I have to dig out Revelations (or Apocalpyse, as the Catholics say) later but I thought the Antichrist was supposed to be seductive, not some Satanic-seeming figure. Anyone here up on the Antichrist?
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Well I'll have a go.
Yes, as I recall, the AntiC was supposed to be a smooth talking, "seductive", soothing figure who promises 'peace and safety' and seems to deliver - for a while.
I grew up in a conservative, evangelical tradition (Seventh day Adventist) and was consistently exposed to comic book like pamphlets depicting the exciting rise and fiery fall of the AntiC and his hapless mortal followers.
I remember one particularly well illustrated booklet which depicted the archenemy as a tall, thin white duke sort of fellow in a well tailored suit who jetted from capital to capital like a supernatural playboy - charming the world to follow his leadership.
Oh yes, that was the other bit: one world government was the goal and once the (foolishly deluded) world signed on for the AntiC's 'peace and safety' program the gates of uber-sinister-ness would open and it would be time for Christians to safely teleport to CloudBase (an event also known as "The Rapture" or as the Germans say, der outen zee timen).
>From which, mind you, the smug bastards would observe
the discomfort of the rest of us as we suffered (quite
literally) un-godly tortures.
After about a thousand years of this (no one ever explained why this would go on for so long) CloudBase would return to earth with Christ at the controls - the damned would be judged (completely fair and impartial I assure you) after which Jesus would issue the order for the New Jeruselem's particle beam jacketed anti-proton cannons to fire in a wide dispersal pattern upon the planet's surface (okay, okay, the Bible says "fire and brimstone" but that's what it'll be - trust me I'm an expert on such matters).
With the planet properly cleansed of sinful filth (including, I'm sorry to report, my entire collection of Autechre CDs) through the muscular application of superior, Heaven-based ordinance delivery systems it's safe for CloudBase to touch down and the era of endless futurity to begin.
...world without end...amen and...amen
.d.
P.S.
Sadly for my Bible education career, after hearing this story for the first time, I foolishly asked the Sabbath School Teacher (as we SDA's called our Saturday morning holy knowledge transfer units) why god wouldn't merely warp the space time continuum or something similarly wiggy to undo the evil instead of behaving like a flight of B-52s on a planetwide rolling thunder tour.
This did not make her happy. No sir, no mam.
Issac Asimov and his colleagues were a very bad influence on my "Christian walk" and for this I thank them.