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

In 2020, Jonathan Cahn published a sequel to The Harbinger, titled The Harbinger II: The Return. The sequel follows Kaplan, Goren, and the prophet, again, as the prophet reveals further mysteries to Kaplan. As with the time gap in The Harbinger, after which the prophet asserts his claims regarding the financial crisis of 2007-08, The Harbinger II addresses events that occurred between the publishing of the two books. Also like The Harbinger, the sequel addresses the connections between ancient events and prophecies and modern occurrences, using seals as a means of delivering the prophet’s message. In the sequel, some of the harbingers or mysteries include the Gate, the Watchmen, and the Mystery Ship. The names of these mysteries are similar in nature to those in The Harbinger, indicating a direct continuation of the content and plot of the first novel into the second. Kaplan will again be reporting the prophet’s findings to Goren, framed as a narrative to communicate Cahn’s message of the need to return to God. The sequel makes logical sense, as The Harbinger ends with the implication that more evidence will appear to confirm the prophet’s prophecy. The multiple failsafe measures included in the first novel, such as the assertion that calamities will befall America, periods of prosperity may occur as illusions of safety, and the message of the first novel will be attacked and criticized, all indicate that the prophecy is inevitable, regardless of the actual events that follow its publication. As such, Cahn will easily be able to assert that the predictions of the first novel occurred, and he will be able to present an analysis of the events in the interim period with a renewed focus on the future after 2020.

A sequel to The Harbinger is inevitable in the sense that this first novel is part of a metanarrative, framed by Cahn, in which stories from the Bible, biblical commentaries, and modern US history are layered within Cahn’s novel to assert a master narrative of spiritual significance and judgment. A metanarrative involves the combining and piecing together of different stories to create a larger, or master, story, which usually purports to explain current, and predict future, events. The Harbinger is precisely this type of work, in which the stories of Isaiah and other biblical prophets, elements of world history, American history, and contemporary American events are explained in connection with one another to generate an overarching narrative of God’s involvement in human events. As such, the metanarrative does not end, as it involves the prediction of greater judgment and more warnings of judgment in the future. In reading The Harbinger, it is important to keep in mind how the novel combines various narratives to construct its own, as well as to acknowledge the forward-looking nature of prophecy. As prophecies are always pointed toward a future, the reader should be aware that the novel is a call to action, urging the reader and all Americans to accept and love God to avoid judgment.