Jonathan Cahn is a Messianic Jew. He pastors a church, Beth Israel Worship Center, in Wayne, New Jersey. It outwardly looks like any other everyday suburban church. On this particular Sunday morning he addresses his congregation saying, “Some of you have been saying you want to live in biblical times, well, you are.” I agree with him on that point, but I question much of what he has written in his books.
Cahn has written several books linking Old Testament prophecies to current events like 911, the election of Donald Trump as president, and the pandemic. His interpretations of Scripture are based on very subjective explanations of Old Testament passages and the links to current events are very tenuous.
He has not tied biblical prophecy to any of the events he claims to be revealed in Old Testament books prior to their occurrence. If he claims these events are so clearly revealed in the Old Testament and they are what he claims they foretell, why is he unable to predict them before they happen.
A recent article in the New York Times sums up the things he writes about in his books. Take for instance his belief the Bible predicted the election of Donald Trump to be the president. “His latest book, for example, was released only after Trump had taken the White House and is largely backward-looking, giving biblical explanations to current events only after the fact.” He was asked if Donald Trump will be reelected in 2024 and he admits he does not know.
He has claimed that the pandemic was a judgment from God because of the practice of abortion in America. But America was not the only country that experienced the pandemic. The pandemic was virtually global, and some of the other countries have not practiced abortion like here in America. Why did they experience the pandemic?
Cahn has predicted that unless America repents of its practice of abortion and pursuit of gay rights it will be destroyed. I agree with that view but it does not take a prophet to make that claim. And Cahn does not claim to be a prophet, which I think is wise, but he claims an insight into Old Testament prophecies that in my opinion is unwarranted.
I believe in biblical prophecy and all that God says is going to happen will. But I do not believe Jonathan Cahn has any special insight on what biblical prophecy predicts will happen. I have some friends who think what he writes is worthy of a hearing, but I think he is simply making a fortune based on some subjective interpretations of the Scriptures.
I think we should take the words of Christ seriously, who told His disciples when speaking about the future, “See to it that no one misleads you,” Matthew 24:4.
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