Note: These writings were originally available only by email upon request. However, due to great demand and interest, we have decided to make them available on the website for the benefit of more people. Please read this page and its disclaimer carefully.

PREFACE

Can the Lord use secular things like movies to communicate prophetic themes? We believe He can, and does. Not since the release of "STAR WARS" a generation ago has a movie come along which is as open to religious and spiritual interpretation as "THE MATRIX".

In the summer of 1998, shortly before the release of The Matrix, I wrote a short story entitled "Dismantling The Religious Machine." In this story I depicted religion as a man-made machine which eventually grew so large that it required the lives of human beings as fuel to keep it running. When The Matrix came out I immediately related to the theme and was glad to find that someone had decided to tell a similar story while taking it to a higher level than I ever could. Perhaps this is why I was able to glean so much meaning from the movie and was compelled to watch it over two dozen times.

Why the tendency to draw conclusions and spiritual applications from movies and other secular works? Speaking for myself, it is sometimes very difficult to describe spiritual things without being misunderstood. It is often easier to find types and symbols already in existence than it is to put into words something which is indescribable. To compare something as complex as spiritual warfare to Neo plucking the bullets out of the air brings an image to mind which expresses precisely what I want to say. As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." If that is the case, then a motion picture is worth a million words.

A DISCLAIMER

We do not claim that The Matrix is a Christian movie, nor do we suggest that the Wachowski brothers intended for us to interpret it the way we have chosen to interpret it. Even so, the principle of God using secular vessels to communicate spiritual truths is established in Scripture. Pharaoh was a pagan ruler who dreamed a dream, but it took Joseph to interpret it as a sign from God. Nebuchadnezzar was a heathen king who dreamed a dream, but it took Daniel to interpret it as a sign from God. Caiaphas led the effort to crucify the Lord Jesus, yet God used him to prophesy that it is better for one to die for the people than for all the people to perish. If the Lord can speak through the likes of a Pharaoh, a Nebuchadnezzar, or a Caiaphas then He may certainly speak through anyone, whether they are cognizant of it or not. The important thing is not what God is using, but what we are seeing and hearing in the thing He is using.

Since The Matrix is not a Christian movie intended for a Christian audience we can expect the movie (not our analysis) to have profanity and violent scenes. This is why it is Rated "R". Those who are offended at such should not view the movie. Whether or not you choose to view it should be a matter of conscience. We offer the following analysis for those who have already decided to view the movie and are interested in our particular interpretation of it. However, since we do not want to bring offense to a brother or sister, we are also making available a version of the same article which can be read and understood without having viewed the movie at all.

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