Dear Blessed In All, Ladybug, and David James,
Thank you for your posts. It is a very good thing that Mr. James has presented his opinions, I’ve said this in my posts on my website, The Pepster’s Post: A Voice in Cyberspace. Without Mr. James’ icy scholastic and somewhat detached analysis of The Harbinger, we would not have a fully vetted and examined topic to discuss regarding the occurrences that have taken place which Mr. James disputes along with everything else he can find that he can argue against.
Mr. James if very good at his statecraft, as a professor of one our nation’s leading seminaries, and he knows how to argue a point using the best methods of debating possible which he learned as part of his higher education. He puts it to good use in his opposition to The Harbinger. But it must be stated without equivocation that regardless of how well crafted and developed his arguments may appear to the casual reader, it is the truth that wins in the end, and even the best crafted arguments and efforts of human intellect cannot defeat the facts when they are presented side by side to Mr. James’ arguments.
Mr. James posits, as he does elsewhere, that what I have written about his methods and public statements have been unacceptable to him and to his colleagues, but I know that what I have written are facts, supported by the evidences of Mr. James’ own writings and posting, and public statements. He can deny them, but he’s made them. All I have done is to call him to account for them, because every single one of them have been nothing but falsehoods and fallacious sophistry.
He does not want to go into them here, but I am willing to debate Mr. James on the facts point by point from Scripture, and allow the chips fall where they may, as I know what I have believed in and in whom I have believed in, and I am certain of this, that He is able to keep it until the day of His coming. I have taken Mr. James book, The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? and having examined it, have it to contain error and falsehoods. I have given Mr. James the benefit of the doubt, and not called him a deceiver or imputed the guilt of knowingly written falsely on The Harbinger and against Jonathan Cahn, but have said time and again, and do so here; that I believe that Mr. David James has misread and misinterpreted The Harbinger, and what he has written has been the result of this misreading and misunderstanding. I have called the most colossal misunderstanding in memory. I could’ve been less gracious – as he has been with Pastor and Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn whom he’s used more than a dozen epithets against – but I choose not to do this, instead I have given Mr. James the benefit of the doubt by simply saying he has misread and misunderstood The Harbinger, and has passed judgment falsely on it on the basis of that misreading and misunderstanding. This is what I believe has happened.
It would be the only way to explain how a person can be so convinced of his error when presented with the facts over a period of a year and a half, not just by me, but by others, and still maintain and express the opinions we read below. Only God judges men’s hearts, and I will not go there, therefore I can only understand this cognitive dissonance as a misreading and misunderstanding based upon a false theological premise pertaining to Mr. James’ Cessationism.
Now regarding what Mr. James has posted on Amazon.com, I have included it below, and will respond accordingly. Again, I will strive to be as fair as possible under the circumstances, and quite understand how Mr. James feels about his critics. I am sure he has given this thought when he wrote what he did against Rabbi Cahn and his book, and what he’s said in interviews on radio. Mr. James should never forget that much of the falsehood that has permeated cyberspace about Jonathan Cahn and his book, The Harbinger, originated with his book. He was the first to put it out there, and others have picked up on what he has said and written, and like all myths, have embellished the falsehoods to the ninth degree. Mr. James has a lot to answer to for, because he has not repented, has not retracted a word he has written, and has not made a public apology to Jonathan Cahn for the grievous sin of bearing false witness against a brother in Christ, and putting him publicly to open reproach for over a year and half, as he does here, he will eventually have to answer to a much higher Power than public opinion. My writing about this has been only for the purpose of bringing the truth to the fore, defending a man whom I’ve known personally for over ten years, and whose teachings I am very well acquainted with, and if perchance bring Mr. James and his group to repentance for they have done to Pastor Cahn, they may avert having to do this eventually and be forgiven for it by Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
David James says:
to: blessed in all
I appreciate your concern for believers to maintain a good Christian testimony. Unfortunately you have passed very harsh judgment with very little information and definitely only one side of the story. I am not going to get into the entire matter, but your accusations were so specific as to bring in Word of Life and Jack Wyrtzen (whom I knew) into the discussion that I wanted to briefly respond to you personally.
Jose J. Bernal says:
to: David James
Don’t you understand and can’t you see that you are being admonished to simply apologize and retract the falsehoods that you’ve presented against a brother in Christ whom you’ve publicly libeled, yes libeled. A libel is a public slander that has no basis in fact. You have written falsely against your brother and you must be held accountable for it. You and your colleagues. It is sin. This is not Apologetics, and it is not biblical dialogue. It is nothing but the bearing of false witness in public against a brother in the faith. Your castigation of blessed in all is the evidence that you have stiffened your neck against any and all reproof, and will not accept responsibility for your actions. What is so objectionable than to tell you this truth? I invite blessed in all to go to my website and read for themselves the evidence. Read my book, The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message also, in which we examine biblically the various contentions you and other critics of The Harbinger have made.
David James says:
to: blessed in all
I know for certain it is exactly these kind of things that Mr. Wyrtzen always stood against publicly - and particularly in the class he taught when I was a Bible Institute student on 2 Peter and Jude.
If I were radically different than Jack Wyrtzen in my approach or outside that legacy that WOL has faithfully maintained since his homegoing in 1996, then I could not have served with Word of Life for 21 years, been a missionary with WOL for 16 of those years, directed a WOL Bible Institute for 14 years or continue to teach and work with WOL nationally and internationally 4-6 times per year.
Jose J. Bernal says:
to: David James
David, no man stays the same. The journey of faith, as we can see from Scripture, and from our own lives; is one of God’s grace, but as far as we are concerned; some of us improve, some of us don’t. You cannot say that the person you were under Mr. Wyrtzen’s class is the same person you are today. You are now a Cessationist. You once believed in the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit. Now you deny them. Saul became king over all Israel, but later lost the throne because of his rebellion to God. No sir, don’t compare yourself then to yourself now. You are not the same person. I cannot speak as to whether you’re better now spiritually than you were then, only God can do that, but I know that no man or woman is static, for we grow in grace and in faith, but if we are not careful, we can also atrophy, and miss out on so much for God. A lot of years have transpired since those days you sat in Mr. Wyrtzen’s class. No sir, you are not the same person. You were not the same person when you undertook to serve with Word of Life for 21 years, and was a missionary for them for 16 years, as well as directing a Word of Life Bible Institute for 14 years, and your continued work with them for 4 to 6 times per year – all magnificent undertakings for which I commend you here. But you are not the same person, and it is unnecessary and incorrect to say that you are and haven’t changed in all those years.
David James says:
to: blessed in all
If you're going to judge what I have said, that is one thing. To judge my silence crosses a line that Christians are not to cross.
Jose J. Bernal says:
to: David James
With all due respect David, if anyone knows about crossing the line, it should be you. You’ve done it so often against Jonathan Cahn that you’ve forgotten what it’s like when you do it, as you do it here against blessed in all. How dare you accuse a member of our faith of crossing the line, when you have used public forums – which you follow on Google Alert – to accuse Jonathan Cahn of all sorts of theological and doctrinal transgressions – and then with the same smugness project your guilt upon those who call you out on it to make you account for them now rather than later before the Judgment Seat of Christ!!!????
David James says:
to: blessed in all
Concerning whether or not I'm a born-again believer in Christ I offer no defense except my testimony under About ABI on our website.
I have no doubt about Jonathan Cahn's salvation or that of anyone here.
Jose J. Bernal says:
to: David James
Let me ask you something David. Do you think I enjoy having to write to you about these things? Having to spar with you about something you know in your heart – YES YOU DO – you are completely wrong about? Do you think I want to do this? I have a pending work on the resurrection that I’ve wanted to publish for quite some time, and classes that I’ve not been able to teach due to my continued work on addressing the falsehoods, slander, libels, guilt by association fallacies, and false witnesses that you have made against a man I personally know and have known for over ten years, and tell you and everyone else here that you are entirely and completely wrong about. This is why I wrote my book The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message and published it, because I thought that by doing this, I’d set the record straight, and I wouldn’t have to spend so much time, rebutting your continued self-promotion when it does such a disservice to Rabbi Cahn.
David James says:
to: blessed in all
Mr. Bernal has compared me personally, and others to the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin, the Spanish Inquisition and every regime that has persecuted Christians throughout history. He has publicly accused / labelled me of other things that he has retracted and apologized for privately, but he has not retracted these and other equally problematic statements.
Jose J. Bernal says:
to: David James
I admonish Mr. James to repent and retract the inaccuracies that he has written about Rabbi Cahn and his book, and offer a public apology to him, you, and everyone else he has wrongfully imputed guilt that he’s projected rather than take responsibility for. This is why I am passionate about this, because the Scripture admonishes:
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.
(1John 5:16)
The only reason I write as I do is to admonish these brethren to stop what they are doing and to judge rightly. Not to be swift to indict and convict a brother who is innocent, and to examine thoroughly the matter. Because the Scripture is very harsh about such things. (Isaiah 5:18-20)
David James says:
to: blessed in all
So, my silence with regard to his request has nothing to do with being nasty or treating him in an un-Christian manner. It has everything to do with a serious lack of trust in Mr. Bernal handling my work with integrity and objectivity after so many personal accusations - plus huge amounts of misleading, and in a number of cases (which remain public) completely false information and careless speculation with no basis in fact. So mine was a decision borne out of a desire to be spiritually wise and discerning.
Jose J. Bernal says:
to: David James
David James was not objective when he wrote The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? He spared nothing in making sure that he left no stone unturned, and did everything he could to write extremely subjectively – anyone who claims objectivity should never be trusted with anything, because objectivity’s lifespan is far as one syllable. The minute someone puts something to paper, trust that objectivity is the least of its attributes. God is not objective about sin, are we to expect someone else – anybody else – to be something that God Himself is not? And of course we are not objective, how can we be with falsehood? With lies? With dissembling? With sophistry? With those who bear false witness against others? No, I cannot be objective about such things, and were I to claim that I am, I would be nothing but pretender, a bombastic self-righteous loudmouth. Then David James would have a lot to rightly say about me. As for his charge of “careless speculation with no basis in fact,” and “false information” – prove it. Show your evidence. I have shown my readership here, on my website, and do so in my book The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message, specific examples of David James’ sophistry.
David James says:
to: blessed in all
Besides this, my work is in the public domain and subject to the same fair use guidelines as anyone else - so I am hindering nothing regarding the pursuit of truth or the publication of a rebuttal. So, this really is a baseless accusation, as well.
Jose J. Bernal says:
to: David James
Very well then, I have it in writing here that your book, The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? is in the public domain, so you will not object to my use of it to quote it at length in a public rebuttal point by point of each of what is presented in the contents of its pages. Now legally, I have the right to present a rebuttal in reply to your claiming, “…this really is a baseless accusation, as well.” If it is, then you will not object to my use of your book to address all of its contents point by point biblically and accurately with the facts. Up until now, I could not only quote you in part, but now you will not object to me quoting you entirely. Thank you.
David James says:
to: blessed in all
Unfortunately, even though I carefully adhered to those guidelines, we were threatened with a lawsuit regarding this by Charisma Media attorneys - lawsuits which would have named Jonathan Cahn as a plaintiff since he is the sole copyright holder. So, it would seem that discretion on my part would be most appropriate given that Mr. Bernal's publisher is also Charisma Media and they have yet to withdraw those threats after nearly a year.
Jose J. Bernal says:
to: David James
Because David James has been apprised of the facts pertaining to this alleged lawsuit, and has been informed by several people that Jonathan Cahn had no knowledge of it or involvement in it, I can write that what Mr. James has written here is not the truth. In fact, if Mr. James realizes, as he should by now, that the stories of Jonathan Cahn’s involvement in this originated with him and his colleagues, then he knows that what he writes here is a bold faced lie.
David James says:
to: blessed in all
Again, there is much more to this than you realize. Besides this, even though you say you are not judging motives, you have done that by suggesting that I haven't responded due to "dread" about Mr. Bernal's book and / or concerns for the sales of mine. Since neither are true, perhaps it would be appropriate to rethink those parts of your post.
Jose J. Bernal says:
to: David James
My book, The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message, takes each point, each criticism, each false charge, and every lie and innuendo and biblically addresses them with the facts. What’s more, I look forward to discussing these things point by point so that the truth will come out. This farce can only continue for so long until the truth triumphs over it. It is time for a reckoning, and accounting to be made. Better now than later, because if we all make it now and the guilty confess, then it will be well later. I must, because of my faith and accountability before God, bring this matter and continue to bring this matter to your attention, until such a time that you make restitution by repentance, a public apology to Jonathan Cahn and all of those whom you mislead, and a full retraction of what you have written.
David James says:
to: blessed in all
I don't know if you have subscribed to this thread, so I don't know if you will read this, but I would be happy to continue this discussion privately if you would like. You may contact me at my email address through the Alliance for Biblical Integrity website or the contact page.
Sincerely in Christ,
Dave James
Jose J. Bernal says:
to: David James
I’ve been corresponding with David James for a year and a half, and the only fruit it has produced has been in making David James more reticent about these matters. He is now doubling down on them, and has hardened about them. His neck has stiffened, and does not accept or receive anything that I could possibly say to him at this point, because he has willfully chosen to reject anything I say. It’s his choice and he will reap from it what he has sown.
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