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7.Jesus'
Second Coming and the 2nd Coming
Reading: Rev.14.6-20
In Indonesia the Second Coming was due on Nov.7th 2003
- it didn't happen, of course, but a lot of persecution did happen
- Muslims reacted violently against Christians for preaching this
- esp against the leaders of the End Days sect who predicted this
- they attacked his home, ransacked it and demolished it
- he was put in prison, partly for his own safety
- his followers lost everything too, because they had already sold their homes
- they had given all their belongings to help evangelise in the short time left
- they had left college courses and jobs to give time to evangelism
- so when it didn't happen their lives were devastated
In some ways they were plain stupid, but in other ways they are commendable
- at least they took the Second Coming seriously and acted accordingly
- but they believed some silly stories about the date of the Second Coming
- the date came from "whispering angels" which their leader heard
- they told him the date and told him how to prepare for it
- and when it didn't come on that date they told him the year: 2017
- so now they have 14 years to live on what they put by for a few months
- and the strangest thing is that most of the sect's followers have remained
Most of the world is expecting Jesus to return
- because both Christians and Muslims expect the second coming
- most Muslims expect Jesus to return and lead an army against the Jews and Christians
- its not in the Qur'an, but in the Haddith (the official commentaries)
- and most Christians expect Jesus to return and lead an army against armies which are
massed against Jews and Christians
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- all in all it sounds like a very bloody time
- and, unfortunately, that is roughly how Revelation describes it
- Jesus will return on a battle horse, and ride through fields of blood
- he will bring judgement on all his enemies in one last massacre
Well, that's how most Christians see it, though most prefer to ignore it
- it isn't very nice, so they don't think about the second coming
- but if they did think about it, they might realise what is wrong
- we are still thinking of the Second Coming like that of a human king
For most of the Christian world, the Return of the King was on Dec.17th 2003
- that's when the 3rd part of Lord of the Rings comes out
- but there was a much more important date: Nov.5th 2003
- that's when the 3rd part of the Matrix came out
- and the Matrix teaches a great deal about Jesus' Second Coming
The Matrix isn't a Christian film, but does have complex theological allegory
- and Christian theology is one of the strongest threads in this allegory
- it is an action packed science fiction movie, with a strong message
- the story line is very violent, with lots of shooting and kick-boxing
- in fact almost as much shooting and kick-boxing as you find at the boys end of a
primary school playground
- the films can be enjoyed by anyone whether they think about philosophy or not
- and this is where they are most influential, because if you don't think, you simply
imbibe the philosophy
- and these films are deliberate vehicles for philosophy, just like the novels of Jean Paul
Satre, of Iris Murdock, C.S. Lewis and of Philip Pulman
The Matrix contains elements of Gnosticism, Greek mythology, Buddhism, existentialism
and Christianity
- the Wachowski brothers who wrote it were asked which parallels were intentional
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- they answered "all of them" – though I suspect that they hadn't thought of them all
OK, lets have a quiz to see how much you know about the films
- those Matrix buffs among you can show off, while the rest of us find out what the story
is about
Who is this? (Neo – our hero).
- what are his other names (The One – 'one' is anagram of 'Neo')
and "Mr Anderson" ('andros' is Greek 'man' so this is 'Son of Man')
Who is this? (Morpheus)
- he does the job of John the Baptist, collecting a group of followers then telling them that
Neo is 'the One' who will save them all
Who is this? (Trinity)
- she plays the role of Mary Magdalene, saved by Neo
- she cares for Neo's dead body and she is the first to see him when he comes back to life
- she also ends up as the love interest in the film (well - it has to sell!)
Who is this? (Cypher)
- he plays a Judas role – he betrays Neo in order to get a better life
- strangely, his other name is Mr Reagan, but I don't know the significance!
Where is this? (the Matrix – a city where people live)
- actually it is a computer program which people live in
- it is a construct invented by a programmer as a place for people to live in
What is this? (a pod, with a human inside)
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- this is where the people are really living but they aren't aware of it
- they think they are in the city, with jobs and flats and food
- while really they are fed recycled organic waste through tubes
Who are these? (a crowd inside Zion)
- these are the people who have escaped from their pods
- they live in a place called Zion, where they are experience reality
- reality is dirty and jumbled, but they value it because it is real
- it is a rough and difficult life because they are at war
- but they are looking forward to the coming One who will free them
Who is this? (the Oracle)
- she is a program which is part of the Matrix, but which helps humans
- she gives people insights and inspired them in their bid for freedom
- she helps Neo realise what Morpheus told him, that he is the One
- I suppose you'd say that the Oracle is the Holy Spirit
- so Morpheus (John the Baptist) and the Holy Spirit help Neo (Jesus) discover that he is
the One
- and this is immediately followed, correctly enough, by a time of doubts and testing
You think I'm taking all this too seriously?
- it is not just a good action film, but one which gets people thinking
- about issues like free-will or predestination, and the Messiah
- it was banned in Egypt because of the links with the Messiah and Zion
- academics are also taking a great deal of interest in this film
- I spoke with someone who is doing a PhD on Psychology and Christian Freewill who
was very excited by it.
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- and I read a very good Master's Thesis on Messianism in the Matrix by Paul Fontana of
Harvard Theological Seminary
- this film is important because this generation loves it and many people watch it over and
over
- the Warchowski brothers are not great philosophers, like Satre
- but they will end up communicating their philosophy to far more people
- and the wonderful thing for us is that the philosophy is Christian, mostly
These parallels are deliberate, as seen in one of the early scenes
- some punk comes to buy some illegal software from Neo
- he thanks him with the word: You're my saviour, my own personal Jesus Christ
- it isn't just some gratuitous blasphemy - it is a key to the movie
- this is confirmed when we see the book the illegal software is hidden it
- it is "Simulre and Similacra and Simulation" by Jean Baudrillard
- he's a French philosopher who says the real word is merely a contruct contrived by our
minds to interpret our senses, and it may not be real
- this is the same philosophy explored in the Matrix
- but enough philosophy - lets carry on with the quiz.
Who is this? (the Architect)
- he is the creator of the Matrix, and the one who keeps it active
- he has sometimes had to wipe it out and start again
- rather like God started again after the Flood
- and his greatest success is finding a way to program his subjects to have free will
- which means that although he can predict what they will do, he cannot ultimately
program them to do what he wishes
- there is lots of philosophical discussion about freewill in the second movie, which made
some people say it was boring
- but for me, the second movie was the most fascinating
This is one point where the Matrix departs dramatically from the Bible
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- the Architect is the creator of the Matrix but he is not very powerful
- he is part of a duality of power of not very good and not very evil
- and eventually he is outwitted by humans, who come out on top
- this is like the Greek gods whom Prometheus outwitted
- like the miserable creator at the end of the Philip Pulman trilogy
- but the Matrix doesn't dwell on this point, so we can ignore it
Who are these? (The Frenchman & Persephone)
- in Greek mythology Persephone was the wife of Hades
- so this helps to identify the Frenchman as the Devil
- he is one of the most interesting characters in the Matrix
- he has many henchmen, and lives a life of hedonistic pleasure
- but he is not the main enemy of Neo: this is:
Who is this? (Agent Smith)
- he is one of the servants of the creators of the Matrix
- but he turns against his master and starts to infect the whole Matrix
- he is like the evil which infects all humans, turning them against God
- and as he spreads, the Matrix becomes worse and worse
- he is, if you like, sinfulness. The evil inside us.
I don't want to give the story away too much for those who want to see it
- but I don't think I'd be spoiling things by asking you this:
- how does Neo (Jesus) defeat Agent Smith (sin)?
- by dying – and yes, his arms are stretched out like on a cross
- and a shining light in the shape of a cross appears when he dies
The interesting thing is that Neo finally defeats Smith at his Second Coming.
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- actually Neo kind of dies three times, which is a bit of overkill
- (excuse the pun – it was intended)
- the first time he comes back with new powers, like Jesus did
- the second time he ends up in the kingdom of Hades, like Jesus did
- but he doesn't defeat Hades or Sin that time and has to die a third time
- so, he has to die three times to do what Jesus did in one death
It is no good looking to the Matrix for a way to teach us about Jesus
- it isn't written to be a Christian allegory and it isn't one
- but these films are very important for our generation
- because a huge number will see them who never come to church
- and the underlying philosophy behind the Matrix is substantially Christian
- or, at least, it is much more Christian than anything else in popular culture
In a couple of important ways, it can teach Christians important lessons
- it reminds us of the importance of the battle against evil in the Bible
- and it teaches us about the Second Coming in a Biblical way
The first point is straightforward – we need reminding we are in a fight
- we forget because the church is so much part of respectable society
- but the teaching of Jesus and the early church emphasises a fight
- a fight against evil in our lives (like Neo fighting against Agent Smith)
- a fight against the evil forces of the devil (like Morpheus and his friends fighting the
Frenchman and his gang)
- a fight against the whole corrupt system of anti-theistic society
- like the stand which Zion takes against the machines
- most of us have simply capitulated in order to have an easier time
- and we need to remember that Jesus won a battle for us
- and he has left us here to carry the war to its conclusion
- though we don't use prayer and love, not bullets and kick-boxing.
The Matrix films also educate us about the Second Coming
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- this is the real surprise, because the film is better than the Bible
- no, that is the wrong way to put it. It's better than most Bible teaching
- because most people misread the Biblical teaching on the Second Coming
- they see it talking about a terrible war at the end when Jesus returns
- and they conclude that Jesus is the perpetrator and victor of that war
- Jesus does not win that war – he finishes it.
- Jesus does not start that war – he stops it
- Jesus does not want that war – he comes in order to end it
- because if he doesn't, it will destroy humanity and perhaps the world
We are too keen to see Jesus as a human leader or medieval king
- whose power lies in armies and whose glory comes from victories
- but we have already seen that Jesus does things very differently
- because he is the one who showed us how to triumph by losing
- he turned a cold and unpleasant stable into a throne room
- he turned an ignominious execution, after a few days, into a party
- and he will turn the end of the world into a new beginning
We often impose our own concepts of victory onto Jesus
- so that he comes a violent and oppressive judge
- whereas the Bible (and the Matrix) portrays him as merciful
- he comes, at the end of time, to rescue us, not to force us to submit
- he comes to end all things because he has to
- because the armies of the world are amassed against each other
- because horrendous weaponry has already started to destroy the earth
- and because the forces of evil have already wiped out all good
- if he doesn't return at that point, there will be nothing to return for
And why does he delay in this way?
- because his plan is that as many as possible will be saved
- Let me finish by reading Scripture, from 2 Peter 3.9:
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9 ¶ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a
roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it
will be laid bare.
11 ¶ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you
to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives
12 as you wait eagerly for the day of God to come. That day will bring about the
destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a
new earth, the home of righteousness.
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to
be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.
15 Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation.
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