It Has Begun

[onli-one-jehovi]

I came across this the other day. It is very sobering and worthy of contemplation. I hope we all understand that this time of year - September/October - is the time of the Fall Feasts of the LORD. While it is true that "atonement" can be made at any time thru Christ; it is also true that the LORD works works in seasons. The Bible says there is a time and season for all things. I find in encouraging that this tome appears around the Day of Atonement. My prayer is that we all recognize and act upon the Time(s) in which we find ourselves. Jesus is coming very soon and we will be effected by that.

The article is broken down in several sections for easier reading.

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]"It Has Begun"

Mal. 3:1 "...And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple ; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts. 2 "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 "He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness.
 
I Pt. 4:16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God ; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 19 Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
 
Ps. 51:1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness ; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
 
James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
 
 
 
 
Amidst the extended stress of our present hour here in North America , and after a lengthy sabbatical from the writing ministry due to my own stresses, the Lord has reached deeply into my being to bring forth a message. The message is both old, yet new in a way hardly understood. The message is good news, but it is disguised as bad news. The message is this:
 
"It has begun."

[onli-one-jehovi]

What is "it" that has begun?
 
The answer is: the long-prophesied end time judgment of the house of God.
 
"Where? Where?" one asks. "Where is this judgment?"
 
"I don't see any judgment? Well, maybe a church here or there is having a pastor exposed. But there's no national PTL scandal, or Jimmy Swaggart scandal. How can anyone say 'the great end-time judgment of the house of God has begun'? Everything looks pretty much the same to me."
 
Yes, I know. That's what is different about this message. The end time judgment that has begun is not a judgment of obvious proportions—not yet at least (as it progresses, it eventually will become obvious to all.)
 
Rather, the judgment has come by stealth—just as He said He would come—
 
Rev. 16:15 Behold, I am coming like a thief.
 
 
What You Need to Know
 
Here is what you should know about the stealth judgment of God which has now come and will remain unto the fullness of His Appearing:
 
 
 
1. The judgment is in answer to the multiplied millions of prayers uttered across the church for the Lord "to come."
 
For generations we have been calling out to the Lord, "Come quickly Lord Jesus." We have all prayed this uncountable times. Well,
 
the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple ; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,
 
Indeed, He has now come—but not as we have expected.

[onli-one-jehovi]

2. The judgment which has come has begun in the "house of God."
 
For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God
 
Let me be more precise about this. The judgment of God begins of course with those who are closest to Him. This means that—and as we all understand—the judgment begins with the church, and then works its way to the world. But what it means for those of us in the church is that the judgment begins with those in the church who are closest and most ostensibly devoted to Him, and then works its way out to the less committed and more wayward. It begins in the Holy Place, and works its way to the Outer Court.
 
The present judgment has begun on the 24 hour intercessors, the full time worshippers, and the prophets and apostles whose lives are devoted to night and day service in "the temple," eventually to work its way out to the part-time ministers and "everyday" saints. It has begun on those who have suffered the most for the Lord—those "in the wilderness"—working its way out to judge those who have suffered least in the mainstream—the popular public ministry figures and Sunday-only adherents. The judgment begins with the "repentance prophets" themselves and the obedient, and works its way to the disobedient.
 
"The obedient" you say? "What do you mean? Why would God judge the obedient? The whole point of obedience is to avoid judgment! Paul said, 'If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.' So what are you talking about?"
 
Please read on. 
 
 
3. No one is exempt from this judgment:
 
But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?
 
The intended answer to this question is clear. The answer is no one can endure the day of his coming, and no one can stand when He appears. Not the most righteous of us, the most faithful, the most enduring. Not one of us can stand before His coming and escape this judgment.
 
Why is no one exempt from this judgment? It's because the judgment is not firstly about punishing evil doing, but about bringing purification to that which is already dedicated toward becoming pure.
 
In truth, no matter how "sanctified" we have endured to become over our walk in Christ, short of translation we are all still beset by certain "subterranean level" blindness's and strongholds—strongholds of fear, unbelief, frustration, resentment toward God, and many other like sinful energies—energies which in our conscious mind we know must not be allowed to commandeer our persona, but which nonetheless remain buried in us—buried beneath our ability to even consciously recognize them for what they are. We only know that we have long-standing walls and barriers in our lives we can't seem to overcome, but don't know why that—after a life time of devotion and service to the Lord—they still remain.
 
It is these hidden subterranean darknesses the Lord has come to His temple to judge at this time, and which judgment is actually critically necessary to complete our perfection and enable our translation.
 
Of course, any sins and corrections we have consciously repressed, refusing to acknowledge and find cleansing from will also be exposed and judged as well. And they will be judged as punishments rather than purifications.
 
"Be sure your sins will find you out."

[onli-one-jehovi]

4. The present judgment is a judgment of mercy, not of vengeance or condemnation.
 
The term "judgment" most ordinarily conjures up thoughts of divine vengeance and condemnation. Conversely, the term "mercy" ordinarily is believed to mean the entire absence of judgment. Because of this, it is difficult for anyone following hard after the Lord and believing for His mercy to hear that they are being "judged."
 
But the present judgment which is on us all is not about vengeance and punishment. It is about the mercy of God to reach into exposing, cleansing out and purifying us of hidden darkness of which we are unconscious and incapable of partnering with Him for cleansing—our "secret faults" (Ps. 19:12). This judgment on our secret faults is in fact "merciful  judgment."
 
It is imperative that we understand this and therefore fully welcome and embrace this judgment in our lives—not resist and reject the word of judgment because all we understand is the concept of vengeance and of judgment-free mercy. The Lord is not taking out vengeance on us. He is not condemning us. Conversely neither is His mercy without correction.
 
The present judgment is also of mercy because, as severe and difficult as it is (who can stand before it?), the Lord wants us to know that we are being judged on the least difficult terms possible. That is not a truth you may be able to feel. But the Lord wants you to accept it by faith. If you know that you have pursued faithfully and obediently after the Lord, then know also that as hard as what you are passing through is, there are harder ways He could have taken you. Offer thanks by faith amidst the pain that the Lord is indeed good, and His mercy endures forever.
 
Understand that mercy does not cancel out all judgment. Mercy offers a lesser judgment of purification in place of a greater judgment of vengeance. (To rephrase James, "the mercy of judgment triumphs over the judgment of vengeance.")       
 
 
5. The judgment is from the "inside out."
 
The present judgment is not a judgment of outward divine actions and consequences (such as an angel striking someone dead in a pulpit) by which the fear of God is then impressed upon the hearts of observers. The present judgment is not observably from the "outside in"—which again is what has been most prophesied and expected.
 
No. The present judgment is from "the inside out." It is a judgment beginning in the inward parts.
 
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
 
In advance of the translation and the next revelation of Christ, there is only one thing that matters to the Lord. It is truth in the inward parts. God has given his people many callings and ministry enterprises to engage. But none of these is of any comparative importance to His internal objectives in the heart. In this, God is no respecter of destinies.
 
Whether for purification or for punishment then; God's judgment is also no respecter of destinies, or callings, or ministry enterprises. Not mine. Not yours. Not Billy Graham's. Not closet intercessor Mary Doe.
 
Eventually, as the judgment kicks into greater gear and moves from the desert to the mainstream, and from the Holy Place to the Outer Court , the more prominent ministries will come down. That is when the world and the larger body of the church will recognize that "the judgment has come." Many of those judgments will also then be in punishment for profligate disobedience to the call to true discipleship. They will not be judgments of mercy. And in that time, judgments will fall more and more evidently as divine outward actions meant to instill the fear of the Lord in others.
 
But now, the hidden unexpected judgment unto purification is engaged in the wilderness in the secret place of the hearts of God's people. It is being "fought" out with God in the intensity of the prayer closet, in the wandering on the streets by day of those dazed in tongues over the dealings of the Lord, and in those interminable gut-wrenching wee hour sessions with the Spirit of Truth in the night seasons
 
And again, the judgment is no respecter of destinies. Untold hidden ministry callings and enterprises are under great unfulfilled frustration as the Refiner's fire burns in the inward parts of the most dedicated saints. It is especially intense in the camps of those who have looked only for God's vengeful judgments on the obvious sins of the outer court church, while entirely blind to the Lord's determination to purify them of their own subconscious dirt.
 
Be assured. God does not finally care about what He has promised He would do with your life outwardly apart from His intent to deal with you fully regarding truth in your inward parts. And He will not save us until we cry "uncle" in the battle for our hearts over those subterranean issues.

[onli-one-jehovi]

6. The internal judgment is being triggered by extremely negative events which are the instruments of our testing, but are not themselves "the judgment."
 
This is an important word from the Lord to grasp. The inward judgment that has come is being triggered by external negative events. These events are severe. But the events are in and of themselves not judgments. They are difficulties and calamities designed only as instruments for triggering the internal judgment. The judgment is what is being released on the inside of those affected by the events.
 
Many of us are under severe and trying conditions right now. I have witnessed or heard of numerous calamities in many lives over recent times, and especially this last year. Healthy spouses have been unexpectedly snatched away by the Lord. Others have had severe life threatening accidents. Some have been facing terminal illnesses with no recourse whatsoever for deliverance. And of course the worsening economic conditions have forced yet others out of homes and into hand-to-mouth existences with no end in sight.
 
Significantly, these trigger events are so personalized from individual to individual and family to family that they do not gain mass media attention, and therefore the idea that "judgment has come to the church" is masked. But the truth is that these personalized events are happening in such numbers across the church that the Lord wants us to understand that indeed, His judgment has come to the entire house of God.
 
All of these events are triggers of God's judgment in our lives. They are triggers of the merciful exposure and cleansing of hidden darkness in our inward parts. But these events are themselves not God's judgment of condemnation upon us.  We are not to blame God regarding them, but are to ask, "What inner attitude—what practiced line of ill thought—do I need to recognize and confess from my inward parts in regard to this calamity?"
 
 
 
7. Healing from God's present judgment will not be found apart from transparent confession to one another of what God is exposing in our lives.
 
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.
 
It is a new "day" in the body of Christ. Call it the "third day" or whatever you want to. But regardless of what you think this "new day" means in terms of "power" and "revelation," it is first and foremost a day of judgment. And the judgment of God that has come is requiring a new level of interpersonal confession of the darkness His judgments are uncovering in us unlike any day before us. This confession will require transparency and willingness to be made vulnerable to others. In order for this to happen, everyone is going to have to abandon their personal masks and ministerial personas to receive their healing from their judgment—everyone from the most prominent mainstream prophet to the most hidden wilderness repentance prophet.
 
To my knowledge, there has never been a move of the Spirit fashioned on what I am seeing and saying here. There have been oodles of prophecies about and intercession for "revival." Always envisioned with this have been the bombastic works of signs and wonders. But that is not what I am seeing here.
 
What we are actually in the beginning of is an "internal judgment revival." As this judgment progresses, triggered by calamities, and reducing ministry destinies and aspirations to rubble through the internal exposures, there must and will come a new forum of interpersonal confession in the body of Christ. I do not know what that will eventually look like. But at this time, God is requiring interpersonal confession of our faults in order to find our healing from His internal judgments.
 
Wilderness people with all their wounds are not exempt from this process of confession. And for those of us who have no close knit body of believers, our confessions must begin with those closest to us in our believing families, and from there to our closest ministry confidantes. (The Lord will orchestrate the specifics.)
 

[onli-one-jehovi]

Conclusion
 
In conclusion, here is my sincerest advice. First, embrace the internal judgment of God through your situation. Yes it hurts. But embrace it. Don't resist. Don't argue with Him over what is happening with you. Recognize this Day for what it truly is. Steadfastly maintain the spirit of Elihu who justified God in the midst of Job's calamities (Job 33ff).
 
Second, if out of your present calamities you have begun to discover what the Spirit of Judgment is mercifully exposing to you of your subterranean fault lines, let the Spirit also therefore witness to you of whom you must visit and make your confession. There will be the temptation to try to skirt this issue by simply "confessing your faults to the Lord." But that will not be acceptable for what the Lord is trying to do in you and in the greater body of Christ.
 
This does not mean God expects you to open up to just anyone. He knows the professing body is riddled with the untrustworthy. Nevertheless, you can be sure He does have someone you need to go to and confess your faults. And you need to repair the relationships He brings to heart that you discover you have damaged by your previously hidden subterranean darkness. This will require great humility, but there is no other way to find the healing we need from the present burning judgment that has been released among us.
 
Let the Spirit of Truth guide you in all of this. But let us all here today know one thing for sure....
 
It has begun.
 
 

First Love Ministry
- a ministry of Anglemar Fellowship
http://www.firstloveministry.com
09/10