Lee Grady is right. Fifty Shades of Grey—erotic mommy porn that is making its way from the printed page to the big screen this Valentine's Day—is perverted.
"The book was accurately dubbed 'mommy porn' because it is sexually graphic and full of crude language, and also because Christian expects his girlfriends to totally submit to his sexual tastes—which involve whips, chains, handcuffs and gray neckties," Grady writes. "This is not just mainstream porn. This is mainstream bondage porn."
Grady is spot on with his three-pronged assessment. Fifty Shades of Grey encourages sexual deviance, glorifies violence against women and totally perverts the meaning of love. The movie release is somewhat ironic, given Hollywood's focus on—and profitability—producing faith-based films like Noah, God's Not Dead and Heaven is For Real in recent years.
Of course, Hollywood has long served many gods—just like Queen Jezebel in the Old Testament (see 1 Kin. 16:31). The spirit that influenced the wicked queen—and the spirit driving much of the filth emerging from Hollywood—is alive and well today. The problem is that most don't recognize this sinister spirit for what it is. The spirit of Jezebel is not merely a spirit of control and manipulation. It's a spirit of seduction that woos people into sexual immorality and idolatry (Rev. 2:20). Hollywood exalts the spirit of Jezebel and Fifty Shades of Grey glorifies its perversion.
Jezebel Makes Its Home in Hollywood
The Old Testament Queen Jezebel was a Phoenician princess who married Ahab, king of Israel. Her father was Ethbaal, king and high priest of the Sidonians. Queen Jezebel introduced Baal worship into Israel and encouraged Ahab to build Asherah poles (see 1 Kin. 16:33).
Baal worship gives us clues as to the workings of Jezebel. The name Baal means "lord" or "possessor." According to the Dake Annotated Reference Bible, Baal was the sun-god of Phoenicia, and the supreme deity among the Canaanites and various other pagan nations. His full title is Baal-Shemaim, which means "lord of heaven." In Greek mythology, Zeus would be the equivalent of Baal.
The Canaanites, who were Baal worshippers, participated in sex worship, fertility rites, religious prostitution and human sacrifice—all to pacify the gods. Fast-forward 55 book in the Bible and you find Jesus warning us of a false prophetess called Jezebel who teaches and seduces God's servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols (Rev. 2:20). That's what Fifty Shades of Grey—and books and movies like it—are doing. Again, Fifty Shades of Grey is a prime example of Jezebel's sexual perversion.
Judgment Begins in the House of God
While many in the church are up in arms about Fifty Shades of Grey—and well they should be—the irony is the church has long tolerated Jezebel. And judgment begins in the house of God (see 1 Pet. 4:17).
Speaking to the church at Thyatira, Jesus said, "Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols" (Rev. 2:20).
Sadly, the spirit of Jezebel is picking off pastors one by one as they succumb to the evil desires in their own hearts. Too few recognize the sinister workings of Jezebel's covert seduction. They've bought into what I call the "Jezebel deception" and are either tolerating sexual immorality in the church or merely failing to recognize the true Jezebel in operation because they are on a witch hunt for controlling, manipulative women.
I won't recount the list of fallen Protestant pastors in the past year alone nor the pedophilia in the Catholic church. Headline-making moral failures no longer shock me, but they still grieve me—and grieve the Lord. I can't imagine how He feels about Fifty Shades of Grey. But again, judgment begins in the house of God.
Let's Examine Ourselves
As I've said before, sexual immorality and idolatry are growing trends in the church—and I imagine they're more prevalent in the pews than they are in the pulpits. The spirit of Jezebel is often behind this immoral trend, tapping into the lust of the flesh with its seductive agenda.
I wonder how many kids' church teachers read Fifty Shades of Grey and how many Christian youth will stand in line for a ticket to the movie this weekend. And I shudder to think of the seeds that will be planted in the hearts and minds of those who digest this perversion.
So while we're up in arms about Fifty Shades of Grey, perhaps we should look in our own lives for this spirit of Jezebel's influence. Again, judgment begins in the house of God. While you are boycotting Fifty Shades of Grey, take a moment to examine your own heart for immorality and idolatry so you can avoid the snares of Jezebel in your own life. And don't go see Fifty Shades of Grey.
Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma. She is also director of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and author of several books, including The Making of a Prophet and Satan's Deadly Trio: Defeating the Deceptions of Jezebel, Religion and Witchcraft. You can visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.
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