Satans Upside-down Kingdom

We Christians often use the phrase 'upside-down kingdom' to describe the Kingdom of God. A realm where the rich are poor, the weak are strong and the last are first. A kingdom where you give to receive and surrender to win.

I woke up today to the Kingdom I am living in. Satan is described in the bible as the 'Prince of this World' (John 14:30). His Inverted kingdom has its own hallmarks.

1. Immorality becomes a virtue (Rom 1:32)
2. Slavery (to sin) becomes Freedom.
3. The chosen are ostracized
4. Judgement is passed on the Judge.

C. S. Lewis once wrote about the devils tactic of making people think that he did not exist. The next step in this tactic was to ensure, when he was acknowledged, that he was portrayed he was a cartoon figure of fun. So no one would take him seriously.

In a natural progression to his return to the shadows, he has manipulated the world that you and I inhabit not into the moral wasteland that us saints might have imagined he wanted to create on earth. No. The usurper is cleverer than that. He has carefully fostered a world (in which we find ourselves)  that contains a new kind of morality, one he thoroughly endorses. As he comes as an angel of light, and as the antichrist comes as a man of peace, he has dressed his morality in thoroughly reasonable and compassionate language. It is sweet to the ears. He speaks of equality and fairness. Sweet on the tongue but bitter to stomach. The only equality he really seeks is equality with God himself, the only fairness he wants is what he sees as his due. Last time he tried that, he got kicked out of heaven.

In this new world we see sexual immorality championed at every turn. We see families and communities ravished by divorce, faction and separation in the name of freedom and the search for 'love'. We see Gods chosen berated and attacked from every side. We see the abandonment of Hell, we see Israel vilified and theologically written off, and the people God made sit in Judgement of God, himself.

No wonder James said 'friendship with the world is enmity with God'.

The spirit of the age is everywhere.

This isn't the kind of thing I write about very often. I don't like to think about this kind of stuff. I like an easy life. Maybe I want to stay asleep, but no more.

The problem is that all his new morality is dressed up with arguments that pull on our heartstrings, particularly in  areas regarding homosexuality. I don't think we should ever abandon compassion. But we should never play compassion off of holiness or righteousness. Mercy and righteousness meet at the cross without either of them being compromised in the slightest. That is where we need to be living in all of our dealings, in all our attitudes, in all our beliefs.

We in the west stand on the precipice of a very dangerous time. Everything is poised for Satan to pull the rug out from underneath us Christians. We need to make sure we are not standing on the false security of our soft rug, on the democratic freedoms we have enjoyed hitherto. Time is coming when your allegiance to Christ above all else is no longer tolerated by the government you voted for or the society you live in.

We need to be standing on the solid rock of Christ.