Last updated on September 28, 2024
The “image of the beast” is another aspect of the beast system prophesied in the book of Revelation. It’s crucial to understand this aspect of the beast because it directly affects our spiritual life.
Moreover, it will be through the “image of the beast,” that the Little Horn (false prophet) will have the power to coerce all people into receiving the “mark of the beast”. Unless a person receives the mark of the beast, he would not be able to buy and sell.
We will cover the mark of the beast in another blog, God willing. However, in this blog, I will try to explain what the image of the beast is about.
So, what exactly is the image of the beast?
Before I answer that, let us understand what is taking place in the spiritual realm at this point.
The War In Heaven
Currently, there is a war going on in the spiritual (heavenly) realm.
The following passage is the vision of Apostle John about this war in heaven.
Revelation 12:7-8 Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough, and no longer was any place found in heaven for him and his angels. 9And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth and his angels with him.
Friends, the devil has long deceived humanity, holding us in spiritual bondage. With cunning, he and his demons have kept the world under the shadow of darkness, as foretold in the Bible.
But now, a turning point has come. The archangel Michael and his angels are triumphing in their battle against the dragon and his forces. This victory carries deep significance for us here on Earth.
Michael’s triumph is made possible through the power of the Lamb’s sacrifice and the steadfast faith of God’s people.
Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
God’s people are finally waking up to the truth that is the Spirit.
Freedom
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Moreover, freedom is the dominion of the archangel Michael. Through freedom, God empowers the archangel Michael to defeat the devil.
Due to the freedom now granted to God’s people, the devil’s once tight grip is weakening in the spiritual realm, where he and his demons once reigned supreme.
Now, the sons of God—the Elect—are emerging across the world, bringing light to a world that was once engulfed in darkness by revealing the truth.
Therefore, the appearance of the sons of God in the world will serve as a sign for us. And their appearance will indicate that the devil has been thrown out of place in the heavenly realm.
So, when we see the sons of God —The Elect— are starting to “wake up”, behold, the kingdom of God is at hand.
Moreover, this would be a clear sign for us to recognize that the Lamb has opened the first seal.
The Beast
Consequently, the beast will emerge in the world scene.
Revelation 13:1Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
When the beast appears, it will persecute God’s people and attempt to strip away our freedom, as that very freedom has contributed to the devil’s downfall in the heavenly realm.
The Kingdom of God
Furthermore, God will establish His government—the Kingdom of God—when the ten kings of the beast begin their rule on Earth.
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
The Saints on Mount Zion
In fact, the sons of God will be the people whom God will use to establish His kingdom. They are the 144,000 Israelites who will be the elect and the saints of the last days. They will ascend Mount Zion—the kingdom of God.
Revelation 14:1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
The emergence of the Little Horn
When the kingdom of God (God’s government) gains popularity, it will become a threat to the beast system.
The beast’s spiritual arm (the one world religion) will not be able to fulfill the spiritual needs of those who believe in the beast system.
As a result, the beast will suffer a “head-stroke”. The spiritual arm of the beast will dissolve and the beast will seem to have failed as a system.
However, “the beast that comes out of the earth” (Little Horn) will emerge. It will come from one of the ten horns of the first beast.
Revelation 13:11Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Moreover, the Little Horn will replace the one world religion as the beast’s new spiritual arm. Not only that, the Little Horn (the second beast) will consolidate the powers of the first beast under its rulership, thus “he exercises all the powers of the first beast”.
At first, the Little Horn religion will seem like they are part of the kingdom of God. But then it will exalt itself and will become more like a blasphemous dragon and will join itself to the first beast.
Persecution of God’s People
And since the Little Horn will become the “new” spiritual arm of the beast, it will persecute the saints who will be ruling on Mount Zion then.
The persecution of the saints is the “rebellion” that the Bible is telling us to watch out for. This is because a rebellion must occur first before the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The persecution and the “taken down” of the saints by the Little Horn will be the “signs” that it will perform for the beast.
Revelation 13:13 He performs great signs so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
By the way, a parallel prophecy about these events is written in the book of the Prophet Daniel.
Daniel 8:10 It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them.
These prophecies are about the persecution of the saints by the little horn.
However, the kingdom of God is based on spirit and truth. Because of this, the beast will not be able to overcome the saints right away.
So, unless it addresses the realities that people face in the spiritual realm, it won’t be able to completely take down the saints.
Unfortunately, the Little Horn will have members who will also look like the saints. So, by their members who resemble the saints, the Little Horn religion will also be able to host the spirits. But they are lower hosts that are subjected to the saints in the Spirit realm.
As a result, this will create a competition between the Little Horn and the kingdom of God in the spirit realm.
However, the saints who are ruling in the kingdom of God are like fortified cities in the spiritual realm. They are whom God has chosen to host the spiritual world.
Earthen Ramps
Therefore in its effort to take down the saints and to dominate the spiritual realm, the Little Horn will come up with a type of technology. This technology will help them capture people in the spiritual realm. And the technology they will use is what the Bible refers to as the “earthen ramps”.
Habakkuk 1:10 They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; by building earthen ramps they capture them.
So, instead of entering through usual “doors”, the spirits can now enter people’s spiritual houses by ways of “spiritual windows” with the help of technology.
Joel 2:9 They storm the city; they run along the wall; they climb into houses, entering through windows like thieves.
Therefore, by having the tools to enter through the “windows”, the Little Horn will be able to capture people in the spiritual realm. And it will be able to take down the saints.
As a result of the saints being taken down, “the host” will be given over to the Little Horn. And it will trample Mount Zion. God will consider this act as a complete rebellion against his will.
The Rebellion
Daniel 8:12 And in the rebellion, the host and the daily sacrifice were given over to the horn, and it flung truth to the ground and prospered in whatever it did.
Once the Little Horn has taken over “the host” from the Elect, it will then be able to create the image of the beast.
Revelation 13:14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.
The Image or Likeness
Now the “image of the beast” is the “spirit” or the likeness of the beast. The little horn will tell its members to create a likeness of the beast in the spiritual world.
So instead of “the games” people usually play in the spirit world, the Little Horn will create the ideology (likeness) of the beast in the spirit realm. Then it will force people to obey or bow down to it.
The image of the beast will be the spirit of the beast. The Little Horn will create the image of the beast in rebellion against the truth. It will create it because it opposes God’s government which is Zion.
Conclusion
The image of the beast will be the spirit of the beast. And because of its rebellion against the kingdom of God, the Little Horn will create the image of the beast.
The “image of the beast” is a phenomenon that will take place in the spiritual world.
Well, that is it for now my friends. I hope that you have learned something from this blog. In the next one, I will write about the “mark of the beast”. Until then, may God bless you!
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