Imagine what it must have been like in our nation on July 8, 1776. Just four days earlier, delegates of the Continental Congress had adopted a document known as the Declaration of Independence. The tone of the document was somber. The declaration was taking a fledgling nation down a do-or-die path. It was an all-or-nothing proposal introduced with a profound reverence for the moment.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
Those words acknowledged that the decision to declare independence was not agreed upon without thoughtful, prayerful deliberation and consideration of what it would mean for the people. It wouldn’t be until August 10, 1776, that the news of this document would reach England, giving the colonists of this new country time to celebrate and prepare.
Twenty-four years before the Declaration of Independence would be created, something else was created that would literally ring in a new era: the Liberty Bell, originally known as The State House Bell.
“The bell was commissioned in 1752 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from the London-based firm Lester and Pack, later renamed the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, and was cast with the lettering “Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof”, a Biblical reference from the Book of Leviticus 25:10. The bell first cracked when rung after its arrival in Philadelphia, and was twice recast by local workmen John Pass and John Stow, whose last names appear on the bell. In its early years, the bell was used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens about public meetings and proclamations.”1
Statistics always interest me. The bell is composed of 70% copper, 20% tin, 10% other metals. The width of the bell is 3.82 ft (circumference is 12 ft around the lip, 7.5 ft
around the crown). It is 4 ft tall and weighs in a 2,080 pounds.
On this day in 1776, July 8, the bell rang from its home in the rafters of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, summoning the citizens to the first reading of the Declaration of Independence. I can only imagine the electricity that was in the air. A mixture of elation, fear, questions, and awe must have coursed through the crowd that day.
Freedom was announced by the ringing of the bell. But now, the fight is on.
If we could, let’s transport ourselves into the presence of the King of kings and the halls of Heaven. What does the sound of freedom sound like? Luke 15:8-10 says, “Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? (9) And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. (10) Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”
When was your declaration of independence announced in Heaven? When did the joyful celebration ring out for you? When the lost sinner repents and believes, it causes the announcement of freedom to be heralded throughout the portals of Glory!
But now, the fight is on.
The Regulars are coming! was a historical cry from the lips of Paul Revere. It is often falsely said that his words were, “The British are coming” but by his own account, that’s not what he said. Either way, it was a warning that the enemy was approaching.
Our declaration of independence through the shed blood of Jesus from Satan, Satan’s 
family, and the corrupt world puts us at odds with our former country. Should we not cry, “The Devil is coming! The Devil is coming!” The life of Christianity is not one of ease and leisure. It is one of constant spiritual battles.
Today, while we can celebrate the ringing of spiritual freedom, we must take to heart the words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 6:12. “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Bell
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
