The first five Harbingers – the Breach, the Terrorist, the Bricks, the Tower and the Gazit Stone, represent Israel’s response to the invasion of the Northern Kingdom; a response of ________ and ________ rather than __________.

These Harbingers reappeared in _________ during and after the 9/11 attacks.

THE SIXTH HARBINGER – “_____________” – “The sycamores have been cut down…” Isaiah 9:10a

-- Israel is acknowledging that an invasion has happened and damage has occurred - a sign of national _______ / ________.
-- _______ (Hebrew) or fig-mulberry is where the word sycamore comes from
-- _____ (fig), _____ (mulberry) in Greek is sukomoros or sycamore

The _________ Sycamore (the “Sycamore of Ground Zero”) at the corner of Ground Zero on 9/11 was cut down by falling debris from the Towers.

THE SEVENTH HARBINGER – “The ____ Tree” – “…but we will plant cedars in their place”. Isaiah 9:10b

-- As with the fallen bricks, the cutting down of the sycamores is not followed by a turning to God but by a ______, __________ vow to replace it with something bigger and better.
-- The Hebrew word for cedar is “____” or a cone-bearing evergreen.

The ________ erez tree (“The Ground Zero Tree of Hope”) was planted at the corner of Ground Zero in November 2003

THE EIGHTH HARBINGER – “The _________” of the vow (Isaiah 9:10 – in the present tense)

-- In Samaria…the capital city of Israel (Northern Kingdom)

-- Following a calamity caused by God lifting His ______ of _________ on a backslidden nation, a nation’s leaders respond with public defiance…The words become a vow, the vow gives voice to a ________ spirit and seals the nation’s course.

-- In America…the capital city of Washington D.C., in late summer of 2004, it happened again. Every object mentioned in Isaiah 9:10’s ancient prophecy had already manifested at Ground Zero. Speaking at a gathering of a congressional caucus, John Edwards, then a presidential candidate 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 build with dressed stones. The sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.”

He said the following: Let me show you how we are building and putting cedars in those three hallowed places.

He added this: And in a place where smoke once rose, you and I, we will see that cedar rising.

And this: You will see that while those bricks fell and the sycamores cut down, our people are making those cedars rise.

THE NINTH HARBINGER: The ________ (Isaiah 9: 10 – in the future tense)

-- In the wake of calamity, the nation of Israel’s leaders respond through a vow. The vow sets it on a rebellious course ending in judgment. The words of the vow become part of a prophetic revelation given to the whole nation, an indictment of it, a foretelling what is yet to happen.

-- On the morning of September 12, 2001, a day after the al Qaeda breach, the entire U.S. Congress gathered to issue a joint resolution in response to 9/11. Tom Daschle – Senate Majority Leader 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.”

Thus the words of Israel’s ancient vow were officially joined to America and 9/11. As with Senator Edwards three years later, Daschle said these words without realizing what he was saying.