From Cape Henry…
“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3 KJV)
“If the foundations [of a godly society] are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalms 11:3 AMP)
“What can the righteous accomplish when truth’s pillars are destroyed and law and order collapse?” (Psalms 11:3 TPT)
“Foundations” in the above verse is an important word; The Passion Translation uses the phrase “truth’s pillars” to communicate its meaning. The Hebrew word is shathah,(1) and can mean a literal foundation, base or support. However, it is often used figuratively. Strong’s says it can describe moral support; it can also mean the basis or foundation for something politically. Another of the figurative uses is “purpose” (Isaiah 19:10) because the purpose of something is the foundation of its existence, the “why.” In this verse, it is obviously being used in a figurative sense.
Applying these meanings to a nation - as this verse does - we could interpret it as a warning regarding a people losing purpose and abandoning the basis upon which its laws and government were built. If this purpose and its governmental roots are destroyed, the “building” will crumble.
Now you know why Marxists and progressives are revisionists. History matters. Not only does it inform and teach us, it supports and sustains us. America was founded on a biblical, Judeo-Christian foundation, not on other religions or dogmas. Remove this foundation, and America will be destroyed from within, falling under its own weight. This is now happening.
The only recovery for this type of structural problem is to repair and restore the foundation. This is why I teach on and ask God to reconnect America to our godly roots and purpose - our foundation. I sometimes visit places where the foundation was laid in order to repent and pray for America. I reconnect personally and by intercession - appealing to heaven for our nation. Today, I am at Cape Henry with my friends from Flashpoint on the anniversary of the Pilgrim’s landing here in 1607. They planted a cross on the beach, dedicated the land to God, and declared that the gospel would go from these shores to all the earth.
Appeal To Heaven is a phrase our Founders took from the writings of John Locke, an influential English philosopher from the mid-1600s. Locke wrote a series of papers on “Natural Laws,” stating that human rights originated with God, not with government.(2)
Locke made the case that when people have done everything humanly possible to experience those God-given rights and failed in doing so, there remains but one option:
“And where the body of the people or any single man, is deprived of their right or is under the exercise of a power without right, and have no appeal on earth, then they have a liberty to appeal to heaven…”(3)
Locke’s phrase, “appeal to heaven,” connotes that when all resources and the ability to attain justice on earth are exhausted, an appeal to earth’s ultimate Judge is the final recourse. This concept would become a foundational philosophy in American society, used even in the Declaration of Independence.”(4)
George Washington and his contemporaries used the Appeal to Heaven phrase in America’s cause for freedom from Britain’s tyranny. Having exhausted all peaceful possibilities of experiencing their God-given liberty, the colonists realized their only hope for freedom was through war. Yet with Britain’s great military, weaponry, and wealth, contrasted by the colonist’s dire lack of these resources, any military attempt to break free from British rule was preposterous, even laughable. Laughable, that is, unless Almighty God intervened.
The stance of the colonists was simple: their right to freedom came from God; if they honored Him, He would help them. “We will appeal to heaven!” they declared. And the Pine Tree flag was born, the Appeal To Heaven flag. Our Founders, however, not only believed God would help them, they believed He, too, wanted this new nation formed.
From the days of the pilgrims, godly men and women have believed Almighty God was involved in the birth of our nation. They also felt that if a nation chose to partner with and honor God, it would experience His favor and blessing in extraordinary ways. Washington and the colonial dreamers agreed. They believed the Sovereign was, indeed, birthing “A city [nation] set on a hill that can’t be hidden...a light to the world” (Matthew 5:14). They no doubt knew of John Winthrop, a leader of the Puritans’ Massachusetts Bay Colony, using this verse in his 1630 speech on board the Arbella to describe what he believed God wanted to build in America.(5)
The pilgrims believed America had a God-given destiny, and our Founding Fathers did, as well. They knew of the planting of the cross at Cape Henry in 1607 and of the ensuing prayer meeting dedicating the land to His glory. They had read the Mayflower Compact of 1620, stating the voyage was made “for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith….”(6) Would God honor these events and prayers? Even more importantly, was He inspiring these actions? Was America God’s dream, not just theirs? They believed the answer to these questions was “YES.”
Throughout our history, America’s presidents and leaders have also reiterated this belief. John F. Kennedy referenced Matthew 5:14 and Winthrop’s famous speech, as did Ronald Reagan and numerous other U.S. Presidents.(7) Though modern-day revisionists try to rewrite and remove this from our history, the foundation, the truth will always trump their lies.
General George Washington, leader of the American Revolution, obviously believed in this divine plan. He commissioned several ships for the Revolutionary War efforts and, highlighting their dependence on providential help, each vessel was to fly under the Appeal to Heaven banner.(8) The popularity of the flag spread, and was soon flying throughout the colonies, as well as being adopted as the flag of the Massachusetts State Navy. It became the symbol of these colonists’ unwavering spirit of liberty, as well as a clear statement of where they placed their faith.
America was born under a banner of prayer. Two hundred and fifty years later, God brought this banner out of hiding to serve as a stark reminder that our strength alone did not birth this nation. We were birthed by the hand of God. And we were born not just for our personal blessing and freedom; we were created to represent Christ around the world.
In our now spiritually weakened state, America must appeal again. Just as we were no match for the military power controlling us in that day, in our own strength we are no match for the spiritual powers controlling us now. Only that which birthed us then can rebirth us now: an appeal to heaven!
Pray with me:
Father, the way in which You raised up America as a voice in the earth is indeed remarkable. You did so to use her as a trumpet of the gospel to the ends of the earth. We are humbled and inspired by this.
We are deeply impacted by the knowledge that we were born under a movement of prayer, that it truly was through appealing to You that our freedom was produced. You have brought this flag, the Appeal To Heaven flag, out of hiding and are asking us to appeal once again. We are doing so and believe You will once again free us from oppression, this time from within. Overthrow the evil trying to destroy our heritage and destiny, our foundation. Overthrow those who defile our children and promote perversion. We bind these efforts in the name of Jesus! Just as our Founders stated in the Declaration of Independence, we are “Appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions.” Today, we do so from Cape Henry.
And so, Lord, we ask You to bring revival to America. We pray for Your church, the Ekklesia, to rise to the glorious level You speak of in Scripture: a worthy bride for You and an expression of Your authority on the earth. Make us an Ekklesia the gates of hell cannot prevail against, just as You said. We call this forth in the name of Jesus, and decree that America shall be saved! We ask and declare this in the name of the Lord Himself, Jesus Christ...Amen.
Our decree:
We decree that our appeal to heaven is being heard...and is rebirthing America!
Portions of today’s post were taken from my book An Appeal to Heaven.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
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James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 8356.
Laslett, Peter. “Right of Revolution: John Locke, Second Treatise, pp. 149, 155, 168, 207--10, 220--31, 240--43.” Electronic resources from the University of Chicago Press Books Division, https://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch3s2.html. Accessed 2 February 2021.
Ibid.
“Declaration of Independence: A Transcription | National Archives.” National Archives, 8 June 2022, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript. Accessed 2 August 2022.
John, Winthrop. A Model of Christianity. Sermon. 1630.
Bradford, William. "Of Plymouth Plantation." Manuscript: 1630-1650.
Van Engen, Abram C. Van Engen. City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism. Yale University Press, 2020.
Report of the Proceedings of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee at the Thirtieth Meeting, Held at Toledo, Ohio, October 26-17, 1898. F. W. Freeman, 1899, p. 80.