Allusions to the Bible in The Book of Eli

Allusions to the Bible in The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli is a post-apocalyptic movie with the well acclaimed Denzel Washington playing the lead role. Denzel is also the producer of this film. Some reviews have called The Book of Eli a Christian movie. This may be true, but it does not coincide with the Passion of Christ. The movie is based on Denzel who stars as Eli, who is traveling alone through America. America at the time had been shattered by a nuclear war 30 years earlier. The environment is plagued with abandoned cars, collapsing buildings, and demolished highways. On top of all the damage there is a shortage of water. The water that is left is rationed off to the people. The people even have the option to trade something of value in exchange for clean drinking water. Just by knowing the plot one could already assume that the end of the world is near.

Eli is heading west throughout the entire movie. During his journey he makes his way through a lawless land. This land is very similar to the land the book of Revelation depicts. Revelation talks about the earth being without a sea and this fact is portrayed within the film (see Revelation 21:1).

The people were living in a lawless time. As a result, everyone acted on impulse and did whatever they felt was right at the time.There weren't any Bibles. All of them had been burned. Eli was the only man alive with the way the truth and the light. He had the responsibility to deliver the word to the masses. Without the word of God the survivors of the war were heading towards extinction. As a result, famine set in and the survivors started to feast on each other. The earth was how we had never seen it before.

Denzel Washington as Eli, a man on a Mission from God

The Book of Eli is very similar to the book of Revelations. It alludes and illustrates that the apocalypse has begun.  According to the Bible several things will happen during the apocalypse, and a plague is one of them. Revelation makes references to 7 last plagues before God’s wrath would be completed (Revelation 15). The majority of the people Eli encounters on his journey are sick. Shaky hands were the indicator of the plague.  The people with shaky hands in the movie were outcasts and were killed without any remorse. Furthermore, these plagued people could have signified the beginning of the rapture.

One allusion is Eli  being considered to be similar to John of Patmos. I say this mainly because no one in the movie has any idea of what is to come and Eli has the answers for the church. Church in this context means the people living in this area during the movie. Eli has the letter to set everyone free. Without Eli there is a slim chance that people will be able rectify. If there not able to rectify they will be left behind when the rapture takes place.

Another allusion that I discovered was Eli’s identity. Eli was the lone carrier of the Bible and was trying to make it to a printing press throughout the entire movie. Eli could have been short for Elijah. And just like the prophet of the Old Testament, Eli is the possessor of God’s word. It is Eli responsibility to distribute the book of life to the masses. Furthermore, Eli could even be referred to as the last major prophet.

  

The Book of Eli is one of my favorite movies of all time. There are a lot of hidden messages within the movie. Some of the messages are biblical and some are political. There are even some messages that are based on power. I am sure anyone who watches this movie will want to watch it twice just to see all the things they didn’t pick up on.