Synopsis

Phil Collins plays the slick host of the Oasis of Faith television ministry, presenting himself as a confident preacher who claims a special connection with Jesus. Behind the polished broadcast image, however, he is a corrupt showman using religious promises to solicit money from viewers and finance a lavish lifestyle. Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford appear as fellow evangelists, while the studio audience responds to the increasingly outrageous appeals for donations. The escalating spectacle ends with money literally raining down as the ministry reaches its fundraising target.

Factoids & Trivia

• Phil Collins based his televangelist performance specifically on Ernest Angley. Collins later said Angley was flattered by the parody and apparently did not recognize that the video was mocking his profession.

• The opening speech was not entirely fictional. It was based on a story Angley had told earlier in his career and later repeated publicly.

• The video was released during a period when several American televangelists were facing scrutiny over fundraising practices and claims that donations would bring financial success.

• A sign visible during the video reads "Genesis 3:25." It is a band in-joke: Genesis had been together for 25 years and had spent most of that time as a three-member group. The biblical Book of Genesis, chapter 3, contains only 24 verses.

• The original version displayed the telephone number "1-555-GEN-ESIS" during the fundraising appeal. Some later edits covered it with a scrolling bar.

• The final sequence, in which Collins continues preaching while Banks and Rutherford pull him away, echoes the ending of Genesis' earlier video for "I Can't Dance."

• The video was nominated for British Video of the Year at the 1993 Brit Awards.

• "Jesus He Knows Me" was reportedly considered for use in The Simpsons episode "Bart Sells His Soul," but the necessary rights could not be obtained. The episode ultimately used Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" instead.

• The clip was included on Genesis' 2004 video compilation The Video Show.