A Summary of the Isaiah 9:10 Harbinger - Part 2

In Part 1 of this series we briefly looked at the first three harbingers, or warnings that God has given to America. Jonathan Cahn, in his New York Times best seller goes into much more detail than we have gone into here. I highly recommend you read the book for a full understanding of America's fate.

If you have not read Part 1, please go back and read it first.

Isaiah 9:10 continues to list the harbingers or warnings that God has sent not only to Israel, but to America. Jonathan Cahn in his book, The Harbinger, says, “ . . . The problem wasn’t the rebuilding. The problem was the spirit and the motive behind the rebuilding. They [Israel] had just been given a critical warning. But they respond with defiance: ‘But we will rebuild’ is the first declaration of that defiance, from which will come their judgment . . . in the wake of their calamity, the leaders of ancient Israel proclaimed, ‘We will rebuild’ – the first sign of defiance . . . ."

This was and is the fourth harbinger. The same pattern continues for America just as it played out for Israel. These same words, “We will rebuild”, have unwittingly been spoken by then mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani; by then New York state’s senior senator, Charles Schumer; by then New York senator Hillary Clinton; by then US president George W. Bush, and many others.

TheModernTribune.com quotes John Kerry as saying, “I believe one of the first things we should commit to – with federal help that underscores our nation’s purpose – is to rebuild the towers of the World Trade Center and show the world we are not afraid – WE ARE DEFIANT.” (from a speech delivered on the floor of the US Senate, September, 12, 2001)

So the prophetic signs to the nation continue to manifest. Isaiah continues in verse 10, “ . . . but we will build with hewn stones . . . .” That is, quarried stone. On July 4, 2004 a 20 ton, highly polished stone cut from the mountains of New York State became the focal point of a dedication ceremony. In their defiance, it is brought to Ground Zero and laid as the cornerstone of the new Freedom Tower – another symbol of national defiance.

But what about the stone? The stone was inscribed with the following: "TO HONOR AND REMEMBER THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, AND AS A TRIBUTE TO THE ENDURING SPIRIT OF FREEDOM. – JULY FOURTH 2004”.

The dedication was met with great pomp and ceremony. Leaders from New York state as well as other areas of the country were on hand at the dedication which marked the beginning of the rebuilding. Then-Governor George Pataki made the following statement: “Today, we, the heirs of that revolutionary spirit of defiance, lay this cornerstone and unmistakably signal to the world the unwavering strength of this nation and our resolve to fight for freedom. Today, we build the Freedom Tower."

Instead of turning to God – the only One who can help, America continues to act in defiance (see the above video), from the mouth of John Kerry to the mouth of George Pataki and so many in between. Rather than admitting our sin and repenting, America continues to shake our puny, collective fist in the face of Almighty God.

Jonathan Cahn puts it another way as he compares ancient Israel with what is taking place in modern day America. “The nation responds to the calamity with defiance in the form of a stone. The stone is cut out of their mountains and bedrock. They chisel it into a block. They bring it back to the ground of destruction. The stone becomes a symbol, the embodiment of their vow, their confidence, and their defiance.”

The breach was made. The terrorists invaded. The bricks fell. The nations vowed in defiance to rebuild. The cornerstone, a hewn stone, a quarried stone signaled the beginning of the rebellious rebuilding. History continues to repeat itself as America continues to fall.

Scripture gives the sixth warning of Isaiah 9:10. “ . . . the sycomores are cut down . . . . “ Israel’s sycamores were cut down, were demolished by the Assyrian army – a sign of the uprooting of a nation. At the edge of the concrete landscape that is Ground Zero lays a small patch of land. As the North Tower came crashing to the ground, ash and concrete covered the ground and in the middle of the debris was a fallen tree – an English sycamore.

Perhaps if one or two of these events took place, it could be written off to chance. But when one after the other is fulfilled with stinging accuracy we must take note. There are three harbingers left.

Verse 10 of Isaiah 9 continues, “ . . . but we will change them into cedars.” The ancient Jewish people vowed to not restore the sycamore, but to replace it with a much stronger, more substantial tree. The same idea was behind the cedars as was behind the quarried stone – the idea of rebellion and defiance.

They said in effect, “We will strengthen ourselves against the enemy. We will fortify our land. We will survive and thrive - without God. It was the same act of defiance on a different level; a symbol of hope, a chance to start over, but yet without repentance and a turning to God. Continued rejections of the warnings sets Israel ripe for judgment.

So what about America? What about the sycamore of 9/11? For the seventh time a message has been sent to America, yet she responds the same as Israel of old. The Biblical word for cedar in the Hebrew language is erez. It includes not only the cedar, but generally refers to conifer trees. In November of 2003, an erez tree replaced the sycamore at Ground Zero. This became another act of replacement.

Our nation was founded on Biblical principles. Presidents and countrymen alike looked to the Creator for leadership and strength. But the 21^st century has changed all that. Just as our spiritual focus has been replaced, so has the sycamore. The tree was replaced, not restored.

Just as in the replacement of the quarried stone, the replacement of the sycamore took place as a public event; the event that worshipped man rather than turn the nation to repentance. In the face of warning after warning America has proudly said in her heart, “No, God. We don’t want or need You. Thank You very much.”

From God's own Word, He confronts our rebellious nation. God stares America in the face and says, “ . . . The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity. . . ” (Psalm 14:1); “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts (Psalm 10:4); “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened (Romans 1:21); “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind,to do those things which are not convenient (Romans 1:28); “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee:then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:20).

We will look at the last two warnings next time. Are you starting to see where this great country is headed?