*Note: images below come from YouTube and CoD Wiki.
In Call of Duty Black Ops, in the level Vorkuta, Alex Mason (the main character) and Viktor Reznov (who we first meet in Call of Duty: World at War) attempt an escape from the Russian gulag.
Alex Mason
Viktor Reznov
The escape plan has 8 steps, each of which corresponds to a figure, stage or scene of the apocalypse.
Step 1: Secure the keys & Step 2: Ascend from darkness.
Securing the keys involves distracting their guard. To do this, Alex Mason and Viktor Reznov stage a fight.
Viktor Reznov
With the guard distracted, Mason has the opportunity to kill him with a rock.
Reznov then raises the keys in victory while their fellow prisoners recite step one and two.
“This – is step one!“
“Secure the keys!“
Reznov: “What is step two?!“
Crowd: “Ascend from darkness!“
Soon after, the prisoners ascend from the darkness of the mines to the light of day.
Who else in the Bible is bound by keys and ascends from darkness?:
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” (Revelation 20:1-3)
“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,” (Revelation 20:7)
Step 3: Rain fire
Reznov: “Step three?!“
Mason: “Rain fire!“
“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,” (Revelation 13:11-13)
Step 4: Unleash the horde
To “Unleash the horde,” Reznov uses the prison-wide broadcasting system to call fellow prisoners to revolt.
“Brave comrades of Vorkuta, the time has come to rise against our oppressors!“
The biblical aspect, however, goes back to step one-secure the keys.
Keys are used to unleash the locust horde of the bottomless pit in Revelation 11. Their king, the angel of the bottomless pit (Abaddon/Apollyon), leads them out.
“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.” (Revelation 9:1-3)
“And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.” (Revelation 9:11)
Step 5: Skewer the winged beast
To “Skewer the winged beast,” Mason shoots a harpoon at a helicopter, which shortly crashes.
The beast of Revelation (the antichrist) is skewered as well, producing a “deadly wound.” When this wound is miraculously healed, it causes the world to worship him along with his master, the dragon (Satan).
“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast [the antichrist] rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:1-4)
Step 6: Wield a fist of iron
Players “Wield a fist of iron” by acquiring the Death Machine, a chaingun of massive power.
Mason: “Step six.“
Reznov: “Wield a fist of iron.“
Biblically, this step and the ones after it are a departure from what we’ve seen before. So far, the steps have aligned with or mentioned demonic characters: the dragon/Satan, the beast/antichrist, the false prophet and the angel of the bottomless pit with his horde of locusts.
The previous step was “skewer the winged beast.” That’s when the beast’s deadly wound was healed, causing the unsaved portion of the world to believe on him. Now, we’re seeing the player “wield a rod of iron.” Who does that?:
“And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.” (Revelation 19:13-16)
It looks like a reversal, especially considering the next step.
Step 7: Raise hell
For “Step 7: Raise hell,” the player destroys incoming troop reinforcements with the Death Machine.
Reznov: “Step seven comrades?!“
Crowd “Raise HELL!!!“
On the biblical side:
The reversal I mentioned before is not that the beast had no power, but now has it. In fact, in Revelation 13:7 it says:
“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”
However, his reign does end, as seen in Revelation 19:19-20:
“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”
The reversal is that, according to Step 7, it looks like the antichrist’s reign is not ending.
Why?
As shown in Revelation 20:11-15, at the last judgement, Death and Hell are literally cast into the lake of fire. In Step 7 of the escape plan, Hell is instead raised:
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it [God], from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Step 8: Freedom
Mason accomplishes “Step 8: Freedom” by driving out of the Vorkuta camp using a motorbike. Unfortunately, Reznov does not make it.
Reznov: “Within this shrine to the hypocritical decadence of Vorkuta’s leaders, lays the key to step eight.“
Mason: “Freedom.“
Reznov: “Jump! Mason! Jump!“
Mason: “Your turn!!!“
Mason: “Come on!!!“
Mason: “Step eight, Reznov – Freedom!“
Reznov: “For you Mason…“
Reznov: “Not for me…“
Mason: “REZNOV!!!“
So, if in the previous steps we’re seeing the antichrist reigning, raising hell itself… Who is it we are gaining freedom from?:
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” (Psalm 2:1-3)
“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.” (Psalm 2:4-5)
“Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son [Jesus], lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” (Psalm 2:11-12)
_____________________________________
Also, if God is no longer God, what does that make us? This leads directly to Call of Duty and the Bible Part 1: Weapons.
_____________________________________
Video Games and the Bible 