The Harbinger: Ode to Biblical Illiteracy
Posted By MSH on October 12, 2012
I’ve been asked by a couple of readers if I’d read the best-selling book by Jonathan Cahn, The Harbinger. It reminded me of a day back in an apologetics class that I took with Norm Geisler. An enthused student asked Geisler when he came into the room whether he’d read Tim LaHaye’s latest book (not sure of the title). The answer? “I haven’t finished Aquinas yet, why would I bother reading LaHaye?” Thanks for the memory, Norm!
I feel the same way about reading The Harbinger.1 No, I haven’t read it, nor do I plan to. My sentiments would be like those expressed in other reviews (by academics, people with some real training), though less courteous. Why won’t I waste the time when I read crazy stuff about the occult, ufos, and ancient astronaut silliness? Because those are more thoughtful, for one.2 But the primary reason is that the author’s thesis is so transparently wrong that only someone with a low level of interpretive literacy would find it persuasive. (I can already hear you now: “that’s most of the church, Mike”; I know and I’m not budging).
How can I be so cold? Here’s a summary of the book’s content from one review:
Isaiah 9:10-11 is the specific text of Scripture that frames The Harbinger. In context Isaiah 9:1-7 is one of the clearest prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the coming of the Messiah, both His first and second comings. This is followed by a warning of coming judgment on Israel because of its arrogance and rebelliousness (9:8-21). We know from subsequent revelation and from history that God s judgment did fall on Israel just as the prophecy promised.
So far so good. But then Cahn determines that Isaiah 9:10-11 contains a hidden second prophecy directed not to ancient Israel but to modern America. At this point the author massages Scripture and current events in an attempt to prove that God s judgment on the United States has been hiding in these verses from the day they were given by Isaiah, but have now been unlocked by the careful investigation of Cahn.
Got it? There’s a hidden prophecy about the United States in Isaiah 9:10-11. Let’s see if anything stands out to you in the passage:
8 The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,
and it will fall on Israel;
9 and all the people will know,
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
10 The bricks have fallen,
but we will build with dressed stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
but we will put cedars in their place.
11 But the Lord raises the adversaries of Rezin against him,
and stirs up his enemies.
12 The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west
devour Israel with open mouth.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
Did you find it? How about the first verse: “The Lord has sent a word against Jacob, and it will fall on Israel.” Is it really that hard to tell from that who the prophecy in this passage might be about? (Hint: The United States isn’t in there, but another country tied to biblical history is).
How about the next verse?
and all the people will know,
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,
who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:
So, who is it that utters the “key verse” for the entire Harbinger thesis — the prophecy of verse 10? Hmmm. Hard to tell. We need Jonathan Cahn and his publisher for that one. Without them I couldn’t tell it was the United States! I’d have thought it was Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, the people in whose mouths verse 10 is placed. Silly me.
We need Cahn as well to show us that the dressed stones and sycamore trees are really cryptic ways of referring to the building of the new monument in place of the twin towers, and that the “enemies of Rezin” — listed as the Syrians and Philistines in verse 12, who come against Israel (sorry, I mean, the United States) are really the forces of al-Qaeda. What a blessing that Cahn can chase the plain words of the text from our eyes and replace them with hidden truths. Bless you Obi-cahn; you’re our only hope.
Honestly — the fact that this book is a best-seller in the Christian world is a tragic embarrassment. Cahn basically imposes an idea onto the passage and calls it interpretation. The idea of Bible study is to see what the text says, not to tell it what to say despite the clarity of the words in front of our faces. The popularity of The Harbinger demonstrates for all to see the vast number of Christians who can’t even read an English Bible closely, much less do anything that resembles exegesis or analysis. How many Christian adults could name half of Christian music’s top ten, or name ten celebrities that profess Christ, and at the same time be completely inept at thinking through a passage on even this surface level?
A Christian enthralled by this twaddle deserves the label of biblical illiterate.
- It deserves nomination for this year’s Harold Camping Bunkagesis Award. ↩
- I’m actually not kidding. The book I just finished reading a week ago on this material was a University of Chicago Press title: Mutants and Mystics: Science Fiction, Superhero Comics, and the Paranormal by Jeffrey J. Kripal. ↩
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I don’t know if this is worse or just as bad as the recent rash of mass bird deaths that some nuts claimed was a fulfillment of prophecy in Hosea 4. The need for sound exegesis and hermeneutics has never been more desperately needed and never more absent from so many whose opinions are passed off as fact.
can you send me a link to the bird thing?
Here you go. Listen and weep…or laugh…or weep.
I just don’t have the heart; it’s sort of soul-crushing to realize this is where so much of the Church is at.
Yes, it makes one want to join the psalmists in imprecation or the apostle Paul shouting ?????? ??!
Oh good grief–the Greek characters didn’t show up. 1 Cor 16:22 – Our Lord come!
I hear you — can’t get the fonts to work on my end either.
unless this is a new contribution (I’ll check)
ah – a new one – good – I was thinking it was the Harbinger.
This question isn’t about the Harbinger stuff, but it’s kind of similar as far as interesting interpretations of prophecy. I’m kind of embarrassed to ask this question, but I really would like your take on Ezekiel 29 for my own learning. Ok. Here it goes.
Mike, there’s some talk going around about Ezekiel 29 that I ran across the other day. People are equating Ezekiel 29 with the bursting of the Answan Dam?
I thought that Ezekiel 29 had already been fulfilled but from what I’m reading it’s possible that it hasn’t because Egypt has always been inhabited?? Yet, I look at Egypt and don’t see the Empire that it once was. Some are thinking it will be filled in the “millennial” kingdom…others by the end of November and some think it will lead to the Gog/Magog invasion. Folks are using the 3rd Secret of Fatima and the Muslim Mahdi stuff to back up the idea that Ezekiel 29 speaks about the Answan Dam. I don’t put any stock in Muslim prophecy or the Fatima stuff and as far as eschatology is concerned, I guess I would call myself amillennial if I had to pick a side. At first I thought it was just a few people who were spreading this rumor, but then I noticed it’s on some kinda mainstream sites and the first person I thought to ask was Heiser. It’s being called the Dragon Flood prophecy and I assume they are using Revelation 12 somehow to come to the conclusion. I thought that was a prophecy that has been continuously filled since the the beginnging of the “church”. Am I confused?
Here’s one of those sites: http://www.prophecyinthenews.com/egypt-aswan-and-the-coming-flood/ and here’s another (one that uses Fatima and Islam texts)
http://burrodriver.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/egypts-flood-dragon-prophecy/
Have you heard this stuff and if so…of if not…can you tell me your thoughts on Ezekiel 29?
I hear smatterings. The prophecy is clearly directed at Pharaoh (v. 2), which clearly situates it in Ezekiel’s own time period. The dragon imagery is that of Leviathan — the use of the chaos dragon motifs that have to do with subduing the forces of chaos (if you have read my Myth that is True draft, this should be very familiar). The images are used in Psa 74, Gen 1 (somewhat obliquely), Psa 89 (there the beast is Rahab) and other places. The point is that Yahweh controls the water source of life in Egypt, not the gods of Egypt, and he’ll use that power to make Egypt a ruin so that (v. 15) “it will never again rule other nations.’ The reference is clearly to the Egyptian empire — pharaonic Egypt. Then Egypt will know who really is God (he uses the same phrase as found in conjunction with the plagues in the days of Moses — it doesn’t speak of mass conversion of Egyptians).
I have to wonder why the clear words of the text aren’t sufficient for its understanding. Probably because that doesn’t titillate sufficiently. No buzz, no Bible.
Thanks Mike. Your appreciated on this this end.
oooooo… Can I quote you on this? “No buzz, no Bible.”. Wish I had thunk of it.
there’s a lot packed into that one.
The contrarian in me just wants to offer one contrasting view: yes it is very sad that christians in the West especially treat their Bible like an ornament, but I so recall being a “2 year old” Christian full of Zeal, and having zero disciplers in my life [which means, in my church at that time] and going to see a “Hal Lindsay” film with a couple of my zealot friends. I don’t recall whether I really examined the FILM, per se, but it did provoke my appetite all the more. I read the OT and NT prophecies with Berean Diligence afterward.
and just to twist your well-educated heads even further [the donkey Speaks!]: “Jesus Christ Superstar” actually played a role in my own conversion…… figger that one out
yes, you can quote me. I have a friend that was led to Christ through the Late Great Planet Earth, so it served that good purpose at the very least.
Where did you take an apologetics class?
I took one at Dallas Seminary back in the late 80s. I took some classes there for a year.
Dr. Hesler, first, let me say I will be perusing your blogs and learning from them. I especially like your statement at the top of your page. That being said, let me simply say, after reading your take on the book and some of your comments and other’s comments, I am saddened by the obvious lack of compassion for believers, both coming from you and your readers. I assure you this condescending over-tone will assuredly cause many to stumble in their faith…..it will cause them to feel stupid, for lack of a better word, and likely will send them back to the place of just listening and believing everything their denominational pastor tells them. These are believers who are attempting to learn and study about God’s Word, instead of watching the latest episode of the soul-numbing Dancing With the Stars, or other such garbage. Most people do not have the time to take classes at a seminary, nor the finances…..indeed, most are too busy trying to provide for their family. I urge you to teach with compassion…..most do not have your obvious educational base regarding scripture, and would soak up what you say and have it spur them on to seek greater truth. Instead of condemning those who’ve read the book, explain concisely what its errors are, and if possible, a list of books that a non-seminary trained believer would understand. Thank you tremendously for sharing your knowledge, and I pray I didn’t offend, as that was not my intention at all. Sadly, our world has become cold-hearted, even the elect, and we really must guard against this tool of satan. Again, thank you.
Bad interpretation doesn’t need compassion; it needs correction. I think it’s compassionate to point out misleading material and to do so clearly. I see no point in writing a critique that leaves the impression that “there may be something to that” when it’s nonsense. And in this case, it takes so little critical reading skills (just read the passage) that I think a jolt is a good thing. The evangelical church has been lulled to an intellectual stupor precisely because no one gives it straight medicine when needed. Paul didn’t hesitate to call the Galatians fools for believing false ideas (Gal 3:1), but that’s not all he did. I don’t do only that, either, but I do it when I think it’s needed.
Dr. Heiser, I apologize for misspelling your name. I was operating off of memory and my phone where I couldn’t see your info.
Thank you for your response. Forgive me for being unclear. I agree that there should be no subdued teaching or interpretation of God’s Word. I only meant wording such as I’ve listed below, goes beyond trying to instruct and seems to reach the line of demarcation between Paul’s use of the word fools, i.e. not wise(as he was attempting to draw the people’s eyes back to salvation by grace rather than where the false teachers had lead them, keeping of the law) and condescension.
“only someone with a low level of interpretive literacy would find it persuasive”, “be completely inept at thinking through a passage on even this surface level”, “A Christian enthralled by this twaddle deserves the label of biblical illiterate”
Two passages that I have learned greatly from are: Colossians 3:12 “Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,” and Hebrews 5:2 “Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.”
C. H. Spurgeon explains it much better than I do, for I am one of the ignorant, but trying to learn and draw ever closer to Jesus. I hope you will read it and know that this is a struggle of mine at times, as well. “COMPASSION AND FORBEARANCE ARE TWO THINGS WHICH ANY MAN WHO WOULD DO GOOD TO HIS FELLOW MEN OUGHT TO POSSESS TO A VERY LARGE DEGREE. You will have plenty of use for all the compassion and all the tenderness that you can possibly command, for this will help to draw around you those who are ignorant and out of the way.”
http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols22-24/chs1407.pdf
Your sister in Christ,
Sunny
Have you read much Spurgeon? He could be pretty sarcastic. So could Paul -speaking to Judaizers who insisted on circumcision with the “why don’t you just cut the whole thing off?” line. My point is that there’s a time for tough love. I’ve had it with the stupidity that passes for Bible teaching within the believing community.
Hi, I replied a few days ago, but my computer was acting odd…. I’ll resend…
Dr. Heiser, I apologize for misspelling your name. I was operating off of memory and my phone where I couldn’t see your info.
Thank you for your response. Forgive me for being unclear. I agree that there should be no subdued teaching or interpretation of God’s Word. I only meant wording such as I’ve listed below, goes beyond trying to instruct and seems to reach the line of demarcation between Paul’s use of the word fools, i.e. not wise(as he was attempting to draw the people’s eyes back to salvation by grace rather than where the false teachers had lead them, keeping of the law) and condescension.
“only someone with a low level of interpretive literacy would find it persuasive”, “be completely inept at thinking through a passage on even this surface level”, “A Christian enthralled by this twaddle deserves the label of biblical illiterate”
Two passages that I have learned greatly from are: Colossians 3:12 “Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,” and Hebrews 5:2 “Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.”
C. H. Spurgeon explains it much better than I do, for I am one of the ignorant, but trying to learn and draw ever closer to Jesus. I hope you will read it and know that this is a struggle of mine at times, as well. “COMPASSION AND FORBEARANCE ARE TWO THINGS WHICH ANY MAN WHO WOULD DO GOOD TO HIS FELLOW MEN OUGHT TO POSSESS TO A VERY LARGE DEGREE. You will have plenty of use for all the compassion and all the tenderness that you can possibly command, for this will help to draw around you those who are ignorant and out of the way.”
http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols22-24/chs1407.pdf
Your sister in Christ,
Sunny