Another misreading of Cahn's "Harbinger"

Proverbs 18:13: He that answereth a matter before he heareth [it], it [is] folly and shame unto him

This review by a pastor Gary Gilley starts out positive about the book, though not in a particularly relevant way in my opinion, but then veers off into a serious misreading of the essential message:

So far so good. But then Cahn determines that Isaiah 9:10-11 contains a hidden second prophecy directed not to ancient Israel but to modern America.

No, Jonathan Cahn did not "determine" any such thing. What happened is that he OBSERVED that certain elements described in Isaiah 9:10, that demonstrate Israel's defiance of God's judgment of their nation, ALSO ACTUALLY LITERALLY OCCURRED OR "MANIFESTED" IN AMERICA in connection with 9/11.

Literally. Actually. Physical things: bricks, a hewn stone, a sycamore tree, a conifer tree, plus some speeches by American leaders that quoted this very scripture or echoed its spirit. This is based on the simplest possible reading of Isaiah 9:10, nothing added to it.

At this point the author massages Scripture and current events in an attempt to prove that God’s judgment on the United States has been hiding in these verses from the day they were given by Isaiah, but have now been unlocked by the careful investigation of Cahn.

Nonsense! Did this reviewer actually read this book? This is absurd and unjust.

Nothing could be further from the truth and, even more importantly, once someone decides they can cherry-pick verses at will, change the meaning of these texts to fit his theories and use random hermeneutical methods, anything can be “proven.”

Which I'm afraid describes what this reviewer has done to Jonathan Cahn! The reviewer has read all kinds of things into his book that simply are not there. Is this perhaps his own theology that he is imposing on Cahn?

Bottomline: The Harbinger is a semi-interesting novel that exposes the pride and sinfulness of America and God’s distain for such rebelliousness. But the novel does not in reality discover a mysterious Old Testament prophecy about America. Read as fiction with an important point, the book has value. Read as a prophecy, it is dangerous.

As I mention in my previous post, it's becoming clear that "Harbinger" takes some effort to really get the message to avoid some pretty odd misunderstandings, but sometimes it sounds like the critic didn't even really read the book or listen to Cahn's talks.

I could repeat my own description of what the book is about but I've repeated it so many times now I figure anyone who wants to won't have a hard time finding it-- label or key word "Jonathan Cahn" should do it.