The U.S government system has been used as an example more than once here, i think it fit to break down what I believe it to be in essence and you may correct me if I'm wrong, there is a presumption included but not without substance. Here's an example (aside from it's obvious actions) of why one may come to the understanding that it is a harbinger of the anti-Christ, Christ being the one who ushers in the kingdom and rule of God, and the AntiChrist being opposed in essence to submission to such authority, we'll begin with descriptions of terms and topics which form the basis of this thread:
sec·u·lar *(sky-lr)
adj.
1. Worldly rather than spiritual.
2. Not specifically relating to religion or to a religious body: secular music.
3. Relating to or advocating secularism.
4. Not bound by monastic restrictions, especially not belonging to a religious order. Used of the clergy.
5. Occurring or observed once in an age or century.
6. Lasting from century to century.
n.
1. A member of the secular clergy.
2. A layperson.
[Middle English, from Old French seculer, from Late Latin saeculris, from Latin, of an age, from saeculum, generation, age.]
secu·lar·ly adv.
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forms saecla, saeclorum etc. were normal alternatives to the more common saecula etc.
However on the same page, The proponents of separating secular from seclorum argue that:
The word seclorum does not mean "secular", as one might assume, but is the genitive (possessive) plural form of the word saeculum, meaning (in this context) generation, century, or age. (despite admitting that the term secular also has the same meaning) Saeculum did come to mean "age, world" in late, Christian Latin, and "secular" is derived from it, through secularis. However, the adjective "secularis," meaning "worldly," is not equivalent to the genitive plural "seclorum," meaning "of the ages."
So we can see that the root term describes "rejecting the presence or acknowledgement of God in an act, and an age in contrast to an age/age to age/of the ages
Therefore Both seclorum and secular are derived from the same root term.
Ok, let's look at the term "kafir":
Kafir is an Arabic word literally meaning "ingrate." In the Islamic doctrinal sense the term refers to a person who does not recognize God (rejects God) or the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad and hides, denies, or covers the truth. It is usually translated into English as "infidel" or "disbeliever."
The word kāfir is the active participle of the root K-F-R "to cover". As a pre-Islamic term it described farmers burying seeds in the ground, covering them with soil while planting. Thus, the word kāfir implies the meaning "a person who hides or covers". In Islamic parlance, a kāfir is a word used to describe a person who rejects faith, i.e. "hides or covers [viz., the truth]".
Ok, so we see a clear similarity in both definitions "secular" and "kafir" : in that they both are based on rejecting the Rule or even Presence of God.
Now we will look at a Hadith which was penned down long before the united states of america existed or the great seal of the united states was made:
Imam Ali was reported to have said:
His right eye will be punctured, and his
left eye would be
raised to his forehead and will be
sparkling like a star. Only the believers will be able to read the word ‘Kafir’ [
disbeliever], inscribed in bold letters, on his forehead. There will be big mountains of smoke at both front and backsides of his caravan. People will anticipate food within those mountains, during the severe famine. All rivers, falling in his way, will become dry and he will call upon people in aloud voice, "O my friends come to me!
I am your lord who has made your limbs and given you sustenance.[10]
you will notice an elevated left eye shining brightly with the word "seclorum" inscribed in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS, the eye is called the "eye of providence" (something to do with sustenance i'd presume, maybe just a coincidence, but an amazing one with a very very low probability score:
(It's also visible on the dollar bill).
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Seal_of_the_United_States_(reverse).svg
Above the eye it says: "He approves of the undertakings" or "He has approved of the undertakings"
The only animate item visible describing "he" is a left eye.
Let's se who they claim it is:
Annuit Cœptis is translated by the U.S. State Department,[7] The U.S. Mint,[8] and the U.S. Treasury[9] as,
"He [God] has favored our undertakings" (brackets in original).
However, the original Latin does not explicitly state who (or what) is the subject of the sentence.
However:
Anas b. Malik reported that Allah's Messenger said: There is never a prophet who has not warned the Ummah of that one-eyed liar;
behold he is one-eyed and your Lord is not one-eyed. On his forehead are the letters k. f. r. (Kafir).
Or instead of ka fa ra, the term kafara means "he disbelieved/rejected".
And in Islamic terms, disbelieved/rejected God.
So in my personal opinion, using the U.S governance system as an example only proves the dichotomy.
Peace.
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I'm having to type on a phone as I don't have internet on the computer at home, my posts do tend to come out haphazard since I can't see what I've written in the previous sentence, let alone paragraph, something I notice myself even b4 I hit send