And there was GIVEN TO HIM
Who this refers to, sea beast or Satan himself, is not clear. Whomever did have the power to do this; thus, most likely this was Satan himself.
to give BREATH to the image of the beast,
Now this is not an idol in the scriptural sense because Psalms 135:15-18 and Jeremiah 10:1-5 indicate that idols cannot speak. So this is a supernatural image. Some Bible scholars believe this is symbolic of political entity 'reborn'. Others believe this is another human being especially 'gifted' by Satan not unlike how Judas Iscariot was 'gifted' to betray Christ (John 13:27).
Others say it could be advanced technology in its finest hour. Even as I put this onto the web site, the multimedia capabilities of this personal computer along with all the other similar personal computers interlinked by Internet could see and hear this image. Yet even this is not sufficient because much of the world doesn't have these personal computers, and they, too, will understand that BREATH was given to an image.
that the image of the beast might even
Now the image apparently doesn't do the killing but convinces everyone whose name is not written in the Book of Life (verse 8) to kill on its behalf.
How will they know who is to be killed? See verses 16 and 17. If you haven't accepted Christ as your personal Savior and end up in the tribulation period and still wish to have your name written in the Book of Life, you will give your own life to attain heaven. Wouldn't it be better to accept Christ today (and put your name in the Book)?
This is the first of seven times that the IMAGE is referred to (Revelation 13:15; Revelation 14:9,11; Revelation 15:2; Revelation 16:2; Revelation 19:20; and Revelation 20:4). The IMAGE always is tied to the earth beast and has a predetermined destination.