Michael Landon

by Jason Kovar

Should Christians knowingly submit themselves as open channels to people who embrace an occultic spirit and have admitted that they intend to project this? Even the supposed harmless or heroic films have an underlying tonality of rebellion against God that seeks to squeeze you into its mold. The book of Romans warns us:

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2)

Satan's desire is to conform the world by deceiving as many as he can without detection. He has produced an abundant number of servants in Hollywood who are participating in his grand scheme of things without most people discerning it, who, like the false prophet in the book Revelation, look like a lamb yet speak as a dragon. Many who grew up with Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven will be shocked to learn that the main character associated with all of these shows was a spiritist who received his "moral" scripts from the sprit world. One, two or all three of his television programs can be viewed every single day. Millions and millions of people from two generations have seen his shows and been affected by his vision. Before analyzing the facts let us start with the Biblical premise outlined in God's Word for detecting Satan's servants:

"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve." (2 Corinthians 11:13-16)

Remember, Satan himself is an actor who portrays different personas with utmost skill in order to mislead many. One of his tricks, according to the above verse entails presenting a skewed righteousness. Satan will support religion and morality if it will keep people from discovering the only true saving grace in Jesus. All the morality in the world will not save a sinner who has not been pardoned from his sin.

This is precisely what Landon portrayed to his audiences and the people ate it up. What he was feeding them however was candy laced with messages from the demonic realm whose tentacles we have seen spread throughout the Hollywood industry. Those who knew Landon claimed he had supernatural abilities that are common to occultists, and that these powers allowed him influence over others. His eldest daughter, Cheryl Landon, said:

"I honestly believe my dad had telepathic powers. What ever it's called, he had some kind of special powers...That's why he was able to connect with others. You know he had a natural star on the palm of his left hand, and it was no gimmick left over from his 'Teenage Werewolf' days, either." (Landon63)

Cheryl Landon also states that her dad "had moments of psychic awareness," (124)and was "an angel of light" who believed in "the oneness of mankind." (220-1)

Landon's shows are famous for giving audiences the warm fuzzies. In forthright interviews, Landon had always stated he believed in life after death. This became a supernatural reality when in 1959, he came into contact with a spirit who identified itself as the ghost of his dead father. As he knelt, Landon recalls hearing: "It's okay kid. Don't worry. I'm fine. Everything is going to be alright." Landon said he knew that this spirit would remain alive and always close to him and he was comforted that he would be able to communicate with it. Consequently, Landon had the sudden wherewithal to pen scripts that would just pour out of him. Cheryl Landon recalls: "He was left handed and wrote at such a fast pace, the result was legible only to his secretary. He'd start on a story and go right through to the end, sometimes staying up all night." (Landon78)

The spirit Landon communicated with directly inspired this talent. Landon admitted:

"I felt my father's presence with me, enlightening my memories, helping me to commit to paper the feelings I had...I really heard my father speaking to me from the other dimension, filling my mind with just the right words. The story came so fast and was so right. In three days the script was complete." (HS117)

Landon's program, Highway to Heaven, was the forerunner of angelic and touchy feely religious shows that now dominate the airwaves. His portrayals on the show speak of God, but not the God of the Bible. They never pointed out the way of salvation, and New Agers as well as Hindu evangelists could enjoyably watch the show without ever feeling an ounce of conviction over sin leading to repentance based on Christ's redemptive work. Landon simply laid the groundwork for what we are offered today on television, that being a watered down unspecific religious adherence that is found anywhere in the world. Sadly, many Christians falsely believed Landon was making a statement of faith to fundamental Christians and many partook of the episodes as though they were in Sunday school. While Landon was in fact teaching people through his shows, God did not approve him as a credible teacher of the Gospel. In fact, Landon seems to better fit the definition of a minister of Satan than of God, by misleading people into believing that morality, not relationship based on God's forgiveness through Christ was the issue. (2 Corinthians 11:13-16) Cheryl Landon accounts:

"Most of the children wanted to know what it would be like when they died. Dad reassured them, and with his special combination of concern and humor, he'd make them feel better, at least while they were with him. 'Jonathan' (his Highway to Heaven character) told them things would be okay, and they trusted him." (landon87)

Satan gained a foothold through simple morality, which left many alienated from God as they received and trusted this other Gospel of works. Paul warns in the book of Galatians:

"Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:7-9)

Landon verifies:

"I made people reach into their lives and look for a higher power, God or even themselves to solve their problems...every script I've written and every series I produced-not only Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven, but the ones that didn't make it and the ones I just started- have expressed the things I most deeply believe...I believe...that there is God in all of us." (landon 177,201)

Landon was simply a New Ager whose spirit-guided visions conned America into discarding the truths of Christianity to instead adopt a system of short-lived morality. He personally lived a life reflective of these New Age beliefs and contrary to the morals he sought to infuse his character with, ended up cheating on and leaving his wife for another woman on his show. Landon's son, the homosexual entertainer, Chris Landon, had this to say about his late father:

"He was extremely liberal in his beliefs to pretty much everything. He was not closed-minded to anything...And I feel in a certain way I get to carry the side of my father that he didn't get to expose, which was his dark side. And he had it. And he had a very dry, sick sense of humor. And I think that comes through my work. I absolutely got that from him." (Advocate12-7-99)

Do not make the mistake in simply trusting a system of morality for your eternal salvation- that somehow you are good enough to enter into heaven before a holy God who has never done anything wrong. Before God, your sin is sick and dark and needs cleaning. The Scripture compares the righteous things that we have done to filthy rags- a woman's menstrual cloths- before God's sight. If you have ever lied, you are a liar. If you have ever stolen something, you are a thief. It makes no difference how many of the Ten Commandments you have broken, for the Scriptures say if you have broken one commandment, it is if you had broken them all. (James 2:10) It is likened to a chain of ten links suspending a person above the Grand Canyon. If one of the links breaks, down they go. Your good works will not be weighed against your bad works. You are either forgiven for all, or forgiven for none.

The life of a true believer should be filled with righteousness and moral integrity, however this is simply an evidence for a true faith in Christ and validates our belief. The book of James writes: "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." Our works are not the basis for our salvation, but simply affirms our faith as true.

After a lifetime of contact with demonic spirits who used him to podium another belief system, which betrayed a liberal heart with a "sick, dark side," Landon was totally distanced from the true God he misled Christians into thinking he represented. Subsequently, at his death, with his life almost extinguished, Landon experienced frightening visions of what awaited him on the other side. His daughter recalls that he was "hearing voices." (208) She elaborates:

"He raised his fists and clawed at the air. I heard him mumbling...'No, not yet,' he said clearly, 'I'm not ready. No, I don't want to go.'...The nurse told us Dad had spent the night raising his hands and pawning at the air as though he was trying to keep something away." (210)

The evil spirits who puppeteered Landon through his life turned on him as they claimed his soul at his death. Do not erect a pseudo tower of good works in your mind and declare yourself worthy before God or you too will end up clawing at the forces who will drag you off at your death. We really all deserve this end, yet Christ provided the antidote to death, his life in place of ours. All we have to do is receive it, and live by it, so that when we are escorted away at death, we will enter into the joy of the Lord and hear Him say: "Well done. My good and faithful servant."

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