Throughout Scripture and history, the Middle East has been the central stage for world-shaping spiritual and political events: - The **Garden of Eden** is believed to have been located near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. - **Israel**, the chosen nation, was often defended by miraculous angelic intervention (e.g., 2 Kings 19:35). - Empires like **Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar), Persia, Greece (Alexander the Great), and Rome** all rose and fell through this region. - The **birth, crucifixion, and resurrection** of Jesus Christ happened in this area. - End-times prophecies (e.g., Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel) often center around Jerusalem and the surrounding nations. Given this pattern, is it theologically or biblically valid to understand the Middle East as the prophetically ordained site of a final spiritual or political "showdown," possibly involving the return of Christ or emergence of the Antichrist? I’m especially interested in how various Christian traditions interpret this historical pattern—whether it's symbolic, literal, or both.