Berean Call Clashes with WND On End-Times Theories

T.A. McMahon of The Berean Call warns against “fearmongering false prophets”:

The latest to conjure up forthcoming dark clouds on the horizon are those who promote the teaching that there may well be a combination of two prophetic events taking place in the year 2015 that could result in unprecedented physical cataclysms and financial crashes. The use of italics for “may well be” and “could” is given to note that those purveyors of disasters have used such language in order to cover themselves from being accused of false prophecy. 

…The two leaders in this alleged confluence of biblical tribulations are Jonathan Cahn ( The Mystery of Shemitah ) and Mark Biltz ( The Blood Moons ) [here]. They are supported by a cast of false teachers and sensationalists and their associated organizations that include Jim Bakker, Sid Roth, John Hagee, Pat Robertson of the 700 Club , and Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily, to name but a few.

…Cahn is heavily promoted by WorldNetDaily, which heralds him as a modern-day prophet and revealer of “The Ancient Mystery That Holds the Secret of America’s Future .” Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily’s chief, is the producer of Cahn’s documentary Isaiah:9:10 Judgment [here], and the website is a chief supporter of Cahn’s books.

…Joining the false signs-and-wonders teacher Rodney Howard-Browne for his Celebrate America Conference, Jonathan Cahn told the audience, “The financial collapse of the US dollar may happen on Sunday the 13th of September 2015 corresponding to the 29 of Elul 5775 on the Hebrew calendar, the next shemitah of the 7 year cycle.”

That’s from Google cache; the original page has been scrubbed, apparently following a complaint from Farah.

Cahn is a Messianic Jew, and he claims to have special insight into “Hebrew Mysteries” in the Bible. In particular, God’s dealings with ancient Israel are supposedly spiritual laws that can also be used to explain historical events in the USA, and to predict what lies ahead. His book The Harbinger has been a national bestseller, and he’s now followed up with The Mystery of the Shemitah (tagline: “The 3, 000-Year-Old Mystery That Holds the Secret of America’s Future, the World’s Future, and Your Future!”)

The Berean Call, by contrast, represents a more austere form of Christian fundamentalism that is sceptical of trendy “end-times experts” and their various theories:

Jonathan Cahn further compounds the central error that he taught in his book The Harbinger by applying a law of God to America—a law that applies only to God’s exclusive covenant people: the Jews. This is false prophecy in the sense that it seriously misrepresents the Scriptures.

The article has prompted a bitter and aggrieved response from WND‘s Joseph Farah, in a piece written by one of his authors, Leo Hohmann:

A video-recording of Cahn’s speech that day in D.C. revealed no mention of the dollar’s impending collapse on Sept. 13 of next year.

…Farah, founder of WND.com, WND Books and WND Films, said he was disappointed in McMahon’s blanket criticisms and especially his distortion of the facts.

“When you accuse someone of saying something they didn’t say it’s called ‘bearing false witness.’ It’s a sin. It’s a breach of one of the Ten Commandments,” Farah said.

The criticisms also appear to be a breach of the biblical admonishment in Matthew 18:15-20, Farah said. That scripture says “if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.” In other words, tell him in private, not in front of the whole congregation or, in this case, in front of the world on the Internet.

…Why he would have fabricated a quote remains unclear. WND left a voicemail message Monday and sent an email seeking a response from the Berean Call but as of this posting has not heard from McMahon.

This is difficult to take: Farah is a notorious and florid liar when it comes to all kinds of subjects, while his sudden conversion to discreet and constructive criticism as opposed to shrill denunciations is laughable.

The accusation that McMahon “fabricated a quote” rather than simply made a mistake is also made in bad faith. A few moments Googling brings up a video of Cahn in conversation with Sid Roth, in which Cahn makes it very clear that he expects disaster in 2015 as part of a seven-year spiritual cycle:

The first shaking is 9/11. Second shaking is the economic collapse. When does it happen? It happens in 2008… The greatest day happened at the end of September 2008. It was the greatest stock market crash in the history of America.

It’s pretty clear that this infers something similar for September 2015. Part of the interview was uploaded to YouTube by someone called packrat23456 in March 2013; the uploader chose to substitute some of the visuals with written comments of his own, and at 3.58 he added:

The financial collapse of the US dollar, may happen on Sunday, the 13th of September 2015.

This may not be Cahn’s exact words, but it’s the plain meaning of what he’s saying. The YouTube video was subsequently embedded on a site called Prophecies of the End Times (tagline: “The Wrath of God is Comming”), in a piece by a certain PT Caldwell entitled “The Financial Collapse of America..9/13/2015“.

The bad blood between McMahon and Farah goes back a while, despite former friendship. In March 2013, Farah recalled that McMahon had once helped him find a painkiller vending-machine during an attack of kidney stones, but, alas:

Nearly every issue of The Berean Call includes a new attack on “The Harbinger” and “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment” – each one more preposterous and slanderous than the next.

…McMahon has a legacy to live up to – the big legacy of Dave Hunt. He is attempting to do that with a “holier than thou” attitude toward the superstar of American evangelicalism today, Jonathan Cahn (and occasionally myself because of my close association with him).

It’s pure jealousy, in my opinion. It’s envy. It’s the temptation to pick on someone with a big following to attract attention from a much more limited following.

2 Responses

  1. […] Is the Rapture going to happen in 2015? In-fighting in evangelical Christian millennialism: http://barthsnotes.com/2014/11/30/berean-call-clashes-with-wnd-on-end-times-theories/ Why do we believe in supernatural agency? Perhaps because we don’t understand […]

  2. After T.A.’s critique came out I wrote J. Farah to show him another view of the Harbinger,not knowing how far his involment was. I also said something about Mr. Hunt. His only comment was this “to bad he’s incapacitated.” I was a little shocked by that lone statement and took it as said in a unchristian tone. I’ve always wondered how someone would take that remark knowing or knowing of these three men. Any comment? I have a great respect for the Berean Call.

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