As we continue in our examination of The HARBINGER, it’s vital to understand that the only nation that God has established a covenant with is Israel. Any covenant of God is that which the LORD Himself initiated and established, both in its terms and application. No nation can take it upon them selves to make a covenant with God, nor do we find any biblical precedent that exemplifies such an idea.
WHAT’S THE FUTURE HOLD – FOR AMERICA and ISRAEL?
To assume that America had inherited in some way, the beneficiary aspects of the covenant that God made with Israel, we would by necessity have to fulfill the covenant agreement geographically, as God spoke specifically concerning “the land” and its parameters:
“The extent of the geographical boundaries of the promised land is very specific and must be understood literally. To do otherwise is to spiritualize God’s promises and turn the historical text into an allegory.
"America’s founders were therefore biblically wrong on several counts. Those founders who may have held even an early form of Anglo-Israelism were wrong. Those who held an American covenant view were wrong."
Cahn never denies Israel in her present state as being the work of God, nor does he assert that Israel has no future; he simply doesn’t acknowledge any of this in his novel. Israel on her own merit is conspicuous in its absence in this book!“The HARBINGER leaves ancient Israel lying in ruins and then jumps forward to twenty first century America, which does not include the whole story – a very important part of the story, in the context of judgment. It would be difficult to overstate just how serious this issue is.
“One significant problem is that the author fails to mention any of God’s unconditional promises to Israel concerning the land, descendants, and blessings . . . because [there are] many biblical promises that speaks of Israel’s assured future restoration after judgment.”
This would seem to suggest that Israel has forfeited her place in God’s eternal plan of the ages (and so now, its America’s turn?).
Cahn would not need to deviate from his exposition very far in order to bring these scriptural truths to the fore; in fact, he could use the very same chapter from Isaiah that is the basis of his book!
ISAIAH 9:6-10
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. 8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. 9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.
The coming Messiah will rule over the house of Israel at His second advent and the government will be established by Him and His reign will be forever (and EVER!). These are precious promises for the future of Israel that Cahn never even (briefly) touches on, and instead, focuses on America (which even if we are restored, after a time of repentance, is only a temporary nation that will not outlast this old Earth, or the nation of Israel which will find a future upon the New Earth and New Jerusalem!).
THE NINE HARBINGERS – The mystery of this story revolves around nine engraved discs from thousands of years ago; a tenth disc is given to Kaplan as a sign that he is appointed as a “watchman on the wall” to sound the alarm of America’s coming judgment and to call her to repentance before God’s final judgment is unleashed against her.
Originally used [for the purpose of this story] to warn Israel of impending judgment, these same discs were then employed to warn America of their own judgment. These discs are a literary device used by the author to convey the idea of incremental warnings of coming judgment, but while the discs are fictitious – as is much of the story – Cahn states that “what’s contained in the story is real.”
Yet how ‘real’ are they? Certainly these discs prove quite convincing as Cahn paints a prophetic picture, but what he doesn’t do is present all of the facts which would paint a different picture entirely. This we shall see as we follow David James along as he uncovers these things for us.
The FIRST HARBINGER: The BREACH –
~ Fact Concerning Israel: God removed His hedge of protection from Israel which allowed the Assyrians to attack the nation.
~ Claim Concerning America: God removed His hedge of protection from the United States, which allowed the terrorists to attack on 9/11.
The term “hedge of protection” is used in two cases only in the Old Testament, once concerning Job (JOB 1:10) and Israel (ISA 5:5); when addressed in the New Testament (MATT 21:33; MARK 12:1) it’s in reference to the nation of Israel. While God can erect a “hedge of protection” anywhere, and with any one He wants, because He is sovereign and able to do so, there is no such indication anywhere in Scripture that He has in fact, placed such a “hedge” around any other nation other than Israel, including the United States.
Thus any claim that God has placed a “hedge of protection” around America is invalid, and if such a hedge never existed, then it could not be breached.
Furthermore, if that hedge was breached, then why aren’t there more attacks from the enemy on American soil, even though many dozens of attempts have been made since 2001? An average of about fifty five attempts daily or approximately 20,000 per year!
As David James has stated: “So on what basis does someone suggest that God has removed His hedge of protection – if such a thing even exists for any nation but Israel? Or would Cahn now need to say that God has put the hedge back into place? Cahn’s theory aligns with neither the biblical evidence nor with the contemporary evidence of current events.”
America has been attacked before, according to the findings of David James: Pearl Harbor of course (an American territory), and then the following year, Japanese occupation of two Aleutian Islands in Alaska (U.S. property); more than a century earlier (when America was a more righteous nation than perhaps ever before?) the British captured Washington D.C. and burned to the ground. In 1920 a TNT bomb on Wall Street killed 35 people (believed to be the work of Bolshevist and anarchist terrorists); Puerto Rican nationalists in 1975 claimed to be responsible for a bomb in New York City that killed four and injured more than 50 people. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed by foreign nationals (Al Qaeda was suspected) with the intent of taking down both towers (killing six and injuring over one thousand).
David James continues: “It becomes clear that any event could be interpreted any number of ways when the literary context doesn’t provide the exclusive framework for interpretation. It is this method of handling the biblical text that so frequently exposes Christians to the challenge of the well-woven cliché ‘Well, that’s just your interpretation.’ [Or even the New Age-friendly expression: ‘That’s your truth’].
Because of the fact that Cahn has inundated his story with countless details and facts, its easy for the reader to assume that it is factual indeed, and all the facts. Yet it behooves the careful student of Scripture to make sure the facts are truly representative of the truth, and especially in light of Scripture where scriptural suppositions are made.
The SECOND HARBINGER: The TERRORIST –
~ Fact Concerning Israel: The Assyrians who attacked the Northern Kingdom of Israel employed some tactics that would today be labeled terrorists.
~ Claim Concerning America: Multiple direct links between the 9/11 al Qaeda terrorists and the ancient Assyrians demonstrate that the historic fulfillment of Isaiah 9:10 is repeating itself.
To make a more solid connection between the nation of Israel and America, Cahn necessarily had to provide a convincing argument that 8th century Assyrians were terrorists and thus linked (via their descendants) to 9/11:
[KAPLAN] “The Assyrians were terrorists?” I asked.
[The PROPHET] “As much as any people have ever been. Terrorism is defined as the systematic application of terror, violence and intimidation to achieve a specific end. Terror as applied science – this was the dark gift of the Assyrians gave to the world.”
We are led to believe that the Assyrians more or less invented terrorism, according to Cahn, but is this so? What about the Moabites, Ammonites, Canaanites, the Philistines, the Egyptians and the Edomites? What about Babylon??
Certainly the Assyrians employed particularly savage tactics when it came to war, and prisoners of such (cutting off opposing hands and feet; piercing iron hooks through jaw bones, etc.) but to say that they created such horrific methods in brutal warfare is simply not true.
Why is it necessarily the case that Isaiah 9:10 in regards to Israel and her enemies – and how this supposedly ties into the terrorist attacks on 9/11 is limited to ONLY this instance? Israel has had a LOT of enemies (more so today than ever!) and such episodes of enemy attacks have been recorded in prophetic Scripture (as early as GEN 15:13); why then, if there really is a valid connection between these two nations, have such prophecies not found a parallel between them?
Another instance of making a connection that really isn’t there:
[KAPLAN] “Assyria is Iraq?”
[The PROPHET] “It’s the same land.”
[KAPLAN] “The nation under judgment… is drawn into conflict with the land of Assyria… ancient Israel… and now America.”
[The PROPHET] “And American troops were now walking the same earth on which the feet of the Assyrian soldiers had once marched. And among those watching them pass by were those who could still claim to be the descendants of ancient Assyrians.”
[KAPLAN] “Their actual flesh-and-blood descendants?” I asked.
[The PROPHET] “Yes,” he replied. “And who knows but that the veins of the 9/11 terrorists did not also flow with the blood of the ancient Assyrians?”
[KAPLAN] “So ancient Israel, in it time of judgment, was drawn into war with Assyria, which is now Iraq.”
[The PROPHET] “Yes,” he answered.
[KAPLAN] “And now America was drawn into a war with the land of Assyria – Iraq.”
“Who knows” said the Prophet “but that the veins of the 9/11 terrorists did not also flow with the blood of the ancient Assyrians?” Who does indeed know? Yet by posing this question in this way, Cahn leads the readers to make an unfounded conclusion. Where is there a connection between Assyria or modern day Iraq and the Al Qaeda militant terrorists who were based rather in Afghanistan?
Al Qaeda ties to more than 70 nations, and while there is a representation of this terrorist group in so many Middle East countries, Iraq is not a prominent location for such. They reside mostly in Afghanistan, Egypt, Sudan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and other nations – not Iraq.
Viewing Al Qaeda and It's Global Presence
The majority of Assyrians today are Christians not Muslims any way, comprising about 95% of the population (having been reached with the Gospel by the apostles Thomas, Bartholomew and Thaddeus themselves.
Visit Ninevah.com for more of this and learn Who Are The Assyrians.
Cahn attempts a linguistic connection with the ancient Assyrian language, Akkadian, and the language spoken by the terrorists of 9/11; and while it is true that Akkadian was still a language used by Assyrian people in ancient times, and neo-syriac Modern Assyrian later, a transition towards the Aramaic language became the second official language as early as 752 B.C.
“Assyria’s attacks on Israel happened years after the transition to Aramaic were well underway, even though Akkadian was still spoken and incorporated into localized Aramaic,” states David James.
However, to use such thin lines in an attempt to make strong connections between an ancient language and modern usage of such by terrorists in the 20th century; Cahn also points out (validly) that the Assyrian people were “children of the Middle East” as were the terrorists holds no water whatsoever. They are a Semitic people, but so is also Israel.
The THIRD HARBINGER: The FALLEN BRICKS –
~ Fact Concerning Israel: Clay Bricks were originally used as the primary building material for the city walls, houses, and most other structures.
~ Claim Concerning America: Bricks fell from buildings when the World Trade Center collapsed.
Again, what is recorded in Scripture, and what has actually transpired at the WTC on 9/11 has such tenuous association, that these threads must be ‘stretched’ in order to make connections, and Cahn does so as shall be demonstrated.
David James: “In both The Harbinger and the documentary, The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment, Cahn emphasizes that the significance is that the buildings fell – and this forms the parallel to the destruction at the hands of the Assyrians. However, as tragic as it was, only a relatively few buildings fell on 9/11 – not an entire city, let alone an entire nation.”
There is really no correlation between what happened to ancient Israel and what transpired on 9/11. True, the Pentagon was struck, but it was not an attack on our entire military defenses.
The buildings of ancient Israel that the Assyrians destroyed were composed of bricks – not stone or metal; however in the WTC, the buildings were constructed with “little or no masonry”.
Did Bricks Really Fall From The Towers?
A nearby brick building with a steel and concrete superstructure survived in much better condition.
David James once again: “However, with no intent to minimize the tragedy in any way, it must be recognized that compared to the utter devastation in ancient Israel, there was relatively little destruction in New York City. The small number of bricks that fell in 2001 was inconsequential – not at all comparable to what happened in the eighth century BC.”
Ancient Israel suffered the destruction of their entire northern kingdom; New York City suffered the loss of two enormous buildings amidst some few others – this can hardly be considered a prophetic parallel.
The FOURTH HARBINGER: The TOWER –
~ Fact Concerning Israel: Israel’s leaders demonstrated a spirit of defiance against God with their declarations that the destroyed city would be rebuilt with no thought of repentance.
~ Claim Concerning America: America’s leaders followed exactly in the footsteps of Israel’s leaders when they declared that the destroyed WTC towers would be rebuilt.
Israel knowingly defied their God and thumbed their noses at their enemies as well; this is evident in the text of the ninth chapter of Isaiah:
ISAIAH 9:8-14
8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. 9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. 11 Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; 12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts. 14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
Yet the American leaders were not defying God, as can be readily seen when one views the various news clips and articles in context; true – they were misapplying the passage from what was intended by those who made such defiant proclamations, but as a means of comfort and solace to the American people. However, Cahn has attempted to make his case, that this is exactly what they were doing.
”He contends that America’s leaders,” says David James, “were proudly and arrogantly acting in defiance of God when they spoke of rebuilding. Through the Prophet [in the story], the author cites those he says were defiant when they used the phrase, ‘We will rebuild’.”
[The PROPHET] “From the mayor of New York City in the wake of the attack: ‘We will rebuild . . .’
“From the state’s governor: ‘We will rebuild. And we will move forward.’
“From the state’s junior senator: ‘We will rebuild . . .’
“From the city’s mayor at the time of the rebuilding: ‘We will rebuild, renew, and remain the capital of the free world.’
“From the President of the United States: ‘We will rebuild New York City.’
“One way or another, each leader would end up proclaiming the same words of defiance proclaimed thousands of years before by the leaders of ancient Israel.”
“In the documentary Cahn says,
[Jomathan Cahn] ‘We’ll rebuild New York City. We’ll rebuld Ground Zero. We rebuild better than . . .’ again and again and again, without anything of repentance, that’s the key. So it becomes something of pride and arrogance – about we’re going to show the world, but we’re not turning to God at all.’”
[KAPLAN] “And now America was drawn into a war with the land of Assyria – Iraq.”
“Who knows” said the Prophet “but that the veins of the 9/11 terrorists did not also flow with the blood of the ancient Assyrians?” Who does indeed know? Yet by posing this question in this way, Cahn leads the readers to make an unfounded conclusion. Where is there a connection between Assyria or modern day Iraq and the Al Qaeda militant terrorists who were based rather in Afghanistan?
Al Qaeda ties to more than 70 nations, and while there is a representation of this terrorist group in so many Middle East countries, Iraq is not a prominent location for such. They reside mostly in Afghanistan, Egypt, Sudan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and other nations – not Iraq.
Viewing Al Qaeda and It's Global Presence
The majority of Assyrians today are Christians not Muslims any way, comprising about 95% of the population (having been reached with the Gospel by the apostles Thomas, Bartholomew and Thaddeus themselves.
Visit Ninevah.com for more of this and learn Who Are The Assyrians.
Cahn attempts a linguistic connection with the ancient Assyrian language, Akkadian, and the language spoken by the terrorists of 9/11; and while it is true that Akkadian was still a language used by Assyrian people in ancient times, and neo-syriac Modern Assyrian later, a transition towards the Aramaic language became the second official language as early as 752 B.C.
“Assyria’s attacks on Israel happened years after the transition to Aramaic were well underway, even though Akkadian was still spoken and incorporated into localized Aramaic,” states David James.
However, to use such thin lines in an attempt to make strong connections between an ancient language and modern usage of such by terrorists in the 20th century; Cahn also points out (validly) that the Assyrian people were “children of the Middle East” as were the terrorists holds no water whatsoever. They are a Semitic people, but so is also Israel.
The THIRD HARBINGER: The FALLEN BRICKS –
~ Fact Concerning Israel: Clay Bricks were originally used as the primary building material for the city walls, houses, and most other structures.
~ Claim Concerning America: Bricks fell from buildings when the World Trade Center collapsed.
Again, what is recorded in Scripture, and what has actually transpired at the WTC on 9/11 has such tenuous association, that these threads must be ‘stretched’ in order to make connections, and Cahn does so as shall be demonstrated.
David James: “In both The Harbinger and the documentary, The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment, Cahn emphasizes that the significance is that the buildings fell – and this forms the parallel to the destruction at the hands of the Assyrians. However, as tragic as it was, only a relatively few buildings fell on 9/11 – not an entire city, let alone an entire nation.”
There is really no correlation between what happened to ancient Israel and what transpired on 9/11. True, the Pentagon was struck, but it was not an attack on our entire military defenses.
The buildings of ancient Israel that the Assyrians destroyed were composed of bricks – not stone or metal; however in the WTC, the buildings were constructed with “little or no masonry”.
Did Bricks Really Fall From The Towers?
A nearby brick building with a steel and concrete superstructure survived in much better condition.
David James once again: “However, with no intent to minimize the tragedy in any way, it must be recognized that compared to the utter devastation in ancient Israel, there was relatively little destruction in New York City. The small number of bricks that fell in 2001 was inconsequential – not at all comparable to what happened in the eighth century BC.”
Ancient Israel suffered the destruction of their entire northern kingdom; New York City suffered the loss of two enormous buildings amidst some few others – this can hardly be considered a prophetic parallel.
The FOURTH HARBINGER: The TOWER –
~ Fact Concerning Israel: Israel’s leaders demonstrated a spirit of defiance against God with their declarations that the destroyed city would be rebuilt with no thought of repentance.
~ Claim Concerning America: America’s leaders followed exactly in the footsteps of Israel’s leaders when they declared that the destroyed WTC towers would be rebuilt.
Israel knowingly defied their God and thumbed their noses at their enemies as well; this is evident in the text of the ninth chapter of Isaiah:
ISAIAH 9:8-14
8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. 9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. 11 Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; 12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts. 14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
Yet the American leaders were not defying God, as can be readily seen when one views the various news clips and articles in context; true – they were misapplying the passage from what was intended by those who made such defiant proclamations, but as a means of comfort and solace to the American people. However, Cahn has attempted to make his case, that this is exactly what they were doing.
”He contends that America’s leaders,” says David James, “were proudly and arrogantly acting in defiance of God when they spoke of rebuilding. Through the Prophet [in the story], the author cites those he says were defiant when they used the phrase, ‘We will rebuild’.”
[The PROPHET] “From the mayor of New York City in the wake of the attack: ‘We will rebuild . . .’
“From the state’s governor: ‘We will rebuild. And we will move forward.’
“From the state’s junior senator: ‘We will rebuild . . .’
“From the city’s mayor at the time of the rebuilding: ‘We will rebuild, renew, and remain the capital of the free world.’
“From the President of the United States: ‘We will rebuild New York City.’
“One way or another, each leader would end up proclaiming the same words of defiance proclaimed thousands of years before by the leaders of ancient Israel.”
“In the documentary Cahn says,
[Jomathan Cahn] ‘We’ll rebuild New York City. We’ll rebuld Ground Zero. We rebuild better than . . .’ again and again and again, without anything of repentance, that’s the key. So it becomes something of pride and arrogance – about we’re going to show the world, but we’re not turning to God at all.’”
David James recollects in his book the event of Obama visiting Ground Zero and writing on one of the steel girders, ‘We remember. We rebuild. We come back stronger!”
Cahn comments: “On June 14th two of the mysteries of The Harbinger, foreshadowed in the book came true. Obama went to Ground Zero … [and] wrote … ‘We Remember. We Rebuild. We come back Stronger!’
“Now the words and the tower have been joined together in reality – and the one who did it was the president of the United States. One subtle difference in the words is that the vow is spoken in the future tense. But now the words inscribed on the towers are in the present tense. In other words, they not only speak of the defiant vow, but of the fact that the vow is being fulfilled. This constitutes another ominous sign.”
Using the word “fulfillment” indicates by both Cahn and World Net Daily (that supports, promotes and is in agreement with Cahn’s writings and presentations of The Harbinger), that this is a matter of fulfilled prophecy from Isaiah 9:10 not just for ancient Israel but also for modern day America.
The claim is made that various leaders in America spoke their words of rebuilding in defiance of God, but in the context of what was said, these statements were in fact in defiance of America’s enemies (the terrorists of 9/11 and those that supported them).
Then the Prophet of The Harbinger states that it wasn’t merely the words proclaimed in themselves that was the problem, but rather “the spirit and the motive behind the rebuilding”. Yet, how could motives of these leaders or those committed to rebuilding could be known by Cahn or anyone else unless they were specifically asked what it was that they did mean by such statements?
As David James states: “It is one thing to make an observation and report what someone said; of course they said what they said. As Cahn notes, that’s a matter of public record. It’s quite another thing to assign motives without specific knowledge of what someone was thinking or what was going through someone’s heart. The Bible calls that judging and warns against it in very strong terms (MATT 7:1-2).”
Mr. James observes further: “[Cahn] argues that in spite of what they said, the intention of each of America’s leaders was to be defiant. Yet later in the book, when discussing John Edwards and Tom Daschle in the context of the eighth and nineth harbingers, he tries to make his case that in spite of what they said and in spite of what they intended, they were being defiant. In this case Cahn argues that context and intention are everything, but in that case, he assures the reader that context and intention mean nothing. He attempts to make the same point in both places but with contradictory logic. He cannot have it both ways.”
Mr. James likewise points out the faulty logic of Mr. Cahn regarding the ‘tower harbinger’ and the American leaders who addressed the issue in public. Cahn asserts that these leaders failed to repent on behalf of the nation that they represent; however, since these were secular, political leaders and not spiritual leaders, they could represent no one (but themselves). Could these men have known that this was a judgment of God and that the LORD expected repentance from them? Could they possibly have drawn the conclusion that just as God judged Israel for their defiance, that God would likewise judge them for their own defiance of Him, which Cahn unjustifiably asserts?
Cahn leans heavily on a particular translation of Isaiah 9:10, from what is called the Septuagint (A Koine Greek version of the Old Testament created in Alexandria in late 2nd century BCE) rather than the more commonly used Masoretic text. In the Septuagint, the verse from Isaiah reads:
“The bricks are fallen, but come, let us hew stones and fell sycamores and cedars and let us build ourselves a tower.”
David James comments: “It’s impossible to say whether or not it was in the Hebrew text used by the translators of the [Septuagint]. It is also impossible to say that these were the words of Isaiah himself. Therefore, it almost certainly should not be used as a technical linguistic argument to prove a point such as this one.”
What is most telling is that Cahn quotes only the latter part of Isaiah 9:10 in the Septuagint, but not the earlier part. Had he done so, his readers would understand that this version expresses Israel as the one who cut down the sycamores and the cedars in order to build, rather than the Assyrians in wanton destruction, which would destroy his later arguments for the sixth and seventh harbingers.
David James concludes: “It is extremely misleading and highly questionable methodology to pick one phrase out of a translation in order to prove a point when the passage as a whole has a very different meaning. The Word of God should not be handled in this manner, and one’s audience should not be misled with such a dubious tactic.”
Thus we have completed David James review of four of the nine harbingers. In the next article we shall resume this review and examine the remaining five and see what can be truthfully known of these matters. Until then, remain in the grace and truth of God which is by Jesus Christ our LORD!
1 comment:
Ref: "and one’s audience should not be misled with such a dubious tactic."
My thoughts on this is that you are making seem to the reader that what Cahn is saying is not true. This could, very sadly and with grave ramifications, lead the reader to discount the warnings as 'not true' as well that are evident in Cahn's book "The Harbinger".
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