Deep Fakes and the Image of the Beast: How Synthetic Media Will Play A Major Role in the End Times

A few days ago 60 Minutes had an interesting report on what’s called synthetic media, which most of us better know as deep fakes. Like most people, I certainly knew of the term deep fake, or deep videos, but I wasn’t aware of the “synthetic media” terminology.

As I was watching the program, it occurred to me how perfectly the biblical description of the Image of the Beast fits into what synthetic media can potentially do. Here are a couple of clips from the episode, and you can let me know in the comments if you see the connection like I do.

Now, to drive the point home of how realistic they can make this, check out this video of Tom Cruise playing his guitar. Except it’s not really Tom Cruise playing his guitar, it’s only Cruise’s face superimposed onto that of an actor of his size.

60 Minutes then interviewed a couple of experts on deep fakes, but one in particular caught my attention. Again, her statement was “the fact that AI can now make images and video that are fake that look hyper-realistic … from a disinformation perspective, that’s a game changer.” Further, she said, this is headed in a very dark direction.

The connection I’m seeing from these deep fakes or synthetic media is to the Image of the Beast that we read about in Revelation 13:

“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; 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.

“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.”

Think about that for a second: an image that will not only speak, but also have the incredible power to kill those who did not worship it. But, is it the image that’s doing the killing, or could that power come from manipulated audio or video?

In that scenario, the Image to the Beast is simply instructing the followers of the Antichrist to kill those who do not worship it, or who perhaps fail to meet some other standard.

Before I go on, I know that there are those who teach that the Antichrist, the first beast of Revelation 13, dies at some point, and is then resurrected by the False Prophet, the second beast of Revelation 13. To them, this is the deadly wound that is healed.

However, a couple of things need to be pointed out here:

First, the deadly wound is referred to in the past tense right from the beginning: “and his deadly wound WAS healed”

Second, and more important, in verse 14 we see that the False Prophet is bringing to life the IMAGE of the beast, and not the actual beast himself. The bible is clearly differentiating between the beast and the image of the beast.

My feeling on this is that we shouldn’t look for the Antichrist to die and then be resurrected, because that isn’t what the bible is teaching us. The bible says that the IMAGE is given life, not that the Antichrist himself was given life.

There is another bible verse that we should take note of. In Zechariah 11:17, we see a passage that many believe applies to the Antichrist: The verse says this:

“Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.”

Many bible scholars believe that the Antichrist will suffer a wound to his arm and right eye. Unfortunately, they misinterpret this as being a deadly wound, when the bible says no such thing. In fact, the verse specifically points out that it’s only his arm and eye that are afflicted, and does not mention anything life threatening.

From my perspective, Zechariah 11:17 is referring to a time just before the introduction of the Image of the Beast. The Antichrist doesn’t suffer a deadly wound, because that wound had already healed according to verse 3 – but rather he suffers an affliction that incapacitates one arm and one eye.

In my view, Zechariah 11:17 is telling us WHY the Image of the Beast is introduced. And it could be because the Antichrist either can no longer fully function, or he no longer wishes to be seen with a withered arm and darkened eye.

Instead, he and those around him will fashion synthetic media to give the impression that the Antichrist not only looks like he always did, but he is as strong and determined as ever. Furthermore, his power is absolute in that he commands the death of others.

Remember, everything about the Antichrist is based on deception and delusion.

He simply throws truth to the ground as if it was worthless. We should fully expect him and his accomplices to make full use of the power of deep fake videos.

All of this is as plain as can be, and we should be able to see this coming from a mile away: synthetic media is being primed to be used for evil … and it will be part and parcel of the deception that surrounds the Antichrist.

That’s all for today. Thanks for taking the time to watch, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on synthetic media, especially as it applies to the Image of the Beast. If you care to leave a comment, please do. Remember, please be respectful of others in any comment you leave. I’ll talk to you guys soon. ♦

This article was based on my YouTube video, Deep Fakes and the Image of the Beast: How Synthetic Media Will Play A Major Role in the End Times