Stranger Issues’ fifth and remaining season is lastly right here! As I rewatched the present, I used to be struck by how profoundly it illustrates the biblical story of a non secular battle that takes place in a realm past our senses and but, proper in our very midst.
Netflix’s hit present begins in Hawkins, Indiana in Nineteen Eighties America as a gaggle of youngsters, together with their family and friends, uncover a “unusual” connection between their world and its mirror, a mysterious, hostile realm which they title “The Upside Down.” Whereas the present begins with the peaceable nostalgia of America’s previous, it rapidly pulls you in when that peace is disrupted by the disappearance of Will Byers. His household and pals wrestle with their loss: some mourn and sadly transfer on with their lives, whereas his mom Joyce and dependable pals Mike, Dustin, and Lucas desperately refuse to surrender hope.
All through season one, the collective Hawkins crew—Will’s pals, household, and the neighborly sheriff Jim Hopper—study extra about this parallel dimension and the key authorities lab linked to its origin. By many trials and tribulations, together with a battle towards the Upside Down’s monstrous Demogorgon, Will’s family and friends handle to rescue him with the assistance of the superpowered El.
In season two, Will Byers is taken captive once more, this time by the “Thoughts Flayer” who possesses him and makes use of him as a spy. Led by the Thoughts Flayer, the Upside Down begins to devour Hawkins because it tunnels beneath the city and unleashes a military of Demodogs. However via unbelievable shows of braveness and desperation, the Hawkins crew saves Will and their city as soon as once more. In season three, the Upside Down’s forces start to make use of rat and human our bodies to construct a model of the Thoughts Flayer proper there in Hawkins, contrasting the shadowy determine that managed Will from afar within the earlier season. In a giant battle of People versus Russians and youngsters versus an enormous monster, the third season ends with a bittersweet victory that scars a number of the Hawkins crew extra deeply than the various accidents they obtained in battle.
Lastly, in season 4, the battle for Hawkins has increased stakes than ever earlier than because the Upside Down’s chief, Vecna, begins to homicide college students throughout the city with a purpose to set up a everlasting connection between the realms. The season stalls out with a temporary-yet-costly victory over Vecna with casualties and losses for the Hawkins crew. As season 5 begins, one factor is definite: it is going to take everybody’s mixed efforts to defeat the Upside Down’s darkish legions and their chief as soon as and for all.
Simply as Mike, El, Dustin, Will, Lucas, and Max band collectively to face the specter of Demogorgons, the Thoughts Flayer, and Vecna himself, Christians are additionally referred to as to collectively arm themselves with the information, energy, and presence of God.
Simply as Stranger Issues presents a actuality of two opposing realms clashing, the New Testomony makes use of literary metaphor, imagery, and crucial directions to light up the Christian non secular actuality. All through the New Testomony, Christians are challenged to concentrate on non secular warfare, resist the Enemy collectively, and depend on the ability of Jesus of their lives.
The non secular actuality of Christians is described each when it comes to realms and standing in addition to a wrestle towards the forces of evil. The Bible emphasizes that believers have entered into the realm of grace and new creation and will depart behind the methods of sin.
All through Romans 5-8, Paul describes sin as a realm of enslavement and loss of life that Christ-followers have been freed to depart as they now inhabit God’s Kingdom, dominated by His grace.1 However the believers’ new standing and area of existence are additionally below assault by the forces of darkness. Ephesians 2:1-3 paints an image of the whole world as an Upside Down-esque realm of darkness and supreme loss of life at the same time as Ephesians 2:6 describes the fact of Christians as being “raised up with [Christ]” and “seated with Him within the heavenly locations.”
In Ephesians 6:11-13, Paul urges believers to “placed on the complete armor of God” in gentle of the non secular forces they have to wrestle towards. He echoes this non secular actuality once more in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 when he describes a non secular battle that’s fought with the information of God and the supremacy of Christ in believers’ lives. And at last, 1 Peter 5:8 warns Christians to be on alert towards the Enemy who lurks and prowls round their lives like an awesome beast about to assault.
All through the New Testomony, the Apostolic authors collectively urge Christians to take a look at the bodily world via the lens of Jesus Christ and notice the non secular actuality they’ve entered via him. By Christ’s loss of life and resurrection, Christians enter victoriously into a brand new life that is stuffed with freedom, love, and safety (Romans 8:31-39). Nevertheless, since God’s kingdom and supreme redemption aren’t but absolutely realized, the forces of darkness stay lively within the current day, working spiritually behind the scenes. Because of this, there’s a here-and-not-yet sense to the victory described within the New Testomony.
In some ways, Stranger Issues illustrates these Biblical metaphors with putting efficiency. Whereas not an ideal metaphor, the Upside Down progressively invading Hawkins as a mirror dimension in search of to devour and destroy definitely parallels the non secular dimension described within the Bible. Like most of the collection’ characters, believers can not instantly acknowledge the Enemy’s non secular exercise of their lives. Nevertheless, with collective consideration and resistance, the Enemy’s actions turn out to be extra clear to those that consider in Jesus; they turn out to be conscious of the non secular actuality round them via the revelation of the Holy Spirit and the information of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-16, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Simply as Mike, El, Dustin, Will, Lucas, and Max band collectively to face the specter of Demogorgons, the Thoughts Flayer, and Vecna himself, Christians are additionally referred to as to collectively arm themselves with the information, energy, and presence of God.
This isn’t merely a battle of fine versus evil, although. Additionally it is a communal endeavor towards forces in search of to invade, sabotage, and destroy a neighborhood. Stranger Issues’ distinction between the darkness of the Upside Down and the peace and security of the Hawkins neighborhood continues to focus on simply how profoundly good the bonds of affection and loyalty are between Hawkins’ pals and households. It’s the energy of individuals united collectively by love and loyalty that overcomes overwhelming odds. It is a main theme throughout the New Testomony and its directions to believers: resistance towards the powers and principalities is a communal apply. Simply as Stranger Issues presents a togetherness in Hawkins’ struggle towards evil, so too are Christians referred to as to stroll collectively within the newness of life as one Physique of Christ (Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 11:23-24).
This battle may be very a lot relational, not solely due to the most important theme of neighborhood, but in addition due to the one who empowers Christians within the struggle. On the coronary heart of the Apostle Paul’s letters is the message that believers have been joined with Christ and now reside their lives in him.2 The Christian life is the fact of being introduced into the blessing, presence, energy, and id of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That is the place to begin of every part within the Christian life. Subsequently, as they wage battle towards the forces of darkness, the folks of God are by no means alone. Whereas the Hawkins crew band collectively in relational unity to struggle, they haven’t any sense of higher dependence or hope past one another. In distinction, the Christian life is considered one of overwhelming hope and confidence that abounds in relationship with the resurrected and exalted Messiah.
Simply as Stranger Issues presents a togetherness in Hawkins’ struggle towards evil, so too are Christians referred to as to stroll collectively within the newness of life as one Physique of Christ.
There are different methods by which Stranger Issues diverges from the New Testomony’s non secular paradigm. First, victory is definite in Jesus. Christians resist an Enemy that has already been defeated (Romans 16:20, Colossians 2:15). Whereas the Enemy continues to be lively and able to assault, they’ve been dealt a death-blow by Jesus on the cross and empty grave.3 This sense of hope and confidence is lacking within the darkness and despair of Stranger Issues, particularly because the present enters its later seasons. Adrenaline-fueled willpower drives the Hawkins crew; there isn’t any sense of sure victory. The one hope to be discovered is in their very own capacity to one way or the other overcome unlikely odds. The Christian’s hope, alternatively, is grounded not solely within the loss of life and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but in addition of their relationship with a God who reigns supreme over all different non secular forces. The imagery of the Warrior-God4 supplying armor to these within the struggle is a robust metaphor by which Paul urges believers’ to “placed on the complete armor of God” and resist the non secular forces which might be past the bodily world (Ephesians 6:11).
One other large distinction between the present and the New Testomony is the portrayal of realms. Whereas the Upside Down is a superb and vivid depiction of clashing realms, there’s a sense of spatial separation that strays from the New Testomony’s perspective. For Christians, the bodily and non secular realms fully overlap; their world is immersed in a non secular wrestle whose battlefield is the bodily world. There isn’t any separate dimension, however moderately, a dimension that exists across the believer however lies past their bodily senses. Contrasted with the Upside Down’s close by pocket dimension, the non secular/bodily dualism of the New Testomony is totally immersive. This results in the Biblical writers urging believers to reside on excessive alert towards the Enemy’s exercise.
After all of the comparisons and contrasts, what ought to be our takeaways? Stranger Issues and all its imagery is unbelievable and will definitely end with fairly the climatic “bang” in its remaining season. Viewers ought to be capable of discover the parallel portraits as a useful visualization of what’s true and actual.
The present may encourage our creativeness to look past the fabric world. Based on one New Testomony scholar, the concept “is pressed on us that this world is all there’s and that actuality is absolutely and fully constituted by what I can see from this earthly perspective.”5 The New Testomony repeatedly seeks to shake us out of this Matrix-like lie and as a substitute, “increase the horizons of our creativeness in order that we envision actuality from the angle that Jesus Christ guidelines this world and longs for us to get pleasure from his redemptive reign.” We want “a radical reorientation of our imaginative and prescient of the world.”6 Solely with such a renewed, complete imaginative and prescient of actuality might Christians really function with a way of self, neighborhood, and God inside their world that’s really rooted in Jesus.
However Stranger Issues fails to seize the hope, confidence, and faith-dependence with which Christians navigate the world. The present doesn’t seize the pervasive, all-encompassing non secular actuality of the Christian life.7 Even so, Christians can watch Stranger Issues with a thoughtfulness to their very own non secular actuality and permit the present’s imagery to seize their creativeness. Fairly than settling for the comfy, materialistic tradition of the West, we have to get up to the fact of Christ in our lives and resist the demonic forces in search of to seize our affections, consideration, and affirmation.
All Bible quotes are from the NASB translation.
- Croasmun, Matthew D. 2023. “Sin, Guilt.” In Dictionary of Paul and His Letters: A Compendium of Modern Biblical Scholarship, edited by Scot McKnight, Second Version, 976–82. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Tutorial: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press. Logos Bible Software program. ↩︎
- Gorman, Michael J. 2023. “In Christ.” In Dictionary of Paul and His Letters: A Compendium of Modern Biblical Scholarship, edited by Scot McKnight, Second Version, 476–82. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Tutorial: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press. Logos Bible Software program. ↩︎
- Reid, Daniel G. 2023. “Devil, Satan.” In Dictionary of Paul and His Letters: A Compendium of Modern Biblical Scholarship, edited by Scot McKnight, Second Version, 954–57. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Tutorial: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press. Logos Bible Software program. ↩︎
- Keener, Craig S. 2014. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testomony. Second Version. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Tutorial: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press. Logos Bible Software program. ↩︎
- Gombis, Tim. The Drama of Ephesians: Taking part within the Triumph of God. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Tutorial: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2010, Apple Books. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- I notice any metaphor or visualization will fall wanting the New Testomony’s theological complexity and that, to my information, the Duffer Brothers didn’t even intend to attempt to seize the portrait of the New Testomony. ↩︎
