A Spiritual Lesson In Toon Language: Lesson 58
Topic: Traitor
Series: Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye, Power Rangers Time Force
Episodes: Fire In The Sky (Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye), Time Force Traitor (Power Rangers Time Force)
Lesson PDF link: 58.pdf
Introduction
Today, we are discussing loyalty or lack thereof. When you see or hear the word 'traitor', what does it mean to you?
My definition would go something like treasonous behavior toward a country, organization, certain group, or in this case faith.
We are going to show a couple of clips from the Power Rangers Time Force episode called "Time Force Traitor" and will have a discussion on both.
Clip #1 of "Time Force Traitor":
What do you see in this clip?
In this clip, we see the character named Steelix. Steelix is shown to have been a law enforcement officer in the organization known as Time Force. We see that Steelix became a traitor to the organization. Why?
That's right, Steelix stole precious secrets and sold them to the bad guys that he was supposed to help capture. What would make someone want to sell out to someone like Ransik?
If you look at the facts in this case, the lure of fast money and greed brought this now dishonorable character down and corrupted him.
Clip #2 of "Time Force Traitor":What do you see in this clip?
In this clip, we see that Jen confronts Steelix about his treachery during a fight scene. There is something else that drives Steelix now more than money. What is it?
We see that revenge is what is fueling Steelix now more than money. You'll notice in these clips, that Steelix was captured by Time Force rather easily after the treasonous behavior of selling secrets is committed and goes to a kind of prison where the punishment is to literally be shrunk and frozen and there Steelix thinks of nothing but revenge. We can see that he is definitely not repentant even after many years behind icy bars.
What do you think of this kind of treason?
This isn't unlike one of our topics of study. We are going to look at the man in the Bible named Judas Iscariot.
The Bible states in Luke 6: 13-16 (ASV):
Luk 6:13 And when it was day, he called his disciples; and he chose from them twelve, whom also he named apostles:
Luk 6:14 Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip and Bartholomew,
Luk 6:15 and Matthew and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,
Luk 6:16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor;
In this passage, we see that Judas Iscariot was one of the original twelve disciples and then became a traitor. Do you remember how Judas Iscariot became a traitor?
Judas became a traitor in the same manner as Steelix; he sold out to the bad guys (in this case, the Pharisees).
The Bible states in Matthew 26: 14-16; 47-68 (ASV):
Mat 26:14 Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
Mat 26:15 and said, "What are ye willing to give me, and I will deliver him unto you?" And they weighed unto him thirty pieces of silver.
Mat 26:16 And from that time he sought opportunity to deliver him unto them.
Mat 26:47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.
Mat 26:48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he: take him."
Mat 26:49 And straightway he came to Jesus, and said, "Hail, Rabbi; and kissed him."
Mat 26:50 And Jesus said unto him, "Friend, do that for which thou art come." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.
Mat 26:51 And behold, one of them that were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and smote the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear.
Mat 26:52 Then saith Jesus unto him, "Put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Mat 26:53 Or thinkest thou that I cannot beseech my Father, and he shall even now send me more than twelve legions of angels?
Mat 26:54 How then should the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?"
Mat 26:55 In that hour said Jesus to the multitudes, "Are ye come out as against a robber with swords and staves to seize me? I sat daily in the temple teaching, and ye took me not.
Mat 26:56 But all this is come to pass, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples left him, and fled.
Mat 26:57 And they that had taken Jesus led him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together.
Mat 26:58 But Peter followed him afar off, unto the court of the high priest, and entered in, and sat with the officers, to see the end.
Mat 26:59 Now the chief priests and the whole council sought false witness against Jesus, that they might put him to death;
Mat 26:60 and they found it not, though many false witnesses came. But afterward came two,
Mat 26:61 and said, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.'"
Mat 26:62 And the high priest stood up, and said unto him, "Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee?"
Mat 26:63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest said unto him, "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou art the Christ, the Son of God."
Mat 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, "Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Mat 26:65 Then the high priest rent his garments, saying, "He hath spoken blasphemy: what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard the blasphemy:
Mat 26:66 what think ye?" They answered and said, "He is worthy of death."
Mat 26:67 Then did they spit in his face and buffet him: and some smote him with the palms of their hands,
Mat 26:68 saying, "Prophesy unto us, thou Christ: who is he that struck thee?"
In these passages of scripture, we see true treachery, however this wasn't unexpected as the scriptures predicted this in the Old Testament.
So far what do you think about being a traitor?
We are now going to look at another scenario. We will now show several clips from the Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye episode "Fire In The Sky."
Clip #1 of "Fire In The Sky":
What do you see in this clip?
The Decepticons find an unmarked Transformer named Skyfire. Immediately, we find that the one named Starscream is his friend from long ago and he tries to rekindle that friendship. This however was a friendship that was based on science and exploration not war. With respect to the friendship, Skyfire gives this job a whirl and becomes a Decepticon to be with his friend and doesn't know what kind of creatures these Decepticons are and doesn't know what he got into. For right now, Skyfire believes he is doing the right thing.
Clip #2 of "Fire In The Sky":
What do you see in this clip?
Skyfire already is questioning his new line of work and has a crisis of conscience. Why? Skyfire's original job was scientific and he is trying his hand at being a warrior for the first time. I think that this is reminiscent of someone that's new to thinking about life in the spiritual sense and being totally naive about what's out there. He appears to not like the taste of hurting anyone.
Clip #3 of "Fire In The Sky":
What do you see in this clip?
It is clear that Skyfire has officially defected to the Autobots' side. Do you realize that Starscream is right, that Skyfire is indeed a traitor to the Decepticon forces? What do you think of this kind of traitor?
In this clip, Skyfire made a life-altering choice. I believe he fully committed himself for the Autobots and likewise committed to be against the Decepticons. Skyfire gets seriously hurt for his choice and now has to trust that he made the right decision and it bears fruit; he is getting the chance to be whole and repaired.
If you were in the the Autobots' place, would you trust Skyfire even if he has a Decepticon badge to wear?
Clip #4 of "Fire In The Sky":
What do you see in this clip?
In this clip, we see that Skyfire's relationship is permanently severed even in the Decepticon's point of view. Skyfire showed and proved his true mettle to everyone and will not be bought by any set of ideals that he doesn't like. Emphatically, Skyfire threw Megatron around like he was a rag doll.
Clip #5 of "Fire In The Sky":
What do you see in this clip?
In this final clip, we see the ultimate battle between Skyfire and his former friend Starscream. Skyfire defeats Starscream, but it came with a price and he is reburied and maybe even dead; we don't know which one. Remembrance is important even for us today of those who lose their lives in doing things right. In the spiritual, those that are of Jesus are remembered by Him who saves.
The Bible states in Ephesians 5: 6-17:
Eph 5:6 Let no man deceive you with empty words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience.
Eph 5:7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them;
Eph 5:8 for ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light
Eph 5:9 (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
Eph 5:10 proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord;
Eph 5:11 and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them;
Eph 5:12 for the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of.
Eph 5:13 But all things when they are reproved are made manifest by the light: for everything that is made manifest is light.
Eph 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee.
Eph 5:15 Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise;
Eph 5:16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Eph 5:17 Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
This, I believe is Skyfire's attitude toward the Decepticon forces.
In the spiritual and very literally, we are judged and will be permanently remembered as righteous or forgotten in unrighteousness. When it comes to the righteous ones, The Bible states in Psalms 116: 12- 15:
12 What shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants.
When it is time to be home with God, God is seemingly anxious if you will to receive us and the successful homecoming of a soul is relished.
The Bible states in Revelation 20: 11-12; 21: 27:
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 21:27 and there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie: but only they that are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Skyfire is said to be remembered always in our cartoon and is a character symbol of repentance and turning to Jesus in real life. Even though we know cartoons like this don't discuss religion or faith, you can see the definite symbol if we are talking about the Christian walk. Steelix, on the other hand is a character symbol of Judas Iscariot, a traitor of a very bad kind and according to the storyline, probably will not repent any time soon.
We are effectively all traitors either to the darkness or to the light and must choose where our loyalty lies. God needs a full commitment to serve His kingdom effectively, so those who don't know where they are, need to make that decision.
The Bible states in Revelation 3: 15-16:
Rev 3:15 "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth."
This is part of the message to the church in Laodicea. This church, the way I understand it is a church that is on the fence and indifferent about God at this time and if they care; they seem to have no motivation and therefore God is not pleased.
We need to remember for ourselves who God is and why He needs to be front and center in our lives and in our work for Him. Once we remember, we are more likely to repent rather than be arrogant inside unrepentance.
How will you remember your covenant with God and seek Him in your life until your next lesson with us?