While Christian fans of the recently deceased Hulk Hogan rejoicing over his baptism a year before his death, fans of Ozzy Osbourne are left with less assurance of what the self-proclaimed “Prince of Darkness’s” eternal destination might have been. Evangelist to the celebrities, Dylan Novak, recently spoke to Church Leaders about his 2023 encounter with the Black Sabbath frontman in 2023. Osbourne had just completed his final performance and was sitting on a throne from the show, being unable to walk because of his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.

Novak recalled telling the heavy metal artist that he loved him and wanted to present him with a gift. “He [was] such a sweet man. And I [told him], ‘I got this gift and I’d like to show it to you.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, show it to me,'” Novak recalled. He shared The New Believer’s Bible in the NLT version. In a post from Novak at the time, he noted how Osbourne had stated he was a Christian in a 2014 interview but didn’t understand the Bible. When Osbourne objected to the gift, stating he still wouldn’t understand it, Novak showed him the more user-friendly translation. “He immediately turned to the gospel. So Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And he starts thumbing through it, and he goes, ‘I can understand this,'” Novak shared. About two weeks later, Osbourne’s son, Jack, told Novak that his father had shared the Bible with friends and that it remained “on his bedside table.”

Novak stated that the interaction should remind all Christians that anyone can be reached with the Gospel, now matter how dark their persona or how outwardly successful they might be. “God sees us one of two ways: saved, not saved; born again or lost,” he said. “And we have to take our platform, use our platform, and try to tell as many people as we can before it’s eternally too late… It should just be an encouragement to us to go, don’t wait until it’s too late, because right now, the next time you see your friend may be the last time you ever see them. That might be the last opportunity you have,” he said.

Osbourne died July 22nd at the age of 76 from a heart attack. He had also been living with coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s. In previous interviews, he had identified himself as a Christian. “I’m a Christian,” he told The Guardian. “I was christened as a Christian. I used to go to Sunday school. I never took much interest in it because … I didn’t. My idea of heaven is feeling good. A place where people are alright to each other.”