At the end of this age, there will be the ultimate clash between light and darkness, good and evil, as we see in places like Isaiah 60. The light wins and the nations come to the light, not to the darkness. Our victory is inevitable if we will just abide in the Light.
Because we are told not to be ignorant of the devil’s schemes, we need to understand the purpose of the darkness in these times and how it gains the authority for a time at the end. One of the basic characteristics about evil that we can see throughout the Scriptures, and is verified through history, is that the basic strategy and ways evil seeks to seduce and bring destruction upon men are the same, just repeated over and over.
For example, we see in the Garden that the serpent was “crafty” (see Genesis 3:1). This word implies one who is always bending and stretching the rules to see how much they can get away with. Contrary to this, the true disciples of Christ are not always trying to find out how much they can get away with, but rather how to obey better. These are exactly contrary natures. We can expect as we get closer to the end of this age that these two natures will become increasingly distinct, and they will clash. Now is the time for us to repent of the craftiness in our own nature because it will surely cause us to fall if we do not.
Since we are covering current events, as the nature of the legislation presented under the current Administration becomes manifest, we see that it is through “craftiness” that our Constitution is being diluted and undermined. The Constitution is written in plain English, and modern laws are written in legalese, which is basically a code that only other lawyers can understand. Documents written in legalese become so long that no one has the time to read them. Proverbs 10:19 certainly applies: “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable,” or we might say that we can count on it when this is the case. In these huge volumes that laws have become, you can now find hidden within virtually each one measures that are like bombs waiting to go off at the right time, which are contrary to the Constitution.
One of the most basic ways that we can tell if someone has been truly delivered from the spirit of Babylon (confusion) is by clear speech, or clear communication. One way I started combating this in my own private little war against it was to require that any contract I sign be in plain English and with no unnecessary words. I learned quickly that a 24-page contract can be 4 pages or less without losing any real content. Reduce the words and you will reduce the potential problems and deceptions in it. No one should ever sign a contract that they have not read and that they cannot understand.
America has become the most legalistic society in the world, now producing about eight lawyers for every engineer. China and India produce eight engineers for every lawyer, which is one reason why they are starting to beat the U.S. economically. A major reason why other countries no longer want to do business in the U.S., and even American companies are leaving the U.S., is because of the legal minefield that America has become, with almost unlimited liability for and action on any product. This cannot last and is having a detrimental impact on everything from commerce to healthcare. If our government truly wanted to make healthcare affordable, it could cut the costs by at least one-third, and maybe by one-half or more, just by tort reform. However, tort reform should do more than just limit liability in lawsuits—to be truly effective it should rein in legalese to the point where anyone who signs a contract should be able to easily read and understand it.
It is a marvel how few words the Word Himself used and how powerful and concise they were. His Word is like a two-edged sword that cuts right to the point of the matter (see Hebrews 4:12). One of the ways that those whom walk in the Light are going to become increasingly distinguished from those in darkness will be the clarity of their speech vs. the confusion in others.
Political Correctness (PC) is one of the veils that is being cast over the West to the point where clear understanding is darkened. Consider this: In the infamous memo put out by the Department of Homeland Security about potential terrorist threats in America, it named Christians who believe the end-time prophecies in the Bible and veterans, but did not name Islamic extremists. Think about how skewed that is. When was the last time a Christian flew an airplane into a building or was a suicide bomber? Over the last half century virtually every major terrorist attack in the world came from one group, Islamic jihadists, and yet that group is not even named as a potential threat by our DHS. The recent bombing attempt in Times Square was by an Islamic jihadist, and yet when pressed, our President would not even acknowledge that he was Islamic, but rather boasted about how this attempt was stopped. It was stopped by a hot dog vendor! We would do well to fire the present leaders of DHS and put hot dog vendors in their places!
It’s a good thing that the hot dog vendor who saved Times Square was a veteran. It is not just a cliché, but our veterans are and always have been our finest citizens. They are the ones who have protected and preserved our country from the beginning. They fight the wars, going through unimaginable hell, and then come home and make the greatest leaders in just about every field because they know how to take on the hardest jobs and succeed. They also learn to make and take orders that are clear and succinct—they understand clear speech, and they, for the most part, profoundly understand what is happening in America now.
