The bible and other biblical texts continue to influence very many aspects of life. Creativity in the film industry has been triggered by the apocalyptic books of the bible, because film producers tend to conjure what they believe could be the interpretation of the revelations seen or found in the bible. Since the beginning of cinema, there has been an incorporation of canonical figures such as the apostles, Jesus and even God himself in the film industry. For instance, the end of the world has been interpreted differently, and the movie The Rapture (1991), is one such movie that relates to the story of the end of the world as told in the book of revelations. According to the film, the story of the apocalypse tells of the events that happen before and after the rapture and the coming of God.
Sharon is a young woman who at the beginning of the movie is not very keen with spirituality. She then meets a sect that changes her perception of life and makes the rapture look very real and soon coming. The revelation forces her to believe and become a born again Christian. That marks the beginning of a godly lifestyle and later gets married and is blessed with a daughter called Mary. Sharon starts harboring doubts about God after the brutal murder of her husband Randy, and so moves to the desert together with Mary and awaits the rapture from there. At one point she loses patience and murders Mary, and she is then taken to jail after confessing the truth. It is while she is in jail that the rapture occurs, and a loud trumpet is heard and it signals the commencement of the rapture. She has harbored anger towards God ever since the murder of her husband and she refuse to let it go. She would rather spend her life in purgatory, and Mary, Randy, and Foster end up in heaven while she is left in purgatory.
This film is an excellent example of an apocalyptic film that borrows a lot from what the bible says in the book of Revelations. According to the bible, when God comes, he will take his faithful people, and those who did not do according to his commandments will go to hell, an equivalent of purgatory in this movie. The film has incorporated religious forms and elements that not only enchant a viewer, but reflect what religion teaches (Thompson 102). Sharon becomes born again because she wants to escape hell and become fit to go to heaven just like the bible or Christianity teaches. In the book of Revelations, John talks of the second coming of Christ, and the events that will lead to his coming. Just like the rapture in this movie, scripture teaches that there will be a loud voice that will be heard throughout the world and the dead coming to life just like it happens to Randy and Mary
The movie succeeds in representing what the bible teaches about the coming of Jesus Christ. The events leading to that are also well used, for instance, the loud voice that will be heard throughout the earth. Just like the book of Revelation delivers the message of Jesus’ coming through symbols, images and numbers, the movie too creates the imagined images of how it will be in last day. The movie is, therefore, theologically good and best fits an apocalyptic film.
Works Cited
Thompson, Kristen Moana. Apocalyptic Dread: American Film at the Turn of the Millennium. New York: SUNY, 2007. Print
Tolkin, Michael, dir. The Rapture. Sony Pictures Entertainment, 1991. Film
