Exodus: Gods and Kings Movie Notes

What follows is a bit of play-by-play highlight reel (as it were) as I recall from viewing the new Exodus movie from Ridley Scott (who happens to be an atheist). It is from memory and a few note I scratched, so don’t get upset if I mixed something up. That was an unorthodox spoiler alert if you missed it. If you haven’t read the account in a while, stop right now and read Exodus 1–20, the approximate time the film covers.

Wrong Timeframe

The movie opens with the Hebrews as slaves in Egypt under Ramses, with the younger Ramses and Moses in the court together as generals/princes. Both appear to be in their thirties. (1300 BCE and the reference to 400 years of slavery appears on the screen, but this places it about 200 years later than the biblical record with the Exodus in 1491 BC. This is why many claim there is “no evidence for Hebrew slaves in Egypt” at this time—they are looking in the wrong period.)

There is a big battle with the Hittites with gratuitous imagery. Moses and Ramses Jr. fulfill a prophecy previously pronounced by a priestess, though both of them make it very clear that they are rationalists and don’t believe in their father/uncle’s reliance on a goose liver to determine the outcome of a battle.

Moses Goes to Pithon

FLEE from Bethel Church and Jesus Culture

[This post was originated after hearing about a sermon by Eric Johnson, “The Joy of Consecration” and other teachings from the teachers of Bethel Church in Redding, CA, including Jesus Culture and the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.]

In this sermon, Eric Johnson (son of Bethel founder Bill Johnson and co-pastor with his wife Candace) tells the people to open to Daniel 1, then shares a bunch of thoughts without ever referring to the text (which he finally reads at 19:15—that’s 20 minutes without the text). He talks about ideas and then says he has convictions about something he wants to share (14:45). The problem is that these convictions find no grounding in the truths of Scripture. He is not preaching; he is sharing his own thoughts. His thoughts are false and stand in direct opposition to God’s true words. He is asking people to believe in the Pelagian heresy—that man is inherently good and has no stain of original sin. Sadly, the crowd agrees with him when he makes these false claims.