The Harbinger: Revealing—or Concealing—America's "Ancient Mystery"? - Part 2

MILLIONS OF sincere Christians are convincingly deceived every day, and in every conceivable way. Some are deceived by the lie of evolution and seek to erroneously reconcile “science” (falsely so-called) with what they believe about God. Others who have trusted (and “tested”) the biblical account of Creation have an incredible advantage in establishing a biblical worldview. However, many of these may yet fall prey to the lie of psychology and “self-love.” Still others, having recognized the subtlety of Satan, escape the lie of selfism and self-help, only to be ensnared by seeking after signs and wonders—or by the mistaken belief that God is now revealing himself in some higher, mystical realm through select messengers to whom we must turn for fresh manna. (As it turns out, what often passes for “fresh” is nothing more than recycled ancient lies.)

The dazzling array of deceptions by which believers can be beguiled today is truly astounding. This should come as no surprise to Bereans, who know that the End Times are so characterized by spiritual deception that our Lord Jesus warned of this sign more than any other. In fact, Satan’s wiles are so well-crafted that they would even deceive many elect. How? The Bible says that he is able to appear as an angel of light. He can manipulate minds, material creation, and even orchestrate events (certain “divine encounters” may in fact be devilish). Almost all believers tend to recognize “bad” temptations, but many saints—even pastors and authors—may yet be deceived by “good” ones. Good deceptions? Certainly: “And [Eve] saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise...” (Gen:3:6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
See All..., emphasis added).

Today this identical desire—once seemingly extinguished from the professing church—is now leading believers into strong delusion. Mysticism and methodologies once recognized instantly as “New Age” have not only crept into Christian households but are proclaimed from the pulpits of formerly sound preachers. And the tragedy is, as the prophet Jeremiah lamented, “a wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?” (Jer:5:30-31 [30] A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; [31] The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
See All...). The context of this passage is national judgment for God’s people, who have “refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return” (Jer:5:3O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
See All...b). And the problem is not merely rebellion of the flesh but a perversion of those who profess the ways of God: “Thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery...[spiritual fornication]. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?” (Jer:5:7How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.
See All...,9).

To this day, well-meaning Christians fiercely defend the motto on our currency, “In God We Trust.” But tragically, few stop to consider the question, “Which God?” For the Christian, Catholic, and Mormon who are “brothers” in Freemasonry, the god in whom they trust is one and the same: a false god. Tragically, for decades Christians have naively assumed that when the government or a public official has acknowledged “God,” they mean “God of the Bible.” But as the occultic emblems on our currency prove (particularly the unfinished pyramid, over which hovers the gnostic “eye of Horus/Ra”), the architects of the national seal had another god in mind—a universal, Masonic god, who is only secretly revealed to the highest “illuminated” adepts as none other than Lucifer.

Should believers continue to be frustrated at the attacks of atheists who perpetually seek to strip the motto “In God We Trust” from our currency and coin? Not for those whose God is the Lord, because armed with this knowledge, they will recognize that such a crusade is nothing more than a distraction of the enemy that consumes valuable time and resources. The real concern is that for generations believers have been deceived by such symbolism “hiding in plain sight.” Freemasonry, as with any stream of occult mysticism, or “ancient wisdom,” is spiritual fornication. And yet, the temptation to partake (like Eve) in the revelation of such mysteries—as though there is “hidden truth” yet to be accessed on this side of heaven—persists to this day as restless believers rush to taste the latest “prophetic” word published for consumption by spiritual pied pipers.

So when the author of the New York Times bestseller The Harbinger concludes his fictional tale with a bizarre dream in which King Solomon shape-shifts into the likeness of George Washington and then transforms a second time into the elusive Prophet (a main character and the “teacher” in the story, who helps Nouriel unlock “divine knowledge”), the reader is left to wonder: Is this curious vision simply a case of creative license gone wild? Or is there something more symbolic intended, or subtly represented?

[Nouriel] “A clue came to me...in a way nothing had ever come to me before."

[Ana] "What do you mean?"

[Nouriel] "A dream. It came to me in a dream."

[Ana] "Interesting."

[Nouriel] "It was a dream of the Temple of Jerusalem.... There was a man standing on some sort of platform near the Temple. He turned around to face the multitudes and began addressing them. It was the king—King Solomon."

[Ana] "And how did you know it was King Solomon?"

[Nouriel] "He was wearing a crown and what seemed to be a royal robe of gold. And I just knew, the way you just know things in a dream...intuitively."

[Ana] "So King Solomon was speaking to the crowd...and saying what?"

[Nouriel] "I couldn't tell or understand. But after he finished speaking, he turned back toward the Temple, knelt down, covered his head with the golden robe, and lifted his hands to the sky. He was praying. He was leading the people in prayer. And as they prayed, I was walking through their midst...through crowds...toward the platform where the king was kneeling. I approached him. He was now just a few feet away from me. But I could only see him from the back since he was turned in the opposite direction. He stood up, still facing the Temple and with the golden robe still covering his head. And then he turned around, I saw his face...and it wasn't him."

[Ana] "What do you mean it wasn't him?"

[Nouriel] "It wasn't King Solomon anymore."

[Ana] "Then who was it?"

[Nouriel] "It was Washington."

[Ana] "Washington...as in the president?"

[Nouriel] "Washington...as in George. He let the robe fall to his side. And he stood there on the platform looking just as you'd picture him—a white powdered wig, a dark brown waistcoat and breeches, white silk stockings, and dark shoes with silver buckles. He lifted up both hands to the heavens just as Solomon had done, closed his eyes, and began to pray. When he finished praying, he opened his eyes and lowered his right hand as if reaching for something in front of him, but there was nothing there. Then a sheet of paper descended from the sky and landed in his left hand, which was still raised upward. Just at the moment he lowered his glance and appared to be looking directly into my eyes. He then descended the steps of the platform and walked over to the Temple, still holding the paper in his hand. When he reached the corner of the building, he bent down and slipped the paper into one of the cracks in between two massive stones, where it disappeared. As it disappeared, he faded away. I looked around toward the multitude, but they too were gone."

[Ana] "And then what?"

[Nouriel] "Then I was alone...standing in the Temple courts. The sky began to darken. The winds began blowing stronger and stronger. It seemed that time itself was accelerating faster and faster until all around me was a whirlwind of action, events, and sound...an intense blur of sight and sound...as the sky continued to darken and darken until it was almost as dark as night. Whatever was happening, it didn't seem to be a good thing. And then it was over, as if a violent storm had just passed through. The darkness began to break and everything was growing brighter. But when I turned back to see the Temple, it was gone. It was in ruins...its massive stones scattered on the mount. Everything was destroyed. It was then that I noticed a man...turned away from me...a man in a golden robe."

[Ana] "The golden robe of King Solomon?"

[Nouriel] "Yes. He was standing in the same place where Washington stood before he disappeared...at the corner of the Temple, except that now there was no corner and no Temple...only ruins, but it was the same place. At the man's feet was a sheet of paper, the paper that had been hidden inside the stones. But the destruction had caused it to be revealed. He bent down to pick it up. I felt I had to approach him, and as I did, he turned around—and it was him!

[Ana] "Solomon?"

[Nouriel] "No."

[Ana] "Washington?"

[Nouriel] "No."

[Ana] "Then who?"

[Nouriel] "It was the prophet."

[Ana] "The prophet..."[Nouriel] "The golden robe dropped to his side, revealing his long dark coat. He looked into my eyes, then handed me the paper. I took it into my hands and looked down to see what it said."

(pp. 192-195)

Understandably, such occultic imagery raises quisical eyebrows. But Jonathan Cahn artfully dodges attempts to discern the source of such details, hiding behind what he maintains is purely a fictional “framework.” However, his appeals to the Bible, historic figures, and events betray his “fictional” defense. Furthermore, his book is published by Charisma Media—home to many authors who traffic in spiritual sensationalism, including elaborate visions and “visitations” of angels, and others who stress the importance of dream interpretation as not only an acceptable but desirable means of hearing from God. For the author to suggest that there is absolutely no significance to this curious dream appears disingenuous.

In part one, we observed Cahn’s penchant for placing sacred importance on “ancient mysteries...secrets...vows...oaths...keys...ground...stones...etc.” It is simply astounding that in the same breath, the author casually casts off the relevance of inquiry into Freemasonry—a fraternal order that has jealously guarded such “national treasures” of occult illumination for centuries—all the while building monuments and towers whose tops “may reach unto heaven,” hiding esoteric symbolism in plain sight.

Nouriel is Cahn’s “journeyman” character, who throughout TH is on a quest to decipher nine ancient “seals” containing progressive revelation. Curiously, Cahn’s plot parallels the Masonic journey of self-knowledge. In fact, it is in the lore and artwork of Freemasonry enshrined in our nation’s capital that we may find a key to the ancient mystery of Nouriel’s strange dream, “linking...ancient Israel and America, as with all the other mysteries” (p.195). In his quest for answers, Nouriel suddenly had an epiphany: “I had no idea where it was all leading me. And then it hit me...Washington! [George] Washington hid the mystery [in my dream]. So the mystery was hidden in Washington...the city...the nation’s foundation. And the Temple was in Jerusalem, which was the capital. The mystery again pointed to the capital city. So I returned to Washington DC” (p.195). Cahn’s character beholds the Masonic obelisk, then ironically stands in the center of the Capitol rotunda—but without finding the answers he sought. If Nouriel had only looked up—literally, straight up, then he would have discovered the most likely inspiration for Cahn’s cryptic dream sequence: A “heavenly” painting inside the Capitol dome known as The Apotheosis of George Washington, in which the president is depicted just as the figure in Nouriel’s dream: one hand raised, one hand lowered, robe slipping off (another bronze similarly depicting the first president once “graced” the rotunda floor, but with a bare chest, seated after the manner of Zeus).

The impressive and highly symbolic fresco was painted by Constantino Brumidi, who once worked for three years under Pope Gregory XVI in the Vatican. “Apotheosis” means the “exaltation of a person to the rank of a god.” As Dave Hunt and TBC have long documented, the Luciferic quest for ascension to godhood has not only been an ancient objective of mankind for millennia but is still today the literal spiritual objective of Freemasons, Mormons, and others so “enlightened.” That Cahn’s character appears to vicariously participate in Masonic ritual through the “vision” of King Solomon and Solomon’s Temple (the “ancient secrets” of which form the foundations of Freemasonry) is especially disturbing.

Either way—by mirroring the same “secret code” genre popularized by the commercially successful The Da Vinci Code book and film, as well as the movie, National Treasure (the latter being a fictional joyride that purports to reveal Masonic treasures, while in fact concealing its “ancient secrets”)—The Harbinger has opened a dangerous spiritual door. By favorably referencing Masonic elements and events in his novel, while selectively avoiding their true meaning, Cahn has either “wittingly” or “unwittingly” drawn readers into an occult environment that centers upon another gospel—one acceptable to the false god of Freemasonry.

Part 1 of this article is located here.