As I was waking up this morning, the Lord spoke to me and said, “There are those in the nation who have taken the bait of Satan.” I knew immediately the Lord was talking about the spirit of offense, because John Bevere wrote a book called The Bait of Satan and it addresses the issue of taking offense. Then the first verse that came to my spirit was Proverbs 18:19 which says, “An offended brother is harder to be won than a stong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle.” I agreed with God instantly because it is obvious that people have taken offense toward leaders and each other in our nation. The visceral hatred that is consistently pumped over the airwaves of our media, televisions, newspapers and the internet is obvious. The images and language are one of obvious offense and they have seeded the nation with their offense. Not everyone took the bait, but many did.  

The bait of Satan has blinded the eyes of the offended and created a stark demarcation not between political parties, races, genders or religions, but between the wicked and the righteous. You see the separation of the wicked and the righteous was not obvious before the bait was taken, because we had learned to live comfortably with the mixture of the righteous and the wicked. We called mixture unity and thought we were being so righteous, not knowing mixture is actually wickedness not righteousness. This did not happen overnight, it happened over time and now wickedness has gone from accepted, to shameless to mocking the righteous. The bait revealed who was wicked and who was righteous.  

Understanding what the bible calls wicked and righteous is critical, because the mixture gave us a cultural understanding not a biblical one. Synonyms for biblical wickedness are lawlessness, violence, sexual immorality, deceit, bitterness, sorcery, witchcraft, mocking, greed, hatred, murder, and many other things which can be found in Proverbs and Paul’s letters. Biblical righteousness can be seen in law, order, justice, forgiveness, integrity, purity, holiness, love, mercy, truth, grace, kindness, and many other manifestations. The contrast between the two is stark and easily identifiable.  

After the Lord showed me the separation that has taken place and has become obvious, I was transitioned in prayer to my prayer partner for the day Psalm 75. I did not know it would be a seamless transition, but God wanted to make it clear what He was saying and every step I took established His narrative very clearly to me. Psalm 75:2 says, “When I (God) select an appointed time, it is I who judge with equity” and verse 7 continues by saying, “God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another.” It was coming clear to me very quickly, that the separation that has been made is for judgment. Not a final judgment, but a now judgment for the Lord is about to put down some and lift up others. Some are about to drink the cup of discipline, while others are about to receive the horn (authority) of God to declare righteousness in the nation. Psalm 75:10 says, “And all the horns (authority) of the wicked He will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”  

From separation to judgment, we go. The cup of discipline the wicked are going to drink is not for their destruction, if they receive the cup, it is to cure them of their wickedness, but if they reject the cup, the affect will be null and void and they will have chosen to remain in wickedness. The judgement phase we are entering is for the putting down of the wicked and the raising up of the righteous. Many will be brought down from positions; their voice will no longer carry authority in the nations and others will be given the horn of authority to announce the narrative of righteousness over the nations.  

I stood there listening to the Lord speak to me about these things and I was watching the scenes play out before me as these two groups of people stood before the Judge of all the earth. I did not make any assumptions about who would be exalted and given the horn of authority to declare righteousness nor did I know who would have their horn removed from them because of wickedness. I knew in that moment that watching, waiting and wondering was the correct posture.  

One last scene unfolds during this multi-image event I was watching and it came as I turned to Proverbs 11 for my daily reading as today is February 11, 2021. The heading in my bible for this chapter said, Contrast the Upright and the Wicked. I knew yet again, God was not changing the subject. The whole chapter of Proverbs 11 is a clear picture of what the righteous do and say, and what the wicked do and speak. It cannot be any clearer if only we would read the words of God through Solomon.  

Whether we are on the side of wickedness or righteousness is based on our words, our deeds, our decisions, not God’s. The Lord lets us decide if we are going to be righteous or wicked, it is not a predetermined outcome. The truth train came down the tracks of mercy and grace this year and it brought the separation of the wicked and the righteous. Each one of us made a decision as to whether or not we were going to take the bait of Satan that came through the narrative creators of the nations or if we were going to cling to the words of God. Many even to this day believe they are righteous, even though it is clear by what they say and do they are wicked.  

The bait of Satan revealed to us what was in our heart. Jesus spoke a parable about trees and fruit they produce in Luke 6:39-45 and He ends it by saying, “The good man out of the good treasure in his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks that which fills his heart.” If you want to know what is in your heart, listen to what comes out of your mouth. Others know what’s in you by what you say and God knows what’s in you, but do you know what’s in you? Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But, I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.” The bait was not a trap against you, it was a trap for you to see what is really in you. God wants to heal you, but you have to drink the cup of discipline so He can weed out the wickedness and establish righteousness.  

The separation is for demarcation in order to remove authority from the wicked and give authority to the righteous. The narrative of the nations is about to change dramatically. The sound of righteousness will shake the earth free from the bands of wickedness that have surrounded us. 2 Chronicles 7:14 gave multiple instructions for the healing of the land, one was to humble ourselves, two was to pray, and three was to turn from our wicked ways. We must fulfill all three in order to see our lives, which is the land, healed. Righteousness is about to exalt the nations for we are the tribe of His inheritance (Psalm 74:2) and He is going to rule the nations (Psalm 2) on earth in our generation with righteousness as our declaration.