The Return

Jonathan Cahn is a messianic Jewish pastor who gained national prominence with the publication of The Harbinger (FrontLine, 2012), a book that details how some of the events revolving around the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001 mirrored events that occurred in ancient Israel when Isaiah prophesied Israel's defeat at the hands of the Assyrians for their sin and prideful rejection of God.

In The Harbinger, much is made of the following passage of Scripture:

Although this verse is actually describing Israel's arrogant refusal to repent and acknowledge their sin against God and their pride-filled intention of pressing on in their own power and ability despite God's warnings of judgment, in the days following 9/11 this verse was ignorantly tossed around as a rallying cry to rebuild following the attacks on the Twin Towers. Point by point, Cahn builds the case that America, just like Israel 2,700 years ago, is shaking their fist in the face of God and arrogantly refusing to repent and respond to God's clear warnings of impending judgment. The book was a New York Times Best Seller for over 100 weeks and sold over two million copies.

Jonathan Cahn is back in the news, however, only this time he is planning an event that is being billed as a national call for America to repent and return to God. The main event is scheduled to take place on September 26, 2020 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., although the overall focus is on the 10-day period of September 18–28, a period that begins on the Feast of Trumpets and ends on the Day of Atonement.

It's called The Return.

Here is a letter from Jonathan Cahn and Kevin Jessip that is posted on The Return website:

In 2014, Anne Graham-Lotz, daughter of evangelist Billy Graham, spearheaded something quite similar. Dubbed 7 7 7: An Urgent Call to Prayer, the idea was to encourage believers to pray for revival and a general return to God on each of the first seven days of the seventh month (July 1–7), and to fast and pray for seven hours on the final day.

Anne Graham-Lotz used an Old Testament passage as the scriptural underpinning of her event, and I couldn't help but notice that Jonathan Cahn has followed suit by using the same passage—a well-worn verse that is well known to every evangelist in the country:

Ah, yes...I will heal their land. Just warms your heart, doesn't it?

Back in 2014, I wrote an article called "If My People" that discusses the fact that even though I bless, honor, respect, support, and praise God for any effort by anyone to call people to return to God and repent of sin and to spark a revival that will see many precious souls brought into the kingdom, I felt compelled to humbly elucidate some of the scriptural problems with using 2 Chronicles 7:14 as the scriptural basis for any such effort during the present Church Age. In that article, I argue that 2 Chronicles 7:14 should not...check that, cannot be used as a prayer by the Church for all manner of temporal blessings, no matter how noble our intentions may be.

To tell you the truth, I had to fight the urge to simply copy and paste that entire 2014 article into this space and slap a new name on it...maybe "If My People—the Rerun." Fortunately, however, the Holy Spirit showed me a couple of things that were sufficient to squelch that urge.

A quick review

A quick review is in order. First of all, as is usually the case, the fundamental problem is that the verse is being taken completely out of context. In 2 Chronicles 3, Solomon begins construction of the temple (966 BC). In chapter 5, the temple is complete (959 BC), and when they bring the ark into the temple the glory of the LORD fills the entire structure to the point where the priests can't even enter it. In chapter 6, Solomon blesses the people and offers a prayer of dedication, and he starts out by reaffirming God's covenant with His people Israel:

Solomon rattles off a laundry list of covenant-related points and reaffirms how God promised to handle various situations. For example:

In other words, if your covenant people sin against you and you withhold rain from their covenant land, but then they repent and return to you, forgive their sin and allow the rain to return. When Solomon finishes his prayer, a fire comes down from heaven and consumes the sacrifice and again the glory of the LORD fills the temple with such intensity that the priests cannot enter. They continue offering massive numbers of sacrifices for the rest of the day, and that night the LORD appears to Solomon with a response:

So Solomon prays, and God personally responds to Solomon's prayer almost verbatim. So what exactly do we have here?

We have a covenant prayer from God's covenant people, and a covenant response from Israel's covenant-keeping God.

This entire event is covenant to the bone—the covenant God made with one and only one nation of people, and that's Israel. Oh, and when God says He will "heal their land," the land He's referring to is the land He gave His covenant people Israel as an eternal inheritance in that covenant.

The primary point of my article six years ago was that this entire portion of Scripture has nothing whatsoever to do with the Church and even less to do with America, if that's possible. To that end, one fundamental point must be emphatically reaffirmed:

The one and only: In all of human history, there has only been one single nation that has been in covenant with God, and that nation is Israel:

Not only that, but God's covenant with His people Israel is unconditional—it doesn't depend one whit on Israel's performance, but on God's faithfulness alone. And that means that covenant is eternal:

I don't mean to sound rude or combative, but those who are under the false impression that the United States is a nation in covenant with God simply do not know what they are talking about. Now, was America founded by people who believed in God and the Bible? It sure was. Did they solemnly dedicate their fledgling nation to God? That's what all the history books say, and I have no reason to doubt them. Please don't misunderstand me—that's a fine thing in and of itself, but the fact remains:

That does not constitute being a nation in covenant with God.

There's only one of those...and according to God's Word it ain't the land of the free and the home of the brave. (And I hope it's not considered politically incorrect to use that phrase these days. Like I care.)

The bottom line is that the context of this entire passage is 100 percent Israel and its covenant with God, and that means it cannot simply be yanked out of that context and casually applied to the Church in an effort to get God to "heal our land" or fix whatever problems we want God to fix. The Church has no land to heal—this fallen world is not our home. We are sojourners here, and we all have in our possession spiritual passports stamped "Heaven." The only land in view in 2 Chronicles is Israel and Israel alone.

Now, before anyone out there accuses me of getting all niggly-sniggly with this issue and just using it as an excuse to wave a scriptural switchblade in the faces of good, sincere people, let me reiterate one thing:

Bringing in the sheaves: It is certainly not my intention to question or criticize those who call for the nation to repent and seek God, now or at any time. I fully support such efforts, and praise God for people like Anne Graham-Lotz and Jonathan Cahn and others who have the wherewithal to organize and stage such events. I have no issue with that in any way, shape, or form. Why would I? I wanna see people saved!

The problem as I see it, at least in this particular case, is that there is a real danger in basing such events on this particular Old Testament Scripture that applies exclusively to Israel, and it's not a mere issue of "biblical correctness," if you'll pardon the expression. There is something to this that is much more serious and potentially damaging than that.

The problem is that it can subtly influence believers to disobey God.

Seven words

I can hear people now:

"Oh for Pete's sake, Bible Dude! Get over yourself. Just because people pray for God to 'heal their land' and that land, technically speaking, refers to Israel, what's the big deal? I mean, God bless America and all that. Sheesh...chill out."

Trust me...I get it. In the remainder of this article, however, I would like to draw your attention to seven words in the New Testament, and the same seven words appear twice in two versions of one of the most widely known passages anywhere in the Gospels—the Lord's Prayer:

The disciples asked Jesus how they ought to pray, and His response became a passage of Scripture that untold millions of people through the centuries have been able to recite, including millions who never darkened the door of a church in their entire lives and who wouldn't know the gospel from a grocery list.

Now, think about this for a second:

Do you really think the disciples had no idea how to pray?

All 12 of them were Jewish. Are you kidding?! Of course they knew how to pray...as Jews. They had grown up with prayer. I guarantee you that one of their earliest memories as children would have been hearing their parents recite the Shema every day:

Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Ehad.
("Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is One.")

The disciples knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was the promised Messiah, and that nothing would ever be the same now that the Messiah had come. It was a whole new ball game, and they sought the Messiah's wisdom and counsel on matters great and small, including something as simple as the proper way to pray—something they had been doing their entire lives as Jews.

Jesus was teaching His disciples—and by extension the Church—how to pray as born-again members of the body of Christ. I have discussed the Lord's Prayer at length elsewhere, but all I want to do here is briefly focus on the seven words I mentioned:

Seven words that we, the Church, are commanded to pray.

Let's consider the first three of those words:

Thy kingdom come.

This phrase is generally translated into English along the following lines:

• Let your kingdom come.
• May your kingdom come.
• May your kingdom come soon.
• Come and set up your kingdom.
• May your reign come.

And so on. Personally, I don't see a whole lot of mystery surrounding what Jesus meant by these words, although you'd be surprised what some commentators attempt to do with them.

In that regard, what surprised me the most when I got into studying this out a bit is how many commentators insist on completely divorcing Jesus' words from all things eschatological, as if He were only talking about the kingdom in an allegorical or spiritual manner.

"An earthly kingdom? Oh goodness no, the kingdom is in our hearts, don't you see...Jesus certainly isn't talking about some 'last days' affair that has Him physically returning after this grand, apocalyptic blowout those deluded dispensationalists blather on about."

I could devote an entire article to why this type of teaching is a festering, pus-oozing sore on the body of Christ that twists, subverts, and otherwise mangles the clear teaching of Scripture (and I just might some day).

Although it can be argued that Jesus' words "thy kingdom come" do encompass a bit more more than the establishment of the literal, physical kingdom on earth that Jesus is going to rule for a thousand years, the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom is with absolute certainty the crowning jewel of what He meant (unless you wish to extend this all the way out to the eternal state with its corresponding new heaven and new earth, which arguably could be seen as the true, ultimate crowning jewel).

For example, you might say that praying "thy kingdom come" includes asking our Heavenly Father to help us live lives that honor Him and that exemplify the spiritual qualities that characterize His kingdom. Praying "thy kingdom come" expresses the heartfelt desire of believers to see the gospel advanced and people saved and brought into that kingdom. When we pray "thy kingdom come," we are expressing our desire to see God's name glorified on earth and His purposes advanced and brought to fruition. So, it is not unreasonable to say that praying "thy kingdom come" is in fact more than a forward-looking eschatological statement.

That said, however, longing and praying for the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom on earth after Jesus returns at the Second Coming is inarguably the primary focus of "thy kingdom come," and those who eviscerate Christ's words of that obvious eschatological meaning are most often those who hold to spurious, allegorical notions concerning the Bible's clear teaching on major end-time events such as the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the Second Coming. And I may as well come right out and say it:

Those who disembowel Christ's words in regard to His coming kingdom do so to the detriment of that kingdom and the delight of the Adversary.

God is about to unleash judgment on a Christ-rejecting world before His Son physically returns to establish His literal, physical kingdom on earth—Scripture could scarcely paint a clearer picture. That Christ-rejecting world needs to be told this loud and clear—and believe it or not, that's part of our job.

No? Consider: For the duration of the Church Age, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit on earth. And what is a major part of the Holy Spirit's function on earth during the Church Age? I'll let Jesus answer that one:

A just, holy, loving God wants the world to know in no uncertain terms that (a) they are sinners, (b) He is righteous, and (c) if they persist in rejecting the grace and mercy He expressed to them through Christ, there will be hell to pay—an eternity of it, not to belabor the point. (And I won't even bother to ask when you last heard that preached from a pulpit.)

The bottom line is that the main focus of praying "they kingdom come" is praying for Christ to establish His Millennial Kingdom on earth. Which He will, and soon enough. But let's think this through:

Q. What has to happen before He can do that?

A. Well, for starters He has to physically return.

So, if we pray "thy kingdom come," we are praying for Christ to return in the event we refer to as the Second Coming. So, yeah, we should pray for Jesus to physically return to earth.

Q. What has to happen before He can do that?

A. He has to unleash the judgments of the Tribulation.

He's the One: Never forget that it is Jesus Christ—the Lamb—that is breaking every single seal that releases every single trumpet judgment and every single bowl judgment during the Tribulation in Revelation 6–16. He has to dispense His righteous judgment prior to taking the Throne of David as King.

So a part of praying "thy kingdom come" is praying for Christ to unleash the judgments of the Tribulation so He can return to establish His kingdom. So yeah, we should pray for Daniel's 70th Week to be fulfilled. That includes praying that God would save and protect the Jewish remnant, and would judge the Christ-rejecting nations of the world.

OK, one last step:

Q. What has to happen before He can do that?

A. The Church has to be removed via the Rapture.

So, praying "thy kingdom come" legitimately includes praying for God to tell His Son to go get His bride, and rapture us to meet Him in the air along with all those who have died in Christ. So yeah, we should pray for the Rapture, so that He can proceed to launch the judgments of the Tribulation, so that He can physically return at the Second Coming, so that He can establish His kingdom on earth—a kingdom we will have an integral part in.

Thy kingdom come...oh you got that right.

Now, let's consider the last four of those seven words:

Thy will be done.

There's not a whole lot more I need to say about this part, because it goes hand in glove with what we've been discussing. For example:

• Is it God's will for the gospel to be advanced and for sinners to be saved and brought into the kingdom?

• Is it God's will to pour out His righteous judgment on a world that has spurned the grace and mercy He expressed to them through Christ?

• Is it God's will to rapture the Church before that judgment is poured out?

• Is it God's will to have His Son return to establish the literal, physical kingdom He promised His covenant people Israel?

An emphatic "yes" to all of the above. So when we pray "thy kingdom come," in many ways we are effectively praying "thy will be done" in the same breath.

But when people see the promos for an event like The Return, and see 2 Chronicles 7:14 invoked as its scriptural foundation—a passage of Scripture that promises that God will "heal our land," are these the kinds of things they are likely to be influenced to pray for in obedience to God's Word?

Or will they be influenced to pray for other things?

I will heal their land

Jonathan Cahn has a video message promoting The Return that is popping up all over the Internet, and at one point in that video he recites 2 Chronicles 7:14, the key verse that ties it all together. And when he gets to the final words "then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land," he delivers the line with a somberly reassuring gravitas that just takes your breath away. So, although he doesn't come out and say it in so many words anywhere in the video or in any of the promotional material for the event, the message could scarcely be any clearer.

Yes, he makes it clear that The Return is all about seeking and returning to God, repenting of sin, and praying for revival that will bring many into the kingdom. Granted. But he manages to make it seem as though if we do these things, the result will be as the cornerstone verse of the entire event says:

I...WILL...HEAL...THEIR...LAND.

(Try to imagine this being spoken by James Earl "This is CNN" Jones...maybe with a dash of echo added for effect.)

My point is that a lot of people are being subtly led to think in terms of praying for God to "heal our land" (which must be OK, because a famous preacher is promoting it...and you know, it does kinda seem like America has a special relationship with God...sorta like a covenant, sure).

Hey, our money says "In God we trust," so there ya go. Case closed.

And if people allow themselves to slip into the vein of praying for God to "heal our land," then what kind of things are liable to dominate their prayers?

Do you think they will be praying for Christ to establish His kingdom?
Or will they be praying for God to eradicate the coronavirus?

Do you think they will be praying for God to launch the Tribulation?
Or will they be praying for God to help us re-elect Trump?

Do you think they will be praying for Christ to catch His bride away?
Or will they be praying for God to corral the Black Lives Matter thugs?

The words "I will heal their land" plant the suggestion in the minds of many believers that they should pray for God to fix all our problems and get things back to normal:

"P-l-e-a-s-e, Lord, give us a vaccine for COVID-19, re-open the schools, bring back our jobs, end the lockdowns, and while you're at it make all those hooligans in our streets stop their stupid protests and go home. Long story short, God, we'd really appreciate it if you'd give us our cushy suburban lifestyles back!"

I'm not trying to sound flippant, but for a lot of people who quote 2 Chronicles 7:14, that's about the long and the short of it. And that begs the question:

Q. What part of this is compatible with "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done"?

A. (Sound of crickets chirping...)

When born-again believers pray along the lines of "heal our land" in the spirit of 2 Chronicles 7:14, it's not likely they are praying along the lines of "thy kingdom come, thy will be done."

They are not praying "thy kingdom come";
they are praying "thy kingdom be canceled."

They are not praying "thy will be done";
they are praying "our will be done."

You might say the fundamental reason we are commanded to pray "thy kingdom come, thy will be done" is to acknowledge the overarching sovereignty of God's will and the ultimate supremacy of His plan for the ages...and to humbly (and gratefully) acknowledge the fact that we are subject to both. Praying as Christ commanded us to pray reminds us that we are to align our will with God's will.

The problem is that some in the Church today have that last bit backwards.

Did somebody say "return"?

The thought I want to leave you with is that yes, we should pray for people everywhere to turn to God, and for those who know Him to return to Him. Yes, we should seek His face in repentance in these difficult times that are an overture to the judgments of the Tribulation. And of course we should pray for a revival that would sweep those last remaining souls into the kingdom.

But when you see and hear a verse like 2 Chronicles 7:14 being bandied about and how God will "heal our land," we mustn't allow ourselves to be lured into praying for God to simply fix our problems and make things like they were before, as appealing as that may be to our flesh.

We are called to a higher purpose in God's plan than simply praying for God to fix all our problems and make things like they were before. Besides, Jonathan Cahn is wrong about one thing when he says that America is at "a juncture, that can permanently seal our nation's course...for good."

Too late: Sorry Jonathan, but I'm afraid it's too late for that. We're not at any crossroads—we passed it decades ago. And saying that we are implies that we are at a place where we can change the direction of our country and the world for the better. Gushing that we can "permanently seal our nation's course and the course of world history...for good...for redemption" is suggesting that we have the power to cancel the Tribulation, put the Second Coming on ice, and otherwise significantly modify God's plan to our liking. But we don't, no matter how much that idea appeals to our flesh.

It should be reasonably clear to anyone with an ounce of discernment that we are past that point. It is becoming clearer with each passing day that the world is about to be plunged into the throes of God's judgment, and naively believing we can, as Jonathan Cahn suggests, turn things around and "permanently seal our nation's course...for good" is nothing but our well-intended flesh drowning out the words of Scripture.

Like I said, I'm all in for any kind of event like The Return, that seeks to draw people back to a relationship with God, to seek His face in repentance, and to spark revival that will draw many into the kingdom. I hope nothing I have said in this article has led anyone to believe otherwise.

The takeaway of this article, however, is simply that we need to pay attention to the manner in which we are influenced to pray, especially after hearing a verse like 2 Chronicles 7:14 solemnly invoked by a famous minister.

Yes, we need to return. But that return is not a return to our comfortable lifestyles and our active social lives. It's not a return to the way things were before the coronavirus or _________ (fill in the disaster of your choice).

• We need to return to a stronger reliance on the Holy Spirit, rather than getting caught up in trendy "woke" movements, be they Christian or otherwise.

• We need to return to an equally strong reliance on God's revealed Word (which we need to return to studying to show ourselves approved, workmen who need not be ashamed), rather than casually allowing others to misappropriate Scripture and in so doing subtly lead us to focus more on gratifying our flesh than on obeying the commands of Christ.

• We need to return to a longing to see God's holy name glorified in the world and to see Christ's kingdom established on earth. After all, we're going to play an important part in that kingdom.

• Finally, we need to return to an eager, active anticipation of that day when we will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, because that day is rapidly approaching.

Speaking of which, I'd be lying if I said the thought of a couple hundred thousand people shooting off into the clouds from the National Mall in Washington didn't just trip my little trigger.

The early Church used the Aramaic expression "Maranatha!" (Come, Lord) for a reason—they were obeying the commands of Christ and operating in the spirit of the Lord's model prayer.

Perhaps we should follow suit.

"Heal our land"? We should be praying
"Harpazo us outta here and let 'er rip!"

Which is my own personal translation of maranatha.

Greg Lauer — JUL '20

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