Kking- but a year of research into the Roman Empire and specifically the years those NT scripts were written, shows to me that both Jesus and Paul were talking about resistance to Rome, and Paul is writing specifically during Nero's time period, the worst persecutor of Christians, and therefore the antichrist Paul was thinking of.
Kerry, your thoughts overall are very positive. However, despite acknowledging the spiritual aspect of the current times we live in (versus believing in a literal final big bang for ex), you seem to completely disregard the spirit entity behind the Roman Republic and Empire.
If Jesus and God didn't cease to exist in the first century, why do you believe their antagonists disappeared with the end of the Roman empire?