And he [the land beast] was permitted to give breath to the image of the beast, in order that the image of the beast might speak and might cause whoever does not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Rev. 13:15.
Have you ever heard people say that you look like your mother, or that one of your brothers or sisters strongly resembles your father? People who sit around examining baby books often exclaim over the similarity between one generation and another.
"Look who got Momma's nose!"
"Yeah, but notice who passed the dimple on!"
"I always wondered where the curly hair and the green eyes came from!"
Look-alikes are basic to the movie industry, and the Internet is full of advertisements for celebrity doubles and impersonators to cover any occasion. Saddam Hussein was known to have many doubles for security. The comedy film Dave explores what might happen if the president quietly had a stroke in the back room while a security look-alike was waving to the crowd. Power-hungry subordinates keep up the sham that the president is fine, all the while finding the double hilariously uncontrollable. This is nothing new. Charlie Chaplin look-alike contests were popular as far back as 1915. (Charlie himself failed to make the finals in one of them. How's that for an identity crisis!)
The image of the beast is a puzzling symbol of an enemy who at the end of time will powerfully impersonate the sea beast of Revelation 13. Part of a pattern of deception, this image of the beast comes to life and seeks to convince the world that the beast is alive and well, even though out of sight (Rev. 13:12). The key to the deception is likeness--if the image did not look like the beast, the deception could not occur.
Whom do you look like? Can the people with whom you interact tell who your Father is? Do you have the mannerisms of your Brother? Do your reactions to difficult situations remind people of the Lamb or of the Beast? Whom do people think of when they really get to know you? Do you have your Father's eyes?
Should you not be proud of your image, ponder how you spend your time. By beholding we all become changed. If the major focus of the day is to follow the hottest celebrity, or download the latest hit song, or see the latest show, you are becoming a "look-alike" whether you know it or not. But here's the good news: While we had no control over our appearance in baby pictures, in the spiritual realm we get to decide whom we look like.
Lord, I choose to become more and more like You. Help me to see through the deceptive alternatives today.
Have you ever heard people say that you look like your mother, or that one of your brothers or sisters strongly resembles your father? People who sit around examining baby books often exclaim over the similarity between one generation and another.
"Look who got Momma's nose!"
"Yeah, but notice who passed the dimple on!"
"I always wondered where the curly hair and the green eyes came from!"
Look-alikes are basic to the movie industry, and the Internet is full of advertisements for celebrity doubles and impersonators to cover any occasion. Saddam Hussein was known to have many doubles for security. The comedy film Dave explores what might happen if the president quietly had a stroke in the back room while a security look-alike was waving to the crowd. Power-hungry subordinates keep up the sham that the president is fine, all the while finding the double hilariously uncontrollable. This is nothing new. Charlie Chaplin look-alike contests were popular as far back as 1915. (Charlie himself failed to make the finals in one of them. How's that for an identity crisis!)
The image of the beast is a puzzling symbol of an enemy who at the end of time will powerfully impersonate the sea beast of Revelation 13. Part of a pattern of deception, this image of the beast comes to life and seeks to convince the world that the beast is alive and well, even though out of sight (Rev. 13:12). The key to the deception is likeness--if the image did not look like the beast, the deception could not occur.
Whom do you look like? Can the people with whom you interact tell who your Father is? Do you have the mannerisms of your Brother? Do your reactions to difficult situations remind people of the Lamb or of the Beast? Whom do people think of when they really get to know you? Do you have your Father's eyes?
Should you not be proud of your image, ponder how you spend your time. By beholding we all become changed. If the major focus of the day is to follow the hottest celebrity, or download the latest hit song, or see the latest show, you are becoming a "look-alike" whether you know it or not. But here's the good news: While we had no control over our appearance in baby pictures, in the spiritual realm we get to decide whom we look like.
Lord, I choose to become more and more like You. Help me to see through the deceptive alternatives today.
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