Did Israel walk out of Egypt or were they carried on eagle's wings?

Israel walked out of Egypt, but Exodus says God took them out on eagle's wings. This means God brought them out as if they were carried on eagle's wings, while their actual departure was on foot. The phrase describes divine deliverance.

Les explains that Israel did walk out of Egypt, but Exodus verse 4 records God speaking to Moses at Sinai: “I took you out on eagle's wings, but they walked.” Les teaches that when Scripture seems hard to make sense of, go back to the place of first mention. There, God says He took them out on eagle's wings, and He would take them out as if they were going on eagle's wings. So the eagle's-wings language pictures God's deliverance, even though the people actually walked.

Exodus 19:4

Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.

Why are the escaping Jews described as having wings like an eagle?

The description is symbolic, not literal flight. It pictures God's swift, sovereign deliverance of escaping Jews, just as He brought Israel out of Egypt. Although Scripture says they came as if on eagle's wings, they actually walked out; God intervened, preventing the Antichrist's armed force from destroying them.