In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John saw in a vision of the latter days an enigmatic aspect of mankind’s end-time civilization. In Revelation 13:15, he saw that there would not only be an actual political leader called the “beast,” but that there would also be an “image of the beast” which was something separate from but like the beast himself. Verse 15 says the beast system will be able “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.” John was struggling to describe in low-tech language what he saw would occur in the very high-tech latter-days.
This post will suggest that what John saw was holographic projections of the beast leader which could “appear” as if by magic in many locations. The Greek word translated “image” could mean image or likeness, and that is exactly what a holographic projection is: it is a likeness or image of the person whose appearance is being projected elsewhere. I think few people realize just how extensively holographic technology has progressed.
The first link below relates that holographic technology has progressed to the point that 3-D images of corporate executives can appear on stage with real people and interact and talk to an audience at a remote location. Entertainers like the Black-Eyed Peas and Madonna have already given holographic performances to audiences without being present at the site (see second link). I urge you to click on the second link and watch the video of the Black Eyed Peas doing a stage performance in which some members were “live” and others were performing as holograms. You may be surprised at how realistic this technology has become! [Give the second and final links some time to load up as they include video-clips of holographic performances).
The final link below is very impressive. It shows the Cisco CEO “beaming in” two Cisco Executives on a stage and interacting with them as if they were actually there! He comments the visual quality is so good he can tell that they had shaved since the last time he saw them. In other words, the “image and likeness” of the other two Cisco Executives was being projected to a remote location without them having to be present. It is impressive how they appear to literally “walk out of the ether” onto the stage.
Now let’s apply this technology to biblical prophecy. Using holographic technology, an “image and likeness” of the eventual beast leader could be projected virtually anywhere in the world to address audiences, give commands to military leaders, etc. The technology may become so good that people may not always be certain whether they are dealing with the real beast leader or a hologram of him. This kind of technology will really cut down on the need for executives or businessmen to travel to other locations as they can do so via holographic projections. Indeed, I think the technology is already at (or close to) the point where live people can meet secretly at a hidden location via projecting holograms of themselves into that secret location and interacting without having to travel anywhere. National leaders, central-bankers, and others could use this technology to have secret meeting without their populations even knowing such meetings were going on.
Revelation 13:15 prophesies this technology will eventually lead to audiences having to “worship the image of the beast” or face death, which implies a religious/idolatrous application. The Greek word which is translated “worship” means literally “to kiss the hand.” This could mean religious worship, doing obeisance to the beast’s “image” to acknowledge political authority or both.
I assume that holographic projections now require that persons be present inside a holographic studio and their images can them be transmitted to remote locations with similar studios. However, think what could happen if holographic technology could be made remotely-transmissible without a receiving studio and that the images could be “targeted” to appear in selected locations via the GPS system. If that happens, the “image of the beast” could literally appear anywhere, including in your living room if you are branded a “dissident” to the beast’s global system. All true followers of Jesus Christ will likely be identified as “dissidents” to the global beast system at some point. However, since Jesus Christ himself warned in Matthew 24:23-24 that the end-time deceptions will so powerful that “even the very elect” would almost be taken in by it, this infers that the beast system will initially come on the scene with a benign, “tolerant” guise and only later will its truly malignant side be revealed.
I’ll bet if the prophecy in Revelation 13:15 which aptly describes holographic technology was in a Nostradamus prophecy, it would be popularized on many cable-TV documentaries. However, since it is in the Bible, it is ignored.
http://www.musion.co.uk/Cisco_TelePresence.html
