The Matrix as a Parable
The use of parables is a literary mechanism designed to explain something we do not understand by comparing it to something we do understand. Metaphors limp and, similarly, parables are limited. Not all things in a parable are meaningful to or supportive of the message. It is a mistake to take them too far. For instance, in the unjust steward parable that Jesus told in Lk 16:1-10, Jesus recommends the shrewdness of the unjust steward, but not his immoral ethics.
Luke 16:8-9″And his master praised the unrighteous steward because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. NASB
The Matrix – The Story Summary
A summary of the Matrix story is as follows: In the future (2019), the world is in the aftermath of a war between humans and machines that have become sentient (able to think) through advances in Artificial Intelligence. The machines have won, and most humans are now captured by them. Access to the sun has been blocked by the ravages of war, (an intentional strategy by humans to cut off power to the machines), so the machines need a new power source. They are now using human beings as “batteries.”
All living humans are stored in embryonic fluid in pods in warehouses and attached to numerous wires to provide energy to the machines and to keep the humans alive and developing. By 2019, most of the humans had been born and bred under this regime. A large electronic probe has been inserted into the brains of the humans in the pods through which they are fed a computer program of their virtual life. They are living in induced comas in pods but think they are living in a functional world. That program of their virtual life is called “The Matrix.” This computerized world is guarded by sentinels known as agents, who are also computer-generated programs that monitor the activity of the people in the Matrix and function as “policemen” inside the Matrix.
Some humans escaped capture during the war and are surviving in underground communities in and below the sewer systems. Some other humans have been set free from the Matrix. All freed humans are continuing the war as guerilla fighters, although they are greatly outnumbered and have limited resources.
A young man named Neo is living the virtual life of a programmer. It is a machine driven illusion like all lives are in the Matrix. He begins to understand that there is more than what he sees. He notices glitches in the programming that arouse his curiosity, so he begins searching the web for information that might explain the glitches he witnesses. His curiosity is noticed both by the agents and by the freedmen.
Neo is contacted by the agents and warned to cease and desist from his inquiries. Then he is contacted by the freedmen led by a man named Morpheus who recognizes that Neo is The One, a long prophesied messianic figure who will lead his people to victory over the machines and restore them to the pre-fallen state. (Neo is an anagram for the “One,”. and like Harry Potter, is the Christ figure always found in messianic allegories.)
Morpheus offers Neo a way out of the Matrix and into the real world of freed human beings; i.e., the real world. Neo accepts the offer, is freed from his embryonic pod and begins a process of rehabilitating his muscles which have atrophied during 20 years of hibernation in the pod. Living in the Matrix diminishes one’s physical powers because one never gets to use or develop them. Living in the world does the same thing to our spiritual powers.
For the purposes of our parable, the Matrix is what the Bible calls “the world.” The land of the freedmen would be “the Kingdom of God on earth.” God sees that we are all captured by Satan in the world (Matrix). We are not living the real life He created for us, but are living in a virtual reality and are programmed to obey its leadings, directions and commands. God sends His Son Jesus to set us free from the world (as well as from the devil and from our own flesh).
Once we are set free from the world (Matrix), we must rehab our spiritual muscles and work to free others from the same bondage. We are now citizens of the Kingdom of God with superpowers to fight against the kingdom of darkness (the Matrix). This is represented by the kung-fu fighting in the story.
2 Cor 10:3-7 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. 7 You are looking at things as they are outwardly. If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we. NASB
Some people voluntarily return to the world (Matrix) because it is temporarily easier and more pleasurable. This is represented by the character known as Cypher.
Ultimately the battle is won when the “messianic” figure, Neo, voluntarily lays down his life for all of mankind (third movie). The cinematic theme of the Matrix, for our purposes, serves to vividly portray the impact of the world on our daily lives seducing and deceiving us into believing in a false reality and keeping us unaware of the reality created for us by God. Once we understand the world (Matrix) and its hold on our lives through marketing and false training, we can begin the process of asking the Holy Spirit
or the power to overthrow it in our lives and the lives of those we love.
The Matrix is a parable relating to the struggle of good vs. monolithic evil that is present in many forms in history. The writers of the movie probably had no biblical motives, but the embedded messianic myth unintentionally serves the purposes of exposing the impact of the satanic worldview on our lives, and suggests to us biblical principles by which we might set ourselves and others free to serve the Kingdom of God.
Eph 6:10-19 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel… NASB
There have been many “meanings” attached to or read into “The Matrix,” but it is ultimately a fairly common myth that has been used down through the ages to reflect man’s struggle to be free from the monolithic systems of his age. Myth is a technical term that describes a truth that is frequently reflected over time and in different cultures as a metaphor or an allegory. It does not mean something that is untrue or false as it is used in popular speech. It refers to something that is real and valid but reflected in story form, a saga or a belief system; e.g., the Santa Claus myth or the Lone Ranger hero myth.
A simple example is that the Greek, Roman and other pagan gods are a myth reflecting the actual supernatural world of God and His angels. Every culture has such a myth even though most of them were developed without any connection to each other. The understanding about God and His supernatural world is so evident and pervasive that people groups in all ages and in all locations on the globe independently devise a myth to reflect it.
The Matrix movie is then a type of “Messiah myth” common to man in every age and every place that speaks of one who lays down his life to free people from whatever monolith that enslaves them. It is common to all cultures the world over and in every age. As Christians we understand that the Messiah myth reflects the true story of Jesus who came from God empowered and motivated to set us free, even at the cost of His own life.
Other messianic myths in our experience would include Harry Potter vs. Voldemort and the Deatheaters, Obi Wan vs. the evil emperor and the dark side of the force and Frodo vs. Sauron and his darkness. The hero offers his life to free the people from tyranny. In its purest form, the messianic myth requires the hero to die (or almost die) to set the people free and then is resurrected in reality or in eternal memory and honor.
If the messianic mythic hero is a reflection of the true Christ, the captured victims in the messianic myth are a reflection of you and me, and the monolithic structure is what the Bible sometimes calls “the world.” This is this topic of our essay.
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We tend to think of the world as a vague somewhat ethereal almost metaphorical entity, because it is the nature of a monolith to hide its actual existence from it victims. No one inside (captured by) the Matrix could see it. Only those who had been set free could discern its presence and its impact. Morpheus, Trinity and especially Neo, grew in their discernment of “the world” by doing battle with it at much cost and sacrifice to their lifestyle. Several others are martyred in the struggle. One character, a freedman named Cypher, voluntarily returns to the delusional Matrix when the struggle begins to cost too much, thereby losing his “salvation.”
“The world” is mythical in its nature. Like the Matrix, the world is a monolithic structure that has captured human beings and uses them to power its existence. The Bible has much to say about the world that we would do well to heed so that we can get free from it and stay free of it. The world was originally created by God but corrupted by Satan and has become a self-perpetuating entity. In the same way that Neo, Morpheus; et. al., go into the Matrix to redeem it, Jesus came into “the world” to rescue us, and sends us back into the world to lead others out.
The world, like the Matrix, feeds on humans. It causes us to buy what it sells, to want what it offers and to agree with its basic precepts. It gets its energy by sucking it out of the people it manipulates. We are merely its ‘batteries,” its life force. The Bible tells us that we were/are captured by the world but Jesus was sent to set us free. He offers to bring us out of the world and into the Kingdom of Heaven. Rather than drain our life force like the Matrix, the Kingdom of Heaven feeds us, sustains us, and energizes us to live. It is the counterculture to the world.
Gal 4:3-5 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. 4 But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. NASB
Eph 2:1-3 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. NASB
2 Cor 4:3-4 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Once we have been set free, we need to endeavor to remain free.
James 1:27 This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. NASB
Rom 12:1-2 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. NASB
Col 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. NASB
1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever. NASB
There is a huge battle between good and evil, between God and the world, in which we are pawns unless we are active combatants. God has won overall but will only win in our neighborhood if and when we participate in the battle. God has given us the victory, but we must decide to join the battle or continue as victims of the monolithic world.
John 12:31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. NASB
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” NASB
Eph 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. NASB
1 John 5:4-6 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. 5 And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? NASB
If we are set free from the world, we are set free into the Kingdom of God aka the Kingdom of Heaven. In the Matrix, the captured humans were not aware of either the Matrix or the world of freedmen. Once they were set free, they were aware of both. As we get free of the world, we are able to see it more clearly for what it is and see the Kingdom of Heaven more clearly as well.
John 18:36-37 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” NASB
John 8:23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. NASB
1 Cor 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, NASB
Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God over 30 times in the Gospels. To Him it is a real place with real rules, precepts and rewards, a place we can access in this lifetime on earth. It is a place where we can live free from the world and be free to walk with God. Let’s look at the Kingdom of Heaven, God’s alternative to the matrix known as “the world.” The Kingdom of God was prophesied to come and it is here now.
Matt 3:2-3 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness. ‘Make ready the way of the Lord. Make His paths straight!'” NASB
For Jesus, the Kingdom of Heaven on earth was the heart of the Gospel and His miracles were to demonstrate that Heaven had come among us.
Matt 4:23 And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. NASB
Matt 10:5-8 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; 6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give. NASB
The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the “poor in spirit” (regardless of income), the obedient man or woman that is rightly related to God and his neighbor. People who are captured by their possessions have a hard time entering the kingdom of Heaven. Their possessions get in the way. The rich man CAN enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not as easy as it would be if he had no wealth or was not captured by it.
Matt 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. NASB
Matt 19:23-24 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 “And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. NASB
Jesus told us to pray that the Kingdom of Heaven will be manifested on the earth and that we should seek it before (or more than) we seek anything else including food, water and clothing, or even forgiveness for our sins.
Matt 6:10-12 ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread, 12’ and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. NASB
Matt 6:31-33 “Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we clothe ourselves?’ 32 “For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. NASB
We will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven or be saved through mere words empty of real change in our lives. Good works will not save us either. Only those who “know the Lord” and those whom the Lord knows will enter into His kingdom. Many will be stunned on their judgment day.
Matt 7:19-23 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. NASB
The Jews thought Israel was the kingdom of God, because the Jews were the sons of Abraham. Jesus is telling them that the Gentiles who have faith will enter the Kingdom of Heaven but many of the children of Israel will not. In this case He means even the eternal Kingdom of Heaven after death.
Matt 8:8-13 But the centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 “For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled, and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11 “And I say to you, that many shall come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; let it be done to you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very hour. NASB
Matt 21:43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it. NASB
In trying to describe the basic operating principles of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus metaphorically compared it with many things: a field cleared of weeds, a mustard seed that grows miraculously, leaven that expands to fill up all things, a treasure hidden in a field, a merchant seeking fine pearls, a place accessible by tax-gatherers and harlots as well as “righteous” men, and many other analogies.
The kingdom of Heaven on earth must be entered with childlike faith and humility.
Matt 18:1-3 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. NASB
Matt 19:13-14 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. NASB
The world as a monolithic entity deceiving mankind can be seen in several well-known historical events. In Nazi Germany, many of the people were successfully convinced that the extermination of the Jews and other minorities was justified. People like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Karl Barth who resisted could see National Socialism and its policies as evil, but it did not really dawn on many Germans until after the camps were exposed. Then many German people were ashamed and stunned by their own blindness.
In our own country we have seen the same thing happen numerous times to include the extermination of the American Indian which we justified under the doctrine of Manifest Destiny. We systematically and corporately enslaved the African blacks and justified from a thousand pulpits until the blinders fell off and we realized what we had done. Once again we are embarrassed and shamed by our previous behaviors.
Abortion is another monolithic myth that has captured us as a society. Good people are found on both sides of the argument, but I believe we will one day look back and decry our blindness in this area also as we shamefully apologize to what is to date over 58,000,000 babies and will by then be many, many more. Some will apologize for participating and others of us will apologize for sitting back and letting it happen.
One of the great sins of our American culture is how we treat God’s money. The biblical principle of stewardship clearly defines all of our wealth as belonging to God, and yet we everywhere treat it as if it is our own. The Madison Avenue Matrix of Marketing has convinced us that we have the right and even the obligation to spend it upon ourselves. We are everywhere guilty of the sin of Consumerism. While our “neighbor” lives in hunger, abject poverty and want, we buy things we do not need and cannot fully enjoy.
We do not see it because the “Matrix” is feeding us delusional information while using us as its energy source, its human batteries. The Bible calls to us loudly and clearly. Jesus speaks to us in the Sermon on the Mount and in the still small voice. The prophets warn us, but we do not listen. We are captured by the “Matrix.” We have what the Bible calls “eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear.”
Jesus looks down from His cross and says, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing!” We will acknowledge our need for His forgiveness eventually, but we will be ashamed yet once again. We will be embarrassed as we explain to the orphan, the widow and the poor why we needed our second house, our third set of golf clubs, our fourth car and two closets full of clothes we did not wear. “Oh, Lord, wake us up before we come to that day!”
Isaiah warns us loudly and clearly, but we turn him off. We do not want to hear what Isaiah is saying to us; i.e., what God is saying to us through the prophet.God is going to crush our culture and the Matrix that drives it.
Isaiah 3:1-12 For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support, the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water; 2 the mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, 3 the captain of fifty and the honorable man, the counselor and the expert artisan, and the skillful enchanter. 4 And I will make mere lads their princes and capricious children will rule over them. 5 And the people will be oppressed, each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; the youth will storm against the elder, and the inferior against the honorable. 6 When a man lays hold of his brother in his father’s house, saying, “You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler, and these ruins will be under your charge,” 7 On that day will he protest, saying, “I will not be your healer, for in my house there is neither bread nor cloak; you should not appoint me ruler of the people.” 8 For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their actions are against the LORD, to rebel against His glorious presence. 9 The expression of their faces bears witness against them, and they display their sin like Sodom; they do not even conceal it. Woe to them for they have brought evil on themselves! 10 Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, for they will eat the fruit of their actions. 11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, for what he deserves will be done to him. 12 O My people! Their oppressors are children, and women rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray, and confuse the direction of your paths.
In this first section of Isaiah, the third chapter, God is telling us why, in our day, our society is in decline and why it could get worse. Gone are our great leaders and our statesmen. The context of these Divine denouncements is that the people are only interested in themselves and have abandoned the poor, the orphan, the widow and the alien. God will cause our leadership to be inexperienced and capricious. People will beg the righteous people to run for office, but they will refuse. The culture has become too corrupt to save. Older people will be oppressed by their children and men will be dominated by their women. God will be gracious to the righteous man but the wicked man will be judged. They have brought it upon themselves.
Isaiah 3:13-15 The LORD arises to contend, and stands to judge the people. 14 The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people, “It is you who have devoured the vineyard. The plunder of the poor is in your houses. 15 “What do you mean by crushing My people, and grinding the face of the poor?” declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
The rich and the powerful have devoured the economy for their own purposes and the poor are ground under their heels. That which should have been used to care for the poor is found in the homes of the rich man. The day of reckoning is at hand.
Isaiah 3:16-26 Moreover, the LORD said, “Because the daughters of Zion are proud, and walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, and go along with mincing steps, and tinkle the bangles on their feet, 17 Therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs, and the LORD will make their foreheads bare. ” 18 In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, headbands, crescent ornaments, 19 dangling earrings, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, ankle chains, sashes, perfume boxes, amulets, 21 finger rings, nose rings, 22 festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses, 23 hand mirrors, undergarments, turbans, and veils. 24 Now it will come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp; instead of fine clothes, a donning of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty. 25 Your men will fall by the sword, and your mighty ones in battle. 26 And her gates will lament and mourn; and deserted she will sit on the ground. NASB
Women in the ancient world had very little power and almost no authority, so God very seldom focused His judgment upon women. However, in this verse, God chastises women on an equal plain with their men. Why? Although women had little or no power in a patriarchal world, they usually functioned as an influence for good in it. Godly women inspired good behavior in their men. Women fed the poor and cared for orphans and widows. But not these women here in Isaiah 3!!!
These women were as self-oriented and consumeristic as their men. Like Imelda Marcos, they focused their time and energy on filling their closets with an excess of clothes and personal items. In my book on Isaiah, I refer to this section of Isaiah 3 as the Dillard’s chapter, because it reads like an inventory of the women’s department in our better stores. These women, God says, will reap what they have sown. They will be impoverished, degraded and led off into captivity as they mourn for their dead sons, husbands and lovers.
You would have a hard time finding a harsher judgment and condemnation anywhere in the Bible. The sin being punished is not murder, adultery or idolatry. It is, purely and simply, Consumerism. The matrix known as “the world” had lured the people to abandon their neighbor and to ignore the prophets of the Lord. That same matrix seduces us in America in this day. It will lead us to the same downfall unless we break free from its hold on us. While we self-righteously demand the public placement of the Ten Commandments, we boldly and arrogantly trample on the Two Great Commandments to “Love God and Love People.” We do so to our own peril.
In verse 10 of Isaiah 3 above, God tells the righteous ones that even in the midst of this judgment it will go well with them because they will reap what they sowed. Because they gave grace, support and assistance to the poor, the orphan, the widow and the alien, God will give grace, support and assistance to them even in their captivity in Babylon. God will help them survive in the midst of His judgment on the people of Israel. He will not abandon them if they keep their hearts committed to Him. However, even the righteous will not escape the general judgment on the fallen culture in which they live.
Like them, we will suffer the same fate as our society at large. If our nation declines, my prospects will decline with it. I have a vested interest in the deliverance of my culture from that which captures and controls it. I cannot force anyone else to do the right thing, but I can do the right thing myself. I will not be judged on my ability to leverage politics to restore Christmas manger scenes on the courthouse lawn or the Ten Commandments in public buildings, but I can steward God’s money faithfully that He has put into my hands. I will have no excuses. If we who are Christians will be faithful, pray for our culture and acknowledge our own sins, God will redeem our culture. God explained this to Solomon when they dedicated the temple.
2 Chron 7:13-15 If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. NASB
Interestingly, when good people reach out to help their neighbors, others admire their behavior and many are inspired to join in. They soon learn the joy of building up versus tearing down. The quickest way to start a revival in this country, to bring the Matrix down, is for God’s people to repent from their old ways and begin to obey Him, including with their checkbooks.
Everyone is inspired by the boy who takes all of his savings to feed the homeless or the young lady who took her babysitting money to begin an orphanage and a school in Nepal.
We all admire the people who feed the homeless on Christmas rather than open multiple presents. These behaviors cut across all political lines and theological boundaries. The Mother Teresa’s and Charles and Esther Mullis call us all to re-examine and repent. We will have no excuse when we stand before God. It can be done.
The matrix runs programs with which to capture human beings. It has programs based on hedonism resulting in addiction. It has programs based on violence resulting in death and destruction. It has programs based on mismanagement of stewardship resulting in human misery. But perhaps its most diabolical program is based on religion. If the Matrix cannot capture us with sex, drugs and greed, it will capture us with a relationless religious practice that merely vaccinates us from getting the real thing.
Millions of churchgoing people run around doing all manner of good works, giving money and attending church without ever entering into a real conversational intimate relationship with God through Jesus. They go to church but they never leave the Matrix, and they will be absolutely shocked when they stand before God on judgment day and God says, “I saw all of your activity, but I never knew you.”
Even the church can be captured by the Matrix. The religious leaders of Israel in Jesus’ day were as worldly as the pagans around them. Jesus warned them about it, and He also warns us today.
Matt 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me’ NASB
Peter also warned the religious people of his day. Some heeded the warning and came out of the Matrix.
Acts 2:37-42 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 “For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. NASB
As Neo learned in Matrix III, the way to bring down the Matrix is to starve it, to deny it its life source; i.e., us and our behaviors. Paul calls it dying to or denying the ungodliness of the world.
Titus 2:11-13 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; NASB
If we want to be free from “the world,” we first have to see it. We need to ask God to show us how and where we are personally captured by the world. If we think more like Oprah than we do like Jesus, we are captured by the world. If our attitude and practice concerning sexual mores comes from the world rather than the Bible, we are captured by the world. If we think of ourselves as owners of what we have versus stewards in service to God, we are captured by the world.
If our behaviors and values are nearly identical with the unbelievers around us on moral and ethical questions, we are captured by the world. The Matrix is playing its Jedi mind trick on us telling us what to believe in opposition to the words of God. We must ask God to reveal the world’s grip in our lives and help us to get free. Then we need to prepare ourselves for radical changes, not just tweaks.
Morpheus offered young Neo two pills, metaphors for two choices. You can take one pill making the choice to go back to sleep in the world and not be bothered anymore by the call of the Kingdom, or you can take the other pill or choice and begin a radically new life of freedom, spiritual warfare and a heightened relationship with God.
Paul contrasts the culture of the world with the culture of the Kingdom of God. Then he calls upon us who live in the Spirit to actually walk in it. He, like God, is calling us to sanctification. We may be hoping that God will do some plastic surgery on us to make us look better, but God wants to do a heart transplant whenever we are ready.
Gal 5:19-25 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. NASB
God is calling us to become “conformed to the image of Jesus.” That only happens when we confess our sins before God and ask Him to change us by His Holy Spirit.
Rom 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. NASB
But first we may have to ask God to send us His Holy Spirit to help us to even recognize the sin in our lives, because the world has convinced us that our sinful behaviors are a virtue or a human right. We need to echo David, a man after God’s own heart, who recognized, after his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah, her husband, that his heart was far more corrupt than he had imagined and prayed that God would create in him a “clean heart.” He thought his religious behaviors and his position as king gave him license until Nathan awakened him to the evil he had done. Then he wrote Psalm 51.
Ps 51:1-4 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, and blameless when Thou dost judge.
Ps 51:5-9 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness. Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice. 9 Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Ps 51:10-13 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee. NASB
Deliverance from the world calls for separation in values, beliefs and actions. It calls upon us to become different from the unbeliever and to follow guidance other than the culture.
2 Cor 6:14-7:1 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 17 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. 18 “And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” says the Lord Almighty. NASB
The Book of Revelation gives us a preview of the fall of the world, a Matrix which it refers to as “Babylon.”
Rev 18:1-5 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.” And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues; 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. NASB
Separation from the world will cause us to not only have different social and political values, but it will cause us to have a different nature. We will reflect the attributes of Jesus as listed in Gal 5 above: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We will love our enemies and reach out to the unbeliever with grace and compassion, not judgment and reviling. Neo’s battle was not with people. It was with the Matrix; i.e., the world system that had captured people. Paul tells the Ephesians exactly the same thing about our battle with the world.
Eph 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. NASB
Matrices are monolithic and mythic, and they are real and present in our lives. We will either live in the Matrix or we will live in the Kingdom of God. We will either serve the world or we will serve the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. There is no middle ground. Lukewarm religion is nauseating, Jesus said in Revelations 3:16, and will result in the rejection of many.
These are hard words to some, but they are God’s words, not mine. The good news is always that we can follow Jesus out of the world and into the Kingdom of God, now and forever, Amen.