America Under God’s Judgment- The Battle Hymn of the Republic

The Battle Hymn of the Republic and The Harbinger

Over 150 years ago, Julia Ward Howe wrote a patriotic and prophetic song the Battle Hymn of the Republic regarding the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to wreak judgment upon America. Then recently in 2012, Rabbi Pastor Jonathan Cahn, in his New York Times best seller book The Harbinger, wrote also of the coming judgment upon America similar to that of ancient Israel more than 2500 years ago. We will look into both the song and the book to learn of why America is under judgment and why God will deal so harshly with America.

The Once Great- America the Beautiful

Not too long ago within the past 75 years since WWII, America was the greatest nation that ever graced this earth. America was an agricultural, economic, commercial, financial, and industrial Superpower!  America was a nation greatly blessed by God, a Christian nation that stood out like ‘a city set on a hill’ Mt5:14, with all her glory and majesty shining brightly in every direction! America was the richest nation in the world, had the greatest economy, the strongest military, the financial capitol of the world, a world-class industrial nation, with many people seeking to immigrate to America for a better life in ‘the land of golden opportunity and of freedom’. America was rich in its soil and natural resources, gold and silver, and other precious minerals.

America was a Creditor nation, financing the growth of many other nations. There was No Nation Ever Like America. Patriotic songs such as America, the Beautiful, and God Bless America, so well epitomized her greatness, her beauty, her prosperity, and the richness of her land.  Ps33:12 states ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance’. This was all so very true for the once great, America, the Beautiful!

In all of recorded history, there has never been a nation like America, so blessed and so greatly endowed by God. America was settled by a people seeking religious and political freedom from the oppressive religious and feudal systems of old Europe. Later people from other lands came to America for the economic opportunities she afforded. People found God in America and the freedom to worship Him. America is blessed with many natural resources, water, and food.

America is secured from invasion by two large oceans, the Pacific and the Atlantic on either side protecting her, and friendly neighbors Canada to the North, and Mexico to the South. Like ancient Israel, America was also a nation founded under God as evident in her historical documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

Before the 1776 revolutionary war, in defiance to King George III of England, the slogan ‘No king but Jesus’ was coined.  Jesus used to be ‘Lord of America’, but not anymore. God warned King Solomon in a dream, ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble them-selves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land ..But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments ..and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them..’ 2Ch7:14,19. Like ancient Israel, these verses ring equally true for America. Our foundational roots are now being plucked up because of our leaders! God was once the God of America, but not any longer!

Why Is America Under Judgment?

America has rejected God and is no longer a Christian nation.  America is now a diverse and divided nation of people, cultures, and religions. The US Gov’t and many of its leaders are obviously anti-God, anti-Bible, and anti-Christ. They have expelled God out of our culture by removing prayer and the Bible from our schools, governments, military, and public places. They have removed the 10 commandments from our courthouses and some have sought to remove God from the Pledge of Allegiance. Many large cities, like Chicago, Detroit, Camden, East St. Louis, New Orleans and Oakland are now infested with youth gangs, drugs and crime. Homosexuality is legal and widespread due to the removal of sodomy laws in all states in 2003. Immorality & pornography is rife in America! 

The United States of Sodom and Gomorrah 

In his 2013 inaugural speech, President Obama spoke of advancing ‘gay rights’ in America. Gay rights are now permeating our entire society- in our government, our military, our schools, our churches, and now even in the Boy Scouts of America. Some church denominations, such as the Episcopal churches have allowed gay ministers, and conduct gay marriages. The National Cathedral in Wash. D.C. is a good example! Since 2015, same sex marriage is now the law of the land! 

Though America has changed, GOD NEVER CHANGES Mal 3:6! As God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for the practice of sodomy, He will surely do the same to America. Ge19:24,25 state ‘Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire.. out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground’. Here is the background of the Battle Hymn that speaks of the soon demise of the American Republic:

The Battle Hymn of the Republic- a Prophetic Hymn of the End of America      

The Battle Hymn of the Republic written over 150 years ago, is not only a patriotic, but a prophetic hymn of what will happen to America. The words were written by Julia Ward Howe, a poet and a seer in 1861 during the American Civil War, while visiting the Union Army camp on the Potomac River near Wash. D.C. It was sung to a very catchy tune she heard the soldiers singing about ‘John Brown’s Body’. Brown was hung, being an abolitionist who led an insurrection to free the slaves. Early one morning she was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic. It was more than an inspiration, as the Holy Spirit dictated her every word. Howe said she could hardly write it down fast enough, “I scrawled the verses almost without looking at the paper.”

In 1861 at the time of the writing of of this hymn, the survival of  the American Republic was in question. America, as a Nation, was in grave danger of splitting and dissolving. The Union Army had suffered a number of military setbacks and needed inspiration for their fighting. It was then the darkest hour of the young American Republic! The hymn was quickly adopted by the North, as a rallying song of Divine guidance and support  for their cause against slavery and for justice! It soon became a very popular patriotic song especially with the Union Army-   ♫ ‘Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His Truth Is Marching On.’ ♫

The Battle Hymn of the Republic is an Apocalyptic hymn with a millennial meaning attached to it. It spoke of seeing the Glory of the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ Mt24:30. It told of the coming judgment upon the American Republic. Why was it called The Battle Hymn of the Republic? Who was fighting who? The hymn was a song of an America divided, in a bitter war over the issue of slavery; North against South, Brothers fighting against Brothers, killing and destroying each other! It spoke of God’s final righteous anger and vengeance upon a wicked and unrighteous people, the haters of Truth and of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ will wield His terrible swift sword of judgment against the evils of men. Re19:15 states ‘And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God’, and Je25:30; ‘He will thunder from His holy dwelling and roar mightily against His land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on earth’.

America’s day of judgment is soon coming, as God’s Truth is marching on. Jesus warned ‘Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish’ Lk13:5. This prophetic song is all about Jesus Christ, about His fierce judgment upon endtime America, about Jesus’ 2^nd Coming, and about His Glory and Praise! The refrain ‘Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!’ speaks of Jesus Christ returning triumphantly to earth, judging everyone with His Truth!

♫ The Battle Hymn of the Republic ♫

♫ Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord                          

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored,

He has loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword

His truth is marching on. 

♫ I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps              

They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps

I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps

His day is marching on.

♫ I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnish`d rows of steel,

As ye deal with My contemners, So with you My grace shall deal;           

Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel

Since God is marching on. 

♫ He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat

He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat

Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!               

Our God is marching on.

♫ In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,                         

With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:

As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,

While God is marching on. 

♫ He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,

He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;           

So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,

Our God is marching on.

♫ Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!

Glory! Glory!  Hallelujah! His Truth is marching on. ♫ 

A Further Biblical Interpretation of the Battle Hymn of the Republic

The Battle Hymn of the Republic speaks of the end of the American Republic. America’s days are numbered. God has weighed America in the balances, and it is found wanting Da5:27. Jesus is returning visibly in great glory Mt24:30, to deal out His great anger and wrath on a corrupt, immoral, ungrateful, and an unrighteous nation and people- the despisers of His Truth, and the despisers of Him (My contemners). Ps24:8 states ‘Who is this KING of GLORY? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle’. Jesus came to save the world Jn3:16, but America, a once favored nation, has rejected and forsaken Him. Jesus, the Word of God, will judge and smite America and also the rest of the world with His terrible sharp and swift sword Re19:13,15.

Jesus is: ‘the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel’. This is a prophecy God gave Adam in the Garden of Eden, that Jesus would crush Satan’s head with His heel Ge3:15, and Satan will be defeated Re20:2. The battle trumpet will sound, and we will all then appear before Christ’s judgment seat 2Co5:10.  Jesus died for our sins to make us holy Ro5:8. Finally, as the glory of the morning breaks out over the mountains Joel2:20, so will the glory of Jesus Christ be at His coming.

The day will come when Jesus will be on His Throne and the world will be His footstool Ac7:49! The Bible declares ‘Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.  Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth’ Ps96:11-13.  In short, this apocalyptic hymn is about the 2nd coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, about His righteous judgment upon America, the end of the present world, and about Jesus returning to establish His own kingdom and His Truth on the earth!

The Harbinger Speaks– Warning and Judgment to America

In his intriguing book, The Harbinger, a New York Times best seller, prophet and watchman Pastor Rabbi Jonathan Cahn parallels ancient Israel’s downfall and severe judgment by God, as soon to befall America, a nation whose leaders and people have turn their backs on God. Cahn cites what the prophet Isaiah wrote of Israel’s arrogance and defiance when God dealt with them, when the Assyrians invaded them in 723 BC. Instead of repenting for their national sins of idolatry and immorality, and seeking God’s forgiveness and help in rebuilding their land, the Israelites were determined to rebuild a better and stronger nation, albeit without God’s help!

In revealing Israel’s pride and defiant attitude, Is9:10 states ‘The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars’. Israel stated they will rebuild a stronger and better nation but without the need of God and to repent! Cahn likened America today to ancient Israel. After the 911 terrorist attacks and the fall of the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City on Sep. 11, 2001, America did not repent for long, but instead America continued to rebel against God, expelling God from its schools, government, states, military, culture, political and public life, even to this day! 

Strangely, right after the 911 attack, and over the years, two national leaders and Pres. Obama in 2009, quoted the similar words of Isaiah as in Is9:10. They all said ‘WE WILL REBUILD’ not knowing how prophetic their words were, as in the Old Testament. Like ancient Israel, the leaders said America will rebuild and become stronger and greater, but not acknowledging God’s judgment and chastisement!  Like fallen Israel, America was equally as arrogant with a defiant spirit, and is heading for a great fall!

Recently, Rabbi Cahn gave the keynote address at the Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast in Wash. D.C. Rabbi Cahn told the vast audience that there is a greater power than that of the President or the Congress of the United States. It is ALMIGHTY GOD, and unless we acknowledge God and return to Him, God will destroy America like He did ancient Israel. But ironically on that Same Day, in sharp contrast to Cahn calling America to repentance, Pres. Obama in his 2nd inaugural speech said he would be advancing ‘gay rights’ in America. 

On page 206 The Harbinger, Cahn stated that the Saint Paul’s Chapel was where America was first consecrated and dedicated to God on Apr. 30, 1789 in NEW YORK CITY. Coincidentally and strangely, it was also the exact location as ‘GROUND ZERO’ of the 911 terrorist attack 212 years later, the church owning the large property then! At a memorial service for the many 911 victims, on Sep. 14, 2001 at Saint Paul’s Chapel, the Battle Hymn of the Republic, which speaks of God’s judgment, was sung there!  The GROUND OF AMERICA’S CONSECRATION TO GOD had become the GROUND OF THE DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA’S FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC POWER- the collapse of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center!

Pr 14:34 declares ‘Righteousness exalteth a NATION: but sin is a reproach to any people’. Financially, America is now the WORLD’S GREATEST DEBTOR NATION- is BROKE and also BROKEN! America is now under God’s judgment, and unless she repents, the American Republic will soon collapse dismally, for her arrogance, immorality, and the sins of  her leaders and people! Thus, the ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’ written by Julia Ward Howe during America’s Civil War over 150 year ago is a prophetic song of America’s soon demise.