*Note: images below come from YouTube.
*Interconnected verses and quotations will be highlighted in the same color.
In Part 1: Himiko, we examined the god of the Solarii Brotherhood. In Part 2, we will be looking at the beliefs of Father Mathias, and the founding of the Solarii.
_______________________________________________
In 1982, while we were enjoying movies like E.T., a man named Mathias is stranded on the island of Yamatai by an unknown power:
“Days have passed since the plane crash. For a second time, we attempted to escape by boat…with disastrous results. I knew it would happen. Just like the first time, the calm sea turned hostile with no explanation. The moment we made for open water, the winds picked up followed by…an impossible wave. Like a child’s toy, our lifeboat was smashed violently into the rocky shore.
Now, two more lie dead. And another is wounded beyond help. The others are starting to panic…and they’re looking to me for a plan. I do have one, but it doesn’t include them. They are weak and stupid…a liability in this place.
I suggested they make another attempt to leave, but I won’t join them. To do so would be suicide. This is clear to me now.”
Similar scenarios have happened throughout time. The spirit of the Sun Queen Himiko creates violent storms, throwing boats and shipwrecking many. We are confronted with this at the beginning of Tomb Raider, with Lara Croft being shipwrecked.
We will compare the following passages to the shipwreck experiences of Lara, Mathias and the other castaways.
“They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.” (Psalm 107:23-25)
“For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.“
They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.” (Psalm 107:26-27)
“their soul is melted because of trouble.“…
“They reel to and fro,“…
“and stagger like a drunken man,“…
“and are at their wit’s end.“…
After being shipwrecked and seeing his shipmates die, Mathias was consumed with finding out the source of the storms:
[Mathias speaking] “Over the years, there have been other survivors, but I have avoided them, and if they got in my way… I was not merciful.
But now I know I need others. In order to move forward, I must fully control this island. So I will gather a small group of loyal followers. They must understand power and the need to organize. But more importantly, they cannot hesitate to kill or use violence. It will be part of their Life here. They will need structure and purpose and work. But when this island is mine, I will discover the true secret of the storms.”
Mathias shortly went mad and reinvented himself as Father Mathias.
From this time, he also began to worship the Sun Queen. Gaining followers by several means, he taught them to worship Himiko as well, and they became the Solarii Brotherhood. Here is a document detailing the first Solarii’s “salvation:”
Confessions of a Solarii: Salvation:
“…It was like some enormous hand was holding us down.
Just as the storm was finally breaking, Father Mathias came to us.”
“Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.” (Psalm 3:8)
“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9)
He was calm and soft-spoken. He seemed to know us…our names, where we were from. He spoke to us in our native language. And we listened. And as we listened, he told us the truth of this island.
“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (2 Timothy 2:19)
“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” (Acts 2:4-8)
“He offered us a choice: salvation or death. Some chose to defy him. And without hesitation, he killed them then and there…”
[God speaking] “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” (Deuteronomy 30:19)
Over time, he converted more men to his religion:
[Mathias speaking] “My patience has been rewarded. At long last, I have my lieutenants, my enforcers of the way.”
“And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:” (Jeremiah 32:38-39)
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way [Christians have been known as followers of “The Way” for centuries], the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
“The storms brought me exactly the men I need to begin building the Solarii Brotherhood. Strong of body, weak of will. They were broken in the storms, weakened and vulnerable. And I raised them up again.”
[Jesus speaking to the pharisees] “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
And whosoever shall fall on this stone [Jesus] shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” (Matthew 21:42-44)
“And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.” (1 Corinthians 6:14)
“Now they serve me, and through me… her. The Sun Queen. She is showing me the way. She has always shown me the way. I cannot defy what I have seen. And soon, neither will they. She is everywhere on this island.”
“Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” (Isaiah 48:17)
“Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:23-24)
“But…the Solarii Brotherhood must grow. We will recruit as many as we can. I will draft laws, create a code for them to live by. And they will build for the Sun Queen while I search for the key.”
“These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the Lord made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.” (Leviticus 26:46)
“To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.” (Daniel 9:9-10)
By 1997, Mathias had enough Solarii to start building a city for his goddess:
“21 January 1997
The Solarii, my warriors of the sun, they have grown strong in number. And I have discovered everything I require to move my plans forward. It is time for us to move inland.
We will build our city high up in the mountains, around the old palace. From there we can protect ourselves from the Oni guardians and I can access all points on the island swiftly. I must be prepared to capture anyone who comes to this place. I know now what I seek. The key to escaping this place… and perhaps much, much more. It may take years, but I will find her.”
Mathias’ final diary entry before the present-day of Tomb Raider is this:
“My Solarii toil in her name, building a city from all that she has brought to the island, torturing and sacrificing in her name.”
“The Lord loveth the gates of Zion [Jerusalem] more than all the dwellings of Jacob.Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.” (Psalm 87:2-3)
“The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.” (Psalm 147:2)
“For he [Abraham] looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:10)
“Soon now… we will find the one. I long for escape, but not simply from this island. From all of this… the wrecks, bodies, and squalor. If I can bring my Queen back, it will all vanish in an instant. And like the sun rising anew, she will bathe all the land and seas of her light, burning away everything.”
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” (2 Peter 3:9-12)
“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” (Malachi 4:1)
“I will emerge from this scorched earth… reborn and pure.”
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44)
And that brings us to the present.
_______________________________________________
*Look out for Tomb Raider and the Bible Part 3: The Solarii next week!
_______________________________________________
Video Games and the Bible 