The Harbinger (30 page)

“So he was praying in view of calamities—which hadn’t even happened?”

“That was the point. It wasn’t only the Temple that was being dedicated on that day, but the nation’s future, its generations yet to be born. The Temple Mount was the nation’s ground of dedication.”

“I saw it all in my dream…. And after the dedication, the sky turned dark and something like a storm was coming. And at the end of the storm, the Temple was destroyed. There was nothing left but ruins.”

“Which is exactly what happened. A spiritual darkness engulfed the land, and the nation departed from God. And then, after years and years of mercy, the judgment fell. And that judgment was only complete when it touched the Temple Mount, the same place where the nation’s future had been consecrated to God, the same place its apostasy had been foretold. The Lord had allowed the judgment to strike the nation’s most sacred ground, the ground of its consecration. This, Nouriel, is a critical principle. Take note of it. When judgment comes to such a nation once committed to God and once consecrated to His purposes, but now departed from His ways, the judgment will return to its ground of consecration, or to put it more concisely:

“Why?” I asked

“The Temple Mount represented the nation’s covenant with God. So its destruction was the ultimate sign that the covenant was broken. Yet even in that there was mercy. It was a sign that
The Mystery Ground
199 God was calling the nation back, to remember the ground of its dedication and consecration to Him…the foundation on which all of its blessings rested.”

“So it was both a sign of judgment,” I said, “and a prophetic message calling the nation back…to return to the foundation.”

“Correct.”

I took out the seal to look at it once more. “But what does it all have to do with America?” I asked.

“On the day after 9/11,” he said, “the Senate majority leader recited the words of the ancient prophecy at the
end
of his speech. But at the
beginning
of that speech, he cited a number. He said:

“Notice the number, Nouriel.”

“Two hundred twelve.”

“It was given to connect 9/11 to the founding of the American government, the establishment of the American nation-state. Do the math.”

“Two thousand one, minus 212 years, comes to 1789.”

“Correct. 1789.”

“But I thought America was founded in 1776.”

“The year 1776 was the year America declared its independence. It would be several years before that independence became a reality, and several more years before there was a Constitution upon which the nation would be established. America, as we know it—with a president, a Senate, and a House of Representatives—only came into existence in 1789. More specifically, it came into existence on April 30, 1789, the day when, for the first time, all these were in place—America’s first day as a fully constituted nation.”

“What happened on April 30?”

“It was the day that the nation’s government was completed as set forth in the Constitution, the day America’s first president was inaugurated.”

“George Washington!”

“Yes.”

“He was part of it too,” I said. “He was there in the dream…at the dedication of the Temple. First it was King Solomon, and then it was Washington.”

“Why do you think that was, Nouriel?”

“Why was Washington in my dream?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me.”

“It wasn’t
my
dream.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “A sign that it had something to do with America.”

“What was he doing in your dream?”

“Leading the people in prayer, like Solomon. And then he stretched out his hand as if reaching for something.”

“Like this?” The prophet stretched forth his right hand with his palm turned down.

“Yes, exactly like that. How did you…”

“But he wasn’t so much reaching for something; his palm was turned down.”

“Then what was he doing?” I asked.

“He was placing his hand on a Bible,” said the prophet, “to swear. He was taking the oath of the presidency. It was the inauguration, April 30, 1789, the beginning of America as a constituted nation—the foundation, 212 years before 9/11.”

“The inauguration of George Washington on the Temple Mount?”

“In your dream the two events were joined together—Israel’s dedication and America’s inauguration, the one superimposed on the other.”

“Why?”

“It was
your
dream…you tell me.”

“Because somehow the two days are connected?”

“But how?” asked the prophet. “What would they have in common?”

“The dedication of the Temple was also an inauguration,” I said, “and the inauguration of the American government would also be a type of dedication. Each was an opening day and a day of completion. Each represented the completion of a structure…the structure of a nation. And each involved the nation gathering together.”

“Gathering together where?”

“In the nation’s capital?”

“And who presided over each gathering?”

“The nation’s leader…the king…the president.”

“And in your dream, did King Solomon speak?”

“Yes.”

“What did he say?”

“I don’t know.”

“King Solomon began his address by acknowledging God’s hand and faithfulness in the nation’s history. So, on America’s inauguration day, the nation’s first president would do likewise. In the first ever presidential address, this is what he said:

“As he addressed the people in the days of the dedication, King Solomon offered up prayers and supplications to the Almighty, interceding for the Lord’s blessing on the nation’s future. Now listen to the words of Washington’s first presidential address:

“In my dream, Solomon was praying, then Washington took his place but continued praying. The two leaders…the two events were superimposed. So that’s why.”

“And it wasn’t just Solomon who was praying for the nation’s future,” he said, “but all the leaders and multitudes who were gathered on the Temple Mount, everyone. So too it was on America’s inauguration. It was designated as a day of prayer and dedication. This was the proclamation that went forth:

“So, on the morning of April 30, 1789, the sounds of bells filled the nation’s capital for thirty minutes, calling the people to
go up to the house of God, to commit the new government to the holy protection and blessing of the Most High
. As for the nation’s first president and government, it would be later that same day that they would gather for prayer to commit the future into God’s hands, at a place especially chosen for that purpose. So after the new president finished delivering the first presidential address, he would lead the Senate and the House of Representatives on foot in a procession through the streets of the capital from Federal Hall, the site of the inauguration, to the place appointed for their prayers.”

“And what was the place appointed?” I asked.

“A little stone church.”

“So the first official act of the newly formed government took place inside the walls of a church.”

“That’s correct,” he replied. “The nation’s first president, Senate, and House of Representatives were all there inside that little stone sanctuary. The gathering would be recorded in the Annals of
The Mystery Ground
203 Congress as part of the first-ever joint session of Congress with an acting president. The inauguration of the United States, as we know it, began with a sacred gathering before God.”

“So the first collective act of the newly formed American government was to gather for prayer.”

“To gather for prayer, undoubtedly to give thanks, and specifically to commit the future into
the holy protection and blessing of the Most High
.”

Just then we came to a stop at a street corner. “It’s time,” he said. “It’s time to uncover the last piece of the mystery. To do that, we must identify the ground.”

“The ground?”

“The ground on which America was committed in prayer to God that first day.”

“But there’s something I’m not getting,” I said. “All this happened in the capital city. Correct?”

“That’s correct,” he replied.

“Then what are we doing
here
?” I asked. “We were there in Washington DC, on Capitol Hill, even on the terrace where the presidents are inaugurated. Why didn’t you show me this then when we were there? And even after that, when I returned to Washington, I was there for weeks, and you never showed up. But you show up
now
…I don’t understand.”

“You were right, Nouriel,” he said. “The mystery
is
linked to the capital. You just came up with the wrong one.”

“What do you mean—the wrong one?”

“When the nation began, its capital city wasn’t Washington DC. On April 30, 1789, the city of Washington didn’t exist.”

“Then what was America’s original capital city?” I asked.

“You’re standing in it,” he replied.

“New York? New York City?”

“The first capital of the United States was New York City. That’s where it all took place.”

“Washington was sworn in as president in New York City?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Now I have someone to show you.”

“Someone?”

He took me around the corner and down the street. There was a statue in the distance. “Do you recognize him?” he asked.

“Washington?”

“Correct.”

It was the dark bronze statue of George Washington that stands on Wall Street facing the New York Stock Exchange. We drew nearer, coming to a stop just short of the platform on which it rested. From there we gazed up at the dark stoic figure.

“My dream!” I said. “This is exactly how he looked in my dream. He wasn’t as big, but I was looking up at him the same way…from the same angle. And his right hand was extended just like that.”

“And turned downward just like that,” he said, “to rest on the Bible.”

“I went all around Washington DC looking for anything connected to him—a statue, a monument, a clue—and this one didn’t even occur to me.”

“And why should it have?” he replied. “You’re a New Yorker. Just because something’s right in front of your eyes doesn’t mean you have to see it. Washington never set foot in Washington DC, but he set foot here. This is where it all began. This is where the United States of America, as we know it, came into existence.”

“In New York City.”

“In New York City…and here.”

“Here?”

“Here,” he replied, “as in
right
here. There’s an inscription on the pedestal. Read it, Nouriel. Read it out loud.”

So I did:

“
On this site
…I’ve seen this statue so many times and never stopped to think about why it was here.”

“Here is where it all happened: April 30, 1789, the streets and rooftops are overflowing with people. Washington places his hand on the Bible and swears the oath. The crowd breaks out in cheers, cannons boom, and bells ring out across the city. Then he withdraws into Federal Hall where he delivers the first presidential address before Congress. After that, he leads the nation’s first government on foot in a procession to the little stone sanctuary to commit the nation’s future in prayer to God.”

“Where?” I asked.

“That’s the key,” he replied.

“The key to the mystery?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“It would be the ground on which the nation was committed to God, the nation’s ground of consecration.”

“Correct.”

“So it would have to be somewhere in New York City.”

“A safe assumption.”

“And if we’re standing on the site where the inauguration took place…and they went by foot to the appointed place…then it couldn’t be far from here.”

“No it couldn’t be,” he replied.

And that’s where I stopped, instead of following it through to its logical conclusion.