What does Jesus mean when He says, “For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together”?

The context of this passage is the second coming. First, the word “eagles” as used here is better translated as “vultures,” or birds of carrion. We’ve all seen these birds circling overhead and know that something has died.

This visual picture concerns the judgment. John writes, “I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, ‘Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses … and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great’ ” (Revelation 19:17, 18).

At one time, it was considered a curse for the deceased not to have their remains buried properly (1 Samuel 17:44, 46). It can be paralleled to the Flood recorded in Genesis, because that also was a judgment on the wicked. When Noah sent out a raven, it did not come back because ravens are birds of carrion, but the dove he sent out later came back because it didn’t have to anything to eat. It returned with an olive leaf, now a symbol for peace.

So Jesus here is referring to the final judgment that is going to come on the wicked of the world. In Thessalonians 4, the saints are caught up to meet the Lord in the air and the dead in Christ rise. But the wicked are destroyed by the brightness of His coming. After the return of the Lord, the carcasses of the wicked will be from one end of the earth to the other.

Key Bible Texts

Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. (Matthew 24:26-28 KJV)