End Times Week 3

Movies Covered: “I Am Legend” (2007), “Jurassic Park” (1993), “The Andromeda Strain” (2009)

Synopsis: In 1954, novelist Richard Matheson wrote “I Am Legend,” which became the inspiration for a series of apocalyptic works built around the theme of a pandemic that wipes out a significant portion of the population. The film was the source material for three film — “Last Man Standing,” “The Omega Man,” and “I Am Legend” — as well as the inspiration for modern zombie films, beginning with the 1968 opus “Night of the Living Dead.”

Writer Michael Crichton, a medical doctor, wrote stories about developments on the forefront of scientific and medical achievement, but was always cautious of men trying to play God. Two classic examples of this work were his novels “Jurassic Park” and “The Andromeda Strain,” both of which were adapted into films.

Theological Terms to Consider:

The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse: (Revelation 6)

• The traditional view is the white horse represents Conquest; the red horse represents war; the black horse represents Famine; and the pale horse represents Death.
• Some scholars present a more positive view of the white horse as representing Jesus, while others believe it could be the Antichrist.
• Modern, pop culture interpretations of the four horseman substitute the first horseman — Conquest — with the modern interpretation of Pestilence, though the origins of this in Scripture remain unclear.

Seven Angels with Seven Plagues: (Revelation 15-16)

• First Bowl of Wrath — Foul and painful sores on beast worshippers.
• Second Bowl of Wrath — Sea becomes like blood.
• Third Bowl of Wrath — Fresh water becomes blood.
• Fourth Bowl of Wrath — Sun scorches people resulting in more blasphemy.
• Fifth Bowl of Wrath — Darkness on the throne and kingdom of the beast; torment.
• Sixth Bowl of Wrath — Euphrates river dries up in preparation for the great battle of Armageddon.
• Seventh Bowl of Wrath — From the throne in Heaven, lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake; major cities destroyed including the great city of Babylon.