The Dark Jubilee | Jonathan Cahn Sermon
In a time when many feel the foundations of our culture are shifting beneath our feet, it’s easy to sense a tension an epic clash between the forces of darkness and the light of God. As Christians, we are called not only to recognize these spiritual battles but also to respond in faith, humility, and prayer. Today, let’s reflect on how biblical prophecy, national sin, and the call to repentance still echo powerfully across our land.
The Reversal of God’s Commandments: How Did We Get Here?
Throughout history, when societies have strayed from God’s commandments, the consequences have often been far-reaching. America was once adorned with the Ten Commandments in our courthouses and on the walls of our public squares, testifying to our Judeo-Christian heritage. Yet, in recent decades, those sacred words have been removed, and we have set about redefining truth itself. What God called evil, we now celebrate; what God called good, we treat with disdain.
Our culture’s rejection of biblical values has reached into nearly every facet of public life. Rather than acknowledging the most basic measure of morality that all human life is sacred we have sanctioned what can only be called the greatest tragedy: the shedding of innocent blood. The Bible warns in Isaiah, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,” and that warning resonates now more than ever.
New York: The Epicenter of a National Tragedy
Consider the city of New York. Just across the river from where so many aspirations begin, this city also became the place where more innocent lives have been ended than anywhere else in the nation. When the tragic practice of abortion on demand began, it started in New York, setting a precedent that would spread across America. The ripple effects have been profound, with laws evolving to allow abortion up to the very moment of birth a sobering reminder of how far we have fallen from cherishing the sanctity of life.
Jeremiah prophesied destruction upon Israel for the sin of child sacrifice, pointing to a time when the very places where innocent blood had been shed would become scenes of judgment. Strikingly, history has repeated itself. During the pandemic, New York City experienced unimaginable loss the epicenter of the plague, with death tolls so high they exceeded the city’s capacity to bury the dead. Hart Island, a place for mass burials, became known as the potter’s field, echoing Jeremiah’s prophecy about a judgment that would break the people as a potter’s vessel is shattered, beyond repair.
The Mystery of the Balm of Gilead
Jeremiah once cried out, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” This lament resonates with us, especially in light of recent history. While our nation sought a cure for the pandemic, there was a poignant irony: the first widely discussed treatment emerged from a company named “Gilead.” Just as in Jeremiah’s day, searching for healing proved elusive, signaling that no true cure could be found without first addressing the underlying spiritual sickness a need for national repentance and a return to God.
The Dark Jubilee: A Season of Justice and Restitution
In the Old Testament, the Jubilee Year was a time of restoration when debts were forgiven and what was lost was returned. Yet, if God’s blessings can be poured out in a Jubilee, so can His justice. The year 1970 marked the beginning of legalized abortion in New York, with repercussions that led to the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision just three years later. The year 2020 represented the 50th anniversary an ominous Jubilee where, by biblical measure, what was taken would, in some sense, be given back.
On the exact days that marked the legalization of abortion in New York April 9th and April 10th fifty years later, the pandemic reached its peak in the very same city. The matching of these dates is not mere coincidence but a signpost, a wake-up call that our nation faces consequences when we stray from God’s statutes.
Even the buildings bear witness: New York’s state capitol, where abortion legislation was passed including the heart-wrenching law legalizing abortion up to birth contains sculptures including a face known as “the devil.” While the original intentions of the artist are not certain, the symbolism could not be more apparent: in the very halls where darkness was sanctioned, symbols of evil are permanently etched in stone.
A Call to Repentance and Return
The burden for repentance does not fall on government alone. For years, believers sensed the need for a sacred assembly a national season of prayer and repentance. Out of these prayers, “The Return” event was born, drawing thousands to the National Mall to cry out for God’s mercy on America. Together, Christians fell on their knees, confessing collective and individual sins, seeking revival and interceding for the nation’s soul.
During this sacred gathering, on the very day of the Feast of Trumpets a day associated with repentance a historic turn took place. The passing of a leading pro-abortion Supreme Court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, opened a vacancy. On that very day, as prayers for the end of abortion rose to heaven, a new justice was nominated, symbolizing the possibility of turning back the darkness that had been sanctioned half a century before.
Unbeknownst to the event planners, the date chosen for “The Return” aligned with “Shabbat Shuva” in the Hebrew calendar the Sabbath of Return, a day calling Israel to repentance and sacred assembly. Only as the day approached did organizers realize the depth of this prophetic alignment, underscoring the momentous nature of the call to return to God.
The Power of National Prayer
Remarkably, as a documentary sharing these messages debuted across the country, unscripted revival broke out. Across theaters coast-to-coast, audiences spontaneously entered into times of intercessory prayer they didn’t need prompting; the Holy Spirit was moving. People
