Avatar and the Resurrection

One of the interesting themes in the movie Avatar was how often Jake’s Avatar appeared to die in front of the Na’vi. If something happened to Jake’s communication chamber, interrupting his connection with his Avatar it would appear that Jake died and then he would come back to life when reconnected with his Avatar. To me this was very similar to the Bible concept of resurrection – the process in which God recreates the body and reconnects the individual – his thoughts, memories, and awareness, with his body. The resurrection is one of the major themes in the body and explains how a person can die and then come back to life to face the judgment scene – either for good or for bad.

The first resurrection story is in Genesis 22, where Abraham is to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Abraham understands from God that he is to take his son to Mount Moriah and there he is to kill his son as an offering to God. Abraham goes through the whole process and is fully prepared to offer his son. When he starts to put a knife into the chest of his son, God stops Abraham and Isaac is rescued from death and Abraham receives his son back from the “dead”. Hebrews 11:17-19 states the following:

“By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”

The second story of resurrection is told in the story of Joseph. Joseph becomes Pharaoh of Egypt’s right hand man and is responsible for rescuing all of Egypt from death by starvation during the 7 years of famine spoken of in Genesis 40-42. After saving all of Egypt Joseph predicts that God will deliver Israel and when that happens, even though it is many years after the death of Joseph, he asks that Israel will take is bones with them when they leave Egypt. Genesis 50:24-26 This is another figure of resurrection.

The first actual resurrection of a dead person is the story of Moses. God clearly describes the death and burial of Moses in Deuteronomy 34:1-7. He also comments into the process of Moses’ resurrection in Jude 9. We know that Moses was resurrected because he shows up in the story of Jesus, many years after his death, and is one of the two men that come to comfort Jesus in his time of distress in Matthew 17:1-4.

We know that the Bible states that when a person is dead he is unable to communicate love, anger, hatred, revenge, or any human thought or experience. The Bible says that “the dead know not any thing…” Ecclesiastes 9:4-10 Since the dead know not any thing, then in order to communicate with mankind the dead must experience a resurrection, a returning to the world of the living.

There are many more examples of the resurrection of the dead in the Bible. There are several in the Old Testament – II Kings 4:8-37; II Kings 13: 20-21 - and several in the New Testament writings – Luke 7:11-17; Luke 8:49-56; Matthew 27:50-53. Perhaps the greatest single resurrection is that of Lazarus in John 11. In this story John is dead for 4 days and has started to decompose, when Jesus comes to visit the family of Joseph and comfort them for the loss of their brother Lazarus. Jesus gives us the most detailed speech on the subject of the resurrection and then resurrects His friend Lazarus. This resurrection places a seal of God on Jesus

The next major resurrection is that of Jesus Himself. All four of the gospels discuss the various aspects of the resurrection and how God conducts His business. The Bible states that Jesus was able to lay down His own life and then to pick it back up. John 10:17-18

Finally God tell us that there will be two final resurrections – one for the righteous and one for the wicked. John 5:25-29 says the following:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. “

Each person will decide which resurrection he/she will be in. If they choose to accept Jesus as God, then they will be in the resurrection that comes about when Jesus returns for the second time. This resurrection is discussed in I Corinthians 15:51-58 and I Thessalonians 4:13-18. The resurrection of damnation occurs a thousand years later at the third coming of Christ. Revelation 20:1-15

James Cameron was kind enough to give us the symbolism of the resurrection in his movie Avatar. God was kind enough to give us the reality. I pray that as we evaluate these things we will choose the reality over the symbolism and the fantasy. The choice is ours; the gift of the reality is God’s. He longs for us to be resurrected to live with Him forever.