The Harbinger (10 page)

“I don’t,” he replied, “but I’ve seen pictures of it. The image looked like a
ziggurat
…a terraced tower with each terrace or story getting smaller and smaller as it rises.”

“And what did you make of it?”

“I didn’t know what to make of it. I looked up everything I could on the Tower of Babel. But there was nothing I could find to connect to the seal. So I went back to the vow in Isaiah 9:10. But there was no mention of a tower. I was going nowhere.”

“As you were before.”

“As I was before except then I didn’t realize I was going nowhere. This time I was going nowhere and knowing I was going nowhere. I guess it was some sort of improvement, but it’s easier to go nowhere when you don’t realize that’s where you’re going.”

“So what did you do?”

“I put the two clues together—the image on the seal with what he told me.”

“What he told you…was what?”

“When I asked him how I would know the Fourth Harbinger, he told me it would be hard to miss—it was the largest one. So there’s the image of a tower and the clue that the Fourth Harbinger is the largest one, the largest
tower
. So I went to the largest standing tower in New York City.”

“The Empire State Building?”

“Yes. To the eighty-sixth floor and outside to the observation deck. It was early evening…a windy day…just around sunset…with thousands of lights just beginning to appear throughout the cityscape. I walked around the deck gazing at the skyscrapers in every direction, but there was nothing that struck me as being especially significant with regard to the clues. I was standing on the south side looking out to the city’s lower end. To my left was a man viewing the same scene through one of the metal telescopes they have there, the ones you have to pay to look through, the ones with timers on them.”

“Impressive,” the man said. “It’s an impressive view.”

“Yes it is,” I answered.”

“So many towers.”

“When I heard the word
towers
, I turned around. It was
him
.”

“The prophet, looking through a telescope on the observation deck of the Empire State Building?”

“The same.”

“And you didn’t notice him before that?”

“I was looking at the view, not the people. And his face was hidden behind the telescope.”

“But his voice.”

“Yes, but out of context, I wasn’t expecting to hear it.”

The prophet continued. “It has a beauty to it,” he said, still gazing at the scenery, “a strange beauty.”

“Don’t tell me you just came up here to take in the view,” I said.

“Actually, I had an appointment,” he replied.

“There’s no point in me asking you how you do all this, is there?” I asked. “My guess is that it involves satellites.” I was being facetious of course.

“You’re right,” he said.

“That it involves satellites?”

“No,” he replied, “that there’s no point in asking.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Long enough,” he answered. “I was wondering when you’d get here.”

“The clue on the seal, it’s a tower, right?”

“It
is
a tower.”

“Then I have it right this time. It’s the Empire State Building.”

“No,” he replied. “You’ve gotten it wrong again.”

“What do you mean? It’s a tower…the largest tower…and you’re here.”

“The image on the seal is a tower. But the Empire State Building is just the place of our meeting.”

“But you said it was the largest one.”

“The largest of the
Harbingers
.”

“Then the Fourth Harbinger
isn’t
a tower?”

“I didn’t say that. But it isn’t
this
tower. How many towers do you see out there?”

“I have no idea.”

“Many. And to which one do you think the seal points?” Just then he looked up from the telescope. His time was up. He turned to me.

“Do you need some change?” I asked, half-facetiously.

“I’m OK,” he answered. He began walking along the deck. I walked alongside him. He turned again to take in the view. I did likewise. So we both stood there in the wind, looking out at the vast expanse of skyscrapers, more and more of them now dotted with yellow lights and set against the deep red and blue background of the sunset sky.

“And where were you now on the deck?” she asked.

“Still on the south side, facing lower Manhattan.”

“Nouriel,” he asked, “where are we in the prophecy, in Isaiah 9:10?”

“‘
The bricks have fallen
,’” I replied.

“That revealed the First Harbinger. But where are we now? What comes next?”

“’
The bricks have fallen,’
but…”

“‘
But we will rebuild
,’” he said, completing the sentence. “That’s the key to the Fourth Harbinger.”

“It doesn’t sound very revealing.”

“Remember, it’s not just the words but the context surrounding them and the spirit behind them. The problem wasn’t the rebuilding. The problem was the spirit and the motive behind the rebuilding. They had just been given a critical warning. But they respond with defiance: ‘
But we will rebuild
’ is the first declaration of that defiance, from which will come their judgment.”

“It doesn’t only say, ‘
We will rebuild
,’ I added. “It says, ‘
We will rebuild with hewn stone
.’ Hewn stone…what’s that about? What’s the significance?”

“The fallen bricks were made of clay and straw. They were brittle and flimsy. They would be replaced, but not with more clay bricks, but with something much stronger—hewn stone.”

“So a building made of stone would be much more resistant to any future attack.”

“Exactly, and it could rise to greater heights.”

“So the hewn stone signifies their intent to come out of the attack stronger than they were before it.”

“Yes…again…all about defiance. Instead of being humbled by the calamity, they become emboldened by it. They vow to build bigger, better, stronger, and higher than before. Not only will they continue on their course of apostasy—now they’ll do it with a vengeance, with defiance. So instead of bowing their heads before heaven, they raise their fists against it.”

“So what happened?” I asked

“They clear away the heaps of fallen brick and rubble and begin the reconstruction on the ground of their devastation. The project is filled with symbolic meaning. It represents the nation’s rebuilding of itself and its rise from the ashes. The vow would become reality. New buildings, stronger, taller, bigger, and better, would rise up in place of those destroyed in the attack. So the new construction would become a concrete manifestation and witness of the nation’s defiance of God’s call.”

Taking the seal in his right hand and lifting it up, he began to explain. “The Fourth Harbinger: In the wake of the calamity, the nation responds without repentance, humility, or reflection, but with pride and defiance. Their leaders vow, ‘
We will rebuild
.’ They pledge to rebuild bigger, better, taller, and stronger than before. The rebuilding takes place on the ground of destruction. The construction is intended to be a symbol of national resurgence. It is set to rise up from the ruins of that which had fallen and to surpass it in height. It will be their towering testament of defiance—the rebuilding of the fallen, and of the nation itself, the Fourth Harbinger…the Tower.”

“So if the ancient mystery is joined to America, then somehow 9/11 has to be linked to the words ‘
We will rebuild
.’”

“Correct. In the wake of their calamity, the leaders of ancient Israel proclaimed, ‘
We will rebuild
‘—the first sign of defiance. If the mystery holds and has now applied to America, we would expect to hear the same vow, the same three words, in the wake of 9/11, now proclaimed by American leaders.”

“And did it happen? Did they say it?”

“Yes. They said it. Not that it wouldn’t have been natural to speak of rebuilding, but the way these three words continuously came forth from the mouths of American leaders, spoken, over and over again, as public proclamations, was striking.

“From the mayor of New York City in the wake of the attack: ‘
We will rebuild…
’
1

“From the state’s senior senator: ‘
We will rebuild…
’
2

“From the state’s governor: ‘
We will rebuild
. And we will move forward.’
3

“From the state’s junior senator: ‘
We will rebuild…
’
4

“From the city’s mayor at the time of the rebuilding: ‘
We will rebuild
, renew, and remain the capital of the free world.’
5

“From the president of the United States: ‘
We will rebuild
New York City.’
6

“One way or another, each leader would end up proclaiming the same words of defiance proclaimed thousands of years before by the leaders of ancient Israel.”

“And as with ancient Israel, it wasn’t just the speaking of words.” “That’s correct, Nouriel. The words were followed by action.” “So what happened after the words were spoken by the American leaders?”

“The words were likewise followed by action. The ruins of 9/11 were cleared away. Then a sign appeared at Ground Zero with these words: ‘
A new icon will soon rise above the Lower Manhattan skyline…the Freedom Tower
.’”
7