A Star Wars Guide to Biblical Interpretations

If you can get pass the bad directing and dialogues, you might be able to notice certain things.

With regard to the prophecy of Anakin Skywalker who would bring balance to the Force, there are two fulfillments. One is a physical fulfillment that would take place in the present, while the other is a spiritual fulfillment that would take place in the future. At the end of Episode III, most of the Jedis were killed, leaving two Jedis and two Siths. Thus, in a physical sense, Anakin did bring balance to the Force.

Unfortunately, this physical fulfillment of the prophecy is not perfect. When one thinks of the Force, one should not think of the Light and Dark sides as good and evil respectively. A true Jedi needs to balance both Light and Dark sides and use them wisely. That's what happened with Luke Skywalker. Unlike the classical Jedi, Luke used a lot of raw emotions in his final confrontation with Anakin. However, Luke knows how to hold back, unlike Anakin who killed Count Dooku.

Therefore, the prophecy of bringing balance to the Force was spiritually fulfilled through Anakin's son, Luke Skywalker, who learned how to use both sides of the Force in Return of the Jedi. And to make the prophecy complete, the old guards of the Force were all dead i.e. Yoda, Kenobi, Palpatine and Anakin.

In the same way, when we read and interpret the Bible, we will notice that there is a physical fulfillment and a spiritual fulfillment in some of God's promises. For example, in the Davidic Covenant, God promises the physical people of Israel peace, land and blessings as long as they obey the covenantal commands. Unfortunately, as we can see from the Bible, the blessings did not last long after King Solomon's reign. The people of Israel were soon conquered by the Assyrians and the Babylonians.

It is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ where God's promises are realized spiritually, resulting in the Christians who become part of the spiritual people of Israel. However, we must look at this spiritual fulfillment today as an ongoing process. In a sense, the divine promises are fulfilled and in another sense, it is not. Take for instance, peace and land are still not realized yet. It is only when the Christians are glorified in Heaven, that's when the spiritual fulfillment is finally done.

You can also compare the Star Wars example of Anakin and Luke Skywalker to Adam and Jesus Christ. While Adam fell into sin and Anakin embraced the Dark Side, Jesus Christ conquered sin and Luke Skywalker was not tempted by the Emperor Palpatine. While Anakin betrayed his friends for selfish reasons, Luke was willing to forsake everything for his friends. While Adam brings death and condemnation to all men, Jesus Christ brings eternal life and forgiveness of sins to the elect.