Ray Comfort connects the dots between today’s headlines and the prophetic messages found in the Bible, inviting us to reconsider the relevance and reliability of God’s Word.
February 2, 2022
A lot has already been said about rock musician Marilyn Manson showing up at a prayer meeting and praying along with a couple of other well-known celebrities. For a long time, he’s been outspoken about Christianity. Back in 2019, he told Larry King, “I’m not an atheist. I believe in spirituality…. I went to a Christian school because my parents wanted me to get a better education.”
How grievous it is that for decades he has ripped up and burned Bibles on stage and has used his massive platform to deliberately harden multitudes to the truth of the gospel.
Of course, after showing up at the prayer meeting, there are some who are comparing him to Saul of Tarsus. Remember, the Apostle Paul was also once anti-Christian.
When Jesus told Ananias to go to Saul and pray for him, he objected:
Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” (Acts 9:13-14)
But look at what he said to this man who was so anti-Christ:
And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:17)
He said, “Brother Saul.”
Could I do that with Marilyn Manson? Of course. If God saved a wretch like me, He can obviously save anyone. If anyone is truly born again, they become my brother in Christ.
But I am somewhat cynical because of what we’re not seeing with Manson. I would love to hear of him speaking against sin and warning of the reality of Hell and the need for faith in Jesus. We’re not seeing that, though. Rather, we’re seeing a man who is running scared because the world that once loved what he did is suddenly turning against him.
“If God saved a wretch like me, He can obviously save anyone.”
The Me Too movement, which had been somewhat masked by the coronavirus, has come out from behind the mask. Recently, more than a dozen women have accused Manson of psychological or sexual abuse. On November 14, 2021, Rolling Stone stated:
[Manson] has often joked in interviews about abusing women. For decades, the media has amplified and glamorized his voice—including Rolling Stone, which put him on the cover in 1997 with the headline “Sympathy for the Devil.”
In the 1997 issue, Rolling Stone said of him, “Manson is among the most eloquent and artful musicians.”
Now, Rolling Stone is throwing some big stones. In the past, Manson had the crowd running with him to do evil, and he therefore had no fears about boasting of his continual abuse. He even spoke of a graphic instance of sexual abuse in his biography. In doing that, he’s cooked his goose.
It looks like this man is going to jail, and the door is going to be slammed as tight as Fagan’s purse. Whatever the case, pray for him. Pray that he comes under the sound of the biblical gospel—not the erroneous “Jesus will fix your problems” so-called gospel that promises God will pay your bail and get you out of jail.
Pray that he will admit his sins and face the music that’s coming to him from his many female accusers. Most importantly, pray that he’ll humbly apologize to the generations he has deceived by turning them away from the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Scriptures say that Jesus “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed…” (Titus 2:14).
If and when Marilyn Manson tastes of the grace of God, it should be clearly evident that he has been redeemed from every lawless deed. That means no more lying, stealing, blasphemy, adultery, pornography, and fornication. Seeing that fruit—fruit that Jesus said we are to look for—will have me apologizing for my cynicism.
At present, though, it’s a justified cynicism, based on a long trail of celebrities who have proven to be false converts. They have made professions of faith, but they haven’t shown a lick of fruit to demonstrate that they have passed from death to life. Nothing would delight me more than being proven wrong.