Connecting the dots: Treasure!



On Monday I had the most fascinating conversation I've ever had concerning human history. It occurred while I was talking to my friend's father, "Mr. S." Mr. S is 84 years old and has led an amazing life. A couple of the significant things he has done in his life includes: being President of CBS and being the US Ambassador to the Vatican during the Reagan administration. Whenever I talk to him I feel like treasures are being spilled upon the ground and I am trying to gather them up as quickly as possible. I am going to try and recount what I learned on Monday for you, but I'm sure it will be lacking in the flavor, intensity, character and the beauty of the actual conversation.



We were sitting in a home that was an original farmstead (built in 1895) and we were discussing how much society has radically changed over the last 100 years with the development of radios, movies, television, airplanes, automobiles and more. He was asking me if there was any biblical prophecies that would predict the radical changes that have occurred over the last 100 years. I mentioned how in Revelation 11:9 it discussed the prophets being killed in Jerusalem and how "For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial." The only way this statement makes sense it that everyone could gaze on them is through television. The result of this conversation brought us into discussing the end times and this is when my history lesson began.



In 1950, Mr. S became a salesman for CBS selling advertising for television. He said at that time, no one realized the significance of television, everyone thought the money was in radio and television was a passing fancy. Every single radio advertisers at CBS was asked if they wanted the job to sell ads for television and every single one of them said no, so Mr S. ended up with the job. Unpredicted by anyone, within the 10 year period of 1950 to 1960 television took over the USA and revolutionized the world as it was known throughout history... (I shall return to this)


As we discussed communication and its relation to the end times Mr. S pointed out that the Bible states that the second coming of Christ will not occur until the Jewish people are converted. He then went back to the beginning of the Bible and discussed how God in His providence chose the Jews to be His chosen people. In the beginning of time, God chose the Jews to market to the world the character of God; they were His representatives/messengers/storytellers. As Mr. S said, "Jews are geniuses" by the design of God in the area of marketing. When Jesus walked on this world he walked along the water and pointed at three nobodies, Peter, James and John and said follow me. All the disciples were uneducated men but God chose 12 of them to revolutionize the world (2,000 years ago) and they did just that because of their innate talent as Jewish people to be His messengers.

So what does all this have to do with movies and television? In 1925, movies without sound started coming out of Hollywood. By 1927, movies with pictures and sound emerged. The men who became the heads of the most famous studios Paramount, MGM, FOX film corporation, Warner Brothers and Universal Studios were all Jewish (Samuel Goldwyn, Louis B Mayer, Marcus Loew , Nicholas Schenck, William Fox, Irving Thalberg, Adolph Zukor, Carl Laemmle, and Albert Warner(and his 2 brothers). If you read their bios you will see that all 11 of these men come from Jewish, mostly poor immigrant backgrounds, and out of nowhere came and dominated the film industry with names that still dominate even today. You will also see the words: "innate and geniuses" intertwined throughout their biographical information. Do you recognize a theme? Men of no influence or trained background, revolutionizing the world through telling stories?

At the time Mr. S was a salesman for CBS there were 3 main entities influenced television: CBS (William Paley,), NBC (David Sarnoff) and ABC (Leonard Goldenson) The heads of all three of these companies were Jewish. As Mr. S beautifully he was a hard worker but the Jewish people have a genius because of God's innate design and that is why they were so successful in this area. Mr S. stated "You may have the best shows but if you don't know how to promote them they will go nowhere." The revolution in human history over the last 100 years was again sparked by men talented by God's design ~ the innate talent of His Chosen Ones brought about a revolutionary change to the world culture.


Mr. S emphasized throughout the conversation that we in this time do not understand the significance of where we stand in the place of history. The last 100 years have been a huge acceleration in progress of mankind. The beauty of it all is that it is according to God's original Sovereign design; the Jews of which only there are 12 million in a world population of 6 billion were used to revolutionize the communication world which as a result has revolutionized the entire world.

So folks here are the "dots" I have made and conncected since learning this history (this now is my personal opinion alone and came out of what I heard and learned). As the Church we have failed to recognize the significance of the Jewish people. As "evangelical Christians" we have hated Hollywood and all the evil it has brought into the world (for good reasons). But perhaps what we have failed to recognize is that maybe we missed an open door. God had placed His most talented ones in the most important seats. In 1925 the movie industry was controlled by His Chosen People. In 1950 the radio and television world was controlled by God's chosen people. They had the talent, but they were missing the heart. Movies, television and radio are the most influential influences in the world today and guess who recognized the extent of its influence, the enemy, and he has taken full advantage of it. Can you imagine if just these men had found the Lord? Where our society would be today?

Evangelical Christians" have been called "hard workers." As Mr. S said, he was a hard worker but he admitted he was missing the natural geniuses that the Jews held in this department. We as Christians have the best message in the world, but we aren't doing a very good job promoting it. Perhaps it is because we aren't the ones with the talent? We as the Church have really "bombed" when it has come to having an ability to move into the realm of media in an influential way. We may have the heart but we just haven't found the way to breakthrough. There has been a tide in the Church today changing our hearts from coming up with the best "programs to evangelize" to recognizing the need for intercession. After my conversation on Monday I have a greater appreciation for one reason why this may be. We are "hard workers" and God wants us to continue to intercede for revival. But perhaps the way He wants to turn the world upside down again is by using His Chosen people, the ones He naturally endowed with the talent to market Him? As a result of this conversation, I personally believe that one of our primary focuses of intercession in this hour should be for the Father to call His Chosen Ones back to Himself. This may very well be the door He will run through to get His message out to the whole world again. In 1925 and 1950 God opened the door and gave His Chosen Ones a platform of extreme influence but they were missing the heart. As the Church, let us come in line with the heartbeat of the Father to see the need for His Chosen Ones to be redeemed so that the next time He opens wide the door of influence to His Chosen Ones their hearts will be in the right place.

Romans 3:1-3 (The Message)
So what difference does it make who's a Jew and who isn't, who has been trained in God's ways and who hasn't? As it turns out, it makes a lot of difference—but not the difference so many have assumed. First, there's the matter of being put in charge of writing down and caring for God's revelation, these Holy Scriptures. So, what if, in the course of doing that, some of those Jews abandoned their post? God didn't abandon them. Do you think their faithlessness cancels out his faithfulness? Not on your life! Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth.

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That second to last paragraph was the culmination of this posting but here are a few final thoughts. As I said earlier, this conversation was the most fascinating historical conversation that I have had in my life. It fascinated me that someone has lived history and has been able to step back and recognize the bigger picture of where it all lands in the place of human history and to recognize that we are in extraordinary times. Also, as an intercessor it opened my eyes to the importance of the Jewish people and the need to be interceding for their salvation.

Finally, as always I am amazed at the tapestry of God. Each of these individuals by themselves, including Mr. S himself, were just living their lives and doing their jobs. They did not recognize at the time that they were creating history, that they were revolutionizing the world. However, when you step back 60 years later and reflect on the "bigger picture" you see the amazing hand of God still involved in human history. So folks, realize as you are walking through your everyday life, doing your day to day tasks that you are part of a bigger beautiful tapestry and there will be a day where it is fully revealed how your role was part of making a difference in this story of His story.


3 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 14, 2009

    sounds like a very nice conversation thank you for sharing : )

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing this, Jaime. It is so good to be able to see a part of the bigger picture and to pray accordingly. I love history but even more so when we can see God's sovereignty at work through people and nations!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have to reread this from home but I am thinking that the internet (vs.TV) is the vehicle spreading His Word. In China and other places they monitor what is shown over the TV but they can't stop individuals from viewing or printing off the net.

    A few weeks ago, a video of a 16 yr old female teen dying in Pakistan was all over Twitter and the Net. It showcased the violence. It was raw. They shut down Twitter over there but it was already too late. In China bibles are banned and being caught with one will cause you to be tortured and/or killed but they can view it on their cell phones by accessing the internet. Amazing and scary at the same time for all those who will not heed.

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