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The Lord has had me repent of pride in correcting a brother or sister many years ago. He showed me:
Romans 14:1-4 “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.”
As I prayed about the meaning of it, the Lord reminded me of how He restored Peter after He had denied Jesus. Remember that Peter had boasted in pride about his own faith that he would never abandon Jesus…
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A Commentary on The Harbinger: A Warning About The Harbinger
by Christine Pack
Source
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=8385
A book called The Harbinger is fast becoming a lightning rod issue among evangelical Christians, with many Christians saying it is exactly what America needs right now to “wake up” and repent, and come back to biblical truth, but other Christians documenting that Cahn quotes liberally from extra-biblical and mystical sources for his book. The cover of Cahn’s book (right) boldly claims that The Harbinger is an “Ancient Mystery that Holds the Secret of America’s Future.”
Could this be true? Could it be that there are hidden truths that need to be decoded and unveiled to Christians today? And if so, for what purpose? Cahn seems to think so, and has written a book which proclaims just that. The Harbinger is a fiction book, and features a character known as The Prophet who is slowly giving seals to one of the main characters. These seals contain messages (nine in all) which are meant to be put together as clues in a mystery, so that a final, distinct message will emerge and be revealed. This message, once decoded, is intimated to hold the secret to bringing America back to its moral center and becoming once again a Godly nation.
I have many concerns about this book, and so I will address them one at a time.
Gnosticism
There is an exchange between two of the characters in The Harbinger who are discussing a secret message from a mysterious character (“The Prophet”) in the book:
“It’s the appointed time, but not for an ancient nation. It’s time for the word to be given…..for the mystery to be revealed…..for the message to go forth. It’s the appointed time⎯but not for an ancient nation.” (The Harbinger, p 13)
Friends, anytime you see language like this, and like the language below (also from The Harbinger)…..
¡ “ancient mystery hidden for thousands of years……but now revealed”
¡ a “mystery” that holds a “secret” to our future
¡ “clues” needed to “unlock” a mystery
¡ “messages” that need to be “unveiled”
……what you are dealing with is an ancient heresy called Gnosticism.
Gnosticism is a very old heresy that teaches that the truth has to be decoded, uncovered, unlocked, unveiled, discovered.
Secret Knowledge = Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a heresy because, according to God, we are given all that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) in God’s word. We don’t need to decode secret mysteries, unravel sealed up messages, decipher clues, or pull back the veil on hidden things. All that we need, all that God wants us to know, is contained in the Bible. Now, I will grant that in the New Testament, Paul does talk about the mystery of Gentiles and Jews being united together in a common church and common faith (something that could have scarcely been imagined in Old Testament times). There is also the mystery of Jesus Christ, who was dimly glimpsed through types and shadows in the Old Testament, but Who was gloriously revealed in his fullness as our Savior in the New Testament. But these are mysteries which are laid open for all to see and know and understand and respond to, and not clues on a Mysterious Journey to Somewhere (which is really the more western understanding of the word “mystery”).
“I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right.”(Isaiah 45:19)
As a former Gnostic, I found great comfort as a born again Christian in understanding that all that God truly wants me to know He has plainly revealed in his Word. I spent more than a decade of my life as a New Ager/Gnostic going from teaching to teaching to teaching. I lost track of how many conferences I went to, books I purchased, teachers and gurus that I sought out, all in an effort to find truth. My quest for truth was sincere, but truth proved to be surprisingly elusive to attain. By the time God saved me, I was weary. I was worn out. I didn’t have it in me to go after One More Thing. All I could think of at the end was that I wanted rest, just a little bit of rest, from all my fruitless searching. The Lord, in his infinite mercy, gave me rest by rescuing me out of the mire of man-made wisdom and giving me the elegant simplicity of his Word. There is such a lovely purity and clarity in knowing that I can rest securely in the knowledge that all that God wants me to know I can find in the Bible.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
If you are unfamiliar with the heresy of Gnosticism, please listen to Phil Johnson in this in-depth discussion of what Gnosticism is, and see if you don’t come away from that talk thinking of The Harbinger.
Fiction? or Fiction Masquerading Itself as Fact?
Much like William P. Young’s troublesome book The Shack, The Harbinger also has a fictional character who is teaching things that are contrary to Scripture, but which the author wants to claim as truth. Of course, when pressed on the biblical problems with the teachings, both Young and Cahn have resorted to saying, But it’s only a fictional character! The problem with this is that Young and Cahn both personally believe what they have written, and are seeking to teach a wide audience of readers what they believe to be true, while hiding behind the label “Fiction.”
The Truth About America’s Future
The truth about America’s future (and the future of all nations, for that matter), is that God holds the future in His hands. Yes, we should pray, we are commanded and exhorted to pray, but ultimately, we know that our sovereign Lord will work all things together for the good of those who love him and for HIS own purposes (Romans 8:28). And sometimes, in God’s sovereign wisdom, this means that He will allow countries to fall, and nations to topple. Even, that is, nations that He has used in a mighty way to proclaim his truth to the world. I certainly do not desire to see America fall, and I pray for the leaders of this country, but at the same time, we know from the Bible that God has often used times of distress and difficulty as a means of chastening and disciplining his people.
“The kingfs heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.” (Proverbs 21:1)
When I was a fairly new Christian, I came across a resource called James Ussher’s Chronological Chart of History that helped steady my thinking in this regard. James Ussher was a 17th century Anglican bishop who painstakingly charted out the bloodline from Adam and Eve to Jesus. His chart features the Biblical timeline going across the top and the corresponding world history underneath it. It’s so amazing to look at this chart, and see God’s hand sovereignly guiding all of human history. Below the scarlet thread of Jesus’s bloodline, you see nations and kings rise and fall, rise and fall, but above it all, God’s bloodline marches steadily onward toward the fulfillment of his purposes.
As Americans, we tend to think that we are so mighty, the greatest nation on earth. Well, when you look at Ussher’s timeline, you realize that ALL these kingdoms once had their day in the sun, but where are they now? Egypt was once the mightiest nation in the world, known for the architectural magnificence of their awe-inspiring pyramids, and for taming the Nile River. Babylon, known for their acclaimed Hanging Gardens, and brilliant military campaigns led by Nebuchadnezzar. Rome, their amazing Roman roads and contributions to education and government. Where are they now? Some of them are still around, but do they rule the world? Looking at this chart is truly humbling, and it brings the deeper realization that all that is here will be one day be burned up and destroyed, when God himself creates a new heavens and a new earth. No government that exists here on earth – not even America – will be reigning in that Kingdom to come. But this is not bad news, this is glorious, good news, that should gladden the heart of all who truly love God and bend the knee to his sovereign will and purposes.
As far as America goes, all people everywhere are commanded to repent and believe on Christ for the forgiveness of sins, but that is not the basic message of this book. This book teaches that there is a secret message encoded in the Bible that needs to be decoded to be understood, and if we will only buy this book and decode this message, then we can bring America back. But as I wrote above, this is the heresy of Gnosticism. Our country does not need a “special” Gnostic teaching to tell us what we already know about repentance, salvation and the forgiveness of sins. In fact, I tend to agree with John MacArthur (When God Abandons A Nation), that when we look around us, we don’t need to wonder, will we be judged? because we are already under judgment. First came the sexual revolution of the 60s/70s/80s (Romans 1:24), then came the homosexual revolution (Romans 1:26-27), and next comes the debased mind (Romans 1:28). We are following the trajectory laid out in Romans 1, and where we are indicates not a country that is basically good and can come back to its moral center, but a country that has been given over to its depravity. So we can churn out book after book about “taking back America” and “reclaiming America” (including Jonathan Cahn’s The Harbinger), but in my opinion, America is past the tipping point. True Bible-believing Christians are in the minority in this country, and a minority is never going to reclaim a culture. We need to proclaim the gospel and snatch the few that we can from the flames.
Jonathan Cahn’s Extrabiblical, Mystical Sources
“An incredible thing, it blew me away, I found it in the mystical writings, Jewish writings, of the Zohar*….” Jonathan Cahn, discussing extra-biblical, mystical writings as his sources.
* Please note that Zohar is an extrabiblical, mystical source from which the occultic and mystical Kabbalah is derived.
The Zohar Speaks
Jonathan Cahn | Myspace Video
Jonathan Cahn Goes on Glenn Beck’s Show To Discuss How To “Save A Nation”
Harbinger author Jonathan Cahn joined Mormon Glenn Beck for two segments of Beck’s June 26/June 27 programs, and said the following things about The Harbinger:
“The Harbinger is a two and a half thousand year mystery that lies behind everything.”
“The message of The Harbinger is not to condemn, it’s to wake up and it’s to call back. This is I believe coming out now for a reason, it’s to save a nation, and to turn back.”
“We can’t maintain our blessings without God…..America is blessed as much as America follows God. If America does not follow God, you cannot expect the smiles of heaven.”
Once again, a Gnostic teaching about a “mystery” that has to be decoded, and a call for America to turn back to God. But, why is Jonathan Cahn, who is a Christian pastor, linking with a Mormon (Glenn Beck) in order to proclaim his message? Christians and Mormons do not worship the same God, and for Cahn to appear with Mormon Glenn Beck and for the two to discuss God and America turning back to God can only serve to send a very confusing message to the world about who “God” is.
Conclusion
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)
There has been plenty of controversy regarding the book, “The Harbinger” by Jonathan Cahn. I don’t recommend this book (you can search for links on this site to find out why) but I do recommend this by John MacArthur…
“God has abandoned America to the effects of its sinful choices. Oh, this isn’t the first nation that it’s happened to, this is the story of history. Acts 14:16, the Apostle Paul said, ‘In the generations gone by, He…God… permitted all the nations to go their own way.’ …But God has abandoned our society because our society has first abandoned God. There is no surer and no sadder evidence of a corrupted, wicked abandoned society than when that society will not tolerate anger against sin.”
Grace to You :: Unleashing God’s Truth One Verse at a Time
When God Abandons a Nation
Scripture: Romans 1:18-32
Code: 80-314
It is always instructive, it is always enlightening, it is sometimes literally scintillating to turn to the pages of God and see what it has to say and how relevantly it speaks to our time and to our lives.
That will be true tonight as we turn in our Bibles to the first chapter of Romans. Romans chapter 1 and we’re going to be looking at a somewhat familiar portion of Scripture to anyone who is a student of the Bible. Romans chapter 1, beginning in verse 18 and running through the end of this chapter.
I’m going to read just the first verse to set the stage for the unfolding of this profound truth. Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
This section is about the wrath of God. Admittedly not a popular subject, certainly not a popular subject in the world and not even a popular subject in the church. But an absolutely critical and central subject to any understanding of the gospel, the wrath of God.
Now there are a number of different aspects to the wrath of God. There is what we could call eternal wrath because it is the punishment that God brings upon unbelieving sinners forever in hell…that’s eternal wrath. And the Bible speaks often of that. There is also eschatological wrath, that is the wrath of God that is released at the end of the world described by some of the Old Testament prophets, described by Jesus Christ Himself in the Olivet Discourse and clearly laid out for us in the book of Revelation. Eschatological wrath, that aspect of God’s wrath that is released at the end of the world.
There is also what we could call cataclysmic wrath, like a tsunami, a volcano, a hurricane, an earthquake, a plane flying in to the Twin Towers resulting in thousands of death…cataclysms happen in this world. And they are a reflection of the judgment of God. There is also what you could call consequential wrath. Consequential wrath is the sowing and reaping wrath, you live a certain kind of life and you set in motion certain forces that will produce judgment.
Finish article HERE
WHY BIRDS DON’T NEED SOCKS
This is a departure from my usual posts but this is something I have wondered about for a long time.
– The following is from Creation Moments, November 7, 2011, www.creationmoments.com:
“Have you ever watched ducks out on an icy lake paddling around in the near-freezing water? They will spend much of the day in that one spot with the temperature well below freezing, and yet the cold doesn’t seem to bother them. Perhaps on shore there are some sparrows hopping around in the snow. One wonders: Why don’t birds need shoes and socks? If you or I ran around with bare feet and legs when the temperature was below freezing, it would not be very long before we had a good case of frostbite. We could even lose so much body heat that our very lives would be threatened.
Birds have a network of arteries that all blood going into their legs must enter. These arteries are interwoven with the veins returning from the foot. When the blood going to the foot enters this structure, called a ‘wonder net,’ its temperature is 106 degrees Fahrenheit. The blood returning from the foot at the same time is only 37 degrees. The warm blood passing through the net reheats the cold blood coming from the foot before it enters the body. The result is that the bird loses very little body heat. So the blood going into the foot never becomes dangerously cold in normal winter weather.
The wisdom of this design is obvious. Could birds have survived having their feet frozen off before they learned to evolve this special arrangement? Our only conclusion can be that there is a Creator who cares for all of His creation, including you and me!”
It looks as though Charisma magazine has been invaded by the New Apostolic Reformation with their hordes of false prophets. I realize that invaded is not a correct assessment.
Then, again, this should come as no surprise. After all, the magazine’s founder and publisher, Stephen Strang, and its long-time former editor of 11 years, J. Lee Grady (who still serves as a contributing editor), have both sat as apostles on the International Coalition of Apostles. And they continue to take part in NAR gatherings, such as a recent Awakening Conference in Anchorage, Alaska, featuring Grady.
Please read from Spirit of Error
Yet another book is being promoted from the Christian community. The reviews are out and here are what some of the well-respected ministries are saying about this book.
Paul commended the Bereans for examining everything he said. They wanted to know if what he was saying was true. If Paul was not above examination, certainly neither is the Christian book writing community.
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/scarpatiletter.html by “a former Associate Pastor who was with Jonathan Cahn for years” Robert Scarpati
http://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2012/07/critical-look-at-harbinger.html# by Dr. Thomas Ice
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=8385 (Christine Pack, Sola Sisters)
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=8405 Mark Dinsmore
http://www.biblicalintegrity.org/blog/2012/04/26/harbinger-fact-fiction/ by Dave James
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/2012/harbinger.htm Berit Kjos
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/2012/James/harbinger.htm Jeremy James
http://www.thebereancall.org/content/harbinger-matter-critical-discernment T. A. McMahon
http://gracethrufaith.com/selah/a-critique-of-the-harbinger/ Jack Kelley
http://herescope.blogspot.com/2012/06/harbinger.html Pastor Larry DeBruyn
http://apprising.org/2012/06/01/gary-gilley-reviews-the-harbinger-by-jonathan-cahn/ Gary Gilley
We need to pass this on…..
This is one of the most important series I have ever read. Please carefully read all this information. Spiritual deception is at an all time high.
Quantum Mysticism Goes to Market
COSMS, CODES, AND CRYPTOLOGIES, Conclusion
The Discernment Research Group published this article series because we are deeply concerned that good saints have been captivated by these fanciful storytellers with their dramatic imagery. Some have told us that they can “handle” this sort of imaginative mixture. Maybe they can. But sadly, there are many new or fragile believers who could easily become lured into the occult world through exposure to these quantum teachings. This is unconscionable!
This article series was a massive project of the Discernment Research Group that took a year and a half to complete. [See Editor’s Note at the end.] In keeping with our mission, we focused primarily on the biblical truth versus the error. However, there are many other side issues that came up during our research that left us with lingering, disturbing questions about the quantum collaborators’ connections, activities and associations.[6]
Our heartfelt desire is to urge our friends and fellow discerners, researchers and readers, to please consider the evidence presented in this extensive 9-part series and weigh it in the light of Scripture. We plead with you to consider the admonition of Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:4, when speaking of His imminent return: “Take heed that no man deceive you.”
Read HERE
Fleshly or Spiritual Leader—Which are You?
By caryschmidt | May 24, 2012
Recently I was having a conversation with a wonderful servant of God who has worked for several “high-profile” Christian leaders in the past two decades. This is a person for whom I have the utmost respect—an individual with a very gracious spirit, incredible gift mix, and true servant’s heart. And this is a person who has expended sacrificial service to the Lord with great poise and faithfulness. Yet, in our conversation, I was sad to discover the mistreatment and disrespect that this person had endured from a well-known evangelical leader. The conversation was brief, appropriate, and rather vague, but enough for me to see that this person had lost a lot of respect for someone once held in high esteem.
Flesh is powerful. Flesh is demanding. Flesh in leadership is ugly—really ugly. Flesh in leadership finds it easy to ride roughshod over people. Flesh enjoys “ripping face.” Flesh reasons that someone “deserves it.” Flesh enjoys dominance. Flesh finds fulfillment in being insulting—especially in a group. Flesh feels justified in giving a piece of its mind, putting someone in their place, and reminding everyone who’s really in charge. Flesh often reminds itself how stupid everybody else really is. Flesh loves to assert and reassert itself. Sometimes it masquerades as well-meaning. Sometimes it rationalizes the “ends justifies the means”—after all, the ministry outcome is for the Lord. But for those on the other end of the “flesh trip”—it always hurts.
Finish HERE
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