Rev. 13:14b-15 says of the False Prophet, "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. 15 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."

He tells man to make an image of the beast which had the wound by a sword and did live. This is an image of the government, not a man, and it does not need to look like a man. I do not believe it is a statue. So what does this government look like? It is a government of absolute control over absolutely everything and to me that looks like electronic surveillance and control; to me, that looks like a computer.

This image is the abomination of desolation and it will be set up in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. Jesus said (Matt. 24:15) it would stand in the holy place, and Jesus himself cross-referenced the statement to the book of Daniel.

Dan 11:31-39 says "And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. 32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. 33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. 34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. 36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain."

This passage describes the actions of the antichrist and indicates the abomination will be placed in the sanctuary. Eze. 8:5 says, "and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealously in the entry." The system revealed in Rev. 13 is inspired by Satan to counterfeit God's system. The temple is selected as the place for the image because in the Old Testament (before the coming of Jesus) the temple was God's dwelling place on earth. It was the place where the sacrifice was offered and sins were forgiven. The tribulation is Daniel's seventh week, the Time of Jacob's trouble and it is the consummation of the Jewish age. Satan has targeted the Jews because they are the recipient of great promises through which God would bless all of mankind, and the temple is the focal point of Jewish worship. Satan possesses antichrist and neither of them is God, neither is omnipresent, therefore, this image is necessary for their control of the people. Because this whole system is an outward manifestation of spiritual realities that counterfeit the genuine things of God, the image will be placed in what once was the dwelling place of God on earth.

Ezekiel said it would stand at the gate of the altar. Upon entry to the temple, the first item seen was the altar. It was a picture of the sacrifice required and provided by Jesus in order to enter into the presence of God. The image will be placed at the GATE of the altar, in the entry because it is Satan's statement that there is a new God who takes precedence over the old God, a new way of salvation. He is saying man does not need to go to God anymore because this new system is in control.

"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 people follow his directive and make the image. Notice that the image can speak and cause people to be killed, but there is no description of the actual image. Nothing is said about it being able to move around, and there is no description of any moving parts. Meet the third person of the unholy trinity. The unholy trinity is not God. There is no real, single, unholy spirit to glorify antichrist or perform any of the other works of the Holy Spirit. Since Satan is not omnipresent he will need SOMETHING to make up for this deficiency.

The word 'life' is the Greek pneuma, defined as: a current of air; by anal. or fig. a spirit, i.e. the rational soul, the vital principal, mental disposition. Something man-made that can think on its own.

This image, which will interface and work with the mark of the beast, answers to the person and works of the Holy Spirit. It is "omnipresent" because it will control commerce: no one will be able to buy or sell without the mark, the tentacles will be worldwide. It is "omniscient" because it will know who is and who is not worshipping as well as all other data regarding human life, period. It is "omnipotent" because it can cause the death of those who refuse to worship.

Notice that this image can speak. This does not rule out a computer. Auto-attendants and voice mail are products of computer technology, and most of us use computers that speak to us (not WITH us just yet, but who knows?).

This image can cause those who refuse to worship to be killed. I believe that the worship will occur through use of the mark. The computer then would have to be able to determine who is NOT using the mark, which might be difficult since the person who is not using the mark is not interfacing with the image. But the mark will not be required until after the image is set up, which occurs at mid-tribulation. Even though the mark system will be being phased in, I believe there will be an alternate system in use during the first 3.5 years.

I do have an opinion as to what is going to happen. For the past several years we have seen more and more management by crisis: health care crisis, terrorism crisis, etc. There is a crisis of world-wide proportions coming: the rapture of the church. At that moment a large segment (possibly ten percent) of earth's population is going to be very suddenly missing. We know that any little occurrence outside the usual causes ripples in the financial markets of the world. The rapture is not going to cause a ripple: it will cause a tsunami. If the powers that be want a depression, this will give them the opportunity to have one, but I don't think they want to destroy the financial system because it is the basis of their power. Instead they want total ownership of the wealth and the rapture will give them the opportunity to take control. The issue is not wealth for the sake of being wealthy, but wealth for the sake of control.

The very rich can be benevolent, give to the poor, but there is a cost to the recipient, and that cost is worship: surrender of the soul. Satan, mankind in general and antichrist in particular want to be god because God is worshipped. I believe that much of the worship will be offered out of fear. If the worship is not given, the refusenik will have a difficult time sustaining life. There is a great difference between God and Satan: God has fully disclosed himself in creation, the scripture and in Jesus Christ. An informed person worships God out of love for a truly loving, gracious creator. Satan, who is not loving and gracious and who tries to cover his activity, can only receive worship through deceit or fear.

I believe that at the time of the rapture, in order to save the world financial markets and stave off a world-wide depression, there will be a bank holiday followed immediately by the issuance of a new form of money and a general debt cancellation. Those who hold the power will want to be seen as saviors, not destroyers. Any debt cancellation will not mean that mortgages and loans are declared null and void, it will mean that ownership passes to those who hold the notes. Pat Robertson has many times called for a Year of Jubilee - a cancellation of the debt. But a Jubilee practiced under a theocracy would not have the same effect in the non-Christian world: it would be a power grab.

It is commonly believed that the new money system will be a computerized system of debits and credits - no cash. We have been on the debit system for years: we make purchases with our ATM cards all the time. After the rapture there will be an immediate need to determine who is missing. I believe people will need to register with a local branch of the government and when they register they will be issued a new ID card that will also be used to complete financial transactions. I further believe this will be done through the post office. Not only does every city in the the first world have a post office of the correct size to serve their population, but letter carriers visit every house and business in the country every day, Monday through Saturday. They know who should be at home, what type of mail they receive, etc. At the rapture they will be easily able to verify who is missing because the mail won't be picked up. It won't take too many days to identify and register those who are left behind.

If this scenario is correct, only those who get into the system will be able to hold a job and get paid, purchase food, buy gas, pay their bills, etc. and it won't be students of Bible prophecy who are left behind. It will be those who for whatever reason did not get saved before the rapture thus who also do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them thus who do not have advantage of the discernment that he brings. I think it is probable that the majority of people who are left behind will get into the system. This debit system is not the mark of the beast, but it will lead to it. Those who get into the system, then later refuse to take the mark, will be identified by the image/computer when their computer account stops being accessed. The computer will know where they live and it will be a simple matter to notify the local police authority through the internet and send them out to arrest the resisters.