The bright side of the apocalypse.
I have some dumb questions about the apocalypse (I was raised by pagans). In advance of the facts, I also already have ideas about the direction of the rest of SPN season 4 and season 5, based on my dinky knowledge.
My knowledge of the apocalypse can be summed up as: it has been prophesied (is that even a verb?), so it will happen, and is not entirely a bad thing, because it ends with all good souls in heaven and all bad souls in hell. Humanity is DEAD, yes, but there is a bright side.
Possibly because I've read way too much Tolkien, I think of the apocalypse as the silver lining with a cloud, or the accident that works out.
An example of silver linings with clouds: Jesus, the son of God. He lived, he died horribly, but in the end he provided salvation. The theme is sacrifice and renewal, life and death, creation and destruction -- a very popular theme in many religions, whether monotheistic or polytheistic.
Back to the apocalypse: Surely there are angels who would enjoy it, or at least enjoy the aftermath? Their labors would be done, and they could retire, hanging out with God all day. Some do not seem to care for humanity too much. Likewise for the demons, except they would hang out with Lucifer.
On the other hand, God must have mixed feelings about it. He made peeps in his own image, after all, and he loved them enough to send them his son. The apocalypse has to happen, no way to get around that, but does it have to play out the way it was prophesied? Maybe there could be a last minute Mistake That Works Out, a Gollum grabbing for the ring and falling into the pit, or a Winchester boy going bad to save the world (and his brother). Perhaps Lucifer has to be freed to be finally destroyed.
It's been said by SPN angels and prophets that the Winchester boys have a significant role to play. So possibly God and/or a few high-up angels are playing a very complicated endgame, pushing the apocalypse forward so they can control the way it goes down. Humanity won't be destroyed, but Lucifer will be (or at least Lucifer ends up more thoroughly penalized and sidelined).
Supernatural has pushed the theme of sacrifice and renewal through every season, and Jared and Jensen [back during S2] have speculated the show will end with their deaths [they seemed to have had Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in mind]. What the angel said to poor prophet Chuck ("We'd just bring you back to life.") could turn out to be significant to that theme.
If my understanding of the apocalypse is totally wrong (that is, it was really made up by cranky Puritans in the 16th century, isn't in the Bible, wasn't prophesied, and doesn't have any positive aspects), then my theory falls flat. Or maybe it just goes sideways.
I'd love to hear your thoughts (is the apocalypse a certainty according to Christian text?), but I must warn you I'm an atheist who is viewing the apocalypse solely as a TV show story arc. I imagine that could be offensive to devout Christians -- although it hasn't stopped SPN from using it as plot fodder.
I don't know any future spoilers; this is speculation only.
My knowledge of the apocalypse can be summed up as: it has been prophesied (is that even a verb?), so it will happen, and is not entirely a bad thing, because it ends with all good souls in heaven and all bad souls in hell. Humanity is DEAD, yes, but there is a bright side.
Possibly because I've read way too much Tolkien, I think of the apocalypse as the silver lining with a cloud, or the accident that works out.
An example of silver linings with clouds: Jesus, the son of God. He lived, he died horribly, but in the end he provided salvation. The theme is sacrifice and renewal, life and death, creation and destruction -- a very popular theme in many religions, whether monotheistic or polytheistic.
Back to the apocalypse: Surely there are angels who would enjoy it, or at least enjoy the aftermath? Their labors would be done, and they could retire, hanging out with God all day. Some do not seem to care for humanity too much. Likewise for the demons, except they would hang out with Lucifer.
On the other hand, God must have mixed feelings about it. He made peeps in his own image, after all, and he loved them enough to send them his son. The apocalypse has to happen, no way to get around that, but does it have to play out the way it was prophesied? Maybe there could be a last minute Mistake That Works Out, a Gollum grabbing for the ring and falling into the pit, or a Winchester boy going bad to save the world (and his brother). Perhaps Lucifer has to be freed to be finally destroyed.
It's been said by SPN angels and prophets that the Winchester boys have a significant role to play. So possibly God and/or a few high-up angels are playing a very complicated endgame, pushing the apocalypse forward so they can control the way it goes down. Humanity won't be destroyed, but Lucifer will be (or at least Lucifer ends up more thoroughly penalized and sidelined).
Supernatural has pushed the theme of sacrifice and renewal through every season, and Jared and Jensen [back during S2] have speculated the show will end with their deaths [they seemed to have had Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in mind]. What the angel said to poor prophet Chuck ("We'd just bring you back to life.") could turn out to be significant to that theme.
If my understanding of the apocalypse is totally wrong (that is, it was really made up by cranky Puritans in the 16th century, isn't in the Bible, wasn't prophesied, and doesn't have any positive aspects), then my theory falls flat. Or maybe it just goes sideways.
I'd love to hear your thoughts (is the apocalypse a certainty according to Christian text?), but I must warn you I'm an atheist who is viewing the apocalypse solely as a TV show story arc. I imagine that could be offensive to devout Christians -- although it hasn't stopped SPN from using it as plot fodder.
I don't know any future spoilers; this is speculation only.