Is it possible that the image causes those who do not worship the image to be killed. Rev 13:15.

 A recent internet post attempted to make the argument that the image of the beast, that has been given breath, causes those who do not worship the image to be killed. My immediate reaction is that this is not right; I have never heard that the slaughter of Christ-followers is due to a direct command of the image of the beast.

If you have followed my posts for any length of time, then you know that I am willing to tell you that growing up in church I have heard many things that are wrong, but at least I am willing to tell you, and, at the same time make myself vulnerable to criticism.

In this rapidly changing world, we live in, the only way I can see an image come to life and order people to their death would be through artificial intelligence; you know, something along the lines of the Mr. Lincoln attraction at Disneyland (I say this as though most of know that the Disney engineers, built a metal frame, put a flexible skin on it that looks like images we have of President Lincoln and made it talk. It was, for a time, quite impressive.) Well, we are practically there, and the engineering is much more elaborate.

Keep in mind that if the governments are allowing you to see any aspect of advanced technology like this, then they are already years ahead of what you are seeing. I say this because, for years, we did not know there was a plane like the U2, flying at classified speeds until they had already replaced the U2 with the SR71 spy plane that could fly even faster. By the time we were aware that we had the SR71, it was on the verge of being replaced with spy satellites; at least that is what we were told. As far as the world is concerned, we, the masses, are out of the loop when it comes to the evil plans our rulers have made. Fortunately, God has shown us what they are doing in the dark.

One more thing before we jump into the passage at hand. If someone says to me, I have an image, my mind immediately thinks of a picture, perhaps even a sketch. Think about the practicality of making a sketch breath; it doesn't really work does it. So it has to be something more elaborate than a mere picture. That kind of thinking moves us into the realm of a bust of a head. Madame Tussaud's wax museum takes multiple measurements of the real person in order to make the wax image. The problem here is that the bust is of whom Allah, or perhaps the Mahdi, which Islam is expecting; then there is NOTHING on which to base this image, so the general public will be made to worship whatever they wish to make. Even Mr. Lincoln's head started as a clay bust. And thus we have things like Revelation 13.

Revelation 13:15 NASB And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

Assuming I have nothing but verse 15 to decipher what is being said, then

• I can see immediately that it is the second beast – the false prophet that gives the image breath.

• I can also determine that someone or something else is giving the false prophet this power.

• It is the breath that allows the image to speak.

  Right here is where the difficulties begin.

  Breath is the Greek word pneuma. This is the same word used for the spirit of God and/or the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:16 the pneuma descended upon Jesus; and, in John 16:13 pneuma is used in reference to the Spirit of truth, and in both instances are references to the Holy Spirit.)

  The false prophet is NOT giving this image the spirit of the living God, but perhaps he is throwing some switch that gives the image a false soul, capable of making life-changing decisions about people. Since any empowerment it has seems to be from Satan, then it is a deception at best.

• And, the verse tells me the breath was given for a purpose. That purpose is to speak, and, as the NASB states, it causes those who do not worship the image to be killed.

  The passage in the NASB, with NO punctuation, does not promote an understanding which allows me to say, it is the now speaking image that kills, therefore, it could be the false prophet that is causing those that do not worship the image to die.

  Whether the CEV is a reliable translation is debatable, even to me, but they added a period that plainly changes the meaning. Take note.

  “It was allowed to put breath into the idol, so that it could speak. Everyone who refused to worship the idol of the beast was put to death.” (Revelation 13:15 CEV)

  It is the second beast, which we know to be the false prophet that is implied to be the purveyor of death. Note the period in the sentence, this allows for a pause and a redirection of thought that tells us that everyone who refuses to worship the image was put to death. There is nothing here that tells us who is doing the killing.

  The Moffatt translation is rather reliable and it maintains that “he,” the false prophet, is the one who is doing the killing.

  “and to this statue of the Beast he was allowed to impart the breath of life, so that the statue of the Beast should actually speak. He has everyone put to death who will not worship the statue of the Beast,” (Revelation 13:15 Moffatt NT)

  The Williams translation puts Revelation 13:15 this way.

  “Permission has also been given him to impart life to the statue of the wild beast so that it can speak, and to have all who do not worship the statue of the wild beast killed.”

  When it speaks of “him” it is talking about the false prophet who gives the statue the ability to speak; and, it is the false prophet who has the non-worshipers killed.

  The problem is that most of us are still struggling with the possibility that artificial intelligence could play a role in this scenario. Many translations are very definite when they indicate that the image or idol is the one who is ordering the deaths of non-worshipers.

A good deal of information about the false prophet comes from Revelation 13 starting at verse 11.

What do we see here?

Revelation 13:11 NASB Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.

• There are two strong distinctions. For example, the harlot sits upon many waters.

  Those waters are defined as people groups, nations, rulers, and empires. In Revelation 13:1 the first beast comes up out of the sea. There is an interesting parallel between the harlot and this first beast, as the harlot rides the beast.

  And yet, the harlot has little to do with the second beast except that the second beast may play a role in the demise of the harlot, which has close ties to Israel.

• The second beast comes up out of the earth.

  I pondered this for a moment and I heard this in my spirit, this guy comes from Israel. As usual, the thought entered my head so quickly that I ignored it.

  A few minutes have passed since I started this and I decided to look at Dr. McGee's commentary. He says

"the earth is symbolic of Palestine, and it is naturally assumed that the second beast comes from Israel. He (the second beast) is a Messiah, and Israel would not accept him unless he had come from their land and was one of them."

As of 2016, the Temple Institute had such a man. His name is Rabbi Baruch Kahane and he is trained to function as the high priest in the NEW temple. He is well thought of and has no pushy ambitions of being the high priest. The most recent information on him informs us that he does not want the job.

At some point in time (1240 days into this morass called God's wrath,) a man like this will change teams and exhibit bizarre powers, just as the two witnesses had been doing.

Some examples of what the two witnesses have been doing.

“If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.”(Revelation 11:5-6 NIV)

Revelation 13:12 NASB He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.

• We are told that the second beast exercises all the power of the first.

  What witnesses do we have to go on?

"There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him." (Revelation 13:5-7 NASB)

• So this person has an arrogant mouth;

• He blasphemes God and the tabernacle;

• He makes war with the saints and overcomes them;

• And, he has authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.

These are the same things that this second beast will do. Now that means that the second beast, the false prophet, will also make war with the saints and overcome them. It doesn't matter what Islam thinks at this point, but they deem this man to be the enforcer of sharia law which is devoted to beheading infidels - those outside of Islam.

At this point, who is doing all the killing?

Well, it was the first beast but now it is the second.

This may be the time that Jesus was telling the disciples about when He said,

“For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”
(Matthew 24:21-22 NIV)

• "And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed."

This is the same beast that we saw in Revelation 13:3. Here it tells us that it appeared to be killed.

Revelation 13:3 CJB  One of the heads of the beast appeared to have received a fatal wound, but its fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed after the beast in amazement.

In a previous post, I elaborated on how the Ottoman empire, which was a Muslim empire was effectively put to death in 1924. Silenced, perhaps, as the Muslim Brotherhood emerged from the ruins; and, in 1979 we witnessed the Islamic revolution in Iran. So, this beast is quite alive.

The ten horns which you saw. Revelation 17:12-14

 In studying Revelation 17:10, we saw the term seven used multiple times about the mountain on which the harlot sits, which also represents seven kings. Those kings are the final and fourth kingdom. I realize that may be hard to grasp, but it is there in the dream statue of Nebuchadnezzar.

Everything that appears after Alexander the Great works to fulfill the fourth empire and begins with both the Ptolemaic and Seleucid empires that rose after the death of Alexander. Just because the composition changes from brass to iron only serves to modify the leadership and direction of the beast.

I tend to emphasize Islam as a leading player in the end times, but I do not exclude a majority of our global leadership. For example, suppose you per-chanced to look at an ancestral association map that includes the beginnings of America. In that case, you will observe a relatively common heritage that will take you back to the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires. Coincidence, I think not.

As we progress, we find out that there is the eighth beast, and he is one of the seven.

Revelation 17:10-12 MKJV And there are seven kings; five have fallen, and one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. (11) And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition. (12) And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have received no kingdom yet, but will receive authority as kings one hour with the beast.

Because I have pushed Islam as part of the answer, you have to ask a logical question.

When does Islam show up? 

Not until sometime around 600 A.D.

When does the Apostle John write the Revelation?

Somewhere around 95 A.D. So, John knew nothing about Islam or Mohammad as that was 500 years into the future. So Islam does not fit into the passage above.

Revelation 17:10 gave us one more massive clue as to who this king is in that it tells us that he must continue a short time. It was not that difficult to associate this "king" (king equals a dominant leader) with the antichrist or the false prophet. We assume that the antichrist reigns for at least seven years. However, Daniel 11 demonstrates that this character does not fully cooperate with the world's leaders. The ships of Kittim, which happens to be the coastal nations of the Northern and Western Mediterranean ocean, will come against him and cause him to back down; this is when we see the false prophet step in; and, though it seems as though he is following this ruler, he seems to take the lead and initiates a slaughter of anyone who demonstrates allegiance to Jesus Christ.

I hope you understand that this break in allegiance, the possible attack by the ships of "Kittim," and the entrance of the false prophet all happens at the midpoint of the seven years of God's wrath upon the earth. The wrath of God and the entry of the antichrist initiated with the removal of the church from the world.

Back to Revelation 17:11.

The beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition.

• So "the beast was."

These kings that we refer to were discussed in Daniel 11, albeit in terms that make no sense to most unless you validate them through historical accounts.

Undoubtedly, you can comprehend the range of years that they covered. https://www.faimission.org/wire/special-report-ships-of-kittim

• But "now, is NOT,"

  An obvious factor is that many of the rulers that make up the fourth beast have been defeated, displaced, and are physically gone. 

  If I was trying to focus on Islam as a motivator, I am hard-pressed to see the relationship; unless I consider that the iron legs of this statue are primarily Assyrian. 

  So, if I ask the question, what aspect of these "empires" is NOT gone, I believe the answer would be that they are descendants of Ishmael, whom God promised would also be as the sands of the sea and great nations.

  We are frequently told that a technique used to study the Bible is to let scripture interpret scripture, so here is an example of that. A passage that speaks to a powerful empire disappearing is Revelation 13:3. 

  I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. (Revelation 13:3 NLT)

  The empire that fits this description all too well is the Ottoman Empire which effectively ended November 1, 1922. The known world breathed a sigh of relief as the piracy on the Mediterranean sea and wanton slavery of its victims was rampant.

• “he is the eighth and, is of the seven, -”

  He is the eighth what, a king, an empire, or a beast? The answer is yes, and this will all become clear momentarily.

  I could take the easy way out and call him a part of the Roman Empire, merely because that is a common but misguided argument. In my opinion, this argument is irresponsible because it demonstrates that they are not willing to do the work or accept historical testimony.

  Look, according to Josephus and Tacitus, historians who documented the influence of Rome in Jerusalem during the destruction of the temple, both told us that it was Assyrian conscript troops that destroyed the temple, against orders from Titus, the Roman General.

  Because I know from Revelation 17:11 that the eighth “king” goes into perdition, then I know that he is either the antichrist or the false prophet.

  We rarely visualize the false prophet as a global leader, but there is no doubt that this persecution of Christ-followers and those who refuse to worship the beast, will lead to death. Perhaps he does have a global influence; this global power makes sense if you can see it from the perspective of an Islamic follower.

• “and, goes into perdition.”

  Verse eleven helps us to understand what this person is as it tells us that “he goes to destruction.” We religious folk consistently proclaim that there are people already in hell, with more to come. However, according to scripture, that is NOT a true statement. The only place we humans are sent to hell, up to this point, is in Revelation 19 when Jesus comes riding back to the earth to do battle. Here, only two humans are sent to the lake of fire, the beast, which is the antichrist, and the second beast, the false prophet.

  So the defining piece of information comes from Revelation 19:20 below, where we see the antichrist and the false prophet being thrown into the lake of fire.

  And the beast was seized, and with him, the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. (Revelation 19:20 NASB)

  Having had these discussions, I know that arguments will come, so I will show you the evidence.

  And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:21 NASB)

  The rest?

  All those who chose to fight with Jesus and the armies of heaven on that day. Remember, this Bible is context-oriented and the contest has, at this moment, everything to do with Jesus coming

  So where are they and what has become of them?

  They are merely sleeping in their graves.

  They have left me among the dead, and I lie like a corpse in a grave. I am forgotten, cut off from your care. (Psalms 88:5 NLT)

  The dead cannot sing praises to the LORD, for they have gone into the silence of the grave. (Psalms 115:17 NLT)

  The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing...
  (Ecclesiastes 9:5 NLT)

  Matthew 25 tells us that the nations will be gathered for the final judgment.

  All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (Matthew 25:32 NLT)

  Some will say, this passage in Matthew 25 has nothing to do with the dead; that assertion is wrong since Matthew depicts the final judgment.

  "Then he will say to those on his left (the goats,) 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
  (Matthew 25:41 NIV)

  Since we do not accept the testimony of one witness then there has to be another example from scripture, and there is, you find it in Revelation 20. Here, instead of saying nations, He calls them the dead.

  And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. (Revelation 20:11-12 NLT)

Revelation 20:15 spells out plainly, that those NOT found in the book of life are cast into the same lake of fire.

Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15 NIV)

If you are honest, then you must admit that both Matthew's account and Revelation 20 are the same scenarios just from different points of view. In one, we see God sitting on the throne, while in the other we see Jesus sitting on the throne. In one case He is the shepherd and in the other, He comes across as the ominous judge. Since Jesus told us that He and the Father are one, then it is God in both instances.

Revelation 17:12 NASB "The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.

The Greek word for an hour is hōra and can mean a limited portion of time, a season of the year, or a destined period.

If it is a destined period, who has established the time?

God.

Whether it's ten mountains or ten kings, we are being directed to the same ruling bodies. Horns emerge from these seven empires and they are ten more rulers. We know little about who these are except that they have yet to receive authority as leaders of the people for one hour. Revelation 12:3 tells us that there were seven heads but ten horns. Obviously, some of these empires have multiple rulers. Daniel chapter two is where we find the dream statue of Nebuchadnezzar. Here we have these final kings detailed as toes. Daniel 7 speaks of one of those horns, the antichrist.

“While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.”

(Daniel 7:8 NASB)

These have one purpose.

Revelation 17:13 NASB "These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.

The ten horns that emerge from the seven heads, have one purpose, to give their power to the beast.

Revelation 17:14 NASB "These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."

They give their power to the antichrist and they, in union with the antichrist, wage war against the Lamb.

When does the antichrist and these horns wage this war?

At the end of the seven years when Jesus comes back as the warring Messiah. Read Revelation 19 for the details on this war.

The ABC’s of Salvation

A stands for “admit.” We must admit that we are sinners and that we are therefore under God’s judgment.

B stands for “believe.” We must believe that God loves us in spite of our sin and that he has acted in Jesus Christ to remove sin and restore us to himself.

C stands for “commit.” This is an act of faith by which we give up trying to run our own lives and instead place ourselves in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us and rose again.