U.S. Vice Presidential Candidate John Edwards Quoted Bible Prophecy Verse Isaiah 9:10 in Speech on September 11 Anniversary

John Edwards Pittsburgh 2007" by Mike Murphy (MikeMurphy)
Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

This week we've looked at the words American leaders spoke in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. (Tweet that!) Tuesday we saw another comment by then-Senator John Kerry. (Tweet that!) Thursday we witnessed Senate Majority leader Tom Daschle quote Isaiah 9:10 in his speech. (Tweet that!)

Fast forward three years to the third anniversary of the attacks. Again, I'm quoting from The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide by Jonathan Cahn, pages 54-56 (emphasis added):

The date was September 11, 2004. The event was the third anniversary of the 9/11 breach. The speaker was the senator and vice president candidate John Edwards. The place was America's capital city of Washington.

Speaking at a gathering of congressional caucus, Edwards uttered these words:

"Good morning. Today, on this day of remembrance and mourning, we have the Lord's Word to get us through:

The bricks have fallen
But we will rebuild with dressed stones
The sycamores have been cut down
But we will put cedars in their place..."

By quoting Isaiah 9:10, a major American candidate for high office had precisely uttered Israel's ancient vow. He had meant it to be a positive inspiration to the audience. He or presumably his speechwriter didn't read the context. No one realized that in quoting the text, he was unwittingly highlighting America's defiance in response to calamity, following the exact pattern set by Israel’s original defiance revealed in the text. In other words, the utterance joined the Assyrian invasion to 9/11 and America’s post-9/11 defiance to Israel’s defiance in the face of God’s judgment.

Even more amazing, the entire speech delivered that day was built around that same ancient vow. Edwards took the objects of Isaiah 9:10, the sycamore, the cedar or erez tree, and the hewn stone, and used them as figures or symbols of 9/11, America's response to 9/11, and what he believed to be national resurgence…

Intending to deliver an inspiring address, he was unwittingly pronouncing judgment on America.

(Tweet that!)

There is so much more going on here…about the sycamore and cedar (erez) trees, and the hewn stone. If you haven't read one or both books by Jonathan Cahn, I strongly suggest you do so: The Harbinger (presents this material in fiction) and The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide (nonfiction).

Since then…

John Edwards served one six-year term as a Senator from North Carolina. In 2004 he became the Democratic candidate for vice president of the United States with running mate for president Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. In 2011 Edwards was indicted by a grand jury on six felony charges of violating federal campaign contribution laws to cover up an extramarital affair to which he admitted after his 2008 campaign. He was found not guilty on one count and a mistrial was declared on the remaining charges. Currently John Edwards works at his law firm he started in 2011 with his former partner, David Kirby, and his daughter Cate. 

Related Articles:

• April 21, 2015: The Spiritual Importance of Secretary of State John Kerry Saying "If Allah Wills It"
• April 23, 2015: American Secretary of State John Kerry Says "If Allah Wills It"
• April 25, 2015: John Kerry's Jewish Ancestry, Catholic Profession, and Islamic Pronouncement = Spiritual Confusion
• April 28, 2015: Then-Senator John Kerry's Biblical Prophetic Statement the Day After September 11, 2001 
• April 30, 2015: U.S. Senator Tom Daschle Quotes Bible Verse Isaiah 9:10 in Speech on September 12, 2001

U.S. Senator Tom Daschle Quoted Bible Verse Isaiah 9:10 in Speech on September 12, 2001

Senator Majority Leader tom Daschle
September 12, 2001
Image from YouTube.com

In the previous post we looked at then-Senator John Kerry's words in his speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate the day after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and how his words paralleled the defiance against God echoing from ancient Israel in Isaiah 9:10. But John Kerry was not the only United States leader who made a speech that day. (Tweet that!)

If I may simply quote a short portion of Jonathan Cahn's book The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide, because he explains it so succinctly:

On the morning of September 12, 2001, a day after America's calamity, the al Qaeda breach, the US Senate and House of Representatives, the representative bodies of the entire American nation, issued a joint resolution in response to 9/11. 

After the resolution was read, condemning the attacks, expressing condolences, and calling for unity, a war against the terrorists, and punishment of the guilty parties, the Senate majority Leader, Tom Daschle, the highest representative of the nation's highest legislative body, rose to speak. 

At the end of the speech, Daschle uttered the following: 

I know that there is only the smallest measure of inspiration that can be taken from this devastation, but there is a passage in the Bible from Isaiah that I think speaks to all of us at times like this… 

The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with dressed stone;
The fig trees have been felled,
But we will replace them with cedars. 

(The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide by Jonathan Cahn, pp 57-58.)

Could it be clearer? On the day after the terrorist attacks 9/11, on the floor of the very place that represents all the people of America, Isaiah 9:10 was spoken to us and on behalf of us.

However, this Bible verse is not something that pleases God. Rather, it is a statement of defiance against God!

This is not a coincidence. This is not a mistake. This surely was not planned by Tom Daschle. (I'd really really really like to know who the speech writer was. Just curious.) But as I said in my previous post, this is God showing up, whispering to all who will listen, making Himself known, through the leaders He has put in power over us. (Tweet that!) He is using them and guiding their every word.

Is that not a display of the answer to prayer of those who pray for our leaders as we are commanded to do in the Bible? (Tweet that!) Of course it is.

Do not worry. God is at work. We are in His hands. (Tweet that!)

If you think this is the only time one of our leaders quoted the Isaiah 9:10 passage in a speech, it's not. (Tweet that!) Come back on Saturday for another dose of Isaiah 9:10.

Related Articles:

• April 21, 2015: The Spiritual Importance of Secretary of State John Kerry Saying "If Allah Wills It"
• April 23, 2015: American Secretary of State John Kerry Says "If Allah Wills It"
• April 25, 2015: John Kerry's Jewish Ancestry, Catholic Profession, and Islamic Pronouncement = Spiritual Confusion
• April 28, 2015: Then-Senator John Kerry's Biblical Prophetic Statement the Day After September 11, 2001 

Then-Senator John Kerry's Biblical Prophetic Statement the Day After September 11, 2001

2005: "John Kerry senator from MA-2" by Kenneth C. Zirkel
Own work.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons 

In last week's posts we explored the important spiritual connections between the words of our leaders and the impact these words have in real ways on our nation.

If John Kerry's words, "If Allah wills it," surprised you, there are many more examples of similar statements by leaders in America that you need to know about. These include incredible spiritual statements made by America's leaders after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. (Tweet that!) We will look at three of these this week, beginning with another statement by John Kerry the day after the 9/11 attacks.

In the hours and days following the terrorists attacks and the fall of the twin World Trade Center towers, many (if not most) Americans held a spirit of defiance – we would not allow this attack to go unanswered. We would respond. For me, that reaction is completely understandable and I was right there among everyone else.

It is important for me to say that I do not blame any U.S. leader for the words they said or in any way think they did anything wrong. They did not even know they were being used by God in those moments. (Tweet that!)  But God was and is using these leaders to communicate, in His often-quite ways, to all who will listen. (Tweet that!)  Here's what happened…

At the time, John Kerry was a senior Senator from Massachusetts. On September 12, 2001, the day after the 9/11 attacks, John Kerry delivered a speech on the floor of the United States Senate in response to the 9/11 attacks. John Kerry said:

"I believe one of the first things we should commit to -- with federal help that underscores our nation's purpose -- is to rebuild the towers of the World Trade Center and show the world we are not afraid. We are defiant!"  

(The Harbinger, page 63, 256; also The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide page 40, both by Jonathan Cahn.)

But who, really, are we defying?

I, John Kerry, and certainly everyone else meant our defiance against the terrorists. But is that what really is taking place?

In the years since, an amazing network of facts have emerged, detailed by the work of Jonathan Cahn in his book The Harbinger (presents this material in fiction) and The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide (nonfiction). If you're not familiar with Jonathan Cahn's work, this is fascinating material. I’m sharing from his work and I highly recommend you read his books if you haven’t yet. If you are familiar, you may, as I am, appreciate a review of these facts and details in history.

Let's suppose for now that this terrorist attack of 9/11/2001 were, in fact, allowed by God in order to get the attention of America, a nation that was founded on His principals and that is straying away from Him. (Tweet that!) Just suppose.

Now, if that were true, then our defiance would not be defiance against terrorists, but rather defiance against God. (Tweet that!)

I don't know how that strikes you. You may react with skepticism, anger, or curiosity. But let's just explore the possibility. Because Jonathan Cahn has uncovered some amazing parallels that support that possibility. I'll be detailing these in future posts.

This possibility is based on a Scripture verse: Isaiah 9:10.

The setting is ancient Israel. Dateline: 732 B.C. At that time in history, the nation of Israel is divided into two kingdoms: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. The brutal Assyrian empire (modern day Iraq), led by Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III, attacked and sacked the northern kingdom of Israel. This could only happen if there was a breach in the "wall" of God's promised protection of Israel…which occurred because Israel was straying away from its foundation on the One True God.

After this breach, the leaders of Israel refused to see this as a warning from God. Instead, this is what the Bible records Israel's leaders as saying:

"Who say in pride and arrogance of heart: 

"The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with hewn [quarried] stones. The sycamores have been cut down, but we will plant cedars in their place." 

(Jonathan Cahn's translation of Isaiah 9:9b-10 found on page 49 of The Harbinger Companion with Study Guide.)

Fast forward to the day after al Qaeda, based in Iraq which is ancient Assyria, attacked the United States. (Tweet that!) A senior leader in the United States Senate firmly announces:

"[We] should…rebuild the towers of the World Trade Center and show the world we are not afraid. We are defiant!"

Not convinced 9/11 was a parallel warning from God? Then please come back on Thursday for the next post and some amazing evidence of this parallel.

Related Articles:

• April 21, 2015: The Spiritual Importance of Secretary of State John Kerry Saying "If Allah Wills It"
• April 23, 2015: American Secretary of State John Kerry Says "If Allah Wills It"
• April 25, 2015: John Kerry's Jewish Ancestry, Catholic Profession, and Islamic Pronouncement = Spiritual Confusion

The 7th Harbinger -- the Cedar "Tree of Hope" -- Died at Ground Zero (Video Post)

Did you read this book, The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn? (Tweet that!) It first came out in 2011. If you haven't read it yet, it is incredibly fascinating. It's written as fiction, but the information in it is actually nonfiction.

It starts with the events of the attacks on America of September 11, 2001, (Tweet that!) and goes from there, matching events that have taken place in America with events that took place in ancient Israel just prior to that nation being over run and taken into captivity.

History is repeating itself. In America. In our time. (Tweet that!)

The book talks about nine harbingers -- a series of omens and signs warning of coming destruction.

The 7th of the nine is a tree, a cedar tree to be specific. In ancient Israel, and in the Bible prophecy of Isaiah 9:10, a sycamore tree was destroyed and was replaced by a cedar tree.

During the events of 9/11, a sycamore tree was knocked down. During official events, dignitaries replaced that sycamore tree with a cedar tree which became known as the Tree of Hope.

Guess what has happened to the Tree of Hope? Recently. Here is a short video with Paul Begley about the Tree of Hope.

Video: August 10, 2014 

Paul Begley: Harbinger 

"Tree Of Hope" Dies at 

Ground Zero In New York

(Tweet that!)

We'll learn more about this from the author of The Harbinger, Johnathan Cahn, in the next post.