With the latest installment of the Attack on Titan the Final Season, “Declaration of War“, Eren has established himself as the Jesus Christ of the Attack on Titan world. Some, like Willy Tybur, decry Eren as a devil – an enemy who needs to be put down for the good of the world. Eren is the personification of judgment of the world, as alluded to in “Declaration of War”, and is there to wipe out the enemies of the Eldian people. This is exactly what Jesus Christ will, according to the book of Revelations, will do to the enemies of Christianity in the end times. Eren openly admits he may well destroy the world. But he has no choice, so he claims; it’s the only way. He comes to the realization that he and Reiner are not so different. They are always moving forward. Eren also has the Jesus hair going on, an obvious parallel to the Christ-like savior analogy.
“Anyone can become a demon or a god. All it takes is enough people who believe it to be true.”
-Eren Kruger
The people of Marley will, and do, believe Eren to be the personification of evil, the devil who will destroy the world. It’s unknown what the people of Paradis will think of Eren though. “All it takes is enough people who believe it to be true.” This quote by Kruger could not be more true in this situation. Eren is on the verge of slaughtering potentially billions of people to save Paradis island. Like he says to Reiner,
“I just keep moving forward until my enemies are destroyed.”
-Eren Yeager
Eren is now sacrificing his own humanity in order to do what he views is his only option. He even mentions there are innocents right above him, to Reiner’s horror, but Eren doesn’t blink an eye. He recognizes not everyone in Marley is his enemy, but they were raised to believe from birth that those from Paradis Island, those “island devils”, those “Eldian devils”, are the source of all evil. That cannot be changed. The entire world wants them eradicated. Christ, likewise, according to the book of Revelation, will wield a sword eradicating his enemies and those of Christians.
Eren changed when he kissed Historia’s hand at the end of Season three. He saw something much deeper than his father’s confrontation with the Reiss family. He had to have. This is what set him on the path that he’s currently on. He is the personification of the vengeance of the Eldians and Paradis Island, and if he does cause the Rumbling, as Willy predicts, unleashing 10 million Colossal Titans upon the world, he will become the darker version of Jesus Christ from Revelations. He will become the version of Jesus that people would rather not think of, yet is prominent in the end times. Eren may very well cause the end times. Eren’s not a perfect person, but through his visions, this is, in his view, the only way.
There is also the possibility that the Attack Titan can see the future; how else could Kruger know about Mikasa and Armin? What if Eren knows how all of this will play out, for the most part, and knows it’s the only way to save the world, despite the bloodshed he’ll cause? It makes him not only a more sympathetic character, but tragic, as he is always seeking freedom yet he’s a slave to the Attack Titan’s visions.
Regardless, the Eren Yeager and Jesus Christ parallels are there. In fact, they are blatant. He may be a demon to the rest of the world, but this may be the only way for the world to achieve salvation. To the Eldians on Paradis Island, he may be a God. Again, what Kruger says is true: “Anyone can become a demon or a god. All it takes is enough people who believe it to be true.” Who actually said that though? Was that Eren speaking through Kruger, as he seemingly spoke through Kruger to explain PATHS to Grisha (you see Eren’s point of view and both Eren and Kruger answer Grisha’s inquiries in unison.) It’s all very confusing at this point, but one thing is clear: Eren Yeager is the version of Jesus Christ from the book of Revelations who will destroy the world in order to save his people, the Eldians of Paradis Island, much like Jesus will slaughter the enemies of Christians.
Regardless of your interpretation of Eren’s character, you cannot deny that this dichotomy is intriguing.