The Harbinger: The Ancient Mystery that Holds the Secret of America's Future

The overarching theme of Kaplan and the prophet’s interactions is the use of both faith-based and reason-based rhetoric. The prophet does not begin by asking Kaplan to have faith in a higher power, nor does he start by listing out the facts of his argument. Instead, he begins with a mix of mysticism, in the form of sending Kaplan the seal, and history, through the seal’s inherent age. These two aspects of the seal are starting points for a development of both faith and reason in the prophet’s message, as the seal will come to represent the authenticity of biblical prophecy, which requires faith, as well as the factual information about the harbingers, which is elucidated through reason. As the prophet continues along his argument, both sides of his rhetoric are strengthened in appropriate methods for each, such as a continued mysticism and magic, as well as quotes and citations from biblical scholars, politicians, and real-world locations. Thematically, these elements are meant to create a balanced presentation of the prophecy, as a fully faith-oriented prophecy would fail to reach skeptics, while a purely reason-oriented method would fail to entrance believers.

The prophet’s mysticism involves moving to various locations before Kaplan does, which enhances the mystique of the prophet’s divine implications. Kaplan tries to apply reason to these movements at times, such as suggesting that “it involves satellites” (58), which the prophet does not confirm. The suggestion of modern technology as a means of emulating divine behavior is why a logical argument must be presented alongside the divine prophecy. Kaplan, and most readers, cannot accept at face value that the prophet is imbued with magic from God, and so Jonathan Cahn likewise arms the prophet with facts. When the prophet brings Kaplan to St. Paul’s Chapel, for example, he relies on documentation to show that the chapel and Ground Zero used to be part of the same land, owned by the church. Such a fact cannot be denied and does not need further explanation, but it forms the base on which the prophet can claim: “America’s ground of consecration is Ground Zero” (208). Such a claim, on its own, would require faith to understand, but, reinforced by historical fact, the claim is able to hold a measure of plausibility even without faith in the underlying religious implication.

These intwined methods of argument culminate in the prophet asking Kaplan what he will do now that he knows America is going to be judged by God soon. More specifically, Kaplan cannot deny that this is the case, because the facts and the mysticism both support the prophet’s reasoning. Within the context of the narrative, Kaplan has neither the factual support to reject the prophet’s claims, nor does he wish to reject the prophet’s air of mystery. Through both forms of argument, the prophet establishes a way to generate Kaplan’s faith in the mystery, as well as assuage his urges to fight that faith with logic. Throughout the novel, Kaplan is then repeating these methods to Goren, who asks on more than one occasion if Kaplan has checked the prophet’s factual evidence for accuracy, and he also reinforces the prophet’s mystique by discouraging Goren from asking for details on how the prophet operates. The reader, in turn, is encouraged to both believe in the prophet’s method and to acknowledge his material evidence.