''Transformers...more than meets the eye!''
Oh the joy these words produced in my young heart, growing up in the 1980's, captivated by the animated exploits of shape-shifting robots from another world. Like many of my juvenescent counterparts, the unquestioned leader of the benevolent bots - Optimus Prime - was my unquestioned hero. The toy model of Optimus which I received as a Christmas gift - capable of "transforming" like the cartoon character - remains one of my most cherished childhood memories.
Rolling into popular culture during the Reagan administration, the Transformers are a species of sentient robots from the fictional world of Cybertron. The "good guys" are known as the Autobots, while the autonomous antagonists are the Decepticons, led by the malevolent Megatron. The concept underwent a ''transformative'' resurgence, beginning in 2007, with live-action movies. Now ensconced on the proverbial big screen, the robo-aliens have become larger than life, at least in terms of entertainment value.
The Transformers are so named because of their fantastic ability to transform from robotic form into vehicles, weapons, machines and even animals. Think of metamorphosis on steroids. They are "more than meets the eye" because what you see isn't necessarily what you get. In the Transformer universe, the common object you are looking at might in fact be a "robot in disguise."
TRANSFORMERS ACTUALLY EXIST
The Transformers of commercial renown were forged within the fantastical factory of the human imagination. The "fi" in sci-fi stands for fiction, and these metallic super beings are precisely that - fiction. They are not real. Having served as Captain Obvious, now I will share some incredibly exciting news. We inhabit a universe where spiritual transformers exist - far more powerful than any conceived by the finite mind of earthly man - and they are more real than any physical object we can perceive through our five senses. I know this is an incredible claim. But it is one supported by the eternal pillars of biblical teaching.
ANCIENT THREAD OF TRANSFORMATION
It doesn't take very long to detect traces of the matter-morphing effect of God's intervening hand in earthly affairs. We need only to look at the miracles archived in the Old Testament to begin seeing it.
In Genesis, Lot's wife is transformed from a body of flesh to a pillar of salt (19:26). In Exodus, an inanimate object transforms into a living creature. The rod of Aaron becomes a serpent in Pharaoh's presence (7:10). Granted, the Egyptian magicians duplicate this incredible feat. But the superiority of God's holy power is emphatically demonstrated when ''Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.'' (verse 12) Later, the first of the ten divine plagues involved the waters of Egypt transforming into blood (7:17-25). Still in Exodus, we see the Red Sea transformed into dry ground for the Israelites, then back again to drown the pursuing Egyptians (14:21-31). We see the bitter waters of Marah transformed into sweet, drinkable hydration; it's here we are introduced to ''the LORD that healeth thee'' (15:23-26). And we see a rock miraculously transformed into a source of water (17:1-7).
Arriving at the book of Numbers, we find Aaron's rod impossibly transforming into a blossoming almond plant (17:8). Again we witness a hard rock transformed to a thirst-quenching fountain, serving up water ''abundantly'' for the Israelites and their animals (20:11). In the adventuresome book of Joshua, we observe the flowing water of the river Jordan transformed into dry ground in the holy presence of the Ark of the Covenant (3:14-17). And, in a sense, the storied wall of Jericho undergoes a type of transformation, turning into a pile of rubble at the ''super shout'' of God's people (6:1-27).
Our next stop is the fortified town of Zorah, birthplace of the herculean Samson - a genuine superhuman who would become intimately familiar with God's transforming power. The strong man of biblical renown receives his legendary strength, not from physical muscle, but from a supernatural source. It is only when ''the Spirit of the LORD [comes] mightily upon him'' that he is transformed into a man of uncommon physical power (see Judges 14:6). Conversely, he reverts back to the weakness of a normal human, unable to shake himself into the strength of his glory days, when he loses his anointing.
Next we visit the land of the idolatrous Philistines in which the holy Ark of the Covenant has arrived. We enter the temple of their false god - Dagon - which plays host to the legendary Ark. We witness the manufactured image of the Philistine deity (a ''fish-god,'' history tells us) transformed into a mere stump of its former self in the presence of the true God. ''And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.'' (1 Samuel 5:4)
In a place called Zarephath, a widow's meager meal is miraculously transformed into a year-long feast (1 Kings 17:8-16). Again we find ourselves on the banks of the Jordan river. And again we behold the waters transformed to dry ground - this time by Elijah and Elisha, respectively; both times the anointed mantle of Elijah is the medium of transformation (2 Kings 2:8,13-14). To Jericho we return, not to view the crumbling of a wall this time, but the curing of water. The city's polluted spring is transformed back to nature's nectar via the ministry of Elisha (verses 19-22).
Further on, we are treated to even more wonders of transformation. A dry valley becomes a water-filled one (3:16-20). This water becomes blood-red; at least it appears to do so through a fortuitous optical illusion (verses 22-25). A needy widow's lone pot of oil becomes a virtual pot of gold, turning poverty into provision (4:1-7). A poisonous pot of food becomes a harmless and nourishing meal (verses 38-41). Twenty loaves of bread miraculously become sufficient to feed one hundred hungry stomachs (verses 42-44). And an axe head of iron somehow becomes buoyant, floating rather than sinking (6:1-7).
Transformation is the inevitable product of divine intervention in earthly affairs.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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