*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: Father Mathias, we looked at the beliefs of Father Mathias, and the founding of the Solarii. In Part 3, we will do an in-depth examination of the Solarii themselves.
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Previously, we examined information that was mostly obtained from Tomb Raider documents (such as in-game diaries), which show:
- The Solarii Brotherhood are very similar to Christians.
- Father Mathias is a sort of priest, false prophet and false Christ-all in one.
- Himiko is portrayed as God in all but name.
Looking into Solarii religion from the main storyline of this game will prove these facts beyond doubt.
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Praying with a group of new Solarii, a member of the brotherhood says this:
“Oh Great Sun Queen, these new servants submit themselves before you.”
“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:6-7)
The Solarii continues:
“With voices we praise you. With hearts we honor you. With fire we are bound to you!”
“And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.” (2 Chronicles 20:18-19)
“And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:” (Revelation 19:1)
Solarii:
“You are the sun, you are the light, you are the storm that rages at night.”
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)
“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)
Solarii:
“We are your children, wait for the day, bring us the dawn, show us the way.”
“Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name:” (Jeremiah 31:35)
Solarii:
“Your place is now among the Solarii, brothers. Raise your voices in praise of the Sun Queen!”
“And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” (Revelation 19:5-6)
After the prayer, the group chants this phrase until killed by the player:
“Flesh to the flames, flesh to the Sun [Himiko].”
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)
[John the Baptist speaking] “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me [Jesus] is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:” (Matthew 3:11)
The theme of Himiko being referred to as the sun is repeated.
A piece of grafitti identifies the Solarii as a “Brotherhood of the Sun.”
“Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.” (1 Peter 2:17)
A prisoner of the Solarii that was driven insane says:
“Who were they? I don’t know. Children of the Sun…”
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26)
During a ceremony to determine whether Sam (Lara’s friend and fellow castaway) is the Sun Queen’s heir, Father Mathias made some very interesting statements:
“My brothers, listen to me now. Out in the world, we were nothing. But here…here, we are the Solarii, the Sun Queen’s children. She brought us here for a reason. I know you want your freedom. I know you want to escape this place. But to do so, we must release our Queen. Like us, she is a prisoner. If we can free her, we free ourselves.”
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Romans 8:16-17)
Father Mathias continues:
“Himiko, you are the first and the last… Speak to us now!”
[God speaking] “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” (Revelation 22:13)
Father Mathias:
“Speak to us Himiko, speak to us through the flames!”
“Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
Specially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.” (Deuteronomy 4:9-12)
A piece of graffiti found in-game states two things:
The top quote is “Father Mathias will set us FREE“, while the bottom quote is “FEAR the DEMONS“
“Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
If the Son [Jesus] therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36)
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
Another piece of graffiti states:
“She will RISE AGAIN“
“Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man [Jesus] shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.” (Mark 10:33-34)
Speaking to Sam later on in the game, Mathias said this:
“But you, Samantha, you have the power to release us! Many have given up their souls willingly for this gift!”
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)
One conversation between Solarii went like this:
Solarii #1: “The Sun Queen…she’s finally going to lead us off this rock.”
Solarii #2: “So it’s all real? I mean…she’s real?”
Solarii #1:”She is. And nothing is going to stop us.”
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
Father Mathias is even named after an apostle! Matthias was chosen to replace Judas after the latter’s betrayal of Jesus:
“And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” (Acts 1:23-26)
From all this evidence, we see that the Solarii are a twisted representation of Christians, Father Mathias is a priest/apostle/false prophet/false Christ, and Himiko is once again shown to be “God.”
The game’s attitude towards the Solarii, along with making them the enemies, is shown by the MANY brutal ways you can hack…
strangle…
stab…
shoot…
…and otherwise kill members of the Solarii. The above examples are some of the tamest I could find.
Considering the blatant similarity of their god and religious beliefs to Christians this is both dangerous and disturbing:
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15)
“And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” (1 Samuel 26:9)
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)
The final aspect that ties all these pieces together-Mathias, the Solarii and Himiko…is that of Another Spirit.
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*Look out for Tomb Raider and the Bible Part 4: Another Spirit next week!
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Video Games and the Bible 