Crowd Control

Have you ever watched any of the screen versions of the H.G. Wells novella, The Time Machine? The story contains a good illustration of a disturbing phenomenon occurring in our day. Since, I’ve never read the book and only viewed the 1960 movie, starring Rod Taylor, my references will be to that film.  

In the movie, a late Victorian-era inventor, only referred to as George, creates a time machine. He first travels from the year 1900 to 1917, where he briefly stops to find that his friend, Filby has been killed in the Great War. He travels further in time to 1940 and finds that his city, London is being blitzed by the Germans.  

He travels forward again, this time to 1966, when warning sirens are roaring away, alerting everyone to take refuge in underground shelters. His city suffers a nuclear attack, which triggers volcanic activity. But George escapes the calamity by going further in time – all the way to the year 802,701. 

There, in the distant future, George stops to find what appears to be a paradise, inhabited by a gentle people called the Eloi. But in a short time George finds out that the Eloi are little more than sheep. They have no goals or ambition, no individual thought or creativity, and no concerns except for their own safety and gratification. 

Soon, George finds out why. He learns that there is another people, the Morlocks who live underground. The Morlocks are the ones who feed and clothe the Eloi – but only to slaughter them for food.  

And the Morlocks control the Eloi by using the “warning sirens” – the kind that have alerted humanity of impending attacks over many millennia. So deeply ingrained are these sirens upon the Eloi psyche, that the very sound of them sends the Eloi go into a trance-like state. And under the power of these sirens, they dutifully march to the “underground shelter” – the domain of the Morlocks, who feed upon the Eloi. 

Of course, George is unaffected by the sirens. And he cannot understand why the Eloi are unresponsive when he asks them “What’s happening?” and “Where are you going?”  Only after he goes below and sees the carnage for himself does he understand the horrible reality he’s stumbled into. But don’t be too distressed. The movie has a happy ending. George leads the Eloi in a rebellion and they overthrow the Morlocks. 

Friend, the warning sirens are blaring away today. And their purpose is to establish and maintain crowd control. We call it the media:  the news networks, television, movies, and social media. They all carefully promote specific narratives to influence public opinion. They squelch all independent thought and crush any dissenting views. They do this by smothering us with fear-inducing rhetoric. Like the warning sirens in The Time Machine, they induce such a panic in us that we act without thinking. 

We’ve had pandemics before. A new strain of the Flu visits us every single year – and it kills tens of thousands of Americans each time. Why, then, should the very mention of “Covid” strike such terror in the hearts of people so that they behave like frightened sheep? Haven’t we been conditioned to behave this way by today’s warning siren – the media? 

I admit, Covid-19 has taken a deadly toll. But so have other pandemics, wars, economic collapses, terrorist attacks (Anyone remember 911?), and natural disasters. But when, in our history, have we been moved to such sheer panic as we are today? It’s largely because our media has morphed into nothing but a panic-inducing machine.  

There are a lot of things that are bad for your health: cigarettes, alcohol and drug abuse, obesity, crime, and hot dogs? Yes, the news reported that a study has confirmed that each time you eat a hot dog you’re taking 36 minutes off your life.  

But nothing is as threatening to your physical health and peace of mind as the media. Fifteen minutes of watching the news will instantly raise your blood pressure, tie your stomach into a knot, give you insomnia, and make you a troubled and angry person. Can you imagine the long-term health hazards consuming the news on a daily basis? I wish a university would conduct a study on the health hazards of watching too much news. It’s pure poison. 

But it’s also an effective crowd control tool. It doesn’t keep us abreast of what’s really going on in the world. For millions of wonderfully good things are happening every day, yet they’re censored from the news. No, the news – and most of the media – sends the steady stream of an ideologically-crafted narrative. It feeds us a terror-inducing litany to control our thoughts and actions. And we’ve become like the Eloi, marching off to our doom. 

Yet the real enemy is Satan himself. He’s been dealing with humans for thousands of years. So, he knows all the right buttons to press to evoke a “desirable response” from us. Yes, even the “controllers” in our society are themselves being controlled. They’re mere pawns in the hands of the devil. For we are engaged in a great spiritual conflict and we desperately need God’s divine arsenal to fight it. 

So, while political action and social reform have definite value, nothing is more necessary than seeking God like never before. We need to be praying daily for God to pour forth His Spirit upon all humanity, to raise up laborers for the Gospel harvest, and to transform our nation from the inside out. Only God can save us from our depravity, darkness and certain destruction. 

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). 

PRAYER:  Almighty and merciful Father, we pray for the United States of America. Please guide our leaders in government. Open their blind eyes to their need for Your help and salvation. Give them heavenly wisdom to solve America’s complex problems. 

Please bless and save our troubled land.  By your Holy Spirit, breathe a mighty revival across America and bring us to Jesus Christ in faith and repentance. Cleanse and transform our sinful hearts, fill them with Your love, and turn us to each other in love and reconciliation.  

Bless America, O God, heal our divisions, and mend our every flaw. Redeem our government and fill its ranks with men and women of God. Redeem our schools and universities and fill their faculty with Spirit-led professors and teachers. Redeem our news media and raise up men and women of God to be its journalists. Redeem our businesses and financial institutions so that they’ll deal honestly and compassionately with their customers and employees. And redeem our entertainment industry and fill it with gifted and talented witnesses for Christ.  

Please raise up men and women of God to lead our nation on the path of righteousness. Raise America to true greatness, we pray, and use it as Your instrument of the Gospel throughout the world. In Jesus’ holy name we pray, Amen. 

(Information from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine_(1960_film))