Disqus - Latest Comments for djames_abi

Re: Bird ID Skills: Color Pattern

djames_abi — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 12:00:48 -0000

Yes, I figured that out after I posted the question.

Thanks.

First one I've ever seen.

From my research we are in its winter range.

Re: Bird ID Skills: Color Pattern

djames_abi — Sun, 01 Jan 2017 15:06:07 -0000

I am in west central Indiana. We have a lot of red-tailed hawks, but the other day, we saw a hawk that is the same size - but which had a white band across the back, near the base of the tail.It looked very similar to this picture - which was the only one I could find of a hawk that was close - except for one that is native to Argentina.

Any ideas?

https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Re: 9/11 conspiracy gets support from physicists' study

djames_abi — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 08:21:57 -0000

Does WND not realize that this story drives a stake in the heart of Jonathan Cahn’s theories about 9/11 and the entire premise for The Harbinger?

They have endlessly promoted Cahn's work, although he mishandles scripture, misrepresents historical events and manipulates data to make his case - and now, this completely undermines the idea that God used those with "ancient Assyrian blood" to attack America just as he did ancient Israel.

David James
Author of "The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction?"
www.biblicalintegrity.org

Re: The Sword of the Shemitah—And How It Just Changed Your World

djames_abi — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 20:08:11 -0000

Can you provide any biblical support whatsoever that God brought financial calamity or judgment on Israel or any other nation on a seven year cycle?

Did you realize that the modern Hebrew calendar is almost certainly off by 1-3 years from the calendar God established in connection with the Law of Moses in Exodus 12?

Can you provide any biblical support whatsoever to defend the notion that the Shemitah is a mystery rather than something that was clearly revealed in its entirety - including its ramifications?

I have no agenda whatsoever - I just followed the Scriptures, the historical facts and the data where it led - and none of them support Cahn's theories in the least.

Re: The Sword of the Shemitah—And How It Just Changed Your World

djames_abi — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 16:45:57 -0000

So, you're accusing me of envy, even though you apparently don't even know enough about me to realize that I have done hundreds of hours of research into this issue and published two books demonstrating the deep flaws in Cahn's theories.

I think the Scriptures call that type of accusation judging since it goes directly to matters of the heart - something I have carefully avoided with regard to Jonathan Cahn.

Furthermore, I have corresponded with Jonathan Cahn quite a bit over the past four years - and in fact we have emailed each other within the last week or so.

So, I think it would be better to ask questions before you level accusations - and make sure you know of which you speak before you judge.

As it is, you're violating the very standard you seek to apply to me.

Re: The Sword of the Shemitah—And How It Just Changed Your World

djames_abi — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 16:41:02 -0000

Although those two stock market drops (hardly crashes) were the largest in terms of points, neither rank in the top ten in terms of percentage - which is the only thing that matters when it comes to the stock market. This is just one of many examples when Cahn distorts the picture (whether intentionally or not) in order to buttress his arguments.

Re: The Sword of the Shemitah—And How It Just Changed Your World

djames_abi — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 19:47:53 -0000

When someone writes the #1 Christian book of 2012 - and a follow-up book - with a total of sales for all related material exceeding 3 million copies - and Cahn was the most-interviewed Christian of 2012 - and has done hundreds of interviews - with his influence extending into the halls of Congress - all based on a mishandling of the Word of God, misrepresentation of historical facts and manipulation of data and statistic - all in order to buttress unbiblical speculation - it would seem that this is hardly making more of it than it really is.

Re: The Sword of the Shemitah—And How It Just Changed Your World

djames_abi — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 18:55:30 -0000

I agree with those things.

I don't accept the SDA teaching concerning prediction related to "sweet as honey."

Re: The Sword of the Shemitah—And How It Just Changed Your World

djames_abi — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 18:41:52 -0000

No - it s Charisma's duty to handle the truth correctly.

Rather, as the publisher of both of Cahn's book, these "news" articles are nothing more than glorified advertisements.

It's not about whether something is interesting or not - it's about whether it is biblical or not.

Re: The Sword of the Shemitah—And How It Just Changed Your World

djames_abi — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 18:39:31 -0000

Do you have any objective biblical reason to believe the SDA prophecy connected with Daniel was fulfilled (i.e., the date of the prediction)?

There simply is no such biblical reason for thinking this.

Re: The Sword of the Shemitah—And How It Just Changed Your World

djames_abi — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 18:37:44 -0000

I'm baffled by your response.

I've been a born-believer since I was saved at age 26, over 30 years ago. I've been in the ministry for nearly as long - and a missionary for the last 25 years.

I work closely with a prophetic ministry - and do believe that financial collapses, one-world government, and God's judgment could be right around the corner.

However, how people handle the Word of God is of utmost importance - and Jonathan Cahn has mishandled it, no matter what has happened with regard to financial markets.

I find it interesting how many have played the "Pharisee card" against those who have done no more than simply ask for a biblical basis for Cahn's speculative theories. So far, no one has done so - which is very telling.

Re: The Sword of the Shemitah—And How It Just Changed Your World

djames_abi — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 07:49:56 -0000

None of the conservative evangelical critics of which I'm aware question whether we are in the last days or that the world is hurtling toward judgment.

However, my questioning of Cahn's theories has nothing to do with simply my opinion. The question is whether or not they are biblical - and they are not.

If you or others believe they are biblical i any way, then please provide a verse, passage or any combination of passages that demonstrate he is correct biblically concerning the Shemitah.

If no one can do that - and Cahn himself hasn't done so - then his theories are nothing more than speculation and conjecture - they are made up - which places them in the realm of false teaching.

So far, no one has provided any biblical support - and thus the question is whether their opinions are biblically based.

Re: The Sword of the Shemitah—And How It Just Changed Your World

djames_abi — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 22:31:50 -0000

Many, many people have sounded the alarms - but done so with theories just as unbiblical as Cahn. The Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists are just two examples. So did Harold Camping - and look what happened - nothing.

I believe the world and the U.S. are ripe for judgment - but the warnings that are given must be based on Scripture - which his are not. The end result will be more and more turning away because of the false teaching - and not turning to the Lord in repentance.

The Holy Spirit works in the context of the proclamation of truth, rooted firmly in the Word of God. Cahn's theories are entirely speculation - and worse.

David James
The Alliance for Biblical Integrity

Re: The Sword of the Shemitah—And How It Just Changed Your World

djames_abi — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 11:13:40 -0000

No one, not even Orthodox Jews know when the Jubilee cycle is. They stopped observing it around the time of the conquests of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms in Israel in the 7th and 6th centuries BC.

Cahn knows this - and even states it in his book The Mystery of the Shemitah. However, there is a hedging of bets since the stock markets ended up less than 1% lower for 2015 - despite the raw numbers of dollars and points - which are meaningless without context. Only percentages mean anything at all in terms of defining crashes and losses. He almost never cites context or percentages because they directly contradict his theories.

The crashes of 2001 and 2008 don't even rank in the top 10 in terms of percentage drops. This is misleading at best on his part.

However, now he is calling 9/15 to 9/16 a "Super Shemitah" - a Jubilee, when he knows that this is a complete unknown. His theories are completely made up out of thin air biblically.

Show me any passage or combination of passages anywhere in the Bible that indicate God would judge even ancient Israel on a 7-year cycle - let alone America or the rest of the world. Just a single passage/verse will do. If it isn't in the Bible in some way, shape or form, then someone just made it up.

We need to learn to think biblically and evaluate prophetic claims on the basis of Scripture - not conjecture.

I have written the only two books dealing with the false claims and teaching surrounding The Harbinger, the Shemitah and the Blood Moons (although Mark Hitchcock has written a book exclusively about the Blood Moons - showing why this isn't biblical either).

Dave James
The Alliance for Biblical Integrity
www.biblicalintegrity.org

Re: Shemitah 2015? Worst market losses in 7 years

djames_abi — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 08:40:45 -0000

But that is not Cahn's point at all - nor does it even resemble his theory.

His theory is that America is undergoing a Shemitah judgment cycle every seven years and that this is a pattern found in the Bible.

If there was such a seven year cycle of judgment in the Bible, please provide the passage(s). Since Jonathan Cahn has yet to do so after four years, I would suggest there isn't such a passage and the entire theory is made up.

Re: Shemitah 2015? Worst market losses in 7 years

djames_abi — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 20:30:25 -0000

Actually, that's incorrect. According to the modern Hebrew calendar, the Shemitah ended at sundown Sept. 12, 2015.

Beyond this, Cahn currently is claiming that this is a Jubilee year or what he terms a "super shemitah" - even though he admitted in his book that no one knows the year of the Jubilee since it was lost over 2500 years ago due to the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions - and at least one rabbinic understanding is that they can't observe the Jubilee because this Jews are scattered around the world and not in the land.

And finally, there is disagreement among the rabbis concerning whether the modern Hebrew calendar is actually off by 1 to 3 years - with the more common consensus being that it is off, as far as I know.

And, if so, then last year was not a Shemitah year - and the very foundation of Cahn's theory is completely undermined.

Dave James
The Alliance for Biblical Integrity
www.biblicalintegrity.org

Re: Shemitah 2015? Worst market losses in 7 years

djames_abi — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 23:44:48 -0000

That's interesting - because there are others who have claimed the gift of prophecy who believe God has shown them that Babylon the Great to be something else.

Of course, then there is exactly what Jesus showed to John as written in The Revelation of Jesus Christ - which was sufficient for one of His apostles. Maybe it would be best to leave the Word of God as it was revealed by Jesus to someone we know got it right - and not someone who claims Jesus appeared to them in the form of a pastor they happened to meet afterward.

Taking on the role of prophet for oneself is rather serious business - and requires 100% accuracy as defined by God. I think exercising restraint would be a more prudent route to take.

Dave James
The Alliance for Biblical Integrity
www.biblicalintegrity.com

Re: Shemitah 2015? Worst market losses in 7 years

djames_abi — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 23:15:31 -0000

As I said, I do understand your point. However, I would make a distinction between what could be considered divination - or what someone might intentionally do in terms of divination - and the intention to be involved with the occult by using divination in a way contrary to the commandments of God.

As I said, I'm one of Cahn's and Biltz's most outspoken critics - having written two books on these issues: The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? and Biblical Guide to the Shemitah and the Blood Moons - both published by The Berean Call - have done hundreds of hours of research, a number of articles, a significant number of radio interviews up to 90 minutes in length, many seminars and multiple keynote addresses in conferences - but I try to be very careful about judging motives of these men. That is for God to do.

I'm not arguing with you - I think we both understand and agree on just how serious this is.

Furthermore, mishandling the Word of God and missing predictions receives much, much more attention than divination in the Bible - as terribly serious as that sin is.

Re: Shemitah 2015? Worst market losses in 7 years

djames_abi — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 23:05:46 -0000

Exactly which point did I miss entirely?

Re: Shemitah 2015? Worst market losses in 7 years

djames_abi — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 11:41:29 -0000

Although I am certainly one of Jonathan Cahn's most outspoken critics, after dealing with this for four years - and personally corresponding with him on multiple occasions (and he wrote to me again last week), I would not go so far as to call what he is doing "divination" in the biblical sense of the word - which is direct involvement with occultic practices.

I do believe that he is approaching things in more of a mystical sense - and he is certainly violating sound biblical principles of Bible study and exegesis (i.e., completely ignoring the context of Isaiah 9:10 in The Harbinger to exclusively focus on one verse and completely misapplying the Shemitah to any nation but Israel - and also calling it a sign of judgment).

However, I do understand your point - and certainly mysticism and divination share some common space at various points.

To say the least, it is a very irresponsible and a potentially dangerous method handling of God's Word.

Re: Shemitah 2015? Worst market losses in 7 years

djames_abi — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 09:25:31 -0000

You are completely right with respect to repentance - and the world racing toward judgment in these last days.

However, you are wrong with regard to the Shemitah.

Jonathan Cahn's Shemitah theory fits no pattern in the Bible whatsoever. It is completely made up through a complete mishandling of the Word of God with regard to both interpretation and application.

God's judgment may well be underway, but biblically it is not linked to the Shemitah in any way.

I have been following, dealing with and responding to this issue since the week The Harbinger came out exactly four years ago this week.

I have done hundreds of hours of biblical, historical, financial and even scientific research in to this subject, written articles, done many radio interviews, given keynote addresses in conferences, done many seminars and have published two books on this subject during these four years.

The word "Shemitah" simply means "release" in Hebrew and was part of the Law of Moses with regard to lenders completely releasing (i.e., forgiving) debtors from their obligation to repay debts on the last day of the sixth month according to the religious calendar, which was the last day of the year on the civil calendar, Elul 29, every 7th year, in ancient Israel.

Over time, the entire day of release came to be known as the Shemitah day - the last day of the last month of the Sabbath (7th) year. Ultimately the entire year became known as the Shemitah year - but actually it was more properly simply the Sabbath year.

Furthermore, the Shemitah (Sabbath year) itself was exclusively a source of blessing for the nation of Israel and never a curse. This was because God miraculously provided 3 times the normal harvest in the 6th year so that no one had to raise any produce whatsoever - there was no planting or harvesting allowed during the 7th year - nor was any needed, because God had already given the blessing of produce during the 6th year.

There is not a single passage in the entire Bible that indicates that God stopped providing that triple harvest in the 6th year - even during the hundreds of years that Israel fell was going further and further into the depths of sin - immorality, worship of other Gods, even child sacrifice. During that entire time, the Word of God never records that God judged Israel or brought calamity upon any other nation or the world according to a seven-year cycle.

The entire theory is completely made up and has no biblical basis whatsoever and is based entirely upon mishandling the Word of God, misrepresentation of historical facts, manipulation of data and statistics, conjecture and a vivid imagination. This is extremely easy to prove - and I have done so over and over again in multiple venues.

The only connection that the Shemitah has with judgment is the following: After centuries of rushing toward judgment, God sent the Assyrians to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC - and then the Babylonians to destroy the southern kingdom of Judah over the course of 20 years - from 606 to 586 BC - with the result being a 70-year exile/captivity in Babylon for the Israelites.

The judgment came because of the worship of other Gods - which led to all sorts of sin and ignoring the Laws of God. The judgments did not follow a Shemitah cycle - and it only came into play in that the length of the exile was set at 70 years by God because Israel had ignored the command to not observe God's commandments regarding the Sabbath year for 70 cycles - or 490 of the 900 or so years since it was given to Moses in 1445 BC. And so God imposed 70 years of captivity - and thus the land was allowed to rest for the 70 years - corresponding to the number of years that Israel had not allowed it to rest.

There is no other application of the Shemitah in connection with judgment or calamity for Israel or any other nation - and I would challenge anyone to find such an idea anywhere in the Word of God.

Dave James
The Alliance for Biblical Integrity
www.biblicalintegrity.org

Re: Shemitah 2015? Worst market losses in 7 years

djames_abi — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 18:59:00 -0000

Seriously?

There is so much scrambling being done for damage control after nothing happened in September that the following constitutes a stock market crash and devastation of the economy of a country under judgment that somehow parallels Israel's destruction by the Assyrians and Babylonians?

Quote from the article: "U.S. markets finished 2015 in the red. The Dow was down 2.2 percent. The S&P 500 ended the year down 0.7 percent."

Again: Seriously? 2% and 0.7%?

Note: I do believe America is deserving of judgment, that judgment could be around the corner and/or God's judgment is already underway.

However, the Shemitah was for Israel and only Israel. It was part of the Sabbath system of the Law of Moses - and has no application to any other nation. There is not a single passage anywhere in Scripture that even Israel ever experienced judgment on a seven year cycle during the 100s of years that it was in its deepest sin.

Dave James
The Alliance for Biblical Integrity
www.biblicalintegrity.org

Re: Colton Burpo: ‘I Still Remember My Experience in Heaven’

djames_abi — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 11:01:36 -0000

I haven't read this book - but I have read 25-30 claims of NDEs.

From my research there are general 4-5 common experiences:
1. Rising from the body
2. Going through a dark tunnel
3. Approaching or being in the presence of a bright light
4. An overwhelming sense of joy or love

Beyond this, there are virtually no common experiences beyond the most general ones. And there are clear contradictions in their contradictions - giving fairly certain indications that they did not "visit the same place".

Furthermore, the common experiences of "going to heaven" generally agree regardless of their religious beliefs (Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, atheist, etc). That being the case, either they didn't really go to heaven or Jesus is NOT the "way. the truth, and the life" apart from whom there is no salvation.

Either these claimed experiences are not trips to heaven or our Bible have no value whatsoever.

Re: Colton Burpo: ‘I Still Remember My Experience in Heaven’

djames_abi — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 11:45:19 -0000

Yes - you are right - but there's one other thing to remember: When Jesus told the account of the rich man, who was in hell, and Lazarus, who was in paradise, the rich man begged Abraham to send someone back from the dead to warn his brothers - and Abraham refused, saying that if they don't believe the Word of God, they won't believe it if someone comes back from the dead.

The point was not that someone who believes the Bible should believe claims of return from the dead and experiences of the after-life, but rather that if someone believes the Word of God, then this is sufficient and if they don't the stories of those who might return from the dead won't convince them - and therefore, Jesus' point was that he will not send people back from the dead, at all.

There is not a single instance of anyone spontaneously returning from the dead in the entire Bible - it only happened for a specific purpose (and it wasn't to tell of the afterlife) and it was only done through the work of a prophet, apostle or Jesus himself.

Furthermore, Paul was prohibited from speaking of what he heard and saw in heaven (2 Cor 12) - so, these stories contradict the Word of God on multiple counts.

Dave James
The Alliance for Biblical Integrity
www.biblicalntegrity.org

Re: Jonathan Cahn Explains Why Christians Should Care About Hanukkah

djames_abi — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 12:11:33 -0000

I think part of the problem is that you do not know me nor my ministry - which is solely about the Bible being the final authority for everything - and the reason I commented in the first place is that it seemed that you were going quite a bit beyond Scripture as the final authority on this particular issue.

I still think that is the case to some degree with regard to Chanukkah - but I don't want to debate it any further. There's room to disagree on this.