And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause (G4160) as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed (G615).
One of the challenges in translating prophetic texts is not recognising important nuance that only is observed after the event.
This is one such passage.
Some reasons for my thinking:
- The Beasts are metaphorical: they are not actual beasts that come from the sea or earth. It was described that they come from there for effect. If they are metaphorical, it should be considered whether their recorded actions are likely to be illustrative rather than literal or absolute.
- We make the Beast in Revelation 13:14. It is not a literal empire, and it was borne out of a deception. But we made it.
- The Beast can “speak” but cannot move. Scripture does not say it has any authority.
- It is just an image; it is doubtful that it could actually cause people to be killed by its own command. However, it can express the idea that people ought to be killed. The question is whether the Earth Beast would implement it.
- Perhaps some governments in the past might execute people who would not worship them, but it was a minority, and that is highly unlikely today. Governments today simply jail, exile, destroy their reputations, or financially strangle them, much like the Candadian government did with the truckers protesting vaccine mandates, or simply impose movement or job restrictions.
It is a good time to refresh your understanding of the prophecies of John the Baptist. This is important. Elijah never came. John did. And while we accept that John is the fulfillment of the prophecies, it we hold to a literalist brand of prophetic interpretation, we would have missed John and Christ. Likewise, obstinate literalism may cause you to miss fulfillment.
Are there legitimate translation variants for Revelation 13:15?
If the Beast has no actual power, since it can only speak, there are two key words that the understanding of the entire verse rests on.
And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause (G4160) as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed (G615).
cause (ποιήσῃ – poieō [1])(G4160)
According to Strong’s G4160, when the verb poieō intersects with speech, identity, or group intent, it routinely carries a declarative or expressive function rather than a mechanical one. In these contexts, ’cause’ can be legitimately understood as ‘declare’ or ‘claim’ (John 5:18; John 8:53; John 10:33; John 19:7, 12; 1 John 1:10; 1 John 5:10; Matthew 12:33). This actually makes far more sense of the immediate text: the Image Beast is given the power to speak, and it immediately uses that voice to declare a desired outcome.”
We see this pattern dominate John’s own writings: when figures “make” themselves equal with God (John 5:18, 10:33), “make” themselves a king (John 19:12), or “make” God a liar (1 John 1:10, 5:10), the “making” is strictly an act of verbal assertion and status-claiming. This is not an isolated theological quirk; across the New Testament, when poieō governs communication or collective desire, it denotes an expression of the voice or mind rather than direct physical force.
For example, “making” Him known (Matthew 12:16) is a broadcast of speech; “making” prayers (Luke 5:33) is a vocal articulation of desire; “making” lamentation (Acts 8:2) is an overt vocalization of grief; and “making” a conspiracy (Acts 23:12-13) is a verbal pact of shared intent.
The Image Beast is never recorded as having the power to command, act, or move. And as we have shown above, does not require active military roundups and literal execution squads. Because the text explicitly confines the Image’s capacity strictly to breath and speech, it lacks any independent physical power; it uses its voice to project a hostile narrative to coerce the people.
For example: during COVID, the unvaccinated were shunned. What caused this? The media’s talking heads’ relentless demonisation of the unvaccinated. There are countless examples of the media doing this and calling for others to reject the unvaccinated from society, or to refuse to let them buy food, have a job, get medical treatment. The media did not command this by way of law, but it certainly caused the unvaccinated to be treated appallingly and caused people to get vaccinated. It drove vaccination rates.
This we can see that the Media, the Image Beast caused this through its express desire to its audience. How else should John have described the Media’s role in this?
Killed (ἀποκτανθῶσιν):
One of the definitions by Strongs (G615[2]) is “to destroy, to allow to perish, whether literally or metaphorically.”
Google translates “ἀποκτανθῶσιν“ as “get rid of”, not kill or murder or put to death. Perhaps it is, as Strongs’ says, it may be figuratively “to destroy” (Romans 7:11; Ephesians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 3:6).
Some will argue that ‘kill’ always implies literal physical slaughter. However, Greek possesses a hyper-specific word exclusively reserved for literal murder: phoneuō (G5407), used in the Commandment ‘thou shalt not kill’ (Matthew 5:21). John avoids this rigid, single-meaning word in Revelation 13:15, opting instead for apokteinō (G615). While apokteinō can describe physical death, it carries a much broader semantic range—meaning to destroy, ruin, or put out of the way. John’s choice of the flexible word leaves the door wide open for a systemic or social destruction rather than an execution squad.”
Some translations and standard lexicons, such as Thayer’s, recognize that in Mark 3:4, apokteinō is used in the sense of “to destroy” or “to allow to perish” rather than active execution. In that account, Jesus asks if it is lawful on the Sabbath “to save life or to kill.” No one in that room was attempting to actively murder the man with the withered hand; rather, by refusing to heal him, the religious leaders were leaving him to a fate of systemic ruin and allowing him to perish.
Thus, ἀποκτανθῶσιν in Revelation 13:15 does not have to mean the literal murder of those who refuse the Mark. It can perfectly signify being “allowed to perish,” systematically ruined, or metaphorically “destroyed” by society.
This is exactly what we saw the Media called for during COVID-19: prominent talking heads openly argued that the unvaccinated should be punished by being deprioritized in hospitals, denied ICU beds, or left to suffer without medical treatment. The media was explicitly calling for them to be “allowed to perish” and put out of the way.
Conclusion
Providing historical and lexical nuance to these critical words demonstrates that the text does not require the Image Beast to command the physical murder of those who refuse the Mark. While it does not prevent a literal fulfillment, the text—even without a hyperbolic lens—firmly permits an interpretation where the Image Beast we fashion merely expresses a systemic desire, inciting society to destroy, marginalize, or get rid of dissenters.
A Nuanced Rendering of Revelation 13:15:
And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would speak, declaring that all who refuse to worship the image should be destroyed.
Permitting Hollywood to interpret Rev 13:15 may well cause us to miss the actual fulfillment.
Footnotes:
[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4160/kjv/tr/0-1/
[2] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g615/kjv/tr/0-1/