One area where Satan weaves his web of deceit most effectively is in the realm of drama. For by elevating the sensational he benumbs the senses, and thus he captivates the mind with subtle heresies which play on the emotions, thereby luring unsuspecting souls into making moral compromises. Now that’s not to suggest that drama is, in itself, evil. That’s not what I’m trying to imply here. What I’m simply suggesting is that we need to be on our guard when it comes to encountering such things; for it is easy to fall prey to the enemy when the passions of the flesh are given precedence over good sense. What appears to be harmless in the beginning can prove to be deadly in the end!
One such example of what I’m referring to can be noted in what was considered to be one of the most popular televised series, LOST. In giving a brief commentary on its final episode, I heard someone say that the people who were supposedly lost were in purgatory. To verify that this was true I took it upon myself to do a search online to see if I could watch the final episode. What I discovered was far worse than I had imagined! For in that episode concepts of purgatory, new age philosophy, salvation by works, and religious pluralism, were present–all antichrist concepts!
Having said that, I’m going to reveal how this episode brought out these concepts. But before I do that I will give a brief summary of the episode.
Summary of the Episode
All of the people who were connected with each other as a result of having been stranded on an island eventually died. They were depicted as being in some kind of intermediary state–between life and death. They gathered together in a church where they were supposed to meet up with each other before moving on to a better place. Some were more enlightened than others, while several characters didn’t know that they had died until they got to the church. When Jack arrived (the main character), their circle was complete, and thus they were depicted as being ready to move on to a higher state of consciousness.
How It Supported Purgatory
It promoted the concept of purgatory in that they were all dead and in some kind of intermediary state wherein they were waiting to be ushered into a higher state of consciousness. This concept was especially emphasized in the character named Benjamin, who was sitting outside of the church while everyone else was going in. He was depicted as being sorrowful for the life that he had lived, and when asked what he was going to do, he had said, “I have some things that I need to work out. I think I will stay here a while.” In other words, he had to remain in purgatory and couldn’t move on to a higher state of consciousness with the others because he still had to deal with his guilt. Thus he was implying that salvation isn’t by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but by works. Hence an antichrist idea.
How It Supported New Age Philosophy
It promoted New Age philosophy in that there was a scene where Jack asked his father where they were, to which his father replied, “Well, this is the place that you all made together so that you could find one another.” The idea here is that we create our own reality. And thus Jack’s father eliminated the will of a single God, while implying that all are gods, creating their own destiny–even to the point of being responsible for creating their own purgatory.
Moreover, his father went on to say, “The most important part of your life was the time that you spent with these people. That’s why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.” Notice how nothing is said about God’s will. Hence this is a human-centric philosophy that eliminates the necessity for one God.
But there’s something else that needs to be noted here which is very important. Jack’s father told Jack that everybody dies at some point (this was meant to be understood as physical death). The Bible makes it very clear that not everyone will suffer death; some will be translated. So Jack’s father told yet another lie that does not agree with the Bible.
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 KJV)
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-54 KJV)
How It Supported Religious Pluralism
The room that Jack entered to meet his father was filled with all kinds of religious relics from different faiths. There was even a scene that was emphasized more than any other wherein a stained glass window had different symbols on it representing different religions, thus giving the impression that all religions are true and lead to the same place. Another striking point that was made concerning this was disclosed in something that Jack had said. Jack asked his father where they were going, and his father said, “Let’s go find out.” In other words, Jack didn’t know Jesus; yet he was going to be saved. Hence the idea of Jesus being the only way to heaven was completely ignored.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6 KJV)
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” (John 14:2-4 KJV)
Don’t Miss This Point!
The message that LOST essentially conveyed is that what the Bible says about God’s will and salvation by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, isn’t true. What evil! And many people have been drawn into it (including Christians)!
Moral Compromise
A number of people might try to justify watching such programs because they bring out some positive points. However, if anyone would look for excuses to justify watching such things while knowing that they promote things that God doesn’t approve of, that would certainly evidence that Satan had accomplished what he set out to do within their hearts. For if they knew that they should have changed the channel, but continued watching them anyway, that would certainly constitute a moral compromise on their part. Hence they would have allowed their hunger for entertainment to take precedence over doing the will of God.
Indeed, the enemy has a very powerful way of making deception look attractive. Therefore we always need to be careful not to let our guard down. For it doesn’t take Satan much effort to corrupt the mind and reshape a person’s beliefs, when the thoughts aren’t centered on doing the will of God. One compromise leads to another, and in the end the deceived end up speaking favorably about something that is essentially evil–something that they shouldn’t have watched at all.
Listen, if you sense that you’re watching something that Jesus wouldn’t want you to watch, then don’t continue watching it. Christians shouldn’t seek to find pleasure in things that Jesus doesn’t delight in.
Waking Up
This should be a wake up call to those who got caught up in all of this; it should wake them up to how devious Satan actually is. Unfortunately, many won’t wake up. Instead, they will move onto the next deception that Satan has prepared for them, making more excuses along the way to justify wasting time that would have been better spent doing the will of God. And thus they will move further and further away from Jesus Christ. Listen, you can find all kinds of movies and programs that bring out positive ideas, but if they foster concepts that are contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ they should be rejected, especially if they display obscene imagery and use foul language and immoral humor. For the Bible instructs us to cast down evil imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5), not to look to these wicked things for entertainment.
To seek to justify the presence of evil because a few good lessons can be gleaned from the vehicle that’s being used to push it around is to ignore the counsel of God’s Holy Word to cast it down. Moreover, it is to support Satan in his work to eliminate our need for the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Christians shouldn’t be satisfied with a mixture of good and evil; we should want what is good, and nothing but that which is good. For God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). As for me and my house, we will choose the will of God over the passions of the flesh. I hope that you will choose to do the same before you decide to pick up that remote control again.