Jonathan David Cahn (born 1959) is an American

Messianic In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach' ...

rabbi, author, and novelist known for his debut novel ''The Harbinger''. He is the founder and leader of the Beth Israel Worship Center in

Wayne, New Jersey Wayne is a Township (New Jersey), township in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Home to William Paterson University and located less than from Midtown Manhattan, the township is a bedroom suburb of New ...

. His ministry weaves together contemporary American politics with right-wing Christian beliefs and the text of the

Christian Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

. He is a controversial figure among

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and secular historians.

Personal life

Born in

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, Cahn was raised in a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family, the son of a

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

refugee, and attended the

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

frequently. Aged 20, after a near-death experience, he converted to Messianic Judaism. He graduated from the

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, SUNY Purchase is one of 13 compr ...

. Cahn started "Hope of the World Ministries", an international outreach of evangelism and compassion projects for the needy and currently is the president of the organization. He is married to Brazilian Renata and they have three children.

Ministry

Cahn is the head of the Beth Israel Worship Center congregation whose "liturgy focuses on

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

as savior." The group had been located in

Garfield, New Jersey Garfield is a city in Bergen County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 32,655, an increase of 2,168 (+7.1%) from the 2010 census count of 30,487, which in turn reflected an increas ...

, throughout the 1990s but moved to

, in 2008. Their arrival in Wayne was viewed with suspicion by local

clergy:

Messianism Messianism is the belief in the advent of a messiah who acts as the savior of a group of people. Some religions also have messianism-related concepts. Religions with a messiah concept include Hinduism (Kalki), Judaism ( Mashiach), Christianity ( ...

is considered a form of

Evangelical Christianity Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

by most mainstream

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

s and all

movements of Judaism Jewish religious movements, sometimes called " denominations", include diverse groups within Judaism which have developed among Jews from ancient times. Samaritans are also considered ethnic Jews by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, although they a ...

and frequently proselytizes to Jews. With the arrival of Cahn's group, the YM-YWHA of North Jersey held a counter-missionary event with Jews for Judaism. Cahn told reporters that "the congregation has no intention of 'targeting' the Jewish community. However, anybody is welcome at the center." Focused on end times prophecy, Cahn has said that the United States is "on the wrong path" due to the prevalence of

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

, the pursuit of

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

, and the perceived decline in the public role of religion. He has cast President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

as a heroic and biblical figure and has attended Trump's

Mar-a-Lago Mar-a-Lago ( , ) is a resort and National Historic Landmark on a barrier island in Palm Beach, Florida, United States. It spans 126 rooms and built on of land. Since 1985, it has been owned by Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of t ...

resort with other activists. Later, he claimed that President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

has put the United States under "demonic possession" for lighting up the White House in LGBTQ Pride rainbow colors.

Books

Cahn's 2011 debut novel'', The Harbinger'', compares the United States and the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

ancient Israel The history of ancient Israel and Judah spans from the Israelite highland settlement, early appearance of the Israelites in Canaan's hill country during the late second millennium BCE, to the establishment and subsequent downfall of the two ...

and the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel. Cahn has followed ''The Harbinger'' with eight other books: ''The Mystery of the Shemitah'', ''The Book of Mysteries'', ''The Paradigm'', ''The Oracle'', ''The Harbinger II: The Return'', ''The Return of the Gods'', ''The Josiah Manifesto'', and ''The Dragon's Prophecy''. ''The Paradigm'' debuted at #5 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. In 2019, ''The Oracle: Jubilean Mysteries Unveiled,'' was published, which became #1 on Publishers Weekly and Amazon, and made ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list in two categories.

Films

* ''The Harbinger Decoded'' is a documentary film based on the book, featuring Cahn. * ''The Harbingers of Things to Come'' is a film calling for the people of the United States to repent and return to God and predicting America's destruction if they do not.

Bibliography

* '' The Harbinger'' (2011) * ''The Harbinger Companion: With Study Guide'' (2013) * ''The Mystery of the Shemitah'' (2014) * ''The Book of Mysteries'' (2016) * ''The Paradigm'' (2017) * ''The Oracle: Jubilean Mysteries'' (2019) * ''The Harbinger II: The Return'' (2020) * ''The Return of the Gods'' (2022) * ''The Josiah Manifesto'' (2023) * ''The Dragon's Prophecy: Israel, the Dark Resurrection, and the End of Days'' (2024) * ''Avatar: The Return of the Ancients, and the Future of America'' (forthcoming Sept 2025)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cahn, Jonathan 1959 births Living people 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century apocalypticists 21st-century evangelicals American Evangelical writers American male non-fiction writers American Messianic Jews American religious writers Jewish American non-fiction writers Converts to Christianity from Judaism Converts to evangelical Christianity