It was at the Congressional Black Caucus that Sen. John Edwards, D-S.C., then a vice presidential running mate with Sen. John Kerry, made a speech in which he cited the words of Isaiah 9:10 on the third anniversary of 9/11 in explaining how the U.S. could respond. In fact, he didn’t just site the ancient curse of judgment, he built his entire speech around it.
But a member of that caucus, Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, took the time to write a formal letter of thanks to WND Chief Executive Officer Joseph Farah for the gifts of “The Harbinger” and “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment” distributed to every member of Congress last month.
“I look forward to reading your book on my flights back to Dallas,” she said.
…Johnson joins Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Democrat Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Sen. Michael Enzi, R-Ind., Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Sen Dan Coates, R-Ind. along with Reps. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., Nick Rahall II, R-W.V.; Lamar Smith, R-Texas; Joe Wilson, R-S.C., and Ben Quayle, R-Ariz.
I’ve discussed the background to Jonathan Cahn’s book The Harbinger previously. In the days after 9/11, Edwards had quoted Isaiah 9:10:
The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.
Alas, however, Edwards (or, perhaps, his speech-writer) didn’t bother to look at the wider context of the passage: the Biblical author presents it as a futile boast by ancient Israel that they would repel neighbouring enemies through their own efforts, when in fact their enemies represent the wrath of God.
For Cahn, this is not just an example of ignorant quote-mining: he seems to regard it as a magical invocation, through which Edwards (and later Tom Daschle, who quoted the same passage at a later date) has unleashed a supernatural curse on the USA; God seems to be little more than an impersonal and mechanistic force. As well as the book and Joseph Farah’s tie-in DVD, a “study guide” is due for release in January, under the tagline “Decode the mysteries and respond to the call that can change America’s future – and YOURS”.
Back in May, WND reported that Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb of Oklahoma had made a call to thank a man who had given copies of the book to members of the legislature. Of course, as with the letters sent to Farah, this may have been no more than a polite acknowledgements.
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“God seems to be little more than an impersonal and mechanistic force.” really true.
[…] assistance, has come to wider attention due to a best-selling apocalyptic paperback called The Harbinger, and he presents himself as being an expert in “Hebrew […]