Review (31): It’s a Wonderful Life: A Dramatic Illustration of the Divine Decrees: Intro, Summary, Cast, Intercession, Angelic Hierarchy

It’s a Wonderful Life
A Dramatic Illustration of the Doctrine of Divine Decrees
I.	Introduction:
In 1943 Philip Van Doren Stern wrote a short story entitled The Greatest Gift.  He published 200 copies and distributed them as Christmas greetings to friends and relatives.  Somehow RKO Radio Pictures obtained a copy and offered him $10,000 for movie rights.  The screenplay was written three times but none measured up to the level required by the studio to put it into production.  Eventually the studio sold the screen rights to Frank Capra for its original $10,000 investment plus the three unused scripts.  Capra hired two of the industry’s best screenwriters in Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett to redo the scripts while he began to cast his movie.  
He chose James Stewart to play the lead role of George Bailey.  Stewart had been away from moviemaking for about five years, serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II and was concerned that such a long period away from the cameras would have a detrimental effect on his performance.  Although It’s a Wonderful Life was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one, and was a disappointment at the box office, it became Stewart’s favorite role and Capra’s favorite film.  Over time it has become one of America’s most revered motion pictures of all time, selected as number 11 among the American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest Movies of the Century. 

I have chosen It’s a Wonderful Life  to illustrate the principles we have recently studied and just reviewed in the Doctrine of Divine Decrees.  I think we need to start with a brief synopsis of the movie.  I will quote straight from the back of the video tape box for that, followed by some interesting information on the actors who played major roles in the movie.

II.	Synopsis:
Liner notes from Frank Capra’s Original “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  Video tape (VHS 2071).  Los Angeles: Republic Entertainment, Inc., 1995.
George has a lifelong dream — to get out of tiny Bedford Falls to see the world and do great things.  But every time he tries to leave, a crisis for the people of the town arises, and his heart won’t let him abandon them.  So when, after years of self-sacrifice, disaster strikes the Bailey Building and Loan on Christmas Eve, all George’s struggles appear to have been fought for nothing.  That’s when Clarence, an angel trying to earn his wings, is sent down from heaven to give George the greatest Christmas gift of all: seeing how wonderful his life really is.

III.	Major Cast Members:
James Stewart as George Bailey
Won an Academy Award in 1940 for Best Actor for his performance in The Philadelphia Story.  He starred in movies of several genres—Westerns such as Destry Rides Again, Winchester ’73, Bend in the River, Naked Spur, Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Cheyenne Social Club, and The Shootist; dramas, including Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Anatomy of a Murder, The Spirit of St. Louis, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rear Window, Shenandoah, and The Shop around the Corner (the original recently redone as You’ve Got Mail ); comedies such as Harvey, and even a baseball player in The Monty Stratton Story.  He was Glen Miller in The Glen Miller Story and Buttons the Clown in The Greatest Show on Earth.

Donna Reed as Mary Hatch Bailey
Donna won an Academy Award in 1953 for Best Supporting Actress in From Here to Eternity.  She also starred in The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Last Time I Saw Paris, and The Benny Goodman Story.  Many of you who can remember television from the ’60s recall The Donna Reed Show which ran from 1958 through 1966.  But do you remember she was Miss Ellie Ewing on Dallas?  Yes, she briefly replaced Barbara Bel Geddes for the 1984-85 season.

Lionel Barrymore as Henry Potter
Barrymore is a legend in Hollywood and won an Academy Award in 1931 for Best Actor in A Free Soul.  He starred as Dr. Leonard Gillespie in a series of movies in the ’30s and ’40s about Dr. James Kildare from which came the television series later on.  His other movies include Duel in the Sun with Gregory Peck and Key Largo with Humphrey Bogart.

Thomas Mitchell as Uncle Billy Bailey
Mitchell won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his role in John Ford’s Stagecoach starring John Wayne.  He appeared with Gary Cooper in High Noon, with James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and as Scarlet O’Hara’s father in Gone with the Wind.  He also played William Robinson in Swiss Family Robinson.

Henry Travers as AS2 Clarence Oddbody
Travers was the perfect pick for the slowly advancing angel, Clarence.  In the story he had not yet earned his wings and helping George Bailey overcome depression was the task that would finally gain him the promotion.  Travers also starred in The Bells of St. Mary’s, Mrs. Miniver, and Dark Victory  with Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, and Ronald Reagan.
Ward Bond as Bert the Policeman
Again, you older members remember Ward Bond as Major Seth Adams on the television series Wagon Train which ran from 1957 through 1961.  He starred with John Wayne in several of his movies including Rio Bravo, The Searchers, Hondo, and The Quiet Man.  Bond was Morgan Earp in John Ford’s My Darling Clementine, along with Henry Fonda as Wyatt, Colonel Thieme’s old friend Tim Holt, who played Virgil, Victor Mature as Doc Holliday, and Walter Brennan as Old Man Clanton.

H. B. Warner as Emil Gower, the Druggist
Gower also appeared with James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.  He also starred in such biblical epics as The Ten Commandments in which he appeared as Amminadab and Cecil B. DeMille’s 1927 classic Kings of Kings in which Warner played Jesus.  He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 1938 for his role in Lost Horizon.

Sheldon Leonard as Nick the Bartender
Leonard had a very small role in this movie and did not have as distinguished an acting career as did his costars in It’s a Wonderful Life.  For example, you probably don’t know that Sheldon Leonard appeared in Frank Capra’s Pocket Full of Miracles, in Guys and Dolls with Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra,  or in Rainbow over Texas with Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.  However, each and every one of you is familiar with his work as the executive producer of a number of universally popular television series.
Leonard was the executive producer for the mid-’60s television detective series I Spy.  This show broke new ground for television by casting a black actor in a lead role.  Leonard cast as Robert Culp’s partner none other than Bill Cosby.  Other series of which Leonard was executive producer include Make Room of Daddy or The Danny Thomas Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and The Andy Griffith Show.

Other Actors:
Beulah Bondi as Mrs. Bailey, George’s mother
Gloria Grahame as Violet.  (She won an Oscar for the Best Supporting Actress in 1952 for The Bad and the Beautiful.)
Todd Karns as Harry Bailey, George’s brother
Samuel S. Hinds as Pa Bailey, George’s father
Bobby Anderson, who played George Bailey as a child
George and Mary Bailey’s children were played by:
	Carol Coomes as Janie Bailey
	Karolyn Grimes as Zuzu Bailey
	Jimmy Hawkins as Tommy Bailey
	Larry Simms as Pete Bailey
None of these child actors ever went into acting as a career although Larry Simms, who played Pete Bailey, starred as Alexander Bumstead in a series of movies based on the comic strip, “Blondie.”

IV.	Two Important Doctrines:
There are two doctrines I want to quickly review before we begin our overview of It’s a Wonderful Life.
1.	Intercessory Prayer:
1)	The Greek word for intercession is œnteuxij /enteuxis / and means to act in behalf of someone else.
2)	God receives intercessory prayer from Jesus Christ in Hebrews 7:25 and the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:27.
Hebrews 7:25 -	God is able to save forever those who draw near to Him through Christ, since Christ always lives to make intercession for them.

Romans 8:27 -	God who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Holy Spirit is, because He, the Holy Spirit, intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
3)	Paul mentions intercessory prayers in his epistles.  Here are a few examples:
2 Corinthians 1:11 -	… that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed upon us through the prayers of many.
Ephesians 1:16 -	I do not cease giving thanks for you while making mention of you in my prayers.
Philippians 1:3 -	I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,
v 4 -	always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all.
Colossians 1:9 -	… we have not ceased to pray for you …
4)	The ultimate intercessory prayer was that offered by our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane found in John 17.
5)	At the beginning of It’s a Wonderful Life many of the citizens of Bedford Falls are offering intercessory prayer on behalf of George Bailey.

2.	The Hierarchy of the Angelic College of Heralds:
1)	The Hebrew word in the Old Testament for angel is malak and the Greek word in the New Testament is ¥ggeloj.  Both mean “messenger.”
2)	Thus angels execute the policy of the One whom they serve and act as His messengers. 
3)	In the past we have used the hierarchy of the English College of Arms which are the King of Arms, the Heralds, and the Pursuivants to describe the hierarchy of angels.

4)	Presiding over these officers is always the Duke of Norfolk whose title is Earl Marshal.
5)	The duty of the Kings of Arms is the granting of arms, a power delegated to them by the Sovereign of England.
6)	Heralds deal with matters concerning heraldry, genealogy, and succession to titles and are present at important state occasions, i.e., coronations, royal and state funerals, and the opening of Parliament.
7)	Pursuivants are assistants to the Heralds.
8)	All officers of the College of Arms are members of the royal household.
9)	The English College of Arms may be used to illustrate the hierarchy of the Angelic College of Heralds, one of two classifications of angels in Scripture.
10)	Earl Marshal:  Jesus Christ under the honorary title Malak YHWH, the “Angel of the Lord.”  Jesus Christ as God has ultimate command authority over not only the elect angels but the fallen ones as well.
11)	Under Christ in the Angelic College of Heralds are ranks of angels that coincide with those in the English College of Arms.
12)	Elect angels have military rank designated by the number of wings, and the presence or absence of wings.
13)	Prior to the prehistoric Angelic Conflict, Cherub was the highest rank among the angelic creation.
14)	After the fall of Satan a higher designation of rank emerged called Seraph.
15)	Seraphs have six wings, cherubs have four, and pursuivant messengers have none.

16)	The King of Arms serves under Jesus Christ who heads the Angelic College of Heralds under the title, “Angel of the Lord.” Serving under the King of Arms are the cherubs or pursuivant officers.  Again, they have four wings.
17)	The next designation is the vast number of angels who function as pursuivant messengers.  They are wingless and serve the King of Arms and the Heralds in several ways:
1.	They were the messengers who spent the night with Lot and destroyed Sodom the next day in Genesis 19:13.
2.	A pursuivant messenger was the destroying angel of 2 Samuel 24:16 in response to David’s order to take a census of the people.
3.	Other pursuivant messengers who function as destroyers are found in Psalm 78:49 and Ezekiel 9:1.
4.	In Revelation 7:1 we learn that pursuivant messengers control global weather.
5.	Pursuivant messengers initiate the seven trumpet judgments that begin in Revelation 8 and the seven bowl judgments which commence in Revelation 15.
6.	Finally, pursuivant messengers function as guardian angels.
	19)	Apparently, guardian angels protect all individuals, beginning in infancy, who are foreknown for salvation.
Hebrews 1:14 -	Are they not all ministering spirits [ pursuivant messengers who function as guardian angels ], sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
20)	This verse tells us that those who have not believed in Christ, but whose PROM chip contains the fact that he will believe at some future date, are protected from physical death prior to that time.

	21)	No matter what kind of behavior or lifestyle he executes before salvation, the person foreknown to God is protected by pursuivant messengers or guardian angels.
Psalm 91:11 -	He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.
v 12 -		They will bear you up in their hands lest you strike your foot against a stone.
	22)	And this angelic protection begins in infancy.
Matthew 18:10 -	“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of My Father who is in heaven.”
v 12 -		“What do you think?  If any man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying.
v 13 -		“And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.
v 14 -		“Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
23)	From all this we may conclude that Jesus Christ has organized the elect angels into a strict order of protocol.
24)	These angels are divided into two organizations: (1) The Angelic Order of Battle and (2) The Angelic College of Heralds.