The eagles are those of keen vision and sharp appetite, anxious to know of the Lord's Word, and equally anxious to feed upon it.

Hence we find gathering together many earnest Christian people in groups in various parts of the earth, who know no nationality, whose citizenship is in heaven, whose allegiance and devotion is to the Lord and to his kingdom of righteousness.
[424]Jesus defines the wheat class as the true followers of himself, children of the kingdom, and the tares as the imitation Christians, who are Christians in name only.

He declared: "Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."-- Matthew 13: 30.
[425]It is a well-known fact that since 1878 there has been a tendency on the part of all denominations to bind themselves into leagues and combines, associations, Interchurch World Movement, etc., thus fulfilling this prophetic statement of the Lord of binding together the merely nominal Christians preparatory for the great fire, the great time of trouble, which is now upon the earth.

To the truly consecrated people of God, who have been identified with these various sectarian or denominational systems the Lord has been calling in this time of the harvest, saying: "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and receive not her plagues".

(Revelation 18:4) Concerning his work with the others, the wheat class, Jehovah through his Prophet long ago said: "Gather my saints together unto me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice".