Abolitionism and the Gospel of God

Bringing about a Clash of Absolutes

Abolitionists embrace a certain bold posture in the face of evil and utterly reject the widely accepted, largely ignored, or complacently permitted injustices that most people choose to ignore. Abolitionists make a point of bringing darkness out into the light of day, or rather, of shining light in the darkness that is already there.

We seek to contrast two visions of reality and morality and demonstrate how one vision, the Christian view, centered on God, leads to the Humane and dignified treatment of human beings, while the other view, centered on man, leads to the inhumane and undignified treatment of human beings.

We strive to provoke a clash of absolutes between the Gospel of Christ and the worldly wisdom of man. The goal of all abolitionist movements is the redemption of man from the dominion of man. At the root of all abolitionist movements you will find the presence and power of two interrelated propositions. The first is that human beings are created in the image of God and created to reflect that image. The second is that the Creator Himself became a man in order to rescue mankind from self-destruction, death, and eternal separation from God, from himself, and from his own kind.

As a movement we are Gospel centered. This is a Gospel driven movement. We are committed to an unfettered, untainted, uncompromising adherence to the Good news that Jesus Christ is Lord of heaven and earth and stepped down into space-time-history to redeem a lost, wandering, and wicked people from sin, certain death, and eternal separation from God. We are abolitionists because we have been adopted by God. Our work is biblically mandated and sovereignly ordained. We are called to be salt and light in a darkened, and defiled world; we are commanded to care for the fatherless and bring justice to the oppressed and preyed-upon. We have been exhorted to expose deeds of darkness, and destroy all speculations raised up against the knowledge of God. We are exhorted to rescue the weak from death, snatch the falling from flames, and hold back the stumbling from the slaughter. At the heart of all that we do as abolitionists, as the people of God, is the Gospel call and cry, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at Hand!”

What drives abolitionism is a desire to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). We seek to bring justice to the fatherless and help to the helpless (Isaiah 1: 16-17). Our desire is to consistently practice what the New Testament calls pure and undefiled religion: to look after the orphaned and widows in their affliction, and to keep ourselves unstained by the world (James 1:27).

We are Gospel-Centered

We are a Gospel-centered society, a Gospel-driven movement. We are committed to an unfettered, untainted, uncompromising adherence to the Good news that Jesus Christ is Lord of heaven and earth and has stepped down into space-time-history to redeem a lost, wandering, and wicked people from sin, certain death, and eternal separation from God. We are abolitionists because we have been adopted by God. Our work being biblically mandated and sovereignly ordained, we are called to be salt and light in a darkened, and defiled world; we are commanded to care for the fatherless and bring justice to the oppressed and preyed-upon. We have been exhorted to expose deeds of darkness, and destroy speculations raised up against the knowledge of God. We are exhorted to rescue the weak from death, snatch the falling from flames, and hold back the stumbling from the slaughter. We are against the world, for the world. And we can only do any of this through Christ who strengthens us. It is because of his finished work on the cross that we are able to be more than conquerors. True Social Justice begins and ends with the Gospel of God.

Supreme above all philosophies, all isms and ideologies, is the fullness of the Gospel of God; (that God himself stepped down into human history as Jesus Christ, conceived in the womb of a young unmarried woman who did not choose to be with child or plan on being a mother, to live a sinless life before wicked man whom he came to die for, and redeem from the just wrath of God against sinners. It is the will of God that all men might come to know Him, and in the fullness of time, Christ Jesus has made this possible). The Gospel above all else possesses the capacity to mobilize human action, motivate moral behavior, and mandate consistent compassionate social justice. It is the answer to all of societies ills and injustices. It is the bulwark against an ever increasing inhumanity of man against man. It is the Gospel alone that will end human oppression and redeem mankind from the dominion of evil powers and sinful man. It is the wellspring of love, hope, and joy. The actual foundation for justice. And the real answer to abortion.

This is no mere adoption of the rhetorical power of Christian ideology. We are not trying to gain the ear of church people with our religious appeals or use biblical language to attract fellow believers. We actually believe this is true, and we have put all our hope in it.

We are putting our Faith in Action

“Christianity asks us not merely to be generally religious and moral, but to believe specifically the doctrines, to consume the principles, and to practice the precepts of Christ.” -William Wilberforce

As Wilberforce believed that Christianity must be outwardly practiced and not just preached, we see our work as part of the general call upon all Christians to be salt and light in this depraved and darkened world. If Christians hold a belief to be true, such as the belief that all human beings are loved by God and possess inherent worth, we  believe that Christians are obliged to act on such beliefs. We believe that Christians are called to not only “abhor evil and hold fast to what is good” (Romans 12:9) but also to expose it (Ephesians 5:11) and destroy the ungodly  speculations which allow and encourage it (2 Corinthians 10:5).

We believe, along with another of our heroes Dietrich Bonhoeffer, that, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

But the key to all our action is simply living out the precepts of Christ. Just as Wilberforce believed when he wrote, “My intent is not to convince the skeptic, or to answer the arguments of those who claim to oppose the fundamental doctrines of our faith, but to point out the scanty and mistaken ideas of most orthodox Christians, and to contrast their defective theological scheme with what I consider to be real Christianity.”

Our intent is one and the same.

We are simply attempting to answer the question: What does Christianity look like in a culture that practices Child Sacrifice? And put our answer into action.

A common objection from many within the institutional Protestant church today when confronted with our message of abolition is to ”keep the main thing the main thing.” They often claim that the work of the church is to fulfill the Great Commission, plain and simple and not to muddle about with “social justice” causes. The result of such reasoning is an abundance of professedly “pro-life” churches that spend substantially more time and money running programs, paying the salaries of professional clergy, and maintaining landscaping, than they do exercising true religion (Jas. 1:27). With few exceptions the visible and professing church of Jesus Christ in America currently does little more than offer token expressions of opposition to the greatest and most dehumanizing evil of our age. A frequent justification of this abandonment of true religion is to hide behind the supposed “work of the Great Commission.” But a faithful examination of the Scriptures will confirm that just as faith without works is dead, so also is a “Great Commission” without the work of abolition.

The text of the Great Commission is as follows:

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:16-20, ESV) *Emphasis added

The Great Commission includes the work of evangelism and discipleship. This discipleship entails teaching the evangelized to obey all that Christ has commanded. And what has Christ commanded? A number of things, but if we must begin somewhere, the commandments that Christ identified as the two greatest, upon which depend all the Law and the Prophets, commend themselves to us.

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt. 22:34-40, ESV)

Certainly, if Jesus has anything in mind regarding which commandments should be taught, He has these greatest in mind. Throughout the Gospels, we see that our obligation to love our neighbor was one of the main emphases of Christ’s teaching ministry (Matt. 7:12, Luke 10:25-37, John 15:12-14,Matt. 25:31-46). So, if as part of the Great Commission, Christ commands that these two be taught, the question then arises: what do they entail?

If you love your neighbor as yourself, will you stand idly by while he is legally dismembered, even though he has committed no crime, and wronged no one? Will you stand idly by while two of your neighbors (in this country alone) are so butchered every minute? While 3500 neighbors are ripped limb from limb every day? Or will you content yourself with token expressions of opposition to this great evil? If you simply listen to one “sanctity of life” sermon a year, of what benefit is that? If you are a Christian, do you not already know that life is sacred? Have you not read that human beings are created in the image of God (Gen 1:27)? Are you so dull of mind and spirit that you need to be reminded once a year that murdering children is wrong? Do you not rather need to be exhorted to action? Where is the frequent and thunderous call from the pulpits to rise up as the Body of Christ and put an end to this great evil? Where is the resounding call to love justice, correct oppression, and take up the cause of the fatherless (Isa. 1:17)? Where is the rebuke of the carnal, the slothful, and the worldly weekly pew-fillers? Where is the call for such to repent of their sins and begin the exercise of true religion (Jas. 1:27)? The silence of our pulpits is so deafening that it could shatter every stained glass window, flip every pew, and wake every dead man from his grave.

You, who claim to follow Christ – do you love your neighbor as you love yourself? If you were in the place of your preborn neighbor, being led to the slaughter, would you find what you do for them sufficient? Is simply “voting pro-life,” attending pro-life rallies, listening to sanctity of life sermons, and occasionally donating to crisis pregnancy centers the sum of loving your imperiled preborn neighbor as you love yourself? If the scalpel were even now at your throat, would you truly feel loved by those who do nothing more than warm the pews of the churches to prevent your death?

If we love our preborn neighbors as we love ourselves, then we will not rest until abortion is abolished. We will not cease to agitate our culture and assist our neighbors until the blood of the most helpless and innocent members of our society ceases to flow as a river through this land. If we love our neighbors as we love ourselves – that is, if we actually do more than pay lip service to the commandments of Christ – then we can do no less. And if we actually seek to do something more than make a complete and total mockery of the Great Commission, then we will teach and exhort our brothers and sisters in Christ to do the same.

As part of the Great Commission, Christ commands us to teach all that He has commanded. If you think that you are obeying Christ by “keeping the main thing the main thing,” but do not teach and exhort others to love their preborn neighbors as they love themselves and save them from the slaughter, you are not teaching them to observe the second greatest commandment. And if you are not teaching them to observe this commandment, then you are not teaching them to obey all that Christ commanded. And if you are not teaching them to obey all that Christ commanded, you are not being faithful to the work of the Great Commission.

If your version of fulfilling the Great Commission does not result in people repenting of their sins and turning to obey the command of Christ to love their preborn neighbors as they love themselves, then you might be working to fulfill the Mediocre Commission or maybe the “I’ll-Spend-My-Life-Propagating-The-Kind-Of-Faith-That-Can-Exist-Without-Works” Commission. But certainly not the Great Commission. A “Great Commission” that does not produce the work of abolition is the dead commission of a workless faith.

If we obey the greatest commandment and love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mk. 12:30), then what will be our response to the legal dismemberment of the most innocent bearers of God’s image in our country, not once but 3500 times a day? Are you willing to fight as hard to abolish the legalized slaughter of human children in your country as you are to fight against alcohol consumption in your denomination? Are you willing to oppose the practice of human abortion with the same tenacity with which you oppose theological liberals? Are you willing to fight even harder than that? If you are willing to spend thousands of hours toiling to fight for a particular doctrine and ensconce it as a denominational standard, should you not be willing to spend hundreds of thousands of hours toiling to abolish a practice that violently and ruthlessly desecrates the image of the God you claim to love, serve, and worship?

You cannot claim to love God while offering only token expressions of opposition to entrenched and celebrated evil against his very image. You cannot claim to be faithfully obeying the Great Commission, if those you convert and disciple have little desire to obey the greatest commands of Christ in the most crucial arenas. Examine yourself, lest you find yourself travelling over land and sea to make converts that are twice as much the sons of hell as yourself. Stop making a mockery of the Great Commission, as if a faith that does not produce obedience is a faith that can save. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded! Grieve, mourn and wail! Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom! Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.

If you seek to obey the Great Commission, do so rightly. Proclaim the unadulterated Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Command faith and repentance. Teach and exhort obedience to all that Christ has commanded. Make disciples that love what God loves, and hate what God hates. Make disciples who desire to seek justice, correct oppression, and take up the cause of the fatherless child who is murdered 3500 times a day in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

We will not rest until we have effected the abolition of wanton child sacrifice. The love of Christ compels us. We can do no less.

Abolitionists aim to transform this wicked culture and society, by the grace of God, with the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah and His holy law. To all those who repent of the wickedness of their heart, thoughts, and actions, and who put their trust solely in Jesus, the Gospel offers forgiveness, eternal life, and freedom from sin. The Lord Jesus, who chose to leave the glory of Heaven, who came to Earth as an embryo, who grew up clothed in human flesh, who taught truth, love, and grace, who died on the cross at the hands of evil men, and who rose victoriously from the dead on the third day as He had predicted, is the focus of the abolitionist’s life and work. It is out of love for Him that we obey his command to love our neighbor as ourselves.

The Word of God declares that all men and women are guilty of sin before God.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

That all will stand before God to be judged.

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. Hebrews 9:27

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. Revelation 20:11,12

That God has only one acceptable payment for sin.

… and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Hebrews 9:22

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. Leviticus 17:11

But not any blood will do. The blood must be acceptable to God. All of mankind finds themselves in a seemingly impossible predicament. We are guilty sinners. The Judge stands ready to execute his judgment. We are unable to render any payment for our crime.

But there is Good News! God ALSO loves us … and He has made provision for us through His only Son, Jesus Christ.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. John 3:16a

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”  Ephesians 2:4,5

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.Romans 5:8,9
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. I John 1:7a

Jesus Christ is the only way by which men can be saved.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. I Timothy 2:5

God calls all men to repent and believe on Jesus Christ. This is faith. It is the one act of man that is not a meritorious work.

…testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 20:21

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. II Peter 3:9

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:8-10

We are saved by grace through faith and not by works.

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.  Romans 3:28

For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. Romans 4:3-5

But true faith is always evidenced by works.

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. James 2:14-18

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. James 1:27

Upon being born again, believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:37-38

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Romans 8:15-16

The Gospel of Jesus Christ saves men from God’s eternal judgment and from sin’s power in their lives today.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. John 8:31-34

But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. Romans 6:22

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:24

The Scriptures declare that salvation from eternal judgment comes by faith and that the righteous live by faith in the promises of God.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

The reality of this good news, the truth of the Gospel, provides the impulse and foundation for all that we do. We have been transformed by the Gospel and by it’s truths are compelled and enabled to transform the world we live in. Because of the Grace we have received in Christ Jesus and the power and freedom we now possess in knowing and abiding in Him, we cannot remain silent. As ambassadors of Christ, we implore you to be reconciled to God. If you do not know the Lord, we urge you to repent of your sins and turn to Christ, trust in Him, and be baptized into His Name.

Yes, we believe that the going forth of the good news of Jesus Christ as King is the answer to abortion and the key to abolition.

There are many people who understand on an intellectual and scientific level that the preborn are humans worthy of protection, and because of that understanding hold a pro-life position right up until they find themselves in a difficult or painful situation, or with a need to cover up sin. Just like there are many people who are opposed to adultery or divorce until their own marriage gets hard enough or painful enough or they meet someone wonderful enough, and suddenly their personal circumstances justify what they once opposed (or in some cases still oppose).

As Christian Abolitionists we believe that we are called to go out into the whole world calling every man and every nation to repent and follow Jesus Christ as Lord. This is in contrast to pro-lifers who believe that the call to repentance and gospel of Christ’s Kingdom is to be preached and applied to individuals alone.

For instance, the protestant-led ecumenical pro-life think tank and training seminar provider “Life Training Institute” sums up the pro-life movement’s views on the applicability of the gospel to abortion ministry in saying, “We are called to personal holiness; our nation is not called to be subservient to God. It’s significant that Jesus came to preach personal holiness, not to reform Roman society. In fact, they said “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21, NASB). The Gospel is the antidote to sin in a believer’s life; it is not the key to reformation of society. For that, we must work through the political process.”

We disagree.

We believe that nations that practice and protect child sacrifice will be judged by the Living God. We do believe that they can turn to Christ and honor Him as King. We do believe that the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is the key to reforming society. The GOSPEL is THE ANSWER to all sin, individual and national! And we have been commissioned to bring that Gospel into every nation of the world and to announce the triumph of Jesus Christ over sin and death and the coming of the Kingdom of God as we call all men everywhere to repent!

This belief in national repentance and the power of the Gospel to remove evils has been central to abolitionism for the past 300 years.

We understand that a majority of the people in our nation believe that choosing to believe the Gospel is just a personal private matter and never think twice about what the Gospel has to do with the Nations of this fallen world, and we are fully aware that the Word of God states very clearly that those who embrace worldly wisdom over and above the principles and plan of God will call the Gospel foolish, but to see these views promoted by professing apologists of the Christian faith is deeply troubling. Its not that men like Clinton Wilcox (writer of the statement referenced above) reject the gospel or disbelieve in the Gospel, they just choose to put the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ on the back-burner when it comes to grave national evils like child sacrifice because they think it is powerless to affect moral transformation, cultural renewal, revival, or national repentance.

We agree with Paul Washer who explained, “When someone tells me, ‘Yes, we need to have a high view of God and we need to preach the gospel this way—just like you said, it’s biblical—but… that just won’t work.’ What you need to realize is that it never would ‘work!’ That is the mystery of the gospel! It is something that won’t work—except that God has ordained it, and the Spirit of God is behind it!” —Paul Washer

As we wrote in our “Declaration of Abolitionist Sentiments”:

“Our trust for victory is solely in God. While we may be personally defeated and beaten down, our principles will never be, for they rest upon God’s infallible Word. Truth, Justice, Reason, and Humanity must – and will – gloriously triumph over the evil of our age. …Under the guidance and by the help of Almighty God, we will do all that lies within us to abolish human abortion, to deliver our nation from its deadliest curse, and to secure to the pre-born all the rights and privileges that belong to them as image-bearers of God. By the blood of the lamb and the word of our witness, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in His Providence and in accordance with his plan, we shall crush the dragon abortion beneath our feet (Rev. 12:1, Rom. 16:20).In the name and power of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and maker of man, who Himself became a human embryo within the womb of a young, unmarried, woman who had not chosen to be “with child” (Matt. 1:18), – we will destroy this work of darkness and effect the total abolition of human abortion. For to Christ belongs all authority in Heaven and on Earth. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom one that shall not be destroyed (Matt. 28:18; Dan. 7:14).Of the increase of His government and of peace, there shall be no end (Is. 9:7).”

The pro-life establishment may choose to believe that the people of God must compromise with national evils and that the Gospel is powerless when it comes to seeking justice and showing mercy in a nation at large, but we have read the Word of God and we know that the Gospel is not just about individuals but nations, and the destruction of every work of darkness. We know and are witness to the ways in which Jesus Christ is making all things new. We are His ambassadors. We are members of His helpmate bride. If we choose to shelve His Gospel when it comes to national sins and the practice of Child Sacrifice, can we really claim to know or believe in Him?

The movement to abolish human abortion is born of God and will be part of Christ’s victorious triumph in the world. For we truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God; that He has set us free; that He has conquered death; that he is making all things new and that the victory is already won!

By the blood of the lamb and the word of our witness, we are overcoming the world and its darkness. We are not waiting on the rapture or holding pessimistic training seminars while the world goes to hell in a hand-basket. We are going to war!

We are not those who shrink back or console one another other with worldly theologies that state there is no promise of success or possibility of abolition. We know that sin and death will remain until the full blown return of our King, but we can and will establish justice for the fatherless in our lands and bring them under the protection of our laws. We will criminalize child sacrifice and put an end to the legal protection and practice of all destructive and dehumanizing practices being cried out against the littlest and least of our neighbors and fellow image bearers. We have plows in our hands, seeds to cast all around us, and we will work as long as the day last.

We strive toward our goal in the knowledge that we follow a mighty King!

The helpmate bride of Christ is rising up and every day our enemies expose themselves to the growing light. While many still appear to the masses as angels of light seeking to mislead and discourage the saints, they will not get very far. There is a remnant of true believers in this land and we have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to guide us.

The Son of God has gone to war! He leads His people to the gates of the dragon’s lairs and fortifies them as they tear down the speculations and high places which protect them and call out the dim-light buildings in the valleys bellow them who tolerate their constant demonic slaughter.

All around us there are people telling those who would take up the battle cry “Abolish Human Abortion!” to settle down, get the best that they can get, and to just doing what they have been doing for the past 40 years. Yet our numbers are ever growing and even the losses we incur as a result of these meddling and divisive spirits only strengthen our fellowship and resolve.

On behalf of the weak, and in the name of Jesus Christ, we will overcome.

We carry HIS banner and trust in HIS Might. Of course we will win!

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Isaiah 9:2-7.