INTRODUCTION
Normally I would let this go, but seeing that this is their seventh film in the franchise, I think it’s about time that the Holy Bible and by extension, the LORD GOD should get His due, acknowledgement and credit.
For starters, some basic information, it is commonly purported that Star Wars was the creation of George Lucas. The first film, Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope was released on May 25, 1977. After this two sequels were released in 1980 and 1983, the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi respectively. Then between 1999 and 2005 a prequel trilogy was released.
All six films were commercial successes and gained attention for Academy Awards. These films earned a combined box office revenue of US$4.38 billion. Additional revenue was then earned in spin-off markets which included: books, DVDs, television series, computer/video games and toys.
Star Wars holds a Guinness World Records title for the “Most successful film merchandising franchise” and in 2012 this franchise was estimated to have a value of US$30.7 billion. The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for US$4.05 billion also in 2012 and is getting ready to release the latest Star Wars film in December 2015 – The Force Awakens.
MOVIE CONCEPT
So where did George Lucas get this money generating brainchild from? Is he just oh so clever, or did he get some help from the dark side of the Force? Firstly, the name: “Star Wars” – well the second word is pretty obvious, but what is really meant by the word “Star”?
Job 38:4-7
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
In the last verse the “morning stars” refer to Angels and the “sons of God” refer to the Archangels. The latter reference is made clearer in this verse:
Job 1:6
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
“A Long Time Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away …..”
Before time began whilst in the realm of Eternity Past, or a very long time ago, something happened … there was a “War of the Stars”.
Isaiah 14:12
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Heaven in this sense can be considered to be “a galaxy far, far away …” A next perspective of this war is given in the Book of Revelation:
Revelation 12:3-4a
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(a) And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and didst cast them to the earth:
From all of this we can see where on the surface, “Star Wars” is presented as a epic story based around visits to various planets and science fiction battles at different locations. But when stripped right down, the truth is that, the six films that have been released loosely chronicles the battles of the angelic forces, where Lucifer – the son of the morning, becomes Satan – that old dragon. Or in ‘Star Wars’ language, Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader. This is the one and only main character that appears physically alive in all 6 films. Somebody wants their side of the story to be told, with lies of course.
One more interesting note is that the first film is actually Episode IV A New Hope – The New Testament starts after 400 years of silence from God, and new hope is given to mankind with the presentation of the Lord Jesus Christ. (see- Luke 2:28-32) These wonderful coincidences just seem to be everywhere.
MAIN CHARACTERS
Now that the basic concept of the story is understood, let us check out the original main characters and examine how they are related to the Holy Bible.
Luke Skywalker
In the New Testament there are 4 Gospels, each one shows the Lord Jesus Christ from a different perspective as follows: Matthew – Jesus the King; Mark – Jesus the Servant; Luke – Jesus the Son of man; and John – Jesus the Son of God.
So, I believe that Luke was chosen not just because it sounds incredibly cool, but because he will be like a savior to the ‘rebellion’ as he develops into the man that he was destined to be. Additionally, a key element of the overall story is whose son he actually is. As for his surname, you just need to look at this verse:
Luke 21:27
27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
In other words, the Lord Jesus will be literally walking in the sky when He returns.
Princess Leia
Why was this name chosen? For the answer we must now go to the Book of Genesis. Jacob’s first wife was named Leah (the spelling is different, but the pronunciation is the same, can’t have things looking too obvious.) See Genesis 29. But later on Jacob’s name is changed to Israel.
Genesis 32:28
28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
So if Jacob is now a prince, his first wife can now be called: Princess Leah.
Obi Wan Kenobi alias Ben Kenobi
While maybe nothing can be gathered from the name itself, he is presented as an old hermit. His role is cast in a type of John the Baptist.
Luke 3:4
4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
So true to form Ben meets Luke out back on the desert planet of Tatooine. In the Holy Bible, John the Baptist is beheaded after he identifies the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God and baptizes Him. After Ben helps Luke to start recognizing the ‘force’ upon his life, he sacrifices his life in a duel with Darth Vader, so that the others can escape from the Death Star. No surprise there. His voice is then strangely heard from the great beyond admonishing Luke to ‘run’ and later on to ‘let go’ when he is about to destroy the Death Star. No other ‘voice’ is heard in such a manner in any of the films.
John 3:30
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
Anakin Skywalker — Darth Vader
Anakin was actually a name made up by George Lucas. This first name can be broken down as follows: An Akin – this means one of the same type, kind or one related by blood. In Episode 1 his mother indicates to Qui-Gon Jinn that the nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker has no father and that she just became pregnant one day. Wonder where in the world Mr. Lucas got that from?
Matthew 1:23
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.
Now this is deep, it goes back to the destructive fantasy that Lucifer had, to be just like God.
Isaiah 14:13-14
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Qui-Gon comes to believe that Anakin is the “Chosen One” foretold by Jedi prophecy to bring balance to the Force. However, before the end of the movie, Qui-Gon is cast to the ground just like the one third of the angels that decided to back Lucifer in his crazy notion. (Revelation 12:4)
Ezekiel 28:14-15
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Some cults actually believe that Lucifer and the Lord Jesus were originally brothers, and equals, and by some sort of injustice, the former was cast down. Don’t believe the lies of the devil. (see John 8:44) Hence the reason I believe that this name “An akin” was chosen.
Another key feature of Episode 1 is the Pod Race segment. This bears a striking resemblance to the Chariot Race segment that was featured in the 1959 MGM film adaptation of Ben-Hur. This film was based on the book Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ a novel by Lew Wallace, published by Harper & Brothers on November 12, 1880. This novel is considered “the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century.” (Apart from the Holy Bible of course.) Another point to note is that young Anakin was a slave just like Judah Ben-Hur.
Darth – originally thought to be a name, but it is really a title, so in Episode 1 we are introduced to Darth Maul.
Ephesians 6:16
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Another variation of spelling but same pronunciation. All these evil characters carry red light sabers, I suppose to give that hell like fiery effect.
Han Solo and Chewbacca
These two characters are closely related where they appear in these movies and are presented as the captain and co-pilot of a spaceship called the Millennium Falcon. While there is no Biblical role set for these characters in the story, their names and presentation tell a different but related deeper story.
Han is the shortened and masculinized version of the name Hannah. Now Hannah had a problem, she was without children, and apart from her husband she was alone or ‘Solo’. (get it?) In those days that was a major issue.
I Samuel 1:9-11
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
The last part of verse 11 brings us to Chewbacca, he has to be hairiest and maybe the tallest of all the Star Wars characters. He does not need one stitch of clothing, but is only given a belt to wear across from one shoulder. This brings us to another woman in the Bible that had a similar problem to Hannah, she was also barren.
Judges 13:3-5
3 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Hence the Biblical relationship is seen between these two characters, firstly Hannah, as a barren woman and then the promised off-spring where no razor is to be placed unto the son. But this also points to the Messiah Jesus Christ:
Matthew 2:23
23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
The name Chewbacca can be broken down as follows: Chew + Bacca. The word bacca is phonetically the same as “backer” – this is in keeping with his supporting role as co-pilot. The woman that the angel of the LORD spoke to in the Book of Judges gave birth to Samson:
Judges 15:16
16 And Samson said, With the jawbone on a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of a donkey have I slain a thousand men.
You ‘chew’ with your jawbone, and hence the name Chewbacca was coined, a bit contrived and very clever. Another anomaly about this character is that his vocalizations seem to be very limited to a kind of bray, and Han has to interpret along the way. Again this was very intentional.
CONCLUSION
There are numerous other elements of this franchise that can be explored, such as the Force, the Light Sabers, the Droids, and the X-wings, but maybe I will talk about this for X-mas. At the end of the sixth film, after killing multitudes, and destroying the entire planet of Alderaan, Darth Vader is returned to his former self, as an older Anakin Skywalker and redeemed.
The harsh reality is that Satan can never obtain redemption, this is just another fantasy that he has. But he continues to work non-stop to keep mankind in darkness and away from the real truth which can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
John 14:6
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
My final admonishment is this, study the Holy Bible and may the Force Holy Spirit be with you.
REFERENCES
