were declaring confidently that the Soviet Union’s rise to superpower status was loaded with biblical significance. Many believed that the Bible contained hints suggesting Russia would attack Jerusalem, and this conflict would usher in Armageddon. And when the 1980s turned out not to be the countdown to Armageddon but instead brought about the demise of communism, the fall of the Iron Curtain, and the breakup of the Soviet empire, the same self-proclaimed authorities on Bible prophecy simply adjusted