Editor’s Note: Watch for updates to this story from Charisma News as more charismatic and other faith leaders respond to Ginsburg’s death.
With the presidential election only weeks away, the passing of long-time Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Friday night will certainly spark both major spiritual and political implications for America.
Some kingdom leaders believe that the fact her death occurred on Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish New Year and the first of the Jewish High Holy days, gives it special significance. The first Jewish woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court, Ginsburg died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87. She served 27 years on the high court.
Author, radio host and speaker Dr. Michael Brown, a Jewish believer in Jesus, tweeted of Ginsburg’s death:
“The timing of the passing of Justice Ginsburg (immediately before the beginning of the Jewish New Year, the biblical day of the sounding of the shofar) strikes me as an overwhelmingly sobering, significant event. May God’s kingdom be advanced & may He comfort the grieving family.”
The timing of the passing of Justice Ginsburg (immediately before the beginning of the Jewish New Year, the biblical day of the sounding of the shofar) strikes me as an overwhelmingly sobering, significant event. May God’s kingdom be advanced & may He comfort the grieving family.
— Dr. Michael L. Brown (@DrMichaelLBrown) September 19, 2020
Prophet James Goll, the founder of God Encounters Ministries and host of God Encounters Today on the Charisma Podcast Network, believes the timing of Ginsburg’s death is most compelling.
“The passing of the first female Jewish Supreme Court Justice on the first Day of the New Hebrew Year is quite significant. It makes these national elections all the more paramount.”
The passing of the first female Jewish Supreme Court Justice on the first Day of the New Hebrew Year is quite significant. It makes these national elections all the more paramount. https://t.co/NWA9KyDBCc
— James Goll (@JamesGoll) September 19, 2020
While he didn’t specifically refer to Ginsburg, prophet Dutch Sheets says he believes God is moving mightily in this time, despite the evil that has prevailed in our nation, especially over the past year. Sheets says believers should cling to the hope that the light is on its way.
“Don’t judge what God is doing in the nation based on what you see naturally! All of the chaos is making people desperate for Jesus. Historically, things grow very dark before awakening comes; the darkness motivates someone to pray. Declare with me: Awakening is coming to America!”
Don’t judge what God is doing in the nation based on what you see naturally! All of the chaos is making people desperate for Jesus. Historically, things grow very dark before awakening comes; the darkness motivates someone to pray. Declare with me: Awakening is coming to America!
— dutchsheets (@dutchsheets) September 19, 2020
Senior Pastor Ché Ahn, whose church, Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, California, has come under persecution by the state of California for continuing to meet despite COVID-19 restrictions, says Ginsburg’s death will only elevate the already heated issue of abortion in the United States.
“In the wake of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, the spotlight is once again on the 1973 landmark Roe vs. Wade ruling regarding abortion rights,” Ahn said.
In the wake of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, the spotlight is once again on the 1973 landmark Roe vs. Wade ruling regarding abortion rights.#roevwade #abortion #1race4life
— Ché Ahn (@che_ahn) September 19, 2020
The day after Ginsbug’s death, John Hagee, senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, tweeted: “A constant theme of goodness must run deep in all of us in order to set ourselves up as representatives of Christ in the political and social arenas.”
A constant theme of goodness must run deep in all of us in order to set ourselves up as representatives of Christ in the political and social arenas.
— Pastor John Hagee (@PastorJohnHagee) September 19, 2020
Notable Jews drew upon a tradition that holds that a person who passes on Rosh Hashanah is blessed with a special significance. In a story on usatoday.com on Friday, book critic Ruth Franklin is quoted in a tweet as saying, “According to Jewish tradition, a person who dies on Rosh Hashanah, which began tonight, is a tzaddik, a person of great righteousness.”
The story also included a tweet from NPR reporter Nina Totenberg, who wrote, “A Jewish teaching says those who die just before the Jewish new year are the ones God has held back until the last moment bc they were needed most & were the most righteous.”
A Jewish teaching says those who die just before the Jewish new year are the ones God has held back until the last moment bc they were needed most & were the most righteous. And so it was that #RBG died as the sun was setting last night marking the beginning of RoshHashanah
— Nina Totenberg (@NinaTotenberg) September 19, 2020
Jemar Tisby, a Christian African American historian, writer and speaker, tweeted that Ginsburg spent her judicial life seeking justice for the downtrodden in America: “MLK said, ‘It may be true that the law cannot change the heart, but it can restrain the heartless.’ Many of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s decisions helped restrain the heartless and promote justice for the oppressed. Condolences to her loved ones and prayers about the future of the Court.”
MLK said, “It may be true that the law cannot change the heart, but it can restrain the heartless.” Many of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s decisions helped restrain the heartless and promote justice for the oppressed. Condolences to her loved ones and prayers about the future of the Court
— Jemar Tisby (@JemarTisby) September 18, 2020
The leader of the liberal wing of the court, Ginsburg took pride in her Jewish heritage, as she expressed nearly a quarter century ago. The Jerusalem Post reported Friday, quoting Ginsburgh in a speech she made to the American Jewish committee in 1996: “‘I am a judge, born, raised and proud of being a Jew,’ said Ginsburg. ‘The demand for justice, for peace and for enlightenment runs through the entirety of Jewish history and Jewish tradition. I hope in all the years I have the good fortune to continue serving on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States, I will have the strength and courage to remain steadfast in the service of that demand.'” {eoa}