The apostle Paul was the connecting link between ancient Israel and spiritual Israel, for his ministry, his name, his personal circumstances and his prophetic work all testify to this truth. He identified himself as the least of the apostles, for he had persecuted God’s people.
使徒保罗是古代以色列与属灵以色列之间的连接纽带，因为他的事工、他的名字、他的个人处境以及他的先知性工作都为这一真理作证。他自称自己是众使徒中最小的，因为他曾迫害神的子民。
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 1 Corinthians 15:19.
我原是使徒中最小的，不配称为使徒，因为我逼迫了神的教会。哥林多前书 15:19。
The name he was given at conversion was Paul, which means small or little, for he was the least of the apostles. Yet his original name was Saul, which means “selected”.
他在归信时被赋予的名字是保罗，意思是“小”或“微小”，因为他是使徒中最小的。然而，他的本名是扫罗，意思是“被拣选的”。
Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel, Acts 9:13–15.
亚拿尼亚回答说：“主啊，我从许多人那里听见这人怎样在耶路撒冷向你的圣徒行了许多恶事；并且他在这里也有从祭司长那里得来的权柄，要捆绑一切求告你名的人。”主却对他说：“你只管去；因为他是我所拣选的器皿，要在外邦人、君王和以色列人面前宣扬我的名。”使徒行传 9:13-15
Saul was “a chosen vessel” to carry the gospel to the Gentiles, but he had to first be converted and humbled into Paul (small), for he was going to need to be powerful. Paul understood his strength was found in his smallness, or his weakness.
扫罗是“蒙拣选的器皿”，要把福音带给外邦人，但他必须先归信并谦卑下来，成为保罗（小），因为他将需要大有能力。保罗明白，他的力量在于他的渺小，或者说在于他的软弱。
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7–10.
又恐怕我因所受启示甚多而过于自高，就赐给我肉体上一根刺，就是撒但的使者来击打我，免得我过于自高。为这事我三次求过主，叫它离开我。他却对我说：我的恩典够你用，因为我的能力在软弱上显得完全。所以，我更乐意夸自己的软弱，好叫基督的能力临到我。因此，我为基督的缘故，乐于软弱、受辱、困乏、逼迫、困苦；因为我什么时候软弱，什么时候就刚强了。哥林多后书 12:7-10。
Saul was “selected”, but in order for him to be strong he was made small (Paul). He was chosen to take the gospel to the Gentiles, but he had been selected in part because of his knowledge of the Old Testament.
扫罗被“选中”，但为了使他刚强，他成了“小”（保罗）。他被拣选向外邦人传福音，但他之所以被选中，部分是因为他对旧约的熟悉。
Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently. My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. Acts 26:3–5.
尤其因为我知道你对犹太人当中的一切风俗和问题都很精通，所以恳求你耐心听我说。我从幼年起在耶路撒冷同胞中间怎样为人，所有犹太人都知道；他们从一开始就认识我，若肯作证，就会说我按照我们宗教中最严格的派别，作为法利赛人生活。使徒行传 26:3-5。
Saul had been trained by Gamaliel, who was considered one of the greatest teachers of the Scriptures of the Old Testament.
扫罗曾受教于迦玛列，他被认为是旧约圣经最伟大的教师之一。
“The request was granted, and ‘Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people.’ The gesture attracted their attention, while his bearing commanded respect. ‘And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying, Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you.’ At the sound of the familiar Hebrew words, ‘they kept the more silence,’ and in the universal hush he continued: “‘I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.’ None could deny the apostle’s statements, as the facts that he referred to were well known to many who were still living in Jerusalem.” Acts of the Apostles, 408.
请求获准，于是“保罗站在台阶上，用手向众人示意”。这个手势引起了他们的注意，而他的举止令人肃然起敬。“大有静默之后，他就用希伯来话对他们说：‘诸位父兄，请听我现在向你们所作的申辩。’”听见熟悉的希伯来话，“他们就越发静默”，在普遍的肃静中，他接着说： “‘我确实是一个犹太人，生在基利家的大数城，却在这城在迦玛列门下长大，按照祖宗律法最严格的规矩受教，向神热心，正如你们今日一样。’”没有人能否认这位使徒的陈述，因为他所提到的事实，是耶路撒冷许多仍在世的人所熟知的。 《使徒行传》，408。
Saul had not been chosen at random, and one of the specific purposes of Paul’s ministry was to bridge the sacred history of literal Israel with the sacred history of spiritual Israel. In conjunction with this fact, he authored the majority of the New Testament. One chapter of his writings identifies the support for the framework of the first angels’ message and also for the framework of the third angels’ message. The passage is a monument in the history of Adventism that identifies the distinction between the wise and foolish in the beginning and ending of Adventism.
扫罗并非偶然被拣选；而保罗事工的一个特定目的，是将民族以色列的神圣历史与属灵以色列的神圣历史衔接起来。与此相应，他撰写了新约的大部分书卷。他著作中的一章，确立了第一位天使信息框架的依据，也同样确立了第三位天使信息框架的依据。这段经文是复临运动历史上的一座里程碑，它界定了在复临运动的开端与结束之时，聪明人与愚拙人的分野。
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12.
弟兄们，我们借着我们主耶稣基督的降临，并我们聚集到他那里，求你们：不要很快动摇心思，或惊慌，无论是因着某种灵、或言语、或仿冒我们所写的书信，说基督的日子已经到了。不要让任何人用任何方式欺骗你们；因为那日子以前，必须先有背道的事，并且那不法的人，就是沉沦之子，要显露出来。他是那抵挡的，且高抬自己，超过一切称为神的和一切受敬拜的，甚至坐在神的殿里，自称是神。你们不记得我还在你们那里的时候，曾把这些事告诉过你们吗？现在你们也知道那阻拦他的是什么，好叫他按着时候才可以显露。因为那不法的奥秘已经在运行，只是现今还有那拦阻者，直到他被挪开。那时，那不法的人就要显露出来；主耶稣要用口中的气毁灭他，用他降临的荣光废掉他。这不法的人来，是照着撒但的运行，带着各样的能力、神迹和虚假的奇事，又在那些灭亡的人身上，用各样出于不义的诡诈；因为他们不领受爱真理的心，使他们可以得救。因此，神就使他们陷入强烈的迷惑，叫他们信从虚谎，使一切不信真理、反而喜爱不义的人都被定罪。帖撒罗尼迦后书 2:1-12。
The context of this passage is the consideration of when Christ would return the second time. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that he has already answered that concern previously when he stated, “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?” Paul was attempting to prevent the brethren from being deceived upon the subject of “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.”
这段经文的背景是思考基督何时第二次降临。保罗提醒帖撒罗尼迦人，他先前已经回答过这个顾虑，他曾说：“我还在你们那里的时候，岂不是把这些事告诉过你们吗？你们不记得吗？”保罗是要防止弟兄们在“我们主耶稣基督的降临和我们聚集到他那里”这一问题上受迷惑。
The historians identify that half of William Miller’s message was based upon his identification of the twenty-three hundred years of Daniel chapter eight, and verse fourteen. The other half of his message, that is sometimes not recognized, is his work of refuting the false teachings concerning the Second Coming of Christ.
历史学家指出，威廉·米勒的信息有一半建立在他对《但以理书》第八章十四节所述二千三百年的认定之上。另一半的信息，有时不为人所注意，则是他驳斥有关基督再临的错误教导的工作。
Based upon the false Jesuit methodology there was (and still is) a prominent false teaching that William Miller consistently opposed. It was the false teaching that the Lord’s second coming was preceded by a thousand years of peace called the “temporal millennium” which Sister White also opposed.
基于错误的耶稣会方法论，曾经（而且至今仍然）有一种颇为盛行的错误教义，威廉·米勒一直予以反对。它宣称主的第二次降临之前会有一千年的和平，称为“现世千禧年”，怀特姐妹也反对。
Miller’s work was also establishing the truth of the literal return of Christ, in opposition to the various false ideas concerning the millennium that were prevalent in his history. Paul is addressing the Second Coming in 2 Thessalonians, so the passage was part of Miller’s understanding of a literal Second Coming. The chapter was “Present Truth” for Miller.
米勒的工作还在于确立基督真实再临的真理，以反对在他所处历史时期盛行的关于千禧年的各种错误观念。保罗在《帖撒罗尼迦后书》中论及再临，因此该段经文也是米勒对基督真实再临的理解的一部分。对米勒而言，这一章就是“现时真理”。
Paul identifies an important sequence of events connected with the Second Coming, and also provides the logic of why the Thessalonians should not expect the return of the Lord in their lifetime. Paul says, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.” The word “beseech” means to interrogate. Paul is reasoning out the elements associated with the Second Coming and leading his audience through a type of interrogation, meant to produce analysis of his logic by his hearers.
保罗指出了一条与主再临有关的重要事件顺序，并且也说明了为什么帖撒罗尼迦人不该指望主在他们有生之年再来。保罗说：“弟兄们，我们藉着我们主耶稣基督的再来，并藉着我们聚集到他那里，恳求你们。” “beseech”一词的意思是“盘问”。保罗正在推理与再临相关的各个要素，并以一种盘问的方式引导他的听众，旨在促使他们对他的逻辑进行分析。
The structure of his logic is that before Christ returns a second time, the papacy must be identified and reign, and that before the papacy arrives in history there must be a falling away. The falling away was yet future, so the arrival of the papacy was even beyond that. So how could anyone be deceived into thinking Christ’s return was soon? He uses several symbols of the papacy in order to establish just who that power is that is revealed after the falling away. He calls the papacy the “man of sin,” that “wicked,” “the son of perdition” and the “mystery of iniquity.” Sister White is clear these are all symbols identifying the papacy.
他的逻辑架构是：在基督第二次降临之前，教皇权必须被识别出来并且掌权；而且在教皇权在历史上出现之前，必先有一次背道。那次背道尚在未来，因此教皇权的出现更在其后。那么怎么会有人受骗，以为基督的再来临近呢？他使用关于教皇权的若干象征，以确立在背道之后显露的那个权势究竟是谁。他称教皇权为“那大罪人”、“那不法的人”、“沉沦之子”和“不法的奥秘”。怀特姐妹明确指出，这些都是用来指认教皇权的象征。
“But before the coming of Christ, important developments in the religious world, foretold in prophecy, were to take place. The apostle declared: ‘Be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.’
但是在基督再来之前，宗教世界中预言所预示的重要发展将要发生。使徒宣告：“你们不要轻易心里动摇，也不要惊慌，无论是因着灵、因着言语，或因着仿佛是我们所写的书信，说基督的日子已经临近。不要让任何人以任何方式欺骗你们，因为那日子以前，必须先有背道的事，并且那罪恶之人，就是沉沦之子，显露出来；他抵挡并高抬自己，高过一切称为神的或受敬拜的，甚至坐在神的殿里，自称是神。”
“Paul’s words were not to be misinterpreted. It was not to be taught that he, by special revelation, had warned the Thessalonians of the immediate coming of Christ. Such a position would cause confusion of faith; for disappointment often leads to unbelief. The apostle therefore cautioned the brethren to receive no such message as coming from him, and he proceeded to emphasize the fact that the papal power, so clearly described by the prophet Daniel, was yet to rise and wage war against God’s people. Until this power should have performed its deadly and blasphemous work, it would be in vain for the church to look for the coming of their Lord. ‘Remember ye not,’ Paul inquired, ‘that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?’
保罗的话不可被曲解。不可教导说，他因着特别的启示，曾警告帖撒罗尼迦人基督即刻就要降临。这样的立场会引起信仰的混乱，因为失望常常导致不信。因此，这位使徒告诫弟兄们，不要把这类信息当作出自他而接受；并进一步强调，先知但以理所清楚描述的教皇权势尚要兴起，且要起来与神的子民争战。在这权势完成其致命而亵渎的作为之前，教会盼望他们主的降临都是徒然的。“你们岂不记得，”保罗问，“我还在你们那里时，曾把这些事告诉过你们吗？”
“Terrible were the trials that were to beset the true church. Even at the time when the apostle was writing, the ‘mystery of iniquity’ had already begun to work. The developments that were to take place in the future were to be ‘after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish.’
真正的教会将要遭遇可怕的试炼。甚至在使徒写作的时候，“不法之奥秘”已经开始运行。将来要出现的发展，将会“照着撒但的运行，带着各样的权能、神迹和虚假的奇事，并且在那沉沦的人身上，施行各样出于不义的诡诈”。
“Especially solemn is the apostle’s statement regarding those who should refuse to receive ‘the love of the truth.’ ‘For this cause,’ he declared of all who should deliberately reject the messages of truth, ‘God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.’ Men cannot with impunity reject the warnings that God in mercy sends them. From those who persist in turning from these warnings, God withdraws His Spirit, leaving them to the deceptions that they love.” Acts of the Apostles, 265, 266.
关于那些拒绝接受“爱真理之心”的人，使徒的陈述格外庄严。“因此，”他论到一切故意拒绝真理信息的人时宣称，“神要使他们陷入强烈的迷惑，叫他们信从虚谎；好叫一切不信真理、却喜爱不义的人都被定罪。”人绝不可能不受惩罚地拒绝神出于怜悯所赐给他们的警告。对于那些执意转身离开这些警告的人，神就撤回祂的灵，任凭他们沉溺在自己所喜爱的迷惑之中。使徒行传，265、266。
Although Sister White directly identifies the “man of sin,” that “wicked,” “the son of perdition” and the “mystery of iniquity” from the passage of Paul, and calls it the “papal power,” she says more. She identifies that these symbols employed by Paul to identify the pope of Rome, was established from the book of Daniel, when she stated, “The apostle therefore cautioned the brethren to receive no such message as coming from him, and he proceeded to emphasize the fact that the papal power, so clearly described by the prophet Daniel, was yet to rise and wage war against God’s people. Until this power should have performed its deadly and blasphemous work, it would be in vain for the church to look for the coming of their Lord.” Paul was basing the portion of the message to the Thessalonians which identified the papacy upon Daniel chapter eleven, and verse thirty-six.
尽管怀特姐妹直接把保罗经文中的“那不法之人”、“那作恶的”、“沉沦之子”和“罪恶的奥秘”认定为“教皇权势”，她还有进一步的说明。她指出，保罗用来指认罗马教皇的这些符号，是建立在《但以理书》之上的，她说：“因此，使徒告诫弟兄们，不要把这类信息当作是出于他；并进而强调一个事实：由先知但以理如此清楚描述的教皇权势还要兴起，且要向上帝的子民发动战争。在这权势完成其致命而亵渎的工作之前，教会去盼望他们的主的来临都是徒然的。”保罗在写给帖撒罗尼迦人的信息中，用以指认教皇制度的那一部分，是以《但以理书》第十一章第三十六节为依据。
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Daniel 11:36.
王必任意而行；他必自高自大，超过所有的神，并用奇异的话攻击万神之神；他必行事亨通，直到忿怒完毕，因为所定的事必然成就。但以理书11:36。
When Paul identifies the pope “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God,” Paul was paraphrasing the prophet Daniel’s description of the “king” that did “according to his will,” and exalted “himself and” magnified “himself above every god.” The pope is the king that speaks “marvelous things against the God of gods”, and the pope is the power that would “prosper till the” first “indignation” would “be accomplished” in 1798.
当保罗把教皇指认为“那位敌挡并高抬自己，超越一切称为神或受敬拜的；以致他如同神一般坐在神的殿中，显明自己就是神”之人时，保罗是在转述先知但以理对那位“任意而行”的“王”的描述，这位王“自高自大”，并“将自己高举在各神之上”。教皇就是那位“向万神之神说奇异之话”的王；教皇也是那股将“亨通，直到”第一次“忿怒”“完毕”为止的权势——直到1798年。
Daniel eleven, and verse thirty-six is absolutely essential to understand correctly if the increase of knowledge in 1989 is to be understood correctly. For this reason the false teaching that the king in the verse was France, as introduced by Uriah Smith, was introduced in the first generation of Adventism (1863 to 1888). Smith changed the text of verse thirty-six from “the” king (which is the papacy that was being described in the previous verses) to “a” king (any king) in order to ascribe to atheistic France the characteristics of Rome’s worship style, but that was just a jumping-off point to put forth his pet theory about Turkey being the king of the north in verse forty and onward.
若要正确理解1989年知识的增长，就必须正确理解《但以理书》十一章三十六节；这一点绝对至关重要。因此，由尤赖亚·史密斯提出的、认为该节中的“王”是法国的错误教导，被引入复临主义的第一代（1863年至1888年）。史密斯把三十六节中的“the king”（即前几节所描述的教皇制度）改成“a king”（任何一个王），以便把罗马的崇拜方式之特征归于无神论的法国；但这不过是一个跳板，好让他推出自己钟爱的理论：在四十节及其以后，“北方之王”指的是土耳其。
Satan began early to obscure the fact that the king in the verse, is the papacy, and it is the apostle Paul who provides Daniel’s testimony with a second witness to this fact. Sister White provided the third witness.
撒但很早就开始掩盖这样一个事实：经文中的那位王就是教皇制度；而使徒保罗为但以理的见证就此提供了第二个见证。怀特姐妹提供了第三个见证。
Not only did Satan seek to obscure the truth about the king in the verse being the pope, but by misdirecting the truth contained in the verse, Satan also made obscure the significance of what the “indignation” in the verse represented. The papacy in the verse was to prosper until 1798 when it was delivered its deadly wound. 1798 is the end of the twenty-five hundred and twenty years of God’s indignation that was carried out against the northern kingdom of Israel, beginning in 723 BC.
撒但不仅试图遮掩经文中那位王指的是教皇这一真理，而且通过误导人对经文所含真理的理解，也使经文中“忿怒”所代表的意义变得模糊。经文中的教皇权将兴盛，直到1798年遭受致命一击。1798年是上帝对以色列北国所施行的两千五百二十年忿怒的终点，这一时期始于公元前723年。
If Adventism had defended and upheld the “seven times,” in 1863, it would have been virtually impossible for Uriah Smith to get away with such foolishness about verse thirty-six, for the “indignation” would have been understood as representing God’s first indignation of “seven times,” thus having no connection whatsoever with France. The increase of knowledge in 1989 is supported by Paul in the passage, and for this reason the warning of Paul in the passage concerning those who do not receive the love of the truth, but receive strong delusion, do so through their rejection of the truths Paul presents in the passage. One of those truths is the correct identification of the king of the north in Daniel chapter eleven, verses forty through forty-five.
如果复临派在1863年捍卫并坚持“七次”，尤赖亚·史密斯就几乎不可能凭着关于第36节的那种愚蠢说法蒙混过关，因为“忿怒”本会被理解为代表上帝“七次”中的第一次忿怒，因此与法国毫无关联。 1989年的“知识增长”在这段经文中得到了保罗的支持；因此，保罗在这段经文中对那些不接受真理之爱、反而接受强烈迷惑之人的警告，正是指出他们这样做是因为他们拒绝了保罗在这段经文中所呈现的真理。其中一项真理，就是对但以理书第十一章四十至四十五节中“北方王”的正确认定。
In the passage, after Paul identifies the pope of Rome, he identifies a sequence of events at the end of the world leading up to the Second Coming of Christ, which is the subject of the passage. He states, “then shall that Wicked be revealed.” That “wicked” is the pope, “whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Then Paul says “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.” Jesus is the one “whose coming is after the working of Satan.”
在这段经文中，保罗在指出罗马的教皇之后，又指出世界末了的一连串事件，直至基督的第二次降临，而这正是该段经文的主题。他说：“那时，那不法的人就要显露出来。”这个“不法的人”就是教皇，“主必用他口中的气消灭他，并用他降临的光辉毁灭他。”然后保罗说：“这人来，是照着撒但的运作，带着各样的能力、神迹和虚假的奇事。”耶稣就是那位“其来是照着撒但的运作”的人。
Satan’s miraculous working is the period of time from the soon-coming Sunday Law, until Michael stands up and human probation closes. Satan accomplishes no miracles during the Seven Last Plagues that are poured out from the close of probation until Christ returns.
撒但施行奇迹的时期，是从即将来临的星期日法令开始，直到米迦勒站起来、人类恩典期结束为止。从恩典期结束直到基督复临这段时间所倾倒下来的末后七灾期间，撒但不施行任何奇迹。
“Says Christ, ‘By their fruits ye shall know them.’ If those through whom cures are performed, are disposed, on account of these manifestations, to excuse their neglect of the law of God and continue in disobedience, though they have power to any and every extent, it does not follow that they have the great power of God. On the contrary, it is the miracle-working power of the great deceiver. He is a transgressor of the moral law, and employs every device that he can master to blind men to its true character. We are warned that in the last days he will work with signs and lying wonders. And he will continue these wonders until the close of probation, that he may point to them as evidence that he is an angel of light and not of darkness.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, volume 7, 911.
基督说：“凭着他们的果子，就可以认出他们来。”若那些藉其手施行医治的人，因这些显现就倾向于为自己忽视上帝的律法开脱，并继续不顺从，纵然他们拥有各样能力，也并不意味着他们具有上帝的大能。相反，那是大欺骗者施行神迹的能力。他是道德律的违犯者，并尽其所能运用一切手段，使人对它的真实品格视而不见。我们蒙警告说，在末后的日子，他要施展神迹和虚假的奇事。他要持续这些奇事，直到恩典期结束，好让他可以指着这些作为证据，证明他是光明的天使，而不是属黑暗的。《基督复临安息日会圣经注释》，第七卷，第911页。
Paul identifies that there would be a falling away that preceded the revealing of the papacy, and that Christ’s Second Coming would take place “after” the marvelous working of Satan. Satan’s marvelous working begins at the Sunday law in the United States, and ends at the arrival of the close of probation and the seven last plagues. Satan’s marvelous working begins at the Sunday law in the United States.
保罗指出，将会有一次背道，先于教皇权的显露；并且基督的再临将发生在撒但的奇妙作为“之后”。撒但的奇妙作为始于美国的星期日法令，并在恩典期结束及末后七大灾来临时告终。撒但的奇妙作为始于美国的星期日法令。
“By the decree enforcing the institution of the Papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with Spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.” Testimonies, volume 5, 451.
“藉着一项强制推行教皇制度、违背上帝律法的法令，我国将完全与公义断绝关系。当新教伸手越过鸿沟，与罗马势力握手；当她越过深渊，与招魂术携手；当在这三重联合的影响之下，我国将摒弃其作为一个新教和共和政体之国家宪法的每一项原则，并为传播教皇制度的谬妄与迷惑预作安排之时，那时我们便可知道，撒但奇异作为的时候已经到了，且末日近了。”《证言》卷五，451页。
The Sunday law is the end of the sixth kingdom, the earth beast of Revelation chapter thirteen. The earth beast began to reign at the end of the twelve hundred and sixty years of papal rule in 1798. The papacy was therefore revealed in the year 538, though her work to take control of the world was already active when Paul penned his words. Before the year 538, there would be a falling away that preceded the revealing of the man of sin, sitting in the temple of God.
星期日法令是第六个王国的终结，即启示录第十三章中的地兽。地兽在1798年、教皇统治的一千二百六十年结束时开始掌权。因此，教皇制度在538年被显明，尽管当保罗写下他的话时，其谋求掌控世界的工作已经在进行。538年之前，会有一次背道，这将先于那坐在神的殿里的罪恶之人的显露。
The falling away was represented by the church of Pergamos when the Christian church compromised with the religion of paganism, as symbolized by the emperor Constantine. Paul was identifying the prophetic waymarks that must occur before the Second Coming of Christ. After rehearsing what he had previously taught the Thessalonians, he then asks if they did not remember that he had previously taught them these truths? He then reminds them they should also remember that he taught them that a power would “withholdeth” the papacy “that” the papacy “might be revealed in his time?” The word “witholdeth” means to restrain. The word “withholdeth” is later in the same passage translated as “now letteth.”
当基督教会与异教宗教妥协之时所出现的背道，由别迦摩教会所代表，这一情形又由君士坦丁皇帝所象征。保罗正在指出在基督再临之前必须发生的预言性标志。他在复述了先前对帖撒罗尼迦人的教导之后，便问他们难道不记得他以前把这些真理教导过他们吗？随后他提醒他们，他们也应该记得，他曾教导他们，有一种权势会“withholdeth”教皇制度，“that”教皇制度“might be revealed in his time”？“witholdeth”一词的意思是“约束”。在同一段经文中，“withholdeth”后来被译作“now letteth”。
The passage is therefore correctly represented as; “And now ye know what restrains the papacy, that the papacy might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity (the papacy) doth already work: only he who now restrains the papacy, will continue to restrain the papacy until he be taken out of the way.” When William Miller recognized this passage in Thessalonians he realized that the power that prevented the papacy from ascending to the throne of the earth in the year 538, was pagan Rome, and that pagan Rome would restrain the rise of the papal power, until pagan Rome was “taken out of the way.”
因此，这段经文可以正确地表述为：“如今你们知道是什么在拦阻教皇制度，好使教皇制度在他的时候得以显明。因为那不法的奥秘（即教皇制度）已经发动；只是那现在拦阻教皇制度的，还要继续拦阻，直到他被挪开。”当威廉·米勒认识到帖撒罗尼迦书中的这段经文时，他意识到，在公元538年阻止教皇制度登上世界的宝座的权势是异教罗马，而且异教罗马将拦阻教皇权势的兴起，直到异教罗马被‘挪开’。
“During, the twelve years I was a deist, I read all histories I could find; but now I loved the Bible. It taught of Jesus! But still there was a good deal of the Bible that was dark to me. In 1818 or 19, while conversing with a friend! To whom I made a visit, and who had known and heard me talk while I was a deist, he inquired, in rather a significant manner, ‘What do you think of this text, and that?’ referring to the old texts I objected to while a deist. I understood what he was about, and replied—If you will give me time, I will tell you what they mean. ‘How long time do you want?’ I don’t know, but I will tell you, I replied, for I could not believe that God had given a revelation that could not be understood I then resolved to study my Bible, believing I could find out what the Holy Spirit meant. But as soon as I had formed this resolution the thought came to me—‘Suppose you find a passage that you cannot understand, what will you do?’ This mode of studying the Bible then came to my mind:—I will take the words of such passages, and trace them through the Bible, and find out their meaning in this way. I had Cruden’s Concordance, which I think is the best in the world; so I took that and my Bible, and set down to my desk, and read nothing else, except the newspapers a little, for I was determined to know what my Bible meant.
在我做自然神论者的那十二年里，我把能找到的一切历史著作都读了；但如今我爱上了《圣经》。它讲到了耶稣！不过，《圣经》里仍有许多地方对我来说是晦涩的。大约在1818或1819年，我去拜访一位朋友，与他交谈时——他在我做自然神论者时就认识我，也听过我当时的谈论——他颇有深意地问道：“你怎么看这段经文、那段经文？”指的正是我做自然神论者时所反对的那些旧经文。我明白他的用意，便回答：“如果你给我一点时间，我会告诉你它们的意思。”“你要多久？”“我不知道，但我会告诉你。”我答道，因为我不相信上帝赐下的启示是无法理解的。于是我下决心研读我的《圣经》，相信我能弄清圣灵的意思。然而我一立下这个决心，心里就冒出一个念头：“假如你遇到一段你不能理解的经文，你怎么办？”于是我想到了这样一种研读《圣经》的方法：把这些经文中的词语拿出来，在整本《圣经》中追踪查考，就这样找出它们的含义。我有一本克鲁登的经文索引，我认为那是世界上最好的；于是我拿着那本书和我的《圣经》，坐到书桌前，除了偶尔看看报纸之外，什么也不读，因为我决心要知道我的《圣经》是什么意思。
“I began at Genesis, and read on slowly; and when I came to a text that I could not understand, I searched through the Bible to find out what it meant. After I had gone through the Bible in this way, O, how bright and glorious the truth appeared! I found what I have been preaching to you. I was satisfied that the seven times terminated in 1843. Then I came to the 2300 days; they brought me to the same conclusion; but I had no thought of finding out when the Savior was coming, and I could not believe it; but the light struck me so forcibly I did not know what to do. Now, I thought, I must put on spurs and breeching; I will not go faster than the Bible, and I will not fall behind it. Whatever the Bible teaches, I will hold on to it. But still there were some texts that I could not understand.’
我从《创世记》开始，慢慢地读下去；当我读到一段我不明白的经文时，我就在《圣经》中查考，想弄清它的意思。用这种方式通读《圣经》之后，哦，真理显得何等明亮而荣耀！我找到了我一直向你们所传讲的道理。我确信“七个时候”在1843年结束。后来我又读到二千三百日；它们也使我得出了同样的结论；但我并没有打算要查出救主何时降临，我也无法相信；然而那光如此有力地击中我，使我不知所措。现在，我想，我必须既加鞭也束缰；我不会走在《圣经》前面，也不会落在它后面。无论《圣经》教导什么，我都要持守。不过，仍然有一些经文是我不能明白的。
“So much for his general mode of studying the Bible. On another occasion he stated his mode of settling the meaning of the text before us—the meaning of ‘the daily.’ ‘I read on,’ said he, ‘and could find no other case in which it was found, but in Daniel. I then took those words which stood in connection with it, ‘take away.’ He shall take away the daily, ‘from the time the daily shall be taken away,’ etc. I read on, and thought I should find no light on the text; finally I came to 2 Thessalonians 2:7–8. ‘For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he who now letteth, will let, until he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked be revealed,’ etc. And when I had come to that text, O, how clear and glorious the truth appeared! There it is! that is ‘the daily!’ Well, now, what does Paul mean by ‘he who now letteth,’ or hindereth? By ‘the man of sin,’ and ‘the wicked,’ Popery is meant. Well, what is it which hinders Popery from being revealed? Why, it is Paganism; well, then, ‘the daily’ must mean Paganism.” William Miller, Apollos Hale, The Second Advent Manual, 65, 66.
关于他研读圣经的一般方法，大致如此。另一次，他陈述了他确定我们眼前这段经文含义的方法——“the daily”的意思。“我继续往下读，”他说，“却发现除了在《但以理书》里，它没有出现在别处。于是我抓住与它相连的那些词——‘除去’。‘他必除去the daily’，‘从the daily被除去的时候起’，等等。我继续读下去，以为在这段经文上找不到亮光；最后我读到《帖撒罗尼迦后书》2:7-8：‘因为那不法的奥秘已经发动，只是现在拦阻的，还要拦阻，直到他被除去；然后那不法的人就要显露’，等等。当我读到那段经文时，哦，真理何等清楚、何等荣耀！就在那儿！那就是‘the daily’！那么，现在保罗所说的‘现在拦阻的那位’，或拦阻者，是指什么？‘那罪恶之人’和‘那不法的人’，指的是教皇制度。那么，是什么拦阻教皇制度被显明呢？当然是异教；那么，‘the daily’就必定是指异教。” William Miller, Apollos Hale，《第二次降临手册》，65、66。
Without an understanding that “the daily” in the book of Daniel was a symbol of paganism, Miller would have been hard pressed to develop the framework that he assembled his prophetic structure upon. “The daily” is found five times in the book of Daniel, and it is always followed by a symbol of papalism. The evidence that “the daily” in the book of Daniel is paganism is located in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. One of the most severe warnings in God’s Word is located there, for there Paul clearly states that those who do not love the truth will be sent strong delusion. The truth that was purposely located in Thessalonians was the identification of paganism’s connection with papalism, and to reject that truth is to guarantee that strong delusion will be the consequence of that rejection.
若不明白《但以理书》中的“常献的”是异教的象征，米勒就很难发展出他据以构建其预言架构的框架。“常献的”在《但以理书》中出现五次，而且其后总是跟着一个教皇主义的象征。证明《但以理书》中的“常献的”就是异教的证据，位于保罗写给帖撒罗尼迦人的书信中。神的话语中最严厉的警告之一就在那里，因为保罗在那里清楚地指出，不爱真理的人将被降下强烈的迷惑。特意置于帖撒罗尼迦书信中的那项真理，就是识别异教与教皇主义之间的联系；拒绝那真理，必然以强烈的迷惑作为那种拒绝的后果。
We will continue this subject in the next article.
我们将在下一篇文章中继续这个话题。
Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? Isaiah 29:9–16.
你们要停住而惊奇；要呼喊而哀号：他们醉了，却不是因酒；他们东倒西歪，却不是因浓酒。因为耶和华将沉睡的灵浇灌你们，闭了你们的眼；先知和你们的首领，以及先见，他都遮蔽了。对你们来说，这一切异象都如同封住的书卷上的话；人将这书卷交给识字的人，说，请念吧；他说，我不能念，因为是封住的。又将这书卷交给不识字的人，说，请念吧；他说，我不识字。所以主说：因为这百姓用口亲近我，用嘴唇尊敬我，心却远离我；他们敬畏我，不过是领受人的吩咐。故此，看哪，我必再向这百姓行奇妙的事，就是奇妙又可畏的事；因为他们智慧人的智慧必然消灭，聪明人的聪明必然隐藏。祸哉，那些深藏计谋、躲避耶和华的人！他们在暗中行事，说：谁看见我们呢？谁知道我们呢？你们把事颠倒了，岂可看窑匠如泥吗？被造的岂可论造它的说：他没有造我？受塑造的岂可论塑造它的说：他没有聪明呢？以赛亚书 29:9–16。