Superman: The One And Only Son Series

Because Zod and his followers did not stay within their own position of authority, but abandoned their proper place, they were judged guilty and cast into a dark abyss, known as the Phantom Zone, “an eternal living death.”

The Bible says, “And remember the angels who did not keep their place of power but left their proper home. The Lord has kept these angels in darkness, bound with everlasting chains, to be judged on the great day” (Jude 1:6 NCV). I imagine that pronouncing judgment against his fallen creation was one of the hardest things God ever had to do. However, because he is holy, God must maintain his standard of holiness.

If the characteristics of God could be listed in order of importance, holiness would have to be at the top. Night and day, without ceasing, the inhabitants of heaven cry out, “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come” (Revelation 4:8). God’s holiness is also why sinful people cannot inherit eternal life. Because God is holy, he must, like Jor-El, condemn evil and unrighteousness. But because God is loving, he provided away for sinful people to be redeemed—he send his one and only Son.

As Jor-El returned to his quarters, his thoughts weighed heavy. As one of Krypton’s greatest scientists, Jor-El new that his beloved planet was undergoing cataclysmic changes that would soon lead to it’s utter destruction. The Counsel, who did not believe Jor-El’s predictions, order him to keep silent—neither him nor his wife would be allowed to leave Krypton. Desperate and without other options, Jor-El decides to send his infant son, Kal-El, across the heavens, through the vastness of space—to a new home.

As Jor-El and Lara place their precious baby boy into the starship (which looks suspiciously like the Star of Bethlehem) that would carry him to Earth, Kal-El’s loving father promises his son, “You will carry me inside you all the days of your life. You will make my strength your own, see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father becomes the son.” Concerning this climactic scene, Tom again comments, “The metaphor was clearly there, when Jor-El sends Superman to Earth, with God sending Jesus to save humanity.” Les Daniels, author of Superman: The Complete History, writes, “Superman recalled Moses, set adrift to become his people’s savior, and also Jesus, sent from above to redeem the world.”#

There is, of course, a significant difference. While Jor-El rocketed his infant son across the galaxy because Krypton faced imminent destruction, God sent Jesus to Earth for the sole purpose of saving the world through his Son. But, even though Jor-El had ulterior motives for sending Kal-El, he also had in mind what his son could do for the people of Earth. One of the many prerecorded communications Jor-El left for his son, contained this almost-Scriptural message: “They can be a great people, Kal-El, if they wish to be. They only lack the light to show them the way. For this reason above all… I have sent them you, my only son.”