A friend asked me to read this book, and I had to force myself to finish it. The author is obviously a clever man, well-versed in the Bible and history, and therefore able to come up with many connections that seem “amazing” on the surface. He relates a variety of prophecies from Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah to present day events starting with 9-11. These are “harbingers” or omens of a coming judgement on the United States.
Do I agree that our country is going down sinful paths? I do. Do I believe that like other powerful societies ours will eventually end and that collapse may be brought about by our own pride and arrogance? Very possibly. What I don’t believe is that we need to discover exactly when and how it will happen by decoding secret information hidden in the Bible.. This smacks of Gnosticism, a heresy that obviously still persists.
There is no biblical reason to connect America with Israel. The Bible is clear that the church has replaced Israel as the chosen people of God, not the United States or any other nation or ethnic group. Scripture should now be read in light of that understanding. We may like to think of the United States as a “Christian nation” but in actuality that has never been the case. Many of the first settlers did not come for religious freedom at all, and while some of the founding fathers were Christians, others weren’t.
In the final chapters of the novel, the main character is told by the prophet that he must “choose” his destiny before judgement day. This goes against Lutheran belief that God chooses us. In fact, the whole premise of the book, that we can repent and turn from our errors is wrong The point of the entire Old Testament, is that the people of Israel couldn’t do this, not matter how hard they tried Sin will always prevail in both national and personal life — that’s why we need a Savior.
I suppose, like some other books, it might be possible to simply enjoy The Harbinger as fiction, ignoring the glaring theological errors. Fiction is not theology, after all. In this case, however, the author specifically says in his introduction that while the form of his work is a story, the information contained is real. It is not meant to be read as a fanciful or interesting tale. Furthermore, in my estimation, it also fails as a novel. It is repetitious, slow and has very little dramatic suspense or plot.
VERDICT: No stars. My advice is don’t bother to read this.
For see what Lutherans believe about the end times see:
Lutheran Ladies Connection 