what we are dealing with --and what time it is

There are several layers of what we are dealing with. Like plywood, you really can't separate them anymore. They are now fused together whether we like to think of it this way or not.

Layer 1 Politics
Left, Right, Moderate, Republican, Democrat, Independent, and all the machinations, intrigue, and messiness that have been hallmarks of the political scene from the beginning. The strategies, the campaigns, the conflicts, and all the drama are exhilarating to some and disgusting to most. And most simply avoid it all with various preoccupations and entertainment. It's easier that way.

Layer 2 Ideologies
Man-made ideologies battle it out for influence and supremacy. Many are historically toxic, destructive, and counter to human nature and nature's God. Idealogical zealots leverage politics and political will to move their agenda into dominance. These ideologies are now being championed broadly by legacy institutions and the modern culture at large.

Layer 3 Religious/Cultic fervor
Idealogical zealots who have largely abandoned God, frame and impose their superior idealogy with a level of fervor and commitment usually associated with religious or cultic dedication. They are relentless and largely unmovable. They are not just politically or ideologically motivated, but culticly committed. True believers. Without the true God, it's all they have. It is life and death to them. They use politics married to toxic ideologies as their lifeline.

Layer 4 Demonic Influence
The spirit of the age uses all the above as pawns in his war against God, and God's people. He always has. He always will. But what is relatively new is that he is operating out from behind the curtains and is in full unbridled attack mode. Perhaps he is aware his time is short. And/or this is a period where God has withdrawn restraining grace in judgment on a people who are trying to live well without Him. Including professing Christians. Whatever the case, all the above are being fueled by heavy demonic influence.

It is hard to imagine the average person rightly sorting out issues and policies and governance with this layered opposition working so fervently in the opposite direction daily.

But there's more.

We are seeing the rise and domination of what I call a 7 headed leviathan, or hydra.

We no longer merely have 3 branches of government: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. None of which are currently operating constitutionally, which is really, really ominous. There is almost nothing left of an operative Constitution.

The fourth branch has been of concern since the framers established the Constitution: The unelected bureaucrat class.
They endure through every administration. They are the good ole boys at the statehouse. Eventually, they die off, but their replacements carry on in like manner, often doubling down. They ARE the swamp. Along with appointed leadership in thousands of agencies that have arisen the past 100 years. They and thousands of entrenched NGOs operate hand in glove to grift and turn America from a republic of citizens with a national identity and liberty to a borderless mass of subjects requiring to be managed and ruled over.

The fifth branch was warned about since Eisenhower. The military-industrial complex. Their influence and power cannot be overstated. The concern is not for their stalwart service in defending the country and developing an unrivaled military capability. The problem is the grift and propensity to manage and perpetuate forever wars with no definition for winning. It's very costly for young Americans who serve and die, and profitable for certain corporations.

The sixth branch of government is media and entertainment. Their corporate heads and leaders in government are now joined at the hip. They serve and benefit from one another. It is now a way of life for them. The examples are endless, and shameless.

The seventh branch is the top structure of both legacy corporations and recent mega companies across the spectrum in tech, medicine, education, and beyond. They are intrinsically in lockstep with woke government policies and government supports their efforts.

This is what we are dealing with. This is the replacement paradigm for a Constitutional republic, of by, and for the people.

What time is it?
Imagine Poland, France, Holland, Czechoslovakia, 1941-1942. Nazi-occupied. Would you have joined the resistance? It would have cost you. It would have been dangerous. It would have been easier not to. Just go along peaceably. And wait for the inevitable. You're only one person what can you do? Holland tried to be neutral. Ask Corrie Ten Boom at age 50. Arrested in Holland in 1944. Placed in Auschwitz and other locations.

Fortunately and unfortunately for us today, it is 1939. There is still some time. But very little.