Is America under God’s blessing or judgment?
“The words and vision of John Winthrop were prophetic,” says Jonathan Cahn in special message for the upcoming July 4, holiday. “He said, in effect from the Bible, if America would follow the ways of God, then the blessings of God that came on Israel would come upon America.”
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From the earliest settlements at Cape Henry and Massachusetts Bay, America was not merely colonized for land or freedom; it was dedicated to God. Cahn recounts how the Pilgrims and Puritans sought to “found a society based on God’s Word and religious freedom.” They established covenants like the Mayflower Compact and declared that this new civilization “was to exist for God’s glory and to spread the Gospel.”
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John Winthrop, aboard the ship, Arbella, in 1630, put forth the foundational vision for the new land: “We must consider that we shall be as a city on a hill. The eyes of all peoples are upon us.” Cahn points out that “this is the most lasting symbol of America—not the bald eagle, not the flag—that has ever been given from 1630 to now.”
Winthrop’s vision, however, came with a warning. “If we turn away from God, if we deal falsely with Him, if we go after other gods, the gods of our profits like money, our pleasures, then, in effect,” Cahn says, “the judgments that came on ancient Israel would come upon America.” Winthrop’s source for this prophetic charge was Deuteronomy 28, the same words Moses gave to Israel as it prepared to enter the Promised Land.
Cahn highlights the uncanny parallels between ancient Israel and America, especially surrounding 9/11. “America got its shaking on 9/11,” he says. “The enemy came as an eagle swooping on the land…on the very plane that began 9/11 it was carrying a symbol, and the symbol was an image of an eagle swooping down—the same biblical sign of judgment.”
The very city from which the planes took off in Boston was Winthrop’s “city on a hill.” His personal island, Governor’s Island, would become Logan Airport: “the very ground from which 9/11 began.”
After the attacks, Cahn recalls, “people thought, well, people will come back to God… but there was no repentance, no turning and if you don’t turn, there’s no revival.” Since then, he says, “we have killed millions of children in abortion,” and “we now see signs of the persecution of the righteous coming.”
However, Cahn does not leave the audience without hope. “…His promise is good: ‘If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves… I will heal their land.’”
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He calls for believers to rededicate their lives daily to Christ, saying, “You are the light of the world… You are the light of America because America’s part of the world… You light it up by boldly shining that light… living for God without fear… Let the chips fall where they may. I am standing for my God no matter what. That’s forever. This is temporary.”
America was born in the shadow of a covenant, a vision rooted in Scripture, marked by dedication to the glory of God. But that light has dimmed. As the nation stands at a historic tipping point, the only hope is repentance, revival and a radical recommitment to the purposes of God.
Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
