Essay, Research Paper
A Cultural Analysis of the Judgment Day
?Judgment Day” is a term popularized by Christ and his followers. This term refers
to a time during Christ’s Second Coming when Christ will judge all men. Therefore, many
modern artists look into the Bible and come up with exotic ideas to explain the message in
terms that can be understood by people that may not have had that much contact with the
Bible. One idea that was taken from the Bible was the ?Judgment Day?. This will be a day
when Christ will return and judge all man. This idea was introduced in a movie called
Terminator2. This cultural introduction to the world was taken up by Christians through
out the world writing chapters and books about this cultural event.
He said he?d be back! Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as the Terminator model
800. His mission is to protect John Connor, the boy destined to lead the freedom fighters
of the future. In other words, John Connor sends a Terminator to protect him self about
ten years into the past. But there is a problem, a master computer also sends a Terminator
called the T-1000. The Terminator 1000 has a mission that is quite opposites from the
Terminator that is to protect John Connor, and this Terminator is also the most lethal
machine ever created. This Terminator has a mission to destroy John Connor. Why? to
prevent the freedom fighter from ever occurring in the future. The Terminator 800 also
has an ally, and her name is Sarah Connor, John?s mother. Linda Hamilton costars,
reprising her role as the quintessential survivor, a woman warrior whose warnings go
unheeded by a world careening toward a nuclear holocaust she knows is inevitable.
The movie beginnings with the two Terminators arriving from the future in a time
travel format. There next test is to find clothing and transporting measures so that they can
find John Connor. The first to find him will determine the future as fatal or saved. The first
encounter with the two Terminators is in the back hall ways of a mall where the two
Terminator have a dual to for the boy. The Terminator 1000 being a better combat build
model, manages to keep the other Terminator 800 from saving the boy. But in the middle
of the dual, the boy escapes out of the Terminator 1000?s site only for a while. The chase
is on to see who will get their hands on John Connor first. In the last second during a high
speed chase, in which John Connor is on a small motor bike and the Terminator 1000 in a
semi-truck about to drive over the kid, the Terminator 800 manages to save the kid from
an almost death situation. For now all is fine, the Terminator 800 explains him self to John
Connor, that is where he is from and what is mission is. The next task is to save John
Connor?s mother, Sarah Connor. But the Terminator 1000 is all to smart. It for sees the
Terminator 800?s goal, and arrived at the metal hospital where Sarah Connor is kept first.
In another close to death chase, the Terminator 800 manages to save John Connor and
Sarah Connor from the hands of the Terminator 1000. For now the three are save, until
they learn who?s fault is will be for the three million deaths in the near future. Sarah is
committed to put an end to the project that is being worked on by a certain scientist. This
scientist will develop a computer chip that will learn everything about the world and
become functional on its own. In a high intense action moment, the Terminator 800 and
Sarah Connor destroy the building in which the development took place. But the
Terminator 1000 has not completed his mission, because John Connor is still alive. Sarah
drives the Terminator 1000 into a factory in which metal is melted and manages to put an
end to the Terminator 1000 by melting him in a lava of metal
Christians of different denominations have learned to translate this movie into a
Biblical format point of view. One Christian named Hanry Howard has developed his own
web page with his translated version of the movie into a Christian understanding. He
believes that Sarah is a prophet, in the same vein as Isaiah, Elijah, or Jonah, but more in
the spirit of a Baptist preacher. She fully believes that the Judgment Day is approaching.
John is ?everyman?. He is born into a world of rampant evil and inherits a rebellious
nature. It is only through the intervention of the T-800 that John matures. Moreover,
John’s salvation comes through the T-800. The T-800 (for the purposes of this allegory) is
Christ. He not only protects both Sarah and John throughout the drama, but he sacrifices
his existence for their sake. The T-1000 is the Devil. He brings death and destruction to
everything in his path. He is crafty and can change form in order to deceive.
The Evidence. Throughout Jewish, that is Christian, tradition, we find prophets. Likewise,
many modern day Christians find the fire and brimstone message of evangelists prophetic.
It is claimed that the presentation of Sarah incorporates both Jewish tradition and modern
perception. The idea of original sin can be found in the works of many past and present
theologians. This means that the sinful state is inherited and unavoidable for human beings.
It is thought that John is presented in a similar light, namely rebellious by circumstance.
Consider his background. He is a foster child whose mother taught him to steal. One can
see the film scene where he gets money from the ATM. This seems to imply that John is
?everyman?, born into sin. There are several similarities between the T-800 and Christ:
Both sacrificed their lives, though innocent, for the sake of humanity. When the naked
T-800 first enters the bar, he is stabbed in the chest. Look at any painting of Christ on the
cross and compare it to the T-800 as he enters the kitchen of the bar. The wound Christ
receives in John 19:34 looks remarkably similar, in any painting, to theT-800’s wound.
Note – the T-800’s wound is in a different place than where he was stabbed, watch closely!
It would seem the creators went out of their way for this symbol. Thomas doubted that
Christ had been resurrected. He put his finger in the nail holes in Christ’s hands (John
20:24-27). Consider the scene after Sarah, John, and the T-800 flee the mental institute.
John puts his finger in the bullet holes! As Sarah watches the T-800 slap five with John in
the desert, she has a mental soliloquy about the faithfulness of the T-800. Sarah notes that
the T-800 is better than any earthly father. Now check out Hebrews 3:6 (there are many
others). A second coming is important for both (Hanry Howard 149).
There are also several similarities between the T-1000 and the Devil:
The Devil is thought to change form. In Christian tradition Satan takes the form of a
serpent and he is called the beast. Also, look at 2 Corinthians 11:14. Clearly, just as the
T-1000’s main asset is his ability to change form, so is it Satan’s. The T-1000 desires death
for John (i.e.. ?everyman?). Likewise, Satan desires death for all men according to
Christian tradition. Look at Revelation 19:20. We see that the Devil will be thrown alive
into a lake of fire. Now consider how the T-1000 dies. This alternate theory hinges on the
fact that John is the savior of humanity (though not through death). Consequently, Sarah
would be the Virgin Mary. This would then explain the mysterious nature of Sarah’s
impregnation since John’s father corresponds to the Holy Spirit (Genesis, Revelation).
R.C. Sproul has a lot to say about judgment day. In one of his books, called ?Now,
That?s a Good Question!? he points out that Christians could be the victims of judgment
day. A Christians should realize that there might be all sorts of possibilities for a Christian
to become victim of suffering during the tribulation or by different sorts of trials, or by a
person?s unrighteous behavior. Recall the scientist in the movie Terminator2, and his
abscission in building the chip. We might ask God why he allows us to be the victim of
someone else?s unkindness. God puts us to many tests to see if we have faith in him. This
makes us victims of another attack by Satan, but we have to remember that God is
sovereign over all of those things. Recall the scientist being the victim of Sarah Connor?s
violent behavior when she shot him in the shoulder during her unexplained, violent act in
his house. A Christian therefore, should take this as an test of Satan?s attack to turn away
from the good. Sarah Connor keep her faith and does not finish the scientist off even
though she could. Sproul challenges us to ask the question of whether or not God is
turning to tell us something in order to correct our behavior. Therefore, we should loyalty
to God when things happen to us (R.C. Sproul 99).
Recall in the movie Terminator2 a shocking dream Sarah Connor has which shows
a city being devoured by a wall of fire in which three million people die in not entirely a
minute. Sproul asks whether or not the Scriptures say that during the last days the earth
will be destroyed or that God will regenerate the substance that already exists here? One
thing is certain, while the judgment will come to all men, the expression of God?s wrath
upon the earth will not involve the total annihilation of this planet. John has a vision where
he is looking at a new heaven and a new earth, meaning that God will renovate it.
Christians such as Sproul look at judgment day as a purification process rather a
destructive process. A process in which the old will be renewed, restored, and brought
back to life (R.C. Sproul 100)
We have to agree that the format in which judgment day was explained and in
Terminator 2 was easy to understand. After all, we understand the concept of a nuclear
bomb and its capability. That is what the wall of fire was cause by, a nuclear bomb.
Therefore in the movie. The Bible teaches us that we will be judged by the same measures
by which we judge others. The indication is that Judgment Day will cause a massive
destruction after all? Jesus says in the New Testament that whatever form of judgment we
give is what we can expect to receive. Mr. Sproul finds an answer that soothes the thought
of pain. If we find our selves in a situation in which we are aware of the cause and harm of
others, and we do it any ways, the ?just Judge? or better known as God will give us a
more hurtful judgment. If we find our selves in a situation where we do not know the
cause, and the effect will become tragic, the ?just Judge? will recognize our mistake.
Therefore, we have to ask our selves, did we allow the nuclear bomb to be created
because we didn?t know better, or was it created for specific purposes (Sproul 132)?
As Christians in the world we should exposes our selves to everything, because
through exposure we can learn how to be better Christians, and what we have to do in
order to get closer to our saver. Almost all Christians would agree that the movie
Terminator 2 is not the best movie to watch as a Christian, because of all the violence and
bad language. The movie also communicates a lot a sin to the world, because it says that
bad language is fine to use, that going out of the law to save other humans will a positive
adittude to have. But with the right maturity and purpose, a Christian can learn a lot from
a movie like the Terminator 2. The movie teaches the viewer how evil the world really is
and it does not only fantasies these things, but it also reveilles the basic structure of crime
that really does happen in our world. When Sarah Connar goes to kill the scientist, it is not
the fact the people kill other people for the same purposes in the world, but just basic
nature of killing is a sin. Therefore, no one should kill (Hunt 78).
Humanity is also considered as a threat in this movie. The entire movie is based on
the near extinction of humanity, and the way the movie brings across the message of
humanity is that humans are unaware of the coming of the end. Dave Hunt is an author of
?Global Peace? and he talks about the prophetic message coming across from some
researchers these days. he simply says that many people have prophesied the end, and even
as early as the apostles, people have known that we are living in the end of times. So it is
only expected that the nearer we approach the year 2000 the more talk there will be
concerning the end of the world, the second coming, and the dawning of a new age of
peace and plenty, since not everyone expects God?s judgment.
The movie Terminator 2 deals with the wrong morals to those that will develop
any morals by watching the movie. The movie Terminator 2 deal with the fact that
everyone wants world peace and will do anything to keep peace going. One of the
extremes the movie goes into is kill for peace. Normally the two would contradict each
other because if one wants peace then killing is not the best way of arriving at peace. The
movie does not deal with moral in the right ways, because it also teaches that future can
be changed. According to the Bible, in Revelation 1:8 it says that God is the beginning and
the end. He sovereignty rules over all human history. But in the movie, Sarah Connor, her
son, and the Terminator 800 are trying to change the future by first killing the scientist so
that the end will not come. As Christians, we have some what different morals then
non-Christians have. Therefore, we will view this movie differently then non-Christian
would whether we like it or not. It is therefore very important to realize that God tells us
not only to look into the Bible for answers, but in addition we should also look into the
nature to find what God has revealed to us (Lindsey 78)
One idea that was taken from the Bible was the ?Judgment Day?. This will be a
day when Christ will return and judge all man. Throughout history men tried to predict the
day He will come back but no one has done it yet. In order to keep people informed of
such an event, many have gone out to explain this upcoming event to those that may not
know so much about it. Terminator 2 was one of the best ways of explaining this event
using a different approach to it so that all come watch the movie and think about such a
possibility in the future.