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

As the final mysteries are revealed, the characters continue along the paths of characterization that have been present throughout the novel. Goren remains entrenched in Kaplan’s story, continuing her interjections of interest and shock, and there is one instance that reinforces the literary significance of her character. In Chapter 19, when Kaplan reveals to Goren that St. Paul’s Chapel is on the corner of Ground Zero, he remarks that she had not “said anything up to now” (208), but Goren spoke out just three pages prior to ask why Kaplan paused before going to St. Paul’s Chapel. This strange inconsistency shows that both that the revelation of St. Paul’s Chapel must have taken much longer than the page count would indicate, and that Goren is so entranced in the story that she has not spoken throughout this portion of the final mystery. Goren, as a representation of the reader, is then supposed to be entirely convinced of Kaplan’s story and the prophet’s message, having shed whatever skepticism may have been present initially. However, that initial skepticism is also reinforced, as Goren tells Kaplan in Chapter 17 that she initially thought he was “actually crazy…clinically crazy” (172), which is meant to emphasize the convincing nature of the revelations throughout the book to entirely turn her opinion. Goren is overstating her initial standpoint, though, as she would have had Kaplan removed from the building if she thought he was clinically insane. The reality is that Goren is hyperbolic for the sake of contrasting the skeptic’s stance with that of a believer, implying that the reader should have made the same transformation, tipping the scales toward faith in The Balance Between Faith and Reason. For Goren to mirror the intended path of the reader, she needs to begin as a skeptic and develop into a believer in Kaplan’s message, but, for her to undertake the journey at all, she cannot start out from a truly skeptical position. Were she a true skeptic, she would not have been likely to acknowledge Kaplan’s story, or she would have criticized elements within it, neither of which occurs in the novel. In Chapter 19, Goren is also made party to the mystique of the prophet, as Kaplan reveals that the prophet, like Goren, told him that it was “bad timing” for him to wake up before the message of his dream could be revealed. “Bad timing” is, of course, a reasonable and common response to someone waking from a dream before a critical moment, but Goren takes this as a sign that she, too, is entrenched in the prophecy, as the dream’s meaning cannot be revealed until she has a chance to dissect the dream’s meaning with Kaplan.

For Kaplan and the prophet, Kaplan’s delivery of a restatement of Washington’s inaugural speech, using the phrasing and messaging of the prophet, shows the completion of the transfer of the prophet’s message to Kaplan. As Kaplan rephrases Washington’s words, he is also rephrasing the prophet’s message as it has been delivered over the course of the novel. Restating themes of the need for a return to God, Kaplan and the prophet are now in full agreement that the harbingers, mysteries, and warnings have all led to a need for spiritual reconciliation across America. Crucially, the prophet includes a failsafe in his prophecy, noting that times of prosperity can occur despite the coming judgment, which means that, if calamity occurs, it is a confirmation of the prophecy, while, if prosperity occurs, it is an illusion that also confirms the prophecy. Kaplan, too, includes this failsafe in his restatement of Washington’s address, as he notes that when America turns away from God, it will “be the day that begins the removing of its blessings” (213). Kaplan is careful not to say that that would be the day that the blessings are completely removed, as that would violate the failsafe of the prophet. Instead, it will be the day that begins the removal, allowing for the possibility that some, or even all, of the blessings might remain for a time. If the blessings remain, that should be a sign that the prophecy is wrong, but, through this failsafe, Kaplan and the prophet can point to any removal of blessings as a sign of the prophecy, while maintaining that any current blessings are illusions that further confirm the prophecy. Nonetheless, the conclusion of the mysteries signals a turning point in the novel, as another part of the prophecy has been revealed. As with the first set of nine harbingers, the second set of four mysteries has confirmed, again, the prophet’s claim that God is warning America to turn back to spiritual dedication to God. The final message of Chapter 19, that America needs to return to God, reaffirms the prophet’s assertion that God’s punishment is not meant to destroy America, but to draw America’s attention back to him. The balance of calamity with hope in God maintains the prophet’s message that resolution can be found in spirituality, assuaging fears of further retribution and highlighting The Need for Guidance in Troubling Situations. The prophet’s claim is that the destruction and collapse are just a portion of what God can do, and America needs to return to God to avoid further destruction.