Jonathan Cahn

Nouriel relates to Ana how he discovered the Harbingers through the help of a prophet: America is headed for God's judgment if they don't pay attention, just like Israel before the Assyrians and Babylonians invaded, and the key is in biblical prophecy.

Where do I start? Let me say straight up that this absolutely fails as a story. There is no plot. There is no character development. The only reasons the characters exist is to have a prolonged, repetitive conversation - that's really all the show more book is, there's barely anything that's not dialogue - espousing a specific point of view (that, I hasten to add, is not shared by all Christians) that America as the "new Israel" is headed for judgment if we don't return to God, and that events like 9/11 and the stock market crash in 2008 were specific warning signs laid out in biblical prophecy. If this were presented as a nonfiction argument, I actually might have engaged with it more. Though I don't agree with the premise of America as a "new Israel," I'd be willing to engage about the judgment of God on the nations throughout history, and slightly interested in the parallels Cahn draws if not entirely convinced.

But The Harbinger is a sermon masquerading as fiction. I checked out early and found myself getting progressively more annoyed with plot holes the size of craters. Nouriel gets one revelation in the form of a dream that helps him understand the connection between Solomon's dedication at the Temple and George Washington's inauguration, which let's be honest, even in nonfiction form wasn't going to convince me of anything. Sometimes Nouriel's insightfully putting pieces of the "puzzle" together, and other times he's incredibly ignorant - did you really think America began in 1776? Please don't insult my intelligence. Finally, if the prophecy is so important, why does the unnamed prophet literally take years to impart the message to Nouriel? And don't even get me started on the overuse of ellipses... Frankly, I'm surprised that this book is as rated highly as it is even if everyone who read it agreed with everything Cahn says. I don't even know how to rate it. I read most of it in two days yet never would've finished it if I didn't have to. show less

Ya know, what I appreciate about Frank Peretti is that he wrote fiction. He knew he wrote fiction. And on top of that, he knew he wrote horror. Cahn writes fantasy, calls it 'non-fiction' and scratches the same horror itch with his tales of the apocalypse, imminent doom, and now, a super weird mash of demons, pseudoarcheology, and to be frank, New-Age beliefs. Kahn used to call this tripe fiction.

Thankfully, I haven't had his material shoved down my throat for a few years, I still haven't show more heard a satisfactory explanation as to why the Shemitah bit that he retroactively analyzed as happening in 2001 and 2008, and predicted would occur every seven years, so 2015, 2022 (which all in all, are among the quietest years since), didn't happen.

I truly, truly, do not understand how people can take this man seriously. He man lives off fear, bad theology, and even poorer logic.

Also minor peeve, the cover here on LT says 'New York Times Bestseller.' This isn't true, as of 2025-10-09 this book was nowhere to be found on the list, or on any historical bestseller lists since its release. How low can these books go? show less

Someone at church recommended this book, and curiosity got the best of me, so I read it. I know the facts that are presented are true, but they don't seem particularly prophetic to me, and even if they are, the message seems to be simply for America to turn back to God. One thing that made this book hard to read was that it was incredibly, and I mean incredibly, repetitious. The whole book could have been summed up in a booklet or pamphlet.

Book 36 - Jonathan Cohn - The Mystery of the Shemitah

I love a good conspiracy theory...have watched some ‘wonderful’ David Icke tirades on YouTube...and so many in connection with 9/11 and even UFOs. As with most...they are nonsense....where does this one sit ? Hmmm...

It goes through historical events from Bible times to the present day and talks about the rise and fall of governments, world powers, world economies and more every 7 years or multiples of seven.

My worry with these is show more always...we humans can always see patterns when there aren’t really ones there...like animals in clouds...for gullible people conspiracy theories are so tempting to believe. The book tries to talk about end times and what is to come....the one thing I did agree with that no matter what calamities are ahead now is the time to look to the Kingdom of God.

Be ready for the return of the Kingdom and as Mark Chapter 13 v33 says, “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.”

As a Christian I leave you with this thought

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 - English Standard Version

“20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good.”

Test the conspiracy theories...look at them...discuss and bring them in to the light. As for the Shemitah....I’ll leave that for you to decide. show less