Jonathan Cahn - The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide

This is the destruction of which the prophet Isaiah prophesied in the verses that followed Isaiah 9:10.

The northern kingdom would never rise again. Most of its inhabitants would disappear among the nations, known from then on as “The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.”

Chapter 16

WHO IS “ the PROPHET”?

(Special Feature From FrontLine)

WHO IS THE prophet? This is one of the most often asked questions. Some have suggested that the prophet is the author, Jonathan Cahn. Others have speculated that the prophet was a mysterious stranger who revealed these things to Jonathan and asked him to write the book.

What’s the answer?

First, what is a prophet? The Hebrew word for prophet is navi . The word refers to one who speaks by inspiration from God. The Greek word prophetace refers to one who foretells the future or who simply forth tells what God is saying by inspiration from God. Prophets appear throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. In the New Covenant Scriptures, several people are spoken of as prophets or as those who prophesy, including Simeon, Anna, Yochanan (John the Baptist), Agabus, and so forth, and, of course, the Messiah Himself.

The Harbinger does not get into the doctrinal issue of the place, existence, or role of prophets today. Though people have called Jonathan Cahn a prophet, he would only refer to himself as a watchman.

Then who is the prophet? Since The Harbinger involves the warning, the alarm, the revelations, and calling of the Hebrew prophets as they spoke to the nation of Israel, the prophet is a representative of the prophetic voice or Hebrew Scripture, a modern embodiment and translation of the Hebrew prophets.

Thus, in The Harbinger, Nouriel describes the prophet’s appearance this way:

“What did he look like?”

“Somewhat thin, dark hair, a closely cropped beard. He was Mediterranean or Middle Eastern looking.” 1

The Hebrew prophets would be bearded and of Mediterranean or Middle Eastern appearance. And like many of the prophets of Israel, his origins and his end are not known. So Nouriel has no idea from where he comes or where he goes.

“And when will we meet again?” I asked.

“When it’s time to speak of the First Harbinger.”

“Here?”

“At the appointed place,” he replied.

“How will I know?”

“How did you know to come here in the first place?” he asked.

“I didn’t.”

“So you won’t know again, and yet you’ll be there.”

And then he was gone. 2

He is a composite. In some ways he is representative of the prophet Isaiah, as it is Isaiah’s prophecy that underlies The Harbinger . In other ways he parallels the prophet Jeremiah, as he carries a burden to warn his own nation in the face of apostasy and coming judgment as well as what he reveals to Nouriel near the ending:

“‘And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am confined, I cannot go into the house of the LORD. You go, therefore, and read from the scroll which you have written at my instruction, the words of the LORD, in the hearing of the people in the LORD’S house on the day of fasting. And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who come from their cities.”’ 3

“Jeremiah’s movements were restricted. He couldn’t deliver his prophecy in public, not in person. So he sent Baruch in his place so that the prophecy would be proclaimed publicly to all. So Baruch wasn’t only Jeremiah’s scribe but also, at times, his representative, his voice.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I too am restricted. So you must go and make known the message, to give them the warning and the hope.” 4

The connection to the prophet Jeremiah becomes crucial to the mystery of the final seal and the calling of Nouriel. But the prophet is a composite not only of Jeremiah and Isaiah but also of all the prophets who ever brought forth a word to a nation.

Though in the narrative the prophet appears to know what he couldn’t have known by natural ability, for example, where and when their next encounters will be, what he actually reveals to Nouriel is not based on any spiritual or supernatural gift of his own but rather on the prophetic revelation of Scripture concerning national judgment. Thus the prophet relays to Nouriel the biblical template, pattern, and signs of a nation in danger of judgment, all of which are now reappearing to America.

Of course, it is Jonathan Cahn speaking through the prophet, just as he speaks through all the characters in The Harbinger . Through the prophet the revelations of The Harbinger that Jonathan first shared to his congregation are imparted not only to Nouriel but also to the reader. In other words, the prophet is a vessel, a narrative instrument, a prophetic figure to appropriately represent and bring forth a prophetic mystery and warning.

Though the prophet is a literary figure to bring forth the message of The Harbinger , he does have a connection in reality—only it wasn’t that he was based on a specific person but rather that he foreshadowed one.

After Jonathan finished writing the book, the scene in which the prophet first appeared was re-created in real life. (See chapter 24, “The Story Behind the Story.”) When Nouriel first encountered the prophet, he sat down in a public place. Next to him, to his left, was a stranger, the man he would call “the prophet.” The week that Jonathan finished writing The Harbinger and had to decide what to do with it, how to proceed, he was at the airport at Charlotte, North Carolina, in between flights. He sat down in a public place, and next to him sat a stranger to his left.

In the book Nouriel is pondering a small object he holds in his hands, a seal. Jonathan was holding a small object he was holding in his hands, a pocket Bible. In the book the stranger turns to Nouriel and initiates a conversation, with small talk, concerning the object in his hands, the seal. At the airport the stranger turns to Jonathan and initiates a conversation, with small talk, concerning the object in his hands, the Bible.

In the book the prophet suddenly begins to speak prophetically to Nouriel. The man in the airport suddenly begins to speak prophetically to Jonathan. The words of the prophet to Nouriel will ultimately lead him to write a book that brings a prophetic warning to America. The words of the stranger in the airport will cause The Harbinger to become a book through which a prophetic warning will go forth to America.

So though the prophet in The Harbinger is a fictional figure serving as a vessel and instrument to bring forth the message of The Harbinger— it turns out that the figure of the prophet was itself prophetic of one who would be a vessel to bring forth The Harbinger— for real.

Chapter 17

WHO IS NOURIEL?

(Special Feature From FrontLine)

WHO IS NOURIEL? This is another of the most often asked questions. Some have suggested that Nouriel is Jonathan Cahn. The evidence? Nouriel is an author. Jonathan is an author. Nouriel is Jewish, a descendant of Aaron. Jonathan is Jewish and a descendant of Aaron. Nouriel brings forth a prophetic warning to America involving the words of a prophet. Jonathan writes The Harbinger , which brings forth a prophetic word involving the words of a prophet. But is this the answer?

Jonathan did write The Harbinger , but he didn’t receive the revelations from any other person or figure. As the author, Jonathan is, of course, speaking through the words of Nouriel just as he is speaking through the words of the prophet.