I don't know when the antichrist will eventually make it on the world stage, but if you want to get a precursor of what one of his worship services will resemble, look no further than the Olympic opening ceremonies.
While no Olympics has had the sheer breadth of national ideaology that we saw displayed in the 1936 Berlin games, the last few opening ceremonies have seen humanistic religion taken to new heights. It's not hard to imagine that kind of showcase, slightly modified, directed to an individual who fronts a new worldwide religion.
And yes, Yoko will probably be reading poetry.
Tags: antichrist, worship, Olympics
I gave up in the Olympics when it because ultra-commercialized and amatures were no longer THE reason.
Plus what’s the whole point of the Olympics if every year there are world games going on?
Yoko is still alive? I thought that was a muppet.
Matt,
Speaking of Muppets, Disney should be ashamed of themselves after the debacle at the opening ceremonies last Friday. They took the animatronic Abe Lincoln from their “Hall of Presidents” display, stuffed it with a few rolls of fiberglass batting, and tried to pass it off as Luciano Pavarotti. Shame!
Honestly, he looked ghastly. Lip-synched, too—and not even to his best recording of “Nessun Dorma” (my favorite opera aria.)
Dan, This is sad, so very sad; because it is so very true. To the Jews of the Biblical era, prophecy was more about pattern than the realization of a specific prophetic event, per se. This is pattern…….
I didn’t watch the opening ceremonies for these games. The last time I watched I was disgusted. Then I saw the headlines on drudge and saw a body dressed in a skin-tight red suit aglow with real flame. That even tops the last fiasco.
Then I asked my sister in Christ is she watched. She said it was marvelous, beautiful etc. A sad commentary. Not all can see what is coming as clearly as others. I expect this from the world but our brothers and sisters….? Your right Jon this is so very sad.
I totally agree with you about the Olympics.
Don’t get me wrong here. I don’t hate the Olympics. I really like the Winter games.
I don’t hate the opening ceremonies, either. I just see them as a template for bad things in the future. Going overboard on the “holiness” of sport and of Man is just silly, but it gets crazier each Olympics. The weird regard given the head of the IOC is what gets me. He’s not the leader of any nation, yet he gets treated way out of proportion to his status, much like the head of the UN. You can see where that goes without thinking about it too much.
I thought the ceremonies were mostly boring. And they were mildly Euro-creepy in a Nietzhcean sort of way.
The guy with the hammer and flaming anvil reminded me of something out of Wagner’s Ring operas—maybe the forging of the ring by the Niebulungs?
Oops.
That should be “Nietzschean sort of way”.
(Time to brush up on my German spelling.)
I quit the ceremonies when the guys skating around with their hair on fire came out. Too many bad Michael Jackson impersonations for me.
BTW, Dan… Yoko will not be reading poetry in hell. For her that would be heaven. It will obviously be a recording of Yoko reading poetry between musical selections.
I don’t hate the olympics either, i am kind of neutral especially as I get older. I know what you mean about how it is a template. I have seen that template theme somewhat in other things like National ID cards, homeland security, and the emergent church and other issues that face this world. But I am much too intense for my own good though :
If you don’t mind a novice asking, what is the best recording of Pavarotti doing Nessun Dorma?
Pirate Twin,
The established standard of Pavarotti doing “Nessun Dorma” among opera buffs is the 1972 Decca recording of Turandot.
I’m not 100% positive I’ve heard that performance. I have Pavarotti singing that aria in a few collections, but have not noted the recording date. I always liked the one on his album of other great arias from a variety of operas called My Favorite Love Songs. His Three Tenors renditions were always rushed and he (along with Domingo and Carreras) was past his best days. Pavarotti reigned during the 70s and early 80s, but like all great tenors started a downhill slide after his early fifties. This is to take nothing away from his work in the 90s, but when compared with earlier work, you can tell the difference. My dad saw him in 1990 and told me that he could easily tell the difference from the time he’d seen him in the mid-70s.
So find that Decca recording and let me know, okay?