Image of the Beast - DVD Review

Image of the Beast is the third movie in a four-part series about biblical prophecy based on the book of Revelation. The two movies preceding Image of the Beast are titled A Thief in the NIght and A Distant Thunder, and they depict the rapture of the church and the development of a world government. The Image of the Beast takes place after the church has been raptured and as the tribulation period begins.

While the special effects and the pacing of the story itself reflect the fact that Image of the Beast was made in 1981, this film admirably adheres to the timetable of events depicted in the book of Revelation. While liberties are taken with the details of how biblical end-times prophecy plays out, such as the depiction of a guillotine to behead those who refuse to take the mark of the beast, generally this film succeeds in depicting the great tribulation in a way that is faithful to the biblical description.

I first watched Image of the Beast with my church youth group when I was about 13 or 14 years old. I remember the vivid depiction of the plagues such as the waters turning to blood, and I remember the frightful opening scene of a believer. who has refused to take the mark of the beast, waiting to be beheaded. I also vividly remember the final scene in which a little boy is executed because of his faith in Jesus and his own refusal to take the mark of the beast.

While this film, and the entire Thief in the Night series, have often been criticized for utilizing scare tactics to manipulate the beliefs of impressionable young minds, I actually find Image of the Beast to be praiseworthy for its attempt not to render the things depicted in end-times prophecy more politically correct and to remain as faithful as possible to the biblical narrative while taking liberties necessary to tell a compelling story around a central group of characters. Although many of the images and depictions can be seen as scary or negative, it is important to note that the biblical message of hope and redemption through Jesus Christ is not lost in this film.

Image of the Beast will undoubtedly be unpopular with those who do not subscribe to a fairly literal interpretation of biblical end-times prophecy. And there is no way to render this interpretation more palatable tho those who choose to reject this method of biblical hermeneutics. That being said, Image of the Beast is instructional for those who learn biblical narratives best through storytelling, and the storyline in Image of the Beast is nothing if not compelling. Image of the Beast certainly helped me to incorporate an expectation of Christ's return into my own worldview and cosmology, and it is a healthy reminder of the often-lost virtue of having a fear of God's judgment. It is this fear that helps to remind us of exactly from what we have been saved in our salvation through Jesus Christ.

Undoubtedly Image of the Beast is a frightening story, if even graphic at times. However, I feel comfortable recommending Image of the Beast to anyone who wishes to experience the force of the biblical narrative of end-times prophecy in a visual way. The story certainly has its faults and takes too many liberties with the narrative at times; but in general the story is biblical in nature and instructional for believers and nonbelievers alike.