SATAN'S SEAT
Belief in Satan as an actual being
has fallen on hard times in our world. Millions of Americans believe they are
too educated and too sophisticated to accept the Bible's teaching about Satan. They may not deny
the existence of evil, but seem to believe there is no connection between a mythical being called
"Satan" and evil. No true Bible believer can accept that position.
The Son of God himself definitely accepted the reality of Satan. Jesus told the
seventy who had returned from their mission: "I beheld Satan as lightening fall from heaven" (Lk.
10:18). If the Son of God accepted the reality of Satan,
how can those who call themselves Christians deny his reality?
Please listen to what our Lord taught
about Satan in his letters to the seven churches of Asia
Minor. Christ told the Christians at Smyrna: "I know your works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but
you are rich) and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and are not, but
are the synagogue of Satan" (Rev. 2:9). Jesus said to the church at Pergamos: "I
know your works, and where you dwell, even where Satan's seat is: and you hold fast my name, and
have not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was
slain among you, where Satan dwells" (Rev. 2:13). Christ assured the church at Thyatira:
"But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which
have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you no other
burden" (Rev. 2:24).
The Lord said to the dead church at Sardis:
"Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews, but are not,
but do lie: behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and
to know that I have loved you" (Rev. 3:9).
Did you notice in my reading the
expression, "Satan's seat" (Rev. 2:13)? The Greek word translated "seat" is thronos
from which we derive our English word "throne." The Greek word appears sixty-one times in the New
Testament and is almost always translated "throne." In fact, the King
James Version is the only version with which I am acquainted that uses the word
"seat." The New King James Version transliterates the word "throne." My lesson
today will be based on the topic, "Satan's Seat" or "Satan's
Throne."
More
than sixty year ago I purchased a little booklet with the title, Hell
over Hollywood: The Truth about the Movies (Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1942), by Dan Gilbert, Chairman of the Christian Newspaper
Men's Committee to
Investigate the Motion Picture Industry. A few brief excerpts from Dan Gilbert's small book will set the
tone for our study today. He affirms: "This alien influence which the movies have
enthroned over America
has perverted the character of our people; it has dried up the sources of spiritual strength; it has
plagued us with the pagan spirit of materialism and sexuality" (p. 13).
"But Hollywood at work—or, perhaps we should say, the devil at
work through Hollywood—presents
a deliberate design to
corrupt the morals of American youth" (p. 22). One final excerpt will have
to suffice for today. "Hollywood
debases, debauches, and defiles the characters and lives of those who are brought within
reach of its contaminating power and propaganda" (p. 47).
These are very serious indictments of
the movie industry. Do you think they were exaggerations of the moral and
spiritual atmosphere in the 1940s? Dan Gilbert wrote his booklet more than
sixty years ago. Is anyone so naive or blind that he thinks the situation has
improved in the years that have intervened since the book was published? I do not know if Dan
Gilbert is still alive, but if he were writing today, he might call his book Hell IN
Hollywood rather than Hell over Hollywood. I am insisting that Hollywood is where Satan's seat is. O no, I
am not inferring that Hollywood is the only place where Satan dwells.
There are many other cities and countries where Satan dwells and rules. In
fact, there are many human hearts where Satan reigns. Do you remember what the apostle Peter said
to Ananias, the husband of Sapphira:
"Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep
back part of the price of
the land" (Acts 5:3)?
Gene
Wolfenbarger's book, When Hollywood Says
Yes, How Can America
Say No? (Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 1997), quotes Dr. Tom Eliff,
preacher for the First
Southern Baptist Church of Del City, OK as saying: "It is no secret that
Hollywood, more than any other city in our nation, is Satan's epicenter of
moral debasement,
constantly shaking and attempting to destroy the spiritual foundations upon which this nation was built"
(p. 13). Wolfenbarger also quotes the famous filmmaker, George Lucas:
"It's important that the people who make films have ethics classes, philosophy classes, and
history classes. Otherwise, we're witch doctors" (p. 14). It needs to be said in passing
that some ethics, philosophy and history classes might not make any substantial
difference in what occurs in Hollywood.
It would depend on who
taught the classes and the philosophical foundations of those classes.
Frank
Capra, one of the Hollywood's
greatest movie directors, became disgusted with the moral trash being produced
by the movie industry. At the age of sixty-four, he walked away because he could no longer support
such blatant immorality. Wolfenbarger quotes Frank Capra as saying: "The
hedonists.. .the hemophilic bleeding hearts, the God-haters, the quick-buck artists who
substituted shock for talent, all cried: 'Shake 'em! Rattle 'em! God is dead" (p. 36). Frank
Capra believed in emphasizing the positive qualities of his fellow human beings. You may remember that
his movies included It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It
Happened One Night.
Most Americans,
especially our young people, tend to be hero worshippers. Our girls and boys choose sports figures
or entertainment people for their heroes. What high school or college basketball player has not dreamed
of becoming the next Michael Jordan or the next Larry Bird? Many of our girls want to look like
Madonna or some other Hollywood actress. Are
the Hollywood actors and actresses good role
models for our young people? Do we want our children and young people to
practice barnyard morality? Living together in Hollywood without being married is as common
as breathing. When some of them marry, they pay little or no attention to their
vows. They marry, divorce, remarry, divorce, remarry and divorce. Liz Taylor
has been married eight
times, not quite so many times as King Solomon, but she is headed in that direction.
When
the handsome guys and beautiful girls lie around a swimming pool, they are about as naked as they can be
without being arrested for indecent exposure. One preacher upset some people in a
congregation when he said that some of our young women do not have on enough clothes to wad a
shotgun. The church members accused the preacher of exaggerating. Maybe he was
exaggerating if he were speaking of a .410 gauge shotgun, but not if he had in
mind a 12-gauge shotgun. Of this we can be absolutely certain: the young men and women could
never be accused of being modest.
In addition to their
lewd dress, most of them are shown in the movies with a glass of strong drink in their hands.
I wonder how many of our fine young people have begun to drink or have become alcoholics because they
saw their heroes and heroines drinking in movies or on television. Those beautiful people seem to be
having such a wonderful
time. They appear to be the very epitome of success and happiness. Many of our young people may reason: If
they can handle their drink, surely there must not be much wrong with drinking.
Tragically, many of the Hollywood people
destroy their abilities and even their lives with alcohol. And have you noticed
how awful those entertainers look when the police arrest them for driving under
the influence of alcohol? They may look beautiful on the screen or on the
stage, but they look like losers in the police photographs. Glenn Campbell had
the appearance of a down-and-out wino and so did some of the other popular
entertainers and sports figures.
You probably have seen
Michael Medved on television or heard him on his national talk show. He has appeared as a movie
critic on "Nightline," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Good Morning
America," "The Tonight Show," "Late Night with David Letterman" and Fox News
Channel's program, "Hannity and Colmes." He is a devout Orthodox Jew. His book, Hollywood
vs. America: Popular Culture and the War on Traditional Values (New York: HarperCollinsPublishers,
1996), is the most devastating
critique of Hollywood
I have ever read. Michael Medved's book asks: "Why does our popular culture seem so consistently
hostile to the values that most Americans hold dear? Why does the entertainment industry attack
religion, glorify brutality, undermine the family, and deride patriotism?"
(Inside of the dust cover) I shall use the points in last question as an outline for our study
today.
Does the
entertainment industry, that is, movies and television, popular music, including some country music, actually
attack religion? One would have had to have been asleep longer than Rip Van
Winkle not to know that. I do not go to movies, but I enjoy watching movies in
my den. Molly and I bought a number of musicals which we enjoyed watching
together. I decided recently to go see the movie about Johnny Cash. I walked
out about half through the movie. But I read about movies in books like the one Michael Medved wrote.
One chapter in Michael
Medved's book has the title, "Comic Book Clergy" (pp. 50-69). Medved
says Hollywood
seems to go out its way to "affront the sensibilities of ordinary Americans." He
expresses regret that there are no more "biblical blockbusters" like The Ten
Commandments, The Robe and Ben Hur. Why do you suppose the movie
industry does not produce more films like these? All of them were tremendously
successful in the years of their release and the years that followed (pp. 50-51). Medved tells of Hollywood's advertising of
the film, The Vision—a film about some conspiring Christians who develop a plot to take
over the world. "THE THREAT:
Right-wing evangelists with an arsenal of riches and a hunger for power. THE CONSPIRACY: To reach across Europe via satellite with the word of God. THE MISSION: To control your
mind. WHEN THIS NETWORK GOES ON THE AIR, START PRAYING" (p. 56).
Many
of the movies present religious leaders as if they are money-hungry, sexually
promiscuous and living in the 18th century or earlier. Tragically,
some of the television
evangelists have furnished a solid basis for such portrayals. It would be difficult for Hollywood or any other entity to find
preachers who are poorer models of what they ought to be than Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker and Peter Popoff.
But to use these three
men as if they represent the thousands and thousands of preachers, priests or rabbis in our nation is dishonest.
But the moguls in Hollywood
would not intentionally misrepresent men who are religious leaders or would
they? They not only would do so; they have deliberately done so for the past
several years. There is hardly
any doubt they get some kind of morbid satisfaction for portraying religious
leaders as if they were Hollywood residents.
Do you have the slightest doubt that Hollywood glorifies
brutality, as Michael Medved
charges? Is it possible that Hollywood's addiction
to brutality has a detrimental
effect on the behavior of some of America's children and teenagers?
Michael Medved quotes Daniel Linz, Professor of Psychology at the University of California,
Santa Barbara:
"The consensus among social scientists is that very definitely there's a
causal connection between exposure to violence is the media and violent
behavior" (p. 183). Two psychologists at the University of Illinois,
Dr. Rowell Huesman and Dr. Leonard Eron, "found that those kids who
watched significant amounts
of TV violence at age eight were consistently more likely to commit violent crimes or engage in child or spouse
abuse at age thirty. When publishing their findings in 1984, they wrote: 'We
believe that heavy exposure to televised violence is one of the causes of aggressive behavior,
crime and violence in society. Television violence affects youngsters of all ages, of
both genders, at all socioeconomic levels and all levels of intelligence....It cannot
be denied or explained away'" (p. 184).
Michael Medved says that Rambo
III involved body counts of 264 and 106 killings (p. 185). The tragedy is that people who see
violent movies or sexually promiscuous movies seem to demand more violent and
more sordid movies. If they watch a movie with 100 killings, they lust for one that kills
200 or 300 people and kills them in more bizarre ways. According to Medved,
Rob Bottin, the evil mind behind Total
Recall and Robocop movies,
told Entertainment Weekly: "Anything I make has to be something moviegoers haven't seen before.
That means new tricks, which means more
money, which means the audience is getting their—what is it now?—seven dollars worth. That's the thinking behind bigger
and bigger and bigger. The question we always ask, 'How do we top
ourselves'" (p. 187)?
The
programs on MTV are often violent and sexually explicit. Michael Medved reports: "The National Coalition
on Television Violence found that 68% of them (the programs on MTV) contained
at least one of the following elements: explicit violence, suggestions of
violence, sexually suggestive themes, profanity, smoking and/or alcohol consumption" (p. 193). Some of
the police shows like Walker Texas Ranger kill more people in one hour
than all the cops in the United
States kill in a month or perhaps in a year.
And besides, Walker Texas Ranger leans too much in the direction of the
New Age movement.
Many movies not only are
anti-Christian and pro-violence, they are also anti-family. Again I have not
seen more than two or three movies in the past forty years. But I keep up with what is occurring
by reading newspapers, books and other material about modern movies. Is there any doubt in your mind that
Hollywood has
been a negative influence on marriage and the family? How many movies and
television programs actually support strong families? Do you believe the family
is stronger today than it was before television came on the scene? Anyone who
believes that television has
strengthened marriage is either naive or blind or both.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger appeared in the movie, Total Recall. He becomes
disenchanted with his wife, played by Sharon Stone. She begs him to think of
the sacred bond they had formed in their marriage. He says to his wife,
"Consider that a divorce," and calmly shoots her through the forehead.
Have you noticed on television that the couples who seem to have the best
relationships are single people? Married people are seldom shown in a favorable
light. But the facts are the exact opposite. Research has shown that married people have better intimate
relationships than single people.
Redbook magazine, a dedicated feminist publication, conducted a survey among 100,000 of its subscribers. The
survey asked very personal questions. To the surprise of the editors of the magazine, they discovered
that the more devoutly religious
women were the better their sex lives were. To put it mildly, that was a shock to the publishers of
Redbook.
There is so much more
about Hollywood
I would like to discuss with you if time permitted. But I want to close by referring to Kenneth
Lloyd Billingsley's book, Hollywood Party: How Communism Seduced the American Film Industry in
the 1930s and 1940s (Rocklin, CA: Forum, 1998). I can
remember when Hollywood actors,
directors and producers accused the United States
government of conducting a witch hunt when many Hollywood
people were accused of being Communists or Communist sympathizers. The sad fact is: It was not a
witch hunt. Some of Hollywood's most influential peopled were
Communists or Communist sympathizers. Billingsley quotes Paul Jarrico as
saying, "There were Communists in Hollywood,
and I was one of
them" (p. 8). Billingsley describes some of the modern actors who are Communists. "Jane Fonda
championed the North Vietnamese regime, Hollywood luminaries feted Nicaraguan
Marxist Daniel Ortega, and actor Ed Asner openly raised money for Salvadoran
Communist guerrillas, all without the slightest peril to their careers" (p. 282).
I have a question to
close our study: Is there any doubt in your mind that Hollywood is "Satan's Seat" or at
least, one of Satan's seats?
Winford Claiborne
The International Gospel Hour
P.O. Box 118
Fayetteville, TN 37334
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