During the Great Tribulation, a powerful "image of the beast/Antichrist" will be created for humanity to worship—on penalty of death by beheading. What is it, how is it animated to seem alive and how is it connected with the abomination of desolation? Find out all that and how the leading Antichrist candidate already had an "angelic" "image" proposed in his honor with "savior of the world" written on it—a fitting caption for the future angel/human hybrid Antichrist described in Revelation given the timing of his arrival after the Wormwood cataclysm brings the end of civilization.
The Perplexing "Image of The Beast"
If you are like me, when you first read the Book of Revelation, you were left confused by most everything, including the odd phrase "the image of the beast." The image is referred to eight times throughout Revelation starting with its introduction in Chapter 13. Here are all eight of them to consider:
Revelation 13:14 (HCSB) — 14 [the False Prophet] deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that he is permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast who had the sword wound and yet lived. 15 He was permitted to give a spirit to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
Revelation 14:9-11 (HCSB) — 9 And a third angel followed them and spoke with a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, 11 and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name.
Revelation 15:2 (HCSB) — I also saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had won the victory over the beast, his image, and the number of his name, were standing on the sea of glass with harps from God.
Revelation 16:2 (HCSB) — The first [bowl angel] went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and severely painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.
Revelation 19:20 (HCSB) — But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with him the false prophet, who had performed the signs in his presence. He deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image with these signs. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
Revelation 20:4 (HCSB) — Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge. I also saw the people who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of God’s word, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with the Messiah for 1,000 years.
Worship the Talking Image—or Lose Your Head
As you can see right away, whatever the image is, it's central to the new "Antichrist religion." The False Prophet devises it as a focal point of worship. The image is always mentioned in connection with worship of the Antichrist or with possession of the mark. To worship the image is to worship the beast and to have the beast's mark is to worship the image and the beast. It's all interconnected for the proper worship of humanity's new "God" (2Th 2:4).
This worship is so important that anyone who refuses will be put to death, just the same as those refusing to receive the mark of the beast on their skin will be (Rev 20:4). What's remarkable about how this happens and with the image itself is that the image is able to talk and "tell on" those who refuse to worship it (Rev 13:15). How is this possible for an inanimate object?
Image Possessed by a Spirit
It tells us quite plainly that the False Prophet is able to give "life," "breath," "power" or a "spirit" to the image so that it can speak (Rev 13:15). The Greek word there is pneuma meaning breath, spirit from which we get the English phrase pneumatic tire or a tire filled with compressed air. Pneuma is the word used for spirits, both holy and demonic, in the NT. For this reason the HCSB translates it as follows:
Revelation 13:15 (HCSB) — He was permitted to give a spirit to the image of the beast, so that the image or statue of the beast could both speak and cause whoever would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
Quite plainly this tells us that the inanimate image gets possessed with a wicked spirit that is powerful enough to interact with its physical surroundings and speak. This is not some hi-tech trickery using holograms (as some have speculated). Technically inclined people would see right through any natural implementation. It needs to be an unprecedented supernatural event that no one can explain by natural means so that people are impressed with and convinced by their god. The modern world does not believe in or understand such things and would have to accept it as a bonafide miracle. Skeptic associations regularly offer cash rewards to anyone who will subject themselves to their rigorous tests and document that any paranormal or supernatural phenomenon is real; these prizes never get collected. Only a possessed, talking and seeing object would survive scrutiny and not be exposed as a parlor trick or fraud.
Of course, this would require a relaxing of the restrictions on wicked spirits that God has had in place throughout history so far. As hinted at in the Book of Job, without these limits Satan could easily wipe out all humans (Job 1:12; 2:6). If not that, he would deceive them so completely through supernatural displays of power that all would have stopped worshiping God ages ago. This is exactly what happens on earth during the Great Tribulation with these restrictions relaxed and the False Prophet calling down fire from heaven (Rev 13:13) and making an image come to life and speak.
Evidence Pointing to a Statue
It's hard to conceptualize this "image" idea until you decipher the meaning of the word. The Greek word there for image is eikon. Not surprisingly, as the article image has already hinted at, it is used for statues and among other things, such as pictures. Context must be considered to determine which form of an image is meant here. "Statue" fits the grammatical and historical context best which is why several translations either directly translate or at least footnote it as such (AMP, GW, HCSB, NJB, and NLT).
The MacArthur New Testament Commentary has an excellent explanation about the image as a statue:
As the power of Antichrist and the persuasiveness of the false prophet grow, Satan will escalate the false world religion of Antichrist worship. Humanity will eventually come to be so completely under the influence of the false prophet that people will obey his command to make an image to the beast. The world will engage in the most shocking, blatant idolatry ever seen. Like Nebuchadnezzar before him (Dan. 3), but on a global scale, Antichrist, aided by the false prophet, will set up a statue of himself as a symbol of his deity and worldwide worship. This blasphemous image will probably be set up on the temple grounds in Jerusalem (cf. 2 Th. 2:4) and will be connected with the abomination of desolation (Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Matt. 24:15). It will be a tribute to the awesome power of Antichrist, who had the wound of the sword and has come to life (cf. vv. 3, 12), to seemingly conquer death.
The idolatrous image of the Antichrist will be different from any other idol in human history. The Bible scornfully denounces idols as having mouths, yet being unable to speak (Ps. 115:5; 135:15–17; Isa. 46:7; Jer. 10:5; Hab. 2:18–19). But in another display of his power to deceive, the false prophet will give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak. Breath translates pneuma, not zoe or bios, the Greek words normally translated life. The false prophet will animate the image of Antichrist so that it gives the appearance of being alive. —The MacArthur New Testament Commentary
Daniel's "Abomination of Desolation"
If you have been as confused about Daniel's Abomination of Desolation as you are with the image of the beast, then you will be happy to find out that they are in fact one and the same thing: an idolatrous statue. (Idolatry is an abomination to God in the OT.) We can be sure of this because of the what we learn from the first fulfillment of the abomination by Antiochus Epiphanes IV as predicted in Daniel 11:31. This earlier, partial fulfillment illustrates for us the final, full abomination prophesied in Daniel 9:27 that the final Antichrist will do.
The End In 2026? It's Now Possible
Since learning in 2001 that Yeshua must return in a Sabbath year, I've had to rule out three Sabbath year cycle windows for the final 7 years (2003-2009, 2010-2016, 2017-2023). With the next window (2024-2030) less than 7 years away, I'm ready to share why I believe, based on the real end time sign of Mt 24:14, that this can be the one. If it is, the "birth pains" (WW3 + Wormwood, Lk 21:10-11) would hit near its middle in 2026 with Yeshua returning in 2030. Find out what's changed to convince me about 2026 and what you can do about it...
Antiochus, as a type of the Antichrist, set up a statue of Zeus or Jupiter in the Holy of Holies and caused the cessation of the animal sacrifices (Dan 11:31). The Antichrist will repeat this historical precedent by having a statue of a false god set up in the coming Third Temple in the final fulfillment of Daniel 9:27. The difference in this case is that the statue is not of Zeus, but of the Antichrist himself who, according to Paul, presents himself as God on earth and not merely as a counterfeit Jesus (2Th 2:4).
Regarding the Statue Pictured Above...
The statue pictured in the featured image for this article provides another evidence for the image of the Antichrist being a statue. It fits into this in quite a surprising way, when you analyze it in light of other details about the Antichrist from Bible prophecy.
First, some needed background. You may know that I have not been shy about sharing my view that Prince Charles is the only candidate for Antichrist found so far who fits the literal requirements of Revelation 13. That includes the many more popular recent theories about Islamic or Muslim Antichrists the basis for which ignores Revelation 13 or does not take it as literally.
Personally, I don't care who the Antichrist is or feel any need to research this topic further. In earlier stages of my research I believed that identifying him could help figure out how close we are to the end. But long ago I determined that there are much better indications on timing than speculating on the identity of the Antichrist. Also, I learned later from Scripture that God's end time prophet Elijah will lead us to God's protected place for the saints on earth before the Antichrist comes to power and before even WWIII and Wormwood. He will surely identify the Antichrist for us and lead us out of his grasp. In other words, I'm not spending effort on a question that will be answered for me and that I don’t believe would be much help at this time.
Nevertheless, despite my ambivalence, evidence for who is the Antichrist has continually fallen into my lap over the years. One of most bizarre pieces of proof is that Prince Charles has been honored with a proposal for a statue labeling him as "savior of the world." Read the news release on it from BBC News:
A giant bronze statue of Prince Charles as a winged hero "saving the world" is to become the centrepiece of a remote Amazonian town.
The Prince was presented with a model of the sculpture, which shows him with bulging muscles, pinned back ears and only a loin cloth to protect his modesty.
During his visit to Tocantins state in central Brazil the Prince was told the full size piece would be erected in a square named in his honour in the main town of Palmas.
The inscription on the statue in Brazil will honor him as "Savior of the World." - BBC News.
3 Ways Charles's Statue Literally Fits Antichrist Prophecy
As you can see in the featured image above for this article, the model of the proposed statue renders Prince Charles as a half-human, winged angel. Beyond it being the correct form of "image" (i.e., a statue) with the actual role of the Antichrist given right in the caption as savior, this image also fits further evidence that fell into my lap that Prince Charles is nephilim or angel/human hybrid.
To summarize, this statue of Prince Charles uncannily fits prophecy in three ways:
- The Antichrist will come at the 5th trumpet right after Wormwood destroys civilization from the 6th seal through 4th trumpet. Since Wormwood leaves everyone homeless, cold, starving and at the mercy of looters, this allows the Antichrist to show up as "God" (2Th 2:4) and literally save the world.
- The Antichrist will receive a statue of himself created (by the False Prophet) for the world to worship.
- The Antichrist will be a nephilim, or a human/angel hybrid, not just a regular human; otherwise he could not be tossed into the lake of fire (Rev 19:20) 1000+ years before the rest of humanity does after the Millennium (Rev 20:11-15).
Given the above, I personally find this statue to be a perfect, jaw-dropping foreshadow of Prince Charle's potential future role as the Antichrist. Suffice it to say, I cannot see another Antichrist candidate with the same quality of unforced, literal Scriptural proof pointing at him.
Of course, time will tell who the Antichrist is... or more specifically, Elijah will.
In the meantime, Jesus' advice in Luke 21:36 is a one-sentence guide for preparing yourself in the only way that matters: spiritually.
Update: "Saying That About Anyone Is Slander!"
A reader wrote the following comment in response the article above:
Tim, I think it's slanderous to label someone like Prince Charles, or even President Trump or President Obama as the Antichrist. I don't think you, me, or anyone else is qualified to decide this. This kind of speculation is hurtful. Phil
I've heard this objection a few times over the years. I don't think people saying this understand the legal definition of slander: "the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation." Slander would be, for example, to say Prince Charles was an adulterer (with Camilla) or murdered Diana. People take that seriously as possible and credible as husbands are wont to do to wives.
However, to say someone fulfills an evil character from Bible prophecy (a book I remind you most don't believe in nor have read) is a very obscure claim. You have not even actually said they did anything wrong (yet). You are saying they will do something wrong, kind of like the plot to Minority Report. Most people don't have spiritual eyes to recognize the proof for it anyway. Like this person says, it looks only like "speculation." While the public could easily entertain the idea that Prince Charles killed his wife (who became more popular than him), they can't see how he is going to become the most evil person in history one day. He seems harmless to them.
I also don't agree this is qualifies as speculation either. This is looking to the few plain Biblical parameters and what one of very few possible world leaders fit it literally without reading into the passage. Prince Charles fits not less than four literal parameters, 1) the name calculation = 666 in Hebrew and English (without forcing), 2) the beast image is pictured in his unique coat of arms 3) nephilim requirement? witnesses testify to this (who don't even know this correlation or have that agenda) 4) a proposed statue picturing him as a nephilim with the "savior of the world" label on it is an uncanny foreshadowing confirming the above and the post-Wormwood/post-civilization timing of the rise of Antichrist.
If you want to see speculation, look at the predictions for September 2017 based on turning the Revelation 12:1-5 prophecy of the sign in the sky when Mary gave birth to Jesus into a prophecy of some arbitrary unnamed end time event!