It can only be understood in its historical context. It is generally accepted that Revelation, the last book of the Christian Bible, was written in the 1st Century A.D. ibid.
In A.D. 68 he [Nero] stabbed himself in the neck and died ... he had gleefully embraced the Anti-Christ role: nailing Christians to crosses, feeding them to lions, and burning them on poles at night to illuminate his garden parties ... In addition to implicating Nero personally, experts maintain that many passages in Revelation are primarily about Rome. It is clearly possible to read Revelation as an indictment of Roman power or alternatively as prophetic evidence of a coming Anti-Christ. But is there a third way to interpret the text? ibid.
The term Anti-Christ has been used throughout history to demonise all manner of people. From popes to presidents to pop stars. It has been a rallying cry and a death knell triggering passion and unbridled ferocity. And yet Anti-Christ, perhaps the most highly charged word in the Christian lexicon, is buried deep in the Bible where it appears only in minor passages and on just a handful of occasions. ibid.
During the crusades the name Anti-Christ was used to stir up hatred against both Muslims and Jews. ibid.
The Muslim ruler Saladin’s recapture of Jerusalem in 1187 gave rise to arguments that he was the Anti-Christ. Interestingly, Muslims also have an Anti-Christ figure called the Dajjal. ibid.
The Anti-Christ has been the arch-villain of Christian iconography for the last two millennia. Believers in prophecy have never ceased awaiting this figure who is Christ’s evil opponent and Satan’s human representative on Earth during the end-times. They dread his arrival but also ironically welcome it. Decoding the Past: The Antichrist: Zero Hour
But there is a single and pervasive dominant image of the Anti-Christ today. That of a slick man supposedly of peace but with an agenda from hell. Some Christians say this image can be found in the Bible. They’ve been turning it into publishing gold dust for decades. ibid.
Whether believers in the existence of the Anti-Christ think he is already here or waiting quietly in the wings, they all consider him the embodiment of evil. ibid.
He has been studied with particular vigour in the United States. ibid.
Interestingly, this big brother aspect of the Anti-Christ is also present in Islamic tradition. ibid.
When will Jesus return to defeat the Anti-Christ and usher in the Millennium? ibid.
The crucial piece of this puzzle is the identity of the Antichrist, the tyrannical figure who both leads and inspires the new world order ... for many years, rapture theologians identified the Soviet Union as the Antichrist. But after September 11, they became quite certain that the Antichrist was closely connected with the Arab world and the Muslim religion. This means, quite simply, that for rapture theologians, Islam stands at the heart of the tyrannical ‘new world order’. Precisely here we discover why the idea of a ‘new world order’ has such potential to move global politics in profoundly negative directions, for rapture theologians typically welcome war with the Islamic world. As Bill Moyers wrote of the rapture theologians, ‘A war with Islam in the Middle East is not something to be feared but welcomed – an essential conflagration on the road to redemption.’ Further, rapture theologians co-opt the United States as a tool in their cosmic vision – a tool God will use to smite the Antichrist and the enemies of righteousness. This is why Tim LaHaye, co-author of the best-selling series of end-times books, could lend such strong support to the American invasion and occupation of Iraq. By virtue of that war, LaHaye believed, Iraq would become ‘a focal point of end-times events’. Even more disturbing is the fact that rapture theologians blissfully open the door to nuclear holocaust. Rapture theologians have always held that God will destroy his enemies at the end of time in the Great Battle of Armageddon. But since World War II, they have increasingly identified Armageddon with nuclear weaponry, thereby lending biblical inevitability to the prospects of nuclear annihilation. As one prophecy writer put it, ‘The holocaust of atomic war would fulfil the prophecies.’ Richard T Hughes, ‘Revelation, Revolutions, and the Tyrannical New World Order’
You will see, sooner or later great changes made.
Extreme horrors and vengeances:
For as the moon is thus led by its angel,
The heavens draw near to the reckoning. Nostradamus I-56
Pestilences extinguished, the world becomes smaller,
For a long time the lands will be inhabited in peace:
People will travel safely through the sky (over) land and wave:
Then wars will start anew. Nostradamus I-63
After great trouble for humanity, a greater one is prepared
The Great Mover renews the ages:
Rain, blood, milk, famine, steel and plague,
Is the heavens fire seen, a long spark running. Nostradamus II-46
Mabus then will soon die, there will come
Of people and beasts a horrible rout:
Then suddenly one will see vengeance,
Hundred, hand, thirst, hunger when the comet will run. Nostradamus II-62
Tears, cries and laments, howls, terror,
Heart inhuman, cruel, black and chilly:
Lake of Geneva the Isles, of Genoa the notables,
Blood to pour out, wheat famine to none mercy. Nostradamus VI-81
Sun twentieth of Taurus the earth will tremble very mightily,
It will ruin the great theater filled:
To darken and trouble air, sky and land,
Then the infidel will call upon God and saints. Nostradamus IX-83
6We are truly living in the last days; there is no doubt in my mind about that. We are in the last days. But the last years of what? ... We are very quickly arriving at a place where we are going to confront our God. Jordan Maxwell, Forbidden Knowledge
In Qumran we found many writings that describe what the end of days would look like. For example, there will be an enormous war between the few elect sons of light and the many wicked people who populate the Earth – the sons of Darkness. Professor Tal Ilan, Free University Berlin
The first attack of the Sons of Light shall be undertaken against the forces of the Sons of Darkness. The War Scroll
They shall fight against Mesopotamia ... They shall fight against all the sons of Assyria and Persia. ibid.
The sons of Levi ... shall fight against all their troops, when the exiles of the Sons of Light return from the wilderness of the peoples to camp in the wilderness of Jerusalem. ibid.
For the God of Israel has called out a sword against all the nations, and by the holy ones of His people He will do mightily. ibid.
There shall be a battle and horrible carnage before the God of Israel for it is a day appointed by Him ... As a battle of annihilation for the Sons of Darkness. ibid.
The first attack of the Sons of Light shall be undertaken against the forces of the Sons of Darkness. ibid.
How will the world end? ... Hollywood has already destroyed the planet hundreds of times. End of the World Night, Channel 4 2015
10. Alien Invasion
9. Asteroids
8. Sun
7. Volcano
6. Nuclear Accident
5. Artificial Intelligence Gone Bad
4. Zombies/Virus
3. Climate Change
2. Pandemic
1. Nuclear War
Jehovah’s Witnesses’ end of the world predictions: 1914, 1918, 1925, 1941, 1975. DoveNET
The Book of Revelation: the most controversial book of the Bible. Within its pages a dire forecast of Apocalypse ... What’s the real secret of the Book of Revelation? Riddles of the Bible s2e1: The Apocalypse, National Geographic 2014
Most scholars say Revelation is a product of its time. ibid.
The word rapture appears nowhere in the Bible. ibid.
Every day things seem to get worse: religious conflict, climate change, it all seems so apocalyptic. None of this is new however. We’ve been predicting the end of the world for thousands of years … Something about the drama of annihilation seems to grip us. Morgan Freeman, The Story of God s1e2: Apocalypse, National Geographic 2016
Like many doomsday cults, the Essenes believed the end was imminent and took precautions to meet God at any moment. ibid.
The Christian idea of the Apocalypse took hold under the oppression of Rome. ibid.
Should we all be making plans for the end of the world? Stacey Dooley Investigates: Face to Face with Armageddon, BBC 2018
Millions of asteroids churn through the abyss of space. Could one suddenly tumble towards our planet bringing about the end of the world? In Search of s5e22 … The End of the World, History 1981