*Revelation 13:14-15 / *Rev. 13:14 -
(*Image of the beast)
The "image of the beast" (Revelation 13:15) could be an android image of the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast), which the Antichrist's False Prophet (of Revelation 13:11-16, Revelation 19:20) could cause to be made after the Antichrist receives a terrible head wound (Revelation 13:3,14b). For this injury could leave the Antichrist's facial and bodily appearance permanently marred, and could render him unable to speak clearly, like someone after a bad stroke, so that the Antichrist will not want to ever appear or speak in public again.
Did you ever see that movie "Dave"? It had a President who was in a coma, so his handlers found a regular guy who looked exactly like the President, and had him be a public stand-in for the President. He was able to speak just like the President did. It could be like that with the Antichrist's image. It could be the Antichrist's "Dave", his double, which appears and speaks (Revelation 13:15) before the world instead of his wounded self. But instead of letting people think that the Antichrist's android image is the Antichrist himself, the False Prophet could tell people from the beginning that the image is not the Antichrist himself, but still fully represents him.
In Revelation 13:15 the original Greek word (pneuma: G4151) translated as "life" or "breath" can mean "spirit" in the sense of consciousness (1 Corinthians 2:11a, Luke 1:47), so that the android could appear to have a spirit, to have consciousness. The way that this could be achieved would be through the android having wireless connections to huge banks of neural-network supercomputers running highly advanced artificial intelligence software. The False Prophet could claim that the Antichrist's consciousness dwells within the android by means of the neural networks having been imprinted with the Antichrist's brain patterns. But this could be a lie, in that the android will not actually have the Antichrist's consciousness, or any true consciousness, but will only appear to have consciousness, by its being able to pass even the most stringent Turing Test. This is a test whereby one speaks with a computer and cannot tell whether or not it has consciousness, because all of its answers are the same as if it had consciousness.
But the android's "consciousness" could appear far more advanced than any human's. For it could have access to huge databases containing every fact known to man, so that the android will appear to be omniscient. In this way, it could convince the world that it is not just a machine, but a material incarnation, a machine avatar, of the true God, a literal "deus ex machina", a literal "God from a machine". And this machine "God" could boast not only of his mental powers, but also of his physical powers. For his android body could be extremely strong. And he could boast of the "immortality" of his body, which could be made of titanium covered with some practically everlasting flesh-like silicone. People could be completely awestruck by his (what they could call) "omniscient wisdom, his strength, his immortality". They could consider him more than worthy of worship by (in their words) "mere humanity, which is so mentally and physically limited, made out of mere flesh and blood, which is so weak and so mortal". The non-Christian world will actually worship the Antichrist's image (Revelation 13:15), just as it will actually worship Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) and the Antichrist (Revelation 13:4,8, Revelation 12:9).
The Antichrist's image could be placed standing in the holy place (the inner sanctum) of a future, third Jewish temple in Jerusalem, so that the image will become the abomination of desolation (of Matthew 24:15, Daniel 11:31). And to make it easy for everyone in the world to see the Antichrist's image and worship it (Revelation 13:15), it could appear on every smartphone, tablet, laptop, PC, TV, GPS navigation system, and electronic billboard at set times each day. And to make it possible for everyone to interact with it personally, it could appear as a lifelike, computer-generated image on each individual's smartphone, speaking in and understanding each individual's language, conversing with each individual with personalized messages and responses devised by supercomputers running artificial intelligence and language software.
And it could discuss with them even the most intimate details of their lives. For it could have access to huge databases compiled by the Antichrist's worldwide intelligence, law enforcement, economic, and health agencies, databases containing all of the facts about everyone: who their family and friends are, where they live and work, who their neighbors and coworkers are, how much they make, what cars and properties they own and use, where they go, where they shop, what they buy, where they eat out, what shows and videos they watch, what they read, what they say, what they post on the internet, what their health problems are, etc., so that the Antichrist's image could seem to know everything about everyone.
And the worship of the image could be connected with a daily surveillance and subjugation of everyone. For the image's supercomputers could make his image automatically appear on everyone's smartphone at set times each day to be worshipped. And smartphones contain GPS chips which can be secretly pinged remotely to determine the location of the smartphones. So when the image appears on everyone's smartphone, the image's supercomputers could ping the GPS chip of everyone's smartphone and know where everyone is.
Also, smartphones contain cameras and microphones which can be remotely opened secretly to see and hear what is going on around the smartphones at any time. So when the Antichrist's image appears on everyone's smartphone, the image's supercomputers could open the cameras and microphones of everyone's smartphone to determine what everyone is doing and saying. And the image could then demand that the individuals worship him as God, saying some set prayer of praise and adoration. And if any individual refuses, the image's supercomputers could detect his noncompliance and notify the nearest police officers of his location, and order the officers to arrest him for blasphemy and treason. He could then be given a chance to be "reformed" (in a brainwashing camp, or through physical torture, if necessary). But if he proves recalcitrant, he will be executed (Revelation 13:15) by being beheaded (Revelation 20:4).
The beheading process itself could be made into a televised and webcasted spectacle to serve not only as a dire warning to anyone thinking of refusing to worship the Antichrist's image, but also to serve as an amazingly-horrific entertainment for the masses, like how the ancient Romans made it an entertainment for the masses to gather them into the Colosseum in Rome and let them watch Christians (who would not worship Caesar) be thrown to lions and devoured alive.
Huge beheading structures could be built by which twenty "traitors" could be beheaded at one time by one fall of one blade. The "traitors" could be bound in a row along an upright "U"-shaped device with a track for a large guillotine blade which could start-out in a resting position at the top of one side of the "U". The blade could be so massive and so sharp that when it is released it will easily slice down through ten necks on one side of the "U", and then continue on by its own momentum up the other side of the "U", shearing off another ten heads. This could all happen so quickly that it will appear as if all twenty heads are struck off almost in unison, followed immediately by twenty geysers of blood rushing out from the beheaded necks for all of the Antichrist's "faithful" to gawk at and cheer over in the comfort of their own homes before their televisions and computers, or wherever they are at the time, watching the spectacle on their smartphones or tablets.
Also, immediately after the show, at the site where it took place, teams of surgeons could rush in to "harvest" all of the fresh organs and other body parts from the beheaded bodies to be used for transplants (beheading being the best way for a body to die if you want to harvest its parts). What is left of the bodies could then be stuffed in shipping containers, which, once full, could be painted black and stacked like stones into a gigantic "Black Pyramid of Death", which could eventually reach some thirty stories high and contain tens of millions of bodies. A huge plaque could be erected in front of the Pyramid which will read: "This is a monument to the shame of YHWH, who created everything to die". (Of course, the truth is that He didn't, for He created Adam and Eve immortal. It was not until they sinned that they became mortal: Genesis 2:17. And YHWH will restore immortality to Christians through Jesus Christ: Romans 6:23. Also, any such plaque would be hypocritical, for it will be the Antichrist who will have murdered the people entombed in the Pyramid of Death, not YHWH. And so it will actually be a monument to how those who hate YHWH and his wisdom love death: Proverbs 8:36b.)
Regarding the worship of the Antichrist's image, to foster a group dynamic, every neighborhood and village in the world could be ordered to create a group worship center where everyone in that neighborhood or village will have to gather together at a set time each evening to bow down and prostrate himself or herself before a life-size, lifelike image of the Antichrist, which could be a computer-generated, animated, holographic or widescreen 3D HDTV image of him clothed in beautiful golden robes and standing majestically before them (or sitting on a magnificent golden throne), and speaking computer-generated customized messages to them as a group.
This worship could be accompanied by the most beautiful symphonic music (cf. Daniel 3:5), or whatever is the most beautiful music to the local people, to help them (in the words of the Antichrist's propaganda machine) "Be uplifted into the true spirit of praise and worship of our Great Lord and Master. Praised be His Majestic Name forever and ever!", etc. And what with the wonderful music, and all of their fellow worshippers around them, and customized messages of encouragement spoken in a deep, soothing voice by a life-size, holographic or 3D HDTV image of the Antichrist to certain members of each "worship group", some people in each group could really get into the evening worship sessions, and even (in their words) "Truly feel the Living Presence of our loving God among us, loving us so tenderly, so personally! Oh, how I love Him! He is So Great!"
For example, as a worshipper named Mary, a housewife with two little children, is bowing down before the image of the Antichrist, he could speak forth to her: "Mary! Mary! My beloved handmaid! You are so precious to me, my love. You so faithfully take care of dear little Johnnie and Michelle, whom I have entrusted to you, that you might raise them up to become My servants and faithful worshippers, just as you are. How I love thee, my Mary. How I cherish thee, my precious dove!". And poor Mary could begin to cry with happiness over her dear Lord's kind words to her, not realizing that they are merely the concoction of an artificial-intelligence program running in a neural-network supercomputer down in the basement of some government building.
Also, the world's worship of the Antichrist's image (Revelation 13:15), no matter how blissful it may become for some people, and the world's worship of the Antichrist and Lucifer (Satan) the dragon (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9), will last for less than four years (Revelation 13:5, Daniel 12:11-12) before Jesus Christ returns physically from heaven and completely defeats the Antichrist and Lucifer, and the Antichrist's False Prophet (Revelation 19:20 to 20:3), and Jesus then sets up His own, 1,000-year physical kingdom on the earth with the physically resurrected Church (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29).
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(Re: How can an android be an image?) / (*Eikon)
The original Greek word (eikon: G1504) translated as the "image" of the beast (Revelation 13:15) means something made in the likeness of something else, such as the image of a man engraved on a coin (Luke 20:24). So an android made in the likeness of the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") could be referred to as an "eikon" of the Antichrist.
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(Re: Did any early church father ever use the word "android", or understand what one was?)
None used the word android, nor did they have to understand what one was. But Christians at any time in the past could understand that Revelation 13:14-15 refers to a literal image (Greek: "eikon", something made in the likeness) of the future Antichrist, which will appear to be alive, which will speak, and which people will have to worship or be killed. Christians in the past could understand this without having to know, for example, whether the image will be two-dimensional or three-dimensional (or both), or what it will be made of, or how it will be made to speak and appear to be alive. What Christian Futurism does is consider these things. And one possibility is that it will be an android.
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(Re: Or instead, what about a non-technological image, and a Pol Pot-type Antichrist?)
The irony is that technology could bring about the end of technology. For the Antichrist and his worldwide Satanist cabal could detonate nuclear bombs just outside the earth's atmosphere all around the earth, so that the nuclear bombs' intense electromagnetic bursts in a mere instant will fry all of the electrical components in all orbiting satellites, and in all power stations, electrical-distribution systems, telephone systems, cable systems, factories, cars, trucks, tractors, smartphones, tablets, laptops, PCs, and every other (non-fiber-optic) electrical device on the surface of the earth.
This would suddenly send mankind, in effect, back to the nineteenth century. The Antichrist could then arise on the world stage and declare himself initially as like a global Pol Pot, or a most-extreme environmentalist (that is, wanting to completely forestall any further global warming), by sending the world (as he could say) "back to the land", "back to unity with Gaia", back to a completely natural, pastoral civilization And the Antichrist would not need any advanced surveillance technology to monitor and subjugate everyone on the earth, just as Stalin did not need any advanced surveillance technology to monitor and subjugate everyone in the USSR and eastern Europe. For dictatorships (not to mention democracies) can secretly set up human-based "security" services which are able to surveil, infiltrate, bully, bribe, and misinform the masses into complete submission.
But this can happen only so long as a nation's lawmakers are willing to cotton to the tyranny of these "security" services, and make what they do "legal". The Stasi comes to mind. That is, even East Germany was called the German Democratic Republic. And no doubt its legislature fully believed that the Stasi's total surveillance of everyone in East Germany was completely necessary for its "national security".
Similarly, the U.S.'s current Security State, also called the Deep State, thinks that its current, continuous surveillance of everyone is protecting "national security". But what it has actually done is set everything up for the future Antichrist's total surveillance and subjugation of everyone (Revelation 13:7-18).
(See also sections 7-13 of Luke 22:36b above. And see the "Cabal" section of Revelation 13:5 above)
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(Re: Is the image "to" the beast, and not "of" the beast?)
In the original Greek of Revelation 13:14 the direct article ("the") in "image the beast" is in the dative case, so that it can be translated as image "to" the beast. But in Revelation 13:15 the direct article in "image the beast" is in the genitive case, so that it can be translated as image "of" the beast. So the image can be both to the beast and of the beast. What "to" the beast could mean is that the Antichrist's perfect image will be fashioned and presented by the world "to" the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) as a way to show him honor.
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(Re: Revelation 13:14a: "those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast")
This, like Revelation 19:20's "before him", could mean that the future, False Prophet will have power to perform miracles only while in the physical presence of the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast"). What could happen is that a secretly-apostate pope (i.e. the False Prophet) who has never performed a miracle will tour the world calling for peace between Christians and Muslims, and between Buddhists and Muslims (such as in Myanmar), playing down the unique claims of Biblical Christianity (Galatians 1:8-9, John 14:6, John 3:36, Acts 4:12). He could then later be invited to meet with the Antichrist. And during their meeting, which could be televised and webcasted live worldwide, he could suddenly have the power to perform miracles, such as healing a crippled child (with feet deformed by an accident while she was an infant), so that she can walk again; or causing a man blind in both eyes with cataracts, so that he can see again. The live-TV cameras could zoom in on the child's deformed feet as they miraculously change shape into being normal. And the cameras could zoom in on the man's eyes, whitened by cataracts, as they miraculously change color into being normal.
For Biblical Christians, this could announce the arrival of the False Prophet into the world. For his doctrine will contradict the Bible. That is why even though he will appear to the world like a wonderful, peaceful lamb, his speech (for Biblical Christians) will be like that of a dragon (Revelation 13:11), meaning like that of the dragon Satan himself (Revelation 12:9).
(See also Revelation 13:13 and Revelation 13:4 above)
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*Revelation 13:15b / *Rev. 13:15b -
(Worship the image)
(Re: What could this "worship" entail in practice, and how could it be enforced?)
What the False Prophet could mandate is that the Antichrist's image be worshipped five times a day at set times, and for five minutes each time, and that at those times everyone will have to bow at their waist before his image, then get down on their knees before it, and then bow down until their forehead touches the ground. And then they could be required to stand back up and do all of that over again, three times in a row, while they chant some prayer like: "Oh, our mighty Lord, we adore thee, our God. You are magnificent, our wonderful Master. How we worship thee in thy excellent wisdom", etc.
And the Antichrist's police could have ubiquitous surveillance cameras linked to computers which will be able to determine if a worshipper is actually bowing at the waist, then actually kneeling, then actually bowing down with his forehead to the ground. Today, computers have already been programmed to be able to determine the bodily positions of people simply by looking at them through a camera. Also, computers can already determine facial expressions and voice patterns. So the Antichrist's computers will be able to make sure not only that everyone is worshipping his image with the proper positions and words, but that they are also doing so in (what could be called) "the proper spirit of adoration", instead of with resentment, with clenched teeth and hands, and angrily-squinted eyes and an anger-strained voice.
If an individual misses a set worship time, or worships in an improper manner, the computers could notify patrolling police officers to immediately visit the home, workplace, or school of the individual and interrogate him or her to determine "the status of their loyalty to the World Emperor". If the interrogation suggests that their loyalty is wavering, they could be taken down to a "security center" where their brains will be PET-scanned while images of the Antichrist, their children, puppies, etc., flash on a screen in front of them. If when images of the Antichrist appear, certain parts of their brain light up which are connected with "negative emotions", they could then be placed in psychiatric centers where they will be "counseled" (and drugged) until they are able "to overcome their irrational hostility toward our Beloved Savior (the Antichrist)".
The "most hopeless" cases could be given shock treatments and radical lobotomies, and released back into the world once they have shown themselves to be "cured", and totally and properly compliant toward the worship of the Antichrist's image.
But, of course, there will still be some "utterly incurable" cases, such as faithful Biblical Christians, who will "regrettably" have to be beheaded (Revelation 20:4), so that their "mental illness" does not spread to others.
It is remarkable how young people today have already been groomed into accepting pure "groupthink" in their schools and universities. Anyone who violates speech codes or thought codes (which enforce a Satanic "political correctness") is utterly rejected, and even expelled. It's like those millions of young people in China during the Cultural Revolution who were brainwashed by Mao into believing everything that he said, and into exposing to authorities anyone, even their own parents, if they showed any sign of non-acceptance of the thought-norms imposed on them by their "Great Leader".
Also, the "Great Socialist Cultural Revolution" in China encouraged young people to even physically attack others who did not accept the mandated groupthink. This is reoccurring today, with groups like Antifa employing violence to squelch the voices of those they disagree with. And even Socialism itself is now being sold in the U.S. as the only "just" economic option for Millennials to accept, so that even the Democratic party is now losing Congressional primary races to young (i.e. ignorant-of-history) Socialists rising within its ranks.
Oh, how Mao would have loved today's young people, with their heads bowed down continually in worship of their smartphones. For he could have made his Little Red Book the only content available for them to read on their smartphones; just as all of the huge (leftist) social media companies today are deleting any accounts which dare oppose any aspect of "political correctness", so that young people today have no idea that there is any possible alternative, and so they can be trained to violently reject any alternative as utterly evil.
Oh, what a generation perfectly groomed to accept the future Antichrist's deception, and to gladly kill anyone who opposes it (Matthew 24:9-13)!
(See also sections 2-4 of Romans 1:26 above. And see Mark 13:9 and Matthew 24:9 above)
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(Re: Regarding the section above, where do you get the idea of "ubiquitous surveillance cameras"?)
People are already bringing "smart speakers" and tabletop "home security" devices into their homes which are fitted with cameras and microphones which are continually connected to the internet. People accept this for the sake of "convenience" and "safety", even though these devices' cameras and microphones can be continually tapped by government surveillance agencies, by the corporations connected with the devices, and by hackers.
(See also sections 8-10 of Luke 22:36b above)
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(Re: *Surviving not worshipping the image)
Revelation 13:15b does not mean that all Biblical Christians who will still be on the earth at that time will be killed, but as many Biblical Christians as the Antichrist's forces can get their hands on. For other Bible verses show that the Antichrist's forces will not be able to get their hands on every Biblical Christian (Revelation 12:6,14-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:17), or even on every non-Christian elect Jew (Romans 11:25-29, Zechariah 12:10-14), either because they will be in hiding, or because they will be under the protection of God's future, Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:3,5).
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(Re: Does the original Greek word for "as many as" in Revelation 13:15 mean no exceptions?)
No, for the same original Greek word (hosos: G3745) is used in Mark 3:28, despite there being an exception in Mark 3:29.
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(Re: Do the remaining verses in Revelation 13 after verse 15 make clear that without the mark, no one can buy or sell, which would include food?)
Yes, but the Biblical Christians represented by the woman in Revelation 12 will still have food (Revelation 12:6).
(See Revelation 12(space) and Isaiah 26:19 above)
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(Re: In Revelation 13:15b, is it the False Prophet or the image, or both, which will cause as many as will not worship the image to be killed?)
It cannot be both. For in the original Greek the verb (poieo: G4160) translated as "cause" is in the singular number: only a single entity will cause as many as will not worship the image to be killed. The NIV has it so that it is the image which will cause as many as will not worship it to be killed. But the KJV and the original Greek leave it open, so that it could be the False Prophet who will "have power" to give the image the ability to speak, and also the False Prophet who will "have power" to cause as many as will not worship the image to be killed.
But if the image is controlled by supercomputers running highly advanced artificial intelligence software, the False Prophet could cause as many as will not worship the image to be killed only in an indirect way, by being the one who will have power to order the programmers of the image's supercomputers to give the image the ability to directly cause as many as will not worship it to be killed. For example, it could be the image's own supercomputers which will determine who is to be executed, when, and where. And it could be the image's own supercomputers which will send out the blade-release signals to the guillotines.
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(*Should be killed)
In Revelation 13:15 the original Greek verb (apokteino: G0615) translated as "should be killed" is in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood, neither of which contains the moral sense of the English phrase "should be", such as in: "You should be taking care of your elderly mother". For the subjunctive mood is simply: "the mood of possibility and potentiality. The action described may or may not occur, depending upon circumstances" (blueletterbible.org). An example would be the English phrase: "If any of our soldiers should be killed or wounded in the battle, we have evacuation helicopters at the stand-by". In the case of Revelation 13:15 the circumstance required for people to be killed will be them not worshipping the image of the beast.
So Revelation 13:15 can be read as follows: "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed".
Similarly, in Revelation 6:11 the English phrase "should be killed" is a translation of two original Greek words: mello (G3195), and apokteino (G0615). "Mello" can be translated as "about", as in referring to something "about" to happen (Acts 3:3). And "apokteino" is in a tense and mood translated literally as "to be killed". So in Revelation 6:11 the original Greek phrase translated as "should be killed" can mean "about to be killed".
Also, in Revelation 6:11 the original Greek verb (pleroo: G4137) translated as "should be fulfilled" is in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood, which, as we saw above with regard to Revelation 13:15, carries no moral sense, but only a conditional one. In this case, the condition of the fulfillment is the passage of a certain amount of time, the "little season" of Revelation 6:11.
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Next entry / Prior / Table of Contents
Nov 6, 2018
(*Image of the beast)
The "image of the beast" (Revelation 13:15) could be an android image of the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast), which the Antichrist's False Prophet (of Revelation 13:11-16, Revelation 19:20) could cause to be made after the Antichrist receives a terrible head wound (Revelation 13:3,14b). For this injury could leave the Antichrist's facial and bodily appearance permanently marred, and could render him unable to speak clearly, like someone after a bad stroke, so that the Antichrist will not want to ever appear or speak in public again.
Did you ever see that movie "Dave"? It had a President who was in a coma, so his handlers found a regular guy who looked exactly like the President, and had him be a public stand-in for the President. He was able to speak just like the President did. It could be like that with the Antichrist's image. It could be the Antichrist's "Dave", his double, which appears and speaks (Revelation 13:15) before the world instead of his wounded self. But instead of letting people think that the Antichrist's android image is the Antichrist himself, the False Prophet could tell people from the beginning that the image is not the Antichrist himself, but still fully represents him.
In Revelation 13:15 the original Greek word (pneuma: G4151) translated as "life" or "breath" can mean "spirit" in the sense of consciousness (1 Corinthians 2:11a, Luke 1:47), so that the android could appear to have a spirit, to have consciousness. The way that this could be achieved would be through the android having wireless connections to huge banks of neural-network supercomputers running highly advanced artificial intelligence software. The False Prophet could claim that the Antichrist's consciousness dwells within the android by means of the neural networks having been imprinted with the Antichrist's brain patterns. But this could be a lie, in that the android will not actually have the Antichrist's consciousness, or any true consciousness, but will only appear to have consciousness, by its being able to pass even the most stringent Turing Test. This is a test whereby one speaks with a computer and cannot tell whether or not it has consciousness, because all of its answers are the same as if it had consciousness.
But the android's "consciousness" could appear far more advanced than any human's. For it could have access to huge databases containing every fact known to man, so that the android will appear to be omniscient. In this way, it could convince the world that it is not just a machine, but a material incarnation, a machine avatar, of the true God, a literal "deus ex machina", a literal "God from a machine". And this machine "God" could boast not only of his mental powers, but also of his physical powers. For his android body could be extremely strong. And he could boast of the "immortality" of his body, which could be made of titanium covered with some practically everlasting flesh-like silicone. People could be completely awestruck by his (what they could call) "omniscient wisdom, his strength, his immortality". They could consider him more than worthy of worship by (in their words) "mere humanity, which is so mentally and physically limited, made out of mere flesh and blood, which is so weak and so mortal". The non-Christian world will actually worship the Antichrist's image (Revelation 13:15), just as it will actually worship Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) and the Antichrist (Revelation 13:4,8, Revelation 12:9).
The Antichrist's image could be placed standing in the holy place (the inner sanctum) of a future, third Jewish temple in Jerusalem, so that the image will become the abomination of desolation (of Matthew 24:15, Daniel 11:31). And to make it easy for everyone in the world to see the Antichrist's image and worship it (Revelation 13:15), it could appear on every smartphone, tablet, laptop, PC, TV, GPS navigation system, and electronic billboard at set times each day. And to make it possible for everyone to interact with it personally, it could appear as a lifelike, computer-generated image on each individual's smartphone, speaking in and understanding each individual's language, conversing with each individual with personalized messages and responses devised by supercomputers running artificial intelligence and language software.
And it could discuss with them even the most intimate details of their lives. For it could have access to huge databases compiled by the Antichrist's worldwide intelligence, law enforcement, economic, and health agencies, databases containing all of the facts about everyone: who their family and friends are, where they live and work, who their neighbors and coworkers are, how much they make, what cars and properties they own and use, where they go, where they shop, what they buy, where they eat out, what shows and videos they watch, what they read, what they say, what they post on the internet, what their health problems are, etc., so that the Antichrist's image could seem to know everything about everyone.
And the worship of the image could be connected with a daily surveillance and subjugation of everyone. For the image's supercomputers could make his image automatically appear on everyone's smartphone at set times each day to be worshipped. And smartphones contain GPS chips which can be secretly pinged remotely to determine the location of the smartphones. So when the image appears on everyone's smartphone, the image's supercomputers could ping the GPS chip of everyone's smartphone and know where everyone is.
Also, smartphones contain cameras and microphones which can be remotely opened secretly to see and hear what is going on around the smartphones at any time. So when the Antichrist's image appears on everyone's smartphone, the image's supercomputers could open the cameras and microphones of everyone's smartphone to determine what everyone is doing and saying. And the image could then demand that the individuals worship him as God, saying some set prayer of praise and adoration. And if any individual refuses, the image's supercomputers could detect his noncompliance and notify the nearest police officers of his location, and order the officers to arrest him for blasphemy and treason. He could then be given a chance to be "reformed" (in a brainwashing camp, or through physical torture, if necessary). But if he proves recalcitrant, he will be executed (Revelation 13:15) by being beheaded (Revelation 20:4).
The beheading process itself could be made into a televised and webcasted spectacle to serve not only as a dire warning to anyone thinking of refusing to worship the Antichrist's image, but also to serve as an amazingly-horrific entertainment for the masses, like how the ancient Romans made it an entertainment for the masses to gather them into the Colosseum in Rome and let them watch Christians (who would not worship Caesar) be thrown to lions and devoured alive.
Huge beheading structures could be built by which twenty "traitors" could be beheaded at one time by one fall of one blade. The "traitors" could be bound in a row along an upright "U"-shaped device with a track for a large guillotine blade which could start-out in a resting position at the top of one side of the "U". The blade could be so massive and so sharp that when it is released it will easily slice down through ten necks on one side of the "U", and then continue on by its own momentum up the other side of the "U", shearing off another ten heads. This could all happen so quickly that it will appear as if all twenty heads are struck off almost in unison, followed immediately by twenty geysers of blood rushing out from the beheaded necks for all of the Antichrist's "faithful" to gawk at and cheer over in the comfort of their own homes before their televisions and computers, or wherever they are at the time, watching the spectacle on their smartphones or tablets.
Also, immediately after the show, at the site where it took place, teams of surgeons could rush in to "harvest" all of the fresh organs and other body parts from the beheaded bodies to be used for transplants (beheading being the best way for a body to die if you want to harvest its parts). What is left of the bodies could then be stuffed in shipping containers, which, once full, could be painted black and stacked like stones into a gigantic "Black Pyramid of Death", which could eventually reach some thirty stories high and contain tens of millions of bodies. A huge plaque could be erected in front of the Pyramid which will read: "This is a monument to the shame of YHWH, who created everything to die". (Of course, the truth is that He didn't, for He created Adam and Eve immortal. It was not until they sinned that they became mortal: Genesis 2:17. And YHWH will restore immortality to Christians through Jesus Christ: Romans 6:23. Also, any such plaque would be hypocritical, for it will be the Antichrist who will have murdered the people entombed in the Pyramid of Death, not YHWH. And so it will actually be a monument to how those who hate YHWH and his wisdom love death: Proverbs 8:36b.)
Regarding the worship of the Antichrist's image, to foster a group dynamic, every neighborhood and village in the world could be ordered to create a group worship center where everyone in that neighborhood or village will have to gather together at a set time each evening to bow down and prostrate himself or herself before a life-size, lifelike image of the Antichrist, which could be a computer-generated, animated, holographic or widescreen 3D HDTV image of him clothed in beautiful golden robes and standing majestically before them (or sitting on a magnificent golden throne), and speaking computer-generated customized messages to them as a group.
This worship could be accompanied by the most beautiful symphonic music (cf. Daniel 3:5), or whatever is the most beautiful music to the local people, to help them (in the words of the Antichrist's propaganda machine) "Be uplifted into the true spirit of praise and worship of our Great Lord and Master. Praised be His Majestic Name forever and ever!", etc. And what with the wonderful music, and all of their fellow worshippers around them, and customized messages of encouragement spoken in a deep, soothing voice by a life-size, holographic or 3D HDTV image of the Antichrist to certain members of each "worship group", some people in each group could really get into the evening worship sessions, and even (in their words) "Truly feel the Living Presence of our loving God among us, loving us so tenderly, so personally! Oh, how I love Him! He is So Great!"
For example, as a worshipper named Mary, a housewife with two little children, is bowing down before the image of the Antichrist, he could speak forth to her: "Mary! Mary! My beloved handmaid! You are so precious to me, my love. You so faithfully take care of dear little Johnnie and Michelle, whom I have entrusted to you, that you might raise them up to become My servants and faithful worshippers, just as you are. How I love thee, my Mary. How I cherish thee, my precious dove!". And poor Mary could begin to cry with happiness over her dear Lord's kind words to her, not realizing that they are merely the concoction of an artificial-intelligence program running in a neural-network supercomputer down in the basement of some government building.
Also, the world's worship of the Antichrist's image (Revelation 13:15), no matter how blissful it may become for some people, and the world's worship of the Antichrist and Lucifer (Satan) the dragon (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9), will last for less than four years (Revelation 13:5, Daniel 12:11-12) before Jesus Christ returns physically from heaven and completely defeats the Antichrist and Lucifer, and the Antichrist's False Prophet (Revelation 19:20 to 20:3), and Jesus then sets up His own, 1,000-year physical kingdom on the earth with the physically resurrected Church (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29).
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(Re: How can an android be an image?) / (*Eikon)
The original Greek word (eikon: G1504) translated as the "image" of the beast (Revelation 13:15) means something made in the likeness of something else, such as the image of a man engraved on a coin (Luke 20:24). So an android made in the likeness of the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") could be referred to as an "eikon" of the Antichrist.
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(Re: Did any early church father ever use the word "android", or understand what one was?)
None used the word android, nor did they have to understand what one was. But Christians at any time in the past could understand that Revelation 13:14-15 refers to a literal image (Greek: "eikon", something made in the likeness) of the future Antichrist, which will appear to be alive, which will speak, and which people will have to worship or be killed. Christians in the past could understand this without having to know, for example, whether the image will be two-dimensional or three-dimensional (or both), or what it will be made of, or how it will be made to speak and appear to be alive. What Christian Futurism does is consider these things. And one possibility is that it will be an android.
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(Re: Or instead, what about a non-technological image, and a Pol Pot-type Antichrist?)
The irony is that technology could bring about the end of technology. For the Antichrist and his worldwide Satanist cabal could detonate nuclear bombs just outside the earth's atmosphere all around the earth, so that the nuclear bombs' intense electromagnetic bursts in a mere instant will fry all of the electrical components in all orbiting satellites, and in all power stations, electrical-distribution systems, telephone systems, cable systems, factories, cars, trucks, tractors, smartphones, tablets, laptops, PCs, and every other (non-fiber-optic) electrical device on the surface of the earth.
This would suddenly send mankind, in effect, back to the nineteenth century. The Antichrist could then arise on the world stage and declare himself initially as like a global Pol Pot, or a most-extreme environmentalist (that is, wanting to completely forestall any further global warming), by sending the world (as he could say) "back to the land", "back to unity with Gaia", back to a completely natural, pastoral civilization And the Antichrist would not need any advanced surveillance technology to monitor and subjugate everyone on the earth, just as Stalin did not need any advanced surveillance technology to monitor and subjugate everyone in the USSR and eastern Europe. For dictatorships (not to mention democracies) can secretly set up human-based "security" services which are able to surveil, infiltrate, bully, bribe, and misinform the masses into complete submission.
But this can happen only so long as a nation's lawmakers are willing to cotton to the tyranny of these "security" services, and make what they do "legal". The Stasi comes to mind. That is, even East Germany was called the German Democratic Republic. And no doubt its legislature fully believed that the Stasi's total surveillance of everyone in East Germany was completely necessary for its "national security".
Similarly, the U.S.'s current Security State, also called the Deep State, thinks that its current, continuous surveillance of everyone is protecting "national security". But what it has actually done is set everything up for the future Antichrist's total surveillance and subjugation of everyone (Revelation 13:7-18).
(See also sections 7-13 of Luke 22:36b above. And see the "Cabal" section of Revelation 13:5 above)
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(Re: Is the image "to" the beast, and not "of" the beast?)
In the original Greek of Revelation 13:14 the direct article ("the") in "image the beast" is in the dative case, so that it can be translated as image "to" the beast. But in Revelation 13:15 the direct article in "image the beast" is in the genitive case, so that it can be translated as image "of" the beast. So the image can be both to the beast and of the beast. What "to" the beast could mean is that the Antichrist's perfect image will be fashioned and presented by the world "to" the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) as a way to show him honor.
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(Re: Revelation 13:14a: "those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast")
This, like Revelation 19:20's "before him", could mean that the future, False Prophet will have power to perform miracles only while in the physical presence of the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast"). What could happen is that a secretly-apostate pope (i.e. the False Prophet) who has never performed a miracle will tour the world calling for peace between Christians and Muslims, and between Buddhists and Muslims (such as in Myanmar), playing down the unique claims of Biblical Christianity (Galatians 1:8-9, John 14:6, John 3:36, Acts 4:12). He could then later be invited to meet with the Antichrist. And during their meeting, which could be televised and webcasted live worldwide, he could suddenly have the power to perform miracles, such as healing a crippled child (with feet deformed by an accident while she was an infant), so that she can walk again; or causing a man blind in both eyes with cataracts, so that he can see again. The live-TV cameras could zoom in on the child's deformed feet as they miraculously change shape into being normal. And the cameras could zoom in on the man's eyes, whitened by cataracts, as they miraculously change color into being normal.
For Biblical Christians, this could announce the arrival of the False Prophet into the world. For his doctrine will contradict the Bible. That is why even though he will appear to the world like a wonderful, peaceful lamb, his speech (for Biblical Christians) will be like that of a dragon (Revelation 13:11), meaning like that of the dragon Satan himself (Revelation 12:9).
(See also Revelation 13:13 and Revelation 13:4 above)
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*Revelation 13:15b / *Rev. 13:15b -
(Worship the image)
(Re: What could this "worship" entail in practice, and how could it be enforced?)
What the False Prophet could mandate is that the Antichrist's image be worshipped five times a day at set times, and for five minutes each time, and that at those times everyone will have to bow at their waist before his image, then get down on their knees before it, and then bow down until their forehead touches the ground. And then they could be required to stand back up and do all of that over again, three times in a row, while they chant some prayer like: "Oh, our mighty Lord, we adore thee, our God. You are magnificent, our wonderful Master. How we worship thee in thy excellent wisdom", etc.
And the Antichrist's police could have ubiquitous surveillance cameras linked to computers which will be able to determine if a worshipper is actually bowing at the waist, then actually kneeling, then actually bowing down with his forehead to the ground. Today, computers have already been programmed to be able to determine the bodily positions of people simply by looking at them through a camera. Also, computers can already determine facial expressions and voice patterns. So the Antichrist's computers will be able to make sure not only that everyone is worshipping his image with the proper positions and words, but that they are also doing so in (what could be called) "the proper spirit of adoration", instead of with resentment, with clenched teeth and hands, and angrily-squinted eyes and an anger-strained voice.
If an individual misses a set worship time, or worships in an improper manner, the computers could notify patrolling police officers to immediately visit the home, workplace, or school of the individual and interrogate him or her to determine "the status of their loyalty to the World Emperor". If the interrogation suggests that their loyalty is wavering, they could be taken down to a "security center" where their brains will be PET-scanned while images of the Antichrist, their children, puppies, etc., flash on a screen in front of them. If when images of the Antichrist appear, certain parts of their brain light up which are connected with "negative emotions", they could then be placed in psychiatric centers where they will be "counseled" (and drugged) until they are able "to overcome their irrational hostility toward our Beloved Savior (the Antichrist)".
The "most hopeless" cases could be given shock treatments and radical lobotomies, and released back into the world once they have shown themselves to be "cured", and totally and properly compliant toward the worship of the Antichrist's image.
But, of course, there will still be some "utterly incurable" cases, such as faithful Biblical Christians, who will "regrettably" have to be beheaded (Revelation 20:4), so that their "mental illness" does not spread to others.
It is remarkable how young people today have already been groomed into accepting pure "groupthink" in their schools and universities. Anyone who violates speech codes or thought codes (which enforce a Satanic "political correctness") is utterly rejected, and even expelled. It's like those millions of young people in China during the Cultural Revolution who were brainwashed by Mao into believing everything that he said, and into exposing to authorities anyone, even their own parents, if they showed any sign of non-acceptance of the thought-norms imposed on them by their "Great Leader".
Also, the "Great Socialist Cultural Revolution" in China encouraged young people to even physically attack others who did not accept the mandated groupthink. This is reoccurring today, with groups like Antifa employing violence to squelch the voices of those they disagree with. And even Socialism itself is now being sold in the U.S. as the only "just" economic option for Millennials to accept, so that even the Democratic party is now losing Congressional primary races to young (i.e. ignorant-of-history) Socialists rising within its ranks.
Oh, how Mao would have loved today's young people, with their heads bowed down continually in worship of their smartphones. For he could have made his Little Red Book the only content available for them to read on their smartphones; just as all of the huge (leftist) social media companies today are deleting any accounts which dare oppose any aspect of "political correctness", so that young people today have no idea that there is any possible alternative, and so they can be trained to violently reject any alternative as utterly evil.
Oh, what a generation perfectly groomed to accept the future Antichrist's deception, and to gladly kill anyone who opposes it (Matthew 24:9-13)!
(See also sections 2-4 of Romans 1:26 above. And see Mark 13:9 and Matthew 24:9 above)
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(Re: Regarding the section above, where do you get the idea of "ubiquitous surveillance cameras"?)
People are already bringing "smart speakers" and tabletop "home security" devices into their homes which are fitted with cameras and microphones which are continually connected to the internet. People accept this for the sake of "convenience" and "safety", even though these devices' cameras and microphones can be continually tapped by government surveillance agencies, by the corporations connected with the devices, and by hackers.
(See also sections 8-10 of Luke 22:36b above)
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(Re: *Surviving not worshipping the image)
Revelation 13:15b does not mean that all Biblical Christians who will still be on the earth at that time will be killed, but as many Biblical Christians as the Antichrist's forces can get their hands on. For other Bible verses show that the Antichrist's forces will not be able to get their hands on every Biblical Christian (Revelation 12:6,14-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:17), or even on every non-Christian elect Jew (Romans 11:25-29, Zechariah 12:10-14), either because they will be in hiding, or because they will be under the protection of God's future, Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:3,5).
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(Re: Does the original Greek word for "as many as" in Revelation 13:15 mean no exceptions?)
No, for the same original Greek word (hosos: G3745) is used in Mark 3:28, despite there being an exception in Mark 3:29.
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(Re: Do the remaining verses in Revelation 13 after verse 15 make clear that without the mark, no one can buy or sell, which would include food?)
Yes, but the Biblical Christians represented by the woman in Revelation 12 will still have food (Revelation 12:6).
(See Revelation 12(space) and Isaiah 26:19 above)
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(Re: In Revelation 13:15b, is it the False Prophet or the image, or both, which will cause as many as will not worship the image to be killed?)
It cannot be both. For in the original Greek the verb (poieo: G4160) translated as "cause" is in the singular number: only a single entity will cause as many as will not worship the image to be killed. The NIV has it so that it is the image which will cause as many as will not worship it to be killed. But the KJV and the original Greek leave it open, so that it could be the False Prophet who will "have power" to give the image the ability to speak, and also the False Prophet who will "have power" to cause as many as will not worship the image to be killed.
But if the image is controlled by supercomputers running highly advanced artificial intelligence software, the False Prophet could cause as many as will not worship the image to be killed only in an indirect way, by being the one who will have power to order the programmers of the image's supercomputers to give the image the ability to directly cause as many as will not worship it to be killed. For example, it could be the image's own supercomputers which will determine who is to be executed, when, and where. And it could be the image's own supercomputers which will send out the blade-release signals to the guillotines.
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(*Should be killed)
In Revelation 13:15 the original Greek verb (apokteino: G0615) translated as "should be killed" is in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood, neither of which contains the moral sense of the English phrase "should be", such as in: "You should be taking care of your elderly mother". For the subjunctive mood is simply: "the mood of possibility and potentiality. The action described may or may not occur, depending upon circumstances" (blueletterbible.org). An example would be the English phrase: "If any of our soldiers should be killed or wounded in the battle, we have evacuation helicopters at the stand-by". In the case of Revelation 13:15 the circumstance required for people to be killed will be them not worshipping the image of the beast.
So Revelation 13:15 can be read as follows: "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed".
Similarly, in Revelation 6:11 the English phrase "should be killed" is a translation of two original Greek words: mello (G3195), and apokteino (G0615). "Mello" can be translated as "about", as in referring to something "about" to happen (Acts 3:3). And "apokteino" is in a tense and mood translated literally as "to be killed". So in Revelation 6:11 the original Greek phrase translated as "should be killed" can mean "about to be killed".
Also, in Revelation 6:11 the original Greek verb (pleroo: G4137) translated as "should be fulfilled" is in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood, which, as we saw above with regard to Revelation 13:15, carries no moral sense, but only a conditional one. In this case, the condition of the fulfillment is the passage of a certain amount of time, the "little season" of Revelation 6:11.
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