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Revelation 13:15
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15 And [kai] he [autos] had power [didomi] to give [didomi] life [pneuma] unto the image [eikon] of the beast, [therion] that [hina] the image [eikon] of the beast [therion] should [laleo] both [kai] speak, [laleo] and [kai] cause [poieo] that as many as [hosos] would [an] [proskuneo] not [me] worship [proskuneo] the image [eikon] of the beast [therion] should be killed [hina]. [apokteino] KJV-Interlinear
15 And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. NASB
The word for image is key here, along with the agenda of the false prophet, which helps us to understand the life that this image is going to receive.
First, only God can create and give legitimate life, such as a soul, and human life within the soul.
Second, the beast is a false prophet and his words are always false. His objective is to deceive people and keep them from believing in Christ. Everything he says and does is the product of an illusion.
Third, the image of the beast is not a single statue, but a resemblance which can be publicized worldwide. With television and the internet, and perhaps other mediums that have yet to be invented (assuming that this all happen in the distant future), then transmitting an animated image throughout the world is and will be relatively easy.
There is quite a business in the animation world of cartoons, advertising, movies and such and this anti-christ and his spokesman, the false prophet, will make use of them in promoting their agenda against Christians.
Since the false prophet promotes false ideas, and is a deceiver, then the image or the resemblance of the anti-christ, in receiving life will be used for deception as well. This verse does not emphasize the image of some walking or talking bronze statue. This verse emphasizes an animated resemblance of the anti-christ, which will be used for propaganda and world control over the masses.
If you wonder how this could be possible, who would believe or fall for such a thing, you have only to look at the propaganda media that radicals and terrorists use to recruit people of their organizations. They convince folks to hook bombs to themselves and kill people at random, or to go fight in some far away desert.
That can happen today, and when the Tribulation finally arrives, the entire world will be very susceptible for this sort of deception. The anti-christ most likely will use the masses of people to help turn in and report Christian activity, such that the Christians will be killed, in addition to getting people to fall down and worship him.
The whole objective of the image and its orders (not suggestions) against Christians is not just to be gossiped against, not just ostracized, not just left out of clubs and organizations and such, but actually to be murdered.
This will open the door for all types of vigilante and gang and personal hate activities with extreme violence, around the world.
Hitler had an organized campaign against the Jews in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, complete with banners and posters and ad campaigns, but they were limited pretty much to Germany. However, this future anti-christ, will publish his animated image and policy around the world.
And unfortunately, people will be convinced and will obey and worship the anti-christ, based on an animated image and based on cheap magicians trickery.
When so many people around the entire world are so easily deceived by such elementary tricks, then that is an indication of just how low (almost to non-existence) the spiritual status of the entire world has fallen.
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