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Revelation 13:14 · World English Bible

Revelation 13:14 Meaning He Deceives My Own People Who Dwell

He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast, saying to those who dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived.

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What does Revelation 13:14 mean?

The lower mind seduces the body's tenants by its shows of power and persuades them to fashion a likeness of the very appetite that rules them. They that dwell on the earth are the faculties fixed to the flesh, the earth-bound consciousness.

From the Esoteric reading below.

Revelation 13:14 through 1 lens

The same verse, read by one tradition.

ESOTERIC

Esoteric

The lower mind seduces the body's tenants by its shows of power and persuades them to fashion a likeness of the very appetite that rules them. They that dwell on the earth are the faculties fixed to the flesh, the earth-bound consciousness. The beast is the animal nature, and its image is the mental idol a person erects, worshipping the drive as though it were divine. The wound by a sword that heals is the appetite seemingly cut down yet living on, the desire struck by discernment that revives because it was only bound in image, not slain.

The deception is that the earth-fixed mind, dazzled by the power of its own cravings, builds an inward idol of the animal self and bows to a hunger it thought it had killed.

Them that dwell on the earth: the faculties fixed to the flesh, the earth-bound consciousness of a person Beast: the animal nature and its appetites ruling within Image to the beast: the inward idol a person erects of the animal self, worshipping the drive as divine Wound by a sword: the appetite seemingly cut down by discernment yet living on, bound in image rather than slain

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Esoteric lens

Live Revelation 13:14 today

  1. Think of something you declared you were done with, a habit, a screen, a late-night snack, and ask honestly whether you quit it or just stopped doing it while still wanting it. Being honest about the difference is the start.
  2. When you catch yourself describing some craving as harmless or deserved to a friend, hear your own words carefully. The explanation is often the idol doing the talking.
  3. On a day when you are tired and the old pull comes back dressed up as a reward, do not argue with it. Look straight at what it actually gives you and for how long, and let that be the answer.

What have you called dead that is still quietly running the show?

The same truth in other traditions

Buddhism

Craving suppressed is not craving ended, and a desire merely pushed down returns the moment conditions favor it. Only seeing it clearly all the way through loosens it.

Bhagavad Gita 3

The person who restrains the body while the mind still dwells on the object has given nothing up. The hunger lives in the dwelling, not in the hand.

Taoism · Chuang Tzu

The mind makes an image of a thing and then serves the image instead of looking again. What you worship is usually your own picture of it.

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