The post below is Pastor and Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn’s response the broadsides that David James wrote regarding his New York Times bestseller, The Harbinger. During the year of 2012, early in the year, yes as early as January 7th of that year, Jimmy DeYoung and David James went right to work on a critical review of Rabbi Cahn’s book, and later, Mr. James, who was originally planning on writing a two or three page review, had after much misreading of The Harbinger, drafted a book of his own, which the Berean Call approached him that year with an offer to publish, and the rest, is history.
For the balance of that year and well into this 2013, David James was interviewed on programs such as Prophecy Today (Jimmy DeYoung) and others several times to promote his own book, The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? and trash The Harbinger and smear Jonathan Cahn as one “who mishandles God’s Word,” and accusing him in the beginning as promoting Replacement Theology and that The Harbinger promoted the belief that Isaiah 9:10 was a prophecy about America, and other total errors and misreadings of what it says.
I have been writing in response to critics of The Harbinger since late last year. There are a myriad of articles also that I’ve addressed, some others I have yet to address, much of these I have already addressed and my articles can be accessed at my website, The Pepster’s Post: A Voice in Cyberspace.
I have had the privilege to have what is a front row seat to the teachings and messages that Pastor Cahn has given over a ten year period which compromises the message of The Harbinger, and I know these messages very well. What’s more, I also have read The Harbinger for myself several times, and I know Pastor Cahn personally. None of The Harbinger’s critics can make this claim, and those who wrote their polemic against the book, cannot make any of these claims. It is my close and intimate knowledge of the topic, the one who has taught it for ten years in various messages which eventually became what the book contains, and know personally firsthand all of the aspects of this topic that needs to be known in order to examine it in the most thorough and biblical manner possible that has enabled me to write The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message and get it published October 1st of this year.
I was planning and had desired to end my discussions addressing the criticisms against The Harbinger and move on to other projects, and had prepared to do so after the publication of my book The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message on October 1st of 2013; but it had become increasingly evident from certain objections raised by one of them to my article about Pastor Gary Gilley’s brief but highly charged broadside that it was not enough for me and others to warn these brethren that their approach and methods, and their treatment of a brother in the faith – Jonathan Cahn – a fellow minister in service to Jesus Christ no less; the language they used against him, and their behavior towards those – like myself – who brought these things to their attention; was not enough to tell them of this, the evidence for it had to be presented to them, because they had become convinced in their minds that they had done no wrong and had not sinned in what they did to Jonathan Cahn for two years – 2012 and 2013.
Having made this clear, we now go on, and again express our appreciation to these critics for allowing me to fully examine everything possible according to the Scriptures, to verify both the efficacy of the message of The Harbinger and its particulars to the light of God’s Word, while we address man’s contentions with it. In doing this, we understand the purpose of such divisions these arguments pose to the body, and while we lament them, we also so God’s purpose in this, as Paul does when he writes in the Holy Spirit the following. I quote:
But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God. But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.
(1Corinthians 11:16-19)
The critics of The Harbinger have allowed all of us to closely examine the Scriptural, historical, and public records available to us, and the arguments they present, so that we may biblically arrive at a definitive conclusion about this topic and address its clarion call to all of God’s people and the leaders of this nation, and its citizens to know the degenerate state we are in, seek God, and call upon the name of Jesus Christ in full personal repentance individually and then collectively as a nation. This is something all Jews, Christians – Jewish Messianics, Evangelicals, and all people of faith can agree with and do, and we must do it sincerely and fervently to avert disaster.
The post below is Pastor and Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn’s response to David James’ polemic against The Harbinger, and having read it myself, I must say that it mirrors much of what I and others like Connie/Faith of Faith’s Corner, Ladybug, JPCollado, LWeeks, T Jimenez, and others on Amazon.com have discovered when reading Mr. James’ book. David James didn’t read The Harbinger; David James read into The Harbinger and then wrote and published what he read into it. This is why I was compelled to answer this polemic by writing my own book on The Harbinger, titled The Truth about The Harbinger: Addressing the Controversy and Discovering the Facts About This Prophetic Message, and to address many of the additional charges, false witness, and urban legends that have popped up on the Internet since the book was published, on my website, The Pepster’s Post: A Voice in Cyberspace.
From the article below, Rabbi Cahn had already addressed the many fallacies contained in David James’ polemic against his book long before I got involved in this affair, and it appears from reading what he wrote, he effectively, graciously under the circumstances, and most importantly, biblically answered these in a well-written reply that had to be written to help set the record straight. It is most unfortunate that by the time, he wrote it, and by the time I and others got involved, David James was too far involved and too committed to retract his sad statements against his brother in Christ, and to personally apologize to him for having made them. It is a very sad state of being when not even the smallest of apologies can be expressed by any of these people to Jonathan Cahn after what they put this man through for the years of 2012 and 2013. It speaks volumes and is itself an End Time sign that we are most assuredly living in the days like Noah’s.
Jose J. Bernal
December 31st. 2013
11:20PM
Jonathan Cahn is President of Hope of the World ministries, Senior Pastor and Messianic Rabbi of the the Jerusalem Center/ Beth Israel in Wayne, New Jersey. He is also the author of this best selling book ‘The Harbinger‘.
I have been asked to cover this “Harbinger” [warnings signs] debates, discussions and conversations. At the outset, I have just here presented a linked version of Jonathan Cahn’s response to the opposing views of David James who wrote as a response to Jonathan’s book, “The Harbinger, the Ancient Mystery that holds the secret of America’s Future”, – a book entitled, “The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction?”
I’ve watched the youtube (easy link through google: “youtube Sid Roth interviews Jonathan Cahn”) and encourage you to do so before entering into any discussion concerning the “Harbinger” warning signs for America.
Is it possible…
That there exists an ancient mystery that holds the secret of America s future?
That this mystery lies behind everything from 9/11 to the collapse of the global economy?
That ancient harbingers of judgment are now manifesting in America?
That God is sending America a prophetic message of what is yet to come?
Before its destruction as a nation, ancient Israel received nine harbingers, prophetic omens of warning. The same nine harbingers are now manifesting in America with immediate ramifications for end-time prophecy.
Jonathan Cahn Answers David James.
Jonathan Cahn Answers David James.
Jonathan Cahn’s Response To David James ‘The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction?’
I was in the midst of a radio interview when a listener notified me that he had just heard someone on a prophecy broadcast depict The Harbinger as saying that God was finished with the Jewish people and that America had replaced Israel in the purposes of God. This representation was based solely on a report given by David James. The listener, having read The Harbingerhttp://www.amazon.com/Harbinger-Ancient-Mystery-Secret-Americas/dp/161638610X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382243690&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Harbinger shared the news with shocked disbelief. Others would describe the charges in such terms as “ludicrous.” D.James’ latest critique of The Harbinger is unfortunately based on many of the same misunderstandings, misperceptions, confusions and uncorrected errors he made at the beginning.
This is not about D.James, but rather about his misunderstandings in his critique, and more importantly what The Harbinger actually is about and actually is saying. For the record, D.James and I would both call each other brothers, as we have, and we would agree on the basic doctrines of our faith, even on an overall eschatological framework. We would also agree on the call and need for repentance in general and to America specifically. I believe him to be a sincere brother. I don’t fault his motives. Unfortunately, sometimes the pursuit of some (not all) “discernment” ministers, or those who believe they are called to find or correct error in the body, can itself misguided, extreme, and even subject to the very same errors that are ostensibly being opposed. This is unfortunately the case in D.James latest critique.
Context
First, lest the reader get a false impression, some much needed context: The Harbinger has not only become a national bestseller, but has also been endorsed, recommended, praised, and championed by born again, Bible believing, ministers, pastors, ministry leaders, Bible teachers, Bible scholars, Christian authors, Christian seminary professors, etc., throughout the body of Messiah. Its endorsements have crossed both denominational and doctrinal lines within the body, from Baptist to Nazarene, Fundamentalist to Charismatic, etc. It has been read by Christian scholars, whose expertise in the key passages which concern The Harbinger, Old Testament hermeneutics, biblical Hebrew, etc. I would think D. James would admit go well beyond his own. And they’ve endorsed it as being not only biblically sound, but one of the most important books they’ve ever read.
Of course there will be differing opinions concerning any matter. But the reader must consider that believers and scholars of all denominational backgrounds and with absolute commitments to the Bible as the Word of God and zealous for sound biblical interpretation have endorsed The Harbinger, and strongly so. Beyond that, Christians, ministers, scholars, and leaders have described The Harbinger in such terms as ‘stunning,’ ‘amazing,’ ‘extraordinary,’ and also with such phrases as ‘theologically flawless’ and ‘the most important prophetic book and message I have ever read outside the Bible.’ Beyond any article or debate concerning The Harbinger, beyond anything D.James would say or I, the issues, the response, the stakes involved, and the level of importance involved, are critical enough to warrant the reader to read the book for him or herself. Anything less is hearsay.
The Harbinger: Overview
The Harbinger concerns an ancient pattern of judgment that manifested in the last days of ancient Israel and which is now manifesting in America. What has stunned or amazed most readers is how specifically, exactly, precisely this pattern has manifested on American soil – thus the subtitle: “The ancient mystery that holds the secret of America’s future.” It’s a mystery that lies behind everything from 9/11, to the War on Terror, to crashing of Wall Street and the collapse of the American economy, to the Great Recession. The mystery is so precise that it involves exact events, the exact actions and words of American leaders, and the exact dates of the greatest financial crashes in American history. It is prophetic in nature in that it is a call to the nation, to the saved and the unsaved and, I have no doubt, meant for such a time as this. It concerns every American and, in a more general sense, the world, and the age. Nor do I have any doubt that the message is a wake-up call, an alarm that is both urgent and critical. Its nature also struck most as unique and unprecedented. No such message will be received without controversy. But it is important to clear up any misunderstanding or misrepresentation.
D. James claims that The Harbinger departs from a biblical hermeneutic in that Isaiah 9:10 in context concerns Israel, not America. This claim, that he brings up several times in his critique, is based on an underlying confusion – specifically, that the book is claiming that Isaiah 9:10 is a prophecy about America. The problem is The Harbinger does no such thing. It does speak of a connection between America and Israel (not exactly a novel idea) and it does speak of a mystery from the Scriptures which has an amazing application to America. But this is light years removed from claiming that a certain Scripture is prophesying of America.
The actual connection is a very simple one – namely this: God is able to bring judgment and warn a nation of that judgment, and it is His nature to both warn and call back. He is also sovereign and able to send warning using whatever means, consistent with His nature, that He chooses. This would most certainly include giving warning by using the same patterns of warning and judgment as revealed in the Bible. There is nothing here that is anything less than biblical and nothing other than that which has been attested to in orthodox faith throughout the ages. It is, on the contrary, the argument to the contrary that has no biblical grounding.
Further, the reappearance of such ancient patterns of judgment revealed in a particular Scripture does not in any way affect the original understanding, meaning, or interpretation of that Scripture in its original context – not in any way, shape, or form.. Thus the realm of hermeneutics is not, by this, touched or affected. To miss this distinction is to make a severe error and to miss what The Harbinger is all about – D. James apparently still misses it.
Example
To put it another way: Let’s say a believer shares that he has always related to King David, and how the Lord has often used the story and Scriptures concerning David to teach him, guide, convict, challenge, correct, and “speak” to him, in his walk and life. Most believers could relate to this. Now let’s say that the man shares this with his friend. But his friend responds “Then what you’re saying is that 2 Samuel is actually prophesying about you! You’re saying that you’re replacing David in the Scripture. You’re departing from proper hermeneutics.” It would be a major, if not absurd, confusion – but this is the very same confusion that underlies much of D.James’ statements.
As long as the believer speaks of the Lord using Scriptures about David to apply and speak to his own personal walk and situation, and not claim that 2 Samuel is actually prophesying of the believer’s life, the proposition in no way touches or affects the understanding or interpretation of those Scriptures, or the fact that they speak of David. Likewise, if God were to use a Scripture given to Israel to now warn a nation such as America, it would not in any way affect the understanding or interpretation or hermeneutics of that Scripture.
The Harbinger never claims that Isaiah is prophesying of America, but something very different – rather that the biblical pattern, template, and signs are now repeating in stunning precision and the Scripture which concerns ancient Israel is being applied to America. Is this actually stated in the book? Absolutely. The distinction is explicitly given in the very chapter where Isaiah 9:10 is first shared:
“The prophecy, in its context, concerned ancient Israel
But now, as a sign, it concerns America.”
As to the context of Isaiah 9:10, The Harbinger clearly identifies it with ancient Israel. In fact it is continually applied to Israel throughout the book. In addition the surrounding history of 8th century Samaria is fully presented. The mere fact that the book speaks of 8th-century Israel to reveal the pattern and signs which are now repeating requires that its context be that of ancient Israel. Further, the book includes quotes from the most respected and classical of Bible commentaries. In The Harbinger, the hermeneutic of Isaiah 9:10 is not taken one inch away from its historical and contextual bearings, nor from its original, proper, and traditionally understood meaning – not an inch, not a millimeter. The critique is groundless – based on an apparent inability to distinguish the realm of Scriptural interpretation from that of Scriptural application. The Harbinger’s hermeneutics remain absolutely sound. One, though, might suggest that D.James own method of textual hermeneutics inasmuch as it touches The Harbinger is severely flawed.
A Prophetic Message
D.James writes that The Harbinger has been taken by many to be a prophetic message – It has. And what that means is that it concerns the future and that it has been taken seriously as a word for America for such a time as this. D.James, notes that others have called me a “prophet.” I don’t call myself a prophet. For that matter, I don’t call myself much of anything. My job is to seek to His will. If this means sounding the alarm, the warning of a watchman, then that’s what I’ll do. D.James asks what else beside “prophet” would be an appropriate title for someone who believes he’s discovered a biblical mystery that is to be relayed? How about ‘a believer.’ Believers are called to just that very thing – to discover insight in the Word of God as guided by the Lord’s Spirit.
If the idea is that God cannot, would not, or does not give specific insight or revelation from His word intended for a specific place, time, situation, or people – such an idea has no biblical grounding. If the idea is that God does speak through events and circumstances – such an idea not only goes against the biblical record, but also against some of the most classic and conservative of Bible commentaries (which speak of God warning nations through specific events – as in The Harbinger), not to mention the personal experience of the Lord leading and guiding in this way in the walk of almost every believer. To protest this dynamic in The Harbinger, one must protest the same dynamic in the Bible. The underlying principle of The Harbinger is no more or less. D. James notes that a prominent description of the book states that “the mysteries revealed in The Harbinger are so precise that they have foretold recent American events down to the exact days.” Yes, that is what it says – and what it refers to are the mysteries, the template, and the pattern, of the ancient judgment, which are now replaying in modern America.
Confusing Seals and Dreams
The writer states that the use of nine small clay seals creates confusion as to whether such seals are fact or fiction. Perhaps D. James has been confused by it. No one else has reported having a problem distinguishing that these are part of the narrative. But it wouldn’t be the first time D.James was confused about things in The Harbinger, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. So as a public service to D. James, here’s a simple rule of thumb for reading the book: The narrative concerning the “prophet,” Nouriel, Ana Goren, comprises the story – but that which is revealed or taught by the prophet is the message, the revelation, the reality. The narrative serves simply as a vessel just as in the Bible, stories, symbols, images, narratives are used to convey spiritual truth. I originally wrote The Harbinger as straight non-fiction but I was then led to write it in this form to make the mysteries as accessible as possible and to reach as many people as possible.
In writing of a chapter entitled, ‘The Mystery Ground, D.James implies that a dream mentioned there suggests that I somehow received these revelations from a dream. This is another example of the many misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and misreading D.James has made concerning the book. Realizing his mistake, he subsequently used the word “mistakenly” to refer to his original assertion. Thus, it becomes all the more puzzling as to why in this latest critique, he resurrects the charge in the form of a question: “did the author actually have a similar dream.” The answer, ‘No,’ as he was told previously, hasn’t changed. Again, it’s clearly part of the narrative of the characters. But to buttress his argument that the revelation did come from a dream, D.James adds, “it is clear that the idea for the dream sequence did not develop in a vacuum.” By that logic D. James could ask C.S. Lewis, “Since the idea for the Chronicles of Narnia did not develop in a vacuum, did you actually have an encounter with a talking lion?”
It would have been much better had he just said, “I jumped to the wrong conclusion on this” (and on most other things concerning The Harbinger) (But somehow I’m not expecting that).
The Connection of America and Israel
D.James states that the author denies speaking of a direct connection between Israel and America. Then he quotes from the book where there are connections between the two – claiming contradiction. This is another misreading of the book. The question is not whether The Harbinger speaks of a connection between America and ancient Israel. It does. The question is rather what kind of connection. It is simply this: The same pattern, template, and signs of judgment which manifested in Israel’s last days is now manifesting in America, and with precision.
‘Dangerous’ History
D.James writes that statements in The Harbinger could lead readers to believe that America has replaced Israel in God’s program. He cites the following quote as proof:
“Those who laid America’s foundation saw it as a new Israel, an Israel of The New World. And as with ancient Israel, they saw it as in covenant with God.”
He has labeled this quote as being “dangerous.” The statement above is anything but dangerous. It’s not even doctrinal. It’s something altogether different. It’s a simple historical statement – a simple fact, a simple truth known by most students of American history. Calling historical facts dangerous raises questions about D. James own methods of interpretation and understanding. And it illustrates a very different and very real danger that some ‘discernment ministries’ themselves fall into – a propensity to jump to pin a label of “error,” “unsound,” or “dangerous” on that which warrant no such label. To reject as false that which is true is no less dangerous than accepting as true that which is false.
Modern Israel and Trout Fishing
D.James writes:
“While The Harbinger does not state that God has completely rejected national Israel, there is no reference to either modern-day or future Israel at all.”
D.James cites this to speak of what he believes is an underlying “God is finished with Israel” message in the book. Such assertions are so baffling, and so completely removed from reality that it’s hard to know where to begin. Yes, there is no outright mentioning of modern day Israel in The Harbinger. Neither is there any mention of trout fishing in Vermont. The reason there is no mention of trout fishing in Vermont is that The Harbinger is not focused on trout fishing in Vermont. For the same reason there is no mention of modern Israel. In other books, I’m sure I’ll speak of modern Israel (though probably not of trout fishing). But The Harbinger is the revelation of the ancient mystery that holds the secret of America’s future. It was this first of D.James’ confusions – that The Harbinger was somehow advocating that God had replaced Israel with America that caused shocked disbelief among those who had actually read the book. The statement that “The Harbinger does not state that God has completely rejected national Israel” would imply that it somehow actually does state some degree of rejection. The scenario exists nowhere in The Harbinger – but only within D.James misunderstandings.
Along similar lines, D. James criticizes The Harbinger for not expounding on Isaiah verses 1-7. He maintains that this constitutes some sort of omission. That’s like saying that any pastor who preaches on Matthew 3:1, the appearance of John the Baptist, is obliged to also expound on Matthew 2 and Matthew1, to speak of the nativity, the Magi, the flight to Egypt, and Nazareth. No preacher or Bible expositor would be obliged to do so, nor would it constitute any sort of omission. The fact is that Isaiah 9:10 is part of an entirely other and different prophecy which begins with Isaiah 9:8, the very place it begins in The Harbinger.
More ‘Dangerous’ History
The charge is made that since The Harbinger speaks of the last days of ancient Israel (the northern kingdom), it will lead people to the idea that God is finished with modern-day Israel or the Jewish people. Again, D.James is citing danger in a simple and basic historical fact: the northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed in 722 B.C. To say that this could lead to some form of replacement theology is an absurdity no less nonsensical than charging the same thing of every Bible Dictionary that mentions the destruction of ancient Israel – yet another example of the confused and misguided charges which fill his critique.
Replacement Theology & Keeping My Job
I commend D.James for being against any form of replacement theology. But with regard to this and in general, firing one’s guns at those who are in the same army is never a wise strategy for winning a war. For the record – The congregation I lead is called “Beth Israel” and “The Jerusalem Center,” a ministry that has always been strong in its support of Israel and consistently and strongly opposed to any form or variant of replacement theology. For the record also – I’m Jewish. No, I do not now nor have I ever believed in replacement theology. Otherwise I’d be putting myself out of a job.
Isaiah 53, Anti-Missionaries, & Spear-Throwing Assyrians
D.James takes issues with harbingers as, of course, he must. His line of critique is basically this: if the Nine Harbingers appearing in America are not exactly the same as what happened in ancient Israel, then we can ignore or dismiss them. Thus he argues and has argued such things as these – since the fallen bricks of the World Trade Center weren’t central to the construction, since the Gazit Stone was later removed from Ground Zero, since the Sycamore of Ground Zero was not a Middle Eastern Tree, and since the Tree of Hope does not answer to the word ‘cedar,’ we can dismiss them.
This is the same strategy used by anti-missionaries and unbelieving Orthodox Jews (whom we often deal with in ministry) in an attempt to disprove the Messiahship of Jesus. For example, they’ll say that Isaiah 53 states that the Suffering Servant “as a lamb is led to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he will not open his mouth.” They then point to the fact that Jesus, during his trial and crucifixion did open His mouth. Therefore, they claim, since they’ve established differences, Jesus cannot be the Messiah. They apply this technique to every Messianic prophecy, one by one. And if one only reads such arguments, it can appear as if the claims of Jesus have been deconstructed, invalidated, and false. But the approach, is itself, misleading and invalid. While Jesus did open his mouth during the passion, the far more significant fact is how silent he was, how many times he offered no defense. Such arguments are misleading in that by focusing on the generally trivial or secondary points of contention, they obscure the most significant point or truth. In the case of Isaiah 53, it is obscures the fact that Jesus did in fact go to His death as a lamb led to the slaughter, that He was falsely accused in His trial. that was pierced, etc. etc. Unfortunately, this is the same approach D. James uses in his attempt to deconstruct what is presented in The Harbinger. The strategy is no less flawed and misleading in that it obscures the most significant truths.
The flaw is compounded by a second problem: It’s built around the earlier confusion that the modern appearance of the harbingers are presented as the actual fulfillment of the ancient prophecy. The Harbinger makes no such claim. Rather it concerns the replaying of the biblical pattern and template of Israel’s judgment. Thus it functions in a different realm, that of patterns and signs of warning and judgment. D.James argument, taken to its logical conclusion, would say this, “We could only accept these harbingers as warning signs if America was actually attacked by spear-throwing ancient Assyrians, if the World Trade Center was built entirely out of middle-eastern clay bricks, and if America leaders pronounced vows of defiance entirely in ancient Hebrew.” In effect, he’s dictating to God the parameters in which God must manifest the signs of warning. The Lord is under no such obligation.
The Harbingers Custom-Ordered
As to the specifics of his argument, he states that America has been attacked before. The problem is that The Harbinger doesn’t rest on any solitary event or fact but on a myriad of confluences of factors upon factors which all connect to an ancient verse and an unprecedented manifestation. As to the fallen bricks of 9/11 being “incidental,” again, it is an example of dictating one’s own requirements onto how God must work – The fact remains there were actual fallen bricks. As to whether the Gazit Stone was later removed or not after being placed at Ground Zero is entirely irrelevant. The fact is it was quarried it was lowered onto the pavement of Ground Zero, becoming the center of a ceremony there. As to the mentioning of the Septuagint, this is simply a citation of an interesting fact, in the same way commentaries are cited and quoted, but nothing that in any way takes the place of Scripture which is extensively cited throughout the book.
As to the Sycamore of Ground Zero, it was the Hebrew or Middle Eastern sycamore that manifested to Israel and it was likewise the American or western sycamore that manifested to America. The fact remains, it was a sycamore, each linked to its respective nation, and even in the American case, bearing the same name as the tree of Isaiah 9. As for the Tree of Hope, the argument that this manifestation doesn’t’ follow the English name contradicts the previous argument. The word ‘cedar’ is, of course, an English translation. The original word is the Hebrew erez. And the fact is that the most accurate translation of erez is the “pinacea tree,” which though may include the word cedar is not limited to that word, not now, nor in ancient times, nor in the Bible. The significant fact here remains as well, that the tree lowered into the soil at the corner of Ground Zero to replace the fallen sycamore was, in fact, a biblical erez tree.
The Vow, The Forest, & The Trees
The ancient mystery doesn’t end there but progresses to a level that most readers find overwhelming. It is not only that all of the harbingers have, in one form or another, been manifested, but that the very Scripture upon which the harbingers are based, has itself been manifested, and uttered by some of the highest of American leaders. Further, according to the ministry, it manifested in specific connection to the attack of 9/11, even from Capitol Hill itself on the very morning after the calamity.
What does D.James say about that? He takes issue with it. On what grounds? On the grounds that he doesn’t believe that the motives of the American leaders who proclaimed Israel’s ancient vows were in keeping with the motives of those who proclaimed it in ancient times. If ever the phrase, “missing the forest for the trees” could apply, it’s here. On the contrary, The Harbinger actually states the opposite, over and over again, namely that each speaker uttered the words unwittingly, unintentionally, unknowingly, and that it had nothing to do with their personal motives. It was not that their motives were of defiance, but that the words of the proclamation were.
Caiaphas’ Prophecy & the Significant Fact
As to the example in Scripture of a national leader, Caiaphas, doing this very thing, uttering a prophecy unknowingly and unintentionally, D.James takes issue, claiming that Caiaphas’ words “were inspired to mean exactly what he intended.” Really? Then the Spirit inspires people to intend to say exactly what they intended to say anyway from the beginning, before they were inspired by the Spirit? If what he said was to mean exactly what he intended it to mean anyway, then why does the Gospel writer say that what he said was came ‘not of his own initiative.’ Of course, the truth is that Caiaphas was inspired to give a prophecy that was anything but “exactly what he intended.” Caiaphas’ words comprised the beginning of a murder plot based on the proposition that the Romans might destroy the Temple and the nation because of political concerns over a growing Messianic movement. His words were spoken to convince his hearers that the answer to such a predicament was to assassinate the leader of that movement. But that which was inspired by the Spirit, the prophecy, signified something entirely different – namely that one man, Messiah, the Lamb of God, must die as a sacrifice for sin that both Jew and Gentile would be saved from eternal judgment. The meaning of the two could not be more different. That they both come from the same words demonstrates the example of a speaker unintentionally and unknowingly uttering a prophecy through words which exist in dual realms, dual senses, and dual meaning – In other words, it is the exact same principle accurately revealed in The Harbinger as now touching the words and actions of American leaders.
D. James argues that because the one who uttered the ancient vow of defiance closed his speech with the standard “God bless America,” this proves that he didn’t intend any defiance and that this somehow nullifies the very stunning and precise nature of what occurred. By the writer’s same logic, if Caiaphas didn’t intend to speak of the atoning, redeeming, and saving sacrifice of Messiah, but only murder, and continued to plot murder after uttering the words recorded in John 11:50-51, then the Gospel’s claim that he actually uttered a prophecy has to be rejected as false.
But the writer’s focus on motivation instead of the actual fact of the proclamation is not only another example of his dictation of requirements as to how warning signs must manifest, but another example of obscuring the most significant fact – namely that the ancient vow of defiance, declared in the wake of Israel’s first warning strike of judgment, was now actually being proclaimed by an American leader, specifically in the wake of the attack of 9/11 – and by more than one American leader – the same precise verse that holds the key to all the other harbingers which also manifested on American soil.
D.James’ criticisms notwithstanding, all nine of the harbingers have, in one form or another manifested. The overwhelming reaction to this fact, especially from those who have done background searches to check the facts for themselves, has been amazement. The fact that that D.James’ purpose seems only to try to nullify them is of concern.
The Isaiah 9:10 Effect
D.James takes issue with The Isaiah 9:10 Effect, writing that it is presented as a driving force which he claims is close to a mystical view. To support this, he cites the use of such phrases as “the mystery even has determined,” and the name, “The Isaiah 9:10 Effect.” The mystery here refers to the outworking of the biblical pattern of judgment. In dealing with the sovereignty of God and the working of His hand through human events, it’s a mistake to become simplistic or dogmatic in any direction as to what constitutes a driving force. And it is only sound doctrine to recognize that there are many things about God and His workings which are beyond our human understanding and which may appear to us as mystical. But as for “The Isaiah 9:10 Effect,” working through and affecting circumstances in modern America – Yes, and there are many other laws and effects which also operate in this life, whether scientific or biblical. D.James claims that The Isaiah 9:10 Effect cannot be supported by the Bible. On the contrary, it not only can, but the same principle is actually cited in one form or another by Bible commentary after Bible commentary, classic, revered, and conservative commentaries, and specifically in connection to Isaiah 9;10.
The Mystery of the Shemitah
D. James addresses critiques a number of ideas concerning the mystery of the Shemitah. The problem again is that he raises positions which are not presented in The Harbinger. The Harbinger does not present the mystery of the Shemitah as a universal principle, nor does it ever state that seven years represents a natural economic cycle (whether there is application of the mystery beyond the seven years specified in the book is left as an open question).
Then, as he did with the harbingers, D.James basically argues that because there are differences between the American financial implosion and what happened with ancient Israel, we must dismiss the Mystery of the Shemitah. By such logic, D.James could only accept its validity if the financial collapse were cause by an attack of ancient marauding Babylonians. On the contrary, The Harbinger makes clear from the outset that it is not the Shemitah as an ordinance of the Law but as a prophetic sign that is the issue here and, again, one cannot dictate to God how He must manifest such things.
D.James then attempts to minimize the magnitude of what is universally recognized as the Great Recession. He cites that the assets and debts of Lehman Brothers were just a small part of the world economy. The argument misses the point. The fall of Lehman Brothers, though massive in itself, was not the whole of the collapse but merely the trigger of the collapse that constituted the greatest economic disaster since the Great Depression.
Arguing Crashes
The writer then attempts to downplay the scope of collapse of September 29, 2008. He does this by stating that in terms of percentage, the crashes of the Great Depression were greater – and, by this argument, labels the presentation as an overstatement. The reader may thus be left with a false impression that the stock market collapse of 2008 was really not a major event. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact remains, it was the greatest stock market point crash in American history. That means that even the crashes of the Great Depression were, in magnitude, smaller, much, much smaller in comparison. In fact even the great crash of Black Tuesday, 1929, added up to 38 points, which, in magnitude, amounts to a mere fraction of the 777 points which were wiped away in the crash of 2008. D.James’ argument that this is nothing more than using statistics to prove nothing – is misleading – to the extreme. The financial collapse of 2007/2008 would involve over 7000 points, the wiping out years and years of economic activity, and bringing the entire market to less than half of its former volume. Had it been the other way around, had the mystery of The Harbinger involved the crashes of the Great Depression instead of the crash of 2008, no doubt, D.James would have protested that these earlier crashes were only great in terms of relative value of percentage points, and not in absolute value and magnitude as in the much more colossal crash of 2008
The Significant Fact: Elul 29
But again, his arguments over percentages verses actual volume only serve to hide the real issue: The Shemitah did become a sign of judgment against a nation that had driven God out of its national life, it did culminate on Elul 29, the day that the nation’s financial accounts, of credit and debt, were wiped away – and the greatest stock market crash in American history did actually just happen to take place on the exact biblical day of the Shemitah, the 29th of Elul, the day credit and debt and financial accounts are wiped away! Beyond that, the Shemitah is a seven year mystery. Seven years before the greatest stock market crash in American history, in September 2001 just happens to be the month of the other greatest crash in American history up to that date. And that other greatest crash in American and Wall Street history just happened to also take place on the same exact biblical day of the Shemitah, Elul 29, when the financial accounts of credit and debt are wiped away! Thus the two greatest crashes in American history up to those dates each took place on the exact same biblical day, and the one day appointed to wipe away financial accounts. On top of that, each took place seven years apart, which happens to be the period of the Shemitah, exactly seven years apart, seven biblical years to the exact biblical day!
These are anything but matters of statistics. These are facts that even most hardened or biased of skeptics must fight hard against in an attempt to dismiss them. Just recently, before writing this answer to the critique, I just happened to come across a statistical analysis of just this one fact in the Mystery of the Shemitah. The analyst noted that he had taken a conservative and limited approach by not taking into account all the stock market trading days from the beginning, but just those in the 7 years between the crash of 2001 and the crash of 2008. His most conservative and limited conclusion: The chances of just these two crashes happening when they did by chance comes out to at the least one chance in one million, three hundred sixty one thousand, eight hundred and eighty nine. Forget about overstatement – the reality is so stunning that it becomes impossible to overstate. These are just some of the facts in The Harbinger which are never quite presented but obscured in D. James’ critiques.
The Mystery Ground
D.James argues that the book’s chapter entitled The Mystery Ground is saying that America is in covenant with God in the same way Israel was in covenant with God. How does he get this? He cites a reference to the connection of Israel’s covenant to the Temple Mount in a chapter that speaks of an American mystery. The far more revealing fact is that The Harbinger never states this, even though it would have been very easy to state. What The Harbinger does note is that America’s initial Puritan founders did emphatically believe that America was in covenant with God, that they did, from their end and perspective, enter into covenant with God, and that they did establish and consecrate America to God on that basis. The Harbinger does leave open the possibility that God can honor such prayers, pledges, dedications, or covenants made by man – just as He may honor a pledge or prayer made in prayer by an individual. To argue that God could not honor such prayers would be to exceed Scriptural parameters.
And yet, though The Harbinger leaves open the possibility that God may honor or use such things, it never states as fact that America is in a covenant with God and certainly not in a covenant of the kind entered into by God and Israel as revealed in Scripture. Nor does it state that a covenant was entered into on April 30, 1789, which would constitute the parallel date. Further, nothing in the book, no mystery, and no connection requires any premise of covenant. Rather, the book notes that it is a striking fact that a nation established from its outset after the pattern of ancient Israel, should follow ancient Israel not only in the pattern of its blessings, but also in the pattern of its apostasy and, most significantly concerning the present day, in the pattern of judgment.
More Confusion & Still More ‘Dangerous’ History
That D.James should here argue again that The Harbinger is somehow suggesting that God is finished with Israel because it mentions a broken covenant – is no less absurd now than when he first raised it. The Harbinger states nothing more or less than what is stated in the Bible, as in Jeremiah 31, which also speaks of a broken covenant and yet which in no way conveys any cessation of God’s promise to the children of Israel.
But again, these arguments only obscure the point, namely that behind Ground Zero and 9/11 there lies a mystery, a mystery that concerns America’s first day as a fully-formed nation, a consecration in prayer, a prophetic warning embedded in that first day, and the call of God for a nation to repent and return.
The Smoking Gun (With No Smoke)
Near the end of the section on The Mystery Ground, D.James reveals what he apparently believes is the smoking gun – that which proves that The Harbinger is actually saying what he’s been claiming, that the Scriptures are prophesying to America. What is this all based on? An exchange in the book between Nouriel and the prophet. The prophet speaks of a prophetic word from King Solomon. Nouriel asks, “From King Solomon to America?” The prophet answers “For that nation that has turned from God, for that nation from which the smiles of heaven have been withdrawn.” By using the words “confirmation” and “once again,” D.James is presenting this as proof that The Harbinger has been, all along, saying (as in Isaiah 9:10) that these are direct prophecies to America.
Again, I have to question the soundness of D.James’ own textual hermeneutics as much as it concerns the proper understanding The Harbinger. Is this really what the passage is saying? Not at all. Yes it is from King Solomon’s time and it is to America in that it applies to a nation which is witnessing the withdrawals of its blessing in judgment. The words speak to us now as they apply, just as a Scripture may speak to each of us – and yet not be prophesying of each of us. What it’s saying is no different from what pastors and preachers have been saying for ages – namely that the Scripture “If My people who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” can speak to and be applied to a nation that has known God’s word and ways but has fallen from His grace. This promise was clearly given in context to ancient Israel. But there are also clear principles and dynamics within this promise, principles and dynamics of repentance, of prayer, and intercession, which can be applied far beyond the borders of ancient Israel and now to America as a nation in need of turning and healing. That this and other Scriptures can speak to, be applied to, and even be the fitting word for the hour, is, again, light years removed from saying that it’s actually prophesying America – The writer has to understand the difference between speaking of and speaking to.
The Call to Eternity
The Harbinger not only presents ancient biblical mysteries, not only sounds an alarm of warning and a wake-up call, and not only constitutes a national call for repentance and revival, but also presents salvation to all who need to be saved. As D.James rightly notes, one of the key aims of The Harbinger is the salvation of the lost. D.James does commend several aspects of this call, and I’m appreciative that he includes this in his paper. At the same time he, of course, does find fault with it. I believe D.James’ feelings on this are genuine though requiring context. He states that the unsaved might not understand that they have to place their faith in Jesus, realize the resurrection, know that He’s the Son of God, or that He’s coming back again, or that He will set up His millennial kingdom.
Not every presentation, apologetic, or call to the unsaved will include every aspect of doctrine. A particular call may aim at planting seeds and to calling the unsaved to God. The chapter does assume that most readers will have some awareness of the basic claim of the Gospel. The central purpose here, though, is to provide the reasons why salvation can only come through Jesus and to give the reader the reasons to believe and to be saved. Whether it specifically includes such words as “you need to believe” or not, the entire chapter is telling the reader that they need to believe in Jesus. Similarly, it doesn’t specifically state every title of Messiah, (Son of God, Savior, the Lord, the Lamb), yet it does clearly identify Jesus as God Himself, generally considered to be a much more heavy, radical, and all embracing title. Further, it is stated that Jesus died for our sins and also overcame death, that His death was “to bear an infinite judgment, in which all sins are nullified and all who partake are set free… forgiven… saved. An infinite redemption in which judgment and death are overcome and a new life given…a new beginning… a new birth.” As far as not including the fact that the Lord is coming again and that he will set up a millennial kingdom, while these are important statements of doctrine, they aren’t requirements of leading someone to receive salvation.
Conclusions & the Final Question
When I was told that D.James was writing his critique, I could have simply let The Harbinger speak for itself. And The Harbinger will continue to speak for itself. But I felt it right to address his arguments for the reason that, unfortunately, many may simply read such a critique, accept its representations, and then not read The Harbinger itself, or become deafened to receiving its message.
I noted earlier that I’ve often dealt with anti-missionaries, generally Orthodox Jews, who are opposed to the Gospel. And that the approach is to attempt to pick at and deconstruct every claim of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah in the New Testament. One can do that with anything, as in such critiques as this. Unfortunately, many Jewish people only get the critique and thus never read the New Testament or never read it with an open mind, or hear the call to salvation with an open heart. All the more, the reader must go beyond talk about The Harbinger and read The Harbinger for him or herself.
The Harbinger is being received, endorsed, praised, and spread by believers, ministers, pastors, Bible professors, Christian leaders, and experts in the Hebrew Scriptures and hermeneutics, who have found it to be not only absolutely biblically grounded but also what they believe is one of the most important biblical messages they’ve ever read or heard. A day before I was to speak to D. James on the radio, I received an e-mail from the Dean of a Baptist Theological Seminary and a Master Professor of Old Testament Studies and Biblical Hebrew. He wrote to tell me how blessed he was with The Harbinger and to say this, “I am recommending that our faculty read your book and spread the word. I have also recommended it to my church members, my family members and others” – this, from a master professor of the Old Testament and biblical Hebrew whose whole life has been dedicated to the deep, careful, and proper study of the Scriptures and accurate textual interpretation. Again, I would think that D.James would admit that the knowledge, expertise, and experience of people such as this in the proper biblical hermeneutics of Hebrew texts exceed his own. And they’ve found The Harbinger not only to be completely biblically sound and grounded but a book and message that must be spread.
I have no doubt that the message of The Harbinger is for such a time as this. D.James is certainly entitled to his opinions. The problem, though, is that many of these opinions are based on very severe misunderstandings of The Harbinger’s message. My concern is that such critiques may keep some from hearing the trumpet call, and even be used by those who are not of the Lord, to mute the sounding of that trumpet. Of course, the Lord is in charge, and the trumpet, with or without controversy, will continue to sound.
I believe that most who are part of such ministries which would label themselves as being of “discernment” are sincere. And, again, I believe D. James is my brother and a decent man. And I thank God for such ministries and ministers as they, in many areas, provide an important service to the body of Messiah. But my concern is that some such ministries can at times, in misplaced zeal, become sincerely wrong, and fall into the very same error against which they take their stand. It’s just as dangerous to wrongly attack or erroneously reject a teaching or message as to wrongly and erroneously accept it. When D.James first argued his points on the radio, he presented The Harbinger as declaring that God was finished with the Jewish people, that God had chosen America to replace Israel in His purposes, that revelations in the book came from a dream, that such statements as “those who founded American civilization saw it as a new Israel” are “dangerous,” etc. etc. It was so far off and so far from the truth, that those who heard it and had read The Harbinger found it hard to believe that such statements were serious. The present critique is, unfortunately, still filled with many foundational confusions, misunderstand-ings, and errors. Such approaches present their own dangers. We must be cautious in both directions.
I have to wonder if some of these who tend toward such approaches were alive in the first century and had only read the Hebrew Scriptures and heard that the apostle Paul was speaking at a pagan forum and quoting from a hymn to Zeus to lead the unsaved to God, if they would not have condemned him as unbiblical and heretical. Though they would deny it, I suspect many of them would. I wonder, if they had heard that the disciple John had claimed that Caiaphas’ plotting of murder was actually the utterance of a prophecy, or if they heard Paul teach that “Hagar is a mountain in Arabia” if they would not have condemned the apostles as having taken improper and unbiblical liberties with the Scripture. I suspect many of them would. We must be zealous for truth. But the sword of the Word cuts both ways. We must, at the same time, be careful lest we construct our theological boxes so narrowly that God and His workings could never fit within them – and then miss God and His workings when they take place before our eyes. Such approaches have, at least once, ended up with a crucifixion.
The facts presented in The Harbinger stand. All of the harbingers of judgment identified in the warning of ancient Israel have, in one form or another, appeared on American soil, and in ways so specific and so precise that most hearers are blown away. The mysteries extend to exact events, exact actions, exact words, exact principles, exact days. And they embrace far more than could even be touched upon in a treatise such as this. Again, the stakes involved in what The Harbinger is revealing are something that cannot be left to a critique or a response to a critique. They are critical enough for the reader to read it for himself or herself.
The Harbinger is not only the revelation of mysteries but a trumpet call, an alarm, a wake-up call, a call for salvation, for revival, and repentance to a nation badly in need of repenting. As far as its effect, it’s not simply a matter of being a national best seller, its effect has been conviction, repentance, movements of prayer, Bible study, holiness, salvation, and revival. It is a trumpet call that is sounding across the land. And despite such objections as raised by D.James, it will continue to sound.
Believers in every camp hold to the very orthodox and biblical tenet that God does indeed judge and does indeed warn of coming judgment. If so, we would have to be able to discern the signs of His warnings, just as we must discern the signs of the times. Most believers in America share the conviction that this nation is in rapid departure God and His ways and in danger of judgment.
So then, the question must be asked:
If God were to send a warning of danger and judgment to America, what would such a warning sound like? Believers across America believe that it would sound identical to the message of The Harbinger. In fact, they believe it is sounding.
Let the reader read for himself. Let the hearer hear for himself. And let each believer seek and hearken to the voice and calling of God.
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