All Scripture references are New King James version.

 

Spoiler Alert: This article reveals many of the elements of the plot of the movie, Tomorrowland, because the movie is not just a message for the world—but a significant message to the church.

Imagine a setting in which news of pending disaster is rampant. Everywhere you turn, you hear of natural disasters, environmental warnings, governmental dysfunction, wars, terrorism, and worldwide dystopia. Sound familiar?

This is the setting for Disney’s Tomorrowland. While there are many of the expected elements of a Disney movie which may not be in agreement with Christian theology, as well as some mild offensive language, the movie is a profound wake-up call for those who have ears to hear. As I viewed the movie, I recognized four specific messages that the church should be speaking, rather than Disney.

Can We Fix It?

First, in an early scene where the main character, Casey Newton, is in a variety of classes at school listening to her teachers lecture on the various ways in which the world may be coming to an end, Casey persistently raises her hand to speak. Finally, in one class the teacher calls on her to ask her question. Casey simply asks, “Can we fix it?” The teacher is stunned and asks what she means. Casey asks if there is anything we can do about it. The teacher doesn’t have an answer, and it is clear that no one has thought to ask the question.

As believers, it is easy for us to look around at culture and society today and recognize how much the world has departed from traditional values, and in some cases, it seems that we have collectively forsaken common sense. Too often we commiserate together about how bad things are, and we forget to ask if there is anything we can do about it. Yet we are the ones who are specifically given authority to bring about change. We can quickly quote II Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” But we have not yet found a collective congruence to understand that WE are the people the Lord is speaking of who can bring healing to the land through humility, prayer, seeking His face, and pursuing holiness.

An Unchangeable Fate?

Secondly, there is a device in Tomorrowland that allows people to see the future and make very accurate predictions of what is going to happen. This device has predicted the exact date and time when the world, as we know it, ends through natural disaster, riots, and wars. The device measures its accuracy by the amount of agreement it detects from those who could make a difference. At two points in the movie, Casey is told of  future predictions of destruction, and she responds with, “I’m not buying it,” or “I can choose my own future.” At her words, the device flickers and its prediction level decreases. There is no longer 100% certainty of the end of the world.

The application within the church regarding this point is similar. The difference is that those who speak prophetically in the church and to the church are seeing (accurately, in most cases) impending disaster, economic collapse, and other unpleasant outcomes. In this case, we are not just looking around at current conditions and extrapolating, but we are actually seeing into a likely future and finding that things are predicted to get worse. Compounding this is a seeming hunger to hear more about the dark future from many more prophetic voices. We look for the prophetic people to confirm the other prophetic warnings, and we grit our teeth and brace for impact.

The danger for the church is that there is so much talk about what is coming, that it can become easy to accept the prophecies as an unchangeable fate. However, we know from Scripture that prophecies can be changed, or at the very least they can be delayed for generations. When Jonah prophesied to Nineveh that the Lord was going to destroy them, he didn’t give them an opt-out option. Yet the people heard the warnings and chose to repent, and they were spared from destruction for many decades.

Rejecting Hopelessness

Thirdly, the gloom and doom that is being propagated is primarily coming from a central source. The governor of Tomorrowland is allowing the message to be fed into the hearts and minds of the people with the intent of letting the destruction come. Initially, the message was to serve as a warning, but as he saw people simply accepting this fate, he decided they deserved destruction and continued beaming the doom and gloom to the world. What is significant in his plan is that he specifically mentions that the bleak future is being embraced and spread by the media and entertainment industry. He speaks about how our news, movies, books, and even video games all repeat the same message of hopelessness.

Many believers have already recognized this happening today. One of the mountains in the “Seven Mountains” teaching is the Media and Entertainment Mountain. That mountain includes all of the industries the villain in the movie lists as his allies. The movie accurately identifies this mountain as the one that most impacts the corporate zeitgeist of today and the influence it has in propagating the message of hopelessness. This force is of utmost importance for the church to engage today, not to bring the mountain into the kingdom, but to bring the kingdom into the mountain. It is vital that we begin taking our place in the Media Mountain and speak the true message of hope.

Bringing Change

Finally, the movie shows us the type of people who can bring about change. Once the global mind-control machine is destroyed and it is time to begin recruiting people to help bring about the change that can save the future, Casey and her companion charge the recruiters to find dreamers—those who have the capacity to see a different future. During the few minutes that follow, we see those who are recruited. They are scientists, musicians, artists, people in government, teachers, business people, dancers, parents, and others. They represent people from each of the seven mountains, except the church mountain. But don’t discount Disney yet. In the final scene of the movie, the recruits find themselves in a huge wheat field that is ready for harvest.

The Harvest Field

Those who can bring change to the future are those who are in the seven mountains, but they are also a part of the harvest of the kingdom. The ones who dream—who have hope—are those who find themselves in the harvest field, looking to the future and choosing to step toward it with excitement.

The message for the church from the movie is simply this: We are the ones who know the source of hope. We are put here for a purpose and for such a time as this. We do not have to accept the future being revealed to us today. We have the authority and ability to bring about change. It is time to take our place in the harvest field, and to become the harvest ourselves, walking toward the bright future. This is our opportunity to see the prophecy in Isaiah 60:1-4 fulfilled through us. This is not the time to dig in and hide in our bunkers. We are the ones who carry the light to which the entire world will be drawn. We are the land of tomorrow.

         Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.

         For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.

         The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

         “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side” (Isaiah 60:1-4).

 

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