Planet of the Apes

Week 4
Revelation 21
1I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea.
2I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as
a bride for her husband. 3-5I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: "Look! Look! God has
moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They're his people, he's
their God. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone,
pain gone—all the first order of things gone." The Enthroned continued, "Look! I'm making
everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate."
6-8Then he said, "It's happened. I'm A to Z. I'm the Beginning, I'm the Conclusion. From Water-
of-Life Well I give freely to the thirsty. Conquerors inherit all this. I'll be God to them, they'll be
sons and daughters to me. But for the rest—the feckless and faithless, degenerates and
murderers, sex peddlers and sorcerers, idolaters and all liars—for them it's Lake Fire and
Brimstone. Second death!"

Mixer
Go around the circle and have everyone do their best Charlton Hesston
impression.

Going Deeper
What is religion? What does this movie say religion is? What we see in
this movie is religion as a means to an end, with that end being order. Dr.
Zaius sees the world as Fredrick Nietzsche does: that all living beings are
motivated by their lust for power. For Dr. Zaius religion stands to coerce his
‘apes’ into order and to keep the status quo. Because this system benefits
Zaius and the other elite of his tribe, keeping order is more important than the
the conflicting truths that even he admits to.

Reflect on these quotes from the movie:

Cornelius: [reading from the sacred scrolls of the apes] Beware the beast Man, for he is the
Devil's pawn. Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport or lust or greed. Yea, he will murder
his brother to possess his brother's land. Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a
desert of his home and yours. Shun him; drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger
of death.

Dr. Zaius: You are right, I have always known about man. From the evidence, I believe his
wisdom must walk hand and hand with his idiocy. His emotions must rule his brain. He must be a
warlike creature who gives battle to everything around him, even himself.

Is there any truth in these quotes? What is interesting is that Zaius and
Taylor see the world very similarly (remember his opening monologue), they
both see man as a warring beast. Like Taylor, Zaius responds in an unhelpful
way: by oppressing and lying to his people in the name of keeping the status
quo. Reflect on the passage from Revelation. What is God doing about
the problem? God is rescuing us. Making all things new. God is constantly
inviting his people to flee their ways of death and destruction and join his new
creation.

© 2009 Dixon Kinser

 Why do we do our religion? Religion is the meeting of heaven and earth.
We worship, pray, gather together, and love our neighbor because we believe
in and invite the realm of God’s activity to join us and visa versa. Remember
the Lord’s prayer from (Matthew 6).

Why is the ending of the movie so chilling? The ending of the movie is so
chilling not only because of the excellent combination of visual and audio
melancholy, but because it is ultimately what the end might look like if
humans don’t change.
Reflect on the last line of the movie:
Taylor: Oh my God. I'm back. I'm home. All the time, it was... We finally really did it. You
Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!

What is hell? Jesus talks about hell in several different ways. In this
passage from Mark, Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah:
24"But in those days, following that distress,
" 'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
25the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. (Mark 13:24-25) (Isaiah 13:10)

In this case hell was used as a warning; if Jerusalem continued to put their trust
in Babylon then Jerusalem would fall. Other times Jesus talked about hell or
described something like hell to discuss the gravity and weight of sinning. You
see Jesus was less interested in saving you from going to a place when you died
than he was concerned about whether or not our lives together brought about the
Kingdom of God or hell on earth. How is our society bringing hell to earth?
How are we bringing hell to earth with our friends and family? How are we
bringing hell to earth by ignoring the sick, the friendless and the needy in
favor of the rich, popular, and powerful? How do we bring heaven to earth?

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor:

Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.

© 2009 Dixon Kinser

For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.

© 2009 Dixon Kinser