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Critique of the book: Return of the Gods
Fred R. Coulter—April 22, 2023
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I have this book by Jonathan Cahn Return of the Gods! In many ways this is a good and important book. So, we'll look at some of it this Sabbath and maybe it will spill over to next Sabbath.
We need to look at it this way; we can ask this question and examine what he's doing:
- Is he a prophet of God?
- Is he half a prophet of God?
- Does he have the right solutions?
or
- Does he bring a partial answer?
Today it's unique, especially in America, because we have the Bible, and God holds us all responsible!
There are a lot of people who have a Bible, but many probably have never read it. Or if they've read it, they don't understand it. IF they follow their religious leaders and they are taught things that are not in the Bible as though they are in the Bible, THEN we have a lot of problems.
We also have in Matt. 24 that Jesus said that there will arise false prophets and false Christs to deceive even the elect. That tells us that we are targets of false prophets. Another thing about false prophets is that whenever there's a prophet, how do we know that they are a prophet? The one that God sends speaks the words of God! That's how we measure it!
Why are people led away with false prophets? Because they preach part of the words of God, but not all! Remember that any deception that comes along must have a certain amount of Truth to make it creditable. Let's see what Paul was up against!
2-Corinthians 11:3: "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness… [subtle and true sounding information] …so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
What is the simplicity in Christ? Live by every word of God! You can't have any more simple. It says throughout the Old Testament, obey My voice! Jesus said that there would a lot coming to us who will say they profess Christ, but they don't bring the real Christ. How are we going to do discern?
Jonathan Cahn—excellent speaker and writer—makes very good points, and we'll see some of those when I read from his book. I read every word in the book except for one chapter that was just a repeat of others, all combined.
Verse 4: "For indeed, if someone comes preaching another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit, which you did not receive, or a different gospel, which you did not accept, you put up with it as something good."
In other words, IF you look to the goodness of what the false prophets bring, and it's not the goodness of God, THEN you open the doer for deception!
We can go back before the New Testament was written and we could see how easily that could be done, because they didn't have all of the New Testament written to compare what they needed to compare to understand what Christ said and how He said it. Now we have it all!
- But the thing is, how many people really read the Bible?
- How many understand the Bible?
- How many believe the Bible?
It's always attacked as being full of lies!
Verse 4: "For indeed, if someone comes preaching another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit, which you did not receive…"
When you compare the Bible to establishment Christianity, and people accept establishment Christianity as true, when they read the Bible they're going to find what appears to them to be a lot of lies, because it doesn't agree with the doctrine that they have accepted.
The truth is, modern Christianity the way it is today preaches another Jesus. The Protestants and more importantly and absolutely the Catholics. Then we have Messianic Jews like Jonathan Cahn.
- How much of the New Testament do they really know and believe?
- How much do they really point people to it as helping solve their problems?
All of those things are important!
Verse 4: "For indeed, if someone comes preaching another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit, which you did not receive…"
There is a spirit that comes with Protestantism and a spirit that comes with Catholicism. Is that the Spirit of God? No! The Catholics boast that the Bible says to remember to keep the Sabbath Holy, but the Catholic Church says to remember Sunday to keep it Holy. They brag that all the world bows the knee to Rome in keeping Sunday instead of the Sabbath!
"…or a different gospel, which you did not accept, you put up with it as something good. But I consider myself in no way inferior to those highly exalted so-called apostles" (vs 4-5).
Here was a perfect setting that they had back in the 1st century:
- How many people saw Jesus?
- How many people heard Jesus?
- How man people accepted a lot of His words, but weren't willing to give up on Judaism and the traditions of men?
- A lot of them!
Even in the Church of God, we find that in Jerusalem with the Apostle James—the half-brother of Jesus—that they were really high on keeping all of the ritual laws. As long as the temple stood, they were allowable. But you can't take those rituals of the temple and substitute them for repentance and believing, and having faith in Christ!
Verse 13: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers who are transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.… [but they're not] …And it is no marvel, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light" (vs 13-14).
But the light that Satan brings is darkness. Today we're confronted with more darkness and satanism than any before.
- we need the true Light of Christ
- we need the true Light of the Word of God
to help us:
- know what to do
- where to go
- how to say it
- how to live
Verse 15: "Therefore, it is no great thing if his servants also transform themselves as ministers of righteousness—whose end shall be according to their works."
Let's see what that is in Matt. 7 and then we will start investigating Jonathan Cahn. He tells a lot of truth, he has a great analytical mind, he is an excellent speaker. All of those things are qualities that are not necessarily related to Truth. As never before this is true.
I probably mentioned this before, but I was watching Day Star or TBN and this minister said that Christ came to be a human being so we could become like Him! What a true statement! Then the very next statement out of his mouth was the Holy Spirit is not an 'it' it is a person! False doctrine! You have to follow the whole thing.
Matthew 7:21: "Not everyone who says to Me 'Lord, Lord' shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but the one who is doing the will of My Father, Who is in heaven."
We have all the will of God written down, which means that we are all held responsible for it!
- How many people have Bibles in their home but they never read them?
- How many people have Bibles in their home but read them through the lens of the interpretation of Protestantism or Catholicism?
Verse 22: "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name?….
That's all you hear on TBN and Day Star: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Rarely to you hear them say Jesus the Christ!One little hint, Jonathan Cahn never says Jesus the Christ, and 'the Christ' means the anointed of God! He says 'Yeshua'; in the Greek that is 'iesous christos,' Jesus the Christ.
It's like anything else, if you give part of the information, have you given all the information that's necessary. Haven't you found out that with different things that you have done. You find that out today very quickly if you operate any kind of electronic or digital device. If you don't go the way it says to go, it won't work! It's the same way with the Word of God.
"…And did we not cast out demons through Your name?…. [surely God is with us because cast out demons] …And did we not perform many works of power through Your name?" (v 22).
Go to Day Star and TBN and they're telling you to send in money because their building buildings, we're going to preach to millions in the world, and they all preach the same thing. What is the main thing that they preach? You're all going to miss the Tribulation through the rapture!
The next verse is when we all come before Christ personally, one-to-one with Christ!
Verse 23: "And then I will confess to them, 'I never knew you.…'"
- Can you think of a Scripture that verifies that?
- What happens if you tell part of the Truth?
"…Depart from Me, you who work lawlessness" (v 23)—against law! It also means breaking the commandments of God!
Let's see what John writes about that, the inspired Word of God concerning this. What is the gauge? You have to have the substantive same identical measuring rod, in order to make a judgment concerning these things! They can be very persuasive. Jonathan Cahn is very persuasive.
1-John 2:3: "And by this standard we know that we know Him: if…"—conditional! That applies to us.
- Do we fulfill the if?
or
- Do we not fulfill the if?
"…if we keep His commandments" (v 3).
- Where does that put all the Protestants in doing away with the Laws of God in keeping Sunday and all the holidays?
- Why aren't they keeping the Sabbath?
- Why aren't they keeping the Holy Days?
You can say that they're blinded, BUT:
- Why are they blinded? Because they refuse to believe God!
If they refuse to believe God, as Paul writes:
- How is that they have any Light in them?
Verse 4: "The one who says, 'I know Him'…"—that's all they say:
Do you know Jesus, brother? Oh, I know Him and we have works of power; we're doing all of these great things. We're converting people and have these great rallies in Africa where the minister raises his hand and all the thousands out there all fall down!
They think they receive the Spirit of God!
"…and does not keep His commandments…[is misinformed, is blinded, just doesn't understand the Bible—no]: …is a liar… [what if you tell a lot of Truth, but tell some lies? What are you up against?]: …and the Truth is not in him" (vs 3-4).
Everything that we're going to gauge is going to be on Truth!
Verse 5: "On the other hand, if anyone is keeping His Word… [that's more than just commandments] …truly in this one the love of God is being perfected. By this means we know that we are in Him. Anyone who claims to dwell in Him…" (vs 5-6).
- How many people claim that?
- How many people witness that?
- How many preachers preach that? All of them!
"… is obligating himself also to walk even as He Himself walked" (v 6). How was that?
- man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God
- I didn't come to do My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me
- I speak nothing other than what the Father has commandment Me to speak
All of these things we have to today are in the Bible! It's here and we have no excuse!
I want to give you a simple two-word definition as to why there can never be any gender affirmation or gender change. Jonathan Cahn addresses that very well in his book.
Here's what Jesus says concerning swearing; in other words, making a statement that is absolutely true or relying on calling to God that you're swearing to Him to do something.
Matthew 5:34: "But I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's Throne; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head…" (vs 34-36)—how you think!
How do they think on this 'gender affirmation'? Just last night on the news there was man who said, 'I think I'm a woman.' So, he committed a crime and they sent him to a woman's prison. They didn't check his genitals to see if he was a man or a woman, and he impregnated two women! How can he be a woman even though he thinks it!
"…because you do not have the power to make one hair white or black" (v 36).
If you can't do that you can't change your gender!
Matthew 6:27: "But who among you, by taking careful thought…"
That's what they do: How do these ideas come in? These are not from God, they're from Satan! Jonathan Cahn points out very well that the demons are the ones who are responsible for it.
"…is able… [has the power] …to add one cubit to his stature?" (v 27). It cannot be done!
excerpts from: Return of the Gods by Jonathan Cahn
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Cahn talks about the 'dark trinity': Baal, Ashtoroth and Tamuz or Horus. He's only 125 years late, because Alexander Hislop in the late 1880s wrote the book: The Two Babylons.
The demons were expelled when the nations accepted Christ.
There may be some truth in that. Where did they go? If they went anyplace, they went to different nations other than western civilization and were carrying on the same practices in those nations! OR they went undercover within the Catholic Church. So the gods would alter their appearances and hide their identities.
They always do that to sneak in first! It is true that this nation did say that we're founding it based upon God's Word and Truth. We want the Gospel to go out from America.' And yes, it did! The British Empire—the largest Empire in the world—brought the English language to a lot of people. They even brought Protestantism to them, but they never brought the Word of God to them so they could follow God the way God wanted.
Rom. 2 says that if the Gentiles keep the things contained in the Law it's a law unto themselves. So, where they do keep the Law they are a much better society; just like we have been before all the lawlessness has been cut loose in the last 40 years.
The Dark Trinity
….So the gods would alter their appearances and hide their identities. It would begin in the shadows, on the fringes of American society and Western culture. It was there that the gods gained their first footholds.
Secret societies:
- Jesuits
- Masons
- Odd Fellows
- witches
- Satan worshippers
Now Satan has his own temple! And they're going to have more. Guess where his headquarters is? Salem, Massachusetts where they burned all the witches in the early stages of the Colonies!
…It was there that the gods…
that is the demons
…gained their first footholds. And from there they began their steady and progressive penetration of mainstream culture. But their ultimate object was not infiltration but domination.
That's what we're seeing today!
The Worship of Baal
Baal was symbolized by ancient Israel by the golden calf!
The worship of Baal was one of carnality and vulgarity. So as America turned from God to Baal…
A good analysis, because that's what they were doing!
…its culture underwent a process of vulgarization. Its national discourse turned increasingly crude...
- Have you watched any movies lately, and all the rotten language that they have? Are not all the of the movies today based on death, destruction and satanism?
Nearly all of them! Where did they hide themselves so they wouldn't be well known? Disneyland! 'We must teach the children.' It comes out very innocent:
- Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs: a lot of witchcraft in that!
- Bambi: that was the start of the 'green movement.'
You wouldn't think about that back when they first came out. I know that as a kid growing up and saw Bambi I thought that was a great movie.
The Fabrication of Truth
The spirit of Baal works toward the altering of perception.
True statement! How does Satan alter your perception? By getting you to believe things that are not right!
Where there is one God, there is an ultimate and objective reality, a unifying reference point and standard by which all can be discerned, measured, and judged. Where there is God, there is truth.
Cahn is speaking correctly! But:
- he never quoted 'Your Word is the Truth!'
- he never said, 'you are sanctified by the Truth!'
- he never quoted the Scriptures that said, 'Your commandments are Truth! Your Law is true All Your precepts concerning all things are true'
It sounds good where he writes here that there is Truth!
But where there is more than one God, or many gods and Baals, the door is open for many truths, conflicting truths, and thus no truth.
That's what happens! That's what it says in Hosea 4, there's no truth in the land! Wouldn't you say that's true today? Watch the news, watch the presentation, watch the religious channels, you listen to what people say. People like lies! People believe in lies!
When one makes an idol, one is fabricating one's own god, and thus one's own ultimate reality, and one's own truth.
True perfect statement!
But when one creates truth, truth becomes a fabrication and ceases to be truth. And when one creates or holds to one's own truth, truth again ceases to be. Two plus two cannot equal four for one person and five for another.
That's the way people look at the Bible!
…So one of the signs of Baal's subversion of a culture is that the culture will turn away from objectivity to subjectivity.
Meaning there's no right hard standards!
What you believe is true to you, you and you, even though they are polar opposites. That's what we have this society. So, Cahn analyzes this very well. He's got a lot truth in here, I can tell you that right now.
Today it's expressed this way, we mover from meritocracy, which means merit instead of equity! That's what we've moved to.
And so as America and Western civilization turned away from God, they began undergoing a process of subjectification. As they moved away from the truth, they moved away from the concept of truth itself, that there was any truth to begin with. The transformation affected language. Truth was now what was true for the individual. If a man believed he was not himself but was someone or something other than what he was, a child, a woman, a leopard, or a tree, there was no ultimate or absolute truth or any truth, no objective reality to contradict his own personal "truth."
Very well stated. That's what we have! We have that in Protestantism! But since it uses the name 'Jesus' it masquerades as authentic!
And if one's personal truth contradicted reality, then it was reality that would have to be bent into conformity.
Isn't that what they've done?
The Overturner
That's Baal; overturns everything! Let's read on, he's got much more here that's very, very good. But we will have to wait until we get to the conclusion of it:
And so without God there was no more truth and, in fact, no more reality. Words were now redefined….
Isn't that what they're doing? Yes!
What was right was now wrong…
You can't say him or her! How did those women get impregnated in the prison?
…and what was wrong was now right….
Another thing we find with Jonathan Cahn is he likens a lot of things that Americans are doing to what the ancient tribes of Israel do. But he never says that America is the end-time Israel! Amazing!
Isa. 5—this is what has happened to us, because what Cahn wrote is absolutely true. But if he would have put the Scriptures in there to back it up, to show that this was known long ago, that may have made it a whole lot more effective.
Isaiah 5:18: "Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin with cart ropes; who say, 'Let Him hurry and hasten His work, so that we may see it; and let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, so that we may know!'" (vs 18-19).
But they don't know the purpose, and Jonathan Cahn does not know the purpose.
Verse 20: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!"
- Isn't that's what's happening?
- Isn't that what wrote about?
Yes, he has that part right but he needs some Scripture to put force behind it!
Verse 21: "Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink … [add in drugs] …who justify the wicked for a bribe…" (vs 21-23).
- Isn't that what we're seeing in lawlessness today?
- Isn't that the central theme of New Your City, with the Attorney General who is trying to take down not only Donald Trump, but the whole city?
Sidebar: Cahn says that New York City is the center of all satanism and the dark trinity in America.
That's true! One other thing to watch: they had a debate last night on the news: Is New York City infested with rats because there are a lot of rats, or is it infected with rats because everybody is dirty? I don't know if you have seen the pictures rats everywhere! How do they breed? Like gangbusters!
Do you suppose that the next plague on New York will be the Bubonic Plague? New York is the epitome of satanism!
Verse 24: "Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame burns up the chaff; their root shall be like rottenness, and their blossoms shall go up like dust, because… [here's the cause, and Cahn could have just added this one verse] …they have cast away the Law of the LORD of hosts and despised the Word of the Holy One of Israel."
So, Cahn is right in what he wrote here!
…Values were altered. People were altered. And reality was forced to bend its knee before the new idols or else become the clay to be molded into the image of the new gods.
In other words, after Satan!
So by the spirit of Baal the eternal truths were overturned. Values and standards that had stood for thousands of years were now discarded with a single vote of a legislature or a president's executive order….
Think about that in relationship to the laws that are being promulgated in the Democrat states. Satan-backed laws that 12-year-olds can leave home without having to listen to their mother or father. Where will they go? Right into the willing arms of all of the sex perverts male and female!
How are they able to have laws so that they can start changing gender in the children beginning at age seven?!!! So, Jonathan Cahn nails this right!
…And the foundation stones of Judeo-Christian civilization could now be struck down by a single ruling of the nation's judiciary.
The Supreme Court of the United States has caused a lot of these sins to take root by objectifying homosexual marriages, by objectifying those who claim that they have changed gender and must be accepted and you cannot discriminate against them. It doesn't mater how crazy they are, because that's what they are! They are either influenced or possess by demons or Satan. So, Cahn has that right.
…But even this was a sign of Baal's spirit. It was the other side. If one can turn the absolute truth into what is subjective, then one can turn the subjective into absolute truth.
That's what they've done! Why? Because they say that good is evil and evil is goodand they reject the Law of God!
Of course, any position that denies truth and the existence of absolutes must ultimately contradict itself. It will, in the end, assert its own absolute truth. But even this was a sign of Baal's spirit. It was the other side. If one can
turn the absolute truth into what is subjective, then one can turn the subjective into absolute truth.
Then Cahn defines this absolutely correctly:
The very act of creating an idol or a god is to forge out of nothing a new absolute. And so in the absence of God, American culture forged new truths, created new laws and commandments, and molded new absolutes out of the molten metal of its apostasy. And as it was in ancient Israel when Baal came into power, those who would not bow down before the new gods and idols would be punished, canceled.
That's what's coming! Cahn sees the problem and that's one of his specialties. He can analyze problems very, very well. But in order to bring about something that would be profitable, he need to bring in more Scriptures so he has more validity to what he says.
The Drowning Lifeguard
The bending, blurring, and breaking of distinctions characteristic of the pagan world began seeping into nearly every corner of American culture and life….
- into government
- into the Church
- into education
- into the colleges
- into everyday life
…The distinctions between right and wrong, life and death, the natural and the unnatural, man and woman, good and evil—they were now blurring, bending, and breaking.
That's what we're experiencing!
Why am I going through this? So that we will know what we need to do and how these things need to be handled! The ultimate that's going to happen somewhere down the road is they're going to come after us!
They're already doing it in Canada! Our systems are so void of truth within the leadership and the government, in the churches and in schools, and in the average life of those who are running the countries—whether it's government, business or religion.
To show you how absurd that it gets, in Canada they had one of the Cabinets all men put on women's high heels and march around to celebrate something concerning feminism. If that isn't stupid, I don't know what is! See what happens!
It was all born of the same root, the pagan confusion and merging of the Creator and the creation, God and man. If the world was God and man was one with the world, then man was God….
That's what happens when you make your own choices, your own way and you leave out God! You become a god unto yourself!
That's why this gender movement is so evil! It's a 'religion.' Go to truthofGod.org and look for the messages on transhumanism that I gave over ten years ago. They stated that they wanted to do exactly and that it was a 'religion.'
When it first came out people said, 'Oh, you know….'
- What's he lesson?
- What did we just finish?
The days of Unleavened Bread! A little leaven leavens the whole lump!
As God, he could nullify reality or create another….
That's what they're trying to do with the gender thing! Cahn points out that's what they were doing on ancient Babylon!. Think about this for a minute:
- Was Sodom and Gomorrah during the days of Abraham?
- How do you think that Sodom and Gomorrah got to be so bad?
- How bad was the world where Abraham was living when God called him out of it?
It was ancient Babylon where they were trying to change sex at that time, too!
We never thought of that; that that's the way it was back there. Abraham had to leave! That's what God is calling us to do! Don't be part of the world!
…He could even re-create Himself. He could make the unnatural natural and the natural unnatural. He could alter values, turn right into wrong, evil into good, and good into evil.
Very well expressed! Some Scriptures behind it would have made it much stronger!
He brings out in this chapter how there are many thing sin New York City that identify it as the capital of Baal, Ashtoroth and Tamuz. He says concerning the temple of Baal:
The Mystery Object
It had appeared in London and would later appear in other Western cities, including Washington, DC. But the appearance of the arch that had served as the entranceway to Baal's Temple in New York City was especially significant. For New York City had played a central role in America's apostasy from God…
- Where is the center of media news today? New York City!
- Where is the center of perversion? Hollywood California, owned by Satan the devil!
…and in many ways, served as the capital
of that fall. It had functioned as a conduit for Baal's entrance into American civilization.
That all started in the 1960s! Quite a thing! Cahn has a lot of these things that are right. He brings in Ashtoroth, Ishtar:
The Metamorphosis of Women
The Masculine Goddess
By the way, take a good look at the Statue of Liberty: it's a man dressed as a woman—Athena! Take a good look!
The Masculinization of Women
Ishtar in the Workplace
Transformed Into Her Image
Against the Patriarchy
That's what they want to do, get rid of men! That's what they want to do to the Bible. There's a special committee in England right now for the Church of England on how to de-masculinize the Bible. How far will satanism take you??
The Avatars
Have you seen that on television lately as an advertisement for a movie by Walt Disney? Everything is turned upside down with that! That's all by Ishtar!
June 26, 2013
On what exact date did the ruling come? The Defense of Marriage Act was overturned on June 26, 2013…
The month of Tamuz! That's the month when evil takes over!
…ten years to the exact same day the Supreme Court legalized homosexuality in 2003.
Now they have same-sex marriage! Talk about an abomination to God! A lot of people are looking and thinking hope that we get a reprieve! Will it come? We will have to see, but I doubt it!
If you want to know what needs to be done, read 2-Chron. 35 what Josiah had to do. In order for there to be a reprieve and stop evil that is happening in America there has to be absolute law based upon the Word of God. They have to take all the leaders of these aberrant, devious and satanic things put them to trial and execute them! There needs to be a vast repentance and reformation by the people who claim to be Christian. That's what it will take. And Cahn analyzes this correctly.
Both of the rulings opening the door to the normalization and establishment of homosexuality fell on the same date, and both on the date that sealed Stonewall…
An event that happened New York City, the homosexual revolution!
…the event that began the opening of that door.
I have a little bit more to cover, which I will save for next time. Then we'll look at some other things on what the message needs to be. We will see how Jonathan Cahn falls into the category of prophet, half-prophet or false prophet
Scriptural References:
- 2 Corinthians 11:3-5, 13-15
- Matthew 7:21-23
- 1 John 2:3-6
- Matthew 5:34-36
- Matthew 6:27
- Isaiah 5:18-24
Scripture referenced, not quoted:
- Matthew 24
- Romans 2
- Hosea 4
- 2 Chronicles 35
Also referenced: Books:
- Return of the Gods by Jonathan Cahn
- The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 4/26/23
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