What could be a more intriguing subject than an end-of-the-world apocalyptic scenario with an enigmatic figure emerging as a global leader making a meteoric rise to unprecedented power, ruling over the whole world? This incredible character uses a most amazing combination of political intrigue and deception on a global scale, forges a powerful coalition of nations which propel him to ascendency over what becomes a global economy and a global government. He then, like many powerful rulers of the past, ascribes to himself the ...
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What could be a more intriguing subject than an end-of-the-world apocalyptic scenario with an enigmatic figure emerging as a global leader making a meteoric rise to unprecedented power, ruling over the whole world? This incredible character uses a most amazing combination of political intrigue and deception on a global scale, forges a powerful coalition of nations which propel him to ascendency over what becomes a global economy and a global government. He then, like many powerful rulers of the past, ascribes to himself the attributes of Deity, demanding universal worship from his earthly subjects. This costs him the loyalty and cooperation of the religious elements of his original coalition which carried him to power, which he in turn eliminates with a violent and bloody use of force. However, he meets his waterloo when he takes on the supernatural realm - the real God of the universe. His human and very limited supernatural powers prove to be no match for the true Deity as he and his forces are obliterated in the bloodiest battle of all human history, an end of the world as we know it conflagration.Is it any wonder that so many scenarios and theories have been developed about this same theme, which has persisted for almost 2000 years. Aside from related themes of Bible prophecy, such as Gog/Magog, perhaps no other subject has inspired a greater variety of interpretations and explanations, than the Apostle John's Beast (specifically the 8th beast of Revelation 17), which is most often referred to as the Antichrist. To the world the whole subject is associated with the lunatic fringe of Evangelicalism. Among true believers there is a very significant divide between those who see these prophetic events as having mostly been already fulfilled, and those who believe their fulfillment lies mostly still in the future. In the former camp we have what are known as Historicists, and in the latter Futurists who base their understanding and truth claims on a more literal approach to interpreting scripture than the Historicists.Within the Futurists camp many Bible scholars and Theologians, which are all claiming to be literal in their interpretations, have come up with many diverse theories and explanations with respect to what the Bible is telling us about these end-times, and "The Beast," "The Antichrist", and The "Harlot Babylon" of Revelation. Some of the most popular and widely held theories are discussed and evaluated in the following, with respect to their consistency with what the scriptures reveal when taken literally (in their natural sense), and with respect to logical plausibility. An alternative interpretation proposed is referred to as "The Revived Mesopotamian Empire," based on a more consistently literal interpretation of actual scripture, and a more logical and realistic correlation to real world developments.
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