- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
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]