
Come And Reason Ministries
Come And Reason Ministries helping you learn to discern.
Come And Reason Ministries
Come And Reason Ministries – helping you learn to discern.
Some years ago, I heard a sermon by Pastor Manuel Sylva in which he described how all great fiction is merely the retelling of the true story of the battle between Christ and Satan. He offered several examples in which God’s kingdom warring against Satan’s kingdom could be seen copied thematically in print and movies.
Over the years, I have noticed this to be true and have been struck by how many times the story of our dying-rising Savior is depicted in fictional characters.
I’ve cobbled together a short (and very much incomplete) list of major movies in which the hero dies and rises again in order to save the day. In some cases, other similarities occur, such as the need to eliminate the taint of evil (carnal nature), the power of love winning the day over selfishness, or sacrificial service overcoming evil.
However, the cinematic hero doesn’t truly represent Christ, nor God’s methods of love, as he or she invariably uses Satan’s methods of force to overcome their enemies – usually killing them. But it remains interesting to note how deeply in the consciousness of humanity this theme runs, that people across generations and cultures so resonate with this concept that it is used over and over again in fiction.
I believe this is because, on some level, our hearts and minds are aware of the larger reality and are seeking for insight into the truth – that there is a true battle between God’s principles of love and Satan’s principles of me-first. But again, as the success of these fictional accounts attest, humanity appears to prefer Satan’s version of a savior.
Here is a brief review of some of the blockbusters that have included a dying-rising savior:
To the Christian, all this should come as no surprise. Satan has been working to counterfeit the truth about God and the mission of Christ from the beginning. Throughout history, he has attempted to cast himself in the role of God or Jesus. Throughout the religions of the world, he has portrayed himself as the dying-rising savior/god while always using his methods of force, coercion, and infliction of punishment for disobedience – despite the appearance of his self-sacrificial dying and heroic rising. As I read in a book some time ago, a demon will tell you nine truths to get you to believe one lie.
Now, let’s explore this short (and very much incomplete) list of false gods from various ancient societies that are portrayed as having died and risen again:
Satan has been counterfeiting the work of Christ since his rebellion began. Throughout history, he has presented to humans false gods who die and rise again. Today, especially through modern media, he is setting up the world to be deceived. The evil one presents modern “heroes” who die and rise again – but who always end up using Satan’s methods to win, usually using force to overcome and kill their enemies.
Even though we’ve been told in Scripture “‘not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty,” the entire world is being trained to look for a savior who will come back to destroy his enemies by might, by using His power to kill (Zechariah 4:6 NIV).
Indeed, Islam waits for the Mahdi, the twelfth Imam, who they believe will return to punish and kill all the enemies of Allah. Some sects of Islam even believe that Jesus is this Mahdi.
William Wagner, senior professor at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary and author of the book, How Islam Plans to Change the World, states, “Satan always tries to duplicate everything that God does, and I believe he has created his own eschatology that is somewhat similar to that of Christianity, but false enough to where it is apparent that it is not the truth.”[1]
Wagner is correct. As described above, Satan has been working throughout history to counterfeit Christ, to present Jesus to humans as a being who has the character, attributes, and methods of Satan. Again, the central attributes that differentiate God from Satan are truth, love, freedom – versus lies, selfishness, and coercion.
Jesus warned that at the end of time, “False christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible” (Matthew 24:24 NIV84). A false messiah will come claiming to have died and risen again to save us – but he will then use force and coercion, threatening to kill all those who don’t worship him. Sadly, many Christians believe in just such a god, one who is coming with a “rod of iron” to punish the nations. They are expecting and will gladly receive this false christ.
But we need not be deceived. We can easily tell the difference between our true Creator God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and all the false gods who share similarities. How so? The false gods operate on human imposed law, which means they act judicially; their form of “justice” is to inflict pain, suffering, and death as punishment upon those who don’t obey them.
Jesus, our Creator and Savior, built the universe, and His laws are the protocols upon which reality is constructed to operate. Humankind is out of harmony with God’s design and exists in a terminal state. Jesus came and died to cure the condition, to be our remedy. Thus, our true dying-rising Savior does not use His power to inflict pain, suffering, and death but rather to heal, deliver, and save. God is not the source of inflicted pain, suffering, and death; rather, He provides eternal life as a gift for all who will accept it. Death doesn’t come out from God – but from unremedied sin: “Those who sow to the carnal nature from that nature reap destruction” (Galatians 6:8). “Sin when full grown brings forth death” (James 1:15).
So I invite you to reject all the false dying-rising saviors and embrace the only true Savior, our Creator and Healer: Jesus Christ.