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  • Subject: Revelation
Subject: Revelation
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Basically, I think I've got it worked out that Halo is a science fiction telling of the book of Revelations and the end times.
p.s. Don't tell me I'm wasting my time, I know exactly what I'm doing. Do you? Don't tell me I've put way too much thought into this. As it turns out, I'm a genius, so for me it was relatively simple. Don't get mad at me for my connections to the Bible, I have made a lot more in-depth connetions than I have seen before. Anyway, those are the basic rules. And definitely don't say the Bible isn't real, that is completely irrelevant, and I will probably make you look stupid with a very sarcastic response.

The Beginning (Of the End)
First, let's take a look at how the whole thing starts. In First Corinthians 15, verses 51-57, we get a picture of the starting event: the Rapture. In verse 52 it says, "...at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Now, take a look at the very first section of Halo: Reveille. Reveille is a bugle call at about sunrise for the start of the day for the military. Being at the start of the day means that it is something new, and of course there is the fact that sunrise is the final triumph of light (day) over dark (night) which is definitely an accurate metaphorical representation of Revelations.
Also, the part, "the dead shall be raised..." fits in well, too. The code for unthawing the MC at the start of Halo is "Unseal the Hushed Casket," which makes it sound like he was dead and is now alive again. (I'm not saying he was actually dead, this was just Bungie's way of making him seem dead, in a sense.)
In verse 52-54, it is mentioned many times that the corruptible will become incorruptible, and the mortal immortal. This also fits in with what happens. In The Fall of Reach, pages 314-315, the Master Chief is barely able to take on a single Elite, (although, in his defense, there was no gravity) and even said that one shot from the Plasma Pistol would fry both of them. Later, on Halo, however, he is much stronger, as we all know, taking on many Elites and taking a lot more shots from Plasma weapons.
The rest of the passage will be discussed later.

The Master Chief
In many ways, the Master Chief seems to fill the role of Christ. You have already seen the above example, where he was raised from the "dead," but there are many more. In Revelation 1: 13-16 it describes someone who was "like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;...and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." Although I haven't yet found anything about his hair, we do have info on everything else. We know he would be clothed to the foot because of his armor. His head being white as snow we know because of how pale he is (The Flood, pg 91) due to almost always being in his armor. His eyes are only described as "serious" in The Flood, but the bit about flames makes a lot of sense metaphorically. And the part about his strength is pretty obvious.
Then there is the part about being the Savior, and being the only person able to do this. His ability as a savior is made pretty clear throughout the entire series, always rescuing Marines and Captain Keyes and generally saving humanity. Then, there is the fact that only he can do it. When Keyes and Halsey go to check out John to see if he was right for the Spartan program (The Fall of Reach, pg 21), Keyes said, "What difference could a child make?" and Halsey replied, "This child could be more useful to the UNSC than a fleet of destroyers, a thousand Junior Grade Lieutenants--or even me. In the end, the child may be the only thing that makes any difference." This shows that the Master Chief is the only one able to save humanity. When discussing the planned assault on the Control Room (The Flood, pg 133) Silva didn't like sending the Master Chief to accomplish the mission, and said, "Come to think of it, is any one person right for that kind of operation?" The fact that the Master Chief could do it is just another example of his being the only one able to save humanity.

Cortana
Cortana is a Christ/Holy Spirit person. First, there is the fact that she is a guiding force for the Master Chief, as made plain when he was complaining about not having her (The Flood, pg 223): "Where the hell was Cortana when you needed her? Always telling him to 'go through that door,' 'cross that bridge,' or 'climb that pyramid.'" Then, there is the Halo 3 trailer, where Cortana says, "I am your shield, I am your sword." Compare this with Deuteronomy 34:22 "...O people saved by the Lord, the shield of they help, and who is the sword of thy excellency!" (I got this here) This further serves to link her as a Christ figure.

Subject: Closure
I have walked the edge of the Abyss.
I have governed the unwilling.
I have witnessed countless empires break before me.
I have seen the most courageous soldiers fall away in fear.
[I was there with the Angel at the tomb]
I have seen your future.
And I have learned.
There will be no more Sadness. No more Anger. No more Envy.
I HAVE WON.
Oh, and your poet Eliot had it all wrong:
THIS is the way the world ends.
a friend of a friend


Now we can take a look at the First Cortana Letter. First, let's start with the very subject itself: Closure. For any of you who aren't Bungie fans, just Halo fans, closure is the end of the universe and pretty much everything. What is also about "The End?" Why, Revelations, of course. And who tells John about The End? That would be Christ. Thus, because she is the one showing us, Cortana is like Christ. The first section pretty obviously describe Christ, who rules even the people who don't believe in Him, and helped His people defeat even the strongest nations despite the bad odds. He was also the only other one with the Angel who rolled away the stone at Christ's tomb (that is pretty obviously the one the Cortana letter refers to). But then we get to the next sections. First, there is the simple word "your." Cortana here is obviously separating herself from us, which would be quite appropriate if she is Christ/Holy Spirit, because He wouldn't have the same fate as us. Then, there is the statement of what the future contains: a seemingly perfect place where all the emotional ailments of humanity are gone. This sounds quite a lot like Heaven, which is the future for believers (aka the Humans, more on that later). Then the bottom is pretty obvious: This is the way the world ends, because that's what Revelation is all about, more or less.

Humans
I think the humans are believers. First, they are all being persecuted by everybody else. Second, they include some people who fill important "good" roles (Master Chief, Cortana, etc.). Also, they never release the Flood, even though they, too, are susceptible to it.

Covenant
I think the Covenant is the one world government set up by the Antichrist (The Prophet of Truth, more on that later). Basically, the Covenant includes every known race besides the believers (humans) who are persecuted.

The Prophet of Truth and Tartarus
These guys are so close that we shouldn't try to look at the difference between them too much. Basically, they are the Antichrist and the False Prophet. These guys lead the unbelievers to destruction, lead a world with one government (the Covenant), and have a "treaty" with Israel (the Separatists) that they end up breaking. I am sort of leaning towards Tartarus being the Antichrist (definitely if he is back in Halo 3) but right now I am not completely sure.

The Separatists
These guys (Grunts, Hunters, and Elites) represent Israel. As one of my colleagues has pointed out (Here), some of the names are similar. First, the Elites. The last six letters in the word "Israelites?" Yeah. Then the Grunts, also known as the Ungoy. Goy is used to refer to Jewish people sometimes. And, of course, Grunts are looked down on as well. Although you could argue that the name "Elite" isn't much of a connection, you gotta admit that the Ungoy is a little too close to be coincidence.
Then, we have their relationship with the Prophet of Truth and Tartarus, who had an alliance with them, broke it, and are now killing them all over.

343 Guilty Spark
He is the two "super prophets" that come down for a while (not sure if 2401 really counts or not). Just like the prophets, he is telling everybody the truth about what is going on (that the Halos kill everything besides the real enemy). Also, nobody could hurt him at all, hence, he survived Halo's destruction. However, Tartarus was able to strike him down, you might be thinking. Of course, he is supposed to go down eventually. And, just like the prophets, he came back. Then, there is the bit about them striking people with fire whenever they came near. 343 technically used lasers (from his Sentinels), but lasers are a lot like fire, so it still counts.

There is another post of this, so if you only see this one, try waiting a few minutes for me to finish before you reply.

מִכְמַן

[Edited on 7/7/2006]

  • 07.07.2006 11:16 PM PDT
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The Flood
Basically, these guys represent sin and the worst in humanity. Thus, this also qualifies them for the "plague" from the fifth trumpet. But let's start with connecting them to sin. When the Master Chief first lands on Halo, he noticed (The Flood, pg 51) "the crisp, clean air that came in through his filters." Compare this to Genesis 8: 21 "and the Lord smelled a sweet savour..." On this world, before the release of the Flood, it smells as good as after Noah's flood that wiped out sin. Now, let's look at after the release of the Flood (The Flood, pg 240), where he "started to gag when the air that came through his filters grew thick with the stench of cooked flesh." The fact that the Flood makes the place smell bad just like sin seems to be a major connection. This is also a good reason for why the Halos don't kill the Flood: because you can't kill sin. The only way to stop it is to stop the humans, because it is an intangible.
Now let's look at them in connection with the fifth trumpet. This is in Revelation 9. Verse 2: "...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." This pretty well describes what the scenery becomes when the Flood come out. Just look at all the levels with the Flood: they are all dark, and they have this sort of mist/smoke/fog stuff, that is green and obviously because of the Flood. Now, verse 3: 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." Locusts is a pretty good description of the Infection Forms: all over, always a ton of them, and they just keep coming. Verse 4: "And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads." This also describes the Flood: they can only hurt people, and not even all of them (such as Sergeant Johnson). But here is one of the most telling parts: verse 6: "And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them." Compare this to Private Jenkins, who was taken by the Flood (The Flood, pg 250): "Jenkins had the same view that the others did, spotted the Lieutenant, and hoped she was a good shot. This was better than suicide--this was...But it wasn't meant to be." Obviously, Jenkins is seeking death, but he can't find it. Then there is the fact that it is described as not being "meant to be" and "Due to some fluke, some random toss of the galactic dice" which are both good ways of putting something that is from prophesy (Good job to Dietz on that part, by the way, well done). Also, the things from the fifth trumpet pretty much make everybody be sinners like always, but they take it to the farthest extent possible. Think about that when reading this thing about Keyes being taken over (The Flood, pg 175): "As Keyes began to lose touch with the rest of his body, something foul entered it, pushing his consciousness down and back even as it claimed most of his cerebral cortex, polluting his brain with a hunger so base that it would have made him vomit, had he any possession over his own body. This hunger was more than a desire for food, for sex, or for power. This hunger was a vacuum, an endless vortex that consumed every impulse, every thought, every measure of who and what he was." See the connection?

Gravemind
He represents Death (the one from Revelation, not death in general). First, he himself described his place of living as a grave (Halo 2, end cutscene of Regret): "This is not your grave, but you are welcome in it." Now, we can finish looking at the passage we started with, First Corinthians 15: 56 "The sting of death is sin." As I just put above, the Flood is sin, and they are Gravemind's "sting," thus linking him as Death. Also, he almost blatantly says he is death (Halo 2, first Gravemind cutscene): "I am a monument to all your sins." What did sin bring with it into the world (according to the Bible)? That's right, death. Thus, death is a monument to all our sins.

The Ark
This is a little hard to talk about completely, because so far we have only speculation on where it is or anything. But take a look at this, Revelation 11: 19, "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." Although this doesn't all fit, it does sound a lot like the scene in the Halo 3 trailer.

Well, that's all for now. Tell me what you think.

מִכְמַן[/quote]

[Edited on 7/7/2006]

  • 07.07.2006 11:18 PM PDT
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Nice work.

  • 07.07.2006 11:18 PM PDT
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Alright, enough's enough, a successful topic's already been made about this exact same thing, so here's a detour .

EDIT: I'm not trying to flame, but it's a little too coincidental that two extremely similiar posts like these were made.

[Edited on 7/7/2006]

  • 07.07.2006 11:18 PM PDT
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Actually, there are plenty of differences between the two posts. Let the man speak, so to speak....

  • 07.07.2006 11:19 PM PDT
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There are way too many religious theories...

  • 07.07.2006 11:20 PM PDT
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Posted by: Vitamin Zawaz
There are way too many religious theories...

Well, it's a pleasant change compared to the usual "Halo 3 weapons/vehicles/ideas" threads.

  • 07.07.2006 11:21 PM PDT
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You guys replied pretty fast, did you actually read it?

Eh...who am I kidding, I don't think I even read it.

  • 07.07.2006 11:25 PM PDT
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Posted by: Iridorin
Well, it's a pleasant change compared to the usual "Halo 3 weapons/vehicles/ideas" threads.

Also, I'm a speed reader

[Edited on 7/7/2006]

  • 07.07.2006 11:25 PM PDT
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Posted by: Pwnocchio
And as for "Halo doesn't relate to the Bible", here is a quote from an interview with Chris Butcher, Bungie developer:

Chris Butcher: As far as the story, it can be looked at as a biblical allegory. The parallels are stronger than you probably realise, because nobody outside of Bungie has more than a corner of the big picture. And we only have two corners.

  • 07.07.2006 11:28 PM PDT
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Posted by: Clayton Bigsby1
it is certainly well thought out, but i like to think that halo is its own story and not connected to the bible

if it was connected to the bible, then wouldn't we certainly know the end of the story? the humans win and the covenant and flood destroyed? i (no offense) think bungie is a little more creative than to basically copy their story from the bible, although they may have taken some elements from it
That is exactly how I feel. Personally, I think the only things Bungie used from the bible are the number 7 and 117.

  • 07.07.2006 11:32 PM PDT
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Posted by: Vitamin Zawaz
Posted by: Clayton Bigsby1
it is certainly well thought out, but i like to think that halo is its own story and not connected to the bible

if it was connected to the bible, then wouldn't we certainly know the end of the story? the humans win and the covenant and flood destroyed? i (no offense) think bungie is a little more creative than to basically copy their story from the bible, although they may have taken some elements from it
That is exactly how I feel. Personally, I think the only things Bungie used from the bible are the number 7 and 117.

First, read the quote from above.

Second: The Flood, the Ark, the Covenant, and John have nothing to do with the Bible, eh? That's just to name the very obvious.

  • 07.07.2006 11:34 PM PDT
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Posted by: Clayton Bigsby1
it is certainly well thought out, but i like to think that halo is its own story and not connected to the bible

if it was connected to the bible, then wouldn't we certainly know the end of the story? the humans win and the covenant and flood destroyed? i (no offense) think bungie is a little more creative than to basically copy their story from the bible, although they may have taken some elements from it


Well, about knowing what would happen, with metaphors it isn't always that clear. And really, would following the Bible make them less creative? I know somebody said something like "Restriction breeds creativity." Basically, figuring out how to make this Bible story into a science fiction story where you kill a bunch of stuff still takes a good amount of creativity, especially when they did it so well most people absolutely refuse to believe it is connected to the Bible.

  • 07.07.2006 11:34 PM PDT
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I posted this in another thread, but I think it's necessary here, too. From Chris Butcher, Bungie developer...

Chris Butcher: As far as the story, it can be looked at as a biblical allegory. The parallels are stronger than you probably realise, because nobody outside of bungie has more than a corner of the big picture. And we only have two corners.

However, while I appreciate the research, I'm not sure if Revelations is going to tie in quite that much, save for the "end of the world" stuff, and maybe just a little bit of allusion in that department. Earthquake, lightning, etc.

  • 07.07.2006 11:35 PM PDT
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Posted by: Zerodev
Posted by: Pwnocchio
And as for "Halo doesn't relate to the Bible", here is a quote from an interview with Chris Butcher, Bungie developer:

Chris Butcher: As far as the story, it can be looked at as a biblical allegory. The parallels are stronger than you probably realise, because nobody outside of Bungie has more than a corner of the big picture. And we only have two corners.
That doesn't make any sense. That would imply that we essentially know how Halo 3 is going to end. Besides, that is one guy from bungie talking. I doubt that the whole company looks at the game as a parallel to the bible.

Furthermore...Chris said "CAN be looked at," meaning that it probably wasn't their intention.

  • 07.07.2006 11:35 PM PDT
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Posted by: Vitamin Zawaz
Posted by: Zerodev
Posted by: Pwnocchio
And as for "Halo doesn't relate to the Bible", here is a quote from an interview with Chris Butcher, Bungie developer:

Chris Butcher: As far as the story, it can be looked at as a biblical allegory. The parallels are stronger than you probably realise, because nobody outside of Bungie has more than a corner of the big picture. And we only have two corners.
That doesn't make any sense. That would imply that we essentially know how Halo 3 is going to end. Besides, that is one guy from bungie talking. I doubt that the whole company looks at the game as a parallel to the bible.

Furthermore...Chris said "CAN be looked at," meaning that it probably wasn't their intention.

Wow, you are really trying to make yourself believe the story has nothing to do with the Bible. Face it, you're wrong, and it does. Please stop trying to get these threads locked, they're valid and thoughtful threads. If you don't like them, don't read them.

  • 07.07.2006 11:36 PM PDT

I third this notion, but I do find intrigue still in all you have presented. Very well thought out. You must be very devout. Well done. Good read.

  • 07.07.2006 11:37 PM PDT
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Okay, no offense to anyone (and I'm religious BTW), but so what you guys are saying is that if it relates to the bible, MC will turn off the Halos, then Jesus will slaughter the Covenant and Flood, like he does to the armies of the world in Revelations?!? Wow, how's that for a twist! Kind of like Barbosa coming back in Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (oops *spoiler alert*)

[Edited on 7/7/2006]

  • 07.07.2006 11:38 PM PDT
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Posted by: Vitamin Zawaz
Posted by: Zerodev
Posted by: Pwnocchio
And as for "Halo doesn't relate to the Bible", here is a quote from an interview with Chris Butcher, Bungie developer:

Chris Butcher: As far as the story, it can be looked at as a biblical allegory. The parallels are stronger than you probably realise, because nobody outside of Bungie has more than a corner of the big picture. And we only have two corners.
That doesn't make any sense. That would imply that we essentially know how Halo 3 is going to end. Besides, that is one guy from bungie talking. I doubt that the whole company looks at the game as a parallel to the bible.

Furthermore...Chris said "CAN be looked at," meaning that it probably wasn't their intention.


Certainly, certainly. "Can be looked at" is the key phrase, like you said... So why is it a problem when people do look at it that way? Chris says here that there is much more going on than people realize when it comes to the biblical allusions.

And I'm not really following your "if it's the Bible then we know how it ends" train of thought. We don't know how it will end at all. While I believe that there are Biblical parallels, I think they are JUST parallels- I don't think, like others do, that Halo is BASED on the Bible. I think it just draws some of its symbolism from it, that's all. I don't think there's anything certain at all about the game is going to end, other than it's going to be way sweet :)

Anywho, back to the topic (I don't want this thread to get locked because of continuous arguing).. The Cortana letters are also just for fun- they're not really Canon, so I don't know if they can be used to support the claim that Cortana represents a Holy Spirit character.

[Edited on 7/7/2006]

  • 07.07.2006 11:39 PM PDT
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Posted by: Zerodev
Posted by: Vitamin Zawaz
Posted by: Clayton Bigsby1
it is certainly well thought out, but i like to think that halo is its own story and not connected to the bible

if it was connected to the bible, then wouldn't we certainly know the end of the story? the humans win and the covenant and flood destroyed? i (no offense) think bungie is a little more creative than to basically copy their story from the bible, although they may have taken some elements from it
That is exactly how I feel. Personally, I think the only things Bungie used from the bible are the number 7 and 117.

First, read the quote from above.

Second: The Flood, the Ark, the Covenant, and John have nothing to do with the Bible, eh? That's just to name the very obvious.
1--The Flood. Their name implies that they "flood" in from all sides, like the infection forms in Halo 1.

2--John. It's an average name.
3--The Ark. Well, it sure as hell doesn't save people from flood; it KILLS people to starve the flood.

4--The Covenant. Maybe it's just some cool name. Maybe not everything has an underlying meaning. In this sense, the "ark of the covenant" makes no sense because in the games, the ark doesn't belong to the covenant.

  • 07.07.2006 11:39 PM PDT
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Posted by: Iridorin
Okay, no offense to anyone (and I'm religious BTW), but so what you guys are saying is that if it relates to the bible, MC will turn off the Halos, then Jesus will slaughter the Covenant and Flood, like he does to the armies of the world in Revelations?!? Wow, how's that for a twist! Kind of like Barbosa coming back in Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (oops *spoiler alert*)

That was an awesome twist, I have to admit.

And just because it can be taken as Biblical allegory does not mean the entire story is parallel to the Bible, and it does not mean the ending is given away.

  • 07.07.2006 11:40 PM PDT
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Posted by: Iridorin
Kind of like Barbosa coming back in Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (oops *spoiler alert*)


NO! I was gonna see it tomorrow!

[Edited on 7/7/2006]

  • 07.07.2006 11:41 PM PDT
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Posted by: Vitamin Zawaz

First, read the quote from above.

Second: The Flood, the Ark, the Covenant, and John have nothing to do with the Bible, eh? That's just to name the very obvious.[/quote]1--The Flood. Their name implies that they "flood" in from all sides, like the infection forms in Halo 1.

2--John. It's an average name.
3--The Ark. Well, it sure as hell doesn't save people from flood; it KILLS people to starve the flood.

4--The Covenant. Maybe it's just some cool name. Maybe not everything has an underlying meaning. In this sense, the "ark of the covenant" makes no sense because in the games, the ark doesn't belong to the covenant.

* Sigh *

1) The Flood, as in Noah's Flood, as in destroyed almost all life.
2) John as in John the Baptist or John the apostle
3) The Ark, as in the Ark of the Covenant, or Noah's Ark
4) The Covenant, as in the Ark of the Covenant, or the Covenant God had with His people.

If you were at all knowledgeable about the Bible, you'd probably appreciate this a bit more. For example, no, the Ark doesn't belong to the Covenant, but that's not the connection.

You really just don't want to face reality.

[Edited on 7/7/2006]

  • 07.07.2006 11:43 PM PDT