be left un-buried, and the fowls of heaven shall summer upon them, and the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. Moreover, the Lord will visit them with the deadly pestilence which shall sweep away many millions by its ravages; for their eyes shall fall from their sockets, and their flesh from their bones, and their tongues shall be stayed in their mouths, that they shall not be able to blaspheme against their Maker. And it will come to pass, that the heavens will withhold their rains and their fruitful fields be turned into barrenness, and the waters of their rivers will be dried up, and left in standing pools, and the fish therein will die; and the Lord will send forth a grievous plague to destroy the horses and cattle from the land. Thus by the sword and by pestilence, and by famine, and by the strong arm of the Almighty, shall the inhabitants of that wicked nation be destroyed."
President Brigham Young was another to add his voice to this prophecy in 1860 (pg. 66), where he likens this civil war to the fate of the Jaredite nation:
"Famine will spread over the nations, and nation will rise up against nations, kingdom against kingdom, and state against states, in our own country and in foreign lands; and they will destroy each other, caring not for the blood and lives of their neighbors, or their families, or for their own lives. They will be like the Jaredites who preceded the Nephites upon this continent, and will destroy each other to the last man..."
Thus it is not far-fetched at all to suggest that for feathers three and four, the two who try to rule together, might be either a precursor to a civil war or the actual thing.
Theory two: I want to add this theory as I just saw it today. I'm not saying there is a chance of this, but at this point, many things are possible. Today on Dan Bongino's podcast highlights (which he only does on Facebook, his website version is an hour long if you prefer), he suggests that America needs to have a "national divorce." He explains that to him it means that Democrats and Republicans separate themselves to run their own states as they wish, the people moving to the state that reflects the types of politics they favor, while the Federal government is given much less power and is forced to allow states to govern themselves without interference. I was left pondering if that was a viable option for two possible simultaneous rulers. We know for certain that the Constitution will "hang as it were by a thread" in these last days and that may pave the way for something like this. Maybe gone wrong or too far.
The Three Great Eagle Heads
This is the last part of Ezra's vision. After feathers three and four try to rule together with their rule shorter than the previous feather, the three great eagle heads, which have been asleep this whole time, wake up and eat those two feathers at the same time. With that, the eagle heads are now in charge and this is what happens:
2 Ezra 11:31-35
31. And, beh