Image of the Beast | Mirror Image

Add Michael Jackson to the list of dead idols to be given new life. When the King-of-Pop's projected image performed the song "Slave to the Rhythm" on the Billboard Music Awards, he was added to a growing roster of performers and others who have appeared on stage as a projected image. The 'others' include Prince Charles, Bill Gates and the newly appointed prime minister of India Narendra Modi who appeared in dozens of cities simultaneously during his campaign.

Not everyone was thrilled by the performance. Some found it creepy. But still, this is a growing trend in performance. Live stars, dead stars and even fictional stars are getting in on the trend of virtual performing. The dead and the fictional are particularly intriguing. They never age and never do anything stupid and go to rehab - unless it is scripted. This trick makes it possible to appear virtually before huge audiences. In the very near future it is likely that concerts and major events will have a worldwide audience.

To be technically correct, the image is not a hologram.  It is an old magic trick called Pepper's ghost. Ironically the "Man in the Mirror" is now truly just a man in a mirror.

In Revelation 13 the false prophet tells those who dwell on the earth to create an image of the beast who had a mortal wound and lived. And he was given power to give breath to image of the beast so that it could speak. The parallels here are eerie. 

Michael Jackson rises from the grave for show-stopping performance at Billboard Music Awards

Michael Jackson returned from beyond the grave to wow fans at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday by performing onstage in hologram form, five years after his death.

Producers of the Las Vegas prizegiving used virtual technology to make it appear as if the King of Pop had been brought back to life to sing and dance his way through new track Slave to the Rhythm. Dressed in a white and gold jacket and red pants, he began the eerie appearance seated in a throne before joining a string of dancers to show off his fancy footwork, including his signature moonwalk, by strutting across the stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena as he appeared to belt out the tune. The stunt, titled the Michael Jackson Xperience, left the audience in awe and earned a standing ovation from everyone in attendance.

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