“Imagine,” and its Incredible
Impact
Continuing our analysis of John’s post-Beatles lyrics, his
next solo album was released in 1971. It was entitled “Imagine” and it remains
his most popular post-Beatles work. (By the way, BEFORE the Beatles broke up,
John did 3 albums with Yoko Ono, starting while he was still married to his
first wife. There was “Two Virgins,” where he actually appeared nude (full
frontal nudity) on the cover with Yoko, in 1968. Then, in 1969, they did “Life
with the Lions” and “Wedding Album.) “Imagine,” you see, was John’s second
album AFTER the Beatles’ breakup.
A television special at the time produced the world’s very
first music videos from the “Imagine” album. In 1988, a documentary about
Lennon was entitled “Imagine John Lennon”…..it remains his “signature song”
(well, it beats ’69s “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” where he used “Christ!”
as an expletive!) After 9-11-2001, “Imagine” was played all over the world by
those in shock regarding the terrorist attacks on America. It was considered an “antidote” to
“patriotic” songs like “The Star Spangled Banner” or “God Bless America.” And, an “Imagine” mosaic is in the
“Strawberry Fields” section of Central Park, across the street from where Lennon
was slain. Each year his fans gather there on the anniversaries of his birth
and death to sing this, and others, of his songs.
It’s kind of weird actually….we hippies from the
1960s always said “don’t trust anyone over 30,″ but when Lennon came out with
“Imagine” in 1971 at age 31…..we TRUSTED him.
Boy, did we trust him.
But we shouldn’t have!
The title track of “Imagine” had a very gentle melody, but,
the lyrics (which, of course, were also penned by John) were absolutely devilish.
It’s a classic case of Satan “transforming himself into an angel of light” as
he used John Lennon to sing the following unScriptural, heretical words in the
very first paragraph…..
IMAGINE THERE’S NO HEAVEN
IT’S EASY IF YOU TRY
NO HELL BELOW US
ABOVE US ONLY SKY
The song went on to urge us to “imagine no possessions”
while the singer, himself, had millions and millions of dollars. This is the
type of hypocrisy that God despises! Of
course, most popular musicians ARE wealthy but not many are brash enough to get
wealthier by releasing a record telling us we should do away with possessions,
altogether.
Lennon himself described “Imagine” as “virtually the
‘Communist Manifesto’-but because it is sugarcoated, it is accepted” (reprinted
in Rolling Stone Special Collector’s
Edition, 2018, page 63.)
And don’t forget, “Imagine” came out right after John’s
first post-Beatles solo album (see last chapter.) In that album he openly said he doesn’t
believe in God or Jesus, so it’s clear from the context that when he told us to
“Imagine” there’s no Heaven or Hell, this was what HE believed. You cannot have Heaven and Hell if there is
no God, you see.
Now, how in the world a popular Christian recording artist
could think of participating in a re-recording of that “Imagine” song in the
’90s is beyond me, but when I wrote Amy Grant about it to confront her, she
never responded (nor did she ever, to my knowledge, participate in the recording
as her newsletter said she was planning to!) It’s an anti-Christian
song, and I only mention it to make the point again that JOHN LENNON WAS NO
CHRISTIAN. A Christian is one who believes God exists, there is a Heaven and
Hell, and trusts the grace of God to bring him / her to Heaven at last because
1.) Christ died on the cross for sinners and 2.) That individual partakes of
His Sacrifice by Faith. John Lennon
did not believe in Heaven, Hell, OR Christ as all true children of God most
certainly do. And, I’m glad that Amy, who IS a Christian, eventually
recorded “(I Can Only) Imagine,” a Christian song which
affirms that Heaven does indeed exist and is wonderful beyond our human
comprehension.
In October 1990, on what would have been Lennon’s 50th
birthday, his “Imagine” was broadcast from the United Nations in honor
of the man John’s widow Yoko said “wanted world peace.” Yes, I know the point
of the song is that we should “Imagine” peace, but how many of the
millions who heard it again on October 9th, 1990 got THAT message? How many
ALSO got the unavoidable message that John Lennon, this “great” man who was
honored by the U.N., did not believe in Heaven or Hell? John Lennon deceived
himself and he poisoned countless others when he wrote “Imagine”.
Want to Imagine something? Imagine how GOD
must have felt! God gave John Lennon the gift of life and the SPECIAL gifts to create
and communicate. Those gifts reflect HIS Nature and creative, communicative
Glory in a unique way! Then Lennon, God’s creature, takes those gifts
thanklessly and misuses them to create songs that deny and defy the Creator Who
GAVE them. How would you feel if your child took everything you gave him or her
and used it to badmouth you to the whole neighborhood, even denying that you
ever existed?
Bad enough Lennon never glorified God for His gifts…..but he
used those gifts to try to turn countless others AWAY from their Creator. It’s
“adding insult to injury,” nothing more or less. I say frankly that John
displayed GENIUS in much of what he did; but his artistic genius was clearly
turned AGAINST God……he was NOT a CHRISTIAN. I’ve never seen (Christian
minister) Ray Comfort’s video “Genius” which is apparently about Lennon, but
I’m sure he came to the same conclusions. They are inescapable.
Christians should not be deceived regarding what John Lennon
was really all about!!
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