It has been over three years since the Vanishment and the installation of Antivon as the US President. President Antivon as head of the Western Alliance is determined to conquer even more nations, even though the list already includes 73 nations and territories of all sizes. He arrogantly adopts the credo and coat of arms of the legendary novel hero James Bond, who used the motto "Orbis Non Sufficit", meaning "The World Is Not Enough." The world must be his, and his alone, he reasoned. There is no room for other lesser beings. After all, he is a god. He calls his military chiefs into counsel to plan his next move.
As the military chiefs arrive for the meeting, two of them walk behind the others and ask each other whether it is honorable to support this world conquest goal. What is the point, when no other alliance can now match the Western Alliance military might? These two did not realize there was a new technology installed to listen to all discussions within the White House grounds. Several armed men appear and quickly take the two Generals out of the building. They are replaced later that same day.
President Antivon takes charge of the meeting and demands that more countries must be brought into the Western Alliance before the other alliances of the north, south and east can move on those same countries. He has a plan which he lays out to the Generals who are assembled. It involves the Middle East and North Africa. Yes, there is a treaty with Israel, but that is no matter. That treaty is a temporary distraction and will be invalidated at a convenient time. He sends out his Generals with instructions to devise a plan to attack the Middle East through Israel and then proceed into North Africa. The Generals, although surprised, depart to do as he has demanded. They know that if they do not do as he has asked, others will replace them and do the job. It is a difficult time for moral decision making.
The Generals return later that week with a military plan to invade the Middle East. Israel will be the intermediate target, and will become a base for further conquest into North Africa. The plan is accepted and President Antivon tells them to wait for his orders to proceed. President Antivon tells them he will talk with the Israeli Prime Minister to clear the way for a "low impact invasion" of Israel.
President Antivon calls Israeli Prime Minister Garlock: "Be prepared to set up my statue in the Temple on the Temple Mount. I am nearly ready for the next phase." Prime Minister Garlock replies "We are ready to go whenever you give the order."
In the meantime several of the General Staff meet secretly to discuss their options. None of them trust each other. There have been too many secret police arrests of high officials, including generals. But they each agree that something must be done to stop the madness before it goes any further. They agree to watch for an opportunity to take action to implement a change in government "when and if it becomes a feasible option." As they depart they each have no specific plan, and no real hope that they can be effective in stopping President Antivon from becoming a dictator in all respects.
During the preceding three years the people have been primed to accept the new religion of President Antivon, and now most are ready to embrace it with great enthusiasm. The prospect of a secular god with no moral requirements on them who will also heal the earth by his environmental measures and eliminate those hated moralistic Christians has wide appeal. A religion without moral requirements is enticing. Social media is used to spread this evangelism presenting President Antivon as a god. His status as someone who can cheat death, heal the earth, and give his followers the riches they desire takes on mystical levels. At the same time President Antivon has steadily become a more imposing and physically powerful figure with super-human powers of persuasion and mental abilities rarely seen. He can suddenly speak any language, perform great feats of strength, give amazing oratory, and mesmerizes all audiences which hear him. Prime Minister Garlock said of his newly found powers "He has become possessed of powers never before seen by mere mortals. He is indeed a god among us." Loyal followers agree.
The Western Alliance sets out to conquer even more helpless nations. Most fall easily, some resist and the results are brutal for those countries and their citizens. The least of the nations are not spared, and none are too small or insignificant to be brought under this umbrella of tyranny.
On the island country of Nauru, the smallest island country in the world, a group of men are fishing among the coral reefs which ring the island. To their surprise a small watercraft carrying just twenty armed soldiers from the Western Alliance arrive. Bewildered, they tell the soldiers to go somewhere else and stop disturbing the fish, at which point they are shot. The soldiers go onto the main island continuing to shoot every citizen. Within a few hours all of the 2000 citizens of the island are dead or captured. The country has no military significance except that it can be counted as one more nation ruled by the egomaniac Antivon. To him, ruling useless bits of terrain is a matter of feeding his intense power lust. One by one, nation by nation, the Western Alliance expands its global coverage.
But the other three major world alliances are not prepared to simply allow this expansion to continue. Bloody battles are raging around the globe as Western Alliance forces seek to expand their footprint. At this point, the Northern Alliance, badly bruised by their failed Middle East invasion just three years earlier, has regained enough of its strength to resist the Western Alliance in key areas. A series of naval engagements in the Mediterranean Sea and Baltic Sea take a toll on the Western Alliance. Several of the West's large warships have been sunk, including a carrier. The Northern Alliance also thwarts the advances of the Western Alliance into southern Asia and the southern part of Russia, which enrages Antivon. He vows revenge.
The death toll from the continual world-wide war is staggering, and rising rapidly. Over 100,000,000 have been killed on all sides. It has been the bloodiest world war in history, and it is not over yet. No side has any interest in stopping the war. In some ways, the Alliance leaders see the wars as the only way to keep their economies going. But the cost is enormous, both humanly and financially.
As a result of the wars plus the numerous and continual natural disasters there is a world-wide economic depression. Food shortages are the primary concern for most people. The life of the average person has become one of simply trying to survive. Most of their lives have been reduced to a subsistence level, and many face starvation. The world has gone from just the standard human issues several years ago to daily disasters, chaos, famine, unrest, social upheaval, unfettered crime, and a total breakdown of societal standards in a very short time. But as bad as things are now, the real suffering is about to begin, and will intensify by several orders of magnitude. It is time to enter the second half of the Tribulation.