Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Last week the world breathed a sigh of relief as the US Congress voted at the last minute to raise the debt limit, narrowly averting what could have become a global economic crisis. The crisis has only been postponed. It looks like we will have to face it again in the new year.
Sadly, our world has become a suffering, complicated mess. Even rich and powerful nations struggle to govern themselves—a reality that highlights the need for the human race—all of us—to accept the friendship and helping hand of our Creator who made us for better things. I am grateful that God has allowed us to see through the murk and despair to realize that there is a way to live that leads to joy and hope, in loving partnership with God through Jesus. That is the true message of the Bible.
Sadly, some use Scripture to preach a message of impending doom.
In some of my recent visits to churches, I have been asked about the book The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn who pastors a large Messianic Jewish church in New Jersey. His book, which was published in 2011, is a work of fiction. However, Cahn based it on Bible prophecies (Isaiah 9:8-21 in particular) that he interprets as predicting a series of calamities he says God is bringing on the US. In his interpretive scheme, Cahn draws parallels between the last days of ancient Israel and current events in America since 9/11. He sees nine signs (he calls them “harbingers”) hidden in Isaiah’s prophecies, showing how God is progressively judging America for its sins.
Gripping stuff, I suppose, if you like that sort of thing. Personally I don’t. I found the book hard to read. That, of course, is my personal reaction and I wouldn’t bother to write about it if The Harbinger was intended only as fiction. What we read for entertainment is a personal matter and my opinion of Cahn’s book would matter only as much as my opinion of a book like Winnie the Pooh. However, Cahn has a more serious agenda than mere entertainment. As he writes in the beginning of his book, “What you are about to read is presented in the form of a story, but what is contained within the story is real.” He intends that The Harbinger be taken as a serious call for national repentance.
Cahn’s theme is based on the idea that the US is in a special covenant relationship with God. Starting with that premise, it is only a small step to apply prophecies given to ancient Israel to the present situation in the US. Isaiah 9:10, for example, becomes a prophecy of the destruction of the World Trade Center then 9/11. Cahn’s approach reminds me of the central premise of British-Israelism, which we learned is not the secret that unlocks Bible prophecy, nor is it the proper lens through which to interpret Scripture.
Sadly, biblical prophecy can be a rich vein for exploitation in the hands of alarmist preachers. We should not be surprised when people who read The Harbinger ask, “Is there something to it?” While we can applaud the theme of calling for repentance and a return to godliness, misusing prophecy is not the way to do it. Appeals to biblical authority should be based on a correct exegesis of Scripture.
In claiming that the nine harbingers are God’s warnings specifically to America before he passes judgment on the country, Cahn is taking an Old Testament concept out of context. America is not Israel. Israel’s calling and mission culminated in Jesus Christ.
There was a time when God sent prophets to warn a particular person or country. But that was then and this is now. Hebrews 1:1-2 succinctly sums up how God speaks to us today:
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
God’s message to America, and indeed to all the world, is found in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. That message is a loving call to repentance and an invitation to fellowship—not a threat of terrible punishment upon any one particular nation. So whatever merits The Harbinger has as a novel, it has no special insights for those who value biblical truth. Personally, I would rather read Winnie the Pooh.
Your brother in Christ,
Joseph Tkach
Although I haven’t read the book, I appreciate your putting it in its proper place. All too often the church finds itself grasping for the latest, brightest, most exciting new thing on the horizon when we have always and will always have just what we need in hand. God’s own scriptures, revealed by the Holy Spirit.