Jonathan Cahn says America is not simply experiencing a political crisis, a cultural shift or a period of moral confusion. He believes the nation is witnessing the return of ancient spiritual forces once driven out by the spread of the gospel.
In a wide-ranging conversation with author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, Cahn unpacked the central premise of his bestselling book, “The Return of the Gods,” arguing that the pagan deities worshiped throughout the ancient world were not merely products of mythology.
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“There is a reality behind it,” Cahn said. “There is a demonic reality.”
D’Souza noted that modern academia often presents Greek and Roman gods as harmless myths or personifications of nature. Yet ancient civilizations did not treat these beings as fictional characters. They worshiped them, sacrificed to them and, in many cases, gave themselves over to violent, sexual and frenzied rituals.
“It makes much more sense to understand these gods as spirits with genuine power,” D’Souza said.
Cahn pointed to biblical passages describing pagan gods as spiritual entities and connected them to the demonic powers referenced in the New Testament.
According to Cahn, Christianity’s spread throughout the Western world acted as a massive spiritual restraint, displacing paganism and transforming civilization.
But that restraint, he warned, has been weakening.
To order Dinesh D’Souza’s new book, The Stones Cry Out, visit Amazon.com.
“If a nation or civilization or culture that has known God … should empty itself of God, the house will not stay empty,” Cahn said. “What was cast out of it will come back into it, except it will come back worse.”
Cahn linked this warning to Jesus’ teaching about an unclean spirit returning to an empty house with seven other spirits more wicked than itself. While the passage applies to individuals, Cahn believes it also reveals what can happen to entire generations and cultures.
America, he said, began systematically removing God from public life decades ago—taking prayer from schools, biblical values from government and Christian morality from entertainment and the public square.
“We thought, ‘It’ll just be secular,’” Cahn said. “But what the warning of Jesus is—it will not stay secular or neutral.”
Cahn identified three ancient principalities he believes have resurfaced in modern forms: Baal, Molech and Ishtar.
Baal, he said, represents apostasy, materialism, sensuality and the worship of created things. Molech represents death and the destruction of innocent life, which Cahn connected to abortion and society’s diminishing regard for the sanctity of life. Ishtar, he argued, represents sexual immorality, pornography, gender confusion and rebellion against biblical marriage.
To order Jonathan Cahn’s new book, The Altar of Pergamon, visit Amazon.com.
D’Souza observed that the modern sexual revolution has become more than a rejection of Christian ethics; it has become a weapon used against Christianity itself.
“The storm of sexuality itself becomes a weapon against God,” D’Souza said.
Yet Cahn’s message was not one of hopelessness. The same gospel that once drove pagan darkness from the ancient world still carries power today.
“If the dark gets darker, we’ve got to get brighter,” Cahn said. “We have to go stronger in love. Spread the gospel. Be like the apostles.”
America’s future, Cahn concluded, will not ultimately be secured by politics alone.
“The only way you can make America great again is that America returns to the God who made America great in the first place,” he said.
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the newly released book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
