The Empire of Iniquity at the End of Time
For the last century and a half, under the malign influence of clerics like John Nelson Darby, and crooks like Cyrus Schofield, the Evangelical and Fundamentalist strains in Protestant Christianity have focused more and more on events surrounding the so-called “End Times.”
Much of this involves absolving the state of Israel of its crimes against humanity, and excusing the murder of the founder of Christianity by the Talmudists.
A lot of it however, is straight out of Hollywood, with a creepy emphasis on the Anti-Christ and the revived Roman Empire of the last days of humanity on Earth. The “bad guy” at the close of the age is never referred to in the Bible as The Anti-Christ as such, although the Apostle Paul does refer to the revealing of “The Man of Sin,” and the Book of Revelation talks of “The Beast,” the False Prophet,” and the “Whore of Babylon.”
There is also the question of the Roman Empire in its revived state. Great use is made of the visions of Daniel, in the Old Testament book of the same name. Daniel Chapter 7 lists the four beasts which signify four world empires to come after Daniel, the fourth of which was the Roman Empire, according to scholarship. Daniel aids this interpretation by deciphering a troubling dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, the account of which appears in Daniel Chapter 2. In the latter passage there appears a vision of a bronze statue, with various characteristics relating to each of the four world empires to come. The vision in Chapter 7 takes the form of four beasts, the fourth of which terrified and troubled Daniel, and which appears in 7: 21 -27 to be referring both to the Roman empire and to the concluding events of the human drama.
So what is this revived empire?Most end-times commentators seem to go with the EU, including the participants in this internet radio show. The United States is either not seen as taking part in the last events, or, as in the radio show just referred to, is blessed by God and is some sort of refuge from the depradations of the Anti-Christ/Beast/man of Sin.
However, why choose the EU? As a song one once said, Americans are not good at geography, which is why most of them think Central America means Kansas. Anyone looking at map of the Roman Empire as it evolved through time would notice the absence of large parts of what now constitute the EU – most of Germany, Poland, the Baltic states and Scandinavia, as well as Scotland and Ireland. Moreover, large tracts of land that were in the Empire are not within the borders of the EU – Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, North Africa and so on.
Geography does not appear to be the major factor, so how about looking at the features which disturbed Daniel so much?
Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet.
Daniel 7: 19
The EU, with its collective decision-making process, is a military midget, and so are its strongest members, such as Germany, France and the UK. William Hague the warmonger is more of a bloated salamander than a fierce beast with teeth of iron.
No, the only power in the world which comes close to resembling the fourth beast is the United States, which spends more on “defence” than the rest of the world combined, the only country which has used nuclear weapons against cities, which uses depleted uranium in Iraq and elsewhere, resulting in the monster babies of Fallujah. It claims the right to strike first, to engage in aggressive war, and maintains something like 700 bases around the world. Its policy in Iraq killed 500,000 children by means of sanctions, something that the disgusting Madeleine Albright described as “a price worth paying.” And then came the 2003 invasion, which resulted in the deaths of 1 million Iraqis and the displacement of 4 million more, as the once advanced state was returned to the Stone Age. The US starts wars and kills civilians in countries as varied as El Salvador, Pakistan and Vietnam, using death squads, drones and horrible chemical agents which don’t stop causing damage at the first generation.
The US is the heir to Rome. It uses the architectural styles of that power in its capital city, its founders were greatly influenced by Greek and Roman thought and buildings such as The Capitol have a distinctly Roman flavour about them. Like Rome it claims to have an interest in every corner of the globe and like Rome, it began as a republic, but has morphed into a fierce empire.
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