In the previous two articles addressing the private interpretation that claims that the United States has been typified by the “robbers of thy people” who “establish the vision” in Daniel chapter eleven verse fourteen we cited a passage from the pen of Ellen White which stated, “The members of the church will individually be tested and proved.” That proving, testing, sifting process which is represented as the Messenger of the Covenant in Malachi chapter three cleansing the silver and gold is now under way. In Malachi chapter three it identifies a purging.
在前两篇文章中，我们讨论了一种私人解释，该解释宣称美国被但以理书十一章十四节中“你民中的强盗”，即“坚立这异象”的人所预表；我们引用了Ellen White的一段话，其中说：“教会的成员将各自受试验并受检验。”那种证明、试验、筛选的过程，在玛拉基书第三章中被描绘为“立约的使者”炼净金银，如今正在进行。玛拉基书第三章指出这是一场洁净。
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. Malachi 3:3, 4.
他要坐下，如同炼银、洁净银子的匠人；他要洁净利未的子孙，像炼金炼银那样炼净他们，使他们能以公义向耶和华献上供物。那时，犹大和耶路撒冷的供物必蒙耶和华喜悦，如同古时的日子、往年的岁月。玛拉基书 3:3、4。
Those who hold to the idea that the United States is the symbol which establishes the vision have been unable or unwilling to understand that the message that was unsealed in July of 2023 is what purges the candidates to be among the one hundred and forty-four thousand. In the synagogue at Capernaum the final purging of the one hundred and forty-four thousand was typified.
那些坚持认为美国是用以确立这一异象的象征的人，一直无法或不愿理解：2023年7月被揭开的那则信息，正是用来淘汰并洁净那些将进入十四万四千人之列的候选人的。迦百农的会堂中预表了对十四万四千人的最终洁净。
“Jesus told them plainly, ‘There are some of you that believe not;’ adding, ‘Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father.’ He wished them to understand that if they were not drawn to Him it was because their hearts were not open to the Holy Spirit. ‘The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.’ 1 Corinthians 2:14. It is by faith that the soul beholds the glory of Jesus. This glory is hidden, until, through the Holy Spirit, faith is kindled in the soul.
耶稣直言对他们说：“你们中间有不信的人。”又说：“所以我对你们说，若不是蒙我父赐给的，没有人能到我这里来。”他要他们明白，如果他们没有被吸引到他那里，是因为他们的心没有向圣灵敞开。“属血气的人不接受神的灵的事，因为在他看来是愚拙的；并且他不能认识这些事，因为这些事是属灵的，只能属灵地辨明。”哥林多前书 2:14。唯有借着信心，灵魂才能看见耶稣的荣耀。这荣耀是隐藏的，直到借着圣灵，信心在灵魂里被点燃。
“By the public rebuke of their unbelief these disciples were still further alienated from Jesus. They were greatly displeased, and wishing to wound the Saviour and gratify the malice of the Pharisees, they turned their backs upon Him, and left Him with disdain. They had made their choice,—had taken the form without the spirit, the husk without the kernel. Their decision was never afterward reversed; for they walked no more with Jesus.
因着对他们不信的公开责备，这些门徒与耶稣更加疏远了。他们大为不悦，为了刺伤救主并迎合法利赛人的恶意，便转过身去，带着轻蔑离开了他。他们已经作出选择——有其形而无其神，得其壳而失其实。他们的决定此后从未改变，因为他们从此不再与耶稣同行。
“‘Whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner.’ Matthew 3:12. This was one of the times of purging. By the words of truth, the chaff was being separated from the wheat. Because they were too vain and self-righteous to receive reproof, too world-loving to accept a life of humility, many turned away from Jesus. Many are still doing the same thing. Souls are tested today as were those disciples in the synagogue at Capernaum. When truth is brought home to the heart, they see that their lives are not in accordance with the will of God. They see the need of an entire change in themselves; but they are not willing to take up the self-denying work. Therefore they are angry when their sins are discovered. They go away offended, even as the disciples left Jesus, murmuring, ‘This is an hard saying; who can hear it?’” The Desire of Ages, 392.
“他手里拿着簸箕，必彻底洁净他的禾场，把他的麦子收进仓里。”（马太福音3:12）这是一次洁净的时刻之一。借着真理的话，糠秕正与麦子分开。因为他们过于虚荣自义，不肯接受责备，又太爱世界，不愿接受谦卑的生活，许多人就离开了耶稣。直到今天，仍有许多人这样做。今日人心受试验，正如当日迦百农会堂里的那些门徒一样。当真理临到人心，他们看见自己的生活不符合上帝的旨意；他们看出自己需要彻底改变；但他们不愿承担舍己的功课。因此，当他们的罪被揭露时，他们就发怒。他们因受冒犯而离去，正如那些门徒离开耶稣时喃喃抱怨：“这话甚难，谁能听呢？”——《历代愿望》，392页。
By “words of truth” the gold and silver of Malachi’s illustration of the final temple cleansing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand was represented.
玛拉基关于对十四万四千人的最终圣殿洁净的比喻中的金与银，是由“真理的话语”所代表的。
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap. Malachi 3:1, 2.
看哪，我要差遣我的使者，他要在我前面预备道路；你们所寻求的主必忽然进入他的殿，就是你们所喜悦的立约的使者。看哪，他要来，这是万军之耶和华说的。但谁能当得起他来的日子呢？他显现的时候，谁能站立得住呢？因为他如炼金之人的火，又如漂布之人的碱。玛拉基书 3:1-2。
All the prophets, including Malachi are identifying the last days. In the first of these articles we cited, The 1888 Materials, page 403, where we are informed, “He who rests satisfied with his own present imperfect knowledge of the Scriptures, thinking this sufficient for his salvation, is resting in a fatal deception. There are many who are not thoroughly furnished with Scriptural arguments, that they may be able to discern error, and condemn all the tradition and superstition that has been palmed off as truth.” Those identified in the same passage “are not close Bible students,” who have “not studied to a purpose” the “passages of Scripture” where there exists “differences of opinion.” Those being addressed “do not read the Bible [in order] to appropriate the marrow and fatness to their own souls. They do not feel that it is the voice of God speaking to them. But, if we would understand the way of salvation, if we would see the beams of the Sun of righteousness,” they “must study the Scriptures for a purpose.”
所有先知，包括玛拉基，都在指认末后的日子。我们所引用的这些文章中的第一篇，《1888文献》第403页上如此告诉我们：“那满足于自己目前对圣经不完全的认识，认为这已足以使他得救的人，正安卧在致命的自欺之中。许多人并未以圣经的论据装备得十分充分，因而不能辨明错误，也不能驳斥一切被冒充为真理的传统和迷信。”同一段落所指的人“并非认真研读圣经的人”，他们并没有“有的放矢地研究”那些存在“意见分歧”的“圣经经文”。被劝勉的这些人“读圣经并不是为要把其中的髓与肥甘据为己有，滋养自己的心灵。他们并不觉得那是上帝向他们说话的声音。然而，若我们要明白救恩之道，若我们要看见公义之日头的光芒，”他们“就必须带着目的地研读圣经。”
The first article identified that one of the pieces of their misguided prophetic model is the passage from The Great Controversy, which records, “Romanism in the Old World and apostate Protestantism in the New will pursue a similar course toward those who honor all the divine precepts.” The Great Controversy, 615. Their private interpretation claims this sentence is identifying “Romanism” as past history and “apostate Protestantism” as the modern world. After the grammatical evidence that the application they make on this sentence has been wrested from its correct meaning, they exhibited no public retraction of the false application. In fact they used the very passage to advertise their next zoom meeting. Yet we are informed that “We ought to impress upon all the necessity of inquiring diligently into divine truth, that they may know that they do know what is truth.” There was no effort to retract the false claim, which appears to be evidence that those promoting this false application are not “inquiring diligently” to “know what is truth.”
第一篇文章指出，他们那误导性的预言模型的一个组成部分，是出自《大争论》的一段话，其中记载：“旧世界的罗马主义与新世界的背道新教，将对那些尊崇一切神圣诫命的人采取类似的做法。”《大争论》，第615页。他们的私人解读声称，这句话把“罗马主义”指为过去的历史，把“背道新教”指为现代世界。在有语法证据表明他们对这句话的套用已被歪曲、偏离其正确含义之后，他们并未公开撤回这一错误的套用。事实上，他们还用这段文字为他们下一场 Zoom 会议做宣传。然而我们被告知：“我们应当向所有人强调殷勤探求神圣真理的必要，使他们知道自己确实知道何为真理。”他们没有作出任何撤回这一虚假主张的努力，这似乎正说明，那些宣扬这一错误套用的人并未“殷勤探求”以“知道何为真理”。
From the beginning of this controversy, we have approached it as if it was more than simply a disagreement between truth and error over who the robbers of thy people represent, and I still hold that position. The articles on the book of Daniel had reached a point by number two hundred where the significance of verses thirteen to fifteen of Daniel eleven had been soundly set forth. The verses represent the history from 1989 unto the soon-coming Sunday law that exists in verse forty of Daniel eleven.
自这场争议一开始，我们就把它看作远不只是关于“你民中的强暴人”究竟代表谁这一真伪之争；我至今仍持此立场。关于《但以理书》的系列文章，到第二百篇时，已经达到这样一个阶段：但以理书十一章十三至十五节的重要性已被有力地阐明。这些经文所代表的是，从1989年一直到但以理书十一章四十节所记载的、即将到来的周日法令之间的历史。
We have been identifying that history as the hidden history of verse forty. We have also identified that when Sister Whites states “the book that was sealed is not the Revelation, but that portion of the prophecy of Daniel relating to the last days,” that the hidden history of Daniel chapter eleven verse forty is “that portion of the prophecy of Daniel.” Verses thirteen through fifteen represent the prophetic truth which is unsealed in the last days. Those three verses are therefore also represented as both the “Revelation of Jesus Christ” and the “Seven Thunders” in the book of Revelation that is unsealed just prior to the close of probation. When Sister White refers to that “portion of the book of Daniel,” the passage where the statement is located states:
我们一直将那段历史辨识为第四十节的隐藏历史。我们也辨识到，当怀特姐妹说“被封住的书不是《启示录》，而是《但以理书》中与末后日子相关的那一部分预言”时，《但以理书》第十一章第四十节的隐藏历史就是“《但以理书》预言的那一部分”。第十三至十五节代表在末后日子被开启的预言真理。因此，这三节经文也被表述为《启示录》中的“耶稣基督的启示”和“七雷”，而这些内容是在恩典之门关闭前不久才被开启的。当怀特姐妹提到那“《但以理书》的一部分”时，该语句所在的段落写道：
“Let none think, because they cannot explain the meaning of every symbol in the Revelation, that it is useless for them to search this book in an effort to know the meaning of the truth it contains. The One who revealed these mysteries to John will give to the diligent searcher for truth a foretaste of heavenly things. Those whose hearts are open to the reception of truth will be enabled to understand its teachings, and will be granted the blessing promised to those who ‘hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.’
不要有人因为自己不能解释《启示录》中每个象征的含义，就以为为了认识其中所包含的真理而查考这本书是徒劳的。那位将这些奥秘启示给约翰的，必赐给殷勤寻求真理的人先尝天上之事的滋味。凡心向真理敞开的人，都能明白其中的教训，并得着那应许给那些“听这预言的话，并遵守其中所记载的”之人的福分。
“In the Revelation all the books of the Bible meet and end. Here is the complement of the book of Daniel. One is a prophecy; the other a revelation. The book that was sealed is not the Revelation, but that portion of the prophecy of Daniel relating to the last days. The angel commanded, ‘But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end.’ Daniel 12:4.” Acts of the Apostles, 584, 585.
“在《启示录》中，圣经所有的书卷在此汇聚并终结。这里是《但以理书》的补充。一个是预言；另一个是启示。被封住的书不是《启示录》，而是《但以理书》中与末后的日子有关的那部分预言。天使吩咐说：‘至于你，但以理啊，要隐藏这话，封闭这书，直到末时。’但以理书12:4。”《使徒行传》，584、585。
The word “complement” means to bring to perfection. The portion of the book of Daniel that relates to the last days, which is unsealed at the time of the end, is made perfect when combined, “line upon line” with the “Revelation of Jesus Christ,” and “the Seven Thunders.” Those three representations are the message which is unsealed, and therefore represents the “words of truth” that are employed to “purge” the one hundred and forty four thousand in the final temple cleansing of Malachi, as represented in verses thirteen to fifteen of Daniel eleven. The verse in the middle is the verse where the current controversy is represented, and as such represents the identical controversy that confronted the Millerites in their prophetic history.
“complement”一词的意思是使之臻于完美。 但以理书中与末后的日子有关、在末时被解封的那一部分，当与“耶稣基督的启示”和“七雷”以“一行接一行”的方式相互对应并结合时，便得以成全。 这三种表述就是那被解封的信息，因此代表“真理的话语”，这些话语被用来在玛拉基书中的最终圣殿洁净中“炼净”十四万四千人，正如但以理书十一章十三至十五节所呈现的那样。 中间那节经文就是呈现当前争议的经文，因此也呈现了米勒派在其预言历史中所遭遇的同样争议。
To claim the “robbers of thy people” in verse fourteen is the United States is a perfect parallel to the Protestants of Millerite history claiming that the robbers represented Antiochus Epiphanes. The controversy will purge the dross from the gold and silver, but the more important issue is that the controversy has been allowed to lead those represented by the Levites of Malachi chapter three to study more deeply than ever before God’s prophetic Word. The “dirt brush Man” of William Miller’s dream is now sweeping the counterfeit coins and jewels out of the room, in advance of His work in reassembling the genuine jewels into a perfect order which shines ten times brighter than the sun.
把第十四节中的“你百姓中的强盗”解释为美国，这种说法与米勒派历史中的新教徒把这些强盗解释为安提阿古·伊皮法尼斯如出一辙。这场争议会把金银中的渣滓炼尽，但更重要的是，这场争议被允许引导那些由《玛拉基书》第三章中的利未人所代表的人，比以往任何时候都更深入地研读上帝的预言之道。威廉·米勒梦中的“拿着除尘刷的人”如今正把假币和假宝石从房间里清扫出去，为祂随后把真正的宝石重新排列成一个完美的次序作预备，使其光辉比太阳明亮十倍。
The controversy was allowed to take place to accomplish that very work, for we have been informed that, “God will arouse His people; if other means fail, heresies will come in among them, which will sift them, separating the chaff from the wheat. The Lord calls upon all who believe His word to awake out of sleep. Precious light has come, appropriate for this time. It is Bible truth, showing the perils that are right upon us. This light should lead us to a diligent study of the Scriptures and a most critical examination of the positions which we hold. God would have all the bearings and positions of truth thoroughly and perseveringly searched, with prayer and fasting. Believers are not to rest in suppositions and ill-defined ideas of what constitutes truth.”
这场争议被允许发生，正是为成就那项工作，因为我们被告知：“上帝要唤醒祂的子民；若其他方式都不奏效，异端就会进入他们中间，筛选他们，把糠秕与麦子分开。主呼召一切相信祂话语的人从沉睡中醒来。适合这个时期的宝贵亮光已经来到。这是圣经的真理，指出正临到我们身上的危险。这亮光应当引导我们殷勤查考圣经，并对我们所持的立场作最严格的省察。上帝要我们在祷告和禁食中，彻底而坚持不懈地查究真理的一切层面与立场。信徒不可满足于臆测，或对真理为何的含糊不清的观念。”
The “heresies” He allows and employs to arouse His sleeping saints are “old controversies.”
祂所允许并用以唤醒祂的沉睡圣徒的“异端”，都是“旧的争议”。
“In history and prophecy the Word of God portrays the long continued conflict between truth and error. That conflict is yet in progress. Those things which have been, will be repeated. Old controversies will be revived, and new theories will be continually arising. But God’s people, who in their belief and fulfillment of prophecy have acted a part in the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages, know where they stand. They have an experience that is more precious than fine gold. They are to stand firm as a rock, holding the beginning of their confidence steadfast unto the end.” Selected Message, book 2, 109.
在历史和预言中，上帝的话语描绘了真理与错误之间长期持续的争战。这场争战仍在进行。以往发生的事还会重演。旧的争端将被重新挑起，新的理论将不断涌现。但是，上帝的子民——他们在信守并见证预言、参与宣告第一、第二、第三位天使的信息时——知道自己所处的立场。他们拥有比精金更宝贵的经验。他们要像磐石一样站立得稳，把起初的信心坚持到底。精选的信息，第二册，第109页。
The controversy over the “robbers of thy people” is an old controversy from the Millerite history, which is the “beginning of their confidence” that they are told to hold “steadfast to the end.” The “beginning of” the one hundred and forty-four thousand’s “confidence” is the foundational truths which are represented upon the 1843 and 1850 pioneer charts.
关于“劫掠你百姓的人”的争论，是源自米勒派历史的一场旧争论，这正是他们被告知要“坚守到底”的“起初的信心”。十四万四千人“信心的起初”，就是那些呈现在1843年和1850年先驱图表上的基础性真理。
“The enemy is seeking to divert the minds of our brethren and sisters from the work of preparing a people to stand in these last days. His sophistries are designed to lead minds away from the perils and duties of the hour. They estimate as nothing the light that Christ came from heaven to give John for his people. They teach that the scenes just before us are not of sufficient importance to receive special attention. They make of no effect the truth of heavenly origin, and rob the people of God of their past experience, giving them instead a false science.
仇敌正设法把我们弟兄姊妹的心思从那预备一班人能在这末后的日子站立得住的工作上转移开来。他的诡辩之辞旨在使人心远离当下时刻的危险与职责。他们把基督从天而来为祂的子民赐给约翰的亮光看作毫无价值。他们教导说，近在眼前的情景并没有重要到需要给予特别的关注。他们使那出于天上的真理失去功效，并剥夺上帝子民以往的经验，以虚假的科学取而代之。
“‘Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein.’
耶和华如此说：你们要站在路上观看，询问古道，哪一条是善道，就行在其间。
“Let none seek to tear away the foundations of our faith,—the foundations that were laid at the beginning of our work, by prayerful study of the Word and by revelation. Upon these foundations we have been building for the last fifty years. Men may suppose that they have found a new way, and that they can lay a stronger foundation than that which has been laid. But this is a great deception. Other foundation can no man lay than that which has been laid.
不要让任何人企图拆毁我们信仰的根基——那根基是在我们工作之初，借着在祷告中研读上帝的话语，并借着启示所奠定的。过去五十年来，我们一直在这些根基之上建造。有人或许以为他们找到了新的道路，能够奠下比已经奠定的更坚固的根基，但这是一场极大的欺骗。除了已经奠定的根基以外，没有人能另立别的根基。
“In the past many have undertaken the building of a new faith, the establishment of new principles. But how long did their building stand?—It soon fell; for it was not founded upon the Rock.
过去，许多人曾着手创立新的信仰、确立新的原则。然而他们所建造的能屹立多久呢？很快就倒塌了，因为它并非建基于磐石。
“Did not the first disciples have to meet the sayings of men? Did they not have to listen to false theories, and then, having done all, to stand firm, saying, ‘Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid’?
难道最初的门徒不也必须面对人的言论吗？他们难道不也得听那些谬论，然后在尽其所能之后，仍要站立得稳，说：“除了已经立下的根基以外，没有人能再立别的根基”？
“So we are to hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. Words of power have been sent by God and by Christ to this people, bringing them out from the world, point by point, into the clear light of present truth. With lips touched with holy fire, God’s servants have proclaimed the message. The divine utterance has set its seal to the genuineness of the truth proclaimed.” Review and Herald, March 3, 1904.
所以，我们要将起初的信心坚定地持守到底。上帝和基督已将大能的话语赐给这百姓，逐步把他们从世界中带出来，使他们进入现今真理清明的光照中。上帝的仆人，嘴唇蒙圣火触及，已经宣讲了这信息。神圣的宣告已加盖印证，证实所宣之真理的真实性。评论与先驱，1904年3月3日。
Jeremiah’s “old paths,” are the “foundations that were laid at the beginning of our work.” Those truths were founded “upon the Rock,” and in the Millerite history those foundational truths were the “present truth” message that was proclaimed in 1842, 1843 and 1844.
耶利米所说的“古道”，就是“在我们工作之初所奠定的根基”。这些真理奠基于“磐石”之上；在米勒派的历史中，这些根基性的真理就是在1842年、1843年和1844年所宣讲的“现今真理”信息。
“May God help you to receive the words that I have spoken. Let those who stand as God’s watchmen on the walls of Zion be men who can see the dangers before the people,—men who can distinguish between truth and error, righteousness and unrighteousness.
愿上帝帮助你领受我所说的话。愿那些在锡安的城墙上作上帝守望者的人，都是能看见摆在百姓面前的危险、能分辨真理与谬误、公义与不义的人。
“The warning has come: Nothing is to be allowed to come in that will disturb the foundation of the faith upon which we have been building ever since the message came in 1842, 1843, and 1844. I was in this message, and ever since I have been standing before the world, true to the light that God has given us. We do not propose to take our feet off the platform on which they were placed as day by day we sought the Lord with earnest prayer, seeking for light. Do you think that I could give up the light that God has given me? It is to be as the Rock of Ages. It has been guiding me ever since it was given. Brethren and sisters, God lives and reigns and works today. His hand is on the wheel, and in his providence he is turning the wheel in accordance with his own will. Let not men fasten themselves to documents, saying what they will do, and what they will not do. Let them fasten themselves to the Lord God of heaven. Then the light of heaven will shine into the soul-temple, and we shall see the salvation of God.” Review and Herald, April 14, 1903.
警告已经发出：不可容许任何会动摇我们自从1842年、1843年和1844年信息临到以来一直在其上建造的信仰根基的东西进入。我身在这信息之中；从那时起，我一直站在世人面前，忠于上帝赐给我们的亮光。我们并不打算把脚从那立场上移开——当我们日复一日以恳切的祷告寻求主、寻求亮光时，我们的脚就是安放在其上的。你们以为我会放弃上帝赐给我的亮光吗？它要像万古磐石那样。自从它赐下以来，它一直引导我。弟兄姐妹们，上帝今日仍活着、掌权并作工。他的手在轮上，在他的护理中，他按着自己的旨意转动着这车轮。不要让人把自己束缚在文件上，说他们要做什么、不做什么。让他们把自己紧紧连于天上的主上帝。这样，天上的光就要照进心灵的殿中，我们就要看见上帝的救恩。 《评论与先驱》，1903年4月14日。
The message that was proclaimed “in 1842, 1843, and 1844” is the message represented upon the 1843 pioneer chart. In May of 1842, three hundred 1843 charts were printed. Ellen White and the pioneers all gave testimony that the chart was a fulfillment of Habakkuk chapter two’s command to write the vision and make it plain upon tables. In that very history there were three hundred Millerite preachers, and SDA historians testify to the fact that they all employed the 1843 chart.
“在‘1842年、1843年和1844年’所宣讲的信息，就是呈现在1843年先驱图表上的信息。1842年5月，印制了三百张1843年图表。怀爱伦和先驱们都作见证，这张图表应验了《哈巴谷书》第二章要将异象写下并明明地写在版上的命令。就在那段历史中，有三百位米勒派传道人，安息日会历史学家也作证，他们都使用了1843年图表。”
What would possess a person to claim that the pioneer identification of Rome as the robbers of thy people, as represented upon the chart, is erroneous? What would possess someone to receive that claim? Yet, what possesses those of us that claim to accept the pioneer understanding that Rome is symbolized with the expression, “robbers of thy people,” and yet in reality not be able to defend that understanding for themselves?
是什么驱使一个人宣称，图表所呈现的先驱者关于将罗马认作“你百姓的强盗”的认定是错误的？又是什么使人接受那样的主张？然而，又是什么驱使我们这些自称接受先驱者的理解——即罗马被“你百姓的强盗”这一表述所象征——的人，实际上却无法为这种理解自行辩护？
In the first article we cited the following passage:
在第一篇文章中，我们引用了以下段落：
“Whatever may be man’s intellectual advancement, let him not for a moment think that there is no need of thorough and continuous searching of the Scriptures for greater light. As a people we are called individually to be students of prophecy. We must watch with earnestness that we may discern any ray of light which God shall present to us.” Testimonies, volume 5, 708.
无论人的智识如何进步，也不可片刻以为为了获得更大的亮光就不需要对圣经进行彻底而持续的查考。作为一个子民，我们被呼召，各人都要成为预言的学生。我们必须殷切警醒，好能分辨上帝向我们所显明的任何一点亮光。《证言》第五卷，第708页。
I claim the “light which God” is now presenting “to us” is that we have not fully awakened to our responsibility to personally understand the first fifteen verses of Daniel eleven, and that we have not understood that verses thirteen to fifteen of that same chapter represent the truths that accomplish the final purging and sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. If there were no heresies introduced in this very history it would provide evidence that we are wide awake. But this controversy proves otherwise.
我主张，“上帝的亮光”现在向“我们”所呈现的是：我们尚未完全觉醒，意识到自己有责任亲自明白《但以理书》十一章前十五节；并且我们也没有明白，同章第十三至第十五节所代表的，正是成就十四万四千人最终洁净与盖印之真理。若在这段历史中没有引入任何异端，那就足以证明我们非常警醒；但这场争论证明并非如此。
“The fact that there is no controversy or agitation among God’s people should not be regarded as conclusive evidence that they are holding fast to sound doctrine. There is reason to fear that they may not be clearly discriminating between truth and error. When no new questions are started by investigation of the Scriptures, when no difference of opinion arises which will set men to searching the Bible for themselves to make sure that they have the truth, there will be many now, as in ancient times, who will hold to tradition and worship they know not what. . ..
上帝的子民之间没有争议或骚动，这一事实不应被视为他们正在坚守纯正教义的确凿证据。有理由担心，他们可能并未清楚地区分真理与谬误。当对圣经的查考不再提出新的问题，当不再出现促使人们为确保自己拥有真理而亲自查考圣经的不同意见时，如同古时一样，如今也会有许多人拘守传统，敬拜他们所不认识的对象。……
“God will arouse His people; if other means fail, heresies will come in among them, which will sift them, separating the chaff from the wheat. The Lord calls upon all who believe His word to awake out of sleep. Precious light has come, appropriate for this time. It is Bible truth, showing the perils that are right upon us. This light should lead us to a diligent study of the Scriptures and a most critical examination of the positions which we hold. God would have all the bearings and positions of truth thoroughly and perseveringly searched, with prayer and fasting. Believers are not to rest in suppositions and ill-defined ideas of what constitutes truth. Their faith must be firmly founded upon the word of God so that when the testing time shall come and they are brought before councils to answer for their faith they may be able to give a reason for the hope that is in them, with meekness and fear.
上帝要唤醒祂的子民；若其他手段失效，异端就会进入他们中间，对他们加以筛选，把麦子与糠秕分开。主呼召一切信祂话语的人从睡梦中醒来。宝贵的亮光已经临到，正适用于这个时候。这是圣经的真理，指明迫在眉睫的危险。这道亮光应引导我们殷勤研读圣经，并最为严格地检视我们所持的立场。上帝愿我们以祷告与禁食，坚忍而彻底地查考真理的一切关联与立场。信徒不可满足于臆测和含混的观念，就以为那就是真理。他们的信心必须牢固地建立在上帝的话语上，好叫当试炼之时来到，他们被带到公会前为自己的信仰作答时，能以温柔敬畏的心，分诉他们心中盼望的缘由。
“Agitate, agitate, agitate. The subjects which we present to the world must be to us a living reality. It is important that in defending the doctrines which we consider fundamental articles of faith we should never allow ourselves to employ arguments that are not wholly sound.” Testimonies, volume 5, 708.
倡导，倡导，倡导。我们向世人提出的主题必须对我们来说是活生生的现实。重要的是，在为我们认为是信仰基本条款的教义辩护时，我们绝不可允许自己采用并非完全站得住脚的论据。《证言》卷五，第708页。
As we move forward in this consideration of the robbers of God’s people we will demonstrate that the argument upon verse fourteen of Daniel eleven between the Protestants and the Millerites is identical to the argument between the new and private interpretation that the United States, and not Rome, establishes the vision. The position that The Great Controversy uses the expression, “old world” to identify past history is a “supposition and ill-defined idea” and it is an illustration of an “argument that is not wholly sound.”
当我们继续探讨“抢夺上帝子民者”这一议题时，我们将证明：关于《但以理书》十一章十四节，新教徒与米勒派之间的争论，与围绕一种新的、私意的解释——认为成就那异象的是美国而非罗马——所展开的争论完全相同。认为 The Great Controversy 使用“old world”一词来指称过去历史的立场，是一种“臆测且界定不清的观念”，并且它也堪称一个“并非完全站得住脚的论证”的例证。
Those who have used the passage to uphold their supposition that the Millerites were incorrect in identifying Rome as the robbers of thy people, should fulfill their Christian obligation and publicly retract their claim, for it is unsustainable grammatically and historically. For those sitting on the side-lines of this controversy, you are responsible to rightly divide the word of truth, for you have been called to be an individual who is a student of prophecy, not a follower of a man’s idea.
那些用这段经文来支持他们的设想，认为米勒派把罗马认作“抢夺你百姓的人”是错误的，应该履行他们的基督徒本分，公开收回他们的主张，因为这在语法和历史上都站不住脚。至于在这场争论中旁观的人，你们有责任按着正意分解真理的道，因为你们蒙召成为研读预言的人，而不是做某个人见解的追随者。
Men wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction.
人们曲解圣经，自取灭亡。
And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:15–18.
并且要以我主长久忍耐为得救的因由；就如我们所亲爱的弟兄保罗，照着所赐给他的智慧，写了信给你们；他一切的信上也都是讲论这事。信中有些难明白的，那无学问、不坚固的人强解，如强解别的经书一样，就自取沉沦。亲爱的弟兄啊，你们既然预先知道这事，就当防备，恐怕被恶人的错谬诱惑，就从自己坚固的地步上坠落。你们却要在我们主、救主耶稣基督的恩典和知识上有长进。愿荣耀归给他，从今直到永远。阿们。彼得后书 3:15-18。
Peter states that it is the “unlearned and unstable” who “wrest” the Scriptures “unto their own destruction.” In agreement with that fact is Sister White’s repeated warnings to us to study for ourselves. If we are not fulfilling our responsibility to be students of prophecy, we are determining our own destruction.
彼得指出，“无学问、心志不定的人”会“强解”圣经，“以致自取沉沦”。与此一致的是，怀爱伦姊妹一再告诫我们要亲自研读。若我们没有尽到研读预言的本分，我们就是在自取灭亡。
It is the robbers of thy people who establish the vision, and Solomon identifies that where there is no vision the people perish.
成就那异象的，是你百姓中的强盗；所罗门指出，没有异象，民就灭亡。
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18.
没有异象，民就灭亡；惟遵守律法的，便为有福。箴言29:18。
One of the definitions of “perish” is to be made naked. Where there is an incorrect understanding of the vision, it is based upon the fact that the symbol that establishes the vision is not understood, or incorrectly understood. To be among those who perish in Solomon’s warning is to secure the nakedness represented by the Laodiceans who are spewed out of the mouth of the Lord at the soon coming Sunday law. Why would we accept an idea that misrepresents the clear meaning of Sister White’s comments upon the old and new world, and that rejects the Millerite identification that it is Rome who establishes the vision, which was directly represented upon the 1843 chart, which represents the foundational truths of Adventism, and which is Christ, the Rock of Ages that is represented by all sacred illustration of the foundations?
“灭亡”的一个定义是“被显为赤裸”。凡对异象的错误理解，都基于这样一个事实：确立异象的符号没有被理解，或者被误解。所罗门的警告中那些“灭亡”的人，就是落入由老底嘉人所代表的赤身露体之中的人；当那即将到来的星期日法令临到时，他们被主从口中吐出。我们为什么要接受这样一个观念：它既歪曲了怀爱伦姐妹关于旧世界与新世界之论述的清楚含义，又否定了米勒派的认定——确立异象者乃罗马？这一认定在1843年图表上有直接的呈现；而那图表所代表的，正是复临信仰的基础真理；而这些基础真理指向的正是基督——万古磐石——祂在一切关于根基的神圣图示中都被象征出来？
“But every building erected on other foundation than God’s word will fall. He who, like the Jews in Christ’s day, builds on the foundation of human ideas and opinions, of forms and ceremonies of man’s invention, or on any works that he can do independently of the grace of Christ, is erecting his structure of character upon the shifting sand. The fierce tempests of temptation will sweep away the sandy foundation and leave his house a wreck on the shores of time.
凡不以上帝的话为根基所建造的一切建筑都必倒塌。凡像基督时代的犹太人那样，把人的思想和意见、人为设立的形式与礼仪，或任何他可以在脱离基督恩典的情况下所做的行为，当作根基来建造的人，乃是把他品格的大厦建在流沙上。猛烈的试探风暴必定把那沙土根基冲刷殆尽，使他的房屋化作残骸，遗弃在时间的海岸上。
“‘“Therefore thus saith the Lord God, … Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.’ Isaiah 28:16, 17.
“所以主耶和华如此说：……我又以公平为准绳，以公义为线铊；冰雹必冲去谎言的藏身之处，大水必漫过隐藏之所。”以赛亚书28:16、17。
“But today mercy pleads with the sinner. ‘As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?’ Ezekiel 33:11. The voice that speaks to the impenitent today is the voice of Him who in heart anguish exclaimed as He beheld the city of His love: ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.’ Luke 13:34, 35 , R.V. In Jerusalem, Jesus beheld a symbol of the world that had rejected and despised His grace. He was weeping, O stubborn heart, for you! Even when Jesus’ tears were shed upon the mount, Jerusalem might yet have repented, and escaped her doom. For a little space the Gift of heaven still waited her acceptance. So, O heart, to you Christ is still speaking in accents of love: ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.’ ‘Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.’ Revelation 3:20; 2 Corinthians 6:2.
但今天，怜悯仍在为罪人恳求。“主耶和华说：我指着我的永生起誓，我并不喜悦恶人死亡，惟喜悦恶人转离所行的道而活。你们回头吧！回头吧！离开你们的恶道，何必死亡呢？”以西结书 33:11。 今日向不悔改之人说话的声音，正是那位在看见他所爱的城时因心中痛苦而呼喊的主的声音：“耶路撒冷啊，耶路撒冷！你常杀害先知，又用石头打死那奉差遣到你这里来的人。我多次愿意聚集你的儿女，好像母鸡把小鸡聚集在翅膀底下，只是你们不愿意！看哪，你们的家成为荒场留给你们。”路加福音 13:34、35，R.V. 在耶路撒冷，耶稣看见了一个象征：这世界弃绝并轻看了他的恩典。他是在为你哭泣啊，顽梗的心哪！即使当耶稣的泪水洒在山上之时，耶路撒冷仍然还可以悔改，逃脱她的灭亡。在短暂的一段时日里，天上的恩赐仍在等候她的接纳。所以，心哪，基督仍以爱的口吻对你说：“看哪，我站在门外叩门；若有听见我声音就开门的，我要进到他那里去，我与他、他与我一同坐席。”“现在正是悦纳的时候；看哪，现在正是拯救的日子。”启示录 3:20；哥林多后书 6:2。
“You who are resting your hope on self are building on the sand. But it is not yet too late to escape the impending ruin. Before the tempest breaks, flee to the sure foundation. ‘Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, of sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.’ ‘Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.’ ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.’ ‘Ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.’ Isaiah 28:16, R.V.; 45:22; 41:10; 45:17.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 150–152.
凡把盼望寄托在自己身上的人，都是在沙土上建造。但要逃脱迫在眉睫的毁灭，还不算太晚。在暴风骤起之前，快逃到那稳固的根基上。“主耶和华如此说：看哪，我在锡安安放一块作为根基的石头，一块试验过的石头，一块宝贵的房角石，稳固的根基；信靠的人必不慌张。”“地极的人都当仰望我，就必得救；因为我是神，别无他神。”“你不要害怕，因为我与你同在；不要惊惶，因为我是你的神；我必坚固你，我必帮助你，我必用我公义的右手扶持你。”“你们必不至蒙羞，也不至惭愧，直到永永远远。”以赛亚书28:16，R.V.；45:22；41:10；45:17。《登山宝训》，150-152页。
We will continue this study in the next article.
我们将在下一篇文章中继续这项研究。