In September 2020, religious-right activists gathered on the National Mall for an event dubbed "The Return." Questionably timed to coincide with the presidential election, End Times author Jonathan Cahn brought together dozens of prominent right-wing activists ranging from James Dobson and Pat Robertson to former Rep. Michele Bachmann and Alveda King for a day-long prayer event that was designed to elect conservative Christians to office in effort to bring about revival "through the ballot box."
The 2020 election results were not what organizers had hoped, but that has not stopped Cahn and company from announcing a follow-up event dubbed "The Renewal" which is to be held in Florida in January.
While claiming that "this is not a political event," the speaker's list is filled with right-wing political activists and conspiracy theorists, including Cahn, Bachmann, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell, David Barton, Kent Christmas, Rep. Louie Gohmert, and more.
A promotional image posted on right-wing pastor Kent Christmas' Facebook page suggests that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may also be participating, along with Ben Carson, Rick Scarborough, Jerry Boykin, and several other religious-right activists.
In a press release, organizers explain that the event is being held in hopes of freeing the United States from the "tyranny and oppression" they claim the country is currently experiencing and to save the nation from God's judgment:
“We have a spirit of oppression over America,” [Kevin] Jessip says. “In response, ‘The Renewal’ will re-covenant America back to the everlasting covenant our Pilgrim forefathers made with God in the Mayflower Compact. They dedicated America to God and the ‘advancements of the Christian faith.’”
A host of speakers in ministry, government, military, and entertainment will gather and share about America’s history, its spiritual foundations, and the importance of its covenant with God.
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“‘The Renewal’ is about restoring our covenant with God,” Jessip says. “It started with ‘The Return’ with repentance, now we’re going through reconciliation and restoration, which is renewing the covenant we broke with Almighty God. In ‘The Renewal,’ we are saying, ‘Lord, have mercy on us in the midst of the redemptive judgments happening.’
“The fires, plagues, floods, and everything we are seeing are no different than the redemptive judgments that ancient Egypt experienced known as the Ten Plagues of Egypt. ‘The Renewal’ is a reconciliation and restoration of the covenant, which is part of returning to God. It’s the next step. I believe after this renewal step that the revival is coming.”
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"When national sins overtake the majority in a nation’s population, as it did in the days of Noah, Scripture says the ‘cup of iniquity’ becomes full and often the ‘fullness of iniquity’ is a trigger which releases the ‘fullness of time,’ which historically, leads to a quick collapse of nations and empires,” Jessip says. “America is currently in the same series of parallel cycles and as we know history will often repeat itself.”
“So, in a nutshell, America’s ‘fullness of time,’ it’s ‘cup of iniquity,’ is so full that its teetering on the edge, and the things that happened in ancient Israel (before its destruction) are now happening in America, including plagues.”
