The gathering

"Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. - Matthew 24: 23-28

The statement Jesus makes at the end about the "carcass" has always intrigued me. It seems like such a random thing to say and I'm still not 100% sure what he means.

Some years ago the body of grey whale washed up on the beach near our home. Someone told us that it was out there so we took the kids and went to find it. We walked along the grey rocky beach looking for a the body of a grey whale and I knew we would clearly be able to spot it from a mile away because I imagined that it would be covered with eagles. I was right and even though I didn't know where it was we found it without any trouble.

If you told someone in Israel to go out into the desert to look for a body they would likely scan the sky. If they saw nothing in the sky they would ignore you. But if they looked up and off in the distance they saw eagles or vultures circling, that sign would lead them with complete confidence to a body.

I think what Jesus is saying it that false Christs and false prophets will be misleading "even to the elect" but when Christ actually returns like lightening flashing from the east to the west all doubt will be removed.