Avatar and Satan

As far as I can tell, from the reading of various articles about the movie Avatar, the concept of Satan – the ruler of evil, was not specifically addressed. The closest concept regarding Satan and demons was a statement by the young leader Tsu’Tey who stated “the sky people are demons”. So somewhere in the Na’vi theological mindset the idea of a set of supernaturally evil beings had been established.

The Na’vi had a belief in a benevolent goddess – Away – and they had some awareness of an evil but the concept of Satan as an individual did not seem to be expressed. At the same time the Na’vi had the perceptions that the strip mining practices of the corporation was disrespectful of all nature and the Na’vi wanted them to stop mining and stop destroying the planet. In addition the Na’vi had concerns about the attitude of the Earth leaders and their willingness to harm things to get more minerals off of the planet. The Na’vi would consider this to be evil. Since the Na’vi had a Satan concept, and James Cameron did not choose to add this symbol let us explore the concept of Satan from the perspective of the Bible.

In the Bible the concept of Satan, and demons, is very established. The history of this being is quite detailed and “starts” in Revelation 12:3-9:

3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
This Scripture makes a number of statements about Satan. First of all it equates the name Satan, which means adversary, to the great red dragon. This dragon – flying serpent – started out in heaven. In the Isaiah 14:12-20 account of Satan, his original name was Lucifer – Son of the Morning, or Light Bearer. Satan was in the beginning a Covering Cherub and was very close to God. After indulging in vanity, envy, and lust (Ezekiel 28:11-19) this Cherub/Angel got into such a problem that it created war in heaven itself. Through his deceptive reasoning (the prophet states that Lucifer lied, Isaiah 9:15) he enticed 1/3 of all the angels in heaven to join him in this war against God. Revelation 12:7-9 says that Satan lost this war in heaven and he, and his angels, were cast out of heaven. Then Lucifer’s name was changed to Satan, because he had become the adversary of God, and anyone whom God loved, including Mankind.

So Satan, one who was created by God for glorious purposes, became the enemy of God and is portrayed throughout the Scriptures as an evil, malicious, deceptive being seeking to harm anyone who loves God. It is Satan who caused sin in heaven, and it was Satan who enticed Adam and Eve to rebel against God. Satan is behind all activities that bring harm, deception, and evil of every kind. He is the enemy described by Jesus as the one sowing evil seed into God’s garden in Matthew 13:27-28. God did not plant any evil seed, or any evil sentiment – this all comes from Satan because he still hates God for casting him out of heaven.

In addition, when Lucifer fell from heaven, he took 1/3 of all of the angels in heaven with him. Revelation 12:4 These fallen angels had sinned in the presence of God and there was not any more that could be done to rescue them than had been done. II Peter 2:4 We use the concept of demon – possessed to describe the kind of spirit that wants to hold people in a distressed state of mind, and control their behavior. This is also called demon possession.

In the movie Avatar, the most evil people in the movie were the leader of the mining group Parker Selfridge, and the chief of security Miles Quaritch. Both of these people are evil because they show a total disregard for humanity, for the Na’vi, for nature, or the God of nature. Whatever makes them happy, and fulfills their selfishness, is “good”, and any thing that gets in their way is “bad”. They refuse to accept that there is a standard of morality higher than that which money and power can provide. This is Satanic thinking in its purest form – the desire to exalt one self at the expense of others. This is a display of demon possession.

I am not sure if James Cameron intended to go this deep into spiritual issues but once one opens Pandora’s Box then all of the issues in the Box will be examined and experienced by the reader. Avatar has exposed all of these issues, and it is my intent to share the truth about these issues so that people can make an informed decision about what they want to do with truth. I pray that God will bless each of you as you read and meditate upon these issues including that of Satan. God has instructed us about these creatures and we need to be aware of them and respect their power and to remember the power of God.