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Rand al'Thor has several moments that could be considered "biblical", including (spoilers):

"redeeming" mankind by cleansing Saidin", Dying to save the world, and being reborn after death, etc

Has Robert Jordan ever commented on this? I am really looking for a quote by either Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson, rather than a passage from a book.

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  • See also scifi.stackexchange.com/q/117792/4918 "In-universe, is Aslan actually Jesus?"
    – b_jonas
    Commented Feb 2, 2017 at 16:00
  • 7
    Shouldn't the lord himself answer this? @Rand al'Thor
    – Penguin9
    Commented Feb 2, 2017 at 18:53
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    @RaisingAgent I know I would if someone was offering to deify me.....
    – Matrim Cauthon
    Commented Feb 2, 2017 at 18:55
  • 2
    @RaisingAgent I'd love to, but it looks like CHEESE has it covered.
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    Commented Feb 2, 2017 at 22:29
  • 4
    @Randal'Thor I know people campaign to be mods, but jeez, isn't this taking it a little far? ;)
    – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum
    Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 10:43

1 Answer 1

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From an interview here:

Q: How much of Jesus Christ is there in Rand? We have the wounded palms, side wound, crown of swords... How representational of Jesus Christ is Rand?

ROBERT JORDAN: Rand has some elements of Jesus Christ, yes. But he is intended more to be a general "messiah figure." An archetype such as Arthur, rather than a manifestation of Jesus Christ in any way.

Also:

QUESTION: Is Rand al'Thor meant to be a Jesus figure?

ROBERT JORDAN: Um, if you consider King Arthur to be a Jesus figure—the king who must die.

A number of other interviews state that the Wheel of Time takes influences from many different religions, including the Bible. This is also evident in many of the Forsaken's names (Ishamael, Aginor, etc.) as well as the name of the Dark One.

He also draws from Islam and Judaism (same source as above) and

Celtic myths and Norse myths and African and Middle-Eastern, and Hindu and Chinese and Japanese and Native American and even Australian Aboriginal.(source)

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  • 3
    Why the downvote?
    – CHEESE
    Commented Feb 2, 2017 at 16:23
  • 1
    I assume this was downvoted because of the many authorial quotes. However, those are accompanied by a solid explanation, so +1 from me.
    – Shokhet
    Commented Jun 6, 2017 at 21:06

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