As pop culture continues its promotion of the occult, Satanism and sinful rebellion, actor/musician James Franco’s new video for the song “Love In The Old Days” goes to the next level. The music video is a clear demonstration of Satanic worship on display and yet another warning of the role the entertainment world is playing in leading society into rebellion against God.

Hollywood’s Renaissance Man

With an Oscar nomination and star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame already under his belt, James Franco is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood today. His movie ‘Oz The Great and Powerful’ has been a blockbuster and his concurrently released indie film “Spring Breakers” is receiving critical acclaim. Upon the praised being lavished upon the multi-talented actor, the LA Times newspaper wrote:

“James Franco’s renaissance continues with the multi-hyphenate star dipping into music again. Somewhere between shooting films, going to college, playing director and heaping a handful of other projects on his plate, Franco found time to start a band, Daddy, with friend and musician-artist Tim O’Keefe.” (source).

“Plenty has been written about how James Franco is Hollywood’s Renaissance man. The 33-year-old Oscar-nominated actor from Palo Alto, near San Francisco, also directs films, writes books and poetry, stages multi-media art exhibitions, lectures at two colleges, is a student at Yale, New York University and Rhode Island School of Design, sings, models, co-hosted a little event in February called the Oscars and is heavily involved in charity work.” (source).

Director Sam Raimi, who directed Franco in the Spider Man movies said:

“James is a teacher, a poet, a sculptor, an actor, a director, a writer, a producer, a basket weaver … it goes on and on for days,” Raimi commented. “It seems like we’re always discovering James’ next endeavor.” (source).

As Beginning and End has detailed, with many of the biggest celebrities rise to stardom, there is often and occult influence lurking in the background. In the case of Franco and his rock band called Daddy, it has now revealed itself with the release of their video for ‘Love In The Old Days.’

The video depicts what Franco calls “The Marriage of Hell.” It is a full-on satanic ritual with a series of bizarre, dizzying bright light effects flashing, strobe-like all throughout the video [B&E – The video contains a great deal of nudity, occult ritual and dizzying effects and thus could not be posted in this article. We strongly caution those considering watching it]. It features men and women either nude or clad in underwear, wearing animal head masks, holding candles and walking in circles around a black and white checkerboard altar. Near the end of the video the men and women start to gyrate on one another leading up to the occult “marriage.” Film director and Aleister Crowley-disciple, Kenneth Anger, play the occult priest overseeing the ceremony.

Anger, who rose to prominence in the 1960’s traveling with the rock band the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin before directing films in Hollywood, has been a teacher of the occult for decades. Franco said of Anger’s influence on him:

“Kenneth Anger has been an influence on me since I was first exposed to ‘Kustom Kar Kommandoes’ and ‘Scorpio Rising,’ but especially ‘Scorpio Rising,’” explains Franco. “When I went to NYU for film, I was always looking for ways to Anger up my films. My first one in particular, ‘The Feast of Stephen’ owes a lot to Anger, the way his camera transformed a gang of real 1960 bikers into homoerotic gods. In other films and projects I loved the way he took celebrity and the occult and fused them in [Sergei] Eisensteinian juxtapositions to achieve a greater, spiritual/aesthetic significance.” (source).

Anger by his own admission is a devout follower of Aleister Crowley, one of the foremost Satanists of the 20th century. Crowley’s influence on pop culture is not well-known, but nevertheless, very powerful. Many of the biggest musicians of all time, from The Beatles to The Rolling Stones have claimed inspiration from the writings of Crowley.

And here is Anger, in the rear right, serving as “occult priest” of the “marriage” in Franco’s music video:

Crowley, a 33rd degree Freemason, dubbed himself “The Beast”, “Baphomet” and “666.” His writings on black magick rituals and the “New Age” were most known for his phrase “Do As Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole of The Law” a principle that had the dual meaning of encouraging a license to seek any sinful, worldly pleasure and also the power of an occultist to use their “will” to achieve any goal. He was an advocate of drug use, sexual deviance, orgies, animal sacrifice and even child abuse and sacrifice, in order to maximize magical powers. With respect to the Christian faith, Crowley wrote:

“That religion they call Christianity; the devil they honor they call God. I accept these definitions, as a poet must do, if he is to be at all intelligible to his age, and it is their God and their religion that I hate and will destroy” (Crowley, The World’s Tragedy, p. xxx).

Anger, a self-described Magus (magick practitioner) who still gives lectures on Crowley, directed the documentary “Brush of Baphomet” which details Crowley’s artwork. He also directedLucifer Rising, a movie dedicated to turning Satan into a heroic figure, “an implicit part of Crowley’s teachings.” (source).

The Bible of course is clear that all of this is sinful rebellion against God:

“There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.” – Deuteronomy 18:10-12.

Dabbling in the occult, using magic, casting spells or any similar activity is sinful rebellion against The Lord. At its core, all magic is an attempt to contact demonic spirits and fallen angels, in order to access their power. This is why the Bible is so strongly against any interaction with these beings. They are under Satan’s leadership (something Anger and Crowley were clearly aware of). But since the birth of humanity, Satan has disguised his intentions and instead, sought to seduce people into doing his bidding by appealing to our sinful lusts:

“Now the serpent was more [subtle] than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” – Genesis 3:1-6.

Satan was able to seduce Eve into partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good And Evil by first questioning God’s Word, casting doubt in her mind and then offering Eve secret knowledge that could lead to her becoming a god. The tactics of the Devil are no different today. The lure of secret knowledge (the word “occult” means secret) and unspeakable powers has drawn many millions of people through the centuries into the world of mysticism and magic. But rather than become gods, Adam and Eve instead became sinners and were punished by God with the curse of knowing they were dead spiritually and would indeed one day die physically as well. And it is this sin that brought the curse of death upon all humanity.

Adam was initially given dominion over the Earth:

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” – Genesis 1:26-28.

Man was originally given complete dominion over the entire earth and every beast that walked upon it. But after the fall of Adam and Eve, this control was temporarily relinquished to Satan. And since this time, every person born entered a world where Satan and his minions work invisibly, providing evil influence to entice our sinful nature that we inherited from our father Adam. 2 Peter says: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8).

Because of our sins, all people are guilty before God and thus subject to His wrath: which is eternal damnation in the Lake of Fire. Satan’s goal is to bring as many people away from God as possible and ensure they suffer the same fate he will one day endure for his own rebellion. But because of God’s love for us, He did not leave Adam and Eve without hope. Even after announcing their punishment, The Lord also prophesied of their salvation in the form of a redeemer who would come in the future:

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. – Genesis 3:14-15.

This punishment of Satan was the first prophecy of the “seed of the woman” – the prophesied redeemer who would one day “bruise” or crush the head of the serpent and defeat him forever. That Redeemer is The Lord Jesus Christ, who defeated the Devil by dying on the cross and taking wrath for the sins of humanity. Jesus offered Himself as the perfect, Divine sacrifice to satisfy God’s wrath and provide forgiveness and eternal life for all who believe in Him. It also further condemned Satan who orchestrated the murder of Jesus on the cross by luring the traitorous disciple Judas into sin and eventually possessing him at the moment he acted out his scheme to have Jesus wrongfully arrested and executed.

But it takes faith and belief in Jesus for the free gift of salvation and forgiveness of sins in a person’s life. And this is where the spiritual battle presently takes place: in the hearts and minds of all people today. The Apostle Paul, knowing Satan works actively to lead people away from a belief in God and Jesus Christ, wrote: “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:2.

Satan will use “any means” to corrupt a person’s mind and lead them into sinful rebellion. And certainly the lure of fame, riches and all sorts of pleasure is an easy enticement to use. Thus it is no surprise to see so many celebrities throughout the past century use occult imagery, promote satanic rebellion in their music and art. And now it has reached the point of open and blatant promotion of satanic ritual.

When he was in film school, Franco dedicated his first film to Satanist Kenneth Anger. He said of the director:

“I guess I used whatever was in that book as kind of a guide about how to work with him. All I really needed was this basic ritual of, I guess you would call it, “The Marriage of Hell.” And we had imagery that was people in animal masks, that was based on certain images that Kenneth’s friend Brian [Butler] had shown me. I always saw Kenneth as the Priest of Darkness; his films have strangely fused art and weird, kind of religious rituals. And I knew in one of his performances he plays that weird instrument called the theremin….’ I could think of no one better to preside over the marriage of Hell than Anger. He is a force. A fusion of art, pop-culture, magick and sex. He is the voyeur-king.” (source).

Franco was also scheduled to participate in the public enactment of a satanic ritual just this past year:

In conjunction with the current exhibition For the Martian Chronicles, L&M Arts is pleased to present The Bartzabel Working, a performance by filmmaker and artist Brian Butler. Based on a ceremonial evocation of the spirit of Mars, first written and performed in London in 1910 by the famed British occultist Aleister Crowley, the ritual later became part of Los Angeles history in 1946 when Jet Propulsion Laboratory rocket scientist and Crowley protégé Jack Parsons conducted his own version of this rite, with the intention of placing a martial curse on a pre-Scientology L. Ron Hubbard.

For his reinterpretation of this historical performance, Butler will conjure Bartzabel, the spirit of Mars, evoking the site that was once home to the late sci-fi author Ray Bradbury and currently comprises L&M Arts. The ritual will have Butler as Chief Magus, leading a cast drawn from his upcoming feature film King Death and featuring Henry Hopper as Assistant Magus, Noot Seear as Magus Adjuvant, and James Franco as Material Basis, the vessel though which the spirit of Mars manifests. (source).

Brian Butler, a black magick occultist, and disciple of Aleister Crowley, scheduled the event as a part of a series of occult invocations he is directing across the country. Butler stated that he was following Crowley’s example of making satanic rituals public spectacles. It was Butler who initially introduced Franco to his idol, Kenneth Anger. And although he missed the event due to a delayed flight, Franco was scheduled to be one of its main participants.

Scripture is clear that the worshiping of false gods is an abomination to The Lord. In addressing those who were practicing secret occult rituals, God said:

“For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.” – Isaiah 47:10-15.

God sees all things and knows the hearts of all people. Living a life full of witchcraft and sorcery will incur His just and divine wrath. This sinful rebellion is grave business in the Bible and we are warned to steer clear of it. When the nation of Israel felt into idolatry and the occult, practicing pagan rituals and serving other gods, The Lord proclaimed His anger to the prophet Jeremiah:

“ Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble…Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.” –Jeremiah 11:11-15.

Israel, who had received God’s law and were responsible for being a light to the world to show the nations the truth and glory of believing in the True and Living God of the Bible, was so far gone into the occult and witchcraft, that The Lord told Jeremiah not to pray for them. The Lord said He would not listen to their cries for help. By God’s grace, people today can be heard when they believe in Jesus Christ. But despite God’s warnings, many people, often inspired by celebrities and pop culture, continue to believe in the occult.

Franco also paid homage to Crowley in the video with quick flashes of Crowley’s image on the screen during the video:

The OZ Connection

Interestingly, Franco’s movie Oz The Great And Powerful is based on a story from the 14 books written by L. Frank Baum, author of the very famous book, The Wizard of Oz. Baum was a member of the Theosophical society, started by satanist Madame H.P. Blavatsky. Blavatsky, who wrote many of her books at the end of the 19th century, via “automatic writing”the same writing process Crowley claimed to use, is one of the foremost influences of the modern New Age movement. She claimed to have channeled “ascended masters” from Tibet and the Egyptian goddess Isis. With respect to Satan, Blavatsky wrote:

“One of the most hidden secrets involves the so-called fall of Angels. Satan and his rebellious host will thus prove to have become the direct Saviours and Creators of divine man. Thus Satan, once he ceases to be viewed in the superstitious spirit of the church, grows into the grandiose image. It is Satan who is the God of our planet and the only God. Satan (or Lucifer) represents the Centrifugal Energy of the Universe, this ever-living symbol of self-sacrifice for the intellectual independence of humanity.“ (The Secret Doctrine, Volume II, Pages 215, 216, 220, 245, 255, 533).

Blavatsky called the idea that Satan is the ruler of the planet one of the “most hidden secrets.” Employing the same tactic Satan used with Adam and Eve, she implies that God is withholding the “real knowledge” and urges belief in the Devil instead. To no surprise Aleister Crowley made Blavatsky’s writings required reading in his occult organizations.

L. Frank Baum writing about Blavatsky’s House of Theosophy stated:

“Amongst various sects so numerous in America today who find their fundamental basis in occultism, the Theosophist stands pre-eminent both in intelligence and point of numbers. Theosophy is not a religion. Its followers are simply “searchers after Truth”. The Theosophists, in fact, are the dissatisfied with the world, dissenters from all creeds. They owe their origin to the wise men of India, and are numerous, not only in the far famed mystic East, but in England, France, Germany and Russia. They admit the existence of a God – not necessarily of a personal God. To them God is Nature and Nature is God…” – L. Frank Baum, Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer, January 25th 1890

After writing The Wizard of Oz, he explained his agenda to infuse occult ideas into his writing:

“There is a strong tendency in modern novelists towards introducing some vein of mysticism or occultism into their writings. Books of this character are eagerly bought and read by the people, both in Europe and America. It shows the innate longing in our natures to unravel the mysterious: to seek some explanation, however fictitious, of the unexplainable in nature and in our daily existence. For, as we advance in education, our desire for knowledge increases, and we are less satisfied to remain in ignorance of that mysterious fountain-head from which emanates all that is sublime and grand and incomprehensible in nature.”

“The appetite of our age for occultism demands to be satisfied, and while with the mediocrity of people will result in mere sensationalism, it will lead in many to higher and nobler and bolder thought; and who can tell what mysteries these braver and abler intellects may unravel in future ages?” -L. Frank Baum, Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer, February 22nd 1890

So here is one of the most famous novelists of all time, writing in the 1890s, that novels are tools to bring the occult to society. Is it no surprise that music, videos, movies and television would be used in this fashion as well? Do not be deceived.

When Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Satan offered him all the kingdoms of the world:

“And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” – Luke 4:5-8.

Notice Jesus defeated Satan’s temptation by believing in The Word of God. And this is the same solution for all people today. Lord willing, it should now be apparent that the forces of Satan are working to spread their own message and entice society into rebellion against The Lord. But the answer is to believe in the Gospel. To believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and receive eternal life. No matter how far someone is from God, no matter what sin they have committed, no matter what ritual they have participated, salvation is offered to all people. InEzekiel Chapter 18 God says: “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live.”



A born again Christian receives a new spirit from God, that seeks to serve Him and not the world. And in this there is power over all the forces of darkness. The Apostle John explained why Christians do not have to fear these forces, which he calls “the spirit of antichrist”:

Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. – 1 John 4:2-4.

When you receive God’s Holy Spirit, you have overcome the enemies of God because your soul is eternally secure. But it all begins with faith and believing that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for your sins, rose on the third day and now sits in Heaven with God The Father advocating on behalf of His saints. Hopefully Hollywood will start getting the message.