In the whole of Europe during the middle-ages, less than 10 percent of the population were free men. “Serfdom is an institution that has always been commonplace for human society” (Wikipedia, “Serfdom”).

Yet, liberty seems to be an innate desire in human beings. The quest for liberty is what drove many of the early colonists to North American shores. The nation was forged and established on ideals of individual liberty; liberty that had been largely denied in places from which the pilgrims had come.

Yet, the awful stain of slavery burdened the national conscience, even as the nation was being founded on the ideal of liberty. Although the Declaration of Independence had stated that “all men ... are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ... among ... [them] liberty,” liberty was denied to many Americans by the despicable, vile, unconscionable institution of slavery. Although most slaves in this country were of the black races, some were American Indians, and even a few whites were also enslaved (Wikipedia, “Slavery in the United States”).

Slavery grossly violated the principle of liberty on which the nation was founded, and should have violated the conscience of every person who had a heart. Sometimes slavery has been romanticized, whitewashed and sanitized in the popular media. Such films as Gone With the Wind come to mind.

But the romanticized slavery of popular imagination is nothing like the real slavery experienced by those who were so oppressed. Real slavery was inexpressibly brutal, oppressive, cruel, and evil in the extreme. And even where there was an occasional relatively benign slave master, slaves were still slaves. They were anything but free.

Legal slavery in the United States was finally abolished through a bloody civil war in which about 600,000 Americans died. Abraham Lincoln expressed the view that the Civil War was divine punishment for the sin of slavery. In his second inaugural address he spoke of “this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offense [of slavery] came.”

Despite the stain of slavery on our national record, the United States and other English-speaking nations have been bastions of liberty for more than 200 years; liberty of a kind rarely matched in human history.

But the liberty that was instrumental in forming the basis for the remarkable blessings and prosperity our peoples have enjoyed for some 200 years is fast slipping away. We’ve turned our backs on the Creator who is the author of every blessing, including liberty.

Scripture warns us where our sins will lead if we do not repent. “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you...” (Deuteronomy 28:47-48). Other Scriptures give more details of the slavery that awaits our peoples unless we repent.

After a brief period of punishment, mercifully, God will redeem our peoples out of captivity and restore their freedom. The fall festivals of God, the Feast of Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day, picture in various ways the ultimate liberty – not only of physical Israel, but of all peoples and nations who are willing to learn God’s way of life. “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land” is one of the themes of these festivals (Leviticus 25:10).

For more information about the remarkable and exciting future awaiting our planet, read our informative booklets The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy and The Holy Days: God’s Master Plan.