I've noticed a contrast in 1 Peter 4: 17 that really should never have escaped my notice before. Still, I’m just a man, so I missed it. Oh well, better late than never. When God inspired Peter to write, "What shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God," He was effectively making a contrast. I don't like to put words in God's mouth, so I wouldn't write the following paraphrase without very carefully considering it to be sure that I wouldn't be telling a lie in the name of God. The Bible must never be trifled with. Here goes:

For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God, and if at first begin at us who obey the gospel of God, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?

This certainly begs the question, "How can believers be under judgment? Didn’t' Christ endure judgment on our behalf?" To this, I say a resounding yes. That hasn't been disproved, and it never will be. The judgment Christ endured for the believer is eternal. To my knowledge, God has never uttered one jot or tittle about nullifying earthly judgments/punishment/wrath. Here are a few examples from the Bible.

Jeremiah 46:28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I [am] with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

“Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.” (Isaiah 30:13-18 AV)

2 Chronicles 32:25 But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit [done] unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.

Isaiah 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Etc., etc., etc. Plenty more where that came from. These verses make clear reference to God's wrath against believers, not the unsaved of the world or the corporate churches, but actual true believers, to whom God gives eternal life. These are them that obey the gospel of God eternally, but true believers have not always obeyed the gospel of God, and don't always do so even as Christians. Kings David and Hezekiah are great examples right from the Bible. Tony Hernandez, that pittiful excuse for a Bible student, is a great example right from the present day. (That's me.) I submit that there is such a thing as temporal judgment, which God certainly is bringing upon true believers. Even the prophet Daniel, who's sins were certainly covered, who was told plainly that he was a man greatly beloved, knelt and spend time confessing not only the sins of his people, but his own sins.

“And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.” (Daniel 9:15-21 AV)

Now, before someone jumps to the conclusion that this must be the corporate church, I submit what I hope is as thought provoking a question to you as it is for me. Why would God tell us not to pray for this people for their good and then inspire such words from one of his prophets? We know what form God's temporal judgment took on true believers of that day. How does this apply to today? What form does God's temporal judgment take for true believers who are on earth now, and what are the specific reasons for it? I don't know that myself at this point. I pray that God will show me in His time, if He will.