Superheroes

Revelation 12:1 - 15:4     Eric Boberg

I was watching a documentary last week on Superheroes. According to the chronology, superheroes are a relatively recent invention. Superman, as we know him, the first real superhero shows up in 1938. His mission was to "fight for truth justice and the American way." Batman and others follow in 1939. But the whole comic book concept doesn't really take off until World War Two. Superheroes are mostly an American invention. Sure the Greeks and Romans had their gods and goddesses and the Norsemen had similar legends, but the notion of secret identities, transformational powers and costumes is new. As is moral purity; Greek and Roman gods had moral failings while early American super heros were basically pure.

What I find most interesting about the whole superhero phenomenon is that we as a culture have a craving for salvation and justice to come from some place outside our often seemingly mundane existence. We want to imagine, when our backs are against the wall and all hope seems lost, that someone with supernatural powers will come to our aid and save us.

It's as if God has written these large themes on the hearts of even the most unchurched. Along with all of mankind's craving for truth and justice, there is a longing for a savior. As C. S. Lewis points out we cannot yearn for something that does not exist. The fact that people thirst reflects that they naturally need water and that there is no other substance which satisfies that need.

Another theme in comics and movies is that battle is often so large that even the most powerful superhero will have difficulty accomplishing the task. There has to be a great struggle for there to be a great story. Superheroes need super villains.

Here in the book of Revelation we experience the great and awesome power of God, but we also experience great and terrible evil in the form of the Dragon and then the Beast.

Revelation 13:5-8 New International Version (NIV)
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

Here is evil on a epic scale. World domination is always the goal of all top notch super villains  No need to rob a bank when you can control the whole world…. Still the victory of the Evil One is only temporary. And as Bob pointed out last week Revelation could be summed up in two words: We win! So, good will triumph over evil and all will be made right in heaven and on earth.

But a larger question comes to mind, one that I'm sure requires many many books not just a few paragraphs. The question is why? Why has God chosen to set us in a universe that is so large and dangerous, with evil and villains that we can never expect to overcome in our own power?

The only answer I can come up with is this. It is probably impossible for us  to fathom this side of heaven the immense value God places on love and the process of overcoming. Great lessons cannot be learned, great character cannot be built and eternal foundations cannot be laid without great struggle.

As the last part of Revelation 13:10 says in an almost understated way:

"This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints."

Revelation 12:11 is more graphic:

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."

The story is about overcoming. We overcome evil and discouragement in our personal lives, just as God overcomes all evil in heaven and on earth.

Superheros have come a long way from their comic book origins. But for all the millions Hollywood spends on special effects and production, their popularity can not properly be explained unless there is something a about the concept that resonates deep in the human spirit. It could be an open door.

Next time you hear someone talking excitedly about the latest greatest superhero movie, consider that they might really be looking for is truth, justice and Salvation.