Of all things in this fallen world, one thing that sets me into anger is Injustice and her evil-twin Double Standard. Brethren, this is our present reality in these last days. In my homeland, I have too often seen the full weight of government agencies with unlimited resources seek to utterly and completely destroy anyone they deem guilty, by any means necessary, and without fair due process. Conversely, we have seen the same officials cover the tracks of the truly wicked and watch as there is no justice meted out. The LORD God tells us this is an abomination to Him:

“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 25:13-15).

“Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 20:10).

“Diverse weights are an abomination to the LORD, And dishonest scales are not good” (Proverbs 20:23).

The definition in English of an abomination is, “a thing that causes disgust or hatred.” The Hebrew meaning is nearly identical, albeit in the Hebrew it is more amplified. We can see clearly that God hates and detests a double standard.

What of those who perpetrate such?

“He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 17:15).

You see, not only are the actions an abomination to the LORD, so are the actors of such actions. Uh oh, they are in real trouble, aren’t they? Some may say or think, “I’m glad I’m saved, and glad I will see justice done to them,” myself guilty as being one that thought that, until…  “And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?'” (Luke 9:54).

The Sons of thunder wanted to call fire down and destroy the Samaritan village for not receiving the messengers that the Lord sent ahead. Not unlike myself wanting God to send a righteous wrath upon the propagators of injustice and double standards. I’ll grab the popcorn and sit in delight as the wrath of God pours out over the sinners of mankind! “Yeah! Right on!” [bzzzzzzt] Error! Wrong answer, wrong attitude!

“But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, ‘You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’] And they went on to another village” (Luke 9:55-56).

Talk about a two-edged sword cutting into me. After that first-degree conviction, I just had to repent and bring it to the Lord.

You’re thinking “Brian, where are you going here? I thought this would be a rally speech tirade against all the double standards and the political toxicity we are being attacked with.”

Brethren, hear me here. All the shakings of the earth, the riots, the injustices, and double standards are designed by the powers of Hell to be a distraction to you. The adversary wants you distracted, it wants you not to effectively share Jesus’ salvation with the world, it wants you under the yoke of fear and misery so that you tune into the media as a drug that poisons you slowly. It is not interested in stopping there; it wants to kill you DEAD-DEAD-DEAD. Because he knows the time is short. Why do you think Peter tells us to be vigilant?

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

It would be like a security guard that is distracted, texting away on his cell phone and NOT watching the security camera. One can only imagine the consequences when the thief shows up. So then, while we are distracted, how can we be vigilant? I choose to focus my eyes on the Lord Jesus. I am not interested in being a can of big cat food for a lion trying to devour me as well as those I love (all of you).

I am not telling any of you to be uninformed at all. Just be careful and apprehensive as to whom is informing you. There is no shortage of media outlets that make a practice of “bearing false Witness” 24/7. I exhort you to not get emotionally caught up in the current events. Besides, we as believers have a book that tells the end from the beginning. NOTHING is more current than the Bible.

Now that we peeled off the distractions of the adversary, let us talk about wanting to call fire down on the unrighteous. Yes, true, we want to love what God loves and hate what God hates. However, we too were one of those deserving wrath! But, someone, somewhere shared that Gospel message with us. Praise the Lord that they did not want to call fire down upon us but instead chose to sow a seed of salvation within us. Praise God that He sent His Son to save us from God’s eternal wrath.

Of course, I advocate for judicial punishment of those guilty of crimes. I wish to see all lawbreakers have a fair and unbiased trial. However, as believers we know that bad is coming. A time will be upon us that the world will seek to destroy us. How can you not see the birth pangs of worldwide persecution of the church? Be ready for injustice and double standards to fall upon you for the sake of the Gospel.

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake” (Matthew 5:11).

Know that God will condemn all injustice by His righteous Judgment. Yes, by all means let righteous anger burn against injustice. But leave the calling of fire unto the Lord.

Keep in the Word. Be ready and vigilant always. Every day is a day closer to the end. One day the door will close, and time will run out for mankind. As individuals, we must always be prepared for death or rapture, whichever comes first. As ambassadors of Christ, we must be prepared to bring His Gospel to every ear who will hear. In these last days you do not need to fly off to a faraway mission field on the other side of the globe. Especially when the mission field is right outside your door.

We are in lifeboats awaiting a rescue ship that is coming. We do not know when it comes. But we do know it is coming. Do we celebrate, joyfully rowing about, knowing rescue is coming while the masses are drowning? Or, do we pluck as many as will come into the lifeboats with us?

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).

For too long I have fallen victim to complacency. God has helped me to repent and wake up. It is utterly amazing what God will do through you when you obey Him and surrender to Him fully.

Stop letting the noise distract you from your purposes of prayer, kindness, and witnessing. Get into His Word. Get into the fight! The hour is late and the workers are few.

Shalom,

Brian Lazewski

 

Revelation 13:16-17 “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

I have read the Book of Revelation many times, and this particular verse always stands out.

Often, I would wonder how this man, the Anti-Christ, would convince and force people to take the Mark of the Beast. I would think to myself how terrible it would be for those people living in the Tribulation to have to make a decision to either take the Mark or starve. I would thank God for saving me and be grateful that I would be Raptured before that time would come.

The world we live in has changed significantly since the last time I had this thought. The Corona Virus, this Virus of Fear and Death, has hit locally as well as, more importantly, globally. Unfortunately, when you see people in other countries dealing with terrible situations on television and on your phone, it doesn’t hit home until it comes to your neighborhood.

It started slow, a case here and a case there, but next thing we know, we are told it has hit every state in America. Whether the headlines are true or not on the number of cases, the fact that it has affected every state in America, and has shut down many small businesses and people’s livelihoods is significant and of Biblical proportion. Every day, Americans are concerned about their families and their friends. With this concern, people will do anything that they are told to stop the virus.

We have been told by the CDC and other organizations in America that one of the best ways to prevent the spread of the virus is to wear a mask while in public. Though wearing a mask started off as being a recommendation, in many states now in America, it has been mandated or heavily enforced in cities and local counties. Some local cities will even give you a citation for not wearing your mask. One important industry that has adopted this stance is the Food Industry. They have decided on their own or by the Health Department that you are required to wear a mask to enter. You cannot go into any grocery store or restaurant without being required to wear a mask.

Seeing everyone having to wear a mask to go into a grocery store to buy food for their family is for me when the light bulb went off. It is when the reality of Revelation 13:17 came to my mind: “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Just like we can’t go into a grocery store anywhere in America to buy food without a mask, at some point in the Tribulation, people will not be able to buy or sell without the Mark of the Beast.

Even if they try to buy food online, they will be denied without having the mark. Right now, there are so many YouTube videos of people harassed, or service refused to them for not wearing a mask. Many Americans are now policing each other to look for the Mark — the Mark of the Mask. Looking to see who is not being compliant with what has been told to us is the best way to save lives. People will do a lot, and put up with a lot when it comes to saving their lives.

This time is, as the Bible puts it, The Beginning of Sorrows and is just a preview of what the future will look like for people who are not Born Again of Water and the Spirit [meaning spiritual cleansing through Jesus]. When the saints of God are Raptured, the people still here will have to deal with more times of uncertainty and will have to choose whose side they are on. The most important thing right now that we can do is to get our lives right with Jesus.

In 2 Chronicles 2:14, it says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Right now, as the people of God, we need to follow the scripture; get on our faces, confess our sins, turn from our wicked ways, and ask God to heal our land. We need to encourage people to take this time to reset, to refocus, to recharge, and tell someone that Jesus is coming soon and we all need to be ready. Jesus is coming for a church without spot or wrinkle, and he is allowing us time to get ourselves together.

Though we may be marked with the mask, mark up that mask with scripture, let people know your testimony, make the best of this time while you still have time. Even though things are uncertain, the one certainty we have is that God is in control, and if he is allowing this, it’s because he knows something the Devil doesn’t know. Let’s trust in the God of our salvation, and his name is Jesus. Let the Mark of the Mask remind us that everything Jesus told us in the Bible is true, and we will see him soon for ourselves.

Maranatha!!

Lionel Peters

What Shall We Do Ministries Inc.

lionel@whatshallwedoministries.com