DISCERNING REVIEWERS OF “THE HARBINGER”
By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Jul 20, 2012 in Current Issues, Features
by David Troxell
There has been considerable controversy and diverse opinions about reviews of the book, “The Harbinger” by Jonathan Cahn. “The Harbinger” is a book in fiction format.
And, in addition, much criticism has been directed at recognized authors and discernment teachers who examined this book according to the Word of God, and drew various conclusions –
So, to help the Body of Christ, I have written this “Short Biography” note to recognize (and applaud) the diverse and multifaceted lives of the reviewers who have spent years in The Word, and many years of discernment research.
The format is simple – Short Bio – Article Review Link
Some of their closing remarks include:
* Jeremy James – “It will reinforce the modern trend of interpreting Bible prophecy out of context and without proper regard to the totality of God’s Holy Word.”
* T.A. McMahon – “We also need to pray for and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ that we all might be biblically discerning regarding the latest agenda, movement, trend, or popular book that is adversely influencing multitudes in the body of Christ.”
* Larry DeBruyn – “As this review and commentary indicates, while I do believe there is much in Jonathan Cahn’s assessment that harbingers, like a sword of Damocles, are hanging over America’s head, I do not believe, for biblical and theological reasons stated, that they (the harbingers) are in anyway imbedded in the forth-telling prophecy of Isaiah 9:10, or in its context.”
* Gary Gilley – “At this point the author massages Scripture and current events in an attempt to prove that God’s judgment on the United States has been hiding in these verses from the day they were given by Isaiah, but have now been unlocked by the careful investigation of Cahn.
Nothing could be further from the truth and, even more importantly, once someone decides they can cherry-pick verses at will, change the meaning of these texts to fit his theories and use random hermeneutical methods, anything can be ‘proven.’ “
* Dave James – “Unfortunately, The Harbinger is a distraction from properly understanding the Word of God, particularly prophecy and so can legitimately be characterized as dangerous. It conveys what the author believes is a prophetic message, but the book clearly does not meet the tests for a prophetic Word from God.”
* Berit Kjos – “Rabbi Cahn calls his message “The Ancient Mystery that holds the secret of America’s future,” but it’s no mystery to those who are familiar with God’s warnings through Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and other Old Testament prophets.
Their words and insights demonstrate God’s concern for His wayward people and His loving forgiveness when we humbly repent and return. We would be foolish to ignore them, and wise to heed them.
We have posted a list of warnings and prophecies on these three pages: God’s Warnings for our Times, Fulfilled Prophecies and Prophets who mislead their flock. Even though Rabbi Cahn only mentions one such warning, there are countless others. Many are far more explicit and appropriate for our times than Isaiah 9:10.”
* Jack Kelley – “In summary, it’s not the Church’s job to save America. Our job is to store up treasure in Heaven by helping those who can no longer help themselves on Earth. In this way we show forth the light and love of the Lord in this dark and dying place. Selah”
* Joseph Chambers – “I am overwhelmed with the church’s utter lack of discernment. The so-called prophet in this book is utterly possessed with all the characteristics of the occult. Almost every action of a Psychic Practitioner is evident in his book. His use of Scriptures from Jewish history and the application of those Scriptures to the New Testament era is “Replacement Theology”. On and on goes the list of this book’s Luciferian thinking.”
* Christine Pack – “Does The Harbinger hold clues to helping America find her way back God? In my view, Jonathan Cahn’s book is “hooking” those Christians in America who are burdened over the rising tide of immorality in our country, and who desire for America to repent and come back to the Lord. This is not a wrong or wicked desire…..it’s just that, it might not play out that way, in God’s sovereign plan. And this desire can become problematic, especially when Christians begin linking with non-Christians (as Jonathan Cahn did with Mormon Glenn Beck) in an effort to force those desires to come to fruition.
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)”
* Ken Silva – “This brings me to the critical issue I spoke of earlier: Is Jonathan Cahn trying to have his cake and eat it too? In other words, is TH really prophesy or is it fiction? He cannot have it both ways, which it appears to me he is trying to do. Allowing himself to be portrayed a prophet but leaving an escape hatch open by also claiming fiction.”
There has been considerable controversy and diverse opinions about reviews of the book, “The Harbinger” by Jonathan Cahn . “The Harbinger” is a book in fiction format.
And, in addition, much criticism has been at recognized authors and discernment teachers who examined this book according to the Word of God, and drew various conclusions –
So, to help the Body of Christ, I have written this “Short Biography” note to recognize (and applaud) the diverse and multifaceted lives of the reviewers who have spent years in The Word, and many years of discernment research.
Bios of Reviewers
“Berit Kjos is a respected researcher, the author of many books and magazine articles, and a concerned parent (and grandparent) who has extensively studied religious trends, today’s social changes, the roots and branches of the United Nations, the rising worldwide management system, and – most alarming of all — the transformation of the church.
Kjos first became aware of New Age and occult influences in our society at a 1974 conference on holistic health. As a registered nurse, she was interested in methods of healing, but soon discovered that the occult powers found in New Age methods brought bondage instead of true healing. As a parent, Kjos became aware of similar New Age influences in education. She began to monitor the schools for classroom programs that taught occultism and New Age spirituality, then began to share what she learned with other parents and teachers…..
Kjos’ book, Brave New Schools, surveys the scene in today’s public schools and provides guidelines for parents who are concerned about their children’s education. Kjos shows how myth, feeling, imagination, and politically correct stories are replacing truth, facts, logic, and history in the classroom. She… is also the author of A Twist of Faith, Your Child and the New Age, Under the Spell of Mother Earth, and A Wardrobe from the King….”
What’s Wrong with The Harbinger’s “Ancient mystery”?
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Dave James is a co-founder of The Alliance for Biblical Integrity and the ministry coordinator, responsible for the development of ABI. Dave served with Word of Life Fellowship from 1988 to 2009, with 16 of those years as a missionary in Hungary (1993-2009). He is the founding director of the WOL Hungary Bible Institute. Dave is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, Word of Life Bible Institute and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction?
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Dr. Gary E. Gilley has been pastoring at Southern View Chapel for more than 33 years. He is author of four books, and has also contributed to two other books, including Dispensationalism Tomorrow & Beyond, a Tribute to Charles Ryrie.
Pastor Gilley received his B. A. from Moody Bible Institute and his M.B.S and Th.D from Cambridge Graduate School. He is a frequent speaker at Bible conferences and writes the monthly study paper, Think on These Things and is the Book Review Editor for the Journal of Dispensational Theology. He is also a board member of Brazil Gospel Fellowship Mission, Personal Freedom Outreach and New Tribes Missions.
Pastor Gilley and his wife Marsha have two adult sons and five grandchildren.
Gary Gilley Reviews The Harbinger By Jonathan Cahn
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Jack Kelley is a Christian writer with several books to his credit, including “Children’s Stories of the Bible, The Adult Version” and “The Stories of the Patriarchs” a fictionalized account of the Book of Genesis. His book entitled “The Seven Churches Chronicle” is a commentary on Revelation 2-3 that appears in eBook form on this website and is based on a research trip to Turkey and Greece, where he visited the actual sites of these churches as well as other prominent New Testament locations.
Jack was a successful management consultant who “grew up” in a main line denomination but 25 years ago experienced a radical conversion to Evangelical Christianity. Since that time he has devoted most of his time and energy to studying and teaching the Bible, conducting studies throughout the western US and serving as teacher, counselor, and lay pastor. He has led several pilgrimages to Israel and Jordan, and is the author of all the website’s articles.
These articles and his answers to questions on the Bible have been read by millions of pastors, teachers and students in over 180 countries and territories around the world and are regularly used as sermon topics and Sunday School lessons. Jack and his family currently reside on the Baja Peninsula in Mexico where they serve as volunteer missionaries. (Jack is not the former USA Today reporter, nor is he the former TV star and game show host.)
A Critique Of The Harbinger – A Critique by Jack Kelley
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Jeremy James (bio from author by way of email)
“Jeremy James came to the LORD at age 52. Raised a Roman Catholic in Ireland, he suffered terribly from its false teaching. This in turn drove him into a New Age cult at age 19, which he followed and promoted actively for the next 33 years. He published two books on the New Age and had two others accepted for publication before he was saved. He also spoke regularly at New Age events in various parts of the US, including California, Texas, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Ohio, Kentucky, N Carolina, and Connecticut, and was the official guest speaker at New Age conferences in countries such as England, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Mexico, and Ghana.
While in Africa in 2008 he was subjected in his sleep to a vicious demonic attack which went on for about 10 minutes or so. A coven of witches had organized this attack for 1 August, one of four human sacrifice ‘feast days’ in the occult calendar. The huge hate-filled demon would have destroyed him had he not received total protection from an ‘unknown’ source. When he awoke from this terrible experience he knew he had been marked for death by practitioners of black magic but that some invisible agency had placed a mantle of protection around him. Over the following four weeks he came to realize that his Saviour had been Christ. He repented and was born again in Christ on 2 September.
Ever since then he has been trying to alert the public to the dangers of the occult and the New Age, primarily through his websitewww.zephaniah.eu. From his background in the New Age, he could see very clearly that much of its philosophy had already infiltrated the church and was giving rise to a false form of Christianity that had no power to save anyone. He has published detailed warnings about the false Emerging church, the false prosperity gospel, the false Word Faith church, the false Purpose Driven church, the paganized form of Christianity taught by CS Lewis, and the terrible threat posed to true Christianity by the Ecumenical movement. He has also tried to raise awareness of the dangers of the New World Order, Freemasonry, the secret Roman Catholic agenda, and the coming One World Religion that will usher in the Antichrist.”
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Joseph Chambers (born January 19, 1936) is a Classical Pentecostal and has authored six books, co-authored 2 books,[1] has written over 185 booklets,[2] and made over 18 videos[3] on various Christian related subjects and is famous for his video series, which is an exposé on Benny Hinn, Kenneth Hagin, and The False Anointing.[4] He is married to Juanita H. Chambers and has three children and six grandchildren.
He was a pastor in Tabor City, NC between 1957–1958, then Rockwell, NC between 1958-1964 He then became the pastor in Black Mountain, North Carolina between 1964-1968 – then Senior Minister in Paw Creek in 1968 where he still resides and is still Senior Pastor of Paw Creek Ministries, Charlotte, North Carolina.
“THE HARBINGER” AND RICK JOYNER By Pastor Joseph Chambers
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Pastor Larry DeBruyn
A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Central High School, 1962), Larry DeBruyn is a graduate of Taylor University (B.S., 1968) and Dallas Theological Seminary (Th. M., 1974) where he received the Charles A. Nash Award in Church History. He has been married to his wife for forty-three years. They have two grown sons.
A former public school teacher, Pastor Larry ministered to three local churches in Michigan, Missouri and Indiana for forty-three years. He has also taught on the adjunct faculties of Taylor University, Upland, Indiana (1979), Crossroads Bible College, Indianapolis, Indiana (1990-1999), and Word of Life Bible Institute, Tóalmás, Hungary (2006). Since 1990, he has ministered in Eastern Europe teaching several times at the Kiev Theological Seminary, assisting to plant churches in Lithuania and Ukraine, and preaching in Latvia (2011), Australia (2010, 2011) and New Zealand (2011).
In addition to contributing articles to various websites, to Christian magazines such as Christianity Today, to theological journals such as Bibliotheca Sacra and Contending Earnestly for the Faith, he has authored three books: Church On the Rise: Why I am not a ‘Purpose Driven’ Pastor (2007), Drumming Up Deception: Whether in Celebration or Contemplation– ‘Feeling’ the Beat (2008), and Unshackled: Breaking Away from Seductive Spirituality (2009).
He is an Indianapolis Colts and Indiana Pacers fan.
The Harbinger – A Review and Commentary – By Pastor Larry DeBruyn
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T.A. McMahon is president and executive director of The Berean Call ministry, editor-in-chief and contributing writer for The Berean Call newsletter, co-author of The Seduction of Christianity, America: The Sorcerer’s New Apprentice, Understand the Times , and author of Showtime for the Sheep? and Temporal Delusion .
Holder of a master’s degree in communications, he has researched and written numerous documentaries and scripted several feature films. His writing/producing for Christian videos includes The Cult Explosion, The God Makers, The New Age: Pathway to Paradise? The Evolution Conspiracy, A Woman Rides the Beast, Israel, Islam & Armageddon, and Psychology and the Church.
The Harbinger – A Matter of Critical Discernment by T.A. McMahon
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Christine Pack
(edited for a more concise bio for this note)
Sola Sisters are two sisters (Christine Pack & Cathy Mathews) who were saved out of New Age Spirituality, and who now have a deep love for the Word of God. Instead of standing on the shifting ground of whatever new teaching-fad-class-book-technique-discipline-etc. to come along, we now stand firmly upon the Rock of Christ. The name of our blog comes from the rallying cry of the Reformation, because it was through understanding and studying the “Solas” that we became firmly rooted in Truth.
Sola Fide (by faith alone)
Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone)
Sola Gratia (by grace alone)
Solo Christo (through Christ alone)
Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory)
This blog also came about because of our concern over false teachings that we realized were coming into today’s Church. Having both been saved OUT of the New Age and occultism, we were alarmed when we began to see some of the same things we did in the New Age creeping into the church……only now, these practices have been cleverly repackaged with Christian terminology, rendering them all the more deceptive.
We therefore want to sound a warning to the church today, and to encourage and equip others who might be having a similar experience in their own churches. As Christians, we must remember that God has called his people to be set apart unto him, to be in the world, but not of the world. Syncretizing our worship of the LORD with pagan practices is a practice that the LORD calls “detestable.”
A Commentary on The Harbinger Posted by Christine Pack
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Rev. Ken Silva, an ordained SBC minister
(edited for a more concise bio for this note)
“THE MISSION OF APPRISING MINISTRIES
Apprising Ministries is a non-profit and tax-exempt labor extending as a fully integrated auxiliary from Connecticut River Baptist Church (CRBC). Rooted in classic, historic, orthodox Christian theology, AM, as in Awaken—It’s Morning, is actually to be a bit similar to the type of ministry done by Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989), founder of the Christian Research Institute, only in an updated fashion. The idea is to also handle Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism, apostate Roman Catholicism as well as to deal with issues related to semi-pelagian postevangelicalism and the postliberalism of the Emergent Church in addition to counter-cult evangelism.
AM is the vision of its president, Rev. Ken Silva, an ordained SBC minister who has been led of the Lord to move beyond the typical “plus-minus” type of apologetic so common today and to return to more of the aggressive polemic an Irenaeus might use. Although what is written at AM may often be quite blunt, considering the time of rampant apostasy in which we now live, this also is by design. It needs to be understood that in Special Ops often unconventional warfare techniques become the norm.
Early in 2006 the Lord moved Ingrid Schlueter, former host of the popular radio program Crosstalk and author of the popular, but now offline, Slice of Laodicea, to give Ken Silva the Christian Research Net, which she had founded. CRN is now itself an outreach extending from Apprising Ministries with multiple volunteer contributors who are under Silva’s ministerial supervision as General Editor, four of which are also pastor-teachers themselves as he is.”
The Harbinger: Prophetic Fact Or Fickle Fiction?
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David Troxell – Editor of Discerning Reviewer Bios of “The Harbinger” by Jonathan Cahn
First Load Up – Spending Time With the Master eBook
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