Avatar - The Foreknowledge of God

In the movie Avatar Jake Sulley is a former Marine who was received a spinal injury in combat on Earth and lost the use of his legs. It just so happened that Jake’s twin brother was a scientist and was involved in the Avatar program on the planet Pandora. In the process of time Jake’s brother dies and the representatives of the mining company contact Jake to see if he would be willing to go to Pandora to take his brother’s place. This would work out, at least to the companies thought for a great deal of money had been spent in developing an Avatar with Jake’s brother’s DNA. Since Jake would match the DNA then the company could recoup their monies, get some more Unobtanium, and progress with the acquisition of money. It appears that Jake was exceedingly lucky and was in the right place at the right time for a variety of wonderful experiences.

One of the things of life is how in various life events, and certainly in Bible stories, truth is stranger than fiction. It is amazing how many things are determined by what appears to be chance events. People like the concept of “luck”(random chance) as the deciding factor. But in the Bible luck does not have a role at all. In the Bible all events are accomplished by hard work, and the guiding hand of God. The prophet Daniel gives us some insight into this concept in Daniel 2:19-22:

“Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are His: and He changeth the ties and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him.”

In Daniel 2 a Babylonian king has a dream and he can not remember what it was. The king recognizes that it is a very important dream so he commands his counselors to tell him what the dream was. The wise men protest because they know that they can not find out this information. The king eventually gives a death decree for all of the wise men in the kingdom. Daniel, one of the wise men hears of this decree and asks the king for a night’s time and he will tell him the dream. The king halts the death decree to see if Daniel can get the job done. Daniel recognizes that he can not solve the question for he knows that he does not know the answer. Daniel appeals to God for the answer because Daniel believed that God did know the answer and could give it and would give the answer to him. Daniel was rewarded for his faith and God gave Daniel the answers he was looking for, for God knows all things.

God claims to be the Alpha – the starting of all things, and the Omega – the ending of all things. God further claims the following:

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure…” Isaiah 46:9-10

This claim no one else on this planet can make. Only God knows all of the future and He knows all of the past. He can give us answers to all our questions and be absolutely correct. God has the ability to see all of time in a glance and to have made plans for every decision we can make.

So in God’s foreknowledge God placed Daniel in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar, one of the richest and wisest kings in history. Yet Nebuchadnezzar might have died long before his time if God, and Daniel, did not watch over him. God knew what would happen to Nebuchadnezzar and had a detailed plan of how He would handle this situation with Nebuchadnezzar and the wise men. God used it to accomplish a great victory for His names sake and for the protection of the people of Israel.

Going back to Jake. Many people wonder if their lives are just random circumstances or if there is a design and purpose to their lives. Life indicates that events are by random circumstance, or luck. The Bible states that God has a plan and that He is monitoring the plan so that it comes out the way it needs to come to be a blessing on the person and on those people who love him/her.

Jake Sulley seemed to have been extremely lucky. Avatar, the movie, seems to approve of the luck concept. But we are seeking to understand how the Bible sees these things. If Jake Sulley were real we could say that in the foreknowledge of God Jake Sulley was sent to the right place in the universe to accomplish his character change and his ability to be healed both physically and spiritually. Jake eventually comes to the place that he is willing to relinquish his spot on earth to take his spot on Pandora and he thought it was a most worthwhile ex-change.

Each of us, who come into contact with Avatar, and similar movies and concepts, must decide for ourselves like Jake did for himself. Avatar has stirred up all kinds of thoughts and feelings about spiritual issues. We can either treat them as casual events or we can treat them as serious gifts from God. God wants to give us all of the gifts that He has planned for this time through out all history. God wants to do for us what was done for Jake Sulley. In the providence of God He has brought us to the time to confront this concepts and to begin to participate in the things of God – preferably to day.

May God help us to recognize our need and to ask Him to come into our hearts the plan of how to take advantage of His providential movings. Praise His Holy Name.