Prophetic Significance of The Hunger Games - Part 11
Accepting the Role
Katniss Everdeen was launched into her calling through a prophetic dream. It was not her own dream, but a dream that her sister Primrose had. This dream that Prim experienced at the beginning of the first Hunger Games film prophesied that she would be chosen as a tribute to participate, and most likely die, in the Hunger Games. From Katniss’ point of view, this left her no choice but to volunteer as a tribute in her sister’s place. Katniss never wanted it, but she experienced the perfect set of circumstances that were needed to propel her into the role of the Mockingjay.
Donald Trump experienced the same phenomenon. The perfect set of circumstances came together with precise timing to propel him into the role of the Mockingjay. Ironically, it may have been President Obama who inadvertently provided the motivation for Mr. Trump to commit to a presidential run. In a brief CNN article entitled, “Was this the night Trump decided to run?” the author writes, “Multiple news outlets have suggested that President Obama’s mocking of Donald Trump at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner provoked him to run for office.”1 It was at that dinner that Donald Trump seemed to be mocked mercilessly, first by President Obama, and then by host Seth Meyers who went so far as to call a Donald Trump presidential run a “joke.” It may have seemed to Donald Trump as if he was being dared to run by a roomful of media elites who were laughing at him. To a man who is extremely competitive with an enormous ego, it may have been too much. It may have seemed like a challenge that he could not ignore.
Michael Wolff’s book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” claims that Donald Trump never wanted to be president.
“His ultimate goal, after all, had never been to win.
“‘I can be the most famous man in the world,’ he had told his aide Sam Nunberg at the outset of the race.
“‘Shortly after 8.00 pm on election night, when the unexpected trend — Trump might actually win — seemed confirmed, Don Jr. told a friend that his father, or DJT, as he calls him, looked as if he had seen a ghost. Melania was in tears — and not of joy,’ the book said.
“‘There was, in the space of little more than an hour, in Steve Bannon’s not unamused observation, a befuddled Trump morphing into a disbelieving Trump and then into a horrified Trump. But still to come was the final transformation: Suddenly, Donald Trump became a man who believed that he deserved to be, and was wholly capable of being, the president of the United States,’ according to the book.”2
Katniss tried to pass the Mockingjay calling to her sister, but that didn’t last. Just before the “reaping,” Katniss had given the Mockingjay pin to Primrose, but not long after that, Katniss volunteered as tribute on behalf of her sister. Then Prim gave it back to her, where it belonged. It never left her after that.
“God never changes his mind about the people he calls and the things he gives them [For God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable].”—Romans 11:29 (EXB)
Fully Clothed as the Mockingjay
Katniss’ role as the Mockingjay was recognized and acknowledged by others who urged her on, encouraged her, and supported her in her efforts, as they did with Donald Trump during his campaign. On the train to the first stop on their victory tour, Katniss saw a painted symbol of the Mockingjay in a tunnel as they passed. In Catching Fire, just before Katniss entered the Arena for the Games, Cinna pinned the Mockingjay symbol to her right arm. And at one of the stops on her victory tour, as she read the card that was given to her by her “campaign staff,” a woman yelled out passionately, “Tell us what you really think!”
In the media event before the 75th annual Hunger Games in Catching Fire, Katniss was fully clothed as the Mockingjay, indicating that she had fully entered into that role. In fact, her dress was first seen as a white wedding dress, which was requested by President Snow. The wedding dress might have had a double meaning. In addition to her wedding to Peeta, it could have also symbolized her being joined (married) and submitted to the current corrupt system, which is what the political elite wanted, but the dress transformed on stage to show who she really was. As everyone was watching, she took on the form of the Mockingjay who would bring radical changes to the corrupt system that was in place.
Not Aware of Higher Purposes
Even though she embodies the role of the Mockingjay, Katniss does not seem to be aware of her higher purpose. At the end of Catching Fire, when Katniss walks into the room with Haymitch, Finnick & Plutarch, she is finally clued in to the fact that this is about much more than the Games.
*“We couldn’t tell you with Snow watching, It was too risky. Better for you to know nothing,” Haymitch began. *
Plutarch Heavensbee (Heaven’s agent) continued, “Katniss, You have been our mission from the beginning… This is the revolution, and you are the Mockingjay.”
In like manner, Donald Trump may not realize that he is a major player in God’s plan to bring restoration to America. He may be the most unlikely person to be chosen, but he is being used by God to accomplish God’s purposes, even though he may be completely unaware of it now.
Girl on Fire
From the time that the Trump campaign took off, it seemed to gather momentum that confounded the critics. Once Donald Trump’s campaign gained popularity, he never lost it. It carried him through to Election Day.
In the Hunger Games films, Katniss was nicknamed by the media as the “Girl on fire.” The same could be said of Donald Trump because of the seemingly unstoppable momentum of his presidential campaign. It’s interesting that as I am writing this, the current issue of Time magazine for January 2018 depicts Donald Trump on its cover as a man on fire.
Mocking the System
In the end, Katniss and Peeta made a mockery of the system, beating the odds to be joint victors of the 74th Hunger Games, possibly foreshadowing the win of Trump and Pence in the 2016 Presidential election. Katniss and Peeta had come down to the end, with the final victory over the strongest, the most formidable opponent, Cato, who had seemed to be the natural favorite to win the Games.
In like manner, Trump and Pence fought down to the wire against Hillary Clinton, who many felt was only running as a formality, just going through the motions of the election process before being crowned with the Presidency that they had already assumed she would win. It was taken for granted that Clinton would win. Journalist Jon Weiner echoed those thoughts in these words from his article, “Relax, Donald Trump Can’t Win:”
“Hillary will win in November, and she will be sworn in as our next president on January 20.”3
But ultimately, the manipulators were out-manipulated, and those who had mocked the idea of a Donald Trump presidency were themselves mocked.
Mocking the Mockers
Just a few short weeks after the presidential election, the Hollywood elite who had so mocked Donald Trump and Mike Pence during the course of the campaign held their own time-honored “election ceremony,” otherwise known as the Academy Awards. In a shocking blunder that became a huge embarrassment for those involved, the wrong winner was announced for the Best Picture award — the biggest, most prestigious award of the Oscars.
After so many members of the Academy had mocked Donald Trump’s presidential election, was it poetic justice that their own highly revered “election” was thrown into chaos? Or was it the hand of God, mocking the mockers?
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”—Galatians 6:7 (NIV)
Since his campaign began, Donald Trump has offended almost everyone at one time or another. His official slogan is “Make America Great Again,” but his style and tactics seem to have leaned heavily on personal attacks and mockery. A quick Internet search will confirm that Donald Trump engages in mockery of others almost as a lifestyle habit. He has reportedly mocked protesters, American political leaders, world leaders, reporters, Global Warming advocates, and various media publications, among other things. But if President Trump is truly called to fulfill the role of the Mockingjay, then we shouldn’t be surprised by these actions. That’s what Mockingjays do. They mock.
Backlash
Haymitch: “They’re not happy with you.”
Katniss: “Why? Cause I didn’t die?”
Haymitch: “Cause you showed them up.”
Katniss: “Well, I’m sorry it didn’t go the way they planned, you know I’m not very happy with them either.”
Haymitch: “Katniss, this is serious. Not just for you. They don’t take these things lightly.”
When the results of the presidential election declared Donald Trump to be the winner, that was not the end of the fight. Far from it! That was just the beginning. Almost immediately, a resistance movement rose up with a fury that seemed to be almost irrational at times. There have been protest rallies, marches, and calls for President Trump to resign or be impeached (even though the reasons for impeachment are often vague).
But if we focus on the actions of protesters, we will miss the fact that this is not a conflict with flesh and blood. This is a spiritual conflict. And it may become much more intense soon as efforts are made to restore righteous government to America.
“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”—Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)
Foreshadowing the Intense Spiritual Battle to Come
An hour before Katniss was set to leave for the victor’s tour after winning the Games, President Snow showed up at her family’s house to pay her a visit. During his visit, he delivered a thinly-veiled threat to Katniss:
Snow: “If a girl from District 12 of all places can defy the Capitol and walk away unharmed, what is to prevent them (people from other districts) from doing the same? What is to prevent say… an uprising that can lead to revolution. And then in a fraction of time the whole system collapses?”
Katniss: “It must be a fragile system if it can be brought down by just a few berries.”
Snow: “Yes it is indeed, but not in the way you imagine it.”
Katniss: “How should I imagine?”
Snow: “You should imagine thousands upon thousands of your people dead. This town of yours reduced to ashes. Imagine it gone; made radioactive; buried under dirt as if it had never existed, like District 13. You fought very hard in the games, Miss Everdeen. But they were games. Would you like to be in a real war?”
The era of the Donald Trump presidency may be much more than just another presidential administration that will pass on its accomplishments and problems to those that follow. As foreshadowed in the Hunger Games films, we may have entered into an increasingly intense spiritual battle for the future of America. How the American Church responds will likely determine the future direction of this country and its influence in the world.
America is at a critical crossroads. We as believers must pray, perhaps as we have never prayed before, and intercede on behalf of America and its leaders in this critical time. We must stand in the gap and pray that God’s purposes will be fully accomplished. We must not allow God’s purposes to be thwarted or cut short of their full possibilities for bringing about God’s best in this time of His moving.
We can take heart that God has not left America alone. In the Hunger Games films, there is clear evidence of a powerful agent from Heaven who is sent to influence those in power in order to help in the achievement of God’s higher purposes.
References: 1Cohen, M. (n.d.). Was this the night Trump decided to run? Retrieved January 23, 2018, from http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2017/04/27/obama-mocks-trump-correspondents-dinner.cnnmoney/index.html
2Smith, J. (2018, January 03). *Donald Trump Didn’t Want to Win – and Neither Did His Campaign. *Retrieved January 24, 2018, from http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-fire-and-fury-book-donald-trump.html
3Wiener, J. (2016, June 21). Relax, Donald Trump Can’t Win. Retrieved February 02, 2018, from https://www.thenation.com/article/trump-cant-win/
