Religions 2018, 9(12), 396; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel9120396
Brexit, Babylon and Prophecy: Semiotics of the End Times
Theology and Religious Studies Department, University of Chester, Chester CH1 4BJ, UK
Received: 29 October 2018 / Revised: 16 November 2018 / Accepted: 28 November 2018 / Published: 3 December 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Apocalypticism in the 21st Century)
Abstract
This article examines the predilection some Christian premillennialist preachers and teachers have with the semiotic association of geopolitics and biblical prophecy concerning the end times. This was epitomised in the run up to the United Kingdom’s referendum on continued membership of the European Union in June 2016. Since its inception, many premillennialists have interpreted the European Union as the place where the Antichrist emerges. Material objects associated with the European Union such as architecture, sculptures, currency and even posters, have been routinely highlighted as providing clear signs of the coming eschaton. Prophetic links between the European Union and satanic agencies, purported to be behind the ambition for an expanding European confederacy, ensured that many premillennialists voted to leave the European Union or were advised to do so in light of such prophetic signifiers. Utilising Webb Keane’s notion of representational economies, I argue that a premillennialist representational economy drives the search for signs in the everyday, and specifically those associated with the European Union. In this case, such semiotic promiscuity ratified the need to leave the European Union. View Full-TextKeywords:
Brexit; prophecy; premillennialism; European Union; semiotics; Webb Keane
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).

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Knowles, S. Brexit, Babylon and Prophecy: Semiotics of the End Times. Religions 2018, 9, 396.
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