Revelation 13:14-16 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

In this commentary, we continue to talk about the False Prophet. Recall the last commentary where the power (fire descending from heaven) by which the False Prophet legitimized himself to be a true prophet of God was discussed along with other valuable information concerning this individual.

Going to the main text, verse 14 begins as it reveals that the False Prophet tricks the people of the world by performing miracles (lying signs and wonders) in the eyes of the Antichrist. It is important to note that he performs these miracles in front of the Antichrist as if to gain his approval. The verse later states that the False Prophet convinces the people of the world to make an image (idol) unto the beast or Antichrist, which died and resurrected.

In terms of building an image of the beast, recall that in previous Revelation studies Nebuchadnezzar is a type of antichrist of his time and also builds up his image in Daniel 3.

Daniel 3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

Notice that the dimensions of Nebuchadnezzar’s idol are close to 666. The Book of Zachariah presents an interesting description of the Antichrist, an idol shepherd.

Zechariah 11:17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Other versions of the Bible replace idol with idle (lazy), masking the identity of the shepherd in question. The fact that the King James Version calls this particular shepherd “idol” means that it is referring to the Antichrist, the opposite of Christ. It is also interesting that the word idol is used in front of the word shepherd, meaning that idolatry is tied to this particular shepherd, as is the Antichrist.

In terms of idolatry, we see that the Antichrist figure will be tied to the Roman Catholic Church since they are most known for their idols. A teaching from the Muslim religion is that there is an Islamic Antichrist, however, as discussed in previous commentaries about the Antichrist, it is revealed that the Antichrist will be a Syrian Jew tied religiously to the Catholic Church. That’s why both Muslims and Jews are going to accept this person. Refer to previous Revelation 13 commentaries where the origins of the Antichrist are discussed.

‘which had the wound by a sword‘

Something interesting to note is that it is a possibility that a Muslim assassin kills the Antichrist. The sword, which in actuality could be referring to a small dagger, has been attributed to Muslim terrorists (more specifically in the case of 9/11) in order to perform executions.

‘ And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.‘

The False Prophet has the power to animate the Antichrist’s image. The False Prophet is also able to cause many to receive the mark of the beast. This means the False Prophet has some secular and religious power.

‘And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast‘

This idea of animating an image is already being seen in some religions, take India and their statues drinking milk as well as the virgin statue of Mary which sheds blood tears. However, the animation of the beast’s image goes beyond these simple actions since the verse also mentions that it will be able to speak. Finally, the verse ends with an indication that whosoever does not worship this animated beast is going to be killed. Compare this to Nebuchadnezzar’s image during Daniel’s time and the opposition that is faced in current times where saints are pushed to accept the false religious system of our government.

‘the image of the beast‘

An interesting note about an image (when looking up the word in Scripture) is that it matches with a picture. We rely so much on images (computer, virtual, and television) in today’s world. Given that this passage takes place at a future time (tribulation) and that images will continue to advance, it is possible that the Antichrist will take advantage of a virtual image to set up his beast image. This is supported by verse 15 where it is both given life and able to speak. Talking computers and artificial intelligence is already being seen today so it is a possibility that the image could be a combination of these things.