Actor Roddy McDowall Didn't Plan For Hell

Mark 7:7-9, “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”

Roddy McDowall (1928-1998) is one of my favorite Hollywood actors. He starred as Cornelius in the popular original Planet Of The Apes 5-part movie series (1968-1973), along with actor Charleston Heston (1923-2008) who played Colonel Taylor, and Kim Hunter (1922-2002) who played Cornelius' wife, Zira.

As a hobby I enjoy learning the biographies of famous people. That's why I love reading the Old Testament, it is fascinating. Genesis is one of my favorite books to study. I enjoying listening to the King James Bible being read to me. The company Litchfield Associates who own the copyrights to Alexander Scourby (1913-1985) frequently threaten people for sharing his audio recordings. For that reason, I actually prefer hearing Willard Waggoner read the King James Bible, which is public domain. Here are his recordings on YouTube.

I was sad to learn that Roddy McDowall was a closet homosexual, as were many Hollywood actors in the 1960s and 1970s. Merv Griffin, George Takei, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Richard Pryor, Robert Reed, Ronald Reagan and Rock Hudson were all closet homosexuals, to name but a few wicked sinners.

I was reading about the life and death of Roddy McDowall today and something caught my attention. Roddy was raised in a strong Irish Catholic home by his mother. He attended a Catholic school in London. Roddy was a life long devoted Roman Catholic.

In April of 1998, at age 70 Mr. McDowall died of pancreatic cancer at home. Per Roddy's request, he was cremated and his ashes scattered into the Pacific Ocean. McDowall died at his home in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, said Dennis Osborne, a friend who had cared for the actor. “It was very peaceful,” Osborne said. “It was just as he wanted it. It was exactly the way he planned.”

When I read those quotes, that Roddy McDowall was laid to rest just as he had wanted and planned, my heart broke for the man. My heart broke because I know that there is no salvation in the Roman Catholic religion, or any religion for that matter. Salvation is found only in a person—the Lord Jesus Christ. In Catholicism, members are taught to seek salvation in the sacraments. They are taught to seek forgiveness of sins through confession to a priest. They are taught that good works are required to get to Heaven, faith is not enough. All of these teachings are unbiblical. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

If Roddy McDowall died in his Roman Catholic beliefs, he is sadly in Hell now and forever. I can guarantee you that he didn't “plan” for that! I can guarantee you that Hell is not what he wanted. Whenever anyone dies, the funeral speaker always says the same thing: “So and so is in a better place now.” But are they? Is that what the Word of God teaches? No, it's not.

Sheol (Hell) Means More Than Just The Grave

I used to have a Mormon boss when I worked as a truck mechanic nearly 40 years ago. He knew that I was preparing at Bible college to be a Bible preacher. One day at work he approached me and handed me a piece of paper with some Scriptures jotted down on it. One of those passages was Psalm 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” My Mormon boss said, “If you'll study those passages in the Hebrew language, I think you'll find that the word 'Hell' is 'Sheol,' which just refers to 'the grave.'” Clearly, he was trying to convince me that Hell doesn't exist. That is what Mormons believe.

But dear reader, the word Sheol in the Hebrew simply means: “realm of the dead.” There is nothing in the word itself that limits death to the grave. Rather, Sheol referred to the afterlife. Death was a big question mark to them. If in fact Sheol (Hell) in Psalm 9:17 only means grave, then this passage makes absolutely no sense. Why would the wicked and the righteous be sent to the SAME place? What would be the point? I mean, if the righteous go to the SAME place as the wicked, then what would be the significance of warning that “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God”? Clearly, the wicked go to a different place than the righteous do.

Ultimately, only God, Satan, the angels, those already in the afterlife, and the person who dies know where they went. We cannot know for certain, but it doesn't look good for Roddy McDowall. Unless he repented (changed his mind) to forsake his trust in the damnable lies of the wicked false religion of Catholicism, he couldn't have gone to Heaven. From the cradle to the casket, Roman Catholicism is a prisonhouse of religion! Jesus warned in Mark 7:9, “Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”

Please understand that in a million years I would never wish evil upon anyone. It breaks my heart, just the very thought that someone went to Hell. Ezekiel 33:11b the LORD exclaims, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” God does not rejoice when wicked people die in their sins and go to Hell. Neither should we ever rejoice when someone wicked dies. When Hugh Hefner died at age 91 in 2017, I was very sad, fully convinced that as an avowed atheist he went to Hell forever.

2nd Peter 3:9 teaches that “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” God wants everyone to repent (change their mind) to believe the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) of His only begotten Son crucified on a cross for our sins, buried and risen the third day, to be saved. It's that simple!

It just bothers me that a brilliant actor and extremely intelligent man like Roddy McDowall, made careful plans before his death regarding how his body and ashes would be disposed of, but he wasn't diligent to prepare for where his soul would spend eternity. Anybody with a pure heart, who is honest with them self, can see that Roman Catholicism is a false religion.

I mean, look at how Catholics have completely removed the second commandment of God which prohibits bowing down to graven images. They removed that commandment from God's Ten Commandments to hide their wickedness of worshipping graven images. If you are a Catholic dear reader, and this doesn't open your eyes to see how phony the Catholic church is, then you truly are a child of the Devil. Roddy McDowall from all that I could find, died in his Catholic religion, which means that he couldn't have gone to Heaven. Jesus warned in John 3:3b, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”