INCEPTION: Movie review Part 2: The Biblical Perspective

Part 1

The idea of an external origin of dreams rather than just within a person’s own consciousness is taught in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments. From Jacob’s dream of the ladder rising up to heaven to Pharaoh’s dream of the seven healthy and seven sickly cows to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great image to Joseph’s dream to flee with Mary and the baby Jesus into Egypt, there are dozens of incidents involving numerous people in the Bible in which dreams were sent by God to serve His purposes. As a matter of fact, in the book of Job we read that dreams (and visions) are a teaching tool employed by God to speak directly into our subconscious.

Job 33:14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; 16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, 17 That he  may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.

So from a Biblical perspective, dreams are a communications tool, using dreams God speaks directly into man’s subconscious. The Subconscious of man is not necessarily different than his Consciousness. The subconscious is merely his consciousness when his body is in a state of sleep. In a waking state, information is inputted into the mind from external sources through bodily organs. One hears or sees or feels through bodily means, information arrives through sensory inputs. I believe the body interferes in pure communications with external information sources such as God or Satan. This is the reason why mystics rely heavily on ‘Sedation’, as did the characters in the movie. Sedation reduces or eliminates interference from the body, allowing direct communication with the person’s mind. The greater the access required to the person’s consciousness, his mind, greater the amount of sedation that needs to be administered. This was the reason why in the movie the three level dream state could only be achieved through the use of powerful sedatives. Powerful sedatives that are usually narcotics, like Morphine, also have powerful, negative side effects.

This is the area in which God’s communications with man, and that of Satan are distinguished. God does not need to chemically sedate people in order to communicate with them. He can anesthetise man’s body, cause him to fall into a deep sleep, without the use of harmful drugs, as for example with Adam when a rib was surgically removed from his body in Genesis 2:21. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept…. Satan, on the other hand must sedate his audience before he can enter their minds unhindered. This was the reason why the dreamers in the movie could enter into the victim’s subconscious could only after heavy sedation. This is also the reason why all satanic tribal ceremonies make heavy use of natural hallucinogenics, and why powerful chemical hallucinogenics such as LSD are frequently used in Satan worship ceremonies by the powerful elites in our world. God’s reasons for communicating with man through dreams are for man’s own benefit. God instructs him, God guides him, and leads him away from destruction through dreams, among other methods that God uses to communicate with man. Satan, on the other hand uses man to satisfy his own ungodly desires just as the protagonists (the criminals) in the movie did for selfish reasons, for money, stealing without being concerned for the loss and long term negative effects on their victims. God’s dreams can be instructional, as for instance when Joseph was warned to flee from Israel into Egypt, or they can be prophetic, as for instance Pharaoh’s dream of coming drought and famine. Whatever the technology employed in the movie to create dreams, it is a Biblical fact that intelligences and consciousnesses, other than that of the dreamer can access the sleeper’s subconscious and project a dream movie on to the screen of his mind.

This raises the question of what exactly is the mind? ‘Mind’ needs to be distinguished from a ‘brain’, in that a brain is a physical organ that controls bodily functions. The mind on the other hand is immaterial, is ethereal, belonging to the realm of the soul whose existence continues beyond the body into eternity. It truly is difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between consciousness, soul and mind; in my opinion they are synonymous. The mind is like a hard drive and a computer processor; it both processes and stores information. Therefore the idea that a foreign intelligence (intelligence apart from the person’s own mind) can access the person’s mind to steal or to plant information in it is not impossible; it is also a Biblical doctrine. For instance, in the fourth chapter of the gospel of Mark, in the parable of ‘The Sower’, Jesus taught that Satan is ever ready to pluck information out of people’s hearts (which he does by planting doubts and false ideas in their minds.) So both God and the devil are sowers, they plant information in our minds (and hearts) as Jesus taught in the gospels that He sows the Word, that is, He plants information in our hearts and minds.

Mark 4:15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

Dreams are just one method that is used by both God and the devil to plant the knowledge of GOOD and EVIL in our hearts. It is the growth of this knowledge that transforms people, either into good (God) or evil (the devil.) The process of planting and weeding, of writing and erasing information on man’s hearts and minds is a lifelong one, thus dreams do not stop at a certain age, they continue as long as a person is alive, for our education in matters of good and evil goes on while we are in this body, regardless of our age.

In the movie, people such as Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, the extractors, were not only information thieves, they were also security experts. Cobb tells his intended victim that he specialises in a specific kind of security, ‘subconscious security’ to which the victim responds, “You mean dreams”... With the knowledge of the extraction process, the extractors could train people to build defences against unwanted intrusions. The concept of a mind’s defences against unwanted intrusions is also Biblical. As a matter of fact believers are warned to be constantly on their guards, mentally speaking, for their adversary, the devil, is constantly on the prowl for new victims (1 Peter 5:8). Therefore it is imperative to have barriers against allowing information into the mind that is contrary to the believer’s faith. Satan’s attacks are designed to cast doubt on God’s Word, and these attacks are ongoing 24/7 through mainstream media, and pretty much all sources of information other than the Bible. I am not saying that we become hermits and move to mountain tops (although that may not be such a bad idea in these times), and completely shut out all non – Biblical sources of information. We guard our minds by critically analyzing all information in light of the absolute truth of the God’s Word, and we keep that which passes the test, and reject all that proves to be false or misleading, no matter how great a percentage of the masses believe in it. Believers in Absolute Truth, in Jesus will always be a minority, so be prepared to be often standing alone, as Jesus had to on many an occasion, and as the apostles had to, especially the apostle Paul.

In the Bible we are taught that as believers we have been given the helmet of salvation; a helmet of course protects the head, the brain and the mind. So we believers do have a defence against external intrusions which is the reason why we are told that we have been given the power to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. The flip side of that coin is that those who do not believe in Christ then have their minds open to have their thoughts brought into captivity to the obedience of Satan. Please read the Matrix series of articles I wrote earlier this year for a better understanding of how the god of this world (Satan) disseminates his information and manipulates and blinds the minds of those who believe not.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (King James Version): 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ...

In the movie the characters used tools to attack and break down the defences of the victims (misleadingly called ‘subjects’ in the movie.) In this battle for the mind, whether awake, or asleep and dreaming, we have been given spiritual weapons to defend and to attack the attacker who constantly wants to assault our minds (Satan). The process of how extractors like Cobb trained their clients to defend their minds is not explained in the movie. However in the Bible we are taught that the weapons we use for this purpose are not carnal, that is, we do not use guns or swords or tanks or such weapons that have been created by man to defend our mental and spiritual territory. We are fighting a spiritual battle, we battle not against flesh and blood, but against evil spirits, and these satanic spirits cannot be fought with guns or swords. Therefore those in the patriot movement and such that advocate fighting this battle on a physical plane are sure to lose. In the New Testament book of Ephesians, a list of both defensive and offensive weapons are given, which are the only tools available to believers to fight and win this spiritual battle.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints...

Just as Cobb and Co. taught subconscious security to their clients, God admonishes believers in His Word, and in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, to train constantly like soldiers to defend against constant assaults, and to become strong enough to go on the offensive and drive out the enemy forever in the power of His might. Ultimately our training involves the training of our senses to discern between good and evil. We should literally be able to smell evil a mile away, and be ever ready to take a stand against it. This task is not as simple as some may think, for most of what the world calls ‘Good’ is evil in God’s eyes, and most of what they call ‘Evil’ is good in His eyes. So the training of a believer is ultimately for the purpose of developing God’s vision, being able to see through His eyes. Christian maturity means understanding good and evil as God understands it; this education of man began way back in the Garden of Eden when Eve and Adam ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was the reason why God planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden in the first place; He had to educate us on how to discern accurately between the two, and this education is a practical one, not a theoretical one, we learn through experience. This whole world has been created by God for this very purpose, to have a place in which exist both good (personified in God) and evil (personified in the devil), and to have man exposed to both by placing him in the midst of them. Man’s education in this world, the information that he absorbs, is constantly transforming Him into God’s image or the devil’s, there is no middle ground.

The movie revealed some of Satan’s MO, how he plants false information in our psyche to bring us over to his will. But thanks be to God who has given us all the tools we need, to not only defend ourselves but to go on the offensive and liberate others from his clutches through our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and through prayer. Biblically speaking, minds can easily be breached and uploaded with all kinds of ungodly information that is fatal to our bodies, souls and spirits. Meditating in the Word of God will strengthen your heart and establish your mind to withstand the wiles of the devil that are all around us.

Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.