This is Part Nine in our series in response to David James reply to Dr. David R. Reagan. Part Eight was going to be the last entry in this series, but because of the sheer volume of the material covered, I had to break it down even further. In this series, I am biblically addressing every one of David James’ contentions in his reply to Dr. David R. Reagan’s timely article defending The Harbinger and its author, Pastor and Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn from its critics.
I have also written a book, The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message, released October 1st, that addresses more than this series here has, and puts into proper perspective the possible biblical role of America as the prophetic clock begins to wind down on the Times of the Gentiles, the Tribulation Period and the return of the Messiah to ransom and deliver His people – Israel from its enemies.
We are living in most momentous times. We are seeing atmospheric phenomenon that only appears at specific periods thousands of years apart from one another; we are witnessing the economic collapse of the Gentile nations, specific fulfillments of things which the Lord Jesus warned us to look for as signs of His impending return. The Harbinger identifies some of these as the economic collapse that occurred on September 29th, 2001 and September 29th, 2008 that triggered the Great Recession – the biblical Shemitah – imposed on a nation in the throes of God’s judgment; as the economies of the United States and the Western Powers collapsed into depression; the Middle East getting white hot with Islamic extremism, and our own government infiltrated at the highest levels with Islamists who now are one of the most frequent guests of this White House, as they are courted by him, while he seeks their counsel, and implements their recommendations, with disastrous effects of which we are now witnessing across the Middle East and North Africa. Not good for our ally Israel, who is surrounded by all of this demonic Islamic madness.
Along with these signs of our times, we have and will continue to witness the continued pattern of prophetic warning of judgment by God on this nation, as it continues to spiral out of control further and further away from its Judeo-Christian biblical moorings, as its leaders pass legislation implementing public policies that twist the meaning of what is good and acceptable and bad and unacceptable. We are reminded of the Scripture that says, Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)
Into this mix have come the Nine Harbingers. Nine prophetic warnings given to US by God over a period now of twelve years, which by and large our national civil and religious leaders and the American people have all but ignored. This is their story. The church has not been immune. Into the mix have come various points of view from diverse sources such as the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation), Dominionism, and with it the Post-Modern Emergent Church, and a new phenomenon called Chrislam – an amalgamation of Islam with Christianity. We’ve the extremes of Liberal Christianity as it continues to attack our most cherished beliefs and even the Scriptures, and on the other extreme side of the theological spectrum, Cessationism and its denial of the vital sign gifts of the Holy Spirit and denial even of miracles, going as far now as accusing Pentecostals and Charismatics of ascribing to the Holy Spirit works of Satan – an astonishing accusation to hurl at anyone, let alone a fellow believer. Into this mix are the critics of The Harbinger, and this is what we address here, as we continue this series.
The purpose for all of this is to set the record straight; to answer biblically all of the charges and accusations made by critics of The Harbinger, and to correct the mischaracterizations and misrepresentations made by critics of The Harbinger and show from the evidence provided that not a single charge made by its critics has any foundation in the facts, and therefore all of the charges made against The Harbinger are groundless and a lie.
THE PEPSTER
v DAVID JAMES: This very unfortunate use of the McCarthy illustration compels me to ask several questions:
1.Hasn’t Dr. Reagan just engaged in the very thing that he appears to decry?
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: NO. He has not. David James needs to read his own writing, and get the blinders off his eyes, and see for himself that it is he who uses inflammatory rhetoric, not Dr. Reagan. Dr. Reagan is writing about it, bringing attention to it, because it is so obvious. David James is over the top here, as he is in all of this writings. His behavior in all of this is one of self-justification, without the least bit of contrition for even the slightest possibility that what he has done for a period of over a year and a half is nothing but the public slander and libel of a brother in Christ done in the name of so-called “discernment” which is nothing short of religious ambulance chasing and gossip mongering against another whom he disagrees with. I purposely use the word libel to describe this slander, because when a person is libeled, what is being said about that person is factually and wholly untrue. This series, and my new book The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message present cold hard evidence in a biblical manner that everything that has been said by Mr. James and company are nothing but complete untruths, therefore he and they and other critics of The Harbinger have conducted libel when slandering Jonathan Cahn for almost nineteen months. The methods used by David James and his colleagues, and all critics of The Harbinger are unbiblical and contemptible. There is no place in the Holy Bible where one Christian is told to put another Christian to public reproach over a doctrinal disagreement he has with that person. Nowhere. But this is precisely what David James, and his colleagues have done, and they have inspired others who read their materials to do the same. This is how they make their living. Additionally, in making Jonathan Cahn and The Harbinger their target, they have encouraged others who have never met the man – just as they haven’t; never heard a single sermon he’s given, never read a piece of literature from his ministry, and have never attended a single service – to pass judgment on him and call him every epithet possible to discredit him in the eyes of the Christian Evangelical Community.
This is what Dr. Reagan and I, and so many others are calling out, because it is nothing but a contemptible sin, and it must be repented of, and restitution made by way of a public apology, and a retraction of every accusation made. Unless these people do that, they will most assuredly bear their own guilt in this matter, and will have to answer to God for them. Their ministries will suffer as a result. We bring it out here so they would be spared this. Where and in what way can David James imply as he does above, that Dr. David Reagan has ever directly used anything close to the rhetoric and religious epithets he uses against Jonathan Cahn here, on his website, and in his book, as well as the other critics of The Harbinger?
And how can he project his own guilt of what he and his colleagues have done, and do here in this series – the evidence is in his own hand in what he writes – to impute guilt on Dr. Reagan for claiming that by defending Jonathan Cahn and his book The Harbinger, he is guilty of anything. He’s defending someone being slandered, being libeled, someone who is being openly persecuted – there is no guilt in that, but that is what we are supposed to do when we see someone being wrongfully accused. Doesn’t the Scripture make it clear when it says:
Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
(Proverbs 31:9)
Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.
(Isaiah 1:17)
He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8)
Moses, when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. (Acts 7:24) Now I am not advocating violence here, of course, but that when we see a brother wrongfully charged, we have a moral and biblical responsibility to defend that brother, even give our lives for him if necessary, just as we Christ surrendered His life for our sakes, having been our finest example. Jonathan Cahn has been wrongfully charged by these men, and they know it. The evidence is incontrovertible. There are several witnesses that have presented directly to them over the same period of time this evidence, addressing every single point David James has made in his book which he draws upon here in his reply to Dr. Reagan, including the false charges made by other critics of The Harbinger that all point to Rabbi Cahn’s complete innocence – Jonathan Cahn has done nothing to merit this scorn and vitriol by these people – by providing incontrovertible proofs that what has been said and written about him has been nothing but lies, and mischaracterizations based upon the misreading and misapplication of his teachings and his book by David James who is central to this entire controversy, because others have drawn from him the false narrative and false theology and have used applied it to attack without having first thoroughly investigated for themselves the facts about what they were writing.
v DAVID JAMES: 2. Is Dr. Reagan actually suggesting that, like McCarthy, any critics of The Harbinger are “shallow, irresponsible, arrogant power-seekers who [are] willing to destroy other people in order to gain the limelight?” Doesn’t this radically cross the line into judging motives and intents of the heart? I am not aware of anyone who has done this with Jonathan Cahn, yet it is precisely this sort of personal attack that has characterized much of what has been said about those with concerns about The Harbinger.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: In the face of many people’s rebukes and reproves, and after an eighteen month long campaign of continuous personal attacks, stalking Jonathan Cahn’s moves and statements in order to find anything to discredit him, and the signs that it is your intention to publicize as much as possible anything that will promote your book and the various broadcasts you and your colleagues have leveled against Rabbi Cahn, it is evident to any rational and spiritually discerning person that there is something you and they seek, and it’s not just the fall of Jonathan Cahn, although this in itself is egregious and contemptible. David James here puts words into Dr. Reagan’s mouth, a very underhanded method of discourse to use. David James shamelessly accuses Dr. Reagan of doing something he has not done by putting into his mouth words of David James’ own choosing, thereby projecting his own guilt on to Dr. Reagan – a very personal jab aimed directly at Dr. Reagan, bringing into question his integrity for “crossing the line into judging motives and intents of the heart.” David does not succeed, because in reading this direct attack, it is obvious that another Logical Fallacy has been used to project and impute guilt upon another. Logical Fallacy: “Joseph McCarthy was a shallow, irresponsible, arrogant power-seeker who was willing to destroy other people in order to gain the limelight.” Premise: “Dr. David Reagan claims the critics of The Harbinger are shallow, irresponsible, arrogant power-seekers who are willing to destroy other people in order to gain the limelight.” Conclusion: “Dr. Reagan is guilty of being a shallow, irresponsible, arrogant power-seeker who is willing to destroy other people in order to gain the limelight himself because he has crossed the line.” A second Logical Fallacy is: “Dr. Reagan [is] actually suggesting that, like McCarthy, any critics of The Harbinger are “shallow, irresponsible, arrogant power-seekers who [are] willing to destroy other people in order to gain the limelight.” Premise, “Therefore he is crossing the line into judging motives and intents of the heart.” Conclusion: “Dr. Reagan just engaged in the very thing that he appears to decry.” Dr. Reagan does not see himself as these men do – as we pointed out in nine examples – but calls out a disservice when he sees one, and defends the innocent when guilt is bring impressed upon him. There is no wrong in this, in fact it is a biblical injunction, for the Scripture commands us:
Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
Defend the orphan,
Plead for the widow.
(Isaiah 1:17)
“Cry loudly, do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their transgression
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
“Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,
As a nation that has done righteousness
And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for just decisions,
They delight in the nearness of God.
‘Why have we fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’
Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire,
And drive hard all your workers.
“Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.
“Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?
“Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
“Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
“Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
“And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
“Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
(Isaiah 58:1-12)
So why is David James attributing to Dr. Reagan motives that Dr. Reagan does not possess? Because this is what David James does repeatedly when faced with criticisms regarding the methods he uses himself. He projects his own guilt upon those who bring into question his methods and choice of words. No one, least of all Dr. Reagan, is bringing into question David James’ integrity or his motives; but this is precisely what he is being accused of here by David James. And in so doing, it is David James who brings into question Dr. Reagan’s integrity by projecting upon him a guilt he does not possess. It is David James who has crossed the line. And he does so here. Again, this does not add anything to the discussion, and personalizes it by someone (David James) who claims he works hard at not being personal. Why does he do this over and over again? Only Mr. James can answer that question in his heart, and it is there where God looks. He will have to answer to Him.
What’s more, why would someone continue a year and half long polemical public relations campaign to defame a brother in Christ when it has been shown him and his colleagues that what he and his colleagues have been arguing is nothing but fallacious sophistry? Only David James can answer that question.
v DAVID JAMES: 3.What are some examples of specific unwarranted vicious attacks upon Jonathan Cahn, the man?
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: You want the specific examples? Here they are. You can’t get more personal than this. David James’ summary of objections are followed by my retort. One doesn’t have to go very far. I quote:
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v DAVID JAMES: The first major problem is that it is not primarily a novel. At the beginning of the book, the author’s note is that it is all real – meaning that the fiction is just a framework for telling the reader what he believes are facts. This is demonstrated by the companion DVD, “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment” – which is the same content minus the fictional framework.
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THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: I will again explain that The Harbinger presents events that have occurred and are fully documented and are a matter of public record; in the form of three fictitious characters – Nouriel Kaplan, the prophet, and Anna Goren in the form of a novel, a fictitious narrative that recounts actual events that have occurred here in America. Nouriel Kaplan retells his encounters with someone called “the prophet” who meets him at various locations to explain the prophetic significance of various occurrences that in recent years have manifested themselves in modern America but that form a biblical template of warnings of impending judgment that happened in ancient Israel. The character of Nouriel Kaplan relates to Anna Goren his encounters with this man he calls “the prophet,” and this is the narrative that is used to present The Nine Harbingers and the Isaiah 9:10 Judgment, and all of the other elements that have manifested in precise detail and order that are now matters of public record. Every one of these occurred precisely as The Harbinger describes them, and they happened long before Jonathan Cahn wrote about them or even knew they existed.
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v DAVID JAMES: The second major problem is that his biblical problems are not just minor details or even more significant doctrinal differences as exist between denominations – it is a wholesale mishandling of the Word of God at multiple points.
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THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: This is a loaded statement with a claim that anyone can make. It doesn’t prove a thing or make the point. It is simply a direct assault made specifically to engender a reaction from those who read it to accept it at face value and go on. There is no evidence whatsoever that this has any basis in fact. Why does David James posit it here? Specifically to make the charge and go on. This is a very serious charge, but David James has the moral responsibility to present the evidence to support the charge, otherwise he shouldn’t make it. That he makes it, and goes on, is another sign of one who is quick to speak, quick to judge, and quick to indict without first discussing a matter thoroughly. This is what the Scripture warns concerning this:
Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood,
And sin as if with cart ropes;
Who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;
And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near
And come to pass, that we may know it!”
(Isaiah 5:18-19)
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v DAVID JAMES: The third major problem is that there is a serious misrepresentation of historical facts and trying to create parallels between 8th century BC Israel and America.
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THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: No there isn’t. The Harbinger presents the historical context of Isaiah 9:8-21 with special emphasis on verse 10, because that is the vow that the leaders of ancient Israel uttered in defiance and arrogance of heart, intending to keep God out of their rebuilding and replanting efforts for which the rest of chapter applies. The Harbinger explains this in vivid detail. Why question it here? Again, to present the illusion that it does not by simply claiming that it doesn’t. David James is the first one who brings up the following in his book. I quote:
“Perhaps the best illustration of what is happening is an optical illusion. Optical illusions cause people to think they are seeing something that doesn’t correspond to reality – and such illusions can be very convincing. Straight lines appear to be curved, stationary objects appear to rotate, circles appear to be spirals, objects appear to be larger than they are, and so on.
“Optical illusions are created by manipulating the visual context to influence the way things are perceived. With the addition of certain elements, reality can be hidden, obscured, or distorted. The illusion remains convincing until the misleading elements are removed or hidden themselves. Until this is done, it can be difficult to convince people that they are not seeing what they think they are.”
(David James, The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction?, Preface, page 14 bottom 15 top. The Berean Call, 2012, Bend, Oregon)
Well David James has proven very adept at selectively strip mining the various elements presented in the narrative of The Harbinger in order to redefine their meaning in an entirely different context in order to contradict and oppose the narrative according to what he believes it is trying to say as he reads things into it. This is how people who’ve never met Jonathan Cahn, never heard one of his teachings, have never attended a single service, or even read The Harbinger for themselves read Mr. James’ misleading polemic and believed his sophistry, then went on to write against The Harbinger without really knowing a thing about it. David James’ description of an optical illusion fits what he has written perfectly. It is he who has presented an optical illusion of his own intellect and imagination and has presented it as truth, when in fact it is nothing but pure sophistry.
The Harbinger without question presents events and the places and people tied to these that have transpired over a period of ten years, all of which can be easily verified by consulting the public records of these, which The Harbinger provides, as well as the biblical pattern of warning and judgment, and the call to repentance. There is no optical illusion in this, but stark reality and the anticipation of eminent judgment. Even David James concedes the following:
“I fully understand and very much appreciate the overall message of The Harbinger, which is that America is on a path of destruction unless there is widespread repentance and a radical turn to God. The United States may very well already be under God’s judgment – and if not, such a judgment may not be far away. The situation is serious, and such warning must be given with passion and clarity.”
(ibid, page 15 bottom)
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v DAVID JAMES: There are other problems, as well – but when there’s more bones than meat, there’s a serious problem.
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THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: Again, this adds nothing to the discussion, but brings a Logical Fallacy in order to posit a claim for which there is no evidence to support it. David James just puts it out there, and expects people to accept it, and go on.
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v DAVID JAMES: Here’s the thing we need to keep in mind concerning Christian fiction. It is either fictional theology (which is heresy) or theological fiction – meaning that fiction is simply being used as a vehicle to teach theology – and in your case, you will be teaching a Christian worldview, which is simply a theological grid through which we understand life / reality.
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THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: Here David James eschews all use of fiction to teach God’s Word and forgets that the Bible has many parables, metaphors, types, symbols, and teachings that serve to illustrate and convey God’s eternal truth. He forgets that Christ used parables to teach from God’s Word. This is the problem of human error; it has a tendency to paint everything with a very broad brush, throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. How can any teacher of God’s Word “worth his salt” ever make a statement like this, while claiming to support the integrity of the Scriptures? Christ taught parables – fictional stories that contain valuable biblical lessons. Fiction can be a useful tool to teach God’s truth when done properly. In spite of Mr. James’ contentions, The Harbinger does this without any equivocation. It recounts events that took place for which there is ample public records available to corroborate the events and how they happened, and it explains concisely in plain English the historical occurrences that led to the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and related events, and how the same pattern of warning and judgment have now come upon America. This is no work of prophecy, or of eschatology, or of exegesis, or even of revelation with regards to the prophetic books of the Bible. It is an account of events and how these events - the Nine Harbingers, the Isaiah 9:10 Second Shaking, the Shemitah, etc. – indicate that America is indeed experiencing a biblical pattern of warnings and judgment that ancient Israel and many ancient civilizations and modern ones have experienced in history. It is told inside the narrative of a novel. David James has written a needless polemic, because the book he criticizes needlessly is simply a warning to this nation and a call to repentance. His own strong Cessationist tendencies has misled him to read into it a narrative that it does not contain.
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v DAVID JAMES: Although fiction might serve as a popular genre for communicating to a broad audience, if we’re communicating truth in fictional form (as Jesus did with parables) we are obligated before the Lord to be accurate. The story can be anything we choose, but the theological truth we communicate must be accurate – and it is no different than preaching a sermon and using an illustration to make our theological point.
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THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: The Harbinger is accurate in how it tells the story of the occurrences that have transpired that indicate that America is undergoing a pattern of God’s repeated biblical warning before He judges a nation. The purpose of The Harbinger is to warn the nation of this, and to call it and God’s people to repentance, as it calls upon the name of Jesus the Messiah for personal salvation and deliverance from the wrath that can and will befall this land, its people, and this nation if it does not change trajectory from its current path. This is part of the Great Commission.
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v DAVID JAMES: So, if we put something out there with the purpose of communicating a Christian worldview, we can’t hide behind the idea that “it’s just fiction.”
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THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: Again, The Harbinger warns of a biblical pattern of God’s judgment that is repeating itself in America, and a call to repentance, in order to know God and avert disaster. To oppose this is foolish. The Harbinger uses fiction to tell this story and give this warning.
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v DAVID JAMES: “…he (Jonathan Cahn) misapplies Isaiah 9:10, claims there is an Isaiah 9:10 Effect, argues that America is experiencing a Sh’mitah-type judgment from God, creates an illusion that there have been parallel harbingers in ancient Israel and America, issues such a generic call to repentance and so poorly communicates the gospel?”
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THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: We have already covered this, the evidence has been presented. The reader is referred to previous reports and to my new book, The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message where we investigate this thoroughly, and rebut the contentions made above by Mr. James.
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v DAVID JAMES: “…message when it was based almost entirely on a book that is built on a mishandling of Scripture and the misrepresentation of historical events? “
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THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: Absolutely false and incorrect charges. There is no evidence to support this, and David James simply hurls the charge, hoping that somehow it will stick, because he’s counting on human nature to play itself out. He figures that a good many people are too lazy to pick up a Bible and read it for themselves, or to even pick up a copy of The Harbinger or a copy of my book, The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message where we address these contentions and many more in a readable narrative that is both biblically accurate and correct in its description of what The Harbinger does say.
v DAVID JAMES: 4.Exactly where are we wrong in the details of our analysis of The Harbinger?
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: For the better part of a year, I have been covering this in detail on my website, The Pepster’s Post: A Voice in Cyberspace, and months before that and since, Connie/Faith has been covering it also from a different perspective on her website, Faith’s Corner, as well as Ladybug in her Amazon.com reviews of David James’ book. The problem has been that David James is not listening. It isn’t that we have not engaged him, because obviously he protests how some of us have addressed him; the problem is that he is simply not listening to us. My upcoming book, The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message goes into the details, as we do here, and in our previous reports in this series. I suggest David James read it and take what’s in it to heart. He’s just posing this question in order to take control of the argument. He is aware that few will take the time to write a list of phrases, accusations, intimations, charges, and epithets used by Mr. James and his colleagues, and other critics of The Harbinger, to post them here in order. He also knows that it would take a book to answer his contentions; and I have produced such a book, The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message, though it is not primarily about his book, but about what The Harbinger does teach, though it does address many of The Harbinger’s critics, including some of David James. I have written it, because his writing about it is the greatest misrepresentation of another’s work I have ever seen in literature. THIS IS NOT HYPERBOLE; THERE IS NOTHING THAT DAVID JAMES WRITES IN HIS BOOK THAT MAKES ME THINK HE READ THE HARBINGER. IF HOWEVER, HE OR ANYONE ELSE WERE TO SAY THAT HE HAS READ INTO THE HARBINGER AND WROTE WHAT HE READ INTO ITS NARRATIVE, THEN I WOULD SAY, CORRECT. DAVID JAMES HAS READ INTO THE HARBINGER AND REPLACED ITS NARRATIVE WITH MEANINGS OF THINGS THAT THE HARBINGER DOES NOT SAY OR SUPPORT. AGAIN, AFTER READING THE HARBINGER AND DAVID JAMES’ BOOK, I MUST ASK WHETHER DAVID JAMES READ THE SAME BOOK AS I AND MANY OTHERS DID, BECAUSE WHAT HE WRITES IS NOT WHAT THE HARBINGER SAYS AT ALL. IT IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT BOOK.
v DAVID JAMES: 5.Who specifically has called Jonathan Cahn an “apostate”? Is it one person? Many? Any?
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: Jimmy DeYoung was interviewed by Brannon Howse, where he uses inflammatory language against Jonathan Cahn and against The Harbinger without either gentlemen having read his book, just on what you told them. He went beyond just calling Jonathan Cahn an “apostate.” I suggest that David James review the interview for himself so he can verify what was said, and what Jimmy DeYoung and others have been saying against Jonathan Cahn. But it is interesting that David James brings this word up, because nobody else has; which is a ploy to either infer that he does consider Jonathan Cahn a heretic, and is inferring even through his denial of it that he personally believes him to be a heretic; or he presents the word here in order to deflect attention from himself by using a word that no one that I know has accused Jonathan Cahn of being, and in so doing; exonerates himself in the eyes of those who read it, by claiming subliminally, “See, I have never called Jonathan Cahn a heretic, so why accuse me of saying that I ever said this, because I have not.” If he is not calling Jonathan Cahn a heretic, then why make the following statements (in POINT 6 below) regarding his book? And why bring up the epithet of “apostate” by positing the question that David James knows serves only to imbed in the minds of his readers the remote possibility that he might be one? It serves no purpose other than to do this precise thing. No one has brought this up, only David James has. The articles and book David James has written against The Harbinger and Jonathan Cahn, and the interviews he’s given on radio, have convinced a group of other people who have read his book and articles, and have heard his interviews on radio, but who have not read The Harbinger, that Jonathan Cahn is a false teacher and therefore someone on the order of an heretical teacher and therefore an apostate from the faith, because in his opinion his teachings have strayed from it. David James is a master craftsman with words, and he is very careful how to present what he writes, and here poses a question that is meant to promote the idea that Jonathan Cahn is an apostate, though he masterfully appears not to promote it, but actually does. It is subliminal, hiding right beneath the surface.
v DAVID JAMES: 6.Exactly what are the matters that “amount to really nothing” that we have challenged Cahn on? Does he mean the mishandling of Scripture, the misrepresentation of historical facts, and faulty conclusions based on those, along with a failure to communicate the gospel? Is he suggesting that these kinds of things “amount to really nothing?”
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: In thirty-seven years of walking in God’s grace in Christ, I have never encountered a Christian Evangelical criticize how another Christian Evangelical communicates the Gospel until I read David James’ unfortunate book, his and articles and interviews, followed by other critics of The Harbinger who have never read The Harbinger, but are following David James’ stead. But, here he repeats this act, which has no precedent, and which is totally out of character for a Christian to do to another Christian; for even Paul when writing about those who preach the Gospel out of envy, he even glorifies in that, because in the final analysis, the Gospel is being preached, and that it of paramount importance. (Philippians 1:15-18) David James should be rejoicing that the Gospel is being shared, instead of criticizing how it being done. David James uses unfortunate descriptions that have no basis in reality when writing as he does, making his personal observations very personal attacks on the methods employed by Jonathan Cahn in teaching, writing, and preaching God’s Word and biblical history. One cannot get more personal than that. His claims that Rabbi Cahn’s book and teachings are examples of “the mishandling of Scripture, the misrepresentation of historical facts, and faulty conclusions based on those, along with a failure to communicate the gospel” are personal observations which he expects the reader to take at face value as though it were ex cathedra proclamations of infallible proofs. They are not. They are personal observations using unfortunate ad hominem attacks and epithets such as those we see here and in his book, and other writings of his about The Harbinger and Jonathan Cahn. As a matter of fact, after the Gospel is presented and thoroughly discussed in the chapter entitled Things to Come and Eternity – from pages 216 to 237, there on page 254, there is even the following offer: ..."to find out more.......or for more about salvation or how to be part of God's work...write to: Hope of the World" etc. providing the reader with contact information for those who want it. First two chapters comprised of twenty-one pages of text, present a narrative where the two characters in the story, Nouriel Kaplan and the prophet discuss the plan of salvation and present it in a manner that is sensitive to Non-Christian – that is JEWISH readers – who might and in some cases, take great offense (unknowingly because of the great persecution done in the name of Christ at the hands of people calling themselves “Christians”) – where the conversation exchanged between these two Jewish men thoroughly examines the plan of salvation. Additionally, David James has issues with how it’s presented because his ignorance of Jewish audiences and their sensitivities and prejudices expresses itself as a blatant attack against how another servant of Christ presents the Gospel. He cannot be faulted for doing this, because he writes as one who does not know of these things, and the ignorance of them expresses itself in his writing. To him, the Gospel is not presented as he would like, but in fact it is presented accurately and with great sensitivity. This is another example where error presents itself as theological fact, and claimed to be biblical. The error in David James’ judgment and in others who follow his stead, like other critics of The Harbinger make, is ignorance of Jewish Culture sensitivities and feelings that have developed over almost two thousand years of persecution, pogroms, and inquisitions by so-called “Christians” against the Jewish people. I understand this aspect of the controversy because I have devoted thirty-three years of my life studying how when, why, and where Judaism and Christianity went their separate ways, and in the process, learned also some of my own ancestors’ plight in Catholic Spain during the Expulsion of all Jewish families from the Iberian Peninsula. The sufferings of the Jewish people at the hands of “Christianized Europe” has no equal in the history of nations. It is not a strange thing to see how some people can be insensitive about such things due to no fault of their own, and read into The Harbinger their own view points about how it presents the Gospel. This is why such points like this one must be clarified. We have covered this before in other parts of this series, and my book, The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message, covers it thoroughly. The Gospel is presented in an entire chapter devoted to it in The Harbinger, and as Chris Rosebrough himself has observed, one of the things that strikes me is that the Apostle Peter doesn’t give the exact same Gospel presentation in two – twice. Okay?” Rosebrough continues, “Paul’s presentation of the Gospel has marked differences in its approach as well. There’s certain things that are in common between them, and a lot of things that are very different. If they” (The Harbinger’s critics) “applied the same standards to the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter, would these men be able to be.. ah… charged with not… having a clear call to salvation?”
(Chris Rosebrough, Pirate Christian Radio/Fighting for the Faith, The Dark Side of Discernment, September 9th, 2013)
So why hold Jonathan Cahn or anyone else to standards that simply bring into question the way they share the Gospel? Why act as judge of how the Holy Spirit – who gives them utterance to speak boldly and bear witness of Christ, chooses to impart to them the manner God chooses for them to use when sharing it? One to talk about crossing the line? David James and his colleagues have crossed it here. Make no mistake about it.
v DAVID JAMES: Dr. Reagan quotes Grant Philips—and I don’t disagree with what he is saying in principle:
An Appeal for Sanity
Look folks, many of us need to . . . stop nitpicking everything the Lord is trying to tell us and just listen to what He is saying in whatever manner He chooses to say it. Even in my own experience of writing articles, every now and then, someone emails me who just wants to nit-pick at something I wrote while missing the message of the article. The phrase comes to mind, “They’re so heavenly minded, they’re no earthly good.” We need to humble our hearts and stop being so self-righteous.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: DR. REAGAN IS CORRECT. David James can only concede by “agreeing in principle.” This type of reply speaks volumes. I needs no comments. Let the reader judge for themselves. David James doesn’t know when to back down and step back. That’s all I say in this regard. But then, I am not as good a man as Mr. James claims to be. I’d rather be very candid and not feign it, but be real. Agree “in principle indeed.”
v DAVID JAMES: I have given a lot of thought to this and similar admonitions (which in some cases have included some of the nastiest communication I have ever witnessed from professing believers in Christ). Nonetheless, these criticisms have not fallen on deaf ears. This past year has been one of prayer, introspection, contemplation, Bible study, and much communication seeking wisdom from a multitude of counselors. Only a fool would take lightly the matter of challenging the #1 Christian book of the year.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: For someone who “this past year has been one of prayer, introspection, contemplation, Bible study, and much communication seeking wisdom from a multitude of counselors. Only a fool would take lightly the matter of challenging the #1 Christian book of the year,” Mr. James does not act as that person whom he writes about. There appears to be a strange difference between the man who confesses to “prayer, introspection, contemplation, Bible study, and much communication seeking wisdom from a multitude of counselors,” and the one who writes as he does here, on the Internet, and in his book, and responds to his critics both privately and in other venues. The two do not match; they do not add up, and there is a strange inconsistency in the man who feels these emotions and the one who makes excuses and justifies the public slander, libel, and mischaracterization of another over a period of a year and a half. This is an interesting personal confession of Mr. James which would have been believed had he not written this response to justify himself to someone who had not written personally about him. In fact David James is not mentioned at all in Dr. Reagan’s article. Had David James not written at all to respond to what Dr. Reagan had written, then his claim of “prayer, introspection, contemplation and Bible study, and communicating with a multitude of counselors” about his activities could be believed. No one is questioning whether he has done any or all of the above; it’s just curious that he should bring this up while writing to justify himself and his activities all this time. It must be pointed out that all of the above that Mr. James claims to have done during this time is worthless if the end result is his current state of mind, and the lack of a public apology to Jonathan Cahn and any and all others whom he has engaged wrongfully; the lack of a public confession of wrongful statements, and actions in taking part in such a horrendous enterprise as he and his colleagues have over this period of time, the lack of any sign of true repentance and contrition; all of these nullify his claims above, because they have not produced in him the humility or the contrition and sense of guilt that brings true repentance over a willful act against another. There is no grace in what he writes, no chance for the other party to account for himself. There is a consignment of condemnation as ___ fill in the blanks yourselves; Mr. James provides over a dozen epithets that can be used. Where is God’s grace in all of this? There is no grace, because it is the same behavior we see in people who condemn others without a chance for repentance. We – and I say we, because it is obvious I am not alone here – we are have been pleading with David James and his colleagues, as well as the camp followers of bloggers they have – to work towards reconciliation by first acknowledging that they have stepped over the line; they have imputed upon another attributes that do not exist, they have borne false witness against not just another, but a brother in the faith, they have given him little “equal time” – as one of them – Brannon Howse – requested with tongue firmly in cheek - they have encouraged others to do as they did and even cite their postings on their websites with links to them, and they continue to perpetuate outright lies and mischaracterizations of Jonathan Cahn by accusing him of teaching Supersessionism (Replacement Theology), Kabbalah, Occultism, Mormonism, British Israelism, Gnosticism, and all manner of disinformation and falsehoods that I personally know have absolutely no bearing in reality. I know Jonathan Cahn personally, I know what he believes, I know what he teaches, and I know what The Harbinger says; not one of the charges made against it by these people has any basis in truth or reality. Mr. James claims to have gotten counsel throughout this time. One has to question the type of counseling he received, because if he was contrite at all and as he claims, was in “prayer, introspection, contemplation, Bible study, and then sought counsel, and this is the fruit of that counsel, then what kind of counsel did he get!!!???? Who did he go to and what did they tell him. They certainly did not counsel him to at the very least stretch an olive branch across to Jonathan Cahn by making an apology to him personally and then in public, and to retract the myriad names he attributed to him and his teachings; the innuendos, the guilt by association (something they did to Christ – alarms should sound with this alone), and many other things that Mr. James has done and said throughout the course of over a year and a half. What kind of counsel did Mr. James receive when it did not produce in him the smallest desire to biblically resolve the matter with his brother whom he put to open reproach?
This is why I wrote the book, The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message, because the truth had to be told, and the matter laid to rest once and for all. A book is the best way to get the word out and answer with facts all of the charges made by Mr. James and company against Jonathan Cahn and his New York Times bestseller.
v DAVID JAMES: And one of these question that I have had to consider, as Pastor Philips points out, is whether or not we are “nit-picking.” But after carefully evaluating this for a long time, I still have to conclude that, no, we are not nit-picking.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: Not nit-picking is an understatement, and considering what David James writes, it is an outright oxymoron. Every point he makes is straining at gnats while he swallows camels. He deftly parses words, he reads things into what The Harbinger says, while The Harbinger’s critics call Jonathan Cahn a Kabbalist, and mystic, some even call him a Gnostic with Occult leanings. All of this is the fruit of what David James has written about Jonathan Cahn and his book, just as he does here – which I have placed a four diamond bullet next to as a marker. These are but a small sample, but they’re here. His own charges contradict his statements over and over and over again. The reader will also note that David James confesses here that he’s been “evaluating this for A LONG TIME.” Again, this is a self-incriminating confession in his own words that he has engaged in something for a protracted period of time, which is what Dr. Reagan and I here, and others; have been saying all along. These men, primarily under the influence of what David James initially wrote and now defends, launched and continue to this day, a month’s long protracted polemical public relations campaign against Jonathan Cahn and against his book, The Harbinger in order to discredit him, and his book without really working towards understanding fully what the book says, and whether or not what David James has written is nothing but his own contrivance and sophistry. The critics of The Harbinger have not done enough to resolve the matter. Instead, they wasted no time in commissioning David James to write against it, and rushed to publish his work. In the first months of the controversy, they interviewed Jonathan Cahn briefly, but the content of the interviews show that they had already been predisposed about the book and about the man, and the proof was that they used Rabbi Cahn’s statements in these interviews to criticize him. The interviews weren’t conducted to resolve the matter, or to try to understand the differences between what David James wrote and what The Harbinger said. These people since that time, have done absolutely nothing to improve the situation. Since then they have not met the man. They have not engaged with him in hours long conversation to resolve the matter. In fact, they have done absolutely nothing to reconcile or apologize for the epithets they’ve used on him. Even when Rabbi Cahn approached them afterwards with an offer to continue to discuss the matter, he was treated with harshness and bellicosity by these people.
v DAVID JAMES: At the same time I would ask if Dr. Reagan (and others) have carefully considered our claims, especially as documented in The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? We are not talking about a poor choice of words here and there. Jonathan Cahn has clearly stated what he meant and in every one of the dozens of interviews since the book was released, he has reaffirmed over and over that he is saying exactly what we have consistently claimed he is saying—and we still believe he is wrong on significant issues. If he is being so consistently misunderstood by good, solid Bible teachers, then he needs to consider revising some of what he has written and continues to say.
v Unfortunately, Jonathan Cahn’s responses below, as noted by Dr. Reagan, serve to demonstrate that he is neither listening nor taking seriously what his critics are saying. Although his responses are attributed to his sense of humor, they seem to reflect more of a mocking tone (which I have also seen in a video of him addressing these same issues at a church). It is one thing to disagree with our conclusions, but it is entirely another to mock and use straw man arguments against those who disagree—particularly when responding to men who are respected for their knowledge of the Scriptures and their defense of the faith. And it is even more troubling that a respected man like Dr. Reagan has chosen to incorporate this type of response into his own.
Jonathan Cahn’s response #1
In response to crazy allegations that he is somehow involved in advocating the prosperity message of the Word of Faith Movement, he wrote: “I not only speak against those doctrines regularly, but my author’s photo [shown on the cover of this magazine] was taken at Sears Budget Photo!”
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: DR. REAGAN IS CORRECT. What David James writes above unnecessarily accuses without presenting a single plausible biblical argument in his favor. He simply argues for the sake of arguing, which he does over and over again throughout this “response.” Take for example, in one sentence, he writes that he and the other critics of The Harbinger “are not talking about poor choice of words here and there,” in other words he accuses Jonathan Cahn of not just choosing words poorly, but of knowingly speaking what he calls “wrong on significant issues,” but says no more. This doesn’t add to his case, but diminishes it into nothing more than a crass form dialectics. There is no substance to what he says, just denials that he has done these things, and yet he continues to do them over and over again, as we see here throughout this “response.” Additionally, note that David James here writes, “Jonathan Cahn has clearly stated what he meant and in every one of the dozens of interviews since the book was released, he has reaffirmed over and over that he is saying exactly what we have consistently claimed he is saying,” which is to say that just as Jonathan Cahn knows fully what he has said, and one might add, there is nothing wrong to what he has said or written – Rabbi Cahn has been both candid and forthright – his detractors, which included David James; know fully what he has said and written following their criticisms of him. If that is the case, the matter ought to have been resolved by now, but take note, these people have no such intentions. They continue to perpetuate the lies, the slander, and have pursued Pastor Cahn for months to libel him in every way possible. When you are misinformed about someone or something, and someone comes along and gives you correct information about the person or the thing in question, it is your choice to continue to believe the disinformation/misinformation or to accept and believe the truth about that person or thing. In the face of David James’ own confession when he writes, “Jonathan Cahn has clearly stated what he meant and in every one of the dozens of interviews since the book was released, he has reaffirmed over and over that he is saying exactly what we have consistently claimed he is saying,” Mr. James knows the truth, but he won’t admit to it. He won’t acquiesce, repent, apologize, and retract what the disinformation he has written and spoken about his matter, but instead has chosen to double down on it, because to do any of the other things would ruin his credibility and good standing with his colleagues. This is a completely human reaction. Anyone of us can have it, and we don’t know if Mr. James’ livelihood is at stake were he to do the right thing. If a person is faced with such a choice, what would he do? It depends on the individual and how deep their faith runs. I cannot speak for David James here, or for his colleagues, and I don’t pretend to do so. I can only say that under the weight of the evidence against what he has written and said against The Harbinger and against Jonathan Cahn, he and his colleagues are in a most precarious situation. Do the right thing, and confess to a very egregious mistake, and perhaps lose much of their support, or double down and continue fighting, and perhaps retain it. Either way, sooner or later, even what’s left of their support will with time diminish as more and more of their supporters investigate for themselves the facts and discover their error. What’s more, were they to choose to do the right thing, initially they might actually gain a greater following and support, because they will have affirmed the trust of their supporters, and honored the Lord. David James knows he’s made a BIG mistake, but he won’t own up to it. He’d rather project himself on his critics.
v DAVID JAMES: To my knowledge, not one of The Harbinger’s critics has ever suggested that Jonathan Cahn was advocating a “prosperity message.” Our concern has only been that he and his message have consistently received some of the strongest support from those in the extremes of the Word Faith movement, namely Jim Bakker, Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn and others. Furthermore, his publisher is Charisma Media (and Steve Strang), a media empire which is responsible for producing what is perhaps the greatest volume of heretical teaching by false teachers of this generation.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: Because we are discussing The Harbinger, and Pastor and Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, David James should keep it to that topic, and not divert our attention to peripheral aspects that have no substantive correlation to what is in The Harbinger at all, so I will not grace Mr. James’ incredible statement here with a response, because I have promised to keep this reply to his response from resorting to personal attacks of my own. His personal attack on Charisma House was an unnecessary one to this discussion, and his unfortunate personal attack against Jim Bakker and Pat Robertson was unnecessary to this discussion. Jesus Christ visited people that no religious leader in His day would visit, and was roundly criticized for it by His detractors; the Chief priests, Sadducees, Pharisees, rulers, and doctors of His people. We are now seeing the same type of behavior here.
v Although we have been taken to task for making a “guilty-by-association” argument, the fact is that his associations in this case run so deep that he is guilty. These are not simply incidental acquaintances. Rather, they are meaningful, ongoing and deep ministry partnerships—at least in the case of Jim Bakker and Steve Strang.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: David James is entirely wrong here as he is elsewhere throughout this response; because Jonathan Cahn DOES NOT – as he accuses – have associations in this case (OR ANY OTHER) run so deep that he is guilty,” because I personally know he does not. For Mr. James to impugn guilt on Jonathan Cahn for associating with people he personally finds repulsive is synonymous with what Jesus was being accused of doing. This is one of many reasons why so many people have made the observation that Mr. James and his colleagues and others are todays’ version of the religious opposition in Jesus’ day and throughout history; people who are always so literal in their thinking that they are always on the wrong side of prophetic history and unable to recognize the time of God’s visitation when it is being made. Some commentators on Amazon.com and elsewhere have even gone so far as to call these critics of The Harbinger nothing but today’s version of the Pharisees. David James in writing, “he fact is that his associations in this case run so deep that he is guilty. These are not simply incidental acquaintances. Rather, they are meaningful, ongoing and deep ministry partnerships—at least in the case of Jim Bakker and Steve Strang; crosses the line into very personally imputing guilt on Jonathan Cahn and questioning the integrity and faith of these two other people with whom he accuses him as have very strong personal deep ministry partnerships. What guilt is David James trying to impute on Jonathan Cahn and these two brothers in Christ with whom he (Mr. James) has some very fundamental disagreements with? And who is he to set himself above another to question their faith and walk in Christ? James Bakker did hard time for his past crimes and sin; why is David James dredging the bilge of the past for which Mr. Bakker has asked Christ to forgive? Why and who is he to deny a fellow brother in Christ the very grace of God that God offers him and everyone else? And what would who know about another man’s personal relationships with others – none of whom he has ever met and knows very little about with regards to their current personal walk with Christ? Why does he feel he can stand in this men’s shoes and presume to know what is in their hearts and know about their relationships with one another? Because this is how David James works. This is how David James thinks.
v Logical Fallacy: “Jonathan Cahn’s “associations in this case run so deep that he is guilty” and “These are not simply incidental acquaintances. Rather, they are meaningful, ongoing and deep ministry partnerships—at least in the case of Jim Bakker and Steve Strang.” Premise: “Misters Bakker and Strang are questionable characters with questionable ministries.” Connection: “Jonathan Cahn is questionable as well because he associates with these men.” Conclusion: “He is as guilty of what they’re involved in as they are, because associates with them.” This is as ludicrous as when Christ was charged with being involved with the wrong people and therefore as defiled and guilty as they were in their activities. It is a self-righteous canard.
v While his comment about his picture being taken at Sears is humorous on its own, in this context it really tends to demean and mock those who would dare challenge these deep ministry associations.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: Wrong again. David James has a very thin skin if he believes that Jonathan Cahn is mocking him and other critics of The Harbinger over a photograph he took in Sears. I personally know, and vouch for Pastor and Messianic Rabbi on my honor and service to God in Christ – I do so here in the name of Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ – neither Jonathan Cahn, or any other ordained minister at Beth Israel’s Jerusalem Center, or Hope of the World Ministries has any deep association with any ministry, group, individual, or enterprise that is at the extreme fringes of Christianity. Rabbi Cahn does not preach Word of Faith, he does not preach Name and Claim It, and does NOT have any of the associations David James makes here. These are nothing but presumptions on his part, and it is wrong to make them and to question the faith of any of these men. What’s more, I contend here that David James here is personally bringing Jonathan Cahn’s faith and ministry to question based upon an assumption of his and expects us to believe it by again taking him at his word; because Jonathan Cahn wishes – in the Spirit of Jesus Christ – to take the message of The Harbinger; a message of repentance and reconciliation with God through Christ to God’s people and this nation – to everywhere this message will be allowed to be heard and received by those who hear, just as Our Lord Jesus did when He walked the earth, and just as He has enjoined to do to all of His followers regardless of where His message may take us. This I say and do so in the Holy Spirit and in the Blessed Name of Our Lord Jesus the Messiah – that we must do. Here is another place where David James has made his attack on Jonathan Cahn a very personal one, and must retract and apologize for.
Jonathan Cahn’s response #2
In response to an assertion that he is advocating Replacement Theology, he wrote: “I’m Jewish and a believer. In order to subscribe to Replacement Theology, I’d have to replace myself with myself. I’m open to trying, but it just strikes me as a lot of work to end up no better off than when I started!”
v DAVID JAMES: This is an example of a good sound bite that just keeps getting repeated, but which is rather pointless. The matter of Replacement Theology (which says that the church has replaced Israel in God’s program) came up in the first interview between Jimmy DeYoung and myself, the week of The Harbinger’s release and was based on some initial concerns I had after reading only the first few chapters in the book. However, either in that interview or the next (or perhaps both), I noted that I had set aside this concern after finishing the book (and I may have made that point in subsequent interviews, as well). And unless Jonathan Cahn has not read my book, he must realize that I also clearly stated in my book that I completely accept the fact that he doesn’t hold to classic Replacement Theology. Although perhaps a good talking-point in the attempt to discredit The Harbinger’s critics, it is really nothing more than that. It is difficult to understand why Dr. Reagan would join with others who continue to try to make this an issue because it simply lacks merit and has never been a significant part of the discussion.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: David James’ response above is so subtle that if we are not careful, we’d miss what he’s implying. He first denies that he’s accusing Jonathan Cahn of espousing Supersessionism – Replacement Theology – the teaching that claims God has rejected the Jewish people because they rejected Jesus as the Messiah and has replaced Israel with the Church – an unbiblical canard that began in the era of the church fathers. But then he phrases his next comments in this manner; “unless Jonathan Cahn has not read my book, he must realize that I also clearly stated in my book that I completely accept the fact that he doesn’t hold to classic Replacement Theology.” This is an interesting way for Mr. James to frame that he doesn’t believe Jonathan Cahn believes in Replacement Theology, because he inserts into it the pronoun “classic” to describe the type of Replacement Theology Jonathan Cahn doesn’t believe in. So here David James does three things in reference to Jonathan Cahn; first, he speaks for what Jonathan Cahn believes while totally disregarding what Rabbi Cahn has said which James cites above; second, he claims that Jonathan Cahn does not believe in “classic” Replacement Theology; third, but by inserting the pronoun “classic” in his disclaimer, he infers that Jonathan Cahn does believe in some other form of this heresy; fourth, in doing this, David James either sincerely believes that Jonathan Cahn does not teach or promote Replacement Theology, as he claims; or he does believe that Jonathan Cahn teaches and promotes some other type of Replacement Theology, but not “classic” Replacement Theology. Either way, in the end, he infers by inserting the pronoun “classic” into his sentence that he still accuses Jonathan Cahn of some form of Replacement Theology. In positing this, David James becomes inconsistent and contradicts himself. Either Jonathan Cahn believes and teaches Replacement Theology or he does not. There is no middle ground here, and no gray area. I can say with full confidence, and speak on behalf of Rabbi Cahn (for I’ve known him for over ten years, and have served under him for almost as much by God’s grace in Christ) that Jonathan Cahn neither believes in or teaches any form of Replacement Theology. Let me repeat and make this absolutely clear; Jonathan Cahn DOES NOT believe in any form of Supersessionism (Replacement Theology) of any kind and any variety at all, and neither do I, because it is a patently unbiblical theology. This is another reason why I have stepped up and will continue to do so, when a man I’ve known, respected, and admired, and whose teachings I am intimately acquainted with; is libeled and mischaracterized as he is here, and especially when it is done in so subtly and with such equivocation. I’m not making this up, everyone can read it for themselves right here.
Jonathan Cahn’s response #3
In response to the nutty charge that he is espousing principles of Mormonism, he wrote: “Okay, I was once into Donny and Marie Osmond, but when they started singing ‘I’m A Little Bit Country, And I’m A Little Bit Rock and Roll,’ I drew the line. You see, I don’t believe in mixing doctrines.”
v DAVID JAMES: My first request of Dr. Reagan would be for him to provide the name of even one person who has made “the nutty charge that he [Cahn] is espousing principles of Mormonism.” It would seem that Dr. Reagan is once again relying on second-hand caricatures of what we have said. And given Jonathan Cahn’s witty response, it would seem that he himself is likely the source of this misleading caricature.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: Here, as he does throughout this response of his, David James takes what Dr. Reagan has written generally to be a personal affront to himself, and because of this, David James becomes very personal by taking direct aim at Dr. Reagan and questioning his veracity by assuming that what Dr. Reagan has written was based on some second hand gossip and caricatures of what he – David James – said, when in fact, nowhere does Dr. Reagan mention anyone by name! And David James compounds to presume that Jonathan Cahn is connected to what Dr. Reagan has written as a generalization of The Harbinger’s critics to be a personal sight against himself. This is again a bearing of false witness against two brethren in Christ on the part of David James. One cannot accuse another of something without first obtaining the evidence to make that accusation, and one cannot base an accusation based entirely as David James does here, on a flawed presupposition on his part, which he turns into a reason to charge both men with something there is no evidence to support. Above having done this, David James here personalizes his accusation against these two men, when Dr. Reagan nowhere in his article mentions anyone by name!
v DAVID JAMES: As to the issue of Mormonism as I dealt with it in The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction?, either Jonathan Cahn has completely missed the point in my book—or he is intentionally misrepresenting what I wrote as a distraction. No one, including myself, has ever thought or implied that the author has Mormon connections or remotely holds to any aspect of Mormon theology. However, our contention has been that Jonathan Cahn has stated things in The Harbinger in such a way that it surely sounds like he holds to some sort of American covenant view, no matter how ill-defined.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: Regarding the issue of Mormonism, David James brings it up in the Preface to his unfortunate book. He may deny it here, but he does bring it up. I quote: “A troubling development is that Mormon researchers and historians have begun to refer to The Harbinger as support for their view that America is in a covenant relationship with God – being the Promised Land and a New Israel. This view, known as Anglo-Israelism, is very much on the fringes if not outside of historical Christianity to the degree that it has been one of the defining characteristics of some cultic groups.” This is on page 14 to the Preface of David James’ book. So once again, David James equivocates about what Jonathan Cahn has said in his joke which he quotes above, but he goes beyond that to claim motives to Jonathan Cahn for doing this that are simply not there, as though he could see into the man’s heart and gauge his motives. Then he accuses him directly and boldly of either “completely missed the point” in his book, whatever that point is (and we’ll get to that in a minute), or “he (meaning Rabbi Cahn) “is intentionally misrepresenting what I” (David James) “wrote as a distraction.” Distraction from what? From the fact that it is David James who is first to bring the Mormons up by wasting no time in putting them up front in the book’s Preface? And is the first also to bring up the charge that because certain “Mormon researchers and historians” – unnamed and therefore unverified by Mr. James – have begun – as David James posits – to refer to The Harbinger as support for their views about America – indicts Jonathan Cahn of promoting and the Mormon false doctrines of Anglo-American Israelism? It is David James who first makes this connection and uses it in the Preface to his book to accuse Jonathan Cahn of two things – being guilty of promoting Mormonism because some unnamed and unverified Mormon “researchers” and “historians” use – again according to Mr. James – The Harbinger to support their belief in British Israelism; and a second charge, that Jonathan Cahn supports and teaches, or at least promotes Anglo-American Israelism – which he DOES NOT – I personally know it. Again David James has personally borne false witness against Jonathan Cahn by accusing him of something he does not teach. And since when is the misuse of a truth indict another of teaching falsely because what they say or write is being used by a cult to promote a false tenet? The Jehovah’s Witnesses through the Watch Tower Society print millions of books promoting the fact that we should not venerate saints or genuflect to graven images as the Scriptures teach, and quote directly from them in support of this correct injunction. Their use of this truth does not invalidate the Scripture does it? Then why would David James wish to bring this up about the Mormons to discredit The Harbinger? This is nothing but another straw man argument promoted as “guilt by association” that has absolutely no value whatsoever regarding The Harbinger’s message.
v DAVID JAMES: The proof that The Harbinger’s critics are not just making up another “nutty charge” is that even Mormon theologians and historians have appealed to The Harbinger on multiple occasions to support their thoroughly unbiblical doctrine of Anglo-Israelism (which holds that America was founded by descendants of the “ten lost tribes of Israel”). If a cult is able to use someone’s primary thesis to undergird one of their heretical doctrines, then the burden is upon that writer to rework the relevant material so that it cannot be misappropriated in this way. This is particularly true since Jonathan Cahn contends that he is not promoting the idea that there is an American covenant in the first place.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: I repeat what I wrote above, just as David James has here. The misuse of Scripture does not mitigate the value and divine origin or its efficacy and truth one iota because it is misused by cults and every evil enterprise in human history. To make such connections in this context or any other is putting up smoke to cloud the fact that Mr. James has nothing to stand on but his own arguments to denigrate someone else’s work. This – if people can see beyond the fog – is what he does here and in his book. David James uses the fallacy of guilt by association to criticize Jonathan Cahn, and forgets that this is precisely what Jesus’ detractors did to Him! David James is very good at this, and this is no personal slight against him, it is a matter of fact. His own statements above and throughout this article and in his writings and book, corroborate what I am saying here.
v DAVID JAMES: In summary, I don’t think and never have thought that Jonathan Cahn is espousing principles of Mormonism, and I’m not aware of anyone else who thinks so either. At the same time, because the entire narrative of The Harbinger gives the distinct impression that there is some sort of covenant between God and America, Mormons have added the book as further support for their heretical doctrines. This isn’t a “nutty charge.” It is a fact.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: David James words here are the third repetition of the canard that Jonathan Cahn’s book should be trashed because someone else misuses it, and we’ve seen that such a charge has absolutely no merit whatsoever in this discussion or any other, because to posit it as Mr. James does here and in his book, as well as other places, when applied, would force people to discredit everything that has ever been written in human history that has merit and posits truth – let alone the Scriptures – because it has all been misused by cults, and every evil enterprise known to man since the dawn of time. Such argumentation is unacceptable here, because it has no merit and therefore does not add to this discussion, and could potentially be used against God’s Word by its detractors. It does not add one iota to David James’ argument against The Harbinger.
v DAVID JAMES: Jonathan Cahn’s response #4
In response to the absurd allegation that he is involved in some way in Masonry, he replied: “It’s true. I once had involvement with Masonry. It happened when I appeared as a guest on the Jackie Mason Show. But he’s the only Mason I’ve been involved with. And I renounced his comedy soon after the show.”
v DAVID JAMES: Does Dr. Reagan have first-hand knowledge of anyone alleging this or is he relying on what he has been told? Who has suggested that Jonathan Cahn is involved in Masonry in some way? It is possible that someone has said this, but I’m not aware of it and it is definitely not a widely held view among critics of The Harbinger. Unfortunately, this is another caricature that misses the point of the concerns that have been raised about Masonic issues and Jonathan Cahn’s book.
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: I love Jonathan Cahn’s fresh self-effacing humor. It is part of his humble spirit and way of being. There are several things of what David James says that jumps right out at the reader here, and they are: He cites Dr. Reagan’s quoting of a statement that Jonathan made where he jokingly referred about the charges that have come from some quarters (which we will cite here in a minute and address) who based their article on David James wrote in the 17th chapter to his book in which he contends – yes even with the similarities (believe it or not) between Nouriel Kaplan and Jonathan Cahn, and Jonathan Cahn and the prophet – the two main characters in the narrative. The reason I cite this chapter of David James’ book is because it is the one that has most impacted other critics of The Harbinger, who wrote their comments after reading Mr. James’ comments without first verifying the accuracy of what David James wrote, and therein lies the error of calling Jonathan Cahn everything from a Kabbalist to an Occult Mystic and Gnostic as two or three of these critics have done. One can trace the basis for these unfounded criticisms of Rabbi Cahn and his book to this chapter of David James’ book. It is full of innuendos and misinterpretations of Jonathan Cahn’s use of the rabbinical teachings of the Book of Zohar (actually a multi-volume encyclopedic work) as an Apologist for the Gospel in support of it.
There are rabbinical writings that pre-date modern Rabbinical Judaism that have more in common with Christianity than with what is being taught today in many branches of the Jewish Faith. Many Christians and Non-Christian Gentiles today are unaware that the Judaism of the 21st Century is not the same Judaism of the 1st Century A.D. The Judaism of the 1st Century A.D. (also known as Second Temple Judaism) was comprised of four main groups of expression – Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Nazarenes; the last group comprised of Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus as Messiah. When the temple and Jerusalem was overrun and destroyed by the Romans on the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av, Second Temple Judaism (with its sacrificial system centered in Levitical and Aaronic Orders according to the bilateral Mosaic Covenant) disappeared and it was replaced by Rabbinic Judaism. Through the centuries Rabbinic Judaism has developed into various strains and expression of the Jewish faith. Today’s Judaism is comprised of the following: Chassidim otherwise known as Ultra-Orthodox by some, Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Liberal. But lest we get lost in the details, let us return to our discussion.
Another thing that jumps at the reader is David James questioning whether Dr. Reagan based his own opinion on second-hand knowledge (inferred by his use of questioning whether or not Dr. Reagan obtained his information on “first-hand knowledge of anyone alleging this” (that Jonathan Cahn promoted Free-Masonry in The Harbinger), and uses this line to jettison himself of all responsibility over others writing in his stead – who having read what he infers in chapter 17 – have indeed made this connection. We see it in an article written by Jeremy James titled, A Prophetic Dream in The Harbinger is suspiciously like a Prophetic Dream acclaimed by American Freemasons, that he wrote in Ireland on June 30th, 2012, where he brings up what in his opinion connects The Harbinger to Free Masonry, a preposterous connection, because Jonathan Cahn is neither a Free Mason, and his use of a dream in his book is as a fictional vehicle to present the elements where great men of history connect in the founding of their nations – one in the founding of the united tribes of all Israel where as its King and earthly ruler, Solomon consecrates the nation through his consecration of the temple in Jerusalem, the capital of his kingdom where he and his father built, but which Solomon finished; and the connection with George Washington, who after taking the Oath of Office as the first President of the United States, led a procession of America’s first congress and senate and other leaders from what is today Wall Street to St. Paul’s Chapel on the corner of what is today Ground Zero, where America’s leaders in their first official act, consecrated the new nation to God in prayer in the name of Jesus Christ for His blessings and protection over the land and its people. The significance of this, of course, is lost on David James and other critics of The Harbinger, who forget that this prayer of consecration made in the name of Jesus Christ for God’s protection and blessing over the new nation, was and continues to this day, to be this nation’s bilateral agreement to live according to the Judeo-Christian precepts of God’s Word as a free and independent nation under God and indivisible. Call it what you like, it was made by these men, and there is no other nation under heaven which was founded in such a way. This is how The Harbinger presents the dream and uses it as a catalyst to explain the significance of how the United States of America was founded. As to bilateral covenants; they are throughout the Hebrew Bible, and were made by Israelite kings and God. There is no other nation but Israel that has a unilateral covenant such as the Abrahamic Covenant; but there are many bilateral covenants between men and God and men and nations with other men and nations throughout the Old Testament. Our first leaders made a bilateral covenant with God through the convocation of a prayer made to Him to consecrate the new nation in its first official act of a joint session of congress and the president at St. Paul’s Chapel on April 30th, 1789 in New York City. Few know that New York City in 1789 was the capital of the United States. Washington, D.C. did not yet exist.
The charge that Jonathan Cahn teaches Kabbalah and is involved as some type of gnostic mystic appears in Beit Kjos’ article which is posted prominently on The Berean Call’s website and cited by Brannon Howse on his website as one of many on-line articles critical of The Harbinger. Though Berit Kjos’ article has been biblically addressed by this writer on his website The Pepster’s Post: A Voice in Cyberspace, in an article titled A REPLY & CLARIFICATION to KJOS Ministries On THE HARBINGER.
There has yet to be a retraction of what is posted in that article either by Kjos herself or by T.A. McMahon, or Brannon Howse. At least a disclaimer that by David James that he does not necessarily agree with all of the contents of Kjos’ article would do, but he all promotes it. What’s more, there is a second more egregious article posted by Kjos in which she draws unfortunate parallels to the Kabbalah in order to connect them in some way to Jonathan Cahn’s book and teachings. All of this is the fruit of what David James has written in Chapter 17 of his book titled The Tenth Seal.
In chapter Ten of his book, David James cleverly cherry picks titles of Jonathan Cahn’s previous teachings series and quotes the most “mystical sounding ones” in his book. Then in what has become classic form for him and other critics of The Harbinger, he takes all of the teachings and trashes because to him they sound to be “mystical.” Mind you, he has not heard a single one, but he is quick to conclude without having heard any of them that they are no good.(pg. 192-194) He does this in order to build on the myth that Jonathan Cahn is a Jewish Mystic and Kabbalist, with Gnostic leanings who dabbles in Jewish Occultism, which he begins to accuse him of in pages which follow. I quote part of what he writes here, and let the reader draw his own conclusion, if this is only a caricature – as David James claims – or an accusation James has made for which he wishes to retract by claiming he hasn’t made it, so he will not lose credibility and have to apologize for it. I quote:
“Jonathan Cahn has over 1,700 of his messages available through the Hope of the World website. The descriptions of many of these messages are quite revealing about his approach to handling the Word of God – which appears to be mystical at its core. The focus of much of his teaching and preaching is apparently the discovery and revelation of mysteries that no one has seen before. His ministry appears to built around the idea of hidden mysteries exactly like those in The Harbinger. The titles and descriptions of just a few of his messages should serve as a warning to any serious student of the Scriptures.”
(David James, The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction?, page 192-193, The Berean Call, Bend, Oregon, 2012)
After he has made the mischaracterization of Jonathan Cahn he makes above, and concludes to trash his entire teaching ministry without ever having heard a single message, David James then cherry picks out 1,700 messages ten of the most mystical sounding ones, and follows this by proceeding to quote from The Harbinger to connect its message and style with the alleged mystical sounding titles he’s just listed in order to create the impression in his readers that Jonathan Cahn is nothing but an Occult Jewish Mystic and his teachings heretical. He quotes the following from The Harbinger, and this is how he works introduces this section of the book:
“In the last chapter of the book (The Harbinger), Kaplan explains to Goren how he figured out the meaning of his personal clay seal in what may be a very revealing exchange. Between the last sentence in the quote below and what can be seen from the messages above (those David James lists in his book), the real mystery of The Harbinger may be that its foundation is actually Jewish mysticism:
‘“[Kaplan] ‘The writing on the seal was in a language I had never seen before. But I remembered the words of The Prophet that day we first met on the bench, when he took the seal to examine it. He said it was Hebrew, but a different form of Hebrew – Paleo-Hebrew, an older version.’
“[Goren] ‘And did you know anybody who could read Paleo-Hebrew?’
“[Kaplan] ‘No. But I knew someone who studied Hebrew from biblical and rabbinical writings. I looked up the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, then transcribed each of the letters into its modern Hebrew equivalent. Then I made a trip to Brooklyn. That’s where my friend was, an Orthodox Jewish man who ran a little bookstore, in back of which was a study, a library of all sorts of mystical Hebrew writings. That was his passion – finding meaning in mystical Hebrew literature.’
“The introduction of Jewish mystical writings into the storyline of The Harbinger is very problematic, and one has to wonder why Cahn would have done this.”
(ibid, page 194-195)
We begin with where David James resorts to his usual and almost exclusive method of resorting to use a Logical Fallacy in order to strengthen an accusation he struggles to make and has little or no evidence for. Logical Fallacy: “Jonathan Cahn has over 1,700 of his messages … The descriptions of many of these messages are quite revealing about his approach to handling the Word of God – which appears to be mystical at its core.” Premise: “The descriptions appear to be mystical.” Conclusion: “They must be mystical.” The next Logical Fallacy is where he posits: “The focus of much of his teaching and preaching is apparently the discovery and revelation of mysteries that no one has seen before.” This logical fallacy has makes two assumptions for no evidence exists; One, that his teachings focus on “the discovery and revelation of mysteries,” and Two, “that no one has seen these mysteries and revelations before.” The writings themselves exist, and they have been cited by great Christian Apologist as hostile witnesses in support of the Gospel. But because David James has never had exposure to them – albeit, the reason Rabbi Cahn calls them mysteries, because they are largely unknown outside of Non-Jewish and Rabbinic circles – he makes the mistake of assuming that Rabbi Cahn is claiming to unique revelation, when he is using them in his teachings to support the Gospel as hostile witnesses, not because he believes in them, or considers as he is accused by Mr. James on page 197 of his book as elevating them to the status of the Scriptures themselves, a horrendously false charge. Then he uses the next Logical Fallacy to cement in the minds of his readers the false belief that Jonathan Cahn’s ministry itself is heretical and suspect, where he writes, “His ministry appears to built around the idea of hidden mysteries exactly like those in The Harbinger. The titles and descriptions of just a few of his messages should serve as a warning to any serious student of the Scriptures.” Logical Fallacy: “His ministry appears to be built around the idea of hidden mysteries like those in The Harbinger.” Premise: “The appearance is enough to conclude that he is a Jewish Mystic and Kabbalist who dabbles in the Occult.” Conclusion: “His ministry is apostate, and he is a false teacher and non-believer who dabbles in the Occult and teaches from the Kabbalah.” David James doesn’t need to say as much, because he implies as much and so has written it. But in order to bring home the charge that Jonathan Cahn is an Occult Jewish Mystic and Kabbalist who dabbles in extra-biblical writings and elevates them to the level of the Scriptures; David James writes that “In the last chapter of the book (The Harbinger), Kaplan explains to Goren how he figured out the meaning of his personal clay seal in what may be a very revealing exchange. Between the last sentence in the quote below and what can be seen from the messages above (those David James lists in his book), and concludes “the real mystery of The Harbinger may be that its foundation is actually Jewish mysticism” then quote from The Harbinger where Nouriel Kaplan retells Anna Goren that he has an Orthodox Jewish friend who owns a small bookstore in Brooklyn that has a back room where his friend keeps and studies ancient Jewish Hebrew mystical writings. That it’s “his passion – finding meaning in mystical Hebrew literature.’” David James concludes, “The introduction of Jewish mystical writings into the storyline of The Harbinger is very problematic, and one has to wonder why Cahn would have done this.” David James here makes the connection that Jonathan Cahn is a Jewish mystic and dabbles in the Kabbalah because he introduces an Orthodox Jewish man, whom Nouriel Kaplan mentions because he helps him decipher the Paleo-Hebrew inscribed in seal he has. According to his reasoning, Jonathan Cahn must be a Jewish Mystic who dabbles in the Occult and consults the Kabbalah, because he introduces a fictitious Orthodox Jewish man who owns a bookstore with mystical books, which he enjoys poring over. It doesn’t dawn on Mr. James that the mere mention that the Orthodox Jewish man’s passion is to read ancient Paleo-Hebrew mystical writings is anecdotal. It is not evidence that either The Harbinger itself supports Jewish mysticism, or endorses it, it is just there to promote the story by introducing an Orthodox Jewish man (mostly likely a Chassidic Jewish Rabbi, although not described this way in the story) who reads ancient Paleo-Hebrew and can decipher the seal Nouriel Kaplan brings to his attention.
That David James reads more into this than this, is purely his own personal speculation, nothing more. That he attempts to impute the sin of sorcery and its guilt on Jonathan Cahn for what he included anecdotally in his story and connects it in his book to mystical sounding titles to condemn him and his ministry and life’s work. From this mischaracterization others have built their web of lies about Jonathan Cahn. One thing all of these people have in common; they have never met Jonathan Cahn or sat in one of his sermons. I have, and there is no truth to anything David James alleges in his book, or on his website, or in repeated radio broadcasts where he’s been interviewed by others who have not read the book, have not met or spoken with Jonathan Cahn, and who have no intention after having spoken with David James of giving Rabbi Cahn equal time to give an account on his own behalf.
There is much more which David James does as he literally strip mines The Harbinger for elements he can use to develop the myth of Jonathan Cahn the Jewish Mystic/Kabbalist/Occultist who teaches Gnosticism. But we will examine what we have cited above as examples of this, because the narrative that David James presents speaks for itself. This is the great thing about exposing these people; what they write against Jonathan Cahn and against The Harbinger is so outrageous and ludicrous that destroys its own credibility. We cite it here because it is David James who again brings it up in order to convince this readership of what he believes he’s convinced others – that Jonathan Cahn is an Occult Jewish Mystic and Kabbalist who teaches error. This is part of the false narrative that David James has built around The Harbinger and Jonathan Cahn.
v DAVID JAMES: Cahn’s response, though once again humorous on one level, also feels deeply sarcastic and mocking in tone as response to a very real issue—while also completely missing the point (or diverting attention).
THE PEPSTER FOR DR. REAGAN: WRONG. David James has an awfully thin skin if he thinks that Jonathan Cahn is mocking him, and accusing him of diverting attention. Further, if he thinks Jonathan Cahn’s self-deprecating humor is sarcastic and mocking, then he’s got some serious issues, and appears he does, because he even calls it “a very real issue,” then accuses him of “missing the point.” Missing what point? Diverting attention from what? Jonathan Cahn is simply using Jewish self-deprecating humor, like Seinfeld does; something that is foreign to David James’ culture and background. David James needs to relax and not read into Rabbi Cahn’s self-deprecating humor some evil ulterior mocking motive for speaking as he did. It is unfair of him to do this, and it adds nothing to the discussion. 
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