Unbelieving Israel: Now & the Tribulation

I know that it can be difficult to understand why Israel is still unbelieving even though the Jew's are being gathered back to their land. Depending on which scriptures you read, it can sound like they're supposed to be believing when this happens, but that's simply not true...not yet anyway.

God speaks of a number of times that Israel is dispersed and then regathered back together. Over and over again, Israel would abandon their belief in God and sin, be judged, and then finally learn their lesson and be returned to the land. One mistake we make when we read about these times though, is thinking that every single person had repented and turned back to God. When we think logically however, that of course simply isn't true. God has always kept a remnant of people who were true believers, but the vast majority were usually very superficial in their belief and would turn at the slightest provocation, and some never believed at all. Another thing to keep in mind is that God's remnant has always been "small". It's never been a large group of people, such as an entire nation.

Obviously, the last time they were dispersed came as God's judgement on them for rejecting His Son, which was carried out in 70ad by the Romans. this time, they were ultimately dispersed all over the world instead of to just one specific place. According to God's prophetic clock, their regathering would begin in the end times with the vast majority still being unbelieving and dead spiritually.

It must be this way, if God's Word is true. For the main purpose of the tribulation is to bring Israel, the Jew's, to recognize Christ as their Savior. If they already believed, the tribulation wouldn't be needed. I realize that the way I've worded this, makes it sound like God is being mean to them and forcing them not to believe so He can punish them, and that's not at all true! It's just hard for me to explain it in the right way, so please don't think that for even a second! The Tribulation, which is also called "the time of Jacob's trouble" is a time specifically for the Jew's to be purified and their hearts turned back to the Lord, once and for all time. God has planned to do this so that He can save a remnant of His people Israel so He can fulfill all the promises He made to them.

Zephaniah 2:1–2 —Gather together, gather together, O shameful nation, *before the appointed time arrives and that day sweeps on like chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s wrath comes upon you. *
Zechariah 13:8–9 —In the whole land,” declares the Lord, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. *This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’ ” *

I often have found myself looking down on the Jew's as I read the OT, and thinking how horrid they were for turning from God, over and over again. I've thought that they acted stupidly, and even illogically at times. Yet, when I'm honest with myself, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I realize that I'm just exactly like they were and are. I too have turned away from Him, acted and thought stupidly and illogically at times. etc. They really haven't done anything that I haven't also done. Really, all the OT is just a picture of each one of us and like the Lord tells us, it was written and given to us to teach us. 1 Corinthians 10:6 —Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. * and verse 11 tells us they're warnings to us as well.

Right now, the eyes of the Jew's have been blinded so that we could be saved. (Romans 11:7–8) God didn't just decree that they'd be blind because He wanted it that way. They chose that path and had been walking on it for a very long time. Lest we forget though, we also chose that very same path, so we are no better then they were or are.

In Romans 11, Paul does a great job of explaining it and reminding us that even then (and now also) there is a remnant of Israel that was chosen by God, by His grace. (Romans 11:5) They don't deserve it anymore then we deserved our salvation, but God has chosen some to receive His grace. Paul states quite clearly in Romans 11 that the Jew's will eventually be saved, and this will occur due to the tribulation: Romans 11:25–27 —I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. *And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. *And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” *

When the "full number of the Gentiles has come in", the rapture will occur and the world will then begin to see the wrath of God against all ungodliness. You see, the Church has no purpose on the earth any longer once the last Gentile as been saved. The Church is kind of like a parenthesis in the history of Israel. I say that because God chose the Jew's out of all the other people, and He spent all those centuries preparing them to be His priests. They fumbled the job as He knew they would, so He basically stopped His prophetic clock so the Church could be born and the Gentiles saved. Once that's done, He will again start His prophetic clock again and the Jew's once again will be the center of His attention. (you can find this starting in Daniel 9:20)

Some people say that the Church could have the purpose of witnessing, but again, if God's Word is true, and I believe it is, we can see that the Church itself is falling apart at the seams, and is already a horrible witness. What makes us think that we'd do any better during the tribulation? Are we really that conceited? Besides which, as far as the church is concerned, God tells us that it will continue to go downhill during the end times, until finally it gets to a point where there are very few people left that are really saved and living their lives for Christ. You see, despite our tendency to think we're better then the Israelites were in the OT days, we've done the very same thing they did. It just proves God right yet again, that we humans cannot save ourselves and are totally incapable of doing right.

So the bible teaches that the Jew's will be regathered to Israel as unbelievers. At some point soon, most likely after the rapture, the Jew's will build another Temple. The Tribulation officially starts when the Antichrist signs a 7 year treaty giving them 7 years of protection, which of course he has no intention of keeping. But let's look closely at what we're told in Daniel because this tells us yet again the purpose of the Tribulation: Daniel 9:24 —“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. *

Do you see it?
1. finish transgression (restrain sin, speaking particularly of Israel’s in their long time of apostasy.)
2. to put an end to sin. (to judge it with finality;)
3. to atone for wickedness. (the eyes of the Jew's will be opened and they'll accept Jesus as their Savior and His work on the cross will atone for their sins, just as they did ours)
4. to bring in everlasting righteousness. (they'll be given a new nature as we were but their complete change will be more instantaneous then ours was.)
5. to seal up vision and prophecy (prophecy is "unsealed" until it is fulfilled, so this is saying that God will fulfill all His promises to them at this point)
6. to anoint the most holy. (there are two views of this one, and both may be correct. One is that this is talking about the anointing of the New Temple for the Millennium and the other is that it's talking about the anointing of Christ as ruler over the earth during the Millennium. Both make sense.)

Let me add something from a commentary about the phrase, "to bring in everlasting righteousness." that you may find interesting: The word “everlasting” (here pl. in Heb.) means ages. Thus this phrase (lit., “to bring in righteousness of ages”) is a prophecy that God will establish an age characterized by righteousness. This is a reference to the Millennial kingdom (Isaiah 60:21 —Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor. *; Jeremiah 23:5–6 —“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. *In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness. *). The Bible Knowledge Commentary

So you see, this is all about Israel and everything is God's doing. Just as we couldn't save ourselves and were and are helpless to help ourselves, so are they. At the second coming, the Lord will graciously forgive all their sins, give them a new nature like He did us, and usher in what we call the Millennial Kingdom in order to keep all the promises He made to the Jew's in the Old Testament.

It's really a wonderful, awesome picture that shows us that no matter how unfaithful we are, our God is faithful to us to keep His promises. We cannot save ourselves, nor can we keep ourselves saved. (It boggles my mind that some people are determined to think that they have the power to do that!) Praise God that He can and will save us and promises to keep us saved to the very end! It's just like He tells us in 2 Timothy 2:13 —if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. *

One last point I'd like to make about Israel being unbelieving like they are now is another place in God's Word this is shown very clearly. It's the prophecy of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37. If you read verses 4-8, you see that everything comes together, but there's a problem...there's no breath in them. As I'm sure you're aware, breath is a symbol for God's Spirit which we receive at salvation. It isn't until verse 10 that we see the breath enter the bones and they live. Until then, they're dead spiritually. In fact, if you read this prophecy carefully you'll see there are stages to their "rebirth". (can't think of another word for it) They are simply dead dry bones to start with, then they go through several stages before finally having breath given them. This makes it quite clear that Israel would enter their land again as unbelievers, spiritually dead, only to be given the breath of spiritual life and health by God at the second coming. It shows yet again that it's all God's doing, all because of His love, mercy and grace and not because of anything they do or did. It's the same way with us too. What an awesome God we serve!

I never did finish telling you the rest of the purpose of the tribulation! God isn't ignoring the Gentiles. Part of the reason for it is also to judge and punish the nations for their sins, most especially for the way they've treated Israel over the centuries. It's a vivid demonstration of the horrible consequences of sin. Because our sins have already been judged, there is no reason for the church to be on the earth during the tribulation, and of course, the Lord promises us that we won't be! Praise God!!!!

when Jesus talks about the evil spirits coming back

You know when Jesus talks about evil spirits coming back to an empty house?
Matthew 12:43–45, “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

I've heard so many different ideas about what this passage means but when you really study it in context with what Jesus was teaching, it's more amazing then any of the other theories you hear. Instead of telling it in my own words though I'd rather share how it's explained by various commentaries as they do a really good job of it:

Finally, Jesus warned these leaders that rejecting Him would be followed by further crimes against Him, for that was the purport of the illustration of the cleansed house. This illustration portrays Israel’s national history. The original unclean spirit is the spirit of idolatry which plagued Israel from the Exodus to the Exile, for only when they were in exile (in the dry places) did the nation eventually exclude idolatry from their national life. They cleaned house, but did not fill the space vacated by idolatry with true religion—as was evident when they rejected God’s Son. Jesus warned them that this empty space would be filled by a system seven times worse than idolatry—and that this would definitely happen. The indication, too, in this illustration is that their hate for and opposition to Jesus will become seven times more vehement.

The evil of any false religious system is that it causes men to lose their souls. Idolatry does this, as does Judaism by rejecting Christ (Acts 4:10–12). The emptiness of idolatry is evident, but Judaism is so close to the true religion by which man is saved that it easily lulls its followers into a false sense of security; so ‘the last state of that man is worse than the first.’ The full horror of Jesus’ declamation that day in Galilee is that Judaism was to become a seven-fold more effective system than idolatry in keeping souls out of the Kingdom.

Please consider this carefully. Fault my reasoning if you can; otherwise, prayerfully consider how you can win Christ’s brethren in the flesh to Him.
The Life of Christ: A Study Guide to the Gospel Record

Matthew 12:43–45 Jesus gives a striking parable of the precarious spiritual condition of the nation. The parable is that of a house well swept but unoccupied. The demon having been driven out, but finding no place to rest, returns with seven other spirits, resulting in an even greater degeneration. In using this illustration Jesus clearly indicated that though the Jews had been cleansed from their idolatry by the severity of the Babylonian exile, their unbelief and hardness of heart was in danger of producing an even worse moral condition than when they were idolaters. The moral reformation that had taken place after the captivity should have prepared Israel for the ministries of John and Jesus. Unfortunately, in most cases it fell short in that Israel’s spiritual house was empty. Only by inviting Christ to occupy the position of Honored Guest and Head of the Home could Israel know the full blessing of God. KJV Bible commentary.

The parable in Matthew 12:43–45 might be termed “reformation without inward regeneration.” The Jews came back from captivity purged from their sin of idolatry. The “house” had been swept clean, but it was still empty. They had religion and outward morality, but their hearts were empty and their religion was vain. Consequently, Satan was able to reenter the house with other sins, and the latter end of the nation was worse than the first! In the OT, the Jews worshiped idols, but in the Gospels they killed their own Messiah!
This same thing happens to individuals. How easy it is to “reform,” join a church, and live respectably, without Jesus Christ dwelling in the heart. This “false righteousness” will last only for a time; then Satan will get hold of that empty life and ruin it. Religion means cleaning up the outside; salvation means new life and holiness on the inside. See 2 Peter 2:20–22. Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament

This generation of sign-seekers stood condemned in the final judgment. To show what their condition on earth would be if they persisted in unbelief, Jesus compared them to a man who had found deliverance from a demon (an evil spirit), perhaps through a Jewish exorcist (cf. Matt. 12:27). After the man was delivered, he tried by every natural means to clean up his life and set things in order. But mere “religion” is never effective so the man lacked a supernatural conversion. Consequently he was subject to possession again with more serious ramifications. Instead of one demon possessing him, he became possessed by seven other spirits. His latter condition was worse than his former. The Pharisees and other religious leaders were in danger of that happening to them for their attempts at reformation, without the power of God, were sterile. They clearly did not understand God’s power, for they had just confused the power of the Spirit with the power of Satan (Matthew 12:24–28). Thus they were wide-open targets for Satan. The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (Mt 12:43–45).

Maybe it's just me lol, but to me this was just fascinating! Lately I've been reading the Gospels in a "different way" I guess you'd say. I've been reading them with an eye toward how/when Jesus presented Himself as Messiah to Israel and how/when they rejected Him "officially" (which they did in the portion just prior to this). I've been doing this because it all relates to the end times and how God will be judging Israel because of this during the Tribulation and then saving the remnant to enter the Millennium to keep His promise. Anyway, reading them this way really gives you a different perspective of everything. But I figure that sometimes like now, I should post the commentaries rather then explain it myself so that you guys know it's not just my imagination lol

Petra and Bozrah

We recently had a couple of different threads that led to the start of a conversation about Petra and Bozrah and how God will protect the people in those two places during the last three years of the tribulation, which is referred to as the "great tribulation". I've always been fascinated by that topic so I thought I'd post the relevant information here again so we could discuss it further.

Why Will Jordan Escape The Anti-Christ?

Q. I have learned so much from your teaching since finding your site about a year ago. I have a question about Jordan being one of the only places that elude the Anti-Christ’s control during the Great Tribulation. Why do you think that Jordan is exempt from Anti-Christ’s control (maybe other scriptures in addition to Dan. 11:41), and are there other places that also will be exempt? It seems to me at the present time Jordan is going against Israel in wanting Israel to give back land to the Palestinians.

A. Daniel 11:41 says that Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from His (anti-Christ’s) hand. Edom and Moab occupied lands that belong to Jordan today, and the leaders of Ammon are the Hashemite family, with King Abdullah II as its head. This family has ruled Jordan, whose capital is Ahman (after Ammon), since its inception.

There are several references that when combined lead scholars to conclude that at the beginning of the Great Tribulation, believing Jews will flee to Petra in southern Jordan, where they’ll be supernaturally protected by the Lord. In Matt. 24:16 the Lord warned those in Judea (Israel) to flee to the mountains when they see the Abomination of Desolation. The closest mountains are to the east in southern Jordan where Petra is located. Rev. 12:14 tells of Satan pursuing them across the desert as they flee to a place prepared for them. This desert lies between Israel and the mountains of southern Jordan around the northern and eastern shores of the Dead Sea. And in Isaiah 63: 1-6 there’s a description of the Lord coming from Bozrah in Edom after single handedly defeating His enemies there. Bozrah is the region of Edom where Petra is located. This indicates that when the time comes the Lord will declare Jordan off limits to the anti-Christ and give His people refuge there.

Those who believe Islam will be the end times religion take note of the fact that King Abdullah II is the prophet Mohammed’s closest living relative. This gives him incredible influence in the world of Islam and makes him the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites. If the anti-Christ is also Islamic it seems logical that he would spare Jordan’s leaders as members of Mohammed’s family.

No other country is mentioned in the Bible as being excluded from the anti-Christ’s control.

posted with permission
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bibl...e-anti-christ/


Tribulation Children

Q. I am concerned about the little children who are conceived after the Rapture. I know Jesus will return before they reach an age of accountability, so their salvation is assured. But I worry about what their lives will be like during the 70th week, and especially during the Great Tribulation.

Is there anything in scripture to suggest that those innocent little ones will receive some form of divine protection/consolation to minimize their suffering during that period? Will the merciful and loving God “see to their well-being” in some way; even if it is by removing them quickly to His presence?

A. Speaking of the time when the Great Tribulation begins, Jesus said it would be dreadful for pregnant women and nursing mothers (Matt. 24:19). This tells me no special provision will be made for Tribulation children. Through out the Age of Man children have always been the most vulnerable of all in times of judgment. And even in peaceful times multiple thousands die every day of preventable causes. So-called Guardian Angels seem to be more tasked with reporting abusers to God than protecting children from abuse. The one consolation is that little ones always go straight into the arms of the Lord upon dying.

posted with permission
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/tribulation-children-2/ 

Matthew 24:12-25 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house.Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.

These verses are referring to "the great tribulation" which is the last 3 and a half years of the trib and not the rapture. It's instructions for the Jew's who are present when the AC defiles the Temple because it's at that point that they had better run for their lives to Petra or Bozrah for God's protection. Those are the only two places on this earth where believers (and children) will be safe because God will protect everyone there supernaturally.

When the AC defiles the Temple with the abomination that is what will turn the Jew's to their real Messiah, Jesus, and He tells them in this verse to run for their lives for their lives will be in grave danger just as the lives of the Christians are at this time.

He says it will be especially hard for those who are pregnant and nursing for obvious reasons--it's difficult to run for your life that way, and if it's the sabbath they're in big trouble for they will have to once and for all decide to follow Jesus and not the law.

It will be a big test for them because remember they will have gone back to following the law during the first 3 and half years of the trib and doing their sacrifices and all.

(remember the Left Behind books? It talks about this in those books too) (Yes, I know the LB books aren't theology books lol, but I know many have read those as have I and this portion is correct about what happens at this point in time)

 

Quote:  Originally Posted by jtheb

Excuse my ignorance Why Petra?

Petra is one of the two places where God will protect His people during the tribulation. My understanding is that they're near each other and also near Jerusalem and Armageddon. They will still be able to die from disease or an accident or things like that, but the antichrist and his forces won't be able to lay a hand on anyone in those two places. Here are the main passages that this is discussed in God's Word:

Revelation 12:14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.

Daniel 11:41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand.

Isaiah 63:1 Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.”

Isaiah 26:20-21 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer.

Zechariah 14:2-3 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle.

It's also in Joel 2 but it's pretty much the whole chapter so I don't want to post all of that.

 

Originally Posted by Pathwalker

I am one of those people Cindy is talking about that has read the entire Series of Left Behind. To me, Jerry Jenkens and Tim LaHaye are pretty accurate to what the Bible says about Children during the Trib. Cindy, I always thought that Petra was the only place that God would protect His people, during the Tribulation. It didn't dawn on me to even think about Bozrah til you showed us Isaiah 63:1. ( Interesting )

 

I think they're fairly close together Mark. Here's some info on them both:

PETRA [PET ruh] (rock) — the capital of Nabatea, situated about 275 kilometers (170 miles) southwest of modern Amman and about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of the Dead Sea. Petra is not mentioned by name in the Bible, but many scholars believe it was the same place as Sela (Judg. 1:36; 2 Kin. 14:7).

Petra is one of the most spectacular archaeological ruins in the Near East and is a popular attraction on Holy Land tours. Most of the buildings and tombs of Petra are cut into the rose-red rock cliffs of the area.

Petra’s ruins consist of about 750 monuments, most of them dating from the second half of the first century b.c. to the second century after Christ. In a.d. 131 the Roman emperor Hadrian (ruled a.d. 117–38) visited the city and ordered construction to begin on the so-called treasury, which has been called “Petra’s gem”—a temple to Isis.

Many ruins of Roman construction may be seen at Petra: a triumphal arch, an amphitheater, remains of baths, temples, tombs, and sections of a road. Above the city is the great high place, containing sacrificial altars hewn from the solid rock. Such open-air sanctuaries have thrown light on the High Places mentioned in the Old Testament.

Petra is reached from the west by ascending the Wadi Musa and passing through a narrow, high-walled gorge, known as the Siq. Over a mile in length, this gorge provided Petra with excellent defense. The city is situated in a basin that is about 900 meters (3,000 feet) wide and about 1,600 meters (one mile) long. The city is surrounded by massive sandstone cliffs of a dark red color.

BOZRAH [BAHZ ruh] — the name of two cities in the Old Testament:

1. The royal city of Edom (see Map 4, B–5), on which several of the prophets pronounced divine judgment (Jer. 49:13, 22). The Lord is represented as coming from Bozrah, wearing blood-sprinkled garments, having trodden the winepress of His wrath upon the Gentile nations (Is. 63:1–6).

2. A city in the tableland of Moab, which also received prophecy of coming divine judgment (Jer. 48:24).

Nelson's illustrated Bible dictionary

Bozrah — enclosure; fortress. (1.) The city of Jobab, one of the early Edomite kings (Gen. 36:33). This place is mentioned by the prophets in later times (Isa. 34:6; Jer. 49:13; Amos 1:12; Micah 2:12). Its modern representative is el-Busseireh. It lies in the mountain district of Petra, 20 miles to the south-east of the Dead Sea.
Easton's Bible dictionary.

I did a quick search to see if I could find a map and came across these pictures you might like to see. I did NOT read what is written here so I have no idea if it's correct or not, I'm only posting the link for the photos:

http://www.yeshuatyisrael.com/bozrah.htm

here's some more:
http://www.bibleplaces.com/edom.htm

but I can't find a map that shows the distance between them...

 

 In Matt. 24:16 the Lord warned those in Judea (Israel) to flee to the mountains when they see the Abomination of Desolation. The closest mountains are to the east in southern Jordan where Petra is located. Rev. 12:14 tells of Satan pursuing them across the desert as they flee to a place prepared for them. This desert lies between Israel and the mountains of southern Jordan around the northern and eastern shores of the Dead Sea. And in Isaiah 63: 1-6 there’s a description of the Lord coming from Bozrah in Edom after single handedly defeating His enemies there. Bozrah is the region of Edom where Petra is located. This indicates that when the time comes the Lord will declare Jordan off limits to the anti-Christ and give His people refuge there.

 

 I would say then that it's this "region" that God will protect, and that the two main "cities" (they're only ruins now) there are Petra and Bozrah, and those are the most likely places for humans to seek shelter in that region.

 

 A lot of the scholars think that the first part of this verse

Revelation 12:14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.

Is actually the one and only possible reference to the USA in the Bible. They think it could mean that someone or some group (probably underground Christians just like in Left Behind) sends a plane to take groups of people to Petra and Bozrah. I can't see the official government doing it since at that point the official government of the AC will be out to kill the Jews not rescue them.

While it is possible that the 2 wings of an Eagle is a reference to US aircraft, it's also possible it's simply a reference to aircraft in general. Another very big possibility is that it's simply again referring to God supernaturally helping them escape so it's really hard to tell. That figure of speech is used by God several times in the old testament to speak about His divine help:

Exodus 19:4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

Deuteronomy 32:9-11 For the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance. In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions.It will be interesting to see from Heaven just how the Lord carries this out!