The Omega Times January 2008 - Turning the World Upside Down Part 1

The Omega Times

Turning the World Upside Down - Part I

January 2008

In This Issue

An Upside Down Message

An Inverted Soul

A World of Opposites

Pray Without Ceasing

"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."
I Thessalonians Chapter 5

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We want to invite you to join us in a continuous prayer vigil. Each person is being asked to select 1 hour every day to be in prayer, and to devote that time in prayer each day of the week. With everyone joining in from around the world, we can have continual prayer wrought 24 hours each day.

If you would like to submit a prayer request for inclusion in this effort, please feel free to submit it to our message board.

Ministry Quicklinks

MAKE A DONATION

Bible Study Messages

Frequently Asked Questions

Gideon's Trumpet

Turning the World Upside Down - Part I

"Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant." Isaiah 24:1-5

An Upside Down Message

"Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus." Acts 17:1-7

News of the Gospel - and the people's response to it - had reached Thessalonica even before Paul & Silas had. Their very presence in that city was enough to incite the people. The unbelievers (who could only find supporters amongst the lewd and base elements of the city) made two accusations; these men were: 1. Turning the world upside down , and 2. Honoring a King other than Caesar. It is the first accusation upon which we will focus.

When something is upside down, it is inverted to the point that what should be the upper or top portion is instead underneath or on the bottom. Nothing gives a clearer illustration of this paradox than to picture the human body. A body standing on its feet (which were created for the purpose of supporting the body's weight) is commonly acknowledged as being right side up. A body standing on its hands is upside down. Even though it is physically possible for one's hands to support the weight of the body, this is still considered being upside down because that is not the purpose of the hands nor the natural positioning of the body.
"Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way." Psalms 25:8

The way of the Lord, in contrast with that of sinners, is upright meaning directed upward, righteous, honest, or just. So, why did the unbelievers feel as if the Gospel was turning the world upside down? Because their perceptions, thoughts, and very way of living had become so alienated from God, that the message of truth seemed to be the complete opposite of everything they knew and believed. The Scripture tells us that the root cause of this is sin.

"The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down." Psalms 146:9

There is a dramatic collision that occurs when the soul of man is first impacted by the Gospel. Sin perverts the soul and turns it upside down, while the Gospel confronts the soul to set it right side up. To an inverted soul, even the upright message can appear wrong because sin:

Inverts the soul so that man becomes inwardly the opposite of what he was created to be;
Creates an upside down kingdom to that which God has ordained;
Makes man self-conscious instead of God-conscious so that he is led by his five carnal senses versus of the Spirit of God.

An Inverted Soul

Man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). One way in which this truth is seen is in the triune nature of man, reflecting the Trinity of God. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." I Thessalonians 5:23

Man is a spirit with a soul that is housed in a body. While a deeper analysis of this is not the focus of this post, the design of man, the structure of the family, and the order of the church are all established purposefully by God to mirror His nature and help us better understand who He is.

The Spirit, by submitting to the Father, allows the will of the Father to be expressed via the Son. Believers, by submitting to the Word of God, allow the light of Christ to be seen in the world. Wives, in submitting to their husbands, allow the identity of a father to be made manifest in the children. The soul, in being submitted to the Spirit, allows the personality of man to be expressed via the body.

The authority -> Conduit of authority -> Visible expression of authority

God -> Spirit -> Son

The Word of God -> The bride of Christ (the Church) -> The light of Christ

Husband -> Wife -> Children

Man's spirit -> Soul -> Body

God speaks to the spirit of man via His Spirit. When the soul of man, (the arena of desires, emotions, feelings, etc.) is in submission to and governed by his spirit, he can hear and do the works of God. Conversely, when the spirit of man is held captive by the soul, he cannot hear from God and the resulting expression is soulish, carnal and demonic. This inverted order results in confusion and constructs the beginnings of an upside down kingdom.

A World of Opposites

What is an upside down kingdom? It is a pattern of living that is the antithesis of what God has established. An inverted soul makes a man the opposite of what he was created to be, and as a result, he cannot understand God or operate in the role that God has ordained (I Corinthians 2:13-14).

The Scripture tells us that before Satan fell, his was an angel named Lucifer. When he rebelled against God, he became the opposite of what he was created to be. He was once the light bearer (Isaiah 14:12, Ezekiel 28:17), but he became the ruler of darkness (Ephesians 6:12). He was once anointed (Ezekiel 28:14), now he is accursed (Genesis 3:14). He was perfect in his ways (Ezekiel 28:15), he is now full of iniquity (Ezekiel 28:18). He was wise (Ezekiel 28:17), but now he is the purveyor of lies (John 8:44).

Notice however, that he still can appear as an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14). The impact of the fall changed foremost the inner make-up of his being; his character, his personality, his desires, etc. Satan is therefore depicted as a creation who was designed to be beautiful and full of light (and can still appear to be that way), but whose character has become the opposite of that. This is what Satan desires to do to mankind: turn the soul of man upside down so that he becomes the opposite of what God created thereby preventing fellowship with God.

Church, it is only the grace, presence, and power of God that sustains creation. It is God alone who preserves. Apart from God, separated from the source of life, all living things will begin to decay. This is true as well for mankind. Just like Satan, when mankind fell into sin, he too became the opposite of what he was created to be.

What happened in the Garden of Eden was a role reversal. Adam became submissive, taking the woman's role. Eve became the source of authority, taking the man's role. On the outside, they looked the same, but on the inside they had become corrupted, upside down. The helpmeet became the head; the head became a figurehead; and a rebellious, Adamic seed was sown the bloodline.

The changing of their character through sin reversed the order God had ordained and immediately put them at odds with God. In this state, fallen man will always try to hide from God's presence and justify his sin, just as Adam and Eve did. Out of order and unable to be led by God's Spirit, they were no longer God-conscious, but became self-conscious.

Through the fall of man, the seeds for an upside down kingdom were sown. In the next issue of the Omega Times, we will examine what the Bible defines as the upright position of mankind and how an inverted soul sets the stage for Satan's ultimate plan. This is not a futuristic plan; it is unfolding right before our eyes and the Church (now more than ever) needs to discern the times in order to avoid deception.

	The Next Omega Times:
	Turning the World Upside Down Part II When a Man Becomes a Woman At the Center of Self is a Sodomite

Contact Info

Omega Church & Ministries Center

Toll-free 1-866-316-6342

newsletter@omegaministry.org

Site developed and maintained by Remnant Publishing House