By your definition of Apocalyptic literature,from my vantage point the whole Bible is apocalyptic!
In addition, Matthew 11:25 records Jesus saying, "At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children." - NIV. So, again, the secretive nature of the language is, yes, hidden from the oppressors, but the meaning is also hidden "...from those who think themselves wise and clever..." - ibid, NLT.
Also, I'm afraid I have not found in my research that "John identifies them as people opposed to his community and his Gospel" is not specified by John that either to be "his." Like all the other letter writers included in the New Testament, they refer, not to" theirs." but to the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
"Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name... For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power." - 1 Corinthians 1:13-17, ibid.
I can appreciate your efforts regarding the Roman Emperors, and that conclusion has been held by many. However, I hold to my opinion, because the nature of prophecy jumps all over our concept of time as prophecy exists in the realm of the eternal. Eternal is always now while infinite is on a progressing timeline. Because we live in an experience of marking time daily, weekly, yearly, and so on, it is difficult (at least for me) to fully grasp what it is to live in an eternal paradigm.
Finally, I think you missed my point that the definition of antichrist from Strong's Greek is simply any person - ordinary working Joes or people in extraordinary positions of power or authority.
Yes, there were many antichrists in the in Jesus' time and from then until now, but even in the Old Testament - from the serpent in the Garden of Eden, throughout the Exodus, in the history of the books of Kings and Chronicles, the Diaspora and the Captivities - people opposed God.
I don't know if this will help, but when Jesus said, "Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather." Many intellectual authorities have struggled mightily to ascertain the deep meaning of this saying. With the "vultures" replaced with "eagles," although a possible type of bird, they struggle to associate the bird with, for example, the Romans. They then weave a deep fascinating tale...
Anyways, Jesus was talking about the signs of the end. Matthew 24:28 is not a deep, dark secret.
It is just an adage, a simple common saying that is the same as when we say, "Where there is smoke, there is fire." How can we know the end is near? When what is listed by Jesus in the previous verses is happening, where there is smoke, there is fire! "Look up for your redemption draws nigh." - Luke 21:21-24.
