The NBC Series After a strange course of events, Massey is challenged by a nun, Sister Josepha Montafiore (Natascha McElhone, "Solaris"), who leads him on a journey through the unfamiliar world of faith. Drawn together by personal tragedy, these unlikely partners -- one who worships God and one who worships Science -- are propelled into a deepening mystery, finding evidence that the world, as predicted by The Book of Revelation, has reached The End of Days. Also starring, Chelsey and Brittney Coyle, Tobin Bell and John Rhys-Davies. TV-14 So warns NBC's miniseries "Revelations," based on the similarly named book of the Bible.
Critics are calling it Hollywood's latest attempt to hop on the religion bandwagon. But an influential professor of popular culture says putting the Bible in prime time is a rerun of an old TV strategy.
The six-part series by writer/creator David Seltzer of "The Omen" debuts just two weeks after Pope John Paul II's death and chronicles the religious conflict between a man of science and a woman of God with the impending end of the world as backdrop.
The series, which will fill in for "The West Wing" this spring, stars Bill Pullman of "Independence Day" and Natascha McElhone of "Solaris." In "Revelations," astrophysicist Dr. Richard Massey (Pullman), whose daughter has been murdered by Satanists, and Sister Josepha Montafiore (McElhone), who is convinced Christ has been reborn, team up to save the world from apocalypse.
"All the signs and symbols are currently in place for the end of days," says Montafiore, who is trying desperately to convince Massey, a nonbeliever, that the Bible's prophecies are real.
With NBC keeping open the possibility of "Revelations" returning as a regular series, it seems religion is becoming more marketable than ever. Popular culture has already embraced movies like "The Passion of the Christ," other TV series such as "Joan of Arcadia" and books like the wildly successful "Left Behind" series.
But is this a voyage into a new spiritual frontier for TV programming or a return trip?
In the early days of television, networks hired vice presidents of religious programming to oversee the development of multidenominational shows, notes Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y. Talk shows like "Life is Worth Living" hosted by Bishop Fulton Sheen competed successfully with other popular programs.
During the 1970s, Thompson said, "religion became verboten for a long time" because the networks decided to forego topics of politics and religion in order to retain larger viewing audiences.
"Prime time was completely unrelated to what was going on in the news at 11 p.m.," Thompson said, referring to the absence of political shows in popular programming during the Vietnam War.
But with the advent of cable in the 1980s, audience retention was less an issue and shows like "Highway to Heaven" and later "Touched by an Angel" found their way back to primetime.
Still, these weekly series were more "feel good" television than sophisticated theological analysis.
"So many Americans go to church on Christmas and Easter," Thompson said, "but they don't want to go for the rest of the year. I'm not sure they would want to watch a series that really dealt with religious issues." Jerry B. Jenkins, co-author of the "Left Behind" book series that also deals with biblical end times, described "Revelations" as "a mishmash of myth, silliness and misrepresentations of scripture (that) seems to draw from everywhere and nowhere."
Jenkins and co-author Tim LaHaye have sparked their own controversy with their novel series that has sold more than 60 million copies because of what some see as an "us against them" take on the apocalypse. It has yet to be seen whether "Revelations" will do the same.
According to LaHaye, who is the "scripture expert" of the duo, "man has to be ready to die and spend his eternity somewhere." The "Left Behind" series makes it clear that all but Christians will be spending their afterlives somewhere other than heaven.
"There are some wonderful people ... that you almost think deserve heaven," LaHaye told Fox's Bill O'Reilly in a recent interview. "But God said there's only one way, and that's by receiving his son, Jesus Christ."
Thompson described the book of Revelation as "ripe fodder" for both the miniseries and books like LaHaye's because "it's so hard to kind of get to the bottom of, which means you can really take a lot of liberties." The Sword of Islam is being unsheathed for its final and most deadly time. The world has come to a crossroad in the history of human civilizations, civilizations that now have one last chance to stop what may be an irreversible slide into oblivion. This oblivion is looming clear as the malevolent genie of NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons) or WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) that have been let out of the uncorked bottle of historical human horrors. The bottle has been unstopped by frenzied, dictatorial Islamic governments and numerous power seeking Islamic splinter groups that are now unleashing their special brand of terror upon the civilized world.
When many of us were growing up during the 50's to the 90's, the threat was, "The Russians are coming." Most will remember a time during the early 80's, just prior to the Regan administration in the United States, when there were serious news reports that Soviet submarines had created a nuclear ring surrounding continental North America. All that was left to do was to call America to surrender or face possible extinction. "Better Red than Dead," was the responding cry from many parts of our communities.
But these were kinder and gentler times in the world's history. MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) worked well in keeping the balance between civilized, rational minds that had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. It served the world well with almost a half century of relative peace. Perhaps unhappily for the world those times have come and gone. The fanaticism of misguided religions zeal has seized the reigns of destruction.
"Man's ingenuity in splitting atoms; creating extraordinary chemical agents that can kill with a pin drop; brewing and blending diseases that are intended to not only kill but also to resist cures - are now upon us. From the laboratories of America, Russia and China, etc. have come the most destructive substances which seem to rival God's plagues of old. From the brilliant minds who mixed these witches' brews, the "stuff" traveled to the primitive nations and dictators with wild dreams of world conquest who welcomed these demonic gifts." (Winston Mid East Analysis & Commentary - October 12, 2002)
There is little doubt left. Nations like Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lybia, Algeria, Sudan, Pakistan and Iraq either have dictatorial governments or major opposition groups within, that eagerly pursue violent Islamic ends. According to www.terrorismfiles.org, most of these nations have either used or are in advanced research and development of NBC.
Iran is listed as being in the "Developmental" stages of Nuclear and Biological weapons with recorded "Deployment" of Chemical weapons (in 1984-88). Libya is listed as doing research for Nuclear, a question for "Development" of Biological weapons and as "Deployed" for Chemical (in 1987). Syria is listed as "Research" for Nuclear, "Development?" for Biological and "Deployed" for Chemical. Egypt is listed as "Research" for Nuclear, "Development?" for Biological and "Stockpiled - Used" (in 1963-67). Iraq is listed as "Weaponized" for Nuclear, "Stockpiled?" for Biological and "Stockpiled - Used" for Chemical (in 1983, 1987-88).
Sudan is a special case. Since 1989 the opposition and some surrounding nations like Uganda have repeatedly accused the Sudanese government of producing chemical weapons with the help of Iraq and Iran. They have also been accused of actually using mustard gas in attacks on civilians and opposition forces in the Nuba mountains region of Sudan.
Apart from the above nations, the web site names 15 known Islamic terrorist organizations, along with two individuals - Usama Bin Laden and Ramzi Yousef. Bin Laden has been connected with the 9-11 destruction of the World Trade Center while Yousef has been indicted as a result of the first World Trade Center attempt in 1993.
All of the above information is unclassified and can be checked from normal news sources over the past dozen years. It clearly underlines the current and future threat. It clearly links the issue with radical Islam.
To complicate this issue, we have to recognize that there are many foolish nations who have a vested interest in selling equipment to these rogue nations. Included on this sorry list would be France, Russia and China - aided and abetted by a rather partisan United Nations. All have a special, vested interest in Iraq's oil supplies. Much of the recent posturing over the fate of Iraq appears to be centered around not whether Iraq should be contained but around the preservation of special interests once the conflict is over.
However, while all this political, religious and financial intrigue dominates the issue, very few are pondering the fate of a dead planet if they do not begin to gather back the devastating powers that have been unleashed. It has to begin somewhere and, according to State Department thinking, it might as well begin with Iraq. So, perhaps "President Bush is correct in asking the world community if they wish to participate in saving the planet and themselves. Most have already spoken and made their self-interests plain. They cannot see beyond these self-interests and thus, must be ignored." (Winston Commentary) Americans are partly to blame - along with a long list of other countries who have been trading with Iraq for many years - mostly arms for oil. Iraq is only the first in a long list of willing, hostile regimes who - with available resources and for the sake of Islam - might be willing to risk all through the use of WMD's. So, Iraq was a natural first target for disarmament.
Many countries have been involved in the arming of Iraq. This underscores the bleatings of France, Germany, Italy and China regarding the current need to impose further "regime change" on the country. There are many vested, economic interests. Most center around oil production. The U.S., especially, has been valiantly trying to establish another oil source (other than the difficult to deal with Saudi Arabian). For many years Saddam was seen as the solution. With the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, it became obvious he was not.
This perhaps accounts for the speculation of many who hold to the more conspiratorial view of world history, that American investment in Iraq was somehow underhanded and paralleled a sort of "Iraq-gate" conspiracy. They are probably wrong in this. The current situation in Iraq is probably more a case of "the best laid plans of mice and men." The best spin that might be given to the dilemma is that there is a war now happening between the West and radical Islamic forces for control of the world. Iraq, for the moment is the frontline.
The real question that remains unanswered will be what the Middle East Region will look like once this single conflict is over? And, what will this mean for Israel? Will Israel survive as a tiny nation in the midst of this massive power struggle for world domination? There are emerging two interesting views that could be summarized by saying that Israel will either survive and thrive or will end up being betrayed by the international movement - which will cost the nation its identity. Either scenario will spell the end of the world as we know it.
First. The U.S. and their allies, in order to maintain economic and oil interests in Islamic lands, could throw the growling dog of Islamic fervor the bone of the Nation of Israel in the hope that Islamic favor be gained and therefore international peace and security achieved. Or, once the Iraq conflict begins, Syria seizes on an opportunity to launch a massive assault against the north of Israel. This, combined with special Israel attacks from Iraq could cause the destruction of Israel.
There are a number of variations on this theme that can be pondered the most obvious being the establishment of a "Palestinian State." This would surely mean the slow destruction of the State of Israel as Palestinian sovereignty would include the arming of another militant Islamic State with associated WMD's and all the other horrors of this reality. This would only provide the western nations with a fleeting solution as the war is not a single front, or single issue conflict. The end game is world domination.
There is a chilling prophecy that underscores the possibility of Arab treachery against their Israeli brothers. "You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast so much in the day of their trouble. You should not march through the gates of my people in the day of their disaster, nor seize their wealth...nor wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble...." (Obadiah 12-14)
According to Bible prophecy, it must be concluded that a collapse of the Nation of Israel would immediately bring about divine intervention - meaning the second coming of Jesus Christ to rescue the nation and establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
Second. Israel will find an opportunity to expand and secure her borders out of the confusion of war. If global peace is to be achieved by the Masonic State Department and its internationalist allies, Israel has to be secure and at peace as a symbol of world domination by the west. There is already in place a plan for an "International House of Prayer for all Nations" in Jerusalem as part of the western, Masonic plan.
There is already a plan in place for the re-designing of the map of the Middle East. This will ultimately involve the possible transfer of Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan and the transfer of Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt. Jordan, for its trouble, has been guaranteed a piece of Iraq. It will also surely involve the expansion of the norther border of Israel into Syria.
This second scenario, in any case, will only create an interim period and a slight delay in the final solution - which is the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. The Bible prophecy referred to above is clear about the future outcome. "The day of the Lord is near for all nations...But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance....Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the Kingdom will be the Lord's. (Obadiah 15-21)
Could the end of days be near? Is this a voyage into a new spiritual frontier for TV programming, or just a return trip?
COULD THE END OF DAYS BE NEAR? -- From executive producer Gavin Polone ("Panic Room") and writer/creator David Seltzer ("The Omen") comes "Revelations," a six-hour event series starring Bill Pullman ("Independence Day") as Harvard professor Dr. Richard Massey, an astrophysicist who is certain that all worldly events can be explained by Science. In the series premiere, Dr. Massey is dealing with the tragic murder of his 12-year-old daughter by a maniacal murderer, Isaiah Haden (Michael Massee, "24"), who was captured and imprisoned.
More Details
(RNS) Omnium finis imminet. The end is here.
Look what a keyword search on "NBC Revelation" returned. Coincident of Provident? Here's an excerpt.
[ .... ]
Source: The Revelation, The Newsletter of the Future.
|
Religion news |
|