Judgement in New York City: The Harbingers of Things to Come | Jonathan Cahn Sermon
Understanding the Spiritual Significance of Judgment and Mercy in America
Throughout history, God has used moments of judgment and mercy as wake-up calls to His people. In today’s world, it’s easy to overlook the spiritual implications of national events, especially in a culture that has, in many ways, distanced itself from Biblical truth. But what if the challenges and crises we face are not random, but instead signs pointing us back to God? In this article, we’ll explore profound Biblical parallels and prophetic insights about America especially relating to New York City, abortion, and the call for national repentance. Let’s journey together to find hope, restoration, and renewal at this critical hour.
The Jubilee: Blessing, Justice, and Restitution
In ancient Israel, the Jubilee marked a special year of blessing every 50 years. It was a time when property was restored, debts were forgiven, and liberty was proclaimed throughout the land. However, Jubilee wasn’t just about blessing it was about justice and restitution. If something had been taken unjustly, the Jubilee demanded it be returned. This principle of divine justice forms a compelling backdrop to the events we see unfolding in our time.
The Valley of Hinnom: A Warning from History
The Bible recounts a solemn moment in Jeremiah 19 when God instructs the prophet to take the elders and priests to the valley of Ben Hinnom, known later as Gehenna. This valley became infamous as a place where the people of Israel offered their children as sacrifices an act God never commanded and deeply grieved. Jeremiah declared that because of the innocent blood shed there, the valley would become known as the “valley of slaughter” a symbol of judgment.
Among all the sins that brought judgment on Israel, none provoked God more than the killing of innocent children. This ancient warning echoes powerfully today as we look at our own nation’s history and choices.
Modern-Day Parallels: When a Nation Crosses the Line
Is it possible that we are witnessing similar patterns in America today? In recent years, New York passed one of the most extreme abortion laws in the country, allowing abortion up to the moment of birth. The law was celebrated with applause, and New York’s governor famously ordered the World Trade Center to be lit up in pink—publicly commemorating a tragic milestone. Strikingly, exactly one year after that celebration, the first case of a devastating plague (COVID-19) was reported in America on the same date: January 22nd. This date also marks the anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.
Jeremiah’s warning was clear: “As you have done, it will be done to you.” When a society turns against its own children, it invites consequences that affect all, both righteous and unrighteous alike.
The Plague and Its Spiritual Connection
The COVID-19 pandemic hit New York City harder than any other place in America the very city known as the nation’s abortion capital. One out of every four American deaths in the pandemic’s early days occurred there. The connection becomes even more striking when you consider that so many victims were among the older generation the same demographic that legalized abortion in America and globally oversaw the deaths of millions of unborn children.
While other nations, like communist China, account for staggering abortion numbers, America, a nation that once identified itself as “Christian,” played a leading role in spreading abortion laws across the world. It’s a sobering reality that the very locations associated with the shedding of innocent blood became epicenters for national calamity.
Prophetic Symbolism: The Potter’s Field
Jeremiah’s prophecy referenced the breaking of a potter’s jar at the potter’s gate a harbinger of coming judgment. In a remarkable modern parallel, during the pandemic in New York, overwhelmed city authorities began using Hart Island, known as the “potter’s field,” for mass burials. The name itself links directly back to Jeremiah’s imagery underscoring the prophetic weight of these connections.
Jeremiah also cried, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is the health of my people not restored?” In an uncanny twist, America’s first major hope for a medical cure came from a pharmaceutical company named “Gilead.” Yet, just as in Jeremiah’s day, healing did not come easily, reminding us that some wounds require spiritual, not just physical, remedies.
The Jubilee’s Tally: Fifty Years of Abortion
Let’s return to the theme of Jubilee. Remarkably, the practice of abortion on demand began in New York in 1970. Fifty years later, in 2020 the precise span of a Jubilee the COVID-19 plague reached its height in New York. The initial legalization of abortion in the state occurred on April 9th and 10th, 1970; the pandemic’s peak in New York landed exactly fifty years later on those same dates. These striking correspondences are more than coincidences they are wake-up calls for our times.
Even more fascinating, both the building where the original abortion laws were passed (the New York State Capitol in Albany) and where late-term abortion was legalized decades later share a chilling detail: a sculpted face known as “the devil” is hidden among its many artworks. Whether intentional or not, it’s a grim reminder of the spiritual battle underlying our cultural decisions.
The Call to Repentance: The Return
Throughout recent years, God has placed a burden on the hearts of many believers to call America back to repentance. Leaders of faith have been prompted to gather for sacred assemblies of prayer and intercession echoing the call in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray…”
One prophetic act involved breaking a potter’s jar, following Jeremiah’s example as a sign of national
