'The Harbinger': 100 weeks a N.Y. Times bestseller

By Scott Greer

WASHINGTON – It all began one day as Jonathan Cahn was standing at a street corner at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.

His attention was drawn to a tree that had been struck down by the aftershock of the collapse of the World Trade Center.

A quiet voice seemed to tell the messianic rabbi and pastor at the Jerusalem Center in Wayne, N.J.: "There's a mystery here you must search out."

The suggestion launched Cahn's hunt for the significance of the fallen sycamore tree, its replacement at Ground Zero and the other parallels between the fall of ancient Israel and what has struck America since 9/11 – a story that became the No. 1 bestselling Christian book of 2012 and 2013 as well as the bestselling faith movie of 2012 and 2013.

"The Harbinger" has now sold over 1.2 million copies, according to the publisher, and inspired the best-selling documentary "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment," produced by WND Films.

This week, the biblically inspired book of prophecy and warning is expected to surpass yet another milestone – placement on the New York Times bestsellers list for 100 weeks.

But Cahn doesn't accept any credit for the achievement or the message. Instead he insists the story was divinely revealed to him, much like the central character in the book.

"The first thing that surprised me was how quickly it went forth," Cahn told WND. "I had never written a book before. But the first week 'The Harbinger' came out, it became a New York Times bestseller. The second thing that surprised me was how it kept going forth. It's been literally as if an unseen hand has kept it continually going forth. There's something about 'The Harbinger' in which it has a life of its own. Even after its release, it's continuing to unfold, to manifest and come true."

A friend and partner on the production of "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment," WND founder Joseph Farah, says Cahn is truly one of the most humble men he has met and totally sincere in his belief that what he discovered in writing "The Harbinger" is not work of his own power and craftsmanship.

"I believe the most important thing is that 'The Harbinger' didn't come from me," Cahn told WND. "I can't take any credit for it. I was as stunned as anyone by what was being revealed. It's a prophetic word that concerns and touches every American and affects everyone's future. And what it reveals isn't general but specific, exact, giving exact dates, words, etc."

Cahn believes the message has connected with millions of people because it confirms what they are feeling and sensing about the state of the world today. That fact, too, he suggests, has led to the spreading of "The Harbinger" and "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment" – largely by word of mouth.

See the 30-minute excerpt of "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment" movie now, or bookmark this link for viewing later.

"I believe another reason for the success of 'The Harbinger' is that it unveils that what many people are already feeling isn't just a feeling – it's true, it's real and it's happening,” Cahn says. "It's a warning of what the future holds. So people naturally want their loved ones and friends to know. We typically get reports of readers buying tens and hundreds of copies to give out to others."

Hidden in an ancient biblical prophecy from Isaiah, the mysteries revealed in "The Harbinger" are so precise that they foretold recent American events down to the exact days. It's all decoded by the author in persuasive fashion. The revelations are so specific that even the most hardened skeptics will find them hard to dismiss and somewhat shocking. It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller with one exception – it's real.

The prophetic mysteries are revealed through an intriguing narrative the reader will find hard to put down. "The Harbinger" opens with the appearance of a man burdened with a message he has received from a mysterious figure called "The Prophet." The Prophet has given him nine seals, each containing a message about America's future. As he tells of his encounters with The Prophet, from a skyscraper in New York City, to a rural mountaintop, to Capitol Hill, to Ground Zero, the mystery behind each seal is revealed. As the story unfolds, each revelation becomes a piece in a greater puzzle, the ramifications of which will even alter the course of world history.

"The Harbinger" also inspired the production of the documentary film "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment: Is There an Ancient Mystery That Foretells America’s Future?" For his part, Farah said he wanted to make a documentary version of the story precisely to emphasize the reality of every detail of the story.

The WND Superstore offers an exclusive bundle that includes "The Harbinger" and "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment" at one low price.

At the core of both the book and the movie is what Cahn characterizes as "an ancient mystery that holds the secret of America’s future and the collapse of the global economy."

"Before its destruction as a nation, ancient Israel received nine harbingers, prophetic omens of warning," he says. "The same nine harbingers are now manifesting in America with immediate ramifications for end-time prophecy."

The key to decoding the harbingers, he says, is found in understanding the seemingly innocuous words of Isaiah 9:10 (King James Version), what it meant to Israel and how the history seems to be repeating itself in America today: "The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars."

These words were first uttered by leaders in Israel in response to a limited strike by Assyria on the lands of Zebulon and Naphtali – an attack the prophet makes clear is actually part of a limited judgment by God against apostasy. It wasn't meant to destroy the nation, but to awaken it, according to most commentaries.

But, says Cahn, Israel didn't take the cue. Instead, the response from the people in Isaiah 9:10 is one of defiance. The brick buildings were toppled, but they vowed to build bigger and better. The little sycamore trees may have been uprooted, but they vowed to plant bigger and better cedars in their place.

God, speaking through Isaiah, explains what will happen as a result of their pride and arrogance and failure to heed the harbinger: Bigger and more potent attacks will follow. Because neither the Northern Kingdom of Israel nor the Southern Kingdom of Judah truly repents, the first is swept away by Assyrian invaders and the latter is carried off into captivity by the Babylonians for 70 years.

But what does this have to do with the United States of America – particularly what the U.S. experienced on 9/11 and since? Cahn found strikingly eerie parallels.

"The parallels are truly stunning," says Farah. "In fact, they are overwhelming in their number and their exactitude. I am persuaded God is trying to tell America something and Rabbi Cahn has found the key to unlocking the message."

See the trailer for "Isaiah 9:10 Judgment":

See the free 30-minute movie excerpt of "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment" now, or bookmark the link for viewing later.

Get "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment" video documentary from WND Videos in the WND Superstore.

Get "The Harbinger," the New York Times bestseller that is the talk of the nation.

WND Films has also produced a new trilogy of video teachings by Jonathan Cahn.

And in "The Secret of the Eighth Day," Cahn teaches on one of the most amazing of biblical mysteries – the mystery of the Eighth Day and the Eighth Age, from the seven steps of Ezekiel to the mystery of Shemini Atzeret, and to the actual entering of the eighth day following the Millennium.