LEADER TIMES WEEKEND RELIGION ARTICLE FOR
October 13, 2012 by William H. Scarle, Jr.
About two weeks ago I received a book from a dear friend and member of Franklin Union Baptist Church in Worthington. Larry thought I might be interested in reading it. The book is entitled “THE HARBINGER,” and is written by Jonathan Cahn. It is a kind of mystery story, but the puzzle is not in the realm of crime but in the area of prophecy. The story is fiction and is built around several remarkable coincidences connected with the nine/eleven terrorist attack.
The author is not concerned with the people and ideology that caused the attack, but rather with the American response. He sees the breaching of our security as a lifting of God’s protection of America and as a warning to a people who built their government on a faith in the God of the Bible.
Toward the end of the volume he quotes George Washington in his inaugural speech given at Federal Hall in New York City. Washington said, among other things, “The propitious smiles of Heave can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself hath ordained.” From the site of Federal Hall the assembled government officials retired to Saint Paul’s Chapel which was only a short distance from the inauguration site. Here they dedicated the new nation to God and prayed for his guidance and protection. The remarkable coincidence, if it is that, is that these two locations are in close proximity to “ground zero.” Saint Paul’s property is actual adjacent to site and is still standing.
The first half of the book examines a prophecy of Isaiah 9:10 and 11, and its use by government officials on occasions where the subject was the nine/eleven attack. The interesting thing here is that these leaders had no idea of what was referred to in the prophecy.
This is a book that is interestingly written with a significant component of suspense. However, it develops a spiritual principal that is directly relevant to our time.
It is indeed uncomfortable to think that the United States is being warned of judgment to come for failure to walk in the ways of God. However, it is not disconnected with our history. The early founding fathers were very much aware that God blesses a nation that seeks righteousness. Lincoln was very much aware that the war was a judgment of God on a people who tolerated slavery for so long. The fact is that the Civil War brought a great revival of faith to both the North and the South, which included the ministry of Dwight L. Moody.
The Hebrew Scriptures clearly teach that God is sovereign over all the nations. Israel is punished for idolatry. However, the nations that go against Israel are also warned and punished for unrighteousness. Assyria fell to Babylon. Babylon fell to Persia. Persia fell to the Greeks. The Greeks fell to the Romans. Nineveh was spared when they repented at the preaching of Jonah. Persia was rewarded when Darius allowed Judah to return and rebuild the Temple. The Psalmist asks, “Why do the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing (Ps. 2:1).”
“HARBINGER” is a reminder of a truth we need today. It is also a fascinating read. I highly recommend it.
(Bill Scarle can be contacted at ravscarle@verizon.net.)