In 2015, there was an online viral phenomenon centered around the colour of a dress. Was it blue and black or was it white and gold? This unanticipated drama divided households, businesses and, seemingly, the entire planet. At its peak #TheDress appeared in 11,000 tweets per minute. However people perceived the colours of the dress, it was impossible to see it differently, despite the exasperation and insistence of those who saw it in the other colours. I mention this because of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Did we witness a mockery of The Last Supper or was it, as claimed, the Feast of Dionysus? The world is, once again, divided and both sides are standing their ground on what they perceived. However, this time, we are not simply dealing with the colour of a dress. We are dealing with demonic deception on a global scale.
Dionysus (known as Bacchus to the Romans) was the mythological Greek god of wine and revelry. In cities and towns throughout the Greek world, Dionysus came to be associated with society’s misfits and castaways. Anyone who didn’t fit in or have a place in the social order was welcome to join his cult, particularly those who sought liberation from social constraints. In ancient Roman culture, Dionysian festivals were known as bacchanalia and involved, among other things, drunkenness, sexual immorality and all kinds of degrading practices. In Livy’s historical account of the Bacchanalian Affair at Rome, he says: “Pleasures of wine and feast were added to the ritual, so that the minds of many might be enticed. When the wine had set fire to their souls, both the night and the mingling of men and women, old and young, had destroyed every sense of shame from the majority, first the corruptions of every kind began to happen, since each one was having a pleasure for himself, which suited his nature of prone lust.”
In attempting to distance himself from the backlash, Thomas Jolly (the artistic director behind the opening ceremony) claimed that The Last Supper was in fact not his inspiration. His statement read: “It’s not my inspiration and that should be pretty obvious. There’s Dionysus arriving on a table. Why is he there? First and foremost because he is the god of celebration in Greek mythology and the tableau is called ‘Festivity.’” He also went on to say: “He is also the god of wine, which is also one of the jewels of France, and the father of Séquana, the goddess of the river Seine. The idea was to depict a big pagan celebration, linked to the gods of Olympus, and thus the Olympics.”
Before the opening ceremony, there would have been many people throughout the world who had no idea who Dionysus was. In literature, authors have drawn inspiration from Dionysus to explore themes of liberation, rebellion, and the pursuit of a more profound understanding of existence. Not surprisingly, his archetype is easily identified in characters who challenge societal norms and embrace the uninhibited aspects of human nature. Therefore, the reason that many turn to him for inspiration is that his connection with ecstasy and ritual madness allows, in their mind, for the exploration of more taboo themes.
In 1965 a now-famous band called The Doors was founded by Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek. When they were on tour, Manzarek described Morrison as “like an ancient shaman, leading his followers into worlds they’d never dare enter alone.” Worse, when interviewed about his involvement in the band, Manzarek claimed that “Jim Morrison was a reincarnation of the Greek god Dionysus. He was Dionysus taken flesh, come to the 20th century.” As Manzarek was reflecting on their appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, he noted how Morrison was troubled by a legal case, leading him to be more constrained during their performance: “Our set was subdued but very intense. We played with a controlled fury and Jim was in fine vocal form. He sang for all he was worth, but moved nary a muscle. Dionysus had been shackled.”
It was not only band members who saw Morrison in this way. An entertainment reporter, writing about the documentary entitled “When You’re Strange: A Film About The Doors”, claimed that Jim Morrison was “a modern Dionysus in the guise of a rock star, a deity who inspires joy and madness.” Ironically, Jim Morrison died in Paris. It is said that Morrison was heavily influenced by the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche. This would make sense given that Nietzsche was also fascinated by Dionysus. To Nietzsche, Dionysus represented rage and hedonistic disinhibition, as opposed to the moral restrictions of Christianity.
But, in returning to the Olympics, why put the focus on Dionysus and why include an unholy version of The Last Supper? In my view, it is meant to convey that the new sacred form of communion and worship will be based on a hedonistic lifestyle, with a counterfeit saviour as the centrepiece. You see, in the myth, Dionysus was conceived by a mortal woman, Semele, and an immortal god, Zeus. While still in the womb of his mother she was destroyed by a torrent of lightning borne from Zeus. As the myth goes, in danger of perishing with his mother, Zeus took the unborn Dionysus from the flames and sewed Dionysus onto his thigh, caring for him until he was developed and healthy enough to set forth in the world. In other words, Dionysus was a god-man, having a mortal mother and an immortal father.
In this book “Dionysus: Myth and Cult, Walter Otto states: “All of antiquity extolled Dionysus as the god who gave man wine. However, he was known also as the raving god whose presence makes man mad and incites him to savagery and even to lust for blood. But he was also the persecuted god, the suffering and dying god, and all whom he loved, all who attended him, had to share his tragic fate.” In Ancient Greece, wine was more than just a drink. It was supposedly a sacred elixir that facilitated communion with the divine. In the case of Dionysus, wine symbolised spiritual and physical metamorphosis. By drinking the wine, worshippers could hope to participate in the immortal nature of Dionysus, fusing the temporary with the eternal.
The presence of Dionysus at the opening ceremony wasn’t just a bit of fun as claimed by those who want Christians to “calm down”. It sent a deliberate message: the new world order demands a new god. To them, the future of the world lies with gods like Dionysus, not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To them, the future of the world involves hedonism and sexual immorality, not holiness and righteousness. To them, Christ is out and Dionysus is in. So, for those who claim it was innocent, think again.
Debaucherous mankind may be planning a new world order built upon a foundation of sexual immorality and perversion, but God is also planning a construction project and it is called the New Jerusalem. Revelation 22:14-15 says this: “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.” The message from Paris was received loud and clear: Christianity is not welcome in the new world order. We can only pray that God’s message will be received loud and clear also: the unsaved will not be permitted in God’s eternal kingdom. There is only one way to get there and Jesus said it very clearly in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Dean Dwyer has served for over 20 years as Pastor and President of Eiser Street Baptist Church in Queensland, Australia.
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