Bible Prophecy Belief in American Culture and Its Political Implications

Bible-prophecy belief is as American as apple pie....The Bible prophecy beliefs so pervasive today are rooted in ancient myths of cosmic struggles between order and chaos, light and darkness, good and evil. These myths, which date from the earliest civilizations of the Middle East, spawned a popular literary genre known as Apocalyptic that flourished in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. (This Greek word “apocalypse” simply means the unveiling of hidden knowledge.) Apocalyptic passages appear in Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, and elsewhere in the Hebrew Scriptures, and in the New Testament Gospels; apostolic letters; and, of course, that mysterious final book, Revelation.

http://www-ee.stanford.edu/~hellman/boyer.pdf