Is Isaiah 9:10 A Secret Foreshadowing Of Divine Judgment On America? -- By: Mark McGinniss

Journal: Journal of Ministry and Theology
Volume: JMAT 17:2 (Fall 2013)
Article: Is Isaiah 9:10 A Secret Foreshadowing Of Divine Judgment On America?
Author: Mark McGinniss


Is Isaiah 9:10 A Secret Foreshadowing Of Divine Judgment On America?

Mark McGinniss

Associate Professor of Old Testament Literature,
Language, and Exegesis
Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, PA

Introduction

The most dangerous sign in biblical studies is the mathematical equal sign (=).1 One example of what makes its use so perilous is when someone takes a verse or two from the Bible (usually an obscure passage from the OT2) and a supposed equivalent counterpart in contemporary society and states unequivocally that “A=B!”, where A is from the OT and B is its supposed equivalent counterpart in contemporary society. Subsequently, this algebraic equation becomes the basis of a run-away “theological” bestseller.

This is the equation applied by Messianic Jew, Jonathan Cahn,3 in The Harbinger: The Ancient Mystery that Holds the Secret of America’s Future. As of January 2013, it was on The New York Times Best Seller List for trade fiction for the fifty-fifth week.4 According to Christian Retailing it is the longest running Christian title on the NY Times Paperback Trade Fiction list. On Amazon it ranked #24 in its Top 100 books, #13 in Religion & Spirituality, and #4 in Theology.5 As of January 2013 it had sold over 1 million copies and had been reprinted fifteen times.6

Cahn’s foundational premise is that there are nine harbingers or warnings in Isaiah 9:10 that correspond to what has happened in America beginning with the terrorists’ attacks on 9/11. These harbingers are a foreshadowing of coming divine judgment. He shares these harbingers through a fictional novel about which he admits, “What you are about to read is presented in the form of a story, but what is contained within the story is real.”7 In the novel there are three characters: Ana Goren, a high power journalist; Nouriel Kaplan, the receiver of

these “divine revelations”; and the “Prophet” who leads Kaplan to the meaning of the divine truth of Isaiah 9:10 as it specifically relates to America. While these characters are fiction, it is clear that Jonathan Cahn is Nouriel (Barry/Baruch)...

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