America in the BaIance: RevivaI or Judgment?

The Call To Return
This is what the mystery of ground zero is—a call to return. Beyond the growing sense among American believers that our nation is in danger, God is calling His people to return in prayer, humility, intercession and repentance.

One of these gatherings, America for Jesus, is set for Sept. 28-29 in Philadelphia on the mall by the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where America’s forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence. The event is yet another manifestation of this growing call to return.

There is a Scripture to which 9/11, ground zero and the mysteries of The Harbinger all point. It was the Scripture given to Solomon to answer his prayers on the Temple Mount, Israel’s dedication ground:

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).

If My People…
It was the late 1970s. America was failing. Its economy was paralyzed by simultaneous inflation and stagnation. Inflation was skyrocketing, as was unemployment. Gas lines filled the land as a result of a Middle East oil embargo. American embassies around the world were under attack. Americans were being held hostage in Iran. Every night, Americans watched in horrified paralysis as multitudes of Iranians shouted, “Death to America!”

The debacle of a disastrous military attempt to rescue the hostages caused a palpable despair to settle over the nation. The American age appeared to be coming to a close rapidly.

In late April 1980, believers gathered from all around the nation to pray in the nation’s capital at the Washington Mall. It was called Washington for Jesus, and its theme was 2 Chronicles 7:14. The Scripture was repeated over and over again. People came to humble themselves, repent, pray and seek the face of God. They prayed that God would intervene. Near the end, the multitudes lifted their hands to the steps of the capitol building and prayed that God would bring men and women into the government who would do His will.

I remember. I was there.

Months later came the presidential election and a revolution at the polls. Ronald Reagan and those supported by Christian voters were swept into office. In January, the president-elect readied to take the presidential oath when he made an unprecedented change. For more than a century, the presidential inauguration had been held on the eastern steps of the Capitol Building. Yet this president-elect changed the location to the western steps.

As he was sworn into office that day, he faced the same ground on which the believers prayed, according to 2 Chronicles 7:14, nearly nine months earlier to send leaders who would do God’s will. Those who had prayed in April had their arms literally pointing to the place where the new president was standing.

They also had prayed for the release of the American hostages in Iran. At the very hour the new president was sworn in, news came from Iran that the hostages were being released. Both prayers were answered in the same hour and manifested on the same ground on which those believers had prayed months before.

That day and hour marked a turning point in American history, which would become increasingly significant in the days and years ahead. Some called it “Morning in America.” The economy experienced a dramatic change, leading to some of the most prosperous years in the country’s history. Unemployment faded, along with inflation. American military power was revived and reverenced throughout the world. Soon after, America won the Cold War and became the world’s only superpower. It all began that winter’s day as the new president took the oath of office.

The Hidden Hand, the Future and the Great ‘If’
However, the change began with something else. The world saw Reagan’s right hand raised as he repeated the presidential oath. But it noticed his left hand, too. Sometimes it is the left hand of history—the unseen story—that’s more important.

At that pivotal history-changing moment, Reagan’s left hand was placed on a Bible opened to a particular verse: “If My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

It was as if God was answering the prayers of His people who gathered on that same ground months before. His people humbled themselves and prayed, and God heard their prayers and was about to heal their land.

Could it happen again? It could. In the wake of The Harbinger, people ask me if I see revival or judgment for America’s future. My response is, the answer is sometimes both. Sometimes revival comes only through judgment. But the call remains: “If My people …” Revival begins with the people of God. The fate of a nation rests on the people of God. The key word is If.

Jonathan Cahn leads Hope of the World ministries and Beth Israel Worship Center, a congregation based in Wayne, N.J. His teachings can be seen on television and heard on the radio across the country and are known for their prophetic insight into the mysteries of God’s Word. For more information or to contact Jonathan, go to hopeoftheworld.org.