enig·ma
1 : an obscure speech or writing
2 : something hard to understand or explain
3 : an inscrutable or mysterious person

In the past few months, I’ve read two books on the Second World War, D-Day by Stephen Ambrose, and Second World War by Martin Gilbert. It’s been a lot of years since I’ve read much on that period of history, and there is a lot I don’t know about it. Much of what was previously unknown to me has to do with the Enigma machine, the device used by the Germans to encrypt military communications. The breaking of its code is key to the Allied victory. I’ve just begun a book on that subject, Enigma: The Battle for the Code by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore. However, when I was a student, I heard nothing about the Enigma, because it was still classified. As I understand it, the Enigma itself was declassified in the 1970s, and information about the code breakers and their work was classified until the 1990s.

The enigma machine used a complex system of mechanical and electronic functions to encrypt messages. The setting on the machine were changed periodically, so the encryption changed, as well. The recipient of the message had to have an Enigma at his end, and a key to tell him the current Enigma settings, in order to decrypt the message. In a pre-computer age, it was really an ingenious system, and one that kept a team of hundreds of code-breakers from several Allied nations scrambling throughout the war.

Well, I’m no expert on military history, and I’m only just beginning to get into this particular chapter. So what could be the point of bringing this up on this blog? Simply this: it’s got me thinking about how important communication is in battle, and how important it is to be able to decipher messages between command headquarters and the field.

We are in battle (Ephesians 6:11–13). Fortunately, we have not received an encrypted message. Other world religions keep their members dependent on a class of professional code-breakers to ensure that they get the “right” message. Even some ostensibly Bible-believing religions do this. For Roman Catholics, the “Church” is their Enigma key. But we have no need of an Enigma machine and key to decipher messages from God, nor do we need to know any secret code to communicate with him. We can speak plainly to him, and we can read his word to us in plain language. Certainly, we have difficulty with some passages of Scripture, and we are thankful for pastors and teachers who devote their lives to its study. But we can sit in our own homes and read our own Bibles, trusting the Holy Spirit to “guide [us] into all the truth” (John 16:12–15).

This is a great privilege, and one that is only enjoyed by those who are in Christ. I hope you will take advantage of it today.