✨ At the Movies: What Kingdom Are We Building?

Reflections on Dune: Part Two

In this week’s “At the Movies” message, we stepped into the vast, hauntingly beautiful world of Dune: Part Two — a place where power, prophecy, and politics collide. But beneath the sand and spice lies a timeless question that still reaches us today: Whose kingdom are we building?

In the film, the precious spice becomes the currency of survival, consciousness, and even interstellar travel. The one who controls it controls everything. And while prophecy paints Paul as a messiah figure, he and his love resist — recognizing that the elders are using prophecy not for truth, but for control.

Eventually, Paul gives in — not to fulfill God’s will, but to avenge. He drinks the water of life, claims the role of messiah, and uses violence to conquer. Sound familiar? Because 2,000 years ago, people wanted the same thing from Jesus — a warrior king to overthrow earthly empires.

But Jesus said in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
He came not to conquer by force, but to redeem through love.

We can’t build a heavenly kingdom with earthly weapons.

Violence only creates a cycle where the oppressed become the oppressors. And just like in Dune, the desire for justice can easily be twisted into a hunger for control. Jesus broke that cycle. He didn’t rise by stepping on others — He rose by laying His life down.

📖 “How do you stop a Messiah who always wins?”
You don’t. You forgive. You love. You follow.

So today, ask yourself:
Am I building the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of me?

Let Dune challenge you to rethink power. And let Jesus remind you what real victory looks like.