Who cannot look around today and see that the major spiritual battle on Earth is between the forces of God and the forces of Islam? It's so glaringly obvious. Plus, the similarities between the prophesied Islamic "messiah" and the prophesied AntiChrist are uncanny. It's really exactly as it has always been: God vs. an evil attempted counterfeit cum usurper of God.
As to why so many were wrong for so long, I think that's simple: God told Daniel to seal up the book until the end times. I think only now is God revealing the obvious truth about the nature of what lies ahead. But there are so many prophecy "experts" out there who have literally built their lives and careers around the Roman theory, and change would require them to invalidate what they've said on the matter their entire lives. That kind of change is tough.
I think most serious prophecy followers today--you and I come instantly to mind among these--agree that we're nearing the end. Given what we've seen unfolding over the past decades, picture this scenario:
The rapture occurs, leaving behind all Muslims, a ton of nominal Protestants, and countless Catholics. The world is now made up almost entirely of pie-eyed naivete, desperate for answers. There's not any real Christian leadership left, and a charming and peace-loving Muslim pops up out of nowhere with a solution to finally put the Middle East at peace, to end the strife so the world can sing Kumbaya. Given the heretical ecumenism already underway with Francis, a big speech about "all God's children coming together in the wake of this tragedy" is no stretch at all. In fact, it's perfect. Expected.
Finally, an intriguing possibility: Given what's happening in Europe today, is it any stretch to imagine this wonderful Muslim leader having a strong European connection as well? That would be the ultimate example of two birds with one stone, eh? MM
The Mideast obviously has a role to play here in the end times. However I think we’ve always envisioned them as it’s been for the last 50 or so years, as a collection of Israel hating name states, much like the coalition that attacked them during the Yom Kippur War.
The whole Arab Spring destabilization followed by the rise of the various Wahabi influenced Islamic groups is changing the view. One can feel the force that they are expanding with to know that there is something more going on that meets the eye. Now it’s starting to look like the Caliphate thing again, with the Iran/Shia stick jabbed in their to make it more interesting.
Whatever is taking shape there, what we know is the whole paradigm of the old order crumbling-instability-chaos-power vacuum-new order arising, such as what happened in Nazi Germany or Czarist Russia, is happening there. Whether they are the RRE remains to be seen, but it is also not out of the question, as this area was mostly in the old RE.
Change is afoot and the chess pieces of the end times are moving, I’m sure we’ll see in our lifetimes what is arising.