The Harbinger (18 page)

“An American leader pronouncing judgment on America!”

“Without realizing it…yes…as the manifestation of the Harbinger.”

“So on the anniversary of 9/11, an American leader proclaims the ancient vow…pronounces judgment on his own nation, and he has no idea what he’s doing or saying. As with all the other Harbingers, he doesn’t intend it or realize what he’s doing. Nobody does. And yet it still all happens according to the ancient prophecy…. Every piece of the puzzle falls into its exact place, but no one intends it to happen. No human hand directs it. It just happens. I still can’t fathom it.”

The prophet paused before responding, then spoke, almost in a whisper. “The Almighty,” said the prophet, “has His own purposes.”

He reached into his coat pocket and handed me the next seal. “This is the last one,” he said, “the seal of the Ninth Harbinger and the last of the Harbingers.”

“Do I get a clue?” I asked.

“You already have a clue.”

“
Not like the other Harbingers…and yet like all of them
?”

“Yes.”

“So then the Ninth Harbinger is like the Eighth Harbinger?” I asked.

“Like and unlike it.”

“Is there a law,” I asked, “that if something isn’t confusing enough as it is, you’re required to make it more confusing?”

He didn’t answer that.

“So the Ninth Harbinger is like the Eighth Harbinger in that it’s a summation of all the Harbingers that went before it?” I asked.

“Yes and no,” he answered.

“Do you see what I mean?” I said, as if expecting him to commiserate with my plight.

“Yes,” he answered, “it is a summation. But no, not primarily of that which went
before
it.”

“Then of what?” I asked.

“Of that which came
after
it.”

“How could it be a summation of what came after it?”

“The clue you were given—
One speaks of what is…and the other…”

“The other,” I said, “
the other of what would be
.”

“What is it that you see on the seal?” he asked.

“It looks like…it could be some sort…some sort of document.”

“It
is
a document. It’s a parchment, the kind on which the Scriptures were written, the kind on which the prophecies of Isaiah were recorded.”

“So the Ninth Harbinger is a document?”

“It is,” he said, “but not primarily.”

“Then what primarily?”

“What is it that speaks of
what would be
, Nouriel?”

“A prophecy,” I answered.”

“The Ninth Harbinger.”

“Is a prophecy?”

“Correct.”

“Then we have to look for a prophet?”

“No.”

“Then for what?”

He rose to his feet and began walking down the steps. “Come, Nouriel, and I’ll show you.”

“Show me…?”

“The place where it all happened.”

Chapter 13

The Ninth Harbinger: The Prophecy

W
E WALKED DOWN
the marble steps and then along the Reflecting Pool.

“A question,” I said, breaking the silence.

“Ask,” he replied.

“The Ninth Harbinger is
like
the eighth in that it doesn’t so much concern a piece of the mystery…of Isaiah 9:10…but the whole…the whole prophecy.”

“Yes.”

“But it’s
different
from the eighth in that the eighth speaks primarily of
what is
, in the present tense, and the ninth speaks about
what would be
, in the future tense. Is that right?”

“Correct.”

“Why is that important…the distinction?”

“Because Isaiah 9:10 exists in two realms. In one realm, it’s the voice of a nation proclaiming
a vow
in defiance of God. But in the other realm, it’s the voice of a prophet, the voice of Isaiah, and of God speaking through him. It’s
a prophecy
. And as a prophecy it’s a judgment on the nation’s defiance and arrogance, and a warning, a sign foretelling its future. It’s a message sent from God and in such a way as to fall on the entire nation, so that
all the people will know it
.”

“So the Ninth Harbinger is a manifestation of Isaiah 9:10 in the form of a prophecy.”

“As both a vow
and
a prophecy,” he said, “and given in such a way as to fall on the nation.”

“So then to fall on America.”

“Yes.”

We walked on for a time in silence as I pondered his words. Then he came to a stop and asked me for the seal he had just given me. Upon receiving it, he began to reveal its mystery.

“The Ninth Harbinger,” he said. “In the wake of the calamity, the nation issues its response in the form of a vow. The vow sets the nation on a course of defiance, a course that ends in judgment. The words of the vow become part of a prophetic revelation given to the nation as a whole, an indictment of its rebellion, a foretelling of its future, a warning of its judgment. The Ninth Harbinger: the Prophecy.”

“Then according to the mystery there would have to have been a prophetic word given in the wake of 9/11…to fall on the nation.”

He didn’t answer, but just kept walking.

“A prophecy given, but not by a prophet?”

Still he was silent.

“And the words of the prophecy came true?”

He stopped. “Look at that,” he said, pointing forward.

In the distance ahead of us was the massive dome of the Capitol Building.

“The center of the American government,” he said.

“Is that the place?” I asked.

He didn’t answer but resumed walking. We continued until we reached the foot of the Capitol steps, where we came to a stop.

“Nouriel, when do you think the leaders of ancient Israel first uttered their vow of defiance?”

“Probably right after the calamity.”

“And what would
right after the calamity
be with regard to America?”

“The time right after 9/11.”

“Like September 12?”

“That
would
be right after. Why?”

“On September 12, 2001,” he said, “the morning after the attack, the United States Senate and House of Representatives convened to issue a joint resolution responding to 9/11. It was to be the nation’s first official response to the calamity.”

“So it was
here
,” I said.

“The vow must be spoken on behalf of the entire nation. Here where the nation’s representatives gather, the two representative bodies of the American Congress, here would be the most perfect place for it to happen.”

“The House of Representatives and the Senate.”

“And of the two, the Senate is the upper or highest of representative bodies. And the highest representative of the highest body is the Senate majority leader, the highest representative of the nation’s highest representative body, in position to deliver the nation’s response to the calamity.”

We began ascending the marble steps.

“On the morning after September 11,” he said, “America would issue its response to the calamity in the form of a joint resolution of Congress. The one appointed to present the nation’s response was the Senate majority leader. The act would be critical. For as a nation responds to a divine warning, its future is determined.”

Finally we reached the top of the stairs where the prophet continued his account.

“The smoke still hovered over Ground Zero as the American government prepared to deliver its response to 9/11 before a nation and a world waiting to see what that response would be. The Senate majority leader made his way to the podium on the Senate floor to present it. ‘Mr. President,’ he said, ‘I sent a resolution to the desk.’ The assistant legislative clerk then read the document:

“The clerk continued the reading of the resolution, a condemnation of the attacks, an expression of condolences, and then a call for unity, a war against terrorism, and the punishment of those responsible for the attack and all who assisted them.”

“That would all be expected,” I said.

“It
would
be,” said the prophet. “But then the Senate majority leader began his address. At the end of the speech would come the climax. These are the words proclaimed by the Senate majority leader on Capitol Hill, the morning after 9/11, to present and sum up the nation’s response to the calamity. Listen…

“I was speechless for several moments. I don’t know what I expected to hear, but what I heard left me without words and with my heart racing. I was completely stunned. The ancient vow had actually been proclaimed to the nation from Capitol Hill—the vow of fallen bricks and sycamores had echoed through the halls of the United States Congress, and all on the morning after 9/11.”

“How?” I asked. “How could that have happened?”

“How could it have happened with the vice presidential candidate, or with the stone or the tree? How could any of it have happened? It had to happen, and so it did.”

“But he was identifying America as a nation under judgment.”

“Yes, unwittingly.”

“The majority leader of the United States Senate was publicly pronouncing judgment on America.”

“Blindly,” he replied, “having no idea what he was pronouncing. As far as he knew, he was only delivering an inspiring speech.”

“But unknowingly playing his part in a prophetic mystery.”

“Yes…and so the words of the ancient vow were now officially joined to America and 9/11. And just as Isaiah’s recording of the vow transformed it into a matter of national record and a prophetic word for
all the people
, so now the same words were now officially recorded in the Annals of Congress as a matter of national record.”

“But the Senate majority leader wasn’t a prophet.”

“No.”

“But you said it’s a prophecy. How can someone who isn’t a prophet bring forth a prophetic word?”

“In the Gospel of John,” he replied, “the eleventh chapter, the high priest Caiaphas is recorded as saying, ‘It is necessary that one man should die for the people.’ It was the beginning of the plot that would end with the crucifixion of the Messiah. But it was something else as well. It was also a prophecy, namely, that one man, Jesus, would die for the people, to save them. Caiaphas wasn’t a prophet. He was an ungodly man, and yet he prophesied. It wasn’t the man—it was the office he held. He was speaking, as the Gospel puts it,
‘not of his own initiative
,’ but prophesying by
virtue of his office
, as the chief representative of the nation.”

“So the Senate majority leader was
prophesying
by
virtue of his office
?”

“The Senate majority leader was the highest representative of America’s highest representative body. By virtue of that office, he became the instrument to represent the nation, to speak on its behalf, to give voice to its response, and to deliver a prophetic word.”

“So someone can prophesy without being a prophet. How does that happen?”

“The word is
inspiration
. When a prophet speaks, he does so under the
inspiration
of the Spirit. But prophets aren’t the only ones who can speak or act under inspiration. The Bible itself is called
the inspired Word of God
because it was written by those under the inspiration of God’s Spirit—not only by prophets. Even those who have no idea what they’re doing or saying, even those who act and speak from other motives, as did Caiaphas, even a politician, well-meaning or not, may speak under the inspiration of God.”

“
Inspiration
,” I said. “Didn’t he use that word in the speech?”

“He did. He said, ‘I know that there is only the smallest measure of
inspiration
that can be taken from this devastation.’
3
He used it to introduce the prophecy.”