“1917”: A Fateful Reference to the Scofield Reference Bible

1917 appears to contain a specific praise of the Scofield Bible as embodied symbolically in the solider William “Will” Schofield. The director and co-screenwriter, Sam Mendes, is of Jewish ancestry, so this would fit an important pattern detailed in my work. The surname Schofield is, of course, merely a variant spelling of Scofield. Indeed, his last name is almost certainly a reference to Cyrus Scofield’s eponymous Scofield Reference Bible, a Bible that extorts non-Jews especially to protect the interests of Israel and Zionism as is well known in these parts of the web.

This becomes especially obvious because the name of the film itself may be a reference to the publishing of the Scofield Reference Bible, which first appeared in 1909 yet reappeared, revised by the author, in 1917. In fact, it is commonly called the “1917 Scofield Reference Bible.”  Indeed, the apocalyptic carnage of World War I, occurring in the intervening years, was popularly seen as vindicating the dispensationalist scheme in the Scofield Bible.[1]

1917 is also the year of the signing of the Balfour declaration, a declaration that officially established British support for the state of Israel. It’s likely many Jews watching this film around the world would find this date significant. It’s likely many of them, as well, would be aware or become aware that Sam Mendes was a fellow Jew, possibly transmitting an encoded message.

Briefly, the film focuses on two British soldiers, Tom Blake and William “Will” Schofield, a pair of English soldiers tasked with delivering a message on foot to another British battalion so as to save them from certain death. The German’s have cut the communication lines so such an effort becomes necessary.

One of the soldiers in the battalion they are tasked to save is Tom Blake’s brother, Joe Blake. En route, Tom Blake is stabbed to death by an inexplicably malevolent German pilot after rescuing the latter from the burning hulk of a fighter plane. This is perhaps the most salient clue that a racial/political agenda is afoot.

Will promises a dying Tom he’ll make the rest of the trip to save Tom’s brother Joe and to deliver sad tidings of Tom’s death. This becomes Will’s driving impetus. Here we understand Tom as a symbol of Christ himself and Will Scofield as his messenger. Hence the metaphor is fairly straight forward.

In fact, the film is highly encoded and many symbols would lead us to the conclusion that this is the metaphor being developed in the film. However, we’ll treat only the clearest and most obvious of them, requiring the least knowledge of myth, scripture and symbolism, and make the point in the most succinct manner.

Will is rescued by the Christ-figure Tom Blake in a critical scene in the film and it seems highly likely this is a reference to Cyrus Scofield’s conversion to Christianity or his “salvation.” After a rat sets off an armed trip wire in a German bunker, Will is buried by rocks. Tom unearths him. Yet Will is made temporarily blind by the rock dust and must be led out of the now collapsing cave by his savior Tom.

Famously, Paul’s conversion story sees the apostle going blind for three days after a visit from Christ until finally “something like scales fell from his eyes” (Acts 9:18).  Possibly the emergence of the pair from the collapsing bunker is suggestive of Christ’s resurrection from the tomb. Similarly, Tom’s rescuing of the German from the burning wreck is likely also a nod to Christ’s effort to rescue men from the flames of hell.

Importantly, at the beginning of the film, the Christ figure Tom Blake “chooses” Will Schofield to accompany him on his mission. After Tom leads Will into the Bunker (an important detail!) and then rescues him from it, Will complains, “Why in God’s name did you have to choose me?!”

As is common in Jewish parable, names are of central importance. Tom’s name is very likely a reference especially to the Thomas appearing in the New Testament understood esoterically as the “twin of Christ.”  In fact, the name Thomas means “twin.” The reference is to Thomas especially as a twin of Christ.

The Marvel comic book characters Black Tom Cassidy and the Vulture, Adrian Toomes, are two examples of this name usage in Jewish Esoteric Moralization, both appearing from Jewish creators Chris Claremont and Stan Lee respectively and appearing to represent Jewish figures. The clear Christ figure in the Matrix series, Neo or Thomas Anderson, may be another example. There the last name Anderson appears to be a reference to “Son of Man.”

The reader may find it surprising that a Jewish writer would develop a Christ-figure in his work.  After all, Jews are not Christians. However, this is quite common.  In fact, esoterically indicating Christianity as something that is detrimental to Aryans and non-Jews, yet beneficial to Jews, ranks four on my list of the five most common themes appearing in Jewish Esoteric Moralization.

After World War I, the Scofield Reference Bible flew off the rack, exceeding two million copies by the end of World War II.[2] Hence the pointless carnage of the World Wars literally sold the Scofield Bible and its apocalyptic pro-Israel message. In other words, evidently the film 1917 itself serves as an esoteric celebration of the Scofield Bible, the carnage of the World Wars and the Christian Zionism it would birth. The reader should consider this carefully. Here we find a film made by an ostensibly enlightened, liberal Hollywood Jew, esoterically endorsing apocalyptic Christian Zionism. This is what we call the Caducean.

When Will finally reaches Joe Blake, Joe is stricken by the news of the death of Tom (Christ). Joe will doubtlessly remain fiercely loyal to the notion that Tom was “a good man” as Will, a symbol representing the Scofield Reference Bible, reports. Will tells Joe as well that Tom “was always telling funny stories” and “saved his life.” Christ was also a teller of parables and this appears to be the reference. Regardless, it is clear Joe will become loyal to the memory of the Jewish God that Tom represents, Christ. Hence Will has accomplished his task.

Importantly, at Tom’s request, Will insists on relaying the news of Tom’s death to the mother of the Blake sons. Hence Will Schofield controls the message. The significance of Tom or Christ, and his life, will be controlled by Schofield or, of course, the Scofield Reference Bible. The end of the film sees Will wandering toward a lone tree set strikingly against the horizon. The tree is an important symbol with meanings explicated in my broader study. Here it might be understood, most simply, as the Tree of Life found with New Jerusalem in Revelation 22.

Again, the film is highly encoded and only the most obvious references appearing in the film are indicated here. Other symbols that require a deeper knowledge of symbolism and myth that are likely meaningful are the stones that fall on Will in the German Bunker, an injury that Will sustains to his hand on barbed wire fence and milk that Will delivers a starving mother and baby encountered en route to his destination. But for now, let’s keep it simple and understand that 1917 is a reference to the triumph of Zionism, assisted by Cyrus Scofield and the Scofield Bible.

I argue such esoteric or subliminal triumphalist messaging is developed to moralize Jewish audiences and demoralize non-Jewish audiences, whether or not this or that individual is conscious of the specific message being transmitted. And it is a more sophisticated phenomenon than has been laid out in this review. Yet simplicity is useful here to treat this obvious case of JEM or Jewish Esoteric Moralization.  Hopefully with such clear cases we can begin to establish in the reader’s mind that JEM is an important, common and salient phenomenon in Jewish Art. My thesis is that it necessitates, among other things, a rejoinder from the Aryan side, in Religion, Art and Culture, that is moralizing to Aryans.

[1] “At the popular level, especially, many people came to regard the dispensationalist scheme as completely vindicated.” Mangum & Sweetnam, 179

[2] Gaebelein, 11