This is Part V in the series which are my reply to David James’ response to Dr. David R. Reagan’s excellent article on The Harbinger. For those who wish to read the previous replies of mine (Part IV), and Part III which includes Dr. Reagan’s article, I recommend they’d go to The Pepster’s Post: A Voice in Cyberspace. I have had to break these replies of mine into these parts, because in order to biblically and fully respond to each charge, objection, and accusation, I have had to write at length what would normally be much writing, since the charges and objections are not biblical but simply one man’s interpretation of another’s and his attempts to redefine and replace the other’s narrative with one of his own invention. It is nothing but a theological contrivance, and theological contrivances are nothing but arguments, and therefore are answered with Scripture and with counter-arguments as I do in this series and in my book, and on my website. We continue to endeavor to show those who read this that the critics of The Harbinger have made three fundamental mistakes, and they are:
1.) They have misinterpreted what The Harbinger says, and using logical fallacies, have replaced its narrative with narratives of their own.
2.) They have read into the words and phrases used in The Harbinger meanings that the original author did not intend these words to have.
3.) They have replaced The Harbinger’s narrative with an incorrect narrative they have written into The Harbinger.
4.) They have redefined the meaning of words and phrases used in the book and interjected their own meanings into them.
5.) They have arrived at a flawed and incorrect premise from these errors, that has resulted in their conclusions being riddled with a jaundiced and mistaken assumption about what the book says.
6.) They have publicized their contentions before thoroughly inquiring of the author the meanings of the words and phrases used in his book, and have not thoroughly consulted with him about the book.
7.) They have not worked towards a resolution of the differences, but have instead chosen to scandalize it and put Rabbi Cahn to open reproach over a year and a half long period.
The Sixth and Seventh are not an unintentional mistakes on their part, because they are actively engaged in it willfully and knowingly even after being told by many others repeatedly that it is not biblical. And what it is that they are willfully and knowingly practicing and have been practicing? It is the practice of publicly subjecting another Evangelical Christian – a brother or sister in the faith – to open reproach on the Internet, in print media, and on radio and video, while claiming to be doing this biblically because they quote the Scriptures.
First let’s get something straight before we continue. Because someone quotes Scripture does not make their argument biblical. The accuser of the brethren is a master at quoting Scripture. That doesn’t make him biblical.
Second, never, but NEVER should any Christian Evangelical publicly put another Christian Evangelical brother or sister in the faith to open reproach.
And Third, never, but NEVER should any Christian Evangelical publicize something about or against another Evangelical Christian brother or sister in the faith without first contacting them and making every effort to resolve their differences with them.
This group has done the first five and has not really put what can be called an “effort” to do the Sixth and Seventh mentioned above. They are doing it in full cognizance of the severity of their activities without the slightest feeling of guilt or remorse, if that is possible for people with the Holy Spirit to do, and according to Scripture, it is. (Proverbs 29:1, Isaiah 63:10, Ephesians 4:30, 1Timothy 4:1-2)
I repeat, because of this reason, we cannot include Six and Seven as part of the unintentional mistakes about The Harbinger they’ve made, because this kind of behavior and its public rhetoric are not unintentional mistakes, but done intentionally. It is being done openly and in public and with full understanding by those involved in what they are doing. They’re aware of what they’re doing, and justify themselves when challenged about it, as David James does here – acting as their spokesperson.
A small group of men have confederated together to come against Jonathan Cahn and his book in order to subject his teachings and his book to a direct polemical multi-month public relations campaign against The Harbinger, and have sought at every turn to discredit and marginalize Rabbi Cahn and to publicly reproach him as a “false teacher.” That is what they have done and continue to do.
What Ladybug has written about The Harbinger’s critics is so appropriate for this situation that I am tempted to quote what she wrote in its entirety, but a few of her choice words will suffice here. I fully concur with what she writes about these people in my spirit, where she says: “… my contention is not theological here, it's behavioral. …It's his (Jonathan Cahn’s) ill treatment of his brethren and I have heard him bash many a believer over the past year. … so (name removed) is advancing against his brethren with a sword in an attempt to proverbially ‘chop off their heads and walk over their dead bodies.”’ She concludes by correctly observing that these critics of The Harbinger – “do not seem to know how to respectfully disagree with their brethren and this is what needs correction.”’
The methods used by this small group, and other critics of The Harbinger who are their camp followers, are entirely unbiblical inasmuch as they hold other Evangelical Christians to open reproach in the eyes of the public. Since when do Christian Evangelicals contend with other Christian Evangelicals and put them to open reproach over a faith they both commonly hold? When has such a thing ever been seen before? Therefore, the reader will find me asking repeatedly throughout this reply how Evangelical Christians can target other Evangelical Christians for theological defamation and discreditation over hermeneutical differences when Christians have always differed over these without resorting to spiritual fratricide?
I’m going to be asking this question throughout this series over and over again, until someone wakes up and realizes how the enemy has tricked us into eating each other alive in the name of “contending for the faith,” as some of us have twisted the role and gift of the Holy Spirit from a gift of the Spirit into a ministry called “discernment” and have usurped the fine art of Christian Apologetics and replaced it with the religious ambulance chasing “discernment” ministries that target other Christians for heresy and use a public venue to put them to open reproach. All done in love of course, oh and yes, all done in the name of the Lord. How ironic that the same Cessationists who proscribe the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit are the same people who twist the Scripture to mean a ministry!
As the controversy has lasted for over a year and a half, others have begun since, to see the fallacies in what the critics of The Harbinger have presented, and have begun to address these on Amazon.com, in Facebook, Twitter, their own websites, and other literary works on The Harbinger are beginning to appear, one of these my own, The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message, with a scheduled release date of October 1st, 2013, and another work by another author, James F. Fitzgerald, who has written The 9/11 Prophecy, published by WND with an earlier scheduled release date of August 30th, 2013. There is also the book titled The Year of the Lord’s Favor by Darren Hibbs, in which he recounts a prophetic dream had two days before the towers fell, and goes on to share another message of encouragement for America if we but listen and repent, although these two other works do not directly address the critics of The Harbinger as my work does.
Even here, as much as we try to directly address the critics’ contentions, specifically those of David James, since he is writing here as their spokesperson (David James uses the first person plural “we” to denote himself and other critics of The Harbinger); the volume of information necessary to effectively address these contentions biblically requires a book of its own, and this is where The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message plays a vital and important role, but does it without the vitriol and ad hominem attacks and epithets used by The Harbinger’s critics.
It refreshing to see that God is raising up His people to meet the critics of The Harbinger and address their contentions biblically, because it must be vetted. Paul in the Holy Spirit in God’s Word exhorts us to examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. (1Thessalonians 5:21-22)
Additionally, we are opposed on biblical grounds to the methods of interpretation used by this small group of Cessationists. We are opposed by the flawed conclusions they’ve reached, and in this series show point by point where their views diverge from that of the Scriptures, in some cases comparing what they write and what Scripture says side by side; we are opposed by the conclusions they’ve reached and explain what the narrative actually does say; we are opposed to the polemical public relations campaign mounted by this small group of men against Rabbi Cahn and his ministry and book, held until the present time over the last eighteen months; we are opposed by the methods used by this small group of men against other Christian Evangelical servants and ministers of Christ, calling them thoroughly unbiblical, and recommend those biblical methods that God’s Word prescribes, which we have cited elsewhere and I list in my upcoming book, The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message.
A quick word for a moment about this ongoing controversy is worth repeating here for anyone just joining us in this discussion. When I first heard about The Harbinger’s critics, it was from a fellow congregant at Beth Israel, who referred to me to an interview aired on Brannon Howse’s Worldview Weekend, in which he interviewed Jimmy DeYoung about Pastor and Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn’s New York Times bestseller, The Harbinger.
She was and continues to be a frequent listener to Howse’s program, and usually enjoys listening to it, but what she heard in this particular broadcast troubled her greatly. She provided me with the link to it, and I listened to it. What I heard was more than just troubling to me; it was disheartening and beyond contemptible. In this interview Jimmy DeYoung used every possible disparaging epithet against Jonathan Cahn that one can use when they want to thoroughly discredit and demean that person in public.
In this interview I heard the most horrendous accusations, mischaracterizations, outright lies, and calumnies against a man I’ve known for over ten years, and have served God under for almost as long in ministry, and whose teachings I am extremely well acquainted with, having attended Beth Israel Worship Center with my wife and family since 1998 when the ministry was at Lodi, NJ, and later in Wayne, NJ, at the Jerusalem Center, teaching at the Arise and Shine Academy.
In thirty-six years as a born again Christian Evangelical believer in God’s grace, I had never heard such vitriol come out of the mouth of one Christian leader towards another as I did in that interview. I was shocked and dismayed at the things I heard said about a man whom I have known, loved, admired, and respected since I first met him in 1998. Instantly I felt compelled to write the entire transcript of the interview and my response to it, which I sent to Howse, who never responded.
I went to Howse’s website, where there was (and continues to be) posted links to other articles critical of The Harbinger and Rabbi Cahn, and I began reading these. As I read each article against Jonathan Cahn’s book, with each article that I read, the criticisms became increasingly elaborate, increasingly egregious, more personal, and entirely unfounded and without any semblance to fact. One article called Jonathan a mystic while accusing him of being a Kabbalist, and dabbling in the Occult. Another article accused him of being a Free Mason, still another one accused him of Gnosticism.
It appeared that each article followed the lead of previous articles before it, but the one that began the entire row of misinformation about Jonathan Cahn and about his book, was David James. It was from this source that these articles got their impetus, so I began to correspond with him and posting replies and rebuttals to his charges on his website. Eventually, I was unable to post these because I had been blocked by him, and I then began posting them on my website The Pepster’s Post: A Voice in Cyberspace, where I’ve had quite a number of viewings since I became involved in this discussion.
At first, I was incensed by what he wrote, because having followed the teachings upon which The Harbinger is based – the sermons and messages that form part of the narrative through the years, and personally knowing what Jonathan believes and teaches – all mainline Evangelical Christian, but with the knowledge of traditional Judaism – I knew that not a single charge Mr. James had made had any basis in reality.
But having been engaged in this polemical exercise of one man’s against another, I have become more and more acquainted not only with The Harbinger and what it teaches, but also what it does not teach – which is what its critics write about. In a way, as I wrote in Part III of this ongoing series, I can thank David James for providing us with the material needed to address matters and issues that would not have been there if David James had not conjured them up from his mind when he read The Harbinger.
In a strange way, the criticisms of these people has served a purpose in that The Harbinger has now been verified and vetted fully. The critics of The Harbinger have given us an opportunity to expound and explain its message, beyond that what they’ve got to say has little value and only squelches the main focus and thrust of The Harbinger, which is to call God’s people and this nation to repent, return, and call upon the name of the Lord.
This has given me the opportunity to biblically address the more egregious entries made by The Harbinger’s critics while writing The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message that addresses both them and what The Harbinger does say about the events of 9/11 and Isaiah’s prophecy to ancient Israel. It is a sad thing to see one’s close friend and pastor being pilloried as he has, but it has accorded me the opportunity to be used of God to biblically address the lies, character assassinations, ad hominem jabs – you’ll see them below where he is accused of misleading Dr. Reagan – and other personal attacks against his person, teachings, and ministry; so that when all has been said and done, Jonathan Cahn, having been tried by the fire of criticism, will come shining as refined gold for Christ in God for His greater glory.
People love pillow prophets. They hate true prophets. Pillow prophets tell people what they want to hear. They cry, “Peace and safety!” when danger is imminent. True prophets warn of danger and cry for repentance.
v DAVID JAMES: Since the normal “pillow prophets” have said virtually nothing about The Harbinger, to whom, then, could Dr. Reagan be referring except the theologically conservative evangelical critics of the book?
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: Here we will address David James’ inferred contention that “Pillow Prophets” are not from theological conservatives, who like himself, espouse a Cessationist Theological outlook to prophecy, though as we shall see, this is not true. First, David James needs to be reminded that theological conservatives – those who believe in the inerrancy of Scripture – hail from both the Charismatics and Pentecostals camp as well as from the Cessationists camp. As for Dr. Reagan, he is referring to the critics of The Harbinger, who in the face of a prophetic warning in the last days to the United States and God’s people being given in The Harbinger; are like the “pillow prophets” of old who told the civil leaders of Judah not to listen to the voice of Jeremiah the prophet, who counseled the people to build houses and live in them in the land of the exile, and to pray for their Gentile rulers in Babylon for their welfare.(Jeremiah 29)
What’s more, when we read what David James calls “the normal pillow prophets,” it is obvious that as a Cessationist, he is referring to anyone who practices and uses the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit – born again Evangelical Christians, who having experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit – speak prophetically, some who use glossolalia (speaking in other languages, angelic languages , otherwise known as tongues) use the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit when the need and occasion calls for it; gifts of healing, word of knowledge, word of wisdom for proper private counseling, teaching, preaching, evangelism, pastoring, helps, and specifically refers to Pentecostals, Charismatics, and other Christian Evangelicals who believe and are filled in the Holy Spirit; Mr. James does this to set a dichotomy between these and “the theologically conservative evangelical” Christians, whom he describes as “critics of The Harbinger,” as though such a dichotomy existed, when it does not.
David James here attempts to project in to his readers’ minds his belief that the true “pillow prophets” hail solely and exclusively from Pentecostal/Charismatic circles, while according to his manner of expression and Cessationist Theology, he intimates that this group lacks theological conservatives, an incorrect premise.
Additionally, David James’ protestation above also serves to say that theological conservatives are wrongfully being called “pillow prophets,” when in fact only those who are critics of The Harbinger are the ones Dr. Reagan refers to as “pillow prophets,” and this is a small group of theological conservatives, and does not typify most theological conservatives, but the small group of Cessationist Evangelicals of which David James is one.
Another aspect of the manner in which Mr. James expresses himself here, is again an admission – though it is in the form of a protestation – that he and his colleagues and other critics of The Harbinger are the theologically conservative pillow prophets Dr. Reagan writes of here.
It escapes David James’ notice that his group is not typical of Evangelical Christians, but are a very small group within theologically conservative circles who are Cessationists. Most Cessationists are theological liberals who do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, the authority of the Bible as God’s Word, and even question the resurrection of Christ and other miracles of the Bible.
Theologically conservative Cessationists are the minority within the Cessationist camp, though they are great in numbers and increasing in our seminaries – perhaps another sign of the times we live in. And as we’ve seen previously, Cessationism as a theology originated not within normative Christianity, but within pagan circles outside of the Body of Christ, which at the end of the First Century of our common era, attempted to creep unnoticed and was opposed by every single one of the Apostles in their writings throughout the New Testament. Ruthven correctly observes the development of this aberrant teaching, describing it in this way in the Introduction to his seminal work:
“As certain emphases within doctrines such as Christology, the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of God and ecclesiology evolved far from those of the New Testament, the dependent understanding of the charismata and ‘miracle’ has become drastically distorted as well.”
(Jon Mark Ruthven, On the Cessation of the Charismata The Protestant Polemic on Post-Biblical Miracles, Revised and Expanded Edition, page 12, Word & Spirit Press, 2011)
The critics of The Harbinger, of which this small group of Cessationist belong, specifically David James’ group, are the few theological conservatives who are critics of The Harbinger. The Harbinger has gotten recognition from both theological conservatives within Pentecostal/Charismatic groups, as well as theologically conservative Non-Pentecostal and Non-Charismatic groups for its timely message.
David James tries to create a separation of Evangelicals that places conservative theologians in his camp and liberal theologians in The Harbinger’s camp. Such a dichotomy does not exist, but only in the mind of David James in his response here. In the Preface to his book, David James admits that The Harbinger’s supporters and critics do not exclusively come from one camp or the other, but that a large number of conservative theologians support The Harbinger, though he cleverly chooses not to include this admission here because it contradicts the dichotomy he’s attempting to infer exists in this response.
He writes:
“Interestingly, a surprising number of conservative evangelical voices have also enthusiastically embraced and promoted The Harbinger. I was not expecting to encounter such great differences between other conservative evangelicals and myself, since that very rarely if ever happens. In fact, prior to The Harbinger issue, I think we very likely would have all mutually supported one another’s views on the vast majority of theological and practical matters.”
(David James, The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? Preface on page 14. The Berean Call, 2012, Bend, Oregon)
Though he admits that “a surprising” – read – “very large” – number of conservative Evangelicals support The Harbinger – which he says surprises him; he tries to present his differing with them on this topic as though it were almost exclusively unique, by adding, “I was not expecting to encounter such great differences between other conservative evangelicals and myself, since that very rarely if ever happens. In fact, prior to The Harbinger issue, I think we very likely would have all mutually supported one another’s views on the vast majority of theological and practical matters.”
Yet even in writing this ostensibly to create the illusion that this is an aberration, he concedes that he has had other differences of opinion with his conservative Evangelical colleagues in the past. He is careful in his use of words here, for when he refers to his past differences with them, David James writes, since that very rarely if ever happens” and “I think we very likely would have all mutually supported one another’s views on the vast majority of theological and practical matters.” But, even here “very rarely” – even with the rejoining disclaimer – “if ever” and “vast majority” denotes the existence of those differences nevertheless no matter how it phrased. He can’t bring himself to say that he and they never disagree, because that would be lying, and he realizes that; so he chooses to minimize the differences using choice phraseology to mask as best as possible even the possibility of those differences. Of course, he has had differences, and he’s going to have difference.
No matter how much we agree upon, there exists differences of opinion between people, especially who Scripture is interpreted and applied amongst scholars and everyone else. There is room for that, but where there is no room for is where the most fundamental tenets of our faith is involved, and where differences of opinion turn into ugly ad hominem attacks about the other person, as it has happened regarding The Harbinger and its author, Jonathan Cahn. This is very serious and there is no room for it between legitimate Evangelicals.
David James still tries to blame The Harbinger and Jonathan Cahn for this difference of opinion, but he forgets that he was the first to exclusively commence writing publicly about it and publishing his own opinions presenting them as biblical truths rather than his own religious equivocations about another’s literacy piece of work. And rather than privately contact the author about his differences to work them out, he rushed to get his opinions published in book form, which commenced the controversy in the first place. The purpose and point behind all of this is that if he can convince people that only theological liberals support The Harbinger while theological conservatives do not, then he believes he has won half of his battle; but the reality does not fit his point of view, nor his efforts to change others.’
v DAVID JAMES: Comparing Jonathan Cahn to the biblical prophet Jeremiah, Dr. Reagan further writes:
In like manner, Jonathan Cahn has been the victim of irresponsible and vicious attacks. He has been accused of “parading as a prophet.” Others have branded him a “false prophet.” These charges are reckless, unwarranted and un-Christ-like.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: In order to discredit Dr. Reagan, David James appeals here to Cessationists like himself, like he does above where he appeals to “Evangelical conservatives” where he asking as he writes if Dr. Reagan may be referring to “…the theologically conservative evangelical critics of the book”, followed deftly by claiming that Jonathan Cahn is being compared to the prophet Jeremiah by Dr. Reagan. Well, this is interesting, because before I read Mr. James’ contention, the Lord led me to Jeremiah 28 and 29, and the description of it – which we’re about to examine below – is strikingly similar to our current situation. God has raised up within His church in our nation at this time, a group of men and women to be His watchmen to warn our nation of impending judgment, amongst them perhaps the most prominent at this hour – Jonathan Cahn – whom God has granted access even to the halls of congress itself, to our leaders that he may speak for the Lord prophetically; while a small group of men and women within the Body of Christ – today’s version of “the prophets who are in our midst in Babylon” – are preaching against the message based entirely on the premise of one man; David James and a few colleagues of his. Interesting dichotomy we have before us. Moreover, in Jeremiah’s day, the civil and religious leaders and false “pillow prophets” prophesied falsely that soon they would be rid of the hated Babylonian’s yoke (Jeremiah 28:1-4, 10-11), one of them – Hananiah – who took the yoke from Jeremiah’s neck and broke it, prophesying falsely that God would break the yoke of the king of Babylon over the people; died as Jeremiah prophesied about him seven months later that year, because Hananiah had “preached rebellion against the Lord.” (Jeremiah 28:12-17) and were telling the people not to listen to Jeremiah’s prophecies about settling the land where Nebuchadnezzar had exiled them. On the one hand, the false prophets were telling the people to prepare to be liberated, whereas God through Jeremiah was telling them to settle and raise families in the land of Babylon, for they would live there for the next seventy years. Today The Harbinger’s critics are telling God’s people to disregard The Harbinger’s prophetic message and to listen to them instead. The similarities are striking. Again, history repeats itself.
I repeat here what I’ve written previously; there is a clear difference in disagreeing with someone doctrinally without resorting to ad hominem attacks – as David James does here – and his colleagues do with every broadcast they air, every article they post on the Internet, and every book they publish against other Christian Evangelical – servants of God of God’s grace in Christ. These critics of The Harbinger – “do not seem to know how to respectfully disagree with their brethren and this is what needs correction,”’ I would add to this, “and so does their theology.” Cessationism is a blanket denial of the work the Holy Spirit is doing at a period in history between the Ascension and return of Christ – a period of time characterized biblically as one in which the Spirit falls on all flesh (Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:1-47) and is given without measure (John 3:34) – and continues until the day of Christ’s return (Revelations 11:3). People were born again and filled with the Holy Spirit then, just as people are born again and filled with the Holy Spirit now. This was, is, and will be occurring until Christ returns. There is no Scripture that says the work of the Holy Spirit has ended in any way. There are doctrines that teach this, but not God’s Word, and these doctrines began after the Apostolic Age, during the rise of Rabbinical Judaism and at the time of the Pre-Nicene Church Fathers, late in the first century and early in the second. See Jon Mark Ruthven, On the Cessation of the Charismata the Protestant Polemics On Post-Biblical Miracles, Updated and Expanded Edition, pages 13-16, Word and Spirit Press, 1993, 2011)
But The Harbinger’s critics say that we ought not to listen to Jonathan Cahn and others like him who are calling God’s people to pray for the United States, and that we ought not to encourage others to pray to God for this nation, because these critics claim that God will not listen to these prayers, because – as David James and the critics of The Harbinger claim, God hasn’t spoken, therefore He will not listen, according to their logic. Now, they may and in fact will, claim that this is not what they are saying, and even go as far (and David James has already) to say that they agree that America needs to repent, and therefore they agree with The Harbinger’s call to repent. But where they disagree is that The Harbinger uses fiction and someone being called “the prophet” to express this call to repentance. Even though Jesus used parables, and there are parables and metaphors throughout the Bible, these people object to their use, and as Cessationists, object to the use of someone called “the prophet.” They don’t accept the word of a fictional prophet in the story, and therefore, they reject the entire book outright because of this. It may not be the same argument, or the same logic that led the leaders of Judah astray to ignore Jeremiah’s letter to them, but the final results are the same. The message is willfully ignored. History repeats itself, just as it has with Isaiah 9:10, now with Jeremiah chapters 28 and 29. Read the story, and see history repeat itself – while God’s servants are calling for prayer and a return to God to the nation and its leaders, and for us to pray for our leaders in the land of many exiles (the United States); The Harbinger’s critics are telling the people to disregard this counsel, and that God is not speaking in it. But what does it say in the Book of Jeremiah the prophet? Let us go to the Scriptures, where we find our answer:
Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. (This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.
“For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’
“Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon’— for thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile—thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and a horror and a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, because they have not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord. You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsely in My name, ‘Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes. Because of them a curse will be used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, because they have acted foolishly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who knows and am a witness,” declares the Lord.’”
To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, “The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the overseer in the house of the Lord over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and in the iron collar, now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who prophesies to you? For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘The exile will be long; build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their produce.’”’”
Zephaniah the priest read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet. Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying, “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has made you trust in a lie,” therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants; he will not have anyone living among this people, and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has preached rebellion against the Lord.”’”
(Jeremiah 29)
Jim Fitzgerald, author of The 9/11 Prophecy, who understands fully the implications of the double fulfillment of prophecy, its ramifications for America; makes the following observation regarding the passage’s historical and prophetic significance and how these play into The Nine Harbingers that have manifested themselves, and what they mean to US:
I give this background about Isaiah 9:10 because it is supremely relevant to our situation and to the end times, as I will show. In the case of Northern Israel, Isaiah had given prior warning of God’s impending judgment (Isaiah 9:8). They didn’t listen, but responded with pride and arrogance that they would rebuild bigger and better than ever (Isaiah 9:10). The consequence of their lack of repentance before God was that the Northern Kingdom was soon conquered and entirely broken by the Assyrian army. It ended the Northern Kingdom in history. As Cahn has pointed out, America has been following their pattern to the letter
The more faithful southern kingdom of Judah, however, managed to hang on, despite various depredations by the kings of Assyria. Finally, some 34-39 years after Isaiah’s initial prophecy of warning to the Northern Kingdom, it looked like even Judah in the south would succumb to the Assyrians. In 701 B.C., King Sennacherib came knocking on the doors of Jerusalem with threats and a huge army. But King Hezekiah of Judah prayed and Isaiah prophesied and the Assyrians were utterly wiped out in one of the Bible’s most significant miracles. In a single night, the destroying angel of God wiped out 185,000 of their finest warriors in a stroke!
The point of all this background is that this incredible deliverance of Jerusalem in 701 from King Sennacherib is also meant to foreshadow the deliverance of the Jews in Jerusalem at the glorious Second Coming of Christ. Scripture teaches that Jesus will deliver the Jews from the threat of the antichrist and his vast armies during the battle of Armageddon in the same miraculous way that the angel delivered Jerusalem from the Assyrians. For this reason, the Isaiah 9:10 passage in its larger context has a deliberate, implicit connection to the end times that is totally relevant to us, and especially when you consider that all the events there – from the Assyrians’ first incursion into the Northern Kingdom to the future destruction of the Assyrian army – took place within the span of a single generation, from start to finish. As the Bible says, this was written for our instruction.
‘“George Washington gave a prophetic warning on his first day as President, saying that if America ever turns away from God and the ways of righteousness, blessings will be removed from the land,’ Cahn detailed. ‘We're actually seeing this warning come true,’ he continued, adding that after Washington made this proclamation, he went to pray and dedicate America to God at St. Paul's Chapel. At the time, New York was America's capital, and fascinatingly, the site of St. Paul's Chapel is at Ground Zero, and it was one of the only buildings to survive the Twin Towers attacks.
During 9-11, "we didn't realize the nation was drawn back...to the place of consecration, where America was dedicated to God. The same biblical principle," he (Jonathan Cahn) commented. There was also hidden scripture at Ground Zero-- a Bible that was blown apart, with only one page left was subsequently captured by a photographer. The photographer was surprised to see the phrase ‘come let us build for ourselves a tower’ on the page, which relates to the Tower of Babel, and Isaiah 9:10,” Cahn remarked.
The critics of The Harbinger – “the prophets who are in our midst in Babylon” – have preached rebellion against the Lord, because they have spoken against one of His servants and against many others for warning the people of this nation – to pray for this land and its leaders and to call everyone to repentance (See also Romans 13:1-7), because the signs of the judgment have indeed come upon this land (the Harbingers), and judgment will befall it if we do not take heed now, and pray to God for it and for its leaders, and for ourselves, and each other. As Christ’s servants and children of God, we are in this together, we cannot be in this apart and against each other, as these people have done for too long against God’s watchmen and messengers. I mean what else can God’s people do, but call everyone to repentance and warn the nation of impending judgment!? What else should God’s people do under these circumstances!?
The Harbinger’s critics are “the Pillow Prophets” Dr. Reagan refers to in his article, because they have counseled God’s people not to listen to God’s servants who agree with the warning of The Harbinger, and have called them false, when it is The Harbinger’s critics who are telling the people not to listen to God’s warning and call to repentance in this book, because they have read falsehoods into this book, when there are none.
When the clear signs of God’s judgment have fallen upon the land, as they did in ancient Israel and then in ancient Judah; and God has stirred the spirit of His servants to sound the alarm to modern America and warn God’s people of impending judgment if they do not turn; and some among US are saying not to listen to these warnings; that they’re false, that they’re not true; then rebellion is being preached by these critics against the Lord and His servants who stand as watchmen over the nation and over God’s people; for the Lord has indeed stirred the spirit of His servants to warn His people of coming danger and the need for repentance. It is very much as it was in the days of Jeremiah, when some preached against Jeremiah’s message. History repeats itself, and so it has in modern day America, and amongst God’s people here, just as it was then in ancient Ephraim and later, ancient Judah.
I respectfully admonish Mr. James go read Dr. Michael Rydelnik and learn how to differ without being personal. In his work, The Messianic Hope, Is the Hebrew Bible Messianic?, Dr. Rydelnik differs with many of his colleagues and former professors regarding some of the most important Messianic prophecies in the Hebrew Bible and their interpretation. And yet, he has been able to write a book that differs with some of them, in some cases entirely, regarding how some Messianic prophecies ought to be interpreted and applied, without attacking their faith, their work, their calling and careers. He has separated the personal affront while Mr. James – as we shall see – has hurled it against Jonathan Cahn by calling him all manner of discrediting epithets that only serve to discredit and malign the other party.
Dr. Rydelnik throughout his book is able to differ over direct interpretation of biblical texts that deal with Messianic Prophecy while remaining scholarly and civil, exhibiting a Christian temperament. He is able to posit a theological difference of opinion and express it as that, while using proper biblical hermeneutics in support of his thesis in bringing his point to bear against those who disagree with him without becoming personal, or polemical. Everyone can learn from him and from others like him, like Dr. Michael Brown – men of God who often differ with some of their brethren without resorting to ad hominem attacks and personal polemics.
Yes, it is irresponsible the manner in which The Harbinger’s critics have engaged in this controversy for months, and have perpetuated it to this day. David James’ own words and public statements speak volumes, and indict him in this. This is why, though he does not admit it, neither he or his colleagues, perceive any wrongdoing on their part, though David James recognizes enough in Dr. Reagan’s writings to address it directly as though Dr. Reagan had written to him about his own activities. Again, this is an admission of guilt and is a sign of self-incrimination in being involved with others in a eighteen month—long polemical public relations campaign mounted against another Christian Evangelical minister and his work. This indicates that there is something more sinister and more ominous at play here; something that is spiritual in nature, and it has impaired their ability to realize just how serious this is. And it is very serious. At no other time in my memory have I ever witnessed a group of men mount a polemical public relations campaign covered over several months beyond a year against another legitimate Christian minister within Evangelical Christianity; within the Body of Christ.
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