There are several strange and misleading teachings that make their rounds concerning the name of God
and of Jesus Christ; one such false doctrine is the idea that the name
of Jesus actually means “Hail, Zeus.” Promoters of this bizarre concept
claim that anyone who uses the name Jesus is offering praise to a
false god and is not saved. They go so far as to say a person must use
only the Hebrew name for Jesus, since there is only one name by which we
can be saved (Acts 4:12).
First, we will explain the “Jesus-means-hail-Zeus” theory, the best we
can. Then we will look at the truth of the matter from a biblical
perspective.
Those who teach that the name Jesus means “Hail, Zeus” usually start with the name of God, YAH (see Isaiah 26:4, NET). From that name of God, they take the Messiah’s name to be YAHSHUA,
which they say means “YAH Is Salvation.” They contend that is the name
used by the apostles and by the Messiah Himself; however, after the
apostles were dead and gone, the Roman Church took over Christianity. In
order to make their brand of religion more palatable to the pagans, the
Roman leaders changed the name of the Messiah into a Greek/Latin
hybrid, Iésous, which (supposedly) means “Hail, Zeus.” Since Zeus
(or Jupiter) was the chief god in the Greco-Roman pantheon, the pagans
had little trouble accepting this new demigod. By changing the Savior’s
name, Christianity had been effectively stripped of its Hebrew roots,
and the melding with paganism was a success. The Greeks’ savior could
still be Zeus. In time, the word Iésous was further corrupted into Jesus in English.
As “proof” for their conspiracy theory that Jesus means “Hail, Zeus,” advocates point to the fact that the second syllable of Jesus (-sus) sounds similar to the name of the chief Greek god. Especially when Jesus
is pronounced in Spanish, it becomes “evident” that people are
“actually” saying “Hey, Zeus.” Added to these “proofs” is the fact that
ancient sculptures of Zeus show him with a beard—just like modern-day
pictures of Jesus!
What can we say to such far-fetched nonsense? First, not everyone who
has a beard is trying to take the place of Jesus. Second, just because a
certain word or word part sounds like another word is no proof of commonality. Basing theories of word origin on pronunciation is preposterous. Humorous sounds exactly like humerus,
but there’s nothing particularly funny about the bone that goes from
the shoulder to the elbow. Third, the Messiah’s Hebrew name is Yeshua, not Yahshua—the latter being a fabrication in order to make the name sound more like YAH.
Fourth, the Hebrew name Yeshua translates into Greek as Iésous.
This is the name that the angel Gabriel commanded Joseph to name Mary’s
child: “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his
people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The name Jesus is a simply a Greek form of Joshua,
a common name among Jews. The same verse also alludes to the meaning of
the name: the Lord was to be named Jesus because “he will save his
people from their sins.” The name Jesus means “The Lord Saves” or “The Lord Is Salvation.” Whether you spell it Jesus or Joshua or Yeshua, the meaning stays the same, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with Zeus.
Names can and do translate. Changing a name from one language to another
does not change the meaning of the name, nor does it change the
character or identity of the person. Elizabeth becomes Elixabete, Isabella, Zsoka, or Eliska, depending on the language. But she remains the same girl. A man named Stephen can be called Stephanos, Stefan, Estevao, Teppo, or Estebe, depending on where in the world he is. But he is the same person, regardless of what we call him. Similarly, Jesus and Yeshua refer to the same Person—and it’s not Zeus.
We use the name Jesus, an Anglicized transliteration of the
Greek, because Greek is the language that Matthew and Mark and Luke and
John wrote their Gospels in and because English is the language we
speak. The best translation of Iésous into modern English is “Jesus.”
Part of Timothy’s work as a pastor was to “command certain people not to
teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths” (1 Timothy 1:3–4).
Paul was concerned that “such things promote controversial speculations
rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith” (verse 4).
Conspiracy theories and myths regarding the etymology of Jesus’ name are
distractions from the true work of God. We should not pay any heed to
claims that the name Jesus means anything but what Scripture says it means: “The Lord Saves.”
The “Zeitgeist movie,” which is available for viewing on the Web – http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com,
is essentially a baseless conspiracy theory focused on attacking the
Christian faith and the government of the United States. What is
interesting, though, is that while nearly all the assertions put forth
in the movie are completely wrong, the end fear promoted by the movie is
correct and backed by Scripture (depending on one’s view of biblical
eschatology).
The purpose of this article is to address the first conspiracy theory
(out of four) put forth in the movie—that Jesus is a mythological
amalgamation of various pagan gods and deities invented by the Egyptians
and other cultures. Time will not be spent addressing the two major
claims that follow in the movie—that the U.S. government architected and
planned the attacks that occurred on 9/11 (with assertions being made
that a pattern of such domestic attacks exists in history) and that
there is a major banking conspiracy attempting to control the finances
of all U.S. citizens and ultimately, the world. In the end, a comment
will be made concerning the last theory—that a one-world government is
coming.
The allegations concerning Jesus in the Zeitgeist movie can be
summarized as follows: the Jesus proclaimed in the Bible is not a
historical person, and in fact He never existed. Instead, Jesus is an
invention of the biblical authors who painstakingly copied attributes of
ancient pagan deities and created a new god to be worshiped. Jesus
mirrors various pagan deities in the manner of His birth, life, death,
and resurrection.
Further, the movie asserts that astrology is the foundation behind much
of the writing in Scripture. The end conclusion is that Christianity is a
myth—just as all the pagan religions that came before it—and is
therefore untrue. To address these assertions, it is helpful to break
them down into three groups:
• The subject of astrology and the Bible.
• The supposed similarities between Jesus and mythological heroes.
• The evidence for the truthfulness of the gospel accounts.
The Zeitgeist movie (from the German meaning “spirit of the age” or
literally “time” [Zeit] “spirit” [Geist]) claims that the Bible is based
on astrology and the stars. Perhaps one of the most telling statements
in all the Bible regarding the importance God places on the stars is
found in Genesis 1:16b:
“He made the stars also.” This simple statement reveals the extent of
the importance of the stars’ creation. Some biblical commentators have
said this brevity of description is deliberate as God wants to in no way
give the stars significance. In truth, rather than giving the stars,
sun, and moon any value beyond what they were created for, there are a
number of places in Scripture that denounce their worship. Deuteronomy 4:19
says, “And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and
the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to
them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the
nations under heaven.” In fact, Deuteronomy 17:2-5 prescribes a death sentence for anyone found worshiping the creation rather than the Creator.
In Isaiah 47:13
God mockingly asks if the stargazers can actually protect those who
follow them from the real Power of the universe: “All the counsel you
have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you
from what is coming upon you.” So the Zeitgeist movie’s claim that the
Bible is based on astrology goes against what is written in the Book
itself.
In addition to the faulty concept of astrology and the Bible being
joined at the hip, the specific statements made in the film about this
supposed link disregard historical facts. For example, the movie states
that the number 12 in the Bible refers to the 12 zodiacal signs. So the
12 patriarchs, 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 disciples of Jesus are
supposed to match the number of the astrological signs. This is out of
the realm of possibility, as Genesis was written around 1000 B.C. with
the actual events having occurred much earlier. History shows that the
division of the stars/constellations into the 12 zodiacal signs did not
occur until the Babylonians made the divisions around the fifth century
B.C.
The meatier part of the first section of the movie is devoted to
allegations of Jesus being nothing but a combination of pagan deities
whose attributes the gospel writers borrowed to create their own new
god. The main authority used in this portion of the movie, and the first
major mythological figure presented as a forerunner of Jesus, is the
Egyptian god Horus. If we see that the research on their primary
character is flawed, it follows that the same faulty investigation
methods/materials will be present in everything else.
The Zeitgeist movie makes these claims about the Egyptian god Horus:
• He was born on December 25 of a virgin (Isis Mary)
• A star in the East proclaimed his arrival
• Three kings came to adore the new-born “savior”
• He became a prodigious teacher at age 12
• At age 30 he was “baptized” and began a “ministry”
• Horus had twelve “disciples”
• Horus was betrayed
• He was crucified
• He was buried for three days
• He was resurrected after three days
If true, this would certainly be unsettling to followers of Christ.
However, examining each point in detail is quite revealing. First, it is
true that Egyptian legend has Horus being born to Isis. But where did
the trailing name of “Mary” that is used in the movie come from? No
mention in any Egyptian literature links the name Isis to the name Mary.
Isis was also not a virgin. No account of Horus’ birth makes this
statement. Rather, Isis was the widow of Osiris, another Egyptian god
with whom Isis conceived Horus. Finally, Horus was supposedly born
during the month of Khoiak (Oct/Nov), and not on December 25, a fact
which does not help their claim of marrying the stories of Horus and
Jesus, anyway, because the Bible never assigns a birth date to Christ.
Next, the film states that a star in the East announced Horus’ birth and
that three kings came to bring gifts to the “savior.” However, when
stories detailing the birth of Horus are examined, there is no star or
three kings who come to visit him. Trying to link this to Christianity
fails in any event, as the account of Christ’s birth in Matthew has magi
(wise men, not kings) coming to Jesus with their actual number not
being stated. Clearly, the movie is using the traditions of December 25
and three wise men, not the Bible, to link Jesus and Horus. Finally, the
movie calls Horus a “savior.” There are no descriptions of Horus being a
savior to anyone or serving in that capacity.
This is an important point: the movie takes extreme liberty in the quick
and subtle uses of Christian words and phrases that in no way
accurately describe the actual pagan god or his attributes. This is seen
again in the statements of Horus being “baptized” and starting a
“ministry.” The only accounts remotely related to Horus and water are
the stories told of Osiris (his father who is sometimes combined in
ancient accounts with Horus to form one individual) whose body was cut
up into 14 pieces by his enemy, Set, and scattered throughout the earth.
Isis supposedly found each part of the body and after having Osiris
float in the Nile, he came back to life or became the lord of the
underworld, depending on which account is read. In any event, stating
that Horus was “baptized” is simply playing fast and loose with
Christian terminology and is another obvious attempt to link mythology
and the Bible.
In addition, Horus had no “ministry.” Horus becoming a teacher at age 12
(mimicking the account of Jesus at the temple as a youth) is nowhere to
be found in accounts of Horus; neither are there any statements to the
effect that he had 12 “disciples.” According to the Horus accounts,
Horus had four semi-gods that were followers and some indications of 16
human followers and an unknown number of blacksmiths that went into
battle with him. No accounts of Horus being betrayed are found in his
portrayals and he certainly did not die by crucifixion in any account.
There is an incident described in one story of Horus being torn to
pieces, with Isis requesting that the crocodile god pull him out of the
water, but the movie does not mention this, as it does not fit their
agenda. Further, the movie puts the account of Horus as originating in
3000 B.C., which predates the invention and practice of crucifixion, so
there is another historical problem that must be overcome.
The claims of Horus being buried for three days and resurrected are not
to be found in any ancient Egyptian texts, either. Some accounts have
Osiris being brought back to life by Isis and going to be the lord of
the underworld. But there is no mention of a burial for three days and
no mention of his physically coming out of a grave in the same physical
body he went in with and never dying again. And there is certainly no
account of Horus dying for others as Jesus did.
In the end, the attempt to prove Horus was a picture/forerunner of Jesus
simply fails from lack of any historical evidence. The movie continues
in this same vein with all the other mythological pagan deities that
pre-dated Jesus (Attis, Krishna, etc.). As just another simple example,
the Zeitgeist movie says that Hindu’s Krishna was also crucified and
resurrected. However, Hindu teachings clearly state that Krishna was
killed by an arrow shot from a hunter who accidentally hit him in his
heel, and after he died, he ascended to be with Brahman. None of the
pagan deities, when accurately examined, mirror the Son of God recorded
in the New Testament Gospels.
Of course, neither does the movie note the following facts:
• The many archaeological details confirming New Testament accounts.
• The historically confirmed references to the details of the life of Christ.
• The early dating of the Gospel accounts during the lifetime of the eyewitnesses.
• The deep moral convictions of the authors and their commitment to truth.
• The accounts of the apostles going to their deaths for what they believed.
• The typology of Joseph and Jesus (used by the film to supposedly
debunk the actual existence of Christ) is very well known and accepted
by conservative Christian scholars as a foreshadowing of the first
coming of Jesus.
• All the good produced by Christianity (see How Christianity Changed the World by Dr. Alvin Schmidt), which is brushed aside with only the crusades and other like events being highlighted.
It is interesting to note that Christianity is the only faith attacked
in the movie—Islam, Hinduism, and others don’t warrant a mention. Though
the faith of the producers is not exposed, there is a blurb at the end
speaking to the effect that “all is one,” with a clip of noted
evolutionist/materialist Carl Sagan saying that the earth is a single
organism and that a “new consciousness is developing” that shows all is
one. This is paganism, pure and simple.
At the end of the movie, religion is called a distraction engineered by a
secret group of people who are using it (along with the media and other
mechanisms) to dumb down the population so they will accept with open
arms a coming one-world government. This is the one proposition put
forth by the movie that is plausible insofar as it is backed by
prophetic statements made in both the Old and New Testaments. The books
of Daniel, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, and Revelation speak to the ambition
of a world ruler who is to come.
It is interesting also that the movie quotes Jesus—someone they say never existed—from John 8:32:
“You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free,” although
they misquote it and say, “You must seek the truth and the truth will
set you free.” The producers of the Zeitgeist movie, unfortunately, do
not do this and instead choose to align themselves with very
questionable and outright fabricated sources to malign Christianity and
label it and all religions as pawns used by a secret organization they
claim is currently working to take over the world. One thing is for
certain, reaching such a conclusion using faulty materials certainly
requires a lot of faith. Much more faith, in fact, than it takes to
accept the truth and historical validity of Christianity.
Christians should not be surprised that such unfounded claims are
invented in the imaginations of unbelievers and passed along by others
as fact; in reality, such inventions are to be expected. Peter writes in
his second epistle, “But there were also false prophets among the
people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will
secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord
who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves” (2 Peter 2:1).
Apostasy, from the Greek word apostasia, means “a
defiance of an established system or authority; a rebellion; an
abandonment or breach of faith.” In the first-century world, apostasy
was a technical term for political revolt or defection. Just like in the
first century, spiritual apostasy threatens the Body of Christ today.
The Bible warns about people like Arius (c. AD 250—336), a Christian
priest from Alexandria, Egypt, who was trained at Antioch in the early
fourth century. About AD 318, Arius accused Bishop Alexander of
Alexandria of subscribing to Sabellianism,
a false teaching that asserted that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
were merely roles or modes assumed by God at various times. Arius was
determined to emphasize the oneness of God; however, he went too far in
his teaching of God’s nature. Arius denied the Trinity and introduced
what appeared on the surface to be an inconsequential difference between
the Father and Son.
Arius argued that Jesus was not homoousios (“of the same essence”) as the Father, but was rather homoiousios
(“of similar essence”). Only one Greek letter—the iota (ι)—separated
the two. Arius described his position in this manner: “The Father
existed before the Son. There was a time when the Son did not exist.
Therefore, the Son was created by the Father. Therefore, although the
Son was the highest of all creatures, he was not of the essence of God.”
Arius was clever and did his best to get the people on his side, even
going so far as to compose little songs that taught his theology, which
he tried to teach to everyone who would listen. His winsome nature,
asceticism, and revered position as a preacher also contributed to his
cause.
With respect to apostasy, it is critical that all Christians understand
two important things: (1) how to recognize apostasy and apostate
teachers, and (2) why apostate teaching is so deadly.
The Forms of Apostasy
To fully identify and combat apostasy, Christians should understand its
various forms and the traits that characterize its doctrines and
teachers. As to the forms of apostasy, there are two main types: (1) a
falling away from key and true doctrines of the Bible into heretical
teachings that claim to be “the real” Christian doctrine, and (2) a
complete renunciation of the Christian faith, which results in a full
abandonment of Christ.
Arius represents the first form of apostasy—a denial of key Christian
truths (such as the divinity of Christ) that begins a downhill slide
into a full departure from the faith, which is the second form of
apostasy. The second form almost always begins with the first. A
heretical belief becomes a heretical teaching that splinters and grows
until it pollutes all aspects of a person’s faith, and then the end goal
of Satan is accomplished, which is a complete falling away from
Christianity.
A 2010 study by Daniel Dennett and Linda LaScola called “Preachers Who
Are Not Believers.” Dennett and LaScola’s work chronicles five different
preachers who over time were presented with and accepted heretical
teachings about Christianity and now have completely fallen away from
the faith. These pastors are either pantheists or clandestine atheists.
One of the most disturbing truths highlighted in the study is that these
preachers maintain their position as pastors of Christian churches with
their congregations being unaware of their leader’s true spiritual
state.
The Characteristics of Apostasy and Apostates
Jude was the half brother of Jesus and a leader in the early church. In
his New Testament letter, he outlines how to recognize apostasy and
strongly urges those in the body of Christ to contend earnestly for the
faith (Jude 1:3). The Greek word translated “contend earnestly” is a compound verb from which we get the word agonize.
It is in the present infinitive form, which means that the struggle
will be continuous. In other words, Jude says that there will be a
constant fight against false teaching and that Christians should take it
so seriously that we “agonize” over the fight in which we are engaged.
Moreover, Jude makes it clear that every Christian is called to this
fight, not just church leaders, so it is critical that all believers
sharpen their discernment skills so that they can recognize and prevent
apostasy in their midst.
After urging his readers to contend earnestly for the faith, Jude
highlights the reason: “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed,
those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly
persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our
only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). In this one verse, Jude provides Christians with three traits of apostasy and apostate teachers:
First, Jude says that apostasy can be subtle. Apostates have “crept”
into the church. In extra-biblical Greek, the term Jude uses describes
the cunning craftiness of a lawyer who, through clever argumentation,
infiltrates the minds of courtroom officials and corrupts their
thinking. The word literally means “slip in sideways; come in
stealthily; sneak in.” In other words, Jude says it is rare that
apostasy begins in an overt and easily detectable manner. Instead, it
looks a lot like Arius’s doctrine—only a single letter, the iota,
differentiates the false teaching from the true.
Describing this aspect of apostasy and its underlying danger, A. W. Tozer
wrote, “So skilled is error at imitating truth, that the two are
constantly being mistaken for each another. It takes a sharp eye these
days to know which brother is Cain and which is Abel.” The apostle Paul
also speaks to the outwardly pleasing behavior of apostates and their
teaching: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers,
disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan
disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13–14).
In other words, do not look for apostates to appear bad on the outside
or speak dramatic words of heresy at the outset of their teaching.
Rather than denying truth outright, apostates will twist it to fit their
own agenda, but, as pastor R. C. Lensky has noted, “The worst forms of
wickedness consist in perversions of the truth.”
Second, Jude describes apostates as “ungodly” and as those who use God’s
grace as a license to commit unrighteous acts. Beginning with
“ungodly,” Jude describes eighteen unflattering traits of apostates:
they are ungodly (Jude 1:4),
morally perverted (verse 4), denying Christ (verse 4), ones who defile
the flesh (verse 8), rebellious (verse 8), people who revile angels
(verse 8), who are ignorant about God (verse 8), those who proclaim
false visions (verse 10), self-destructive (verse 10), grumblers (verse
16), faultfinders (verse 16), self-satisfying (verse 16), people who use
arrogant words and false flattery (verse 16), mockers of God (verse
18), those who cause divisions (verse 19), worldly minded (verse 19),
and finally (and not surprisingly), devoid of the Spirit/unsaved (verse
19).
Third, Jude says apostates “deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus
Christ.” How do apostates do this? Paul tells us in his letter to Titus,
“To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and
unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience
are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him,
being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed” (Titus 1:15–16).
Through their unrighteous behavior, the apostates show their true
selves. Unlike an apostate, a true believer is someone who has been
delivered from sin to righteousness in Christ and who refuses to
continue in sin (Romans 6:1–2).
Ultimately, the sign of an apostate is that he eventually falls away and
departs from the truth of God’s Word and His righteousness. The apostle
John signifies this is a mark of a false believer: “They went out from
us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they
would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be
shown that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19).
Ideas Have Consequences
Every New Testament book except Philemon contains warnings about false
teaching. Why is this? Simply because ideas have consequences. Right
thinking and its fruit produce goodness, whereas wrong thinking and its
accompanying action result in undesired penalties. As an example, the
Cambodian killing fields in the 1970s were the product of the nihilistic
worldview of Jean Paul Sartre and his teaching. The Khmer Rouge’s
leader, Pol Pot, lived out Sartre’s philosophy toward the people in a
clear and frightening way, which was articulated in this manner: “To
keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss.”
Satan did not come to the first couple in the Garden with an external
armament or visible weapon; instead, he came to them with an idea. And
it was that idea, embraced by Adam and Eve, that condemned them and the
rest of humankind, with the only remedy being the sacrificial death of
God’s Son.
The great tragedy is that, knowingly or unknowingly, the apostate
teacher dooms his unsuspecting followers. Speaking to His disciples
about the religious leaders of His day, Jesus said, “Let them alone;
they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind
man, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14,
emphasis added). Alarmingly, it is not only false teachers who go to
destruction, but their disciples follow them there. Christian
philosopher Søren Kierkegaard put it this way: “For it has never yet been known to fail that one fool, when he goes astray, takes several others with him.”
Conclusion
In AD 325, the Council of Nicea
convened primarily to take up the issue of Arius and his teaching. Much
to Arius’s dismay, the end result was his excommunication and a
statement in the Nicene Creed that affirms Christ’s divinity: “We
believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and
invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the
only-begotten of his Father, of the substance of the Father, God of God,
Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one
substance with the Father.”
Arius may have died centuries ago, but his spiritual children are still with us to this day in the form of cults like the Jehovah’s Witnesses
and others who deny Christ’s true essence and person. Sadly, until
Christ returns and every last spiritual enemy has been removed, tares
such as these will be present among the wheat (Matthew 13:24–30).
In fact, Scripture says apostasy will only get worse as Christ’s return
approaches. “At that time [the latter days] many will fall away and
will betray one another and hate one another” (Matthew 24:10). Paul told the Thessalonians that a great falling away would precede Christ’s second coming (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
and that the end times would be characterized by tribulation and hollow
religious charlatans: “But realize this, that in the last days
difficult times will come. For men will be . . . holding to a form of
godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these”
(2 Timothy 3:1–2, 5).
It is critical, now more than ever, that every believer pray for discernment, combat apostasy, and contend earnestly for the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints.
A MESSAGE FROM THE HARBINGER CLOWN TO ALL HARBINGER HERETICS:
"YOU WANT NOTORIETY, I"LL GIVE YOU NOTORIETY"!
BEWARE OF JONATHAN CAHN'S FANS AND THEIR NONSENSICAL THEOLOGICAL VIEWS.
Dear viewer: This post was originally created back in June 2015. The information shared here has been updated. Much has transpired since Jonathan Cahn's books exploded unto the scene here in America and around the world in January 2012. Many have hailed him as a modern day Old Testament Prophet for the 21st century. However, time has a way of sorting out facts from fallacies. Many of his bogus mysteries and predictions never came to fruition i.e. THE MYSTERY OF THE SHEMITAH which was to result in a global economic collapse in Sept 2015. This false prophecy of Cahn is reminiscent to Harold Camping's false predictions of the end of the world which never happened on May 2011. Yet he has succeeded over the years in drawing a large following after himself. Many of his followers continue to promote his books and videos etc which in a broad sense is built on MYTICAL HERMENUETICS. I am not a stranger to Mr. Cahn. I was a member of his church for many years until my eyes were opened and then I defected. Below I have selected 4 individuals who 10 years ago were aggressively on a witch hunt against certain Christians who strongly disagreed with Mr. Cahn's mystical hermenuetics. Be advised that his followers are still very active on Amazon and other social media platforms promoting his false teachings. SO DO YOURSELF A FAVOR. BE ON YOUR GUARD.
The following is an excerpt from the book "DISCERNMENT TOOL KIT BY APOLOGIST SANDY SIMPSON page 252:
If
a prophet does not tell the truth while claiming to have a direct
pipeline of communication from God, that prophet is to be avoided like
the plague. It doesn't matter if he can bring down fire from heaven and
raise the dead. HE IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED"!
Matthew 24:24
“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; in as much that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
Dear
viewer: The following is a letter that was written to the Berean Call
Ministries on or about July 12th, 2012 by a former associate pastor of
Jonathan Cahn's church Beth Israel. It is a 7 page letter. However, I
have chosen to only quote certain sections. So this letter is basically
an abridged version of the original.
Dear Berean Call:
I
wanted to let you know that I had appreciation for your June 2012
newsletter that discussed the Harbinger( Mr. Cahn's first book). As one
who attended the congregation of Jonathan Cahn for over 13 years,
serving in a pastoral position there for several years, I heard a good
number of sermons that were not based on a sound use of God's word. If
one attended there for an extensive time, he may have noticed an
unhealthy focus on MYSTERY BUSTINGand
Jonathan drawing attention to himself as a special end time vessel of
the Lord in a manner that gave him and the congregation where he taught
an air of superiority over other leaders and churches. This involved an
unsound usage of God's Word with a focus on connecting various events to
other events and scripture.
It actually struck me how Mr. T.A. McMahon having not attended the
congregation of Jonathan Cahn, seemed to have picked up on the same type
of thing that others, who have known Mr. Cahn for years, have also been
concerned with. So let me testify to the gift of discernment that it
seems God has given to you. I'm not sure that replacement theology is at
the heart of Mr. Cahn's error, but rather an overall focus on MYSTERIES
and making connections in a manner that is negligent of sound doctrine
and a clear gospel message. His errors can be very subtle, which would
explain why so many would be taken by it(page#1).
Mr. Cahn says that the Harbinger never says that Isaiah was prophesying
of America but that the pattern of judgement in Israel is now
reoccurring in America. So, if it was not prophesying, why has Mr. Cahn
referred to it's message as being prophetic? I have evidence that he's
done so if you haven't heard or seen it. Having known Jonathan, I'm
aware of his tactics to present half truths and to lead someone to come
to a certain conclusion(like he's implying that he's a prophet) without
directly saying it. He would say certain things that would lead you to
one conclusion, and others that could lead to the very opposite one. He
operates in a lawyer like fashion(sly & manipulative). Is he a
prophet or not? Is the Harbinger a prophetic message or not? Putting
clues together is not prophesying is it? Prophets got direct revelation
from God. We must be very careful to not use the word prophet or the
concept of something as being a prophetic message in a loose, sloppy,
undefined or unclear manner.
It seems like what Mr. Cahn is doing is in essence implying he's a
prophet. It's like he's giving a different variation of prophesy, and
because of that variation(implying that he's received divine revelation
regarding the future of America, while appealing to connection signs
rather than being in the more typical style of modern day professed
prophecy) he's flying under the radar in order to avoid detection by
those who are generally more discerning. But for many years in his
congregational teachings/sermons there were many such connections being
set forth up to your ears! I testify to the things I am writing here
regarding Mr. Cahn's modus operandi/method of operation, as a witness
who knows him well. And believe you me, there are others who have also
been witnesses to such things. And I'm hardly even scratching the
surface here in terms of sharing all the reasons why I have a deep
concern over Mr. Cahn (page 2).
So what has Mr. Cahn revealed in the Harbinger that any
Christian who knows their Bible well couldn't know anyway? Again, just
from referenced verses of Isaiah 10 and Malachi 1, we could know that
any nation, including present day, rebellious, proud America, that is
sinful is in danger of potential judgement. If the Harbinger were never
written, a believer could see in scripture the pattern of pride followed
by God's judicial wrath. But Mr. Cahn has a
past history of taking such things and putting a SPIN ON THEM that is
designed to BLOW YOU AWAY, when in reality he hasn't really taught
anything that a Bible knowledgeable believer could not have already
known from the truths already revealed in God's word. If
anything, there may be a subtle, yet very dangerous undermining-a subtle
drawing attention away from the word of God, and towards Jonathan
Cahn's so called prophetic message, (mysteries) and connections directed
to Jonathan Cahn himself(page 3).
Scripture can be misused and twisted cf 2 Peter 3:16. I've seen
people in Beth Israel who seemed connection crazy at times. But there
was an apparent wall of disconnect when trying to simply discuss and
apply scripture in context with those same people. There certainly was a
form of godliness in being interested in what God was doing, but a lack
of submission to his word, rightly divided. Such is a danger of not
using scripture- The Holy inspired Words of God properly.
I don't think that I can rightly say that Jonathan Cahn is responsible
for all of the unsound usage of scripture that I witnessed at Beth
Israel. There is so much scripture twisting among the professing church.
But I do think that Jonathan's manner of making connections contributes
to the problem and accords with such unsoundness. I did discuss this
sort of issue with Mr. Cahn personally, and he didn't seem to be very
concerned about it. I hope that people will draw conclusions about this
matter if the Harbinger is based on sound usage of God's word, seeking
the word rightly divided of course as their authority by which to
discern. Using scripture in a sloppy careless way can be dangerous, and
make one open to superficial connections.
Even when discussing Frontline, Charisma being the publisher, Jonathan
speaks of an extremely dramatic, far more than natural, and out of the
box way in which things supposedly happened. If one spent enough time
and research trying to, I suspect he could make many such connections
between various events of Scripture and History that would have the
appearance of being beyond coincidence , which were only found because
of the great number of possibilities of connections that existed i.e.
like connections made with the supposed Bible Code revelations. There
are so many possibilities to work with in seeking connections when
working with the letters of scripture. In the past I, and not only I,
have discussed these concerns with Mr. Cahn about an unclear gospel
presentation and related matters and other issues as well on multiple
occasions. He has given a not so clear presentation of the gospel on
numerous occasions(pages 4-6).
Again, I've seen real spiritual shallowness and deadness at Beth
Israel, which apparently accords with Mr. Cahn's manner of using
scripture.
Once again as a former Associate Pastor who was with Jonathan Cahn for
13 years, I testify that you really seem to be on to something. Among
others of us who have known Jonathan Cahn better from first hand
experience, there has also been great concern 1 Timothy 5:24-25 (page
#7).
" In Messiah"
Robert Scarpati
HERETIC #1: THERE IS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO GOES BY THE NAME OF JP COLLADO WHO WAS RECENTLY ACTIVE ON A DISCUSSION BOARD ON AMAZON.COM WITH REGARDS TO THE BOOK THE HARBINGER BY JONATHAN CAHN. HE IS AN ADVOCATE OF A SATANIC OCCULT BOOK KNOWN AS THE ZOHAR. ON AUGUST 26, 2012 HE MADE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS AND I QUOTE: ....THE ZOHAR, A HEBREW SOURCE THAT ACKNOWLEDGES THE ONE TRUE GOD OF THE BIBLE AND NO OTHER". JP ALSO MADE THE FOLLOWING QUOTATION ON AUGUST 25, 2012 ON AMAZON:
"If Paul led the way by consulting pagan sources as a means to aggrandize the message of the cross, then believers like Cahn should not be charged with heresy for simply following the apostle's lead in apologetically using Jewish sources like the Zohar". MOST RECENT POST BY THIS INDIVIDUAL DATED JUNE 1, 2015 ON AMAZON.COM WHICH IS A STATEMENT OF DENIAL OF THE ABOVE TWO STATEMENTS: You make accusations about the Zohar. Go on and tell the readers here how I or brother Cahn have promoted this occultic book. Begin by citing the page number of the Zohar, with a quote, and trace the teaching to Cahn's book side by side. I've asked you to give various examples many times in my conversation with you over the last two years. You have not come up to the challenge.
THE
CHALLENGE HAS BEEN ACCEPTED AND EVERYTHING IN THIS ARTICLE IS MY
REBUTTAL AGAINST THESE 4 HARBINGER HERETICS EXPOSING THEIR FALLACIES.
HERETIC #2: Another individual who goes by the alias LADY BUG on Amazon(her real name is Laura Hayes) posted this comment on Amazon February 9th, 2013 titled "THIS BOOK IS A TRAIN WRECK" as a 1 STAR RATING bashing David James book "THE HARBINGER: IS IT FACT OR FICTION" and I quote:
" THERE IS SUCH A THING AS CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM!And
as far as Jonathan Cahn quoting from THE ZOHAR in a positive manner... Why
is it that people readily understand & accept the fact that Satan,
who can only imitate God, can infiltrate the church but don't believe
God can invade rabbinic writings or even the occult for that matter? He
is a loving God Who wants people to come to a knowledge of the truth.
He reaches people where they are. Jesus was criticized for "eating with
tax collectors & sinners" because the Pharisees thought He should
not associate with such godless people. All Jonathan was doing was
demonstrating God's grace in directing people to Calvary with something
as unlikely as THE ZOHAR! It causes me to praise God that He - our
sovereign God - would lead people to the TRUTH in the most unlikely
place!"
". Rabbi Cahn is charged with
promoting occultic mysticism. However, Chuck Missler said something
very interesting when he, himself, was being charged with mysticism. He
challenged his own critics to find an adequate definition of mysticism.
It's defined as having a direct experience with God... but trying to
seek it outside God's Word is the occult. He then went on to explain
that both Paul and John were mystics, CHRISTIAN MYSTICS - their highest
dream was to be in Christ and Christ in them. David James said Rabbi
Cahn was "apparently" promoting a FORM of mysticism but couldn't
identify WHICH form. I think Chuck Missler identified it for him
(Christian mysticism) & it's VERY Biblical!"
Continuing her book review, Laura Hayes aka Lady Bug on Amazon made the following claims about Jonathan Cahn's use of the Zohar to supplement his apologetics:
"In
June, 2013, I decided to purchase the CD - which is available on the
Beth Israel website (Message #840). At the VERY BEGINNING of that
message, which prefaces EVERYTHING else that is taught, Rabbi Cahn says:
"The
rabbis - who denied Him and yet who bear witness to Him - which is a
powerful thing because, remember, these are the words of a HOSTILE
WITNESS but, somehow, the Spirit of God has forced these things into their
writings so that Messiah (Jesus), even by denying - is upheld. And so it's a
very powerful thing in seeing how real and true and how legitimate - how
totally - the Messiah is Jesus!"
"Rabbi Cahn also kept repeating
the phrase, "EVEN the rabbis [are testifying]..." in that message -
CLEARLY downplaying the rabbinical writings while upholding the Word of
God!"
(Really? My question to Mr. Cahn and Laura Hayes is can you prove that? To even suggest that the Spirit of God inspired New Age Rabbinical Sages to write in the Zohar what Cahn and Laura Hayes stated above, would mean that God has compromised his divine Word and is NOW SHAKING HANDS WITH THE DEVIL! But in 2 Corinthians 6:15 it reads as follows: "WHAT ACCORD HAS CHRIST WITH SATAN"?
Dear Viewer: What Laura Hayes and Jonathan Cahn are claiming here is nothing more than a RED HERRING! At the end of this article, I provide absolute evidence through 3 videos of what these NEW AGE RABBINICAL SAGES actually believe about Jesus of Nazareth and Gulgotha.
DeAnne Loper author of the book " KABBALAH SECRETS CHRISTIANS NEED TO KNOW" offers the following rebuttal to Jonathan Cahn's message "THE ZOHAR SPEAKS":
Galgalta Is Not Golgotha!
And He bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha.
John 19:17
In a teaching titled The Zohar Speaks, Cahn revealed a kabbalistic mystery in which he told congregation members that Galgalta - the head and crown of Keter at the top of the sefirot tree - is the same location as Golgotha, the hill of the skull where Jesus Christ was crucified. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John the word Golgotha means skull; a knoll or hill near Jerusalem. The words skull and Calvary both come from the Greek word kranion,
where the word cranium comes from. Both words simply mean skull and
have nothing to do with the mystical spheres of Kabbalah. In a teaching series presentation Cahn cites the Zohar's version of "the redemption of the worlds" coming from the dew of Galgalta, which he calls "the center of everything, of God's mercy." 30 In Kabbalah, Galgalta represents the skull of Keter, the Crown and the first emanation from Ein Sof. It is also the Arikh Anpin or the Long Face consisting
of the first three spheres of the sefirot tree. Kabbalist visionary,
Michael Laitman, notes from Yehuda Ashlag's commentary on the Zohar, "Dew drips from that Galgalta to Zeir Anpin...to make atonement for your souls." 31Zeir Anpin is just below Arikh Anpin on the Kabbalah sefirot tree and is the VAV of Metatron's cube which is comprised of the next six spheres emanating from Ein Sof. Occultist and 33rd degree Freemason, Manly P. Hall also explains: "When the concealed of the Concealed
wished to reveal Himself He first made a single point...The Qabbalists
gave many names to this dot...The dot is called the first crown...It
is called the aged, because it is the first emanation. It is called
the primordial or smooth point. It is called the white head, the Long Face--Macroprosophus...When the white shining point had appeared, it was called Kether, which means the Crown, and out of it radiated nine great globes, which arranged themselves in the form of a tree...the central point, Kether,
was now filled by four concentric globes called worlds, or spheres, and
the light of the ten Sephiroth was reflected down through each of these
in turn." 32 Herein lies the mysteryof "the redemption of the worlds" that drips from Galgalta: Galgalta is the head or crown of the serpent god of Kabbalah, the skull of Keter, the penetrating light of Leviathan, the mystic force of redemption, the VAV of the sacred name Tetragrammaton and the missing VAV of tashuvu which the Zohar speaks will bring redemption in the 6th millennium.
In her blog Ms. Faith posted the following argument in defense of Jonathan Cahn's bogus mysteries of the Harbinger book I:
" It's been answered again and again: The Harbinger does NOT see America
somehow buried in Isaiah 9:10. The Harbinger does nothing more than
recognize that God has applied Isaiah 9:10 TO America, as He so
often applies His word to us as we read it. In this case He applied it
in a way that could make your hair stand on end, but nevertheless it's
nothing more than the usual application of scripture outside its
original context. The original context REMAINS the original context, God
is merely making use of it for another purpose, which is STANDARD EVERYDAY
BIBLE HERMENUETICS THAT EVERY BELIEVER EXERCISES WHENEVER WE READ THE
BIBLE".
Connie Faith's argument is FALSE. COMPLETELY FALSE!
And here's why it's all based on FALLACIES. Ms. Faith from a biblical perspective is inept when it comes to hermenuetics and how it's applied to biblical prophecy for the following reasons:
Eisegesis is the approach to Bible
interpretation where the interpreter tries to "force" the Bible to mean
something that fits their existing belief or understanding of a
particular issue or doctrine: People who interpret the Bible this way
are usually not willing to let the Bible speak for itself and let the
chips fall where they may. They start off with the up-front goal of
trying to prove a point they already believe in, and everything they
read and interpret is filtered through that paradigm. Stated another
way, they engage in what the Bible refers to as "private
interpretation". Exegesis is the process of approaching Bible
interpretation with a humble spirit, and an open mind: In order to gain a
true understanding of God's Word, one must be willing to allow God's
Word to speak for itself, and be willing to abandon cherished beliefs if
they are in conflict with God's Word: Proper exegesis includes using
the context around the passage, comparing it with other parts of the
Bible, and applying an understanding of the language and customs of the
time of the writing, in an attempt to understand clearly what the
original writer intended to convey. In other words, it is trying to
"pull out" of the passage the meaning inherent in it. The opposite of
exegesis is eisegesis, which is a person's particular interpretation of
scriptures that are not evident in the text itself.
In the interpretation of prophetic literature we must remember that meaning is determined by the biblical author. The biblical author in turn sought to share that divinely revealed meaning by means of this particular literary form. In doing so he submitted himself to the rules governing this form of which were known to him and his readers/hearers. If we want to understand his willed meaning, we must know those rules and interpret his work within the historical and literary context of his day. If we tear his prophecy out of this context and neglect those rules, we will never understand the meaning of such literature, and the biblical author's willed meaning. Instead we will treat his prophetic message as predictive inkblots into which we pour our own meanings. As a result the prophetic message will no longer be a word from God's inspired prophet, but rather a word from a confused reader". When we interpret various prophecies within their historical contexts, it is evident that what was a future prediction then when the prophet wrote it may no longer be a future prediction now when we read the prophecy. By seeking to understand the willed meaning of the biblical author for the situation in which he wrote it, we shall be able to avoid interpreting certain prophecies that have already been fulfilled i.e. such as the return of the Jews from Babylonian exile, as having had a present day fulfillment or as still awaiting a future fulfillment" pages 98-99 A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible Professor Robert H. Stein.
In drawing parallels between Israel and America,
Cahn asserts several things: first, that America was founded on a
covenant with God as much as Israel was. Second, that America is being
released from God's protection to suffer the consequences of having
marginalized Him. Third, that Isaiah predicted all of this in Isaiah
9:10.
Cahn gleans nearly all of his correlations connecting America with a prophecy made to Israel from one verse ; Isaiah:9:10. .
To begin with, this verse applies only to the tribes of the Northern
Kingdom of Israel, who, along with the Southern Kingdom of Judah,
comprise God's covenant with his people. All the way through The
Harbingers, the United States is presented IMPLICITLY as a nation in
covenant with God. God has only one covenant nation; the nation of
Israel. This is a critical error of both books. Although that may be
overlooked by someone eager to recognize the U.S. in Isaiah's prophecy,
one must read the entire context, which begins with verse 8 and runs
through verse 21 of chapter 9. The Harbingers 1&2 has undertones of
Anglo-Israelism and Christian Dominionism. I RECOMMEND YOU WATCH HIS
DOCUMENTARY "THE HARBINGER DECODED" WHERE HE REPEATS THESE SAME CLAIMS
FREE ON YOU TUBE.
Furthermore Is America modeled after Israel as Mr. Cahn claims in Harbingers Books 1&2?
Cahn
often repeats what I call our national myth—that America is somehow
modeled after Israel. This myth goes back to beginning of our history
but cannot be sustained by any biblical standard. The myth is based on
the belief that man can unilaterally make a covenant and bind God to it,
without God having agreed to anything. Cahn claims, “Embedded in
America’s foundation is a prophetic warning. The warning was given on
America’s first day as a nation. It concerns what will happen if America
should ever turn away from God” (Cahn: 21). For such a warning to be
valid and binding, it would have to be issued by an infallible prophet
who speaks for God, in this case, beyond scripture. Who, exactly, is
America’s Moses, or Jesus, or the apostles? Lacking any such person, God
cannot have stated that America is modeled after Israel and has a
binding covenant with her. That God does as Mr. Cahn claims is our
national myth.
The truth is that God draws out the boundaries of
all nations through His providence. The truths revealed in Romans 13 and
elsewhere about how Christians relate to civil governments applied to
Rome when Paul wrote and all civil governments in history. Only Israel
was directly established by God and had a binding covenant mediated
through Moses who God chose and appointed. America has neither a Moses
nor a binding covenant. We are not a nation modeled after Israel and
never have been. The moral laws of God that do apply are found in the
Bible and they apply to all people in all nations.
Cahn falsely
claims that any nation can become a covenant nation: “Such a prophetic
sign could be given to any nation as long as that nation in some way
matched the description or shared the attributes of ancient Israel in
586 BC” (Cahn: 56). Cahn obviously fails to understand what Moses taught
in Deuteronomy 32:8, 9. Only Israel was directly under Yahweh, all the
other nations are under the “sons of God.” No other nations had an
Exodus, a Sinai, or a Moses. All nations are ruled by God’s providence
and are under the principalities and powers (‘sons of God’ of
Deuteronomy 32:8). America is no exception. Cahn again repeats our
national myth in Harbingers 1&2: “Those who founded America not only
foretold its future blessing—but also gave warning. It was this: If
America ever turned away from God, then the same judgments that fell
upon ancient Israel would fall upon America” (Cahn: 61). Israel had
Moses and the prophets who spoke inerrantly for God. Who speaks
bindingly for God beyond Scripture for America? There is no such person
unless of course you've been duped into believing it's Mr. Cahn,
America's so called Prophet. By the way, for those who are wondering
what is the true identity of the Prophet in both Harbingers; IT'S NONE
OTHER THAN JONATHAN CAHN HIMSELF!
HERETIC#4 : Jonathan
Cahn is not the only person in his Messianic congregation that's into
the Zohar and other Rabbinical writings such as the Babylonian Talmud.
There's another individual by the name of Jose J. Bernal, the RINGMASTER of the Harbinger Crazy Circus who back in 2013 posted these comments on Amazon.com:
Jose J. Bernal said: "Isn't
it amazing how God uses Paul in Acts 17 to teach the pagans from their
own writings on Mar's Hill and how in Apologetics even the Book of Zohar
unwittingly supports the Gospel because it has been used by faithful
witness Apologists as a "hostile witness" of the Gospel? Only God can do
such things; turn something like the Book of Zohar into a tool that
bears witness that Jesus is the Messiah! Thank you." "The
only thing that I would use the Zohar for and the Baybylonian Talmud
would be for the same use that eminent Messianic Jews such as Dr. Arnold
G. Fruchtenbaum, Dr. Michael Rygelnik, Dr. Michael Brown, Dr. Mitch
Glazer, and many more, such as Pastor and Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn
would use such works for; to affirm from them the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. This is called in Apologetics "the fair use of a hostile
witness" to affirm a specific matter".
Dear
viewer: The above statements made by Jose J. Bernal is filled with
FALLACIES and founded on faulty logic! I have provided a link here
exposing his heretical views:
Furthermore this man Jose J. Bernal, back in 2013 led the charge on Amazon.com and on his blog, along with his 3 other Harbinger Heretics mentioned above, on an all out verbal assault while engaging in ministry bashing against those who disagreed with Cahn's bogus mysteries as presented in Harbinger book I.
Let’s look at it another way Jose J. Bernal, JP Collado and Laura Hayes – would a born again, biblically sound Christian:
… quote from a Quronic document to evangelize Moslems because it seemed to contain some Christian thoughts?
… quote from aMormondocument to evangelize Mormons because it seemed to contain some Christian thoughts?
… quote from a Jehovah’s Witnesses document to evangelize Jehovah’s Witnesses because it seemed to contain some Christian thoughts?
… quote from a New Age document to evangelize New Agers because it seemed to contain some Christian thoughts?
… quote from a Wiccan document to evangelize Wiccans because it seemed to contain some Christian thoughts?
… quote from a Satanic Bible document to evangelize Satanists because it seemed to contain some Christian thoughts?
DEAR VIEWER: AS I HAVE ALREADY STATED ABOVE, I AM A FORMER
MEMBER OF
PASTOR JONATHAN CAHN'S CHURCH BETH ISRAEL. I UNFORTUNATELY DEFECTED
FROM HIS
CHURCH BECAUSE AFTER MANY YEARS WHILE SITTING UNDER HIS
TEACHINGS/SERMONS I
REALIZED THERE EXIST SERIOUS ERRONEOUS DOCTRINES REVOLVING AROUND HIS
APOLOGETICS. THE BEST WAY I CAN DEFINE HIS APOLOGETICS STYLE IS AS
FOLLOWS; MR. CAHN TAKES HISTORICAL OR PROPHETIC EVENTS WHETHER BIBLICAL
OR CURRENT, AND BLENDS IT WITH JEWISH MYSTICISM WHILE INTERPRETING IT
WITH AN EISEGETICAL APPROACH THAT CORRESPONDS TO HIS OWN VERSION OF
HERMENUETICS. THROUGH THIS METHOD, MR. CAHN INTERPRETS HIS ANCIENT
MYSTERIES ACCORDING TO HIS OWN IDEAS, BIASES OR THE LIKE RATHER THAN
WHAT THE ORIGINAL BIBLICAL AUTHORS INTENDED TO CONVEY TO THEIR
AUDIENCE. HIS BOGUS MYSTERIES ARE BASED ON A FALSE BIBLICAL NARRATIVE.
THE END RESULT IS A RADICAL DEPARTURE FROM WHAT THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
DEFINES AS BIBLICAL MYSTERIES.
MR. CAHN HAS SEEDED THE CHURCH
WITH KABBALISTIC INFLUENCES THROUGH THE ZOHAR AND THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD
BY HIS SERMONS AND BOOKS, DESIGNED TO PEAK THE INNATE CURIOSITY OF THE
MIND OF HIS HEARERS/FOLLOWERS WITH SUCH TERMS AS ANCIENT MYSTERIES.
THESE TERMS ARE CLASSIC NEW AGE EXPRESSIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN USED FOR
CENTURIES BY ALL OCCULT GROUPS OF FREEMASONRY, THEOSOPHY AND NEW AGE
RABBINICAL SAGES FROM THE JUDAIC BRANCH OF KABBALAH. CHRISTIAN MEDIA IS
BEING INUNDATED WITH TEACHINGS AND BOOKS THAT CONTAIN CODE WORDS IN
THEIR TITLES,CHAPTER HEADINGS AND TEXTS THAT ARE DESIGNED TO ATTRACT
GULLIBLE CHRISTIANS TO SEEK SECRET KNOWLEDGE THAT IS LATENT IN THE HUMAN
RACE. WORDS SUCH AS MYSTICAL THINGS, PARADIGM, BLUEPRINT, ANCIENT
WISDOM, BOOK OF MYSTERIES, DECODING SECRET CODES, UNLOCKING MYSTERIES,
HIDDEN KEYS THAT UNLOCK DOORS, YOUR DESTINY, AND HARBINGER; THESE ARE
THE BOOKS THAT ARE BECOMING NY TIMES BESTSELLERS IN TODAY'S CHRISTIAN
MARKET.
NEW AGE TEACHINGS OF FALSE
SCIENCE HAVE BEEN MAKING STEADY INROADS INTO THE CHURCH FOR YEARS
THROUGH BOOKS LIKE QUANTUM FAITH, QUANTUM SPIRITUALITY, THE PHYSICS OF
HEAVEN AND MORE RECENTLY JONATHAN CAHN'S BOOK THE PARADIGM WHICH MR.
CAHN CLAIMS TO BE A BLUEPRINT OF MYSTERIES CONNECTING PAST AND PRESENT
EVENTS. EVEN THE SO CALLED SCIENCE OF KABBALAH IS SAID TO CONTAIN THE
ANCIENT BLUEPRINT THAT REVEALS THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE. WHAT IS NOT
WIDELY UNDERSTOOD BY THE BODY OF CHRIST, IS THAT THE ROOT OF EVERY NEW
CONCEPT AND TERMS/EXPRESSIONS CAN BE TRACED BACK TO ANCIENT BABYLONIAN
MYSTICISM AND KABBALISTIC WRITINGS, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREA OF OCCULT
SCIENCE. MORE IMPORTANTLY THESE SEED-WORDS ARE THE LANGUAGE AND
BUILDING BLOCKS OF SATAN'S COUNTERFEIT KINGDOM ON EARTH THROUGH THE
ANTI-CHRIST AND THE BLUEPRINT FOR THE UNIVERSAL END TIME RELIGION KNOWN
AS MYSTERY BABYLON AS DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION.
THIS BLOG WHICH I CREATED HAS SOUGHT TO
ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE ISSUES. BELOW I AM SHARING THIS ARTICLE
LINK AND SUGGESTED BOOK BY MS. DeANNE LOPER TO READ BECAUSE I
SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT THESE SO CALLED PROPHECIES/MYSTERIES BY
JONATHAN CAHN CONTAINED IN HIS BOOKS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN AN ELABORATE
FABRICATION BASED UPON THE EVIDENCE PRESENTED. KEEP IN MIND THAT GOD DOES NOT VALIDATE THE WORK/WORDS OF FALSE PROPHETS.
Kabbalah, Cahn, and Hebrew Mysticism April 1st, 2013 Excerpted from The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? by Author David James 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: 1. MESSIAH'S CATACLYSM & THE HIDDEN WRITINGS OF 30 A.D. ( The amazing signs contained in the hidden writings of the rabbis that happened c. 30 A.D. . . . ) 2. THE COSMIC TSULAV & THE MYSTERY OF PURIM ( The deep mystery at the center of Purim, and the center of the existence itself, the mystery hidden in the Sistine Chapel, Dante's Inferno, Josephus, the Septuagint, and in the ancient Biblical account - the mystery of the Tsulav, the Cross, the Xulon. ) 3. THE SWORD OF AMALEK & THE MYSTERY OF PURIM ( From the day of the Red Sea, Pharaoh's chariots and Amalek, to the Third Reich, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, and the nuclear sabers of Iran, the amazing mystery of Amalek, the hand of God, and what it has to do with your life. ) 4. THE PRODIGAL SON REVELATION! ( The most universal and personal of Messiah's parables also contains a mystery behind the present age, the Jew, the Gentile, Israel, the Church, and the last days. ) 5. THE MESSIAH BEARER! ( From the deep and mystery filled Book of Hebrews, the mystery of the Messiah Bearer-what it means for your life. ) 6. THE MYSTERY OF THE COSMIC FRINGE ( The Kraspedon Mysteries come to their conclusion-The mystery of Messiah's sacred garment and the mystery of its fringe and a hint: It has everything to do with you. ) 7. THE NISAN GOSPEL MYSTERY ( All the events of our salvation happened in one single time period - the Biblical month of Nisan - Discover the mystery of Nisan, of your salvation, & the powers you have for breakthrough. ) 8. THE COSMIC KEYCHAIN ( As real as a keychain has many keys to unlock...a house - there is a supernatural keychain with supernatural power to unlock the closed doors of your life. ) 9. THE COSMIC KEYCHAIN II ( Messiah has given you a keychain with specific powers of breakthrough - learn how to use the keys & it will change your life. ) 10. ENTERING YOUR PROPHETIC DESTINY! ( One of the most important and very awesome principles operating in your life - and how to walk into your prophetic destiny...! ) In the last chapter of [ The Harbinger ], Kaplan explains to Goren how he figured out the meaning of his personal clay seal.... Between the last sentence in the quote below and what can be seen from the titles above, 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. Mysticism and mystical experiences have been a part of Judaism since the earliest days. . . . The mystical school of thought came to be known as Kabbalah, from the Hebrew root Qof-Beit-Lamed, meaning "to receive, to accept." The word is usually translated as "tradition." "Kabbalah" is a doctrine of esoteric knowledge concerning God and the universe, asserted to have come down as a revelation to the Sages from a remote past, and preserved only by a privileged few. Kabbalah is considered part of the Jewish Oral Law. It is the traditional mystical understanding of the Torah.... Kabbalah includes the understanding of the spiritual spheres in creation, and the rules and ways by which God administers the existence of the Universe. Most forms of Kabbalah teach that every letter, word, number, and accent of scripture contains a hidden sense; and it teaches the methods of interpretation for ascertaining these occult meanings. That Cahn would include this reference to Jewish mysticism in the book is not necessarily an anomaly. Cahn gave a message at his church that also included detailed references to mystical writings, titled "Gulgatah: The Cosmic Skull: The Rabbinic Mysteries V." A segment from near the end of this message was uploaded to YouTube on February 25, 2010, titled "The Zohar Speaks." The following description accompanies the video: "Something never before revealed , to the glory of Messiah! The Cosmic Skull, the mercy of God, and the hidden and mystical writings of the Rabbis that point to Messiah." The description coincides exactly with the overall trajectory of Cahn's messages, and that of The Harbinger , which is to reveal to the world mysteries that have been hidden until he discovers and proclaims them. The Judaism 101 website notes the following: In the middle ages, many of these mystical teachings were committed to writing in books like the Zohar. Many of these writings were asserted to be secret ancient writings or compilations of secret ancient writings. Even though he introduces the Zohar as a "hostile witness," the way Cahn describes its teachings gives the impression that he views the Zohar as being a credible source of truth: Incredible thing. Blew me away. I found it in the mystical Jewish writings of the Zohar. Something I never heard mentioned anywhere, ever. . . . The Zohar speaks, the rabbis are writing of the redemption of the world with Messiah's coming. They speak of life from the dead. They speak of resurrection, the redemption of the world. . . .They say it all will come, the power of all this, the miracle of all this will come from a sacred thing, a sacred place. And this place, this thing, is where all the mercy of God is stored. All the mercy of God pours out from this place, this thing. What is it? Very strange. They call it the "gulgatah." This holy, mystical thing. . . .The most famous scene in human history, the center of salvation. Messiah dying on that hill which appears as a skull. That's why they called it "gulgatah"-Golgatha. And which signifies God's mercy. All His mercy. Why on earth would the rabbis put it there? Makes no sense at all-except that God just puts it in. "God just puts it in." In other words, God inspired the rabbis to write about redemption coming from a skull , yet they had no idea what it meant. So, in this message Cahn presents concepts that are reflected in The Harbinger . The first is that Isaiah:9:10 contains a mystery that no one has seen before-Cahn has discovered it for the very first time-just as he has discovered this inspired message in the ancient rabbinic writings. The second is that Tom Daschle was inspired by God to proclaim America's defiance and thus set up the nation for judgment-even though he didn't know what he was doing-just as is true of the ancient rabbis. As Cahn continues his exposition of the Zohar, the mystical nature of his thinking becomes even more clear. And once again he notes that perhaps no one has ever said the words he has just uttered: In the gulgatah-Golgotha-sit thousands of myriads of worlds. And from the gulgatah-Golgotha-drips dew and fills . . . the dew fills the world and the dead will awaken in the world to come as the dew comes forth. The dew is the light of the ancient one. The light of the ancient one comes from Golgotha and as it touches-the dead ones come to life. From Golgotha is the light of God bringing life from the dead. Golgotha-the radiance of God which brings life. Whoa! That's amazing stuff. And that may be the first time it's ever been said. 'Cause you have to be a believer and you have to be in that stuff. What stuff? Ancient mystical writings . Even more telling, Cahn confidently elevates the rabbis to the level of Moses and Daniel: The death of Messiah-all pinpointed in time and space. Moses zeroed in on the day. Passover. He dies on the day that the lamb is killed. The prophets-Daniel zeroes in on the time period, mathematically, before 70 A.D. Daniel-those seventy sevens. The rabbis in the book of Moed, unwittingly, and another thing we shared this [ sic ], zeroed in on the year by saying that the cosmic change all took place in the year 30 A.D. . . . And now the very hill, the very place, here in, of all places, the rabbinical writings, the Zohar. . . . you want mercy, you go there. Listen to the rabbis on this point. . . . How can a pastor instruct his congregation to "listen to the rabbis" who produced the Zohar and tell them these rabbis were inspired by God? The Zohar is not simply an innocuous source of information-it is an extrabiblical guide to "higher spirituality." It is mystical. It is occultic. The Zohar cannot be understood and felt directly, but requires preconception of spirituality, before one approaches the book. The greatest Kabbalist of our time-Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam)-wrote introductions to The Zohar precisely to guide one's approach to this profound book.... Such articles cultivate one's spiritual qualities to perceive the Higher reality. Additionally, these texts provide knowledge of how to approach certain terms, phrases, and concepts in The Zohar, to maximize its use as a guide for spiritual attainment, avoiding being lost in materialized depictions that the human mind is prone to form. Cahn [has since] tried to justify his practice by noting that the Apostle Paul also referred to the teaching of pagan philosophers in his address to the Athenians (Acts:17:22-31 ). He went on to suggest that Paul would have been "crucified" by discernment ministries for using a hymn to Zeus, and because of his associations. That is a red herring.... Paul's approach is nothing like Cahn's. Cahn refers to the mystical rabbinical writings positively , saying that because God had inspired them his church should "listen to the rabbis." He presents the Zohar as something that can be studied and its depths plumbed for hidden mysteries like he has just revealed. In stark contrast, Paul immediately tells his audience that what they have been taught by their poets about the unknown god...is completely wrong . He does not suggest that their sayings contain hidden mysteries that were inspired by God.... Paul never implies that the Athenians should listen to these men. Rather he refers to a single point of agreement (we all come from God) to denounce their idols. From Romans we understand that the knowledge of that truth is not a hidden mystery, but has rather been made plain to everyone through both the conscience and the Creation (Romans:1:18-2:16). Unfortunately, this treatment of the rabbinic material is consistent with Cahn's frequent practice of "discovering and revealing" hidden mysteries-be it in the Bible or in extrabiblical Jewish writings like the Talmud or even in kabbalistic writings like the Zohar.
Have untold numbers of Christians unwittingly accepted mystical Jewish thought? And after having done so, how many pastors, teachers, and other ministry leaders have preached messages connected to the claims of The Harbinger and have publicly endorsed, promoted, and defended the book and Jonathan Cahn? How many have shared this book and the documentary with unbelieving family and friends? How many millions of dollars have gone into keeping The Harbinger on so many best-seller lists?
THE VIDEO EVIDENCE!
Some final thoughts about the Zohar
Zohar: means RADIANCE OR SPLENDOR. It is the PREMIER TEXT OF OCCULTIC
KNOWLEDGE within the KABBALAH & a basis for laws instituted by NEW
AGE RABBINICAL SAGES. AUTHORSHIP attributed in legend to NEW AGE RABBI
SHIMON BEN YOHAI 2nd century A.D.. The Zohar is the SYNTHESIS OF THE
OCCULT GNOSIS of PHARAONIC EGYPT & ANCIENT BABYLON.
The Lord God
NEVER INSPIRED these new age rabbinical sages to write this OCCULTIC
BOOK UNWITTINGLY OR OTHERWISE as Mr. Jonathan Cahn EMPHATICALLY IS
CLAIMING in these videos. This video clip above clearly reveals that Mr. Cahn
author of the book The HARBINGER has used OCCULTIC WRITINGS IN THE PAST
to SUPPLEMENT HIS SERMONS and TEACHINGS.
Rabbi Simeon Ben Yochai author of the Zohar:
The Roman Emperor of the 2nd century of the C.E. placed a death sentence
upon the head of Rabbi Yochai for fear of his power & great
influence. In order to escape the Roman Soldiers, the great kabbalist
together with his son Rabbi Elazar took refuge in a cave in Pequi"in,
Israel. There for 13 years they buried themselves in the ground up to
their necks in order to subjugate the distractions of their bodies. It
was during this time that they SUPPOSEDLY recieved instructions in the
deepest mysteries of the Torah from ELIJAH THE PROPHET. These teachings
would later become the foundation of THE ZOHAR.
IN ORDER TO PROVIDE FURTHER BACKGROUND INTO THE CORRUPT DOCTRINES AND
MORAL DECAY OF RABBI SIMEON BEN YOHAI, I MAKE THE FOLLOWING QUOTATION
WITH REGARDS TO HIS APPROVAL & LEGALIZATION OF CHILD SEX WITH 3 YEAR
OLD GIRLS AS FOLLOWS:
YEBAMOTH 60b: IT WAS TAUGHT: RABBI SIMEON BEN YOHAI STATED: A PROSOLYTE
WHO IS UNDER THE AGE OF 3 YEARS AND ONE DAY IS PERMITTED TO MARRY A
PRIEST. FOR IT IS SAID, BUT ALL THE WOMEN CHILDREN THAT HAVE NOT KNOWN
MAN BY LYING WITH HIM, KEEP ALIVE FOR YOURSELVES, AND PHINEAS WHO WAS A
PRIEST, SURELY WAS WITH THEM.
This message The Zohar Speaks GULGATHA: THE COSMIC SKULL, THE RABBINIC
MYSTERIES PART V, is a HERETICAL TEACHING by Jonathan Cahn. It is widely
taught in KABBALISTIC CENTERS BY KABBALIST THEMSELVES.
JEWISH SUPERSTITIONS: It is not for nothing that the authoritative
edition of the TALMUD is known as the BABYLONIAN TALMUD. As christians
misled by their JUDAIZING PREACHERS(as this video clearly reveals) are
increasingly consulting JEWISH RABBINICAL SOURCES for a "PURER"
understanding of the Old Testament, they are unknowingly CONSULTING THE
OCCULT!
Judaism is the religion of the PHARISEES & THE PATRIMONY OF BABYLON,
from where the TALMUDIC & KABBALISTIC TRADITIONS OF JUDAISM
ultimately derive. Orthodox Judaism's other sacred book, THE KABBALAH(
REMEMBER THE ZOHAR IS IT'S PREMIER TEXT OF OCCULTIC KNOWLEDGE) is filled
with astrological teachings, fortune-telling, gematria, necromancy
& demonology.
Orthodox Rabbis place curses, cast spells and imagine they have powers
greater than God, derived from their study of the SEFER YEZRIAH, a book
of KABBALISTIC MAGIC. PROFESSING CHRISTIANS, like Mr. Jonathan Cahn
whether he chooses to admit it or not, ARE TRAFFICKING IN BABYLONIAN
PAGANISM WHEN THEY DEFER TO THE RABBIS OF JUDAISM.
In the back cover of his book The Harbinger, Jonathan Cahn claims that
his teachings are known for their PROPHETIC IMPORT & THEIR REVEALING
OF THE DEEP MYSTERIES OF GOD'S WORD. REALLY? DON'T ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE
DECIEVED. The ONLY MYSTERIES that Jonathan Cahn is importing, are from
the OCCULTIC WRITINGS OF RABBINICAL JUDAISM WRITTEN BY NEW AGE
RABBINICAL SAGES going all the way back to the 2nd century A.D.
beginning with THE GREAT KABBALIST RABBI SHIMON BEN YOHAI !
Ample evidence has been provided here to substantiate these claims.
THE DANGERS OF KABBALISM ARE CERTAINTLY REFLECTED IN THE SECRET HISTORY
OF THE ZOHAR. AND THE DANGERS OF THE ZOHAR/KABBALAH CONTINUE TO EXIST TO
THIS PRESENT DAY.
CHRISTIANS: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. JEWISH GNOSTICISM IS BEING SUBTLELY
IMPORTED INTO MAINSTREAM CHRISTIANITY. DON'T ALLOW YOUR ETERNAL DESTINY
TO BE PLACED IN JEOPARDY!
"EXTERMINATION OF THE CHRISTIAN IS A NECESSARY SACRIFICE"- ZOHAR,
SHEMOTH.
RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING BOOK
Kabbalah Secrets Christians Need to Know:
An In Depth Study of the Kosher Pig
and the Gods of Jewish Mysticism
A top selling book in Christianity and Ministry on Amazon!
by Deanne Loper
We
live in a time when false teachings are infiltrating Christian Theology
at a rapid rate. This important book exposes one of the greatest
threats to pure Biblical Christianity. Deanne Loper uncovers the
deception by giving a detailed description of what Kabbalah is and
equips believers to recognize it in its morphed form of Christianity.
The evidence shows that the god of today’s Babylonian and kabbalistic
Judaism is NOT the God of the Bible and that the current convergence of
Christians coming under rabbinic authority will bring them, not to the
one true God of the Bible, but to the subservience of the god of
Kabbalah – Ein Sof – and to its hierarchy of gods.
Growing within the Church is a wide body of rabbis who impress audiences with their extensive knowledge of ancient mysteries that are supposedly hidden in scripture. What is not easily
discerned is that these mysteries are rooted in the traditions of
Babylonian and Kabbalistic doctrines which arose out of EYGPTIAN and
CHALDEAN OCCULTISM. It stands to reason, therefore, that these same teachers illuminated in esoteric Judaism, must also understand the dark sentences of the craft of Kabbalah.
