In Star Wars the triumph belongs to Luke Skywalker, his sister Leia and their loyal friends.
For Christians, however, the final victory is far less dramatic. At the so-called final battle of Armageddon, where Evil Incarnate has gathered all the forces of the dark side of sin together to wage war against God, "one little word" does indeed fell them all. In the Book of Revelation, that final battle never actually takes place. God simply declares that history is over; evil is tossed into the Lake of Fire; the old simply passes away and the new, in the form of the New Jerusalem descending from heaven, has come.
This is, of course, where Lucas' Star Wars "theology" and the "theology" of the Bible part company. For Lucas, "The Force" is neutral and can be used equally well by both the Dark Side or its opposite.
For Christians, their is only one "Force": God. Evil seeks to destroy but actually has no power or authority of its own, apart from God. When the time arrives for history to come to its conclusion, God simply reclaims and redeems the power that, by conscious acts of free will, has been twisted and abused in sinful disobedience and rebellion against himself.
Sometimes the world we live in seems to be collapsing into evil and darkness much like the end of Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith. But we know that the story is not yet finished. In spite of the continuing experience of suffering and death, there is also much bravery and courage to be found among those who seek righteousness. The loving God who sent his "Son" to die so that the world, through him, might be saved, will have the last word.
And God's Word is good!
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
Is this really a Review? It seems more like Opinion and commentary to me. It tells me nothing about the quality of the movie, etc.
I have no objection to the post, but it isn't a review in my opinion.
2 - Bird of Paradise
Note to Phillip Winn: I completely agree with you. It was not intended as a review of the movie but aa a cultural, theological reflection on it. I published it under "Culture" but apparently minds greater than my own shifted it to the "Video" spot.