Recently I've had several people in our church come to me in regards to some prophesy teachings that have become very popular recently. They stem from two books by a Messianic Rabbi named Jonathan Cahn, one from a few years ago named "The Harbinger," and another just released called "The Mystery of the Shemitah." In them Cahn claims new revelation of mysteries revealed to him by God that shed new light on a coming judgment of America. These extraordinarily popular books are coming at a time when there is another current frenzy over the "4 Blood Moons." There is a frenzy as these blood moons will all fall on Jewish feast days over the next year, known as the Blood Moon Tetrad. Many are speculating these events are significant in regards to the rapture of the church, and this has led to an avalanche of prophetical prognostications that has captivated many.
I have to admit I am immediately skeptical when I hear anyone saying they have received a new revelation from God. Hebrews 1:1-2 clearly teaches us that in this age God speaks to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and not through present day prophets with foreknowledge of future events. I firmly believe we are not in a time of direct revelation from God as we have His completed word. In times past God did indeed speak through the prophets and look down the passage of time, and in the tribulation period of seven years I believe scripture teaches us in Joel 2 and Acts 2 He will once again directly reveal things to people. It makes sense then as under the rule of Antichrist we can be assured that copies of the bible will be very rare, but it does not make sense now in an age where the word of God is more prolifically available than it has been at any time in history.
As I thought of these prophesy propositions that are so prevalent right now, many things just didn't make sense. Scriptures such as Isaiah 9 and Leviticus 25, which were written specifically in regards to the Jewish people, were being ripped from there context and applied to times and places they had no application to. Now understand me here, I'm not saying the Old Testament has no application to us in this day and age, it most surely does! 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us "all" of God's word is profitable, and we are commanded to teach the whole counsel of God's word. There is much of prophetic relevance in the Old Testament; the Old Testament pictures Jesus for us in many, many places; the lessons of Israel are something we are told we are to learn from(1 Cor 10). But we simply cannot take scripture like Leviticus 25:1-10, which is part of the Mosaic Law given expressly to Israel, and apply it to America, a nation that is not in covenant with God and was never under the law. The so called "mystery" of the Shemitah, which is in regards to the Sabbath year(every seventh year the people of Israel were commanded not to plant as God would provide enough to sustain them) has no application to America as we have never honored a Sabbath year or lived under Mosaic Law. We can't take scripture like Isaiah 9:10, which is in regards to Israel in a time of defiance of God, and say it has application to the United States and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Context is king in the bible and we simply cannot rip scripture from context and make it fit our presuppositions.
With the frenzy over the "4 Blood Moons," I got to thinking, what exactly do miraculous signs of God look like in the bible? Were they something, like these four eclipses, that we could predict to the very second when they would occur? No! There is nothing miraculous in a naturally occurring event. The signs in the heavens in scripture were true miracles that could not be explained or predicted by science. Think of the flood of Noah, could that event have occurred naturally? What of some of the plagues of Egypt, were they naturally occurring? What of when God stopped the sun in the sky for Joshua so that the day would last longer and Israel could win the battle, can that be explained? Or when God moved the sun back several hours and lengthened the day for Hezekiah as a sign, is that something that naturally occurs? Perhaps the most famous sign in the heavens from scripture is the "star of Bethlehem" that led the Magi to Christ. They followed this "star" from the far east and it settled directly over where Jesus was. When was the last time that happened?
Sadly, there are many who devour these wild speculations regarding prophesy that simply cannot be backed up by consistent exegesis of the word of God. We are told to study the scriptures in regards to everything that pertains to God, but when we do so with these type teachings, they simply cannot be reconciled to the bible without wildly twisting scripture to fit our preconceived views. Do I believe there will be miraculous signs in the heavens one day? You bet I do, the bible says there will be. But they won't be something I can mark on my calendar. Do I believe America is ripe for judgment? You better believe it, but I don't need a misapplied view of Leviticus to tell me this. My eyes do every day.
In Acts 17:11, a group from the town of Berea is commended for there diligence in "searching the scriptures" to examine what Paul had told them in regards to Jesus. Friends, this is still the way we need to examine claims that people are saying are from God. If we cannot reconcile them to the consistent teachings of the bible, they are not from God. In my research in these topics I found post after post after post on Google regurgitating these teachings as if they were the gospel themselves. We must have better discernment. I'm not saying that these folks are disingenuous in their faith, but I do believe they are naive. They are looking for signs as the Pharisees were, and they were roundly condemned by Jesus for this. Friends, we're not to be looking for signs, we're to be "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." (Titus 2:13) For those of us who do believe in the rapture, we believe it is imminent. There is nothing that must occur in order for Jesus to return for His bride, and that includes signs.
For those who would like to read on these things further I'd like to recommend a website I found that carefully examined these teachings and many other things by diligently comparing them to the bible. Take a look at www.biblicalintegrity.org and some of the things they say in regards to these prohetic opinions. But most of all, look to God's word. It is there where God has spoken to us, not the New York Times best seller list.
