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 | 5 Cleansings Are Coming To Levi by Johnny Enlow |
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Five Cleansings are Coming to Levi
Johnny Enlow
Oct 7, 2005
Malachi 3: 1-3 "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the messenger of the covenant, IN WHOM YOU DELIGHT. Behold He is coming," says the Lord of Hosts. "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 LAUNDERERS' SOAP. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; HE WILL PURIFY THE SONS OF LEVI, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness."
I believe we are about to enter into a most dramatic fulfillment of this scripture. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament and the last chapter is often read as a tremendous prophetic declaration of things that we can expect in the "last days." In the last chapter, there is the promise of the "Sun of righteousness arising with healing in His wings." This is in reference to Elijah the prophet coming and turning "the hearts of the fathers to the children" and vice versa. However, I believe most have missed the overall theme of the entire book of Malachi. The first 2 chapters are almost never preached about. These two chapters are entirely a rebuke to corrupt priests and their polluted sacrifices. Malachi 3:8 speaks of robbing the Lord in tithes and offerings. This scripture has even become a "favorite" for pastors to preach to their congregations related to giving money. Yet, this scripture is generally preached completely out of the context of what is being addressed.
As you can see, from the passage I have quoted, the Lord is still addressing priests and THEIR corruption and evil. The actual corruption is that the priests are not saving up the mandated storehouse tithe out of the tithe that they are receiving from the people. The first two chapters already established that the priests were to receive tithes from the people or they wouldn't even have the means to give "polluted offerings." The storehouse tithe was a big deal because it was the benevolent fund for the widows and orphans.
I say all these things just to establish the fact that the great prophetic book of Malachi is, first and foremost, a book that speaks of the coming correction and cleansing of the priests. Once this happens, we will enter the awesome Malachi 3:18 stage where we, "shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked." After that happens, the promises declared in Malachi 4 can begin.
WHAT THE HURRICANES HAVE PROPHESIED
In previous posts, I have spoken about the hurricanes of the last couple of years. Last year's hurricanes were "John the Baptist" storms giving warnings to "prepare the way of the Lord." Even two of the storm's names were Ivan and Jeanne which are "John" in other languages (Russian and French). I also shared about the meaning of Mars' unprecedented closeness to the earth and that it signified the Lord coming near us while representing His specific designation of "Lord of Hosts." Similarly, Katrina and Rita tell us also that the Lord of Hosts is upon us and full scale changes will now be forthcoming.
Zechariah 9:14 speaks of when the Lord comes to save His people, "The Lord God will blow the trumpet, and go with the whirlwinds (hurricanes) of the south." We are just a few days past Rosh Hashanah?the Jewish New Year, and it is also called The Feast of Trumpets. The Lord has blown His trumpet and is declaring that He has come and is coming in the hurricanes of the South. Just to make sure we understand that, even the hurricanes' names have prophesied. Katrina means "cleansing" and Rita means "pearl." Our Malachi 3 passage tells us that He will come as "launderers' soap" and, of course, Jesus is our "Pearl of great price" for whom we are to give up all.
JUDGMENT BEGINS IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD
Though many may be ready for the Lord's judgments on sinners to begin, 1 Peter 4:17 plainly states that judgment will begin in the house of the Lord. Our Malachi 3 passage further specifies that this judgment will begin upon the "sons of Levi." The Levites were the priestly tribe and, in symbolism, this title refers to pastors and shepherding ministers. The reason God will judge His Levites first is because Levites are the "walls" of our cities and nations. What shows up in the city and nation is because the Levites have "bound" or "loosed" it?through their conduct and behavior. A city of unrighteous Levites will reap and manifest great unrighteousness for the city. When the Levites cease to be the cause of the unrighteousness, then the Lord will separately judge the unrighteousness. He will actually perform whatever the righteous Levites of that city will request, as they will carry the authority to "loose" judgment or mercy.
So, we are "suddenly" upon a unique season of the Levites being dealt with so that an ensuing "unprecedented" move of God may be released. A Great Awakening has already begun, but a great mark of it will be the exposure of corrupt "Levites."
CLEANSING NUMBER ONE: THE DEFILERS
I believe that the first cleansing that is released upon the "sons of Levi" is one that will surface wolves that have been disguising as shepherds. Right now, in our country, there is a large network of absolutely corrupt and defiled ministers of the gospel. They operate almost as a "Christian" mafia and they are ravaging the Body of Christ from the inside out. They are "broken levees" that are permitting every imaginable source of filth, slime, and pollution into the house of the Lord. These "pastors" are decadent in every form of the word. They are involved in pedophilia, homosexuality, incest, serial adultery, drugs, witchcraft, and some even in bestiality. Many of these "ministers" know about each other and cover for each other. They abuse teachings on submission to "spiritual authority" to hush opponents and thus hide and further their cause. They self-delude themselves into believing that because they are doing so many "good things" that this other behavior is permissible for them. Mafia boss, John Gotti, was known for many "good deeds" and acts of generosity, however, in the eyes of the law he was still a murderer and a criminal. Many of these "ministers" that I speak of are in the same category. They all will boast and demonstrate many good works; yet, they are corrupters who have opened doors in the city and nation to every fowl demon. Exposure and judgment is about to come to this group.
What is going to shock many is how widespread this behavior is. There is a "black root" of ministers whose private lives would, at times, shame the French Quarters of New Orleans. If you have wondered why the French Quarters of New Orleans was spared, it is because God must deal first with the "French Quarters" within His church. Get prepared to be shocked at who all is involved with this level of defilement. The Lord is pulling off the clothes of these "ministries" and they include very well known TV and national ministries. The cleansing will begin and, as it does, a horrific "stink" will fill the air from coast to coast and even into the nations. Be prepared because it will be worse than most think and you will be tempted to lose trust in everyone. However, be encouraged to know this is actually a coming of "the Lord whom you seek" (Mal. 3:1) and that it will be for a long-term good.
CLEANSING NUMBER TWO: THE ADULTERERS
Some may be surprised that this is a separate and secondary work of cleansing and refining. However, this group is very different from the first mentioned group - although, apart from God's intervention, they could end up in the first category.
The first group I mentioned has been confronted repetitively and have passed up multiple opportunities to repent. Unfortunately, most of them are rotten from the inside out and will die in their sin. This second group, however, will be redeemed as they come forward, confess their sins, and get clean. I believe there are many, many more in this group than the first and the exposure of the "defilers" will bring a redemptive fear of the Lord on this group.
There are many "good" pastors and ministers who have developed a wrong bond with someone in ministry and then have fallen into sin. For many, it is a secretary or some co-worker in ministry that they often interact with and, in a moment of weakness, a serious line was crossed. Now is the appropriate time for them to repent in private before the "plumb line" falls and they are exposed before many. Those involved will cease to get away with their sin as His "launderers' soap" continues to work its way through the "sons of Levi." Launderers' soap is NOT like Ivory Soap but, it is lye that burns skin yet cleans clothes. It is a lye that exposes "lies." Many ministers will be restored by the Lord after this cleansing and will serve again as true shepherds in God's house. However, I believe most from this category will lose their moral authority to lead in God's house as their personal testimony will be just too damaged to do so. I believe those who do repent before the Lord will find that the Lord will open up new spheres of ministry that do not entail being a shepherd in God's house. He really is going to 'stock' His house with true shepherds; not perfect shepherds, but shepherds who reflect the Biblical requirements for a shepherd.
CLEANSING NUMBER THREE: THE HIRELINGS
There will be no room for giddy finger pointing as this cleansing work goes deeper and deeper. The message will get more clear that sexual impurities are a big deal with the Lord. By the time the cleansing gets into its third stage, even the ministers 'casually' involved in pornography will know that they can not do that anymore. As the Lord's lye continues to expose "lies," it will now surface the "hireling."
The "hireling" is one who is primarily motivated by money. He may have started out in sincerity, but things have so changed that he makes no decision without that consideration. His entire ministry routine is guided by "minimum fees," guaranteed offerings, and book sales. His conversation with other ministers always quickly gravitates to the money considerations and even financial comparisons. He even believes that any new place of financial "bonanza" signifies some awesome anointing on His life. Of course, there are rich "hirelings" and poor "hirelings." There are poor ministers who are still making all their decisions based on the money factor. They would leave to follow a better salary at the drop of a hat if it became available. There is no real sense of call to a people or a region, but they serve anywhere if the price is right.
Biblically, the difference between a prophet and a false prophet was that a false prophet did what he did for a reward. It was called "the sin of Balaam" and it signified that one had defaulted from a true ministry position. It was not whether there was a legitimate gift or not, but whether a love for money had now become the guiding force. Unfortunately, I must say that this sin is very widespread in what is called the "Charismatic" or Spirit-filled community and the Lord will be exposing it. Again, this is a good time to repent of this sin before forced exposure brings it to the light. It is not a small thing and will cause many to default in their ministerial destiny. As a secondary caution and warning, I believe that the affection for "things" and money in preachers often precedes adultery. First, one feels entitled to "things" and then one feels entitled to people. God is pulling the "clothes" off this sin and, as a result, even more people will lose faith in Christian leaders. But, fear not as this is still "the Lord we seek" coming to His temple so that the Levites might offer "an offering in righteousness."
CLEANSING NUMBER FOUR: THE SELF-PROMOTERS
The "launderer's soap" will continue to scrub through the "sons of Levi" and pride and self-promotion will be the target. Pride, of course, is the most subtle of all sins as it reinvents itself as we 'mature' and progress in the Lord. If pride can't induce us to shamelessly self-promote ourselves, then it can infect us with the pharisaical "at least I'm not like them" version of pride. It is generally best to just assume we have pride and to be in a place of constantly asking the Lord "where is it?"
Self-promotion is something that is not always obvious to the human eye. It is also easy to misjudge someone as self-promoting. Self-promotion is about getting ahead of God. It is about leaning on the arm of the flesh in an area that God has told us to wait on Him. It is stepping into a "political" spirit where we intentionally seek to make connections that will potentially promote us into another sphere of influence. Two ministers can actually do exactly the same thing and, for one, it is self-promotion and, for the other, it is simply responding to the Lord. If we write a book in response to the Lord, it is obedience. If we write a book to "get our name out there," it is self-promotion. In the same way, you can be on TV or the radio through self-promoting efforts or through obedience to the Lord. However, one will produce an Ishmael and one will produce an Isaac. Whatever you get through self-promotion will eventually war against your destiny and even your walk with the Lord.
The great danger of self-promoting is that it projects you to a sphere of influence without a developed character base. Every new level of influence makes one susceptible to a new assault of more "sophisticated" demonic spirits. "New levels equals new devils." Many of those in the "defilers" category arrived to their place of apparent success through the path of self-promotion. Allowing the Lord to promote us in His time is one of the basic character tests for those with significant callings. The failure to wait for that promotion is a primary disqualifier for an increased realm of spiritual authority.
CLEANSING NUMBER FIVE: QUENCHERS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Many "sons of Levi" will survive the first stages of refining, yet will find themselves disqualified at this fifth level of cleansing. It will not be enough for a pastor to be free from the above sins if he is guilty of quenching the Holy Spirit. This will still be considered a very serious offense in the sight of the Lord and one at which He will no longer wink. "Quenching the Spirit" can possibly be an overused phrase or concept. However, to a minister, it simply means making less room for the Holy Spirit than what the Holy Spirit has requested. It is refusing to prioritize the fruit AND the gifts of the Holy Spirit. A church that does not prioritize the presence, the power, and the person of the Holy Spirit will not properly reflect anything that the Lord will want to bless.
An entire book could be written on this theme, but the basic sin that the Lord will be judging is the sin of CONTROL. The Type A personality is a very dominant characteristic of pastors. It requires intentional steps of "dialing down" for this personality type to coexist with the organic creative person of the Holy Spirit. This personality type can preach "not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit" but has difficulty actually living it. There is too much "might and power" in this personality type.
The Lord truly will build HIS church and the Holy Spirit is the Trinity's agent of Church transformation. He is going to increase and increase as the Father pours Him out upon all flesh. The church leader that does not make room for Him will find himself being His enemy. The "launderer's soap" will not stop washing and purging until it has an infrastructure of shepherds to whom the Lord can entrust a great harvest. He will not have Defilers, Adulterers, Hirelings, or Self-Promoters?neither will He have those who restrict the Promise of the Father. He will pour out His Holy Spirit in the last days and His church will openly receive Him and allow Him to reproduce Christ in us. THEN the sons of Levi will present an offering in righteousness (Mal. 3:3).
CONCLUSION
I believe that over 90% of the Senior Pastors here in the United States will not survive the coming work of refining and purging that is coming to the "sons of Levi." I'm not even sure what I mean when I say, "will not survive," but that is what I hear in my spirit. This is not a minor "attitude adjustment" that is coming to the leadership, but it is an entire overhaul of the "sons of Levi." At some point, it WILL look like Katrina has gone through the Church?and the stink will be great. I have not even addressed the refining coming to the Church itself. As the Church begins to see what God is no longer condoning in the pulpit (He never did condone it?but now judgment will be seen), there will be a release of the fear of the Lord that will greatly benefit the Body of Christ. He really cannot send GREAT harvest until this process takes place. The harvest would be contaminated and become spiritual children of the existing decadence. The timing for this is NOW. We will first see His axe/acts of righteousness come down on "the defilers." When you see it, stay sober, for this is just the beginning. The Lord, WHOM WE SEEK, is coming to His House.
Johnny Enlow
www.daystaratlanta.org
www.theissacharianpost.com
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