IMAGE OF THE BEAST

1. IMAGE is a form, appearance or copy of an entity and when it pleased God to make man, He did so in His own IMAGE, “And God said, Let us MAKE MAN IN OUR OWN IMAGE, after our likeness: and let them HAVE DOMINION over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and OVER ALL THE EARTH, …” [Genesis 1:26] We are the IMAGE of God, equipped with His LIFE to exercise His DOMINION on earth, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and BREATHED INTO HIS NOSTRILS the BREATH OF LIFE; and man became a LIVING SOUL” [Genesis 2:7] We are His IMAGE and as He is God, so are we, “I have said, YE ARE GODS; and all of you are CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH”[Psalms 82:6] The BEAST is the earthly representation of the DRAGON, Satan, saddled with his POWER, SEAT and AUTHORITY, working through men to accomplish his purpose on earth,  “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a BEAST rise up out of the sea, … and the DRAGON GAVE HIM HIS POWER, and his SEAT, and great AUTHORITY” [Revelation 13:1-2] IMAGE OF THE BEAST is the ever-changing collage of Satan replicated in man to manipulate, intimidate and exercise control in affairs of this world, “And all that dwell upon the earth shall WORSHIP HIM, WHOSE NAMES ARE NOT WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” [Revelation 13:8]

2. IMAGE OF THE BEAST was revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar in a dream, “This image's HEAD was of fine GOLD, his BREAST and his ARMS of SILVER, his BELLY and his THIGHS of BRASS, His LEGS of IRON, his FEET part of IRON and part of CLAY” [Daniel 2:32-33] God it was, who gave Nebuchadnezzar Kingdom, Strength and Glory [Daniel 2:37] but his heart corrupted by pride and wickedness was found expedient to receive the BEAST, as it is written: “Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a BEAST’ HEART BE GIVEN UNTO HIM; and let seven times pass over him” [Daniel 4:16] Nebuchadnezzar was a living IMAGE OF THE BEAST, supported with legions of warrior angels and unbelievable riches to exercise the dominion of hell on earth. He was the HEAD of GOLD in Daniel 2:31-49 and the LION in Daniel’s dream, “And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a LION, and had EAGLE’S WINGS: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made STAND UPON THE FEET AS A MAN, and a MAN’S HEART WAS GIVEN TO IT” [Daniel 7:3-4] When the BEAST found a host as in Daniel 4:16, hell was literally born on earth in Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece, represented by LION, BEAR and LEOPARD [Daniel 7:1-8] The FOURTH BEAST is the final copy and require more scrutiny than others, for “… in the days of these kings shall the GOD OF HEAVEN SET UP A KINGDOM, which shall never be destroyed: …” [Daniel 2:44]

3. LION, BEAR and LEOPARD of Daniel 7:1-8 were the same BEAST shifting masks and merged into the FOURTH BEAST, “… behold a FOURTH BEAST, DREADFUL and TERRIBLE, and STRONG exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was DIVERSE FROM ALL THE BEASTS THAT WERE BEFORE IT; and it had TEN HORNS” [Daniel 7:7] No wonder it is DREADFUL and DIVERSE from her predecessors; the other BEASTS had the HEART of man, the FOURTH BEAST is Satan lurking in man, magnifying himself, “… above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” [2 Thessalonians 2:4] Foundations of the FOURTH BEAST were laid in the Roman empire, the IRON and dominant core of present civilization. Whereas others exercised control through surrogates, the FOURTH BEAST was the FEET and TOES of hell on earth, “And as the TOES of the FEET WERE PART OF IRON and PART OF CLAY, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken” [Daniel 2:42] Rome was the LEG of IRON, present global order and nations are the TOES. Satan is here MINGLING his seed with men to replicate hell on earth, “And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, THEY SHALL MINGLE THEMSELVES WITH THE SEED OF MEN: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay” [Daniel 2:43]

4. These are perilous times, “… Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the DEVIL IS COME DOWN unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” [Revelation 12:12] Satan is hid on earth but not for long, his IMAGE shall be brough to life in the MAN OF SIN, “Even him, whose coming is after the WORKING OF SATAN with all POWER and SIGNS and LYING WONDERS, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the LOVE OF THE TRUTH, that they might be saved” [2 Thessalonians 2:9-10] His IMAGE is evident in palpable corruption of every strata of human endeavour: specter of death is visible and hell follows closely, “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was DEATH, and HELL followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with SWORD, and with HUNGER, and with DEATH, and with the beasts of the earth” [Revelation 6:8] Friend, SWORD, HUNGER, and DEATH lies ahead and worse, the MARK OF THE BEAST when no man will be allowed to buy or sell except, he has the MARK [Revelation 13:17] I invite you to receive SALVATION today, accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and escape looming damnation, “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” [Revelation 14:11]