Now for the thrilling conclusion of my look at the YECist movie The Ark and the Darkness. Aside from the specific items I have mentioned in my first two posts, in this post I want to zero in on the whole “End Times” mentality that I have come to see is driving, not just the entire message of the movie, but also the message of YECism as a whole. In my previous research into Ken Ham and YECism, I had noticed that they would sometimes make a reference to the “End Times,” but for some reason it wasn’t until I watched The Ark and the Darkness did it really click in my head just how much that standard Dispensationalist End Times view plays a part in YECism.
The “End Times” Conclusion
Although the “End Times” had been touched upon throughout the movie, the entire conclusion of the movie is one that would make Hal Lindsey proud. It is a full-blown “End Times” Dispensationalist view of everything.
- The movie explicitly states that the End Times are almost here. We know this because the public schools are teaching against marriage and are purposely trying to sexualize children. Abortion and sex trafficking in our society are nothing more than the sins of Molech.
- The movie says that the Second Coming is going to be a time a historical, global judgment…just like the flood was.
- It then claims that the Bible is full of prophecies that tells us of the future in advance, and references Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Daniel. It then claims that Jesus told us about the future Antichrist, who will be a one-world ruler and will have a Babel-like system of government and who will abolish nationalism.
- The Bible predicted that there would be plagues, famines, wars…and hyper-inflation. All of these things have been orchestrated by design by the enemies of God.
- The movie reiterates that we are on the cusp of Satan’s rise to power and the “Great Tribulation.” And Zechariah prophesied that God would make Israel a nation of distress to all nations.
- The good news, though, is, just as I Corinthians says, even though there is judgment for those in Adam, there is salvation for those in Christ. And just as Noah’s Ark had a single door to enter the Ark, so too is there only one way of salvation in Christ.
- The movie ends by saying that God sent Jesus to bring peace, and Jesus is the light of the world, and that in him there is no darkness.
My Comments
As you can see, the conclusion to the entire movie—the one entitled The Ark and the Darkness: Unearthing the Mysteries of Noah’s Flood—hardly mentions Noah’s flood at all. Its entire focus is on the End Times…not to mention a considerable dose of conspiracy-riddled, culture war nationalism. Since it doesn’t really focus on Noah’s flood, I won’t need to rehash what I’ve already mentioned in the previous two posts. Instead, I want to provide some commentary on what the movie’s conclusion does, in fact, focus on.
Let’s start with the End Times. Unfortunately, modern American Evangelicalism has bought, hook, line, and sinker, the Dispensationalist view championed by the like of Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye. Most don’t realize that this view was actually made up by John Nelson Darby in the mid-19th century, and that for the first 1850 years of Church history, no one held that view. On top of that, the way “end times teachers” (like Lindsey and LaHaye, among others) interpret the Bible is mind-numbingly atrocious. Not only is there no attempt to understand any given passage within its original context, but their primary interpretive method is also to cherry-pick scores of decontextualized verses, then mix them all up in a muddled pot of End Times assumptions. And somehow, the conclusion is always the same: the seven-year tribulation is almost here; every single social, cultural, or global issue proves the “End Times” is just around the corner. At some point, one really has to realize the bankruptcy of the Dispensationalist End Times worldview.
Granted, there is a legitimate question as to what Christ’s Second Coming is to be like—and that is a topic for another time—but I can guarantee you that the Second Coming is not going to involve Jesus literally swooping down out of the clouds like a superhero. For that matter, there is not going to be a literal seven-year tribulation at the end of history. The way Dispensationalism gets that is by taking Daniel 9:24-27 (a very obscure passage involving “7 weeks,” then “62 weeks,” then a “half a week,” then another “half week”), combining it with I Thessalonians 4:13-18 (where Paul talks about how the dead in Christ will rise at His coming, and then those who are alive will be caught up in the clouds to meet Him), as well as Revelation 7:14 (where John is told that the 144,000 are those who have come out of the “great tribulation”).
From those three places, ripped from their contexts, we get the standard Evangelical/Dispensationalist claim that a secret rapture will happen, seven years before Christ’s Second Coming, where Jesus will come down a little bit—only in the clouds—to snatch up the Christians, so they will be spared from the 7-year tribulation. Then, after that 7-year tribulation, will be the Second Coming. That is the “End Times worldview” prevalent within Evangelicalism, and that is the worldview that informs this movie. And I challenge you to find that clear timeline in these passages. Daniel 9:24-27 is talking about the events surrounding the Maccabean Revolt and the oppression of Antiochus Epiphanes in the mid-2nd century BC. In I Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul is talking about the Second Coming…NOT some kind of “secret rapture.” And in Revelation 7, the 144,000 have been spared from “the great tribulation”—they’ve gone through it. They are martyrs who have suffered and been killed.
Evangelicalism must throw away the Dispensationalist garbage of Lindsey and LaHaye for good. That’s not what the Bible teaches.
Second, the comment about public schools is just a wee bit problematic. Both of my parents taught in public schools for their careers, and after teaching in Christian schools for 16 years, I’m now teaching in a public school. Although it is certainly true that there are some schools and some school districts in America that have gone off the deep end when it comes to certain cultural issues, that simply is not the case for most of them.
Sadly (I’ve seen this firsthand, and my dad encountered it as a public-school principal), many Evangelicals who send their children to Christian schools hold to the kind of ridiculous caricature of public schools expressed this movie. Whenever the local Christian middle school played a game at my dad’s junior high, oftentimes the Evangelical parents were spooked that they had to go into a public, secular school, like they were on the doorstep of Satan’s portal to hell. Sorry, not true. That being said, of course I think abortion and sex-trafficking are bad. They are either the taking of human life or the vile abuse of human life. Still, I’ve never once witnessed abortion or sex-trafficking being promoted in public schools.
Third, we have to address the movie’s attempt to tie in the Tower of Babel with “globalism vs. nationalism.” Let me just be up front on something. I think the current hyperventilating over “Christian Nationalism” is way too much overblown hysteria. To be honest, I think it is really no different than the hyperventilating and hysteria displayed in this movie about “globalism” and the evil public school system. In both cases, even though there is a kernel of truth in both expressed concerns, the level of hysteria goes far beyond the actual threat. Yes, there are some extremely Conservative Christians who think the United States should be officially a Christian nation. Yes, there are some (mostly extreme Calvinists) who want to literally push Christian theodicy on the legal system and set up the Mosaic Law as the law of the land. Yes, there are some. But in the scope of the entire population, those who actually go that far are miniscule. Even with Evangelicalism as a whole, they are a clear minority position. They just are. I remember growing up as a kid, there were always some preachers or teachers who raved about those kinds of things. But they never were in the majority within even Evangelicalism, let alone the entire nation.
Most Evangelicals I know, when they speak of “being a Christian nation,” they simply mean they want Christians to have such an impact on the conscience of America that more people will become Christians and that our society’s outlook and culture will reflect Christian values. They argue that the United States was largely influenced by Judeo-Christian values and that has been one of this country’s strengths. I actually agree with that. But that is far different than the actual Christian nationalist kooks who want to impose Mosaic Law by force. Even the controversial Douglas Wilson, when he speaks of “Christian nationalism,” doesn’t advocate a “hostile takeover of the United States for Jesus.” Instead, he emphasizes that the only way the United States will be a truly Christian nation is if there is a work of the Holy Spirit, and more people willingly become Christians. Then the nation will reflect Christian values because we live in a democracy, and the people get to have a say in how society is run. Disagree with him on a lot of things, sure…I do…but not everyone who wants to have a more Christ-like country wants to impose Mosaic Law. This really should be obvious.
All that is to say, I cringe when a lot of people I know see the “Christian Nationalism boogeyman” everywhere. I’m not spooked by the actual Christian Nationalist kooks—they don’t have the numbers. And if you think Donald Trump of all people is a Christian Nationalist…yikes. No, he isn’t.
Here in the movie, though, the paranoia works in the opposite direction. There is no chance that there will ever be a literal one-world “Babel-style government” where a singular Antichrist will “abolish nationalism” and somehow “orchestrate” plagues, famines, wars and…hyper-inflation. That is not to say that there are some world leaders and powerful people who take this notion of globalism too far. If that were to happen, yes, such a thing would inevitably be tyrannical. But no, that’s not going to happen, and more importantly, the Bible doesn’t say it is going to happen. Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye might claim that, but they are comically wrong. It is nothing more than extreme Fundamentalist-Evangelical paranoia. There are enough disturbing problems in the world to worry about—we shouldn’t waste our time with such fantastical nonsense.
Finally, pay attention to those last two bullet-points. Yes, the Good News is that even though all “in Adam” will die, all “in Christ” will be made alive. Yes, using the single door on Noah’s Ark as a metaphor for salvation in Christ alone is a creative way to explain it. Yes, Christ has come to bring peace; He is the “light of the world,” and “in Him there is no darkness.” Yes, all that is true. There is nothing wrong with any of that. What is wrong is when YECists take such metaphors and insist that they are historical claims. When Paul says that all die “in Adam,” he’s simply saying that human beings in their natural condition do, in fact die. He’s not making any kind of “claim” regarding the historicity of Adam. And yes, the Ark (along with the door) is a wonderful metaphor used in the New Testament to talk about salvation in Christ…but that doesn’t mean it is claiming that Noah’s flood is a historical event that can be scientifically proven.
For some reason, though, The Ark and the Darkness attempts to claim those very things. It’s ironic (and actually inconsistent!) that the movie ends by calling Jesus the “light of the world” and saying that “in Him there is no darkness.” Why? Because it is obvious that in the case of that metaphor, the movie realizes that to be, in fact, a metaphor.
…at least I hope it does. If not, then I suppose Jesus is a literal sunbeam? What theological implications does that have for photosynthesis…and why is a duck involved?
Conclusion…Let’s Throw in Some Politics
All in all, The Ark and the Darkness is a pretty clear barometer as to where the current Fundamentalist YECist movement is these days. More than anything, it is boring, conspiracy-laden, End-Times inspired nonsense. There is no other way to say it. The actual Gospel is not found in it.
Too often, though, I’ve realized that a lot of Evangelicals and ex-Evangelicals who rightly see the nonsense of the YECist movement, sometimes let themselves take their eye off the ball, so to speak. What I mean by that is this: I’ve come to realize that the YECist movement is fueled by an End Times mentality that mistakenly believes that the way to follow Christ is to “fight the culture war,” because if the “other side” wins (I’m looking at you, Democrats!), then all hell will break loose, and we’ll lose the culture. It is very tempting and easy for those who see that to then “play ball” on that “playing field” and start viewing everything through a thoroughly political, and potentially cataclysmic-oriented mindset, and we see pretty vicious battles over political/cultural issues with a “Jesus bumper-sticker” slapped onto them.
Certain Fundie-Evangelical YECists claim that if Kamala Harris won, then there would be moral anarchy in public schools, the “secularists” would abolish “nationalism” and set up a “one-world government”—and that would usher in the Great Tribulation. How can you call yourself a Christian if you vote for the Democrat party? Rubbish. That’s not to say I’m not concerned with a number of positions the Democrat party currently holds. I don’t agree with them on a lot of things. Yes, I think the Biden administration has been a train wreck…none of it, though, is a harbinger of the “End Times” and I’m not going to call your Christian faith into question based on how you vote.
By the same token, I’ve heard so many people over the past few years—politicians, media, and many on social media—claiming that Trump is Hitler, if he gets elected it’s the end of democracy, and oh my gosh, Evangelicals have sold their soul for power—Christian nationalism is going to usher in the Handmaid’s Tale. Again, rubbish. That’s not to say there are many kooks out there. If you think Matt Gaetz or Marjorie Taylor Greene exemplify Christianity, I think you’re nuts. No, Donald Trump isn’t a Christian. Yes, he probably did have sex with Stormy Daniels. Do I think the recent criminal charges against him are legit? No—not because I like him, but because I think there are loads of legal problems with them…and I’ll predict right now they’ll eventually be overturned. And (sadly) when that happens, a lot of people who think Trump is a Hitleresque supervillain will scream that SCOTUS is corrupted and we’re nearing the end of democracy. Blech. No, it’s not the end of democracy; no, I don’t think Evangelicals have “sold their soul” for power; no, Trump isn’t Hitler…he’s not the Messiah, either. If you don’t like him, fine—but I’m not going to question your Christian faith over who you voted, or didn’t vote, for.
For me, both views are ridiculous. They just are. And both views are strangely similar in their alarmist tendencies and viewing following Christ through a political lens. And demonizing those who voted differently than you is not a sign of a healthy Christian worldview. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Christians need minimize clear political differences, sing “Kumbaya,” and pretend everything is peachy. All I’m saying is that when you start to view the purpose of following Christ through more and more of a political lens, you let yourself be manipulated by “End Times prophets” who scream that the world will end soon…if you don’t vote a certain way.
That’s what I see many Fundamentalist-Evangelicals often do—and YECists for sure. And that’s what I’ve seen being done over the past few years with many ex-Evangelical types. All I can say is that when all the prophesied disaster doesn’t come, I hope more and more people will walk away from that absurd mentality.
But I’ve gone on for too long in this post. Maybe this will spark some thought and discussion…not so much debate, though. I’m rather tired of debates. Let’s all agree on one thing, though: The Ark and the Darkness–not good.
