Volume 17, Issue 1
Everybody is currently
talking about Robin Williams and his tragic suicide. Many are puzzled as
to how a man, who made so many people laugh, could be so depressed that
he would violently end his life. What people are not learning is the
deeper truth about the insidious forces that tormented Robin Williams
and drove him to suicide.
Robin Williams acknowledged
that he had opened himself up to transformative demonic powers that
aided him on stage. Without the aid of such demonic powers, it is likely
that you would have never have heard of Robin Williams and many other
famous celebrities. Williams also recognized that these powers had
manifested a very evil influence on stage and that there could be a
hefty price to pay for their assistance. Williams told James Kaplan of
US Weekly:
“Yeah! Literally, it's like possession ‑
all of a sudden you're in, and because it's in front of a live audience,
you just get this energy that just starts going…But there's also that
thing ‑ it is possession. In the old days you'd be burned for it…But
there is something empowering about it. I mean, it is a place where you
are totally ‑ it is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where you really can become
this other force. Maybe that's why I don't need to play evil characters
[in movies], 'cause sometimes onstage you can cross that line and come
back. Clubs are a weird kind of petri dish environment. I mean, that's
where people can get as dark as they can in comedy ‑ in the name of
comedy, be talking about outrageous stuff and somehow come out the other
side. I mean, that's one place where you really want to push it”[i]
Williams’ last statement
quoted above answers the question as to why the demonic powers use
entertainers. Their goal is to promote evil and darkness and increase
mankind’s rebellion against God.
Williams went on to say on
the heels of that admission:
“The people I've admired ‑
Jonathan [Winters], in his best days, was out. Gone. But the price he
paid for it was deep.”[ii]
Sadly, it seems that the
price Robin Williams has now paid is just as deep as that of his idol,
Jonathan Winters. In fact, in the same US Weekly Interview, James Kaplan
says:
“With a gift for mimicry and
improvisation that verged on demonic possession, Williams could even
approach the artistry of his idol Jonathan Winters—a man whose genius
took him, once or twice, over the edge into mental illness. Williams'
own version of hell has been extensively chronicled.”[iii]
Like Robin Williams,
Jonathan Winters had to contend with the tormenting demonic powers he
utilized for fame and fortune. “These voices are always screaming to get
out,” Winters told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, further
admitting “They follow me around pretty much all day and night.”
At the height of Winter’s
success, he voluntarily committed himself to a psychiatric hospital for
eight months. Winters would later claim that if he were not careful, the
authorities would put him back in the “zoo,” an obvious reference to
the mental institution. Winters, like Williams, often fell into deep
depression and struggled with heavy drinking.
While many only knew Robin
Williams to be what they considered a somewhat "family friendly" actor,
he was one of the most successful crude stand-up comics who ever lived.
It was during his standup where he was most able to tap into what he
calls “possession…Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde… that's where people can get
as dark as they can in comedy ‑ in the name of comedy.”[iv]
It was in Williams’ stand-up
where he would go into his manic, stream-of-consciousness rants filled
with vulgar language, perverse sexuality and the glorification of
illicit drugs and drunkenness. Many people express shock after seeing
Williams' stand-up, not knowing his act was so perverse.
Comedians, like many famous musicians, pay the price for their fame by
becoming enslaved to the demonic forces that possess and torment them.
Jim Morrison, the frontman of America’s most successful band in the
60’s, admitted that he had to drink “to silence the constant voices of
the demons.”[v]
The Door's photographer, Frank Lisciandro, stated that,
“Jim drank to quiet the
ceaseless clamor of the demons, ghosts and spirits. He drank because
there were demons and voices and spirits shouting inside of his head and
he found that one of the ways to quell them was with alcohol.”[vi]
Brian Wilson, considered the
musical genius of the Beach Boys, claimed that he has been harassed by
several different demonic spirit entities that so tormented him that he
was bed ridden for years. Rolling Stone describes Wilson's
possession-like experience in ways that are reminiscent of scenes of
Linda Blair from The Exorcist:
“Brian Wilson hears voices.
They talk to him. They frighten him, distract him, confuse him...the
voices are calling. His eyes roll toward the ceiling; they've gone
blank. His brow is furrowed with thick worry lines. He is silent. Gone.
He looks up, jerks his head back and forth for a few seconds, as if
physically shaking away the voices.”[vii]
Former Warner Brother
Records President, Larry Waronker, claims to have met at least five
different entities possessing Brian Wilson's body.[viii]
Ozzy Osborne admitted, “I've
got many, many demons that affect me on many, many levels.”[ix]
Ozzie further admitted, “I remember sitting through the Exorcist a dozen
times, saying to myself, 'Yeah, I can relate to that.”[x]
Most people are blind to
this diabolical pattern of celebrities giving themselves over to satanic
power for fame and fortune, only to be exploited, used and abused, and
then spit out after Satan is done with them.
Heath Ledger’s life ended
prematurely not long after he accepted the evil role of The Joker in
The Dark Knight. While Ledger’s depression began after starring in
the gay promotional film, Brokeback Mountain, after his death,
headlines from Australia's Herald Sun like, “Tragic Death: Heath
Ledger Battled His Demons” and The Star, stating “If it was
personal demons that conspired to destroy Heath Ledger, they were
already making their presence felt many years before,” underscored the
fact that Ledger was dealing with some dark forces.
Ledger said of The Joker
character he would portray in The Dark Knight, “He’s a
psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy.”
However, to properly play the role to his satisfaction, Ledger would
open himself up to evil spirits with even less empathy. “Well,” said
Jack Nicholson, who had also played The Joker, “I warned him.”[xi]
Unfortunately, Nicholson’s
warning went unheeded and Ledger overcame his fears and ended up even
meditating on becoming the evil Joker he would portray:
"I definitely feared
it…Although anything that makes me afraid I guess excites me at the same
time. I don’t know if I was fearless, but I certainly had to put on a
brave face and believe that I have something up my sleeve. Something
different…just closing my eyes and meditating on it…it was important to
try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh. I ended up landing more
in the realm of a psychopath — someone with very little to no conscience
towards his acts.”[xii]
Ledger told the New York
Times that he “had trouble sleeping while portraying the Joker,” and
that, “Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night.”
Ledger seems to have been so tormented that he told the Times, “I
couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still
going.” He went on to state that he took drugs, which would quell the
unrest for only an hour.[xiii]
Sadly, Ledger, died of a drug overdose shortly after the filming of
The Dark Knight.
Robin Williams, like
Morrison, Winters, Ledger and so many others who resort to drugs or
alcohol in their attempt to quell the demonic voices that torment them,
fail to realize – until it’s too late – that such drugs only draw one
deeper into Satan’s insidious web.
Sadly,
Robin Williams must have felt like he was in a no win situation. When he
sought sobriety, the demonic voices which he admits he had opened
himself up to likely tormented him to no end. When he sought to drown
out the clamoring voices with a deluge of alcohol, he ended up poisoning
himself and teetered on the throes of death. He had tried “professional
help” a number of times, but the arm of the flesh, no matter how noble
the intentions, cannot overcome the demonic world.
Robin Williams felt enslaved to the
industry and to the very dark powers that brought him fame in the first
place. An intimate friend of Williams told the Telegraph that
Williams had been working on new projects and dreaded making more films
to pay the bills, as they "brought out his demons” and “left him drained
and particularly vulnerable to depressive episodes.”[xiv]
While we need to avoid two
extremes – the claim that mental illness is always demonic or that all
mental illness is simply of a material nature – in Williams’ case, he
admitted the danger of plunging into the demonic realm and his concern
over its dark consequences, a la Jonathan Winters! The scriptures are
clear that we are not at war with flesh and blood but the demonic world
(Ephesians 6:12) and that the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but
spiritual (2 Corinthians 10:4).
The truth is that only the
Lord Jesus Christ has the power and authority to deliver humans from
satanic powers. The scriptures reveal that the demonic powers tremble
before God’s mighty power (James 2:19). It is in Jesus’ name that
believers have victory over the demonic realm. God’s Word declares:
“For this purpose the Son of
God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
(1 John 3:8b)
“Forasmuch then as the
children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took
part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of
death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:14-15)
“And they overcame him by
the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they
loved not their lives unto the death.”
(Revelation 12:11)
However, if we are to truly
be delivered from illicit drugs, alcoholism, sin and the demonic world,
we need to repent and surrender our lives to Jesus Christ and agree to
stop dancing with the devil. Kaplan wrote regarding his US Weekly
interview with Williams, cited earlier, that “For years, the
actor-man-child’s life was a welter of easy drugs, adoring audiences and
accommodating women. Now he’s married and a father –and still willing to
dance with the devil.”[xv]
Sadly this ended up being a dance of death, which should be a lesson to
us all.
Christians must guard their
hearts from entertainers who are being used by dark forces to erode
moral conviction and draw believers away from the light and love of
Christ.
The terrible irony is that
many of these comics, such as Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters, who
are portrayed in their public persona to be happy and filled with
laughs, are in fact the most tormented and joyless souls on earth. Jesus
gave the solemn warning:
“For what shall it
profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
(Mark 8:36).
According to Robin Williams’
publicist, Williams had been struggling with “severe depression.” Famous
comedian Chevy Chase said of Williams after his suicide "Robin and I
were great friends, suffering from the same little-known disease:
depression.”[xvi]
Jim Carrey, who has his own
battles with severe depression, said when asked about Robin Williams’
death, “Comedians are often plagued by thoughts and beliefs that no one
understands them.”[xvii]
Several famous comedians
have been diagnosed with mental illness and suffered from severe
depression. Just to name a few: John Cleese, Paul Merton, Jim Carrey,
Stephen Fry, Jonathan Winters, Ruby Wax, Dave Chappelle, Robin Williams,
Chevy Chase, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Hugh Laurie, David Walliams,
Maria Bamford, and Tony Hancock, who was considered the funniest comic
actor of his time, ended up killing himself while filming a television
series in Australia in 1968.
We cannot truly have peace
until we have a relationship with the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). We
cannot have true joy until we open our hearts to Him who has been
crowned with joy above all others (Hebrews 1:9; 27).
Jesus – not drugs or alcohol
– is the Savior of the world and the only One who can deliver us from
the penalty of sin, hell, death and enslavement from satanic powers.
Jesus declared:
“The thief cometh not, but
for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might
have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
(John 10:10)
Jesus also declared:
“For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son
into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him
might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For every one that doeth
evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that
his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
(John 3:16-21)
Depression can have many
sources, but has only one ultimate remedy. True joy can only come from a
relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and the infilling of His Holy
Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is manifold and includes love and joy.
Let us remember that there are a lot of hurting people out there like
Robin Williams, who are filled with hopelessness and despair. May God
make us sensitive to their needs and help us to show them His great love
through our concern, willingness to help and sharing the gospel.
Please pray for the
celebrities/mediums in Hollywood and so many in the music industry, that
they would repent and find deliverance from the demonic forces that are
exploiting them to wickedly influence the masses, and that they would
come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the King of kings
and Lord of lords! Pray for those who clamor for their “entertainment,”
and are adversely and incrementally affected. May the Lord guard each of
our own hearts, as we seek discernment and seek to avoid the spiritual
land mines that threaten our lives and those of our loved ones. May the
Lord abundantly bless you as you seek His face and His glory!
[i]
Robin Williams, "Robin Williams,” by James Kaplan, US Weekly,
January, 1999, p.53
[v]
James Riordin, “Break on Through: The Life and Death of Jim
Morrison,” p.23
[vii]
Rolling Stone, August 11, 1988, pp.51-52
[ix]
Harry Shaw, “Ozzy Talking,” p.126
[x]
Hit Parader, Nov. 1984, p.49
[xi]
Sarah Lyall “Movies: In Stetson or Wig, He’s Hard to Pin Down” (New
York Times, November 4, 2007) https://tinyurl.com/qb8mjtj
[xii]
Oily Richards, “World Exclusive: The Joker Speaks” https://tinyurl.com/2fp63x
[xiii]
“Ledger’s death caused by accidental overdose” (The Associated
Press, January 23, 2008)
[xiv]
Josie Ensor, “Robin Williams’ friend reveals actor resented
having to do new Mrs. Doubtfire” (The Telegraph,
August 13, 2014)
[xv]
Robin Williams, "Robin Williams,” by James Kaplan, US Weekly,
January, 1999).
[xvi]
Kory Grow, “Robin Williams: Chevy Chase, Danny DeVito and More
Pay Homage” (Rolling Stone, August 11, 2014)
[xvii]
Holly McKay, “Robin Williams dead of suspected suicide: Are
comedians more plagued by depression than other stars?” (Fox
News, August 12, 2014)
Volume 17, Issue 1 |