All the prophets identify the end of the world.
所有先知都指出世界的终结。
“Each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours, so that their prophesying is in force for us. ‘Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.’ 1 Corinthians 10:11. ‘Not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.’ 1 Peter 1:12. . . .
古代的每一位先知所说的话,与其说是为他们自己的时代,不如说是为我们的时代,因此他们的预言对我们仍然有效。 “如今,这一切事发生在他们身上,是要作榜样;并且都写下来,为要警戒我们这些临到世界末了的人。”哥林多前书 10:11。 “他们所服事的这些事,并不是为他们自己,乃是为我们;这些事如今借着从天上差遣下来的圣灵,已由向你们传福音的人报告给你们;这些事连天使也渴望细察。”彼得前书 1:12。 ……
“The Bible has accumulated and bound up together its treasures for this last generation. All the great events and solemn transactions of Old Testament history have been, and are, repeating themselves in the church in these last days.” Selected Messages, book 3, 338, 339.
圣经已经为这末后一代把它的珍宝积蓄并汇集在一起。旧约历史中所有重大事件和庄严的作为,过去已经、现在仍然在这些末后的日子里在教会中重演。精选信息,第3册,第338、339页。
All the books of the Bible conclude in the book of Revelation.
圣经的所有书卷都以《启示录》作结。
“In the Revelation all the books of the Bible meet and end.” Acts of the Apostles, 585.
“在《启示录》中,圣经所有的书卷汇聚并结束。” 《使徒行传》,585。
The final warning message for planet earth’s inhabitants is identified in Revelation eighteen.
《启示录》第十八章指出了给地球上的居民的最后警告信息。
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. Revelation 18:1–3.
此后,我看见另有一位天使从天降下,带着大权柄;地就因他的荣耀发光。他大声喊着说:“巴比伦大城倾倒了!倾倒了!成了鬼魔的住处,和各样污秽之灵的巢穴,并各样污秽可憎之鸟的巢穴。因为列国都喝了她淫乱烈怒的酒,地上的众王与她行淫,地上的商人也因她奢华太过就发了财。”启示录 18:1-3。
The phrase “Babylon the great” represents the Roman Catholic church and in Isaiah chapter twenty-three “Babylon the great” is represented as Tyre.
“大巴比伦”这一短语象征罗马天主教会,而在《以赛亚书》第二十三章中,“大巴比伦”被象征为推罗。
The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them. Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations. Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins. As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle. Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth. Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof. And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest. Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste. And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing. Isaiah 23:1–18.
推罗的默示。他施的船只啊,要哀号;因为她已荒废,毫无房屋,无人进出。这消息从基提地传到他们那里。海岛的居民啊,要静默;你这由西顿的商人、渡海的人所充盈的。在大水之上,西曷的谷种、江河的收成,是她的收入;她是列国的市场。西顿啊,你要蒙羞;因为海,就是海的力量,已经发言,说:我不曾劬劳,不曾生产,也不曾抚养男丁,不曾养育处女。论到埃及的风声怎样,使人剧痛,听见推罗的风声,人也必照样痛苦。你们过到他施去吧;海岛的居民啊,要哀号。这就是你们欢乐的城吗?她的历史自古就有;她要被自己的脚带到远方寄居。谁拟定了这事,攻击这赐冠冕的城推罗呢?她的商人是王子,她的交易者是地上的尊贵人。是万军之耶和华定的,为要玷污一切荣耀者的骄傲,使地上一切尊贵的人被轻看。他施的女子啊,你要像河水一样通行你的地,因为不再有拦阻。他向海伸手,震动列国;耶和华已经命令攻击那商贸之城,要毁坏她的坚固保障。又说:你这受欺压的处女,西顿的女儿啊,你不再欢乐;起来,过到基提去吧,在那里你也不得安息。看哪,迦勒底人的地;这民从前并不存在,直到亚述人为旷野的居民建立了它;他们竖起了望楼,建起了宫殿,然而他使它变为荒凉。他施的船只啊,要哀号,因为你们的力量被毁坏了。到那日,推罗要被人忘记七十年,照着一王的年日;七十年满了,推罗要像妓女一样歌唱。你这被遗忘的妓女啊,拿起琴,绕城而行;巧妙弹奏,多唱歌曲,使人记起你来。七十年满了,耶和华必眷顾推罗,她必归回她的雇价,并与地上万国行淫。她的货物和雇价必为耶和华为圣,不再积攒收藏;因为她的货物必为那住在耶和华面前的人,使他们吃得饱足,得穿耐久的衣服。以赛亚书 23:1-18。
Sister White writes: “All the great events and solemn transactions of Old Testament history have been, and are, repeating themselves in the church in these last days.”
怀特姐妹写道:“旧约历史上一切重大事件和庄严之事都已经,并且正在这些末后的日子里,在教会中重演。”
Isaiah twenty-three addresses the prophetic relationships of the United Nations, the Papacy, the United States and Islam. In order to recognize these truths certain symbols in the chapter must be defined by Inspiration. Once the symbols are defined, the sequence of events is fairly straightforward. The symbols in the chapter that need to be defined are:
《以赛亚书》第二十三章论及联合国、教皇制度、美国与伊斯兰教的预言性关系。要辨认这些真理,必须由启示来界定本章中的某些象征。一旦这些象征被界定,事件的顺序就相当清楚。本章中需要界定的象征有:
The Burden, Tyre, The harlot, The Assyrian, The land of the Chaldeans, Towers and Palaces, Tarshish, The Seed of Sihor, The Land of Chittim, Zidon, The Merchants City, The report of Egypt and the report of Tyre, The Howling, A Daughter, Seventy Years, The Days of One King, Forgetting, and Remembering
重担,推罗,妓女,亚述人,迦勒底之地,高塔与宫殿,他施,示曷的种子,基提之地,西顿,商人的城,埃及的消息与推罗的消息,哀号,一个女儿,七十年,一位王的日子,遗忘,和记念
The word “burden” in verse one identifies a prophecy of doom against the kingdom of Tyre.
第一节中的“burden”一词表明这是一则针对推罗王国的毁灭预言。
Burden: H4853—From H5375; a burden; specifically tribute, or (abstractly) porterage; figuratively an utterance, chiefly a doom, especially singing; mental, desire: – burden, carry away, prophecy, X they set, song, tribute.
负担:H4853—源自 H5375;负担;尤指贡物,或(抽象地)搬运;引申为言辞,多指厄运,尤指歌唱;心意、欲望:—负担,带走,预言,X 他们设立,歌,贡物。
The burden of Tyre is one of many passages in the Bible where the final judgment of the Roman Catholic church is identified. A “burden” by use and definition is a prophecy, and primarily a prophecy of doom. There are eleven “burdens” in Isaiah and eight times the word is used to describe a burden carried on the shoulders. The eleven times the word “burden” is represented as prophecy of doom are Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1, 11, 13; 22:1; 30:6 and of course chapter twenty-three where we find the burden of Tyre. It is worthwhile to place all of Isaiah’s prophecies of doom together in order to evaluate which power is being represented in the last days. Eleven prophecies of doom are difficult to cover at one time, so I will give a brief definition of each doom prophecy to set the context for chapter twenty-three.
“推罗的重担”是圣经中众多经文之一,在这些经文中,罗马天主教会的最后审判被指出。“重担”按其用法与定义,是预言,而且主要是灾祸的预言。以赛亚书中有十一处“重担”,另外有八次,这个词用来形容扛在肩上的重担。将“重担”作为灾祸预言出现的十一处经文是:以赛亚书13:1;15:1;17:1;19:1;21:1、11、13;22:1;30:6,以及当然还有第二十三章,在那里我们看见“推罗的重担”。把以赛亚的一切灾祸预言汇总在一起,以评估在末后的日子里所代表的是哪一个势力,这是值得的。要一次讲完这十一则灾祸预言并不容易,因此我将对每一则灾祸预言作一简要界定,以为第二十三章设定背景。
In chapter thirteen the prophecy of doom against Babylon is modern Babylon at the end of the world, which is the whore of Rome that is also illustrated in chapter seventeen of the book of Revelation.
第十三章中,针对巴比伦的灭亡预言,指的是世界末日的现代巴比伦,也就是《启示录》第十七章所描绘的罗马大淫妇。
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. Revelation 17:1–5.
拿着七碗的那七位天使中,有一位来与我说话,对我说:你来,我要把那坐在众水上的大淫妇所受的审判指给你看。地上的众王与她行淫,地上的居民也因她淫乱之酒而醉了。于是他在灵里带我到旷野去;我看见一个女人骑在一只朱红色的兽上,那兽满了亵渎的名号,有七头十角。那女人穿着紫色和朱红色的衣服,佩戴金子、宝石和珍珠,手拿金杯,杯中满了可憎之物和她淫乱的污秽。在她额上写着一个名号:奥秘,大巴比伦,地上淫妇和可憎之物之母。启示录17:1-5。
I need to digress a little. The purpose of the study of the prophecy of Tyre is ultimately to align the prophetic history of the United States with that of the Seventh-day Adventist church. We will show that the government of the United States is one horn on the lamb-like beast of Revelation thirteen and that Protestantism that came out of the Dark Ages was the other horn. The horn of Protestantism became Millerite Adventism at the point the Protestants of the United States rejected the first angel’s message. When we have that in place, we will show that the history of the Protestant horn and the history of the Republican horn run parallel to one another and possess parallel prophetic characteristics. After all they are on the same beast representing that both horns are contemporary to one another. I will illustrate one example of this parallel of the horns of church and state in the United States. They both ‘forget’ in their own way.
我需要稍微岔开一下话题。研究推罗预言的目的,最终是要使美国的预言历史与基督复临安息日会的预言历史相一致。我们将说明,美国政府是启示录第十三章那只如同羔羊的兽的一只角,而从黑暗时代出来的新教则是另一只角。当美国的新教徒拒绝第一位天使的信息时,新教这只角就转变为米勒派复临运动。确立这一点之后,我们将表明,新教之角的历史与共和政体之角的历史彼此并行,并且具有平行的预言特征。毕竟,它们都在同一只兽上,这表明两只角彼此同时代、并存。我将举一个例子,说明在美国教权之角与政权之角之间这种并行关系。它们都以各自的方式“遗忘”。
Isaiah twenty-three marks the prophetic point that the papal power is forgotten for seventy years, and in those seventy symbolic years men forget the papacy and why the Dark Ages are called the Dark Ages. The Protestant horn’s motto when they separated from the Catholic church was the Bible and the Bible alone. They forgot that the Bible informs us who the papacy really is. They forgot the message enshrined in the sacred document they were entrusted with, and professed to be the champion defenders of.
以赛亚书第二十三章指出一个预言性的节点:教皇权势要被遗忘七十年;在那象征性的七十年里,人们忘记了教皇制度,也忘记了为何黑暗时代被称为黑暗时代。当他们脱离天主教会时,新教之角的座右铭是“唯独圣经”。他们忘了圣经告诉我们教皇制度的真实身份。他们忘记了那份神圣文献中所蕴含的信息——那份托付给他们、他们又自诩为其最坚定捍卫者的文献。
“Those who become confused in their understanding of the word, who fail to see the meaning of antichrist, will surely place themselves on the side of antichrist. There is no time now for us to assimilate with the world. Daniel is standing in his lot and in his place. The prophecies of Daniel and of John are to be understood. They interpret each other. They give to the world truths which everyone should understand. These prophecies are to be witness in the world. By their fulfillment in these last days, they will explain themselves.” Kress Collection, 105.
那些在对上帝的话语的理解上变得困惑、看不出“敌基督”含义的人,必然会站在敌基督一边。我们现在没有时间与世界同化。但以理正站在他的分上,也站在他的位置上。但以理和约翰的预言应当被理解;它们彼此解释,把人人都应当明白的真理带给世界。这些预言要在世上作见证;借着它们在这末后的日子里的应验,它们将自我解释。克雷斯文集,105。
Likewise, the Republican horn representing the government of the United States was to be by the people and for the people, but the citizens of the United States have also forgotten the sacred document that they were entrusted with. That sacred document is the Constitution of the United States and the motto of the government that was designed to be for the people was the separation of church and state. They have forgotten the message of the Constitution they were entrusted with, and professed defenders of.
同样地,象征美国政府的那只共和制之角本应由人民治理、为人民服务,但美国公民也已忘却了托付给他们的那份神圣文件。那份神圣文件就是《美国宪法》,而这个为人民而设计的政府的宗旨是政教分离。他们已经忘记了那部宪法的精神——那部托付给他们、而他们自称为其捍卫者的宪法。
“And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never changes. The principles of Gregory VII and Innocent III are still the principles of the Roman Catholic Church. And had she but the power, she would put them in practice with as much vigor now as in past centuries. Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured.
并且请记住,罗马自夸从不改变。格里高利七世和英诺森三世的原则,至今仍是罗马天主教会的原则。只要她有权力,她就会像过去几个世纪那样,以同样的力度将它们付诸实践。新教徒在提议在提升星期日地位的工作上接受罗马的援助时,几乎不明白自己在做什么。当他们一心要达成自己的目的时,罗马却在谋求重建她的权力,夺回她失去的至上地位。一旦在美国确立这样一种原则:教会可以运用或控制国家的权力;宗教活动可以由世俗法律强制执行;简言之,教会与国家的权威可以主宰良心,那么,罗马在这个国家的胜利便有了保证。
“God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution.” The Great Controversy, 581.
“上帝的话语已对迫在眉睫的危险发出警告;若对此置若罔闻,新教世界将只会在为时已晚、无法逃脱罗网之时,才知道罗马的真正意图是什么。她正默默地增长权势。她的教义正在立法机关、教会以及人心当中施加影响。她正在堆砌高耸而庞大的建筑物,在其隐秘的深处,她以往的迫害将会重演。她正以潜行而不被察觉的方式加强其力量,以便在时机成熟、轮到她出击之时达成自身目的。她所渴望的只是一个有利的立足点,而这点她已经在获得。我们不久将会看见,也会感受到罗马势力的目的究竟是什么。凡相信并遵行上帝话语的人,都因此将招致责难和逼迫。”《大争战》,581。
If you can locate any dictionary that was published before 1950, and look up “scarlet colored woman” or some variation of that phrase from Revelation seventeen, every one of those pre-1950 dictionaries identifies that the Roman Catholic church is the whore of Revelation seventeen. The United States, Revelation thirteen’s two-horned earth-beast forgets its past, whether it be the horn of Protestantism or the horn of Republicanism. Both of these institutions came about from the protest against the religious tyranny of the papacy and the political tyranny of the kings that supported her, or as the Bible says, the kings that “committed fornication” with her. Before we take up Isaiah twenty-three, we will briefly give an overview of the other ten times Isaiah identifies a ‘prophecy of doom,’ for all of the eleven “burdens” are just that.
如果你能找到任何一本1950年以前出版的词典,查一查“朱红色的妇人”或来自《启示录》十七章的该短语的类似表述,你会发现所有那些1950年以前的词典都认定罗马天主教会就是《启示录》十七章所说的淫妇。美国——《启示录》十三章那只长有两角的地上兽——忘却了自己的过去;无论是新教的那只角,还是共和主义的那只角。这两大体制都源于对教皇制度的宗教暴政以及支持她的诸王的政治暴政的抗议;或者用圣经的话说,就是那些与她“行淫”的诸王。在讨论《以赛亚书》二十三章之前,我们将简要概览以赛亚另外十次所指出的“灾祸的预言”,因为这十一条“重担”无不如此。
Isaiah thirteen is the burden of Babylon in the “last days.” Babylon, though controlled and directed by the Catholic church in the last days is made up of three powers that lead the world to Armageddon in chapter sixteen of Revelation. In chapter thirteen’s prophecy of doom against modern Babylon there are three powers represented; Babylon, Lucifer and Assyria representing the beast (Assyria), the dragon (Lucifer) and the false prophet (Babylon). Assyria and Babylon are the two desolating powers God employed to punish ancient Israel and Assyria came first taking the northern ten tribes into captivity and thereafter Babylon took the southern two tribes of Judah.
以赛亚书第十三章是关于“末后的日子”巴比伦的预言。巴比伦虽在末后的日子受天主教会控制和指挥,却由三个势力组成,这三个势力在启示录第十六章把世界引向哈米吉多顿。在第十三章针对现代巴比伦的灭亡预言中,出现了三个势力:巴比伦、路西法和亚述,分别代表兽(亚述)、龙(路西法)和假先知(巴比伦)。亚述和巴比伦是神用来惩罚古代以色列的两个施行荒凉的势力;亚述先来,掳走北方十个支派,随后巴比伦又掳走南方犹大的两个支派。
Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. Jeremiah 50:17, 18.
以色列是被赶散的羊;狮子把他赶走了:先是亚述王吞灭了他;末后巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒折断了他的骨头。所以,万军之耶和华—以色列的神—如此说:看哪,我必刑罚巴比伦王和他的地,正如我从前刑罚亚述王一样。耶利米书50:17、18。
First Assyria took the northern ten tribes of Israel into captivity and thereafter Babylon took the southern two tribes of Judah into captivity. Both of these captivities were fulfillment of Leviticus twenty-six’s “seven times.” The “seven times” of Leviticus was the very first “time prophecy” William Miller discovered, and it identifies that when Assyria captured the northern tribe it marked the beginning of a scattering that continued for twenty-five hundred and twenty years. That period began at their captivity in 723BC and ended at the “time of the end” in 1798. The southern tribes were taken by Babylon in 677BC, beginning the “seven times” against Judah which ended at the same point as the 2300-year prophecy of Daniel eight verse fourteen, on October 22, 1844. Assyria and Babylon fulfilled the same purpose of punishment against the rebellion of God’s people, but the punishment was first carried out by Assyria and then by Babylon.
首先,亚述将以色列北方的十个支派掳去;随后,巴比伦又将犹大南方的两个支派掳去。这两次被掳应验了利未记二十六章所说的“七次”。利未记的这“七次”是威廉·米勒所发现的第一条“时间预言”,它指出:当亚述掳去北方十个支派时,便标志着一个延续二千五百二十年的分散的开始。那一时期始于他们在公元前723年被掳,终于1798年的“末时”。南方支派在公元前677年被巴比伦掳去,由此开始了针对犹大的“七次”,其终点与但以理书八章十四节的二千三百年预言相同,即1844年10月22日。亚述与巴比伦在对上帝子民悖逆的惩罚上承担了相同的作用,但这惩罚先由亚述执行,后由巴比伦执行。
In the prophetic relationship of the three powers in chapter thirteen Babylon is the image of Assyria, for she came after but did the same work against God’s people.
在第十三章关于三种权势的预言关系中,巴比伦是亚述的形象,因为她虽然后来出现,却对神的子民做了同样的事。
In chapter fifteen, the burden against Moab is against the Protestant churches.
在第十五章中,针对摩押的预言是针对新教各教会的。
“This description of Moab represents the churches that have become like Moab. They have not stood at their post of duty as faithful sentinels. They have not cooperated with the heavenly intelligences by exercising their God-given ability to do the will of God, pressing back the powers of darkness, and using every power God has given them to advance truth and righteousness in our world. They have a knowledge of the truth, but they have not practiced what they know.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, volume 4, 1159.
“对摩押的这一描述,代表了那些已经变得像摩押一样的教会。他们没有像忠实的守望者那样坚守自己的职责岗位。他们没有通过运用上帝所赐的能力去遵行上帝的旨意、逼退黑暗的权势,并使用上帝赐给他们的一切力量来推进我们世界中的真理与公义,从而与天上的智慧生灵合作。他们对真理有所认识,却没有实行他们所知道的。” 基督复临安息日会圣经注释,第4卷,1159。
The Protestant church that has fallen is the church that continued to walk with the Lord when the rest of Protestantism fled at the second angel’s message. Moab is Adventism, the fallen Protestant horn.
已经堕落的新教教会,正是当第二位天使的信息传出之时,其余新教界纷纷逃散,而仍继续与主同行的那间教会。摩押就是复临派,那堕落的新教之角。
Chapter seventeen is about Damascus, and it is identified as a city that is taken away. A city is a symbol of a kingdom and the kingdom that is taken away in the “last days” is the United States.
第十七章讲的是大马士革,并指出它是一座被挪去的城。城是国度的象征,而在“末后的日子”被挪去的国度是美国。
Chapter nineteen is the prophecy of doom against Egypt, representing the United Nations and the whole world.
第十九章是针对埃及的毁灭预言,代表联合国和全世界。
The next three prophecies of doom in chapter twenty-one are against the terrible desert land of the south, Dumah and Arabia. These three prophecies of doom identify Islam, in agreement with the three woes of Revelation 8:13.
第二十一章中接下来的三条灾祸的预言,是针对南方那可怕的荒漠之地、度玛和亚拉伯的。这三条灾祸的预言指向伊斯兰教,并与启示录 8:13 的三样祸灾相一致。
The prophecy of doom in chapter twenty-two portrays the separation of the Laodicean Adventists from the Philadelphian Adventists at the Sunday law.
第二十二章中的灾难预言描绘了在星期日法令之时,老底嘉的复临信徒与非拉铁非的复临信徒之间的分离。
And then in chapter thirty we find the burden of the beasts of the south, which is a second illustration of the rebellion of Laodicean Adventists. Bringing all the burdens of Isaiah together virtually addresses every prophetic player in the “last days.” I am selecting Isaiah twenty-three in order to demonstrate that the history of the United States, as the sixth kingdom of Bible prophecy, reigns from 1798 to the Sunday law.
然后,在第三十章我们看见“论南方牲畜的默示”,这是对老底嘉复临信徒叛逆的第二个例证。把以赛亚书中的所有“默示”汇集起来,几乎涉及“末后的日子”里每一个预言角色。我选择以赛亚书二十三章,是为了表明,美国作为圣经预言中的第六个王国,其掌权时期自1798年起,直到“星期日法令”。
Because “each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours, so that their prophesying is in force for us,” every prophetic utterance is addressing the events at the end of the world. This truth combined with the fact that “all the books of the Bible meet and end” in the book of Revelation, establishes the book of Revelation as the point of reference for aligning the prophetic testimony about the events at the end of the world.
因为“古代的每一位先知所说的话,与其说是为他们自己的时代,不如说是为我们的时代,因此他们的预言对我们仍然有效”,所以每一句先知的话语都是在针对世界末了的事件。这一真理再加上“圣经的一切书卷都在《启示录》中汇合并结束”的事实,确立了《启示录》作为参照点,用以统合关于世界末了事件的先知见证。
In the seventeenth chapter of Revelation, we see the great whore that commits fornication with the kings of the earth and her final judgment.
在《启示录》第十七章中,我们看见那与地上的君王行淫的大淫妇以及她最终的审判。
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Revelation 17:1, 2.
拿着七碗的七位天使中有一位来与我说话,对我说:你来!我要把那坐在众水上的大淫妇所要受的审判指给你看。地上的君王与她行淫,地上的居民也喝醉了她淫乱的酒。启示录 17:1、2。
The prophets never contradict one another.
先知之间从不互相矛盾。
And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. 1 Corinthians 14:32, 33.
先知的灵是顺服先知的。因为神不是使人混乱的神,却是赐平安的神,正如在众圣徒的一切教会中一样。哥林多前书14:32,33
At the end of the world “the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters,” the great whore with “whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,” the great whore that has made “the inhabitants of the earth” drunk “with the wine of her fornication;” is represented by Isaiah as the “harlot” who is forgotten for “the days of one king,” or seventy prophetic years. When the seventy years conclude Tyre “shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world.” Isaiah’s harlot is John’s great whore. Isaiah’s harlot and John’s whore represent the Roman Catholic church, for a woman is a symbol of a church in God’s Word.
在世界的末了,“坐在众水上的大淫妇所受的审判”、那位“地上的众王与她行淫”的大淫妇、使“住在地上的人”喝醉“她淫乱之酒”的大淫妇,在以赛亚的记述中被描绘为一位“妓女”;她被遗忘“一王的年日”,或者说七十个预言之年。七十年完毕时,推罗“要与天下万国行淫”。以赛亚所说的“妓女”就是约翰所说的“大淫妇”。以赛亚的“妓女”和约翰的“淫妇”代表罗马天主教会,因为在神的话语中,女人是教会的象征。
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Ephesians 5:22–33.
妻子们,要顺服自己的丈夫,如同顺服主;因为丈夫是妻子的头,正如基督是教会的头;他也是身体的救主。所以,教会怎样顺服基督,妻子也要凡事顺服自己的丈夫。 你们作丈夫的,要爱你们的妻子,正如基督爱教会,为她舍己,使她成圣;他用水借着道洗净她,好把教会献给自己,成为荣耀的教会,毫无污点、皱纹或任何类似的东西,乃是圣洁、没有瑕疵。 丈夫也该这样爱妻子,如同爱自己的身体;爱妻子的就是爱自己。因为从来没有人恨恶自己的身体,总是保养、顾惜,正如主对待教会一样,因为我们是他身体上的肢体,属他的肉,属他的骨。 因此,人要离开父母,与妻子连合,二人成为一体。这是极大的奥秘,但我所说的是指着基督和教会。 然而,你们每个人都当这样爱自己的妻子,如同爱自己;妻子也要敬重她的丈夫。以弗所书 5:22-33。
The apostle Paul identifies that the church of Christ is prophetically represented as a woman. Therefore, a woman in prophecy is a church, but Christ’s church is “holy and without blemish.” An unholy church is represented as an unholy woman, thus Isaiah identifies a harlot and John a whore. They represent the papacy as a whore and God’s church is a virgin.
使徒保罗指出,基督的教会在预言中被象征为一位妇人。因此,预言中的妇人就是教会,但基督的教会是“圣洁、没有瑕疵”的。不圣洁的教会则被描绘成不圣洁的妇人,于是以赛亚称之为妓女,约翰称之为淫妇。他们把教皇制度比作淫妇,而神的教会是童女。
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2.
我为你们起的嫉妒是出于神的,因为我已把你们许配给一位丈夫,为要把你们如同贞洁的童女献给基督。哥林多后书 11:2
Not only is God’s church represented as a virgin, but she is espoused to only one husband. Tyre and John’s great whore commit fornication with the kings of the earth. The Catholic church has relations with several men, not one. Daniel informs us the kings are kingdoms.
上帝的教会不仅被描绘为童女,而且她只许配给一位丈夫。推罗和约翰所说的那大淫妇与地上的诸王行淫。天主教会与数个男人发生关系,不止一人。但以理告诉我们,诸王就是诸国。
This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. Daniel 2:36–40.
这就是那梦;我们要在王面前讲解那梦的意思。王啊,你是诸王之王,因为天上的神已赐给你国度、权柄、能力和荣耀。凡世人所居住之处,田野的走兽、空中的飞鸟,他都交在你手中,又使你统管这一切。你就是那金头。在你以后必另兴一国,不及于你;又有第三国,就是铜的,必掌管天下。第四国必坚强如铁,因为铁能打碎并制服万物;又如铁打碎这一切,它也必把它们打得粉碎,并且压碎。——但以理书 2:36-40。
In Daniel two, the kingdoms of Bible prophecy are identified and explained. As Daniel explains the dream to Nebuchadnezzar, he informs Nebuchadnezzar that he is the head of gold. The head of gold is a king, but a king represents a kingdom. The Roman Catholic church is the great harlot that commits fornication with all the kings of the earth at the end of seventy prophetic years. The kings are symbolic of men, and Tyre is an impure woman. A woman is a church, a whore is an unholy church; a man is a king and a king is a kingdom. A woman is a church and a king is a state. The unlawful relationship of these two entities represents spiritual fornication.
在《但以理书》第二章,圣经预言中的列国被指明并加以解释。当但以理向尼布甲尼撒王解梦时,他告诉尼布甲尼撒王,他就是那金头。那金头是一个王,但王代表一个国度。罗马天主教会是在七十个预言之年结束时与地上众王行淫的大淫妇。诸王象征男人,而推罗是不洁的女人。女人是教会,妓女是不圣洁的教会;男人是王,而王就是国度。女人是教会,王是国家。这两个实体之间不法的关系代表属灵的淫乱。
The Constitution of the United States is a divine document that enshrines the necessity of keeping these two entities separate. Though we are not yet finished with identifying Tyre as the Roman Catholic church, it seems appropriate at this point to address another symbol in Isaiah twenty-three that explains the symbolism of man and woman—church and state.
美利坚合众国宪法是一部神圣的文件,确立了必须将这两大实体彼此分离的必要性。尽管我们关于将推罗认定为罗马天主教会的论证尚未完成,但此时讨论《以赛亚书》二十三章中的另一个象征似乎是恰当的,它解释了男人与女人——教会与国家——的象征意义。
Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin. Isaiah 23:13.
看哪,迦勒底人的地;这民本来不存在,直到亚述人为住在旷野的人建立了它:他们竖起了其中的城楼,建起了其中的宫殿;他却使它成为废墟。以赛亚书 23:13。
In the verse, the Assyrian founded the land of the Chaldeans and set up both “towers” and “palaces.” The Assyrian is a symbol of Nimrod, and the Chaldeans represent the religious leaders of Babylon’s mystery religions. A “tower” is a symbol of a church. When Jesus set forth the parable of the vineyard, Sister White comments on the parable as follows:
在这节经文中,亚述人建立了迦勒底之地,并设立了“塔”和“宫殿”。亚述人象征宁录,而迦勒底人代表巴比伦神秘宗教的宗教领袖。“塔”是教会的象征。当耶稣讲述葡萄园的比喻时,怀特姐妹对这个比喻作如下评论:
“In the parable the householder represented God, the vineyard the Jewish nation, and the hedge the divine law which was their protection. The tower was a symbol of the temple.” Desire of Ages, 596.
在这个比喻中,家主代表上帝,葡萄园代表犹太民族,篱笆代表那保护他们的神圣律法。塔楼是圣殿的象征。历代愿望,596。
The Assyrian founded the land of the Chaldeans who set up a church (tower) and a “palace.” A “palace’ represents a “king” which in turn represents a kingdom. A kingdom is also represented as a city.
亚述人开创了迦勒底之地,迦勒底人建立了一座教堂(塔)和一座“宫殿”。“宫殿”代表“王”,“王”又代表一个王国。王国也可以被表示为一座城市。
And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. Genesis 11:4.
他们说:“来吧,我们要建造一座城和一座塔,塔顶通天;也要为自己立名,免得我们分散在全地上。”创世记 11:4。
The “tower” and “palace” that the Assyrian founded are the “city” and “tower” which Nimrod built.
亚述人所兴建的“塔”和“宫殿”,就是宁录所建造的“城”和“塔”。
And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Revelation 11:8.
他们的尸体将陈尸在那大城的街上;那城按着灵意称为所多玛和埃及,我们的主也在那里被钉十字架。启示录 11:8。
Inspiration informs us the “great city” in Revelation eleven represents the kingdom of France during the period of the French Revolution.
启示告诉我们,《启示录》第十一章中的“大城”代表法国大革命时期的法国王国。
“‘The great city’ in whose streets the witnesses are slain, and where their dead bodies lie, is ‘spiritually’ Egypt. Of all nations presented in Bible history, Egypt most boldly denied the existence of the living God and resisted His commands. No monarch ever ventured upon more open and highhanded rebellion against the authority of Heaven than did the king of Egypt. When the message was brought him by Moses, in the name of the Lord, Pharaoh proudly answered: ‘Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto His voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover I will not let Israel go.’ Exodus 5:2, A.R.V. This is atheism, and the nation represented by Egypt would give voice to a similar denial of the claims of the living God and would manifest a like spirit of unbelief and defiance. ‘The great city’ is also compared, ‘spiritually,’ to Sodom. The corruption of Sodom in breaking the law of God was especially manifested in licentiousness. And this sin was also to be a pre-eminent characteristic of the nation that should fulfill the specifications of this scripture.
“‘大城’,在其街上见证人被杀、他们的尸体陈尸之处,在‘属灵’的意义上就是埃及。在圣经历史所呈现的各国中,埃及最大胆地否认永生上帝的存在,并抗拒祂的命令。没有哪位君王曾像埃及的王那样,敢于更公开、更专横地反叛天上的权柄。当摩西奉主的名将信息传给他时,法老傲然回答说:‘耶和华是谁,使我听从祂的话容以色列去呢?我不认识耶和华,而且我也不容以色列去。’出埃及记5:2,A.R.V. 这就是无神论,而由埃及所代表的那个国家,也会以类似的口吻否认永生上帝的要求,并显出同样的不信与悖逆的精神。‘大城’在‘属灵’的意义上也被比作所多玛。所多玛在违背上帝律法上的败坏,尤其表现在淫乱上。而这罪也将成为那将应验这段经文所述之国家的显著特征。”
“According to the words of the prophet, then, a little before the year 1798 some power of satanic origin and character would rise to make war upon the Bible. And in the land where the testimony of God’s two witnesses should thus be silenced, there would be manifest the atheism of the Pharaoh and the licentiousness of Sodom.
那么,根据先知的话,在1798年之前不久,某种具有撒但起源和性质的势力将会兴起,向圣经发动战争。而在那片使上帝两位见证人的见证因此沉寂的土地上,将显出法老的无神论和所多玛的淫乱。
“This prophecy has received a most exact and striking fulfillment in the history of France. During the Revolution, in 1793, ‘the world for the first time heard an assembly of men, born and educated in civilization, and assuming the right to govern one of the finest of the European nations, uplift their united voice to deny the most solemn truth which man’s soul receives, and renounce unanimously the belief and worship of a Deity.’—Sir Walter Scott, Life of Napoleon, vol. 1, ch. 17. ‘France is the only nation in the world concerning which the authentic record survives, that as a nation she lifted her hand in open rebellion against the Author of the universe. Plenty of blasphemers, plenty of infidels, there have been, and still continue to be, in England, Germany, Spain, and elsewhere; but France stands apart in the world’s history as the single state which, by the decree of her Legislative Assembly, pronounced that there was no God, and of which the entire population of the capital, and a vast majority elsewhere, women as well as men, danced and sang with joy in accepting the announcement.’—Blackwood’s Magazine, November, 1870.” The Great Controversy, 269.
这一预言在法国的历史上得到了最确切而惊人的应验。在革命期间,1793年,“世界首次听到一个由生于文明、受过文明教育的人组成、并自居有权治理欧洲最杰出民族之一的议会,齐声高呼,否认人类灵魂所领受的最庄严真理,并一致宣告放弃对神的信仰与敬拜。”——沃尔特·司各特爵士:《拿破仑传》,第1卷,第17章。“法国是世界上唯一一个有确凿记录保存下来的国家:作为一个民族,她公然起来反叛造物主。英格兰、德国、西班牙及其他地方的亵渎神者和不信者过去多、现在也多;但在世界历史上,唯有法国独树一帜:她的立法议会以法令宣告没有上帝,而该国首都的全体居民,以及其他地方的绝大多数人,不论男女,都在欢歌起舞中欣然接受这一宣告。”——《布莱克伍德杂志》,1870年11月。《大争论》,第269页。
The “great city” in Revelation eleven was the nation of France that passed a “decree of her Legislative Assembly” pronouncing that there was no God. The decree was an expression of atheism as represented by the rebellion of Pharaoh. A great city is a kingdom, or a “nation” or a “state.” In Revelation eleven France consists of two symbols—Egypt and Sodom.
启示录第十一章中的“大城”是法国这个国家,它的立法议会通过了一项“法令”,宣称没有上帝。该法令体现了无神论,正如法老的悖逆所象征的那样。“大城”就是一个王国,或一个“民族”,或一个“国家”。在启示录第十一章中,法国由两个象征构成——埃及和所多玛。
We are informed, “This is atheism, and the nation represented by Egypt would give voice to a similar denial of the claims of the living God and would manifest a like spirit of unbelief and defiance. ‘The great city’ is also compared, ‘spiritually,’ to Sodom. The corruption of Sodom in breaking the law of God was especially manifested in licentiousness.”
我们得知:“这是无神论,而埃及所代表的国家也会发出类似的声音,否认永生上帝的主权,并表现出同样的不信与悖逆的精神。‘那大城’在‘属灵’的意义上也被比作所多玛。所多玛在违背上帝律法上的败坏,尤其表现在淫乱上。”
The great city or nation of France is symbolically represented by a nation (Egypt) and a city (Sodom.) Egypt “would give voice,” and the speaking of a nation represents statecraft, not churchcraft. Egypt was the state and Sodom was the church is the representation found in chapter eleven of Revelation
作为“大城”或国家的法国,在象征意义上由一个国家(埃及)和一座城市(所多玛)来代表。埃及“将要发声”,而一个国家的发声代表的是治国之道,而非教会治理。《启示录》第十一章中的表述是:埃及代表国家,所多玛代表教会。
“The ‘speaking’ of the nation is the action of its legislative and judicial authorities.” The Great Controversy, 442.
国家的‘说话’就是其立法和司法机关的行动。《大争论》,442。
In Revelation eleven John sets forth the events of the French Revolution in prophetic symbolism. The actual Revolution provided ample historical evidence of the validity of John’s predictions in the chapter. John predicted, then the French Revolution fulfilled the prediction, and then in turn—both the prediction and the historical fulfillment of the prediction identify and parallel events at the end of the world, when once again a corrupt state is combined with a corrupt church. Of course, a bloodbath follows that unholy marriage. The kingdom of God is also a great city.
在《启示录》第十一章中,约翰以预言性的象征阐述了法国大革命的事件。实际的革命为本章中约翰的预言提供了充足的历史证据,证明其准确性。约翰先作出预言,随后法国大革命应验了这预言;并且进一步——无论是预言本身,还是其历史的应验,都指认并与世界末了的事件相对应:那时,腐败的国家将再次与腐败的教会结合。当然,这种不圣洁的结合之后紧随而来的是一场血腥屠杀。神的国也是一座大城。
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. Revelation 21:10.
他在灵里带我到一座又大又高的山,把那从神那里从天而降的大城,就是圣城耶路撒冷,指给我看。启示录 21:10。
“The coming of the bridegroom, here brought to view, takes place before the marriage. The marriage represents the reception by Christ of His kingdom. The Holy City, the New Jerusalem, which is the capital and representative of the kingdom, is called ‘the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ Said the angel to John: ‘Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ ‘He carried me away in the spirit,’ says the prophet, ‘and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.’ Revelation 21:9, 10.” The Great Controversy, 426.
这里所呈现的新郎的来临发生在婚礼之前。婚礼代表基督接受祂的国度。圣城新耶路撒冷,作为这国度的首都和代表,被称为“新妇,羔羊的妻”。天使对约翰说:“你到这里来,我要把新妇,就是羔羊的妻,指给你看。”先知说:“他在灵里带我去,又把那座大城,就是圣耶路撒冷,从神那里从天而降,指给我看。”启示录21:9、10。《大争战》,426。
Nimrod’s rebellion is represented by his building a tower and a city, which typifies the combination of church and state at the end of the world, for all the prophets spoke of the end of the world. Nimrod’s rebellion was also a continuation of the rebellion of Lucifer whose desire was to take control of both God’s church and God’s state.
宁录的叛逆表现在他建造一座塔和一座城;这预表世界末了时的政教合一,因为诸先知都论到世界的末了。宁录的叛逆也是路西法叛逆的延续,路西法的欲望是要同时掌控神的教会和神的政权。
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Isaiah 14:12–14.
路西法,黎明之子啊,你何竟从天坠落!你这曾使列国衰弱的,何竟被砍倒在地上!因为你心里曾说:“我要升到天上;我要把我的宝座高举在神的众星之上;我要坐在会众的山上,在北方的极处;我要升到高过云端;我要像至高者一样。”以赛亚书 14:12-14。
As Isaiah reveals Lucifer’s secret heart-desires to be “like the most High,” he points out that Lucifer is seeking to be seated in two distinctly different chairs. He wishes to “exalt” his “throne above the stars of God” and to “sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.”
当以赛亚揭示路西法内心隐秘的欲望——要“像至高者”时,他指出路西法正谋求坐上两个截然不同的位置。他希望“高举”他的“宝座在神的众星之上”,并且“也要坐在会众的山上,在北方的极处”。
The throne is a symbol of the king’s authority—or state authority and “the sides of the north” is God’s church.
宝座是君王权柄——或国家权力——的象征,而“北方的极处”则是神的教会。
A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge. Psalm 48:1–3.
为可拉子孙所作的歌与诗篇。耶和华为大,在我们神的城中、在他的圣山上,极其当受赞美。锡安山地势秀美,使全地欢喜;位于北面,是大君王的城。神在她的宫殿中显为避难所。诗篇 48:1-3。
Jerusalem is “the city of the great King,” thus marking the political throne of God, and Jerusalem is also “the mountain of his holiness,” “on the sides of the north,” thus marking the religious throne of God. From the beginning Satan’s rebellion and warfare are portrayed within the context of his desire to rule over both God’s church and God’s state. Satan thereafter led in the rebellion of Nimrod and the land that he founded for the Chaldeans is represented as a land where Nimrod built both a tower and a city—church and state.
耶路撒冷是“大君王的城”,因而标示出神的政治宝座;耶路撒冷也是“他圣洁的山”,“在北面的极处”,因而标示出神的宗教宝座。自起初,撒但的叛逆与争战,被描绘为源于他想要同时统治神的教会与神的国家的欲望。随后,他带头发动了宁录的叛乱;他为迦勒底人所建立的那片土地,被描绘成一个宁录既建造塔也建造城——教会与国家并存——的地方。
Therefore, when Isaiah’s harlot and John’s great whore commit fornication with the kings of the earth, prophecy is marking that an unholy relationship takes place between the Roman Catholic church and the kings of the earth at the end of seventy prophetic years.
因此,当以赛亚的淫妇和约翰的大淫妇与地上的君王行淫时,预言表明,在七十个预言年结束时,罗马天主教会与地上的君王之间发生不圣洁的关系。
Isaiah’s line of prophecy describes the judgment of the harlot Tyre in chapter twenty-three and John describes the same judgment with the symbol of a scarlet-colored woman who is identified as “Babylon the great.” A third witness to the same judgment of the same whore is as follows:
以赛亚的预言在第二十三章描述了对淫妇推罗的审判;约翰则用一位被称为“大巴比伦”的朱红色妇人的象征来描述同样的审判。对同一淫妇的同样审判,还有第三个见证如下:
“The woman (Babylon) of Revelation 17 is described as ‘arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness: . . . and upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots.’ Says the prophet: ‘I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.’ Babylon is further declared to be ‘that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.’ Revelation 17:4–6, 18. The power that for so many centuries maintained despotic sway over the monarchs of Christendom is Rome.” The Great Controversy, 382.
《启示录》第十七章的女人(巴比伦)被描述为:“身穿紫色和朱红色的衣服,又用金子、宝石和珍珠装饰,手里拿着金杯,杯中满了可憎之物和污秽;……她额上写着一个名字,奥秘,大巴比伦,淫妇之母。”先知说:“我看见那女人喝醉了圣徒的血,又喝醉了耶稣殉道者的血。”巴比伦又被宣告为“那管辖地上众王的大城”。启示录17:4-6, 18。那在许多世纪里对基督教世界的君主维持专制统治的权势就是罗马。《大争战》,382。
Tyre is the Roman Catholic church in the “last days.” At that time the papacy will go forth and sing her seductive songs to the kings of the earth, thus leading the kings into the act of fornication, which is prophetically the combination of church and state.
推罗是“末后的日子”中的罗马天主教会。那时,教皇制度将出去,向地上的列王唱她那诱惑人的歌谣,从而使列王陷入淫乱之事;在预言上,这就是政教合一。
And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. Isaiah 23:15.
到那日,推罗要被人忘记七十年,照着一王的年日;七十年期满以后,推罗必像妓女那样歌唱。以赛亚书23:15
A king is a kingdom in Bible prophecy, so Tyre shall be forgotten during the time when a prophetic kingdom rules for seventy years.
在圣经预言中,王代表一个王国,所以在一个预言中的王国统治七十年的时候,推罗将被人遗忘。
And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. Isaiah 23:15–17.
到那日,推罗必被人忘记七十年,按着一位君王的年岁;七十年满了以后,推罗必像妓女一样歌唱。你这被人遗忘的妓女,拿起琴来,走遍城中;尽情奏出美妙的乐曲,多唱些歌,好使人记念你。七十年满了以后,耶和华必眷顾推罗,她必再去谋取她的酬价,并要与地上的万国行淫。以赛亚书 23:15-17。
During the days of one kingdom that rules for seventy prophetic years the Roman Catholic church will be forgotten. At the end of the seventy years, the papal power will “make sweet melody, sing many songs.” Prophetically a “song” represents “experience.”
在一个统治七十个预言之年的王国时期,罗马天主教会将被遗忘。七十年结束时,教皇的权势将“奏出甜美的旋律,唱许多歌”。在预言的意义上,“歌”代表“经历”。
“Upon the crystal sea before the throne, that sea of glass as it were mingled with fire,—so resplendent is it with the glory of God,—are gathered the company that have ‘gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name.’ With the Lamb upon Mount Zion, ‘having the harps of God,’ they stand, the hundred and forty and four thousand that were redeemed from among men; and there is heard, as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of a great thunder, ‘the voice of harpers harping with their harps.’ And they sing ‘a new Song’ before the throne, a song which no man can learn save the hundred and forty and four thousand. It is the song of Moses and the Lamb—a song of deliverance. None but the hundred and forty-four thousand can learn that song; for it is the song of their experience—an experience such as no other company have ever had. ‘These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.’ These, having been translated from the earth, from among the living, are counted as ‘the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.’ Revelation 15:2, 3; 14:1-5. ‘These are they which came out of great tribulation;’ they have passed through the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation; they have endured the anguish of the time of Jacob’s trouble; they have stood without an intercessor through the final outpouring of God’s judgments. But they have been delivered, for they have ‘washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’ ‘In their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault’ before God. ‘Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.’ They have seen the earth wasted with famine and pestilence, the sun having power to scorch men with great heat, and they themselves have endured suffering, hunger, and thirst. But ‘they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.’ Revelation 7:14-17.” The Great Controversy, 648.
在宝座前如水晶的海上,就是那似乎与火搀杂的玻璃海——因着神的荣耀而光辉灿烂——聚集着那些“胜了兽、和它的像、并它的印记、以及它名的数目”的人群。他们与羔羊站在锡安山上,“拿着神的琴”;这些就是从人间赎回的十四万四千人;并且听见有声音,如同众水的声音,又如大雷的声音,就是“琴师们用琴所奏的声音”。他们在宝座前唱“新歌”,除了那十四万四千人以外,没有人能学这歌。这是摩西和羔羊的歌——拯救之歌。除了那十四万四千人以外,没有人能学这歌;因为这是他们经历之歌——一种别的任何一班人从未有过的经历。“这些人无论羔羊往哪里去都跟随他。”这些人从地上、从活人中被迁上来,作“归与神和羔羊的初熟的果子”。启示录15:2-3;14:1-5。 “这些人是从大患难中出来的”;他们经过了自有国以来从未有过的患难时期;他们忍受了雅各遭难时候的痛苦;在神最后倾倒审判之时,他们在没有中保的情况下仍站立得住。但他们已经得蒙拯救,因为他们“用羔羊的血把衣裳洗白净了”。“他们口中查不出诡诈;因为他们在神面前是没有瑕疵的”。“所以他们在神的宝座前,在他的殿中昼夜事奉他;坐在宝座上的要住在他们中间。”他们曾看见地上因饥荒和瘟疫而荒废,日头有权以大热灼人;他们自己也忍受了苦难、饥饿和干渴。但“他们不再饥,不再渴;日头必不照在他们身上,炎热也不再临到他们。因为在宝座中间的羔羊必牧养他们,领他们到生命水的泉源;神也必擦去他们一切的眼泪。”启示录7:14-17。 《大争战》,648页。
“‘In His temple doth everyone speak of His glory’ (Psalm 29:9), and the song which the ransomed ones will sing—the song of their experience—will declare the glory of God: ‘Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the ages. Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy.’ Revelation 15:3, 4, R.V.” Education, 308.
“‘在他的殿中,人人都述说他的荣耀’(诗篇 29:9),被赎之人所要唱的歌——他们经历之歌——将宣扬上帝的荣耀:‘主上帝,全能者啊,你的作为伟大而奇妙;万世之王啊,你的道路公义真实。主啊,谁不敬畏你,不荣耀你的名呢?因为唯有你是圣的。’(启示录 15:3, 4,R.V.)” 《教育》,308。
At the end of seventy prophetic years the papacy will “make sweet melody, sing many songs, that” she “mayest be remembered.” At the end of the kingdom that rules for seventy prophetic years the Roman Catholic church will remind the world of the experience of her past history. In that history she ruled as the moral authority in a relationship between her and the kings of Europe. That history is rightly identified as the Dark Ages, and all the darkness that might in any way be associated with the history where the Papacy ruled over the kings of Europe can be attributed to the very foundational action that produced all the following darkness. That action was the combination of church and state, the combination of the kings of Europe and the Catholic church. In a biblical marriage the man is to rule over the woman, but the fornication that took place in that history was upside down from the true order of the relationship of man and woman.
当七十个预言之年结束时,教皇制度将“奏出甜美的旋律,唱许多歌曲,好使”“她”“被人记念”。在统治了七十个预言之年的那个王国结束之时,罗马天主教会将让世人想起她过去历史中的经历。在那段历史中,她在与欧洲诸王的关系中,作为道德权威进行统治。那段历史被恰当地称为黑暗时代;凡是以任何方式与教皇制度统治欧洲诸王那段历史相关的黑暗,都可以归因于那一项产生了随后所有黑暗的最根本的举措。那一举措就是政教合一,也就是欧洲诸王与天主教会的结合。在圣经所描述的婚姻中,男人要管辖女人;但那段历史中发生的淫乱,却颠倒了男女关系的真实秩序。
At the end of seventy years there will be a great crisis when the kingdom of Bible prophecy that rules the world during the period of time when the Papacy is prophetically forgotten comes to a conclusion. The worldwide crisis produced by the collapse of that kingdom opens the door for the Catholic church to begin to inform the world that in order to navigate the troublous times produced by the collapse of that kingdom, the world must submit to the moral authority of the Roman Catholic church, as illustrated in the history of the Dark Ages.
在七十年期满之际,当圣经预言中那个在教皇制于预言中被遗忘的时期里统治世界的王国走向终结之时,将会发生一场大危机。那个王国的崩溃所引发的全球性危机,为天主教会打开大门,使其开始向世界宣告:为了渡过因该王国崩溃而带来的动荡时期,世界必须服从罗马天主教会的道德权威,正如黑暗时代的历史所表明的那样。
When the kingdom ends and the papacy sings the song of her past experience, an experience that historians label as darkness; so how could that dark history possibly be a message for the papacy to share with the kings of the earth that would convince them to commit fornication with her? In a great crisis why would the experience of the past ages, (her song) her experience before she was forgotten prophetically, provide the logic for the kings of the earth to accept the experience of darkness as the solution for their great crisis?
当王国终结,而教皇制唱起她昔日经历之歌——那段被历史学家称为黑暗的经历——时,那样的黑暗历史怎么可能成为一个信息,让教皇制拿来与地上诸王分享,并说服他们与她行淫呢? 在一场大危机中,为什么过去诸时代的经历(她的歌),也就是她在预言中被遗忘之前的经历,会为地上诸王提供把那黑暗经历当作其大危机解决之道的逻辑依据?
“A large class, even of those who look upon Romanism with no favor, apprehend little danger from her power and influence. Many urge that the intellectual and moral darkness prevailing during the Middle Ages favored the spread of her dogmas, superstitions, and oppression, and that the greater intelligence of modern times, the general diffusion of knowledge, and the increasing liberality in matters of religion forbid a revival of intolerance and tyranny. The very thought that such a state of things will exist in this enlightened age is ridiculed. It is true that great light, intellectual, moral, and religious, is shining upon this generation. In the open pages of God’s Holy Word, light from heaven has been shed upon the world. But it should be remembered that the greater the light bestowed, the greater the darkness of those who pervert and reject it.
有一大批人,即便那些对罗马教毫无好感的人,也很少意识到其权势和影响所带来的危险。许多人主张,中世纪盛行的智识与道德黑暗有利于其教条、迷信与压迫的传播;而现代更高的智识、知识的普及,以及在宗教事务上日益增长的自由,不容许不宽容与暴政的复兴。想到在这个开明时代会出现这样的局面,本身就被人讥笑。诚然,在智识、道德与宗教方面的大光正照耀着这一代人。在上帝的圣言敞开的篇章中,来自天上的光已经照耀全世界。然而应当记得,所赐的光越大,那些曲解并拒绝它的人,其黑暗也就越深。
“A prayerful study of the Bible would show Protestants the real character of the papacy and would cause them to abhor and to shun it; but many are so wise in their own conceit that they feel no need of humbly seeking God that they may be led into the truth. Although priding themselves on their enlightenment, they are ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. They must have some means of quieting their consciences, and they seek that which is least spiritual and humiliating. What they desire is a method of forgetting God which shall pass as a method of remembering Him. The papacy is well adapted to meet the wants of all these. It is prepared for two classes of mankind, embracing nearly the whole world—those who would be saved by their merits, and those who would be saved in their sins. Here is the secret of its power.
带着祷告之心研读圣经,会让新教徒看清教皇制度的真实本质,并使他们厌恶并远离它;但许多人自以为聪明,觉得无须谦卑地寻求上帝,好让自己被引入真理。他们虽然自夸开明,却对圣经和上帝的大能都一无所知。他们必须有某种使良心得以平息的办法,于是去寻找那些最不属灵、也最不使人谦卑的东西。他们所渴望的,是一种可以被当作记念上帝的方法,实则是使人忘记上帝的方法。教皇制度正好能满足所有这些人的需要。它为人类的两类人预备着,几乎囊括了全世界——那些想靠自身功德得救的人,和那些想在罪中得救的人。这就是它权势的秘密。
“A day of great intellectual darkness has been shown to be favorable to the success of the papacy. It will yet be demonstrated that a day of great intellectual light is equally favorable for its success. In past ages, when men were without God’s word and without the knowledge of the truth, their eyes were blindfolded, and thousands were ensnared, not seeing the net spread for their feet. In this generation there are many whose eyes become dazzled by the glare of human speculations, ‘science falsely so called;’ they discern not the net, and walk into it as readily as if blindfolded. God designed that man’s intellectual powers should be held as a gift from his Maker and should be employed in the service of truth and righteousness; but when pride and ambition are cherished, and men exalt their own theories above the word of God, then intelligence can accomplish greater harm than ignorance. Thus the false science of the present day, which undermines faith in the Bible, will prove as successful in preparing the way for the acceptance of the papacy, with its pleasing forms, as did the withholding of knowledge in opening the way for its aggrandizement in the Dark Ages.” The Great Controversy, 572.
一个智识极度黑暗的时代已被证明有利于教皇制度的成功。还将表明,一个智识极度光明的时代,同样有利于它的成功。过去的年代里,当人们没有上帝的话语、没有真理的知识时,他们的眼睛被蒙蔽,成千上万人落入罗网,看不见为他们脚下张开的网。在这一代,有许多人被人的臆测那耀眼的光芒——所谓的“科学”——晃花了眼;他们辨不出那张网,像被蒙住眼睛一样轻易地走了进去。上帝的旨意是,人类的智力应被视为造物主所赐的礼物,并应用于为真理和公义效力;但当人们怀抱骄傲与野心,把自己的理论高举在上帝话语之上时,智力反倒能造成比无知更大的危害。因此,当今那动摇人们对圣经信心的伪科学,将被证明在为人们接受教皇制度及其悦人的形式预备道路方面,同样成功,正如在黑暗时代,扣留知识为其扩张开辟道路一样。大争论,第572页。
“Roman Catholics acknowledge that the change in the Sabbath was made by their church, and they cite this very change as evidence of the supreme authority of the church. They declare that by observing the first day of the week as the Sabbath, Protestants are recognizing her power to legislate in divine things. The Roman church has not relinquished her claim to infallibility; and when the world and the Protestant churches accept a spurious Sabbath of her creating, while they reject the Sabbath of Jehovah, they virtually acknowledge this claim. They may cite the authority for this change, but the fallacy of their reasoning is easily discerned. The papist is sharp enough to see that Protestants are deceiving themselves, willingly closing their eyes to the facts in the case. As the Sunday institution gains favor, he rejoices, feeling assured that it will eventually bring the whole Protestant world under the banner of Rome.
罗马天主教徒承认,安息日的更改是由他们的教会所作出的,并将这项更改本身视为教会最高权威的证据。他们宣称,新教徒把每周的第一天当作安息日,就是在承认她在神圣事务上立法的权柄。罗马教会并未放弃其无谬性的主张;当世界和新教诸教会接受她所创设的伪安息日,而拒绝耶和华的安息日时,他们实际上就是承认了这一主张。他们也许会援引这项更改的权威根据,但其推理的谬误不难辨认。教皇教徒足够精明,看出新教徒是在自欺,甘愿对事实真相闭目不看。随着星期日制度日益得宠,他便欢欣,深信它最终会使整个新教世界归入罗马的旗帜之下。
“The change of the Sabbath is the sign or mark of the authority of the Roman church. Those who, understanding the claims of the fourth commandment, choose to observe the false Sabbath in the place of the true, are thereby paying homage to that power by which alone it is commanded. The mark of the beast is the papal Sabbath, which has been accepted by the world in the place of the day of God’s appointment.
安息日的改变是罗马教会权威的记号或标志。凡明白第四条诫命之要求,却选择守伪安息日以代替真安息日的人,就因此向那唯有它才下达此命令的权势表示效忠。兽的印记就是教皇的安息日,它已被世人接受,用以取代上帝所指定的日子。
“But the time to receive the mark of the beast, as designated in prophecy, has not yet come. The testing time has not yet come. There are true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion. None are condemned until they have had the light and have seen the obligation of the fourth commandment. But when the decree shall go forth enforcing the counterfeit Sabbath, and when the loud cry of the third angel shall warn men against the worship of the beast and his image, the line will be clearly drawn between the false and the true. Then those who still continue in transgression will receive the mark of the beast in their foreheads or in their hands.
但按预言所指明,接受兽的印记的时候尚未来到。考验的时刻还未到。各教会中都有真正的基督徒,罗马天主教会也不例外。人在领受了亮光并看明第四条诫命的义务之前,没有人会被定罪。但是,当强制遵守伪安息日的法令颁布之时,并且当第三位天使的大呼喊警告人们不可敬拜兽和兽像之时,真与假的界线就会被清楚划分。那时仍继续违背的人,就要在额上或手上领受兽的印记。
“With rapid steps we are approaching this period. When Protestant churches shall unite with the secular power to sustain a false religion, for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution, then will the papal Sabbath be enforced by the combined authority of church and state. There will be a national apostasy, which will end only in national ruin.” Bible Training School, February 2, 1913.
我们正迅速逼近这一时期。当新教各教会与世俗政权联合起来支持一种虚假的宗教——他们的祖先曾因反对这种宗教而承受最严酷的迫害——那时,教会与国家的联合权威将强制推行教皇的安息日。将会出现国家性的背道,而这只会以国家的毁灭告终。圣经培训学校,1913年2月2日。
We have now touched upon five of the symbols we are seeking to identify before we fully address the chapter itself. A city is a kingdom in Bible prophecy and in Isaiah twenty-three there are two kingdoms that are closely related, but distinctly different. The first is the “crowning city” and the other is the “merchant city.” In the last days the power who is in control of the three-fold union of the dragon, beast and false prophet is the papacy. It is the kingdom that has the crown.
在全面讨论本章内容之前,我们已经触及了我们要辨识的五个象征。在圣经的预言中,城象征一个国度;而在以赛亚书第二十三章里,有两个彼此密切相关却又截然不同的国度。一个是“冠冕之城”,另一个是“商贾之城”。在末后的日子里,掌控龙、兽和假先知这三重联合的权势是教皇权;它就是那拥有冠冕的国度。
“As we approach the last crisis, it is of vital moment that harmony and unity exist among the Lord’s instrumentalities. The world is filled with storm and war and variance. Yet under one head—the papal power—the people will unite to oppose God in the person of His witnesses. This union is cemented by the great apostate. While he seeks to unite his agents in warring against the truth he will work to divide and scatter its advocates. Jealousy, evil surmising, evilspeaking, are instigated by him to produce discord and dissension.” Testimonies, volume 7, 182.
“当我们临近末后的危机之时,在主的器皿之间存在和谐与合一乃至关重要。世界充满风暴、战争和纷争。然而,在一个首领——教皇的权势——之下,众人将联合起来,在祂见证人的身上反对上帝。这种联合由那大叛教者所巩固。当他设法联合他的代理人来与真理争战时,他也要设法分裂并驱散真理的拥护者。嫉妒、恶意猜测、恶言中伤,都是他所煽动,用以制造不和与纷争的。”《证言》卷七,第182页。
The kingdom with the crown is Tyre, which means, “a rock.” In this chapter Tyre represents the papacy that works to counterfeit Christ, for the papacy is antichrist. The word “anti” in antichrist means “in place of.” The papacy seeks to counterfeit Christ at every level, and the name Tyre means rock, for the papacy is a counterfeit of the “Rock of Ages.”
戴冠的王国是推罗,其名意为“磐石”。在本章中,推罗代表致力于冒充基督的教皇制度,因为教皇制度就是敌基督。“antichrist”一词中的“anti”意为“代替”。教皇制度试图在各个层面冒充基督,而“推罗”这个名字的意思是磐石,因为教皇制度是对“万古磐石”的假冒。
Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth. Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof. Isaiah 23:8–11.
谁拟定了这谋略,攻击推罗,这冠冕之城?她的商人是王子,她的买卖人是地上的尊贵人。万军之耶和华定了这事,为要玷污一切荣华的骄傲,使地上一切尊贵的人被藐视。他施的民哪,你要像河流一样穿行你的土地;再没有力量了。他向海伸手,震动列国;耶和华已经下令攻击那商贾之城,要毁灭其中的坚固保障。以赛亚书 23:8-11。
We intend to show upon many witnesses that “the shaking of the kingdoms” is accomplished by God, through Islam. Islam is the power that angers the nations and is used to shake the nations. At this point we are identifying that the Lord has determined to bring into contempt “all the honorable of earth,” who are the “merchants” and “traffickers” whose “strong holds” are to be destroyed. The merchant city and the crowning city “have provoked the displeasure of heaven” and the Lord has purposed to destroy their “strong holds” and that represents the economy. The collapse of the economy occurs before the Sunday law in the United States, for before the Sunday law the citizens of the United States are demanding to be returned “to divine favor and temporal prosperity.” Their argument is that the judgments of God will not end until Sunday is “strictly enforced.” Several Bible witnesses agree that we are on the verge of a tremendous crash in the economy of the world. That crash occurs before the Sunday law, just as the crash of 1837, occurred before October 22, 1844.
我们打算借着许多见证表明,“列国的震动”是上帝藉着伊斯兰教所成就的。伊斯兰教是使列国发怒并被用来震动列国的势力。此时我们指出,主已经决意使“地上一切尊贵的人”蒙羞;他们就是“商人”和“贩子”,他们的“坚固保障”将被毁灭。那座商城与加冕之城“惹动了天怒”,主定意毁坏他们的“坚固保障”,而那代表着经济。经济的崩溃发生在美国的星期日法令之前,因为在星期日法令之前,美国的公民正要求回到“神的恩宠与今世的繁荣”。他们的论点是,在对星期日“严格执行”之前,上帝的审判不会止息。多位圣经见证一致认为,我们正处在世界经济一场巨大崩盘的边缘。那场崩盘发生在星期日法令之前,正如1837年的崩盘发生在1844年10月22日之前一样。
“And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God’s commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors. It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday sabbath; that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced; and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favor and temporal prosperity. Thus the accusation urged of old against the servant of God will be repeated and upon grounds equally well established: ‘And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.’ 1 Kings 18:17, 18. As the wrath of the people shall be excited by false charges, they will pursue a course toward God’s ambassadors very similar to that which apostate Israel pursued toward Elijah.” The Great Controversy, 590.
然后,那大欺骗者要使人相信,侍奉上帝的人正在造成这些灾祸。那一阶层惹动天怒的人,要把他们一切的困苦都归咎于那些遵守上帝诫命、因而对违背者形成持久责备的人。有人将宣称,人因违反星期日的安息日而得罪了上帝;并说正是这罪带来了灾难,除非严格强制遵守星期日,这些灾难便不会止息;又说那些提出第四条诫命之要求、从而破坏对星期日尊崇的人,是扰乱百姓的人,拦阻他们重得上帝的眷顾与今世的昌盛。于是,古时加在上帝仆人身上的那项指控将被重复,而且理由似乎同样站得住脚:“亚哈见以利亚,便对他说:‘使以色列遭祸的就是你吗?’ 他回答说:‘使以色列遭祸的不是我,乃是你和你父家;因为你们离弃了耶和华的诫命,去随从众巴力。’ 列王纪上 18:17、18。” 当百姓的怒气被虚假指控所煽动时,他们对上帝使者所采取的态度与作法,将与背道的以色列当年对以利亚所行的非常相似。《大争战》,590。
Elijah confronting the prophets of Baal and the priests of the grove on Mount Carmel represents the Sunday law. The message for the church was “choose this day whom you will serve.” When this history is repeated at the Sunday law the question is “which day are you going to choose, for the day you pick indicates whom you serve.” Before Mount Carmel the was three and a half years of severe drought. Before the Sunday law there is a series of Sunday laws, but they have not been “strictly enforced.” The principle associated with a Sunday law is that national apostacy is followed by national ruin. The example of that is Constantine in the year 321 passed a Sunday law and shortly thereafter the first four trumpets of Revelation chapter eight began to bring Western Rome to its conclusion by the year 476. The story of Constantine is important for it included a progressive exalting of Sunday, and simultaneous progressive restrictions on the seventh-day Sabbath. The progressive history reached its conclusion when the citizens were forced to observe Sunday or be persecuted for keeping the Sabbath. That is also the conclusion of the escalating Sunday legislation in the United States. One principle associated with Sunday worship enforcement is “national apostasy is followed by national ruin.” This principle means escalating Sunday law enforcements, produces an escalation of God’s judgments, before the actual Sunday law of Revelation thirteen verse eleven. Every enactment will bring a corresponding ruin. The judgments the citizens are accusing the Sabbath-keepers of producing are actually produced by the escalating enforcement of Sunday legislation. We have included a passage from The Great Controversy, which I titled Sunday Progression. I would recommend that you read that once again. It is in the category entitled The Spirit of Prophecy.
以利亚在迦密山与巴力的先知和亚舍拉的祭司对峙,预表星期日法令。给教会的信息是:“今日就要选择你们所要事奉的对象。”当这段历史在星期日法令之时重演时,问题就是:“你要选择哪一天,因为你所选择的那一天表明你所事奉的是谁。” 在迦密山事件之前,有三年半的大旱。在星期日法令之前,会有一系列的星期日法令,但它们尚未被“严格执行”。与星期日法令相关的原则是:国家背道必致国家毁灭。例子就是,君士坦丁在公元321年颁布了星期日法令,不久之后,启示录第八章的前四号开始临到,使西罗马帝国至公元476年走向终结。 君士坦丁的故事很重要,因为其中包含对星期日循序渐进的高举,同时对第七日安息日逐步加以限制。这样的渐进历史在公民被迫遵守星期日、否则因守安息日而遭受迫害时达到终局。这也是美国不断升级的星期日立法所走向的结局。 与强制星期日敬拜相关的一个原则是:“国家背道必致国家毁灭。”这一原则的意思是,在启示录十三章十一节所述的真正的星期日法令之前,星期日法令的执行愈加升级,就会带来上帝审判的相应升级。每一次法令的颁布都将带来相应的毁祸。世人把灾祸归咎于守安息日的人,实际上这些灾祸是由不断升级的星期日立法之强制执行所造成的。 我们附上了《大争战》中的一段文字,我将其题为“星期日的渐进”。我建议你再读一遍。它归在“预言之灵”这一类别之下。
“God has revealed what is to take place in the last days, that His people may be prepared to stand against the tempest of opposition and wrath. Those who have been warned of the events before them are not to sit in calm expectation of the coming storm, comforting themselves that the Lord will shelter His faithful ones in the day of trouble. We are to be as men waiting for their Lord, not in idle expectancy, but in earnest work, with unwavering faith. It is no time now to allow our minds to be engrossed with things of minor importance. While men are sleeping, Satan is actively arranging matters so that the Lord’s people may not have mercy or justice. The Sunday movement is now making its way in darkness. The leaders are concealing the true issue, and many who unite in the movement do not themselves see whither the undercurrent is tending. Its professions are mild and apparently Christian, but when it shall speak it will reveal the spirit of the dragon. It is our duty to do all in our power to avert the threatened danger. We should endeavor to disarm prejudice by placing ourselves in a proper light before the people. We should bring before them the real question at issue, thus interposing the most effectual protest against measures to restrict liberty of conscience. We should search the Scriptures and be able to give the reason for our faith. Says the prophet: ‘The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.’” Testimonies, volume 5, 452.
上帝已经启示了在末后的日子将要发生的事,使祂的子民得以预备,能抵御反对与忿怒的暴风。那些已经蒙警告、知道前面将要发生之事的人,不可安坐,泰然等待即将来临的风暴,自我安慰说,在患难之日主必庇护祂忠心的人。我们要像仆人等候他们的主一样,不是懒散地空等,乃是以坚定不移的信心殷勤工作。现在不是让我们的心思被次要的事情所占据的时候。当人们沉睡之时,撒但正积极安排一切,使主的子民不得蒙怜悯与公义。星期日运动正在黑暗中推进。领袖们在掩盖真正的问题,而许多加入这一运动的人自己也看不见暗流正涌向何处。它的宣称温和,表面上似乎合乎基督教,但一旦开口,便要显露出那龙的灵。我们的本分是尽我们所能来避免那逼近的危险。我们应努力在众人面前以恰当的方式呈现自己,从而消除成见。我们应当把真正的争议摆在他们面前,从而对限制良心自由的措施提出最有力的抗议。我们应当查考圣经,并能说明我们信仰的根据。先知说:“恶人仍要行恶;恶人没有一个能明白,惟独智慧人能明白。”《证言》第五卷,第452页。
It is difficult to recognize the movement for Sunday legislation, for it is making its way in “darkness” and the papacy is “stealthily and unsuspectedly” “strengthening her forces to further her own ends.” It is a fact that the work to pass Sunday legislation in darkness is a central issue in the testing process of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. “None of the wicked shall understand” according to Daniel and Sister White. The “wicked” in Daniel are Matthew’s “foolish virgins,” who Sister White identifies as Laodiceans. The wise will understand the events that are now taking place, even if the history around us appears to contradict God’s word. Do we believe God’s word or what is happening around us? Yet we have been forewarned that the end would be as the days of Noah.
要识别推动星期日立法的运动很困难,因为它正在“黑暗”中推进,而教皇权正“偷偷摸摸、令人毫无察觉地”“加强她的力量以推进她自己的目的”。事实是,在黑暗中推动通过星期日立法的工作,是十四万四千人受试验过程中的一个核心问题。根据但以理和怀特姐妹所说,“恶人没有一个能明白”。但以理书中的“恶人”,就是马太福音中的“愚拙的童女”,怀特姐妹将其认定为老底嘉人。智慧人必明白当下正在发生的事件,即使我们周围的历史似乎与上帝的话相矛盾。我们相信上帝的话,还是相信我们周围正在发生的事?然而,我们已被预先警告,结局将像挪亚的日子一样。
“The world, full of rioting, full of godless pleasure, is asleep, asleep in carnal security. Men are putting afar off the coming of the Lord. They laugh at warnings. The proud boast is made, ‘All things continue as they were from the beginning.’ ‘Tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.’ 2 Peter 3:4; Isaiah 56:12. We will go deeper into pleasure loving. But Christ says, ‘Behold, I come as a thief.’ Revelation 16:15. At the very time when the world is asking in scorn, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’ the signs are fulfilling. While they cry, ‘Peace and safety,’ sudden destruction is coming. When the scorner, the rejecter of truth, has become presumptuous; when the routine of work in the various money-making lines is carried on without regard to principle; when the student is eagerly seeking knowledge of everything but his Bible, Christ comes as a thief.
这个世界充满喧嚣与放荡,充满不敬虔的享乐,正沉睡着,在肉体的安逸中沉睡。人们把主的降临推到很久以后;他们嘲笑警戒。人们狂傲地自夸说:“万事自从起初以来都照常进行。”“明日必如今日,而且更加丰盛。”彼得后书 3:4;以赛亚书 56:12。我们要更深地沉溺于享乐。但基督说:“看哪,我来像贼一样。”启示录 16:15。正当世人带着讥诮问:“他的降临的应许在哪里?”的时候,各样的预兆正在应验。正在他们喊着“平安稳妥”的时候,灾祸忽然临到。当那讥诮者、弃绝真理的人狂妄自恃;当各种营利行业的日常运作不顾原则地进行;当学生急切寻求各样知识,却唯独不读他的圣经时,基督就要像贼一样来到。
“Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for our Lord’s appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win.
世上一切都在动荡不安。时代的迹象不祥。将要发生的事,已先投下阴影。上帝的灵正从地上撤回,海上和陆地上灾难接踵而至。有暴风雨、地震、火灾、洪水、各样的凶杀案。谁能看透未来?安全何在?凡属人的或属世的,都没有保障。人们正迅速归入他们所选择的旗帜之下;他们不安地等待并观察他们领袖的动向。也有人在等待、警醒,并为我们主的显现而工作。另一些人则在那第一位大叛教者的统帅之下列队就位。很少有人由衷地相信,我们有地狱当避,有天堂当得。
“The crisis is stealing gradually upon us. The sun shines in the heavens, passing over its usual round, and the heavens still declare the glory of God. Men are still eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying, and giving in marriage. Merchants are still buying and selling. Men are jostling one against another, contending for the highest place. Pleasure lovers are still crowding to theaters, horse races, gambling hells. The highest excitement prevails, yet probation’s hour is fast closing, and every case is about to be eternally decided. Satan sees that his time is short. He has set all his agencies at work that men may be deceived, deluded, occupied and entranced, until the day of probation shall be ended, and the door of mercy be forever shut.
危机正悄无声息地向我们逼近。太阳在天上照耀,按着它平常的轨道运行,诸天仍在宣扬上帝的荣耀。人们仍旧吃喝、栽种、建造,娶娶嫁嫁。商人仍在买卖交易。人们彼此推搡,争抢首位。爱好享乐的人仍然挤向剧院、赛马场、赌窟。狂热达到顶点,然而恩典时期正迅速走向终结,每一案件即将被永远定案。撒但知道自己时日无多。他已动员一切势力与手段,使人受骗上当、迷惑不醒、忙碌分心并沉迷其中,直到恩典时期结束,怜悯之门永远关闭。
“Solemnly there come to us down through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: ‘Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.’ ‘Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.’” Desire of Ages, 635, 636.
主在橄榄山上的警戒之言,庄严地穿越世纪临到我们:“你们要谨慎,免得你们的心因贪食、醉酒并今生的思虑累住,以致那日忽然临到你们。”“所以你们要警醒,常常祷告,好叫你们被算为配得逃避这一切将要发生的事,并能站立在人子面前。”《历代愿望》,635,636。
In chapter twenty-three of Isaiah Zidon is the United States and Tyre is the papacy. Tyre and Zidon were ancient contemporary Phoenician cities located on the Mediterranean coast. They were known for their maritime trade, wealth, and influence in the ancient world. Zidon and its “merchants” replenished Tarshish in the passage. Zidon’s merchants trafficked the “seed of Sihor,” which is “the harvest of a river,” and is the fruit “of the river,” and it is “her revenue,” for she is the “mart of nations.” All the prophets speak of the end of the world, so who is the mart of nations at the end of the world? It’s the USA.
在《以赛亚书》第二十三章中,西顿指美国,而推罗指教皇制度。推罗和西顿是位于地中海沿岸、彼此同时代的古代腓尼基城市,以海上贸易、财富和在古代世界的影响力而闻名。经文中,西顿及其“商人”供应了他施。西顿的商人贩运“示曷的种子”,也就是“一条河的收成”,是“那河”的出产,也是“她的进项”,因为她是“列国的商埠”。所有先知都论到世界的末了,那么在世界末了谁是列国的商埠呢?是美国。
Sihor is a river in Egypt (likely the Nile delta) and is used to represent the wealth of the world, for Egypt is the world. Zidon’s “virgin daughter” represents the last generation of the USA, and she is oppressed from the martial law that accompanies the Sunday law and the national ruin that immediately follows. Those virgins of Zidon are rebuked by the question concerning Tyre saying, “is this your joyous city” (kingdom) that the USA rejoiced in? Is “this the kingdom “whose antiquity is of ancient days,” when according to the passage it was founded by Nimrod, just after the flood?
西曷是埃及的一条河(很可能指尼罗河三角洲),被用来代表世界的财富,因为埃及就是世界。西顿的“处女”代表美国的最后一代,她因伴随星期日法令而来的戒严以及随即而至的国家毁灭而受压迫。关于推罗的问题责备了那些西顿的处女,说:“这是你们的欢乐之城”(王国)——那美国曾为之欢腾的吗?这就是那“其古老自上古之日”的国度吗?按经文,它是在洪水之后不久由宁录所建立的。
God has determined and “purposed” for “Tyre, the crowning city,” to punish her. The papacy’s punishment includes the collapse of the financial structure of the world, for “the Lord hath given” “a commandment against” “Zidon” “the merchant city,” (the United States.) His commandment “to destroy the strong holds,” or the economy of the United States is the Sabbath commandment, for national apostasy is followed by national ruin.
神已经决定并“定意”要惩罚“推罗,这冠冕之城”。对教皇制的惩罚包括世界金融体系的崩溃,因为“主已经下达了”“一条反对”“西顿”“这商贾之城”的命令(美国)。他那“要毁坏坚固堡垒”的命令,或者说要摧毁美国经济的命令,就是安息日诫命,因为国家背道必致国家毁灭。
The punishment of the papacy begins with the economic collapse of the entire world in response to the economy of the United States being destroyed. Zidon has a “house” associated with its economy, thus representing a financial structure that is destroyed, for you can no longer enter in. No more investments or profits from that “house,” for it is destroyed. The destruction takes place at the Sunday law, even though prior to the Sunday law there are already escalating judgments. When the collapse hits, the papacy, the USA with its merchant princes and honorable traffickers and the ships of Tarshish are going to “howl.”
对教皇制的惩罚始于因美国经济被摧毁而引发的全球经济崩溃。西顿有一座与其经济相关的“房屋”,因此象征着一种被摧毁的金融结构,因为人再也不能进入其中。那座“房屋”不再有投资或利润,因为它已被摧毁。毁灭发生在周日法令之时,尽管在周日法令之前已经有不断升级的审判。当崩溃来临时,教皇制、美国及其商界王侯与尊贵的商贾,还有他施的船只,都将“哀号”。
The location of “Tarshish” in the passage is associated with wealth in antiquity, and the ships of Tarshish in the Bible are the premier symbol of economic strength.
文中“他施”所指的地点与古代的财富相关,而圣经中的他施的船是经济实力的首要象征。
For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 2 Chronicles 9:21, 22.
因为王的船只与户兰的仆人同往他施;每三年一次,他施的船只就来,带来金子、银子、象牙、猿猴和孔雀。所罗门王的财富与智慧超过全地所有的列王。历代志下9:21、22。
Ships represent economic strength, and Tarshish is the leading economic ship in Bible prophecy. The final generation of Tarshish, represented by the “daughter” of Tarshish is told to “pass through thy land as a river,” and what she finds is that her land has “no more strength,” and can no longer “rejoice” over the kingdom of Tyre. The strength they were looking for was the former economic strength of Zidon, but it was gone for the sea had spoken “saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins,” thus identifying the final generation of the sea, which is the peoples of the world lamenting the destruction of the economy of the world and at which point the people of the world wake up to the reality that they are the last generation of earth’s history, and its too late to prepare for eternal life.
船只象征经济实力,而他施是圣经预言中首要的经济之船。他施的末后一代,以“他施的女子”为代表,被告知要“像河一样经过你的地”;而她发现,她的土地“再没有力量”,也不能再为推罗的王国而“欢喜”。他们所寻找的力量是西顿从前的经济实力,但它已经消失了,因为海曾发声说:“我不劳苦,也不生产;我也不抚养少年人,不养育处女。”这就表明了海的末后一代,也就是世上的众民为世界经济的毁灭而哀叹之时;而到了那一刻,世人醒悟到自己是地球历史的最后一代,再为永生作预备已经太迟。
“Money will soon depreciate in value very suddenly when the reality of eternal scenes opens to the senses of man.” Evangelism, 62.
“当永恒景象的现实呈现在人类的感官面前时,金钱的价值很快就会骤然贬值。” Evangelism, 62.
There are two “reports” or messages that cause pain to everyone in the passage. The first “report” concerns Egypt and the second “report” is Tyre. The report of Egypt is in the past tense for Isaiah says, “as at the report concerning Egypt,” thus showing that God had done something with Egypt prior to His destruction of Zidon (the USA.) What God did to Egypt, that also represents the “report” of Egypt, is that He destroyed Egypt in connection with the first time God entered into covenant with a chosen people. The two reports are the same “report.” The report of Egypt is the beginning and the report of Tyre is the ending. The Alpha and Omega has illustrated the covenant with the one hundred and forty-four thousand in the last days with the beginning history of that subject. The “report” concerning Egypt is the Red Sea deliverance when Pharaoh and his host were destroyed, which typifies the final deliverance of God’s people as represented by the “report” which is the “burden of Tyre.”
在这段经文中,有两则“消息”或信息使所有人感到痛苦。第一则“消息”涉及埃及,第二则“消息”是推罗。有关埃及的“消息”用的是过去时,因为以赛亚说:“像关于埃及的消息那样”,这就表明在他毁灭西顿(美国)之前,上帝已经在埃及身上做过一些事。上帝对埃及所做的事,也代表“关于埃及的消息”,就是他在第一次与被拣选的子民立约之时毁灭了埃及。这两则消息是同一则“消息”。埃及的消息是开端,推罗的消息是结局。阿尔法和俄梅伽用这个主题起初的历史,来阐明末后的日子与十四万四千所立的约。有关埃及的“消息”,就是红海的拯救——当法老和他的军队被毁灭之时;这预表了上帝子民最终的拯救,而这最终的拯救则由那“消息”所代表,即“推罗的重担”。
The power represented in the Bible that destroys the ships of Tarshish is Islam. The subject of Islam will be taken up later, so we will address the subject more fully at a later time. It is represented in the passage as “Chittim” an ancient word for Cyprus, and the passage says that the destruction of Zidon and Tyre is revealed from “Chittim.” The symbol of Islam includes a very specific illustration of the destruction of the United States in Bible prophecy.
圣经中所代表的、毁灭他施船只的势力是伊斯兰教。有关伊斯兰教的主题将于稍后讨论,因此我们会在以后更全面地加以阐述。在这段经文中,它被称为“基提”,这是古代对塞浦路斯的称呼;经文还说,西顿和推罗的毁灭是从“基提”显明出来的。伊斯兰教的象征还包含了一个关于美国被毁的圣经预言中的非常具体的描绘。
It is important to follow the days and years referenced in the book of Isaiah for they often identify the prophetic time of the passage that follows. Isaiah twenty-three follows the “burden” of the valley of vision in chapter twenty-two, that is preceded by chapter twenty-one that has three burdens,” and all three identify Islam. Before that chapter, in verse one of chapter twenty the setting of the prophetic history where the following prophecies of doom are identified in the following chapters.
留意以赛亚书中提到的日子和年份很重要,因为它们常常标明紧随其后的经文的预言时间。以赛亚书第二十三章接在第二十二章“异象谷”的“重担”之后,而第二十二章之前是第二十一章,其中有三个“重担”,且这三个都指向伊斯兰教。在那一章之前,在第二十章第一节中,设定了预言历史的背景,而随后的各章则指出了接下来的灾祸预言。
In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it. Isaiah 20:1.
在他珥探来到亚实突的那一年(亚述王撒珥根差遣他来时),他攻打亚实突,并将其攻取。以赛亚书 20:1。
The word “Tartan” may be a name or it is most likely a title of a military leader. Tartan came to Ashdod, a city in Egypt and took it in the period of history when the Assyrians were progressively taking control of the world. Assyria typified Babylon. Both Assyria and Babylon were kingdoms that came from the north, kingdoms identified as “lions” that “scattered” God’s sheep and both receive the same punishment. Assyria was first Babylon was last.
“他珥探”这个词可能是一个名字,但更有可能是一个军事首领的头衔。他珥探来到埃及的一座城市亚实突,并将其攻取,那是在亚述人逐步掌控世界的历史时期。亚述象征巴比伦。亚述和巴比伦都是从北方而来的王国,被称为“狮子”,并“驱散”神的羊群,两者都受到同样的惩罚。亚述为先,巴比伦为后。
Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. Jeremiah 50:17, 18.
以色列是被赶散的羊;狮子把他赶走了:先是亚述王吞灭了他;末后巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒折断了他的骨头。所以,万军之耶和华—以色列的神—如此说:看哪,我必刑罚巴比伦王和他的地,正如我从前刑罚亚述王一样。耶利米书50:17、18。
Prophetically they are both the “haughty Assyrian.”
从预言的角度看,他们两者都是“傲慢的亚述人”。
“When Sennacherib, the haughty Assyrian, reproached and blasphemed God, and threatened Israel with destruction, ‘it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand.’ There were ‘cut off all the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains,’ from the army of Sennacherib. ‘So he returned with shame of face to his own land.’ [2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chronicles 32:21.]” The Great Controversy, 512.
当傲慢的亚述人西拿基立辱骂并亵渎上帝,又威胁要毁灭以色列时,“当夜,耶和华的使者出去,在亚述营中击杀了十八万五千人。”在西拿基立的军中,“所有大能的勇士、官长和将帅都被剪除。” “他就满面羞愧地回到本国去了。”[列王纪下19:35;历代志下32:21。]《大争战》,512。
The year that “Tartan came unto Ashdod” and “took it,” represents the progressive conquering of the world by the papal power as illustrated in the last six verses of Daniel eleven. The history of the Sunday law crisis, which is the “last days” of the investigative judgment, and which leads directly into the executive judgment, (the seven last plagues) is the historical setting represented by the “year” that Tartan came to Ashdod. With the context of that history in place Isaiah then gives three prophecies of doom concerning Islam, one concerning Laodicean Adventism and then the burden of Tyre. Chapter twenty-four is one of the classic examples of the seven last plagues that is followed by chapter twenty-five representing the final deliverance of God’s people, where we find God’s people expressing one of the most well-known statements during the great time of trouble.
“‘Tartan 来到 Ashdod’并‘攻取了它’的那一年,代表着教皇权势对世界的逐步征服,正如但以理书第十一章最后六节所示。主日法令危机的历史,也就是查案审判的‘末后的日子’,并且直接引向执行审判(末后的七灾),这正是‘Tartan 来到 Ashdod 的那一年’所代表的历史背景。在这样的历史脉络下,以赛亚接着给出三条有关伊斯兰的灾祸预言、一条关于老底嘉式复临信仰的预言,随后是推罗的重担。第二十四章是关于末后七灾的典型例证之一,紧接着的第二十五章则代表上帝子民的最终拯救;在那里,我们看到上帝的子民在大艰难时期发出最著名的宣告之一。”
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Isaiah 25:9.
到那日,人必说:看哪,这是我们的神;我们曾等候他,他必拯救我们。这是主;我们曾等候他,我们必因他的救恩欢喜快乐。以赛亚书 25:9。
The one hundred and forty-four thousand are the wise virgins that waited for their Lord to come to the wedding, though He tarried in agreement with the parable of the ten virgins. They are not Laodiceans, they are Philadelphians. Up to this point this article has been setting the context.
十四万四千人就是那些聪明的童女,尽管新郎迟延,他们仍等候他们的主来赴婚宴,这与十个童女的比喻相符。他们不是老底嘉人,而是非拉铁非人。到目前为止,本文一直在交代背景。
In 1798, Napoleon took the pope captive delivering the prophetic deadly wound that is healed at the end of the world according to Revelation thirteen. At that point the United States took its place as the sixth kingdom of Bible prophecy according to Daniel two, seven, eight and eleven and Revelation twelve, thirteen, sixteen, seventeen and eighteen. From that point on both the Republican horn of the United States and the Protestant horn (Adventism) have forgotten who the papacy is. 1798 is the first year that the nations of the rest of the world acknowledged the United States as a sovereign nation, and it is also the year the first angel’s message arrived in history.
1798年,拿破仑俘虏了教皇,造成了《启示录》十三章所说的那道将在世界的末了得以医治的预言性致命伤。那时,美国按照《但以理书》二章、七章、八章、十一章以及《启示录》十二章、十三章、十六章、十七章、十八章的预言,就位为第六个王国。从那时起,美国的共和政体之角和新教之角(复临运动)都忘记了教皇权的真实身份。1798年是世界其余各国首次承认美国为主权国家的一年,也是在历史上第一位天使的信息到来的年份。
The “motto” of a Protestant at that time was, “the Bible and the Bible only.” Protestants identify themselves as defenders of the Bible alone, and when Adventism took their mantel at the arrival of the second angel, they accepted that “motto,” and were afterward labelled the “people of the book.” They had been given, through the ministry of William Miller a set of rules that would, if properly employed open the Bible to the minds of all who wished to hear. Miller’s Rules of Prophetic Interpretation are what inspiration says we must study if we are to give the third angel’s message.
当时新教徒的“口号”是:“圣经,而且只有圣经”。新教徒自认为是唯独圣经的捍卫者;当第二位天使到来之时,复临运动接过他们的衣钵,接受了那“口号”,随后被称为“圣经之民”。他们借着威廉·米勒的事工得到了一套规则,这套规则若能正确运用,便能使所有愿意聆听的人明白圣经。米勒的预言解释规则,正是启示所说我们若要传讲第三位天使的信息就必须学习的内容。
“Said Christ, ‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’ Again he said, ‘I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness.’ The light of truth is going forth like a burning lamp, and those who love the light will not walk in darkness. They will study the Scriptures, that they may know of a surety that they are listening to the voice of the true Shepherd, and not that of a stranger.
基督说:“若有人要跟从我,就当舍己,背起他的十字架,来跟从我。”他又说:“我是世界的光;跟从我的,就不在黑暗里行走。”真理的光像燃烧的灯一样发出光辉,爱光的人就不在黑暗里行走。他们会研读圣经,好叫他们确知自己所听的是真牧人的声音,而不是陌生人的声音。
“Those who are engaged in proclaiming the third angel’s message are searching the Scriptures upon the same plan that Father Miller adopted. In the little book entitled Views of the Prophecies and Prophetic Chronology, Father Miller gives the following simple but intelligent and important rules for Bible study and interpretation:
从事传扬第三位天使信息的人,正按照米勒老先生所采用的同一方法查考圣经。在一本名为《预言与预言年代学的见解》的小册子中,米勒老先生为研读和解释圣经提出了如下简明而明智且重要的原则:
“‘1. Every word must have its proper bearing on the subject presented in the Bible; 2. All Scripture is necessary, and may be understood by diligent application and study; 3. Nothing revealed in Scripture can or will be hid from those who ask in faith, not wavering; 4. To understand doctrine, bring all the scriptures together on the subject you wish to know, then let every word have its proper influence; and if you can form your theory without a contradiction, you cannot be in error; 5. Scripture must be its own expositor, since it is a rule of itself. If I depend on a teacher to expound to me, and he should guess at its meaning, or desire to have it so on account of his sectarian creed, or to be thought wise, then his guessing, desire, creed, or wisdom is my rule, and not the Bible.’
1. 每个词都必须在圣经所呈现的主题上发挥其应有的作用; 2. 一切圣经经文都是必要的,并且通过殷勤地运用与研读可以明白; 3. 圣经所启示的任何事,对那些凭着信心求而不疑惑的人,都不能也不会被隐藏; 4. 要明白教义,就把有关你想要知道之主题的所有经文都汇集起来,然后让每一个词都发挥其应有的影响;如果你能够在不自相矛盾的情况下形成你的理论,你就不可能有错; 5. 圣经必须由圣经自己来解释,因为它本身就是准则。倘若我依赖一位教师来为我阐释,而他要么猜测其含义,要么因着他宗派的信条希望经文如此解释,或是想被认为有智慧,那么他的猜测、意愿、信条或智慧就成了我的准则,而不是圣经。
“The above is a portion of these rules; and in our study of the Bible we shall all do well to heed the principles set forth.
上述是这些规则的一部分;在我们研读圣经时,我们都应当遵循所阐明的原则。
“Genuine faith is founded on the Scriptures; but Satan uses so many devices to wrest the Scriptures and bring in error, that great care is needed if one would know what they really do teach. It is one of the great delusions of this time to dwell much upon feeling, and to claim honesty while ignoring the plain utterances of the word of God because that word does not coincide with feeling. Many have no foundation for their faith but emotion. Their religion consists in excitement; when that ceases, their faith is gone. Feeling may be chaff, but the word of God is the wheat. And ‘what,’ says the prophet, ‘is the chaff to the wheat?’
真正的信心是建立在圣经之上的;但撒但用诸多手段来曲解圣经、引入谬误,因此若要知道圣经真正教导的是什么,就必须格外谨慎。今时今日的一大迷惑,就是过分着重感觉,并且因为神的话与感觉不相符,便无视其清楚的陈述,却还自称诚实。许多人除了情感之外,没有任何信仰的根基。他们的宗教就是兴奋;一旦这种兴奋止息,他们的信心也就不复存在。感觉也许是糠秕,神的话却是麦子。先知说:“糠秕与麦子有什么相干呢?”
“None will be condemned for not heeding light and knowledge that they never had, and they could not obtain. But many refuse to obey the truth that is presented to them by Christ’s ambassadors, because they wish to conform to the world’s standard; and the truth that has reached their understanding, the light that has shone in the soul, will condemn them in the Judgment. In these last days we have the accumulated light that has been shining through all the ages, and we shall be held correspondingly responsible. The path of holiness is not on a level with the world; it is a way cast up. If we walk in this way, if we run in the way of the Lord’s commandments, we shall find that the ‘path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.’” Review and Herald, November 25, 1884.
没有人会因为没有遵从他们从未拥有、也无法获得的亮光和知识而被定罪。但许多人拒绝顺从基督使者呈现给他们的真理,因为他们希望与世界的标准一致;而他们所明白的真理、那曾照耀他们心灵的亮光,将在审判时定他们的罪。在这末后的日子里,我们拥有历代累积、持续照耀的亮光,我们也将因此承担相应的责任。成圣之路并不与世界处在同一水平;那是一条被修筑而高举的道路。若我们行在这条路上,若我们奔跑在主的诫命之道中,我们就会发现:“义人的路好像黎明的光,越照越明,直到日午。”Review and Herald,1884年11月25日。
You can read in more detail about William Miller’s rules in the Article entitled William Miller under the Prophetic Keys category.
你可以在“预言钥匙”分类下题为《威廉·米勒》的文章中更详细地了解威廉·米勒的规则。
In “our study of the Bible we shall all do well to heed the principles set forth” within “Father Miller’s” rules of prophetic interpretation. The horn of Protestantism was given the sacred document we call the Bible, and also given the responsibility to defend and promote the principles contained therein, and the Protestant horn was also given a set of rules to rightly divide the sacred documents’ meaning and intent.
在我们研读圣经时,我们都应当留意“Father Miller”的预言解经规则中所阐明的原则。新教的“角”被赐予了我们称为《圣经》的圣典,并被赋予捍卫和推广其中所包含原则的责任,而且这个新教的“角”还被赐予了一套规则,以便正确分辨这部圣典的意义与意图。
The horn of Republicanism was given a sacred document we call the Constitution, and also given the responsibility to defend and promote the principles contained therein. The Republican horn was also given a set of rules to rightly divide the sacred documents’ meaning and intent. The rules given to rightly divide the Constitution is the Bill of Rights and it enshrines the most important purpose of the Constitution in the first rules of the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment listed in the Bill of Rights is the freedom of religion, expression, speech, and the press.
共和主义的号角被赐予了一份我们称为宪法的神圣文献,并被赋予捍卫并弘扬其中所载原则的责任。共和主义的号角还被给予一套规则,用以正确分辨这份神圣文献的意义与旨意。用于正确分辨宪法的这套规则,就是《权利法案》,并且它将宪法最重要的宗旨镌刻在《权利法案》的第一条之中。《权利法案》中的第一修正案规定了宗教自由、表达自由、言论自由以及新闻自由。
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” U.S. Constitution, amend. I
“国会不得制定关于确立宗教的法律,或禁止宗教信仰的自由行使;或限制言论自由或出版自由;或限制人民和平集会并向政府请愿以寻求救济的权利。” 美国宪法,第一修正案
The Sunday law is an open attack against the first issue of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion, which is eliminated at the Sunday law, thus marking the end of the Constitution, the end of the United States as the sixth kingdom of Bible prophecy and the beginning of the persecution against those who are then proclaiming the third angel’s message in a loud cry. Those who are proclaiming the loud cry of the third angel and protesting against the destruction of the first Amendment and the Constitution are persecuted by those who were supposed to be upholding and applying the sacred rules, which defend the sacred document they were ordained to defend. This is an illustration of understanding and applying the parallel histories of the two horns of the lamb-like earth beast. The founding Fathers of the Constitution parallel Father Miller. The term Father used for Miller is used to designate a leader, not a popish priest. The Bible forbids calling men father who are professing to be spiritual guides. The Millerites are named after their father, as is often the case. To miss this distinction is to miss some of what the Elijah message means, when it turns the hearts of the fathers unto the children and vice-versa.
星期日法令是对宪法首要条款——保障宗教自由——的公开攻击;这一自由在星期日法令之下被取消,从而标志着宪法的终结、美利坚作为圣经预言中第六个王国的终结,并开启了对那时以大呼喊宣告第三位天使信息之人的迫害。那些以大呼喊宣告第三位天使信息,并抗议第一修正案和宪法被毁坏的人,却被那些本应维护并施行神圣规则、捍卫他们受命捍卫之神圣文件的人所迫害。这是对那只如同羊羔的地兽之两角的平行历史加以理解和应用的一个例证。宪法的开国元勋,与“米勒父”形成平行对应。用于米勒的“父”这一称号,是用来指一位领袖的,而不是指天主教的神父。圣经禁止称那些自命为属灵导师的人为“父”。米勒派以他们的“父”的名字命名,这种情况并不罕见。若忽略这种区分,就会错过以利亚信息的一部分含义——当那信息使父亲的心转向儿女,儿女的心转向父亲之时。
The United States in Isaiah twenty-three is the sixth kingdom of Bible prophecy and it remains so until it overturns its Constitution at the rapidly approaching Sunday law. The sixth kingdom rules for seventy prophetic years, which are the days of one king. The kingdom (a king is a kingdom) that ruled for seventy years was Babylon. During the seventy years the horn of the state was the government of Babylon and the horn of the church was the Chaldeans. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego represent the one hundred and forty-four thousand. Both horns and God’s people are represented in Daniel’s testimony. The seventy years of captivity in Babylon was the days of one king that Isaiah employs to identify that the prophetic history of the United States and the history of Adventism as 1798 until the Sunday law.
以赛亚书二十三章中的美国是圣经预言中的第六个王国,并且它将一直如此,直到在迅速临近的星期日法令之时推翻其宪法。第六个王国统治七十个预言性的年日,就是“像一王的年日”。统治七十年的那个王国(王即王国)是巴比伦。在这七十年期间,国家的角是巴比伦的政府,教会的角是迦勒底人。但以理、沙得拉、米煞和亚伯尼歌象征十四万四千人。在但以理的见证中,两只角与上帝的子民都得到呈现。以赛亚所采用的“像一王的年日”,即在巴比伦被掳的七十年,用来表明:美国的预言历史和复临运动的历史,是从1798年直到星期日法令。
Identifying that the line of prophetic history for both horns of the United States allows us to consider the ending and beginning, with the two horn witnesses to identify the characteristic of the other horn. After all the horns were the same. In Daniel there were horns, some broken, with horns that grew out of the broken horn. Some horns in Daniel were not the same size as each other, coming up later than the other. Not so, with the two horns of the United States. Those two horns parallel each other through the same history and produce the same waymarks, though different from one another in terms of their purpose. There are caveats within the history that are also important to understand.
认识到美国两只角的预言历史脉络,使我们可以从终与始来思考,并以这两只角作为彼此的见证,以辨识另一只角的特征。毕竟这两只角是相同的。在《但以理书》中有角,有的被折断,又有角从那折断的角上长出来。《但以理书》中的有些角彼此大小不一,有些比另一些更晚长出。而美国的两只角并非如此。这两只角在同一段历史中彼此并行,产生相同的路标,尽管它们在目的上彼此不同。不过,这段历史中也有一些需要注意的事项,同样重要。
In the beginning of Adventism there was a change from the prophetic history represented by the church of Philadelphia unto the church of Laodicea. There must be therefore at the end a change from the prophetic history of Laodicea. The Revelation of Jesus Christ includes the light of this understanding and it is part of what is being unsealed at this time.
在复临运动的起初,预言的历史从由非拉铁非教会所代表的阶段转变到了老底嘉教会。因此,在末了的时候,必然也要从老底嘉的预言历史发生转变。耶稣基督的启示包含对此理解的亮光,这也是此时正在被启封之事的一部分。
And “after the end of seventy years” the pope will “sing” and the “forgotten” “harlot” will be remembered. She is “remembered” at the Sunday law, where the issue is between the worship of the sun, or the worship of the day that God’s law informed mankind to “remember.”
并且“在七十年结束之后”,教皇将会“歌唱”,那位“被遗忘的”“淫妇”将被记念。她在星期日法令时被“记念”,在那里,争议在于是敬拜太阳,还是敬拜那一天——上帝的律法要人类“记念”的那一天。
In this article we have identified that the history of Babylon’s seventy-year rule typifies the history of the United States from 1798 until the Sunday law. In a previous article and often in Habakkuk’s Tables we identify that the captivity in and deliverance from Egypt, also typifies the history of the United States and God’s people. Those four histories of Babylon, Egypt, Adventism and the United States are not the only lines to bring upon these lines, but when we apply the rule of first mention to those four lines—it is absolutely amazing. I will close this article with one simple and partial illustration of what I mean, and what I intend to continue with when we further address the history of Isaiah twenty-three at a later time.
在本文中,我们指出,巴比伦七十年统治的历史预表了美国自1798年直到星期日法令为止的历史。在先前的一篇文章中,以及在哈巴谷的图表里,我们也常常指出,在埃及的被掳与从埃及的拯救,同样预表了美国和上帝子民的历史。关于巴比伦、埃及、复临运动和美国的那四段历史,并不是唯一可以叠加在这些线之上的线;但当我们把首提原则应用于这四条线时,简直令人惊叹。我将以一个简单而不完全的例证来结束本文,以说明我的意思;当我们日后进一步讨论以赛亚书二十三章的历史时,我打算继续从这里展开。
The history of Babylon has a converted king at the beginning and a wicked king at the end. Doesn’t matter if it were Biden or Trump, for the book of Daniel teaches that it is God who sets up rulers and takes them down. What can be sure about either a Democrat or Republican leader at the time of the Sunday law is that they are a wicked leader. Nebuchadnezzar was Babylon, he was the tyrant of Babylon, willing to throw three good men into the fire. But he was eventually converted to Daniel’s God. Not so with the last leader Belshazzar. He was a wicked king. The United States in prophecy begins as a lamb, a symbol of Christ and His sacrifice for mankind. At the end the United States will speak as a dragon. The change from Christ to Satan in this line of history is represented by the difference of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar.
巴比伦的历史,在开头有一位悔改归信的王,在结尾有一位邪恶的王。无论是拜登还是特朗普,都无关紧要,因为《但以理书》教导说,立王废王的是上帝。可以肯定的是,在“星期日法令”之时,无论领导者是民主党人还是共和党人,那位领导者都是邪恶的。尼布甲尼撒就是巴比伦,他是巴比伦的暴君,甚至愿意把三位义人投入火炉。但他最终归信了但以理的神。最后那位领袖伯沙撒却不是这样;他是个邪恶的王。预言中的美国起初如同一只羊羔,象征基督以及他为人类所作的牺牲;到末了,美国要说话像龙。这段历史从基督转向撒但的变化,正是由尼布甲尼撒与伯沙撒之间的差异所代表。
“Belshazzar had been given many opportunities for knowing and doing the will of God. He had seen his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar banished from the society of men. He had seen the intellect in which the proud monarch gloried taken away by the One who gave it. He had seen the king driven from his kingdom, and made the companion of the beasts of the field. But Belshazzar’s love of amusement and self-glorification effaced the lessons he should never have forgotten; and he committed sins similar to those that brought signal judgments on Nebuchadnezzar. He wasted the opportunities graciously granted him, neglecting to use the opportunities within his reach for becoming acquainted with truth. ‘What must I do to be saved?’ was a question that the great but foolish king passed by indifferently.” Bible Echo, April 25, 1898.
“伯沙撒曾得到许多认识并遵行上帝旨意的机会。他曾看见他的祖父尼布甲尼撒被逐出人类社会;他曾看见那位骄傲君王所夸耀的智慧,被那位赐给它的主收回;他曾看见那位王被逐出他的国土,成了田野走兽的同伴。然而,伯沙撒对娱乐与自我荣耀的热爱,抹去了他本不该忘记的教训;他所犯的罪,与那些曾使尼布甲尼撒遭受严厉审判的罪相似。他浪费了恩慈赐给他的机会,忽略运用他触手可及的机会去认识真理。‘我当怎样才可以得救?’这个问题,这位伟大却愚昧的王漠然置之。”《圣经回声》,1898年4月25日。
Notice that the wicked Belshazzar was the foolish king. He suffered the same judgment as his father Nebuchadnezzar, for both judgments were represented as the “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six. Nebuchadnezzar was in the fields living like a beast for twenty-five hundred and twenty days, which is seven biblical years and his son Belshazzar’s judgment which written on the wall represents twenty-five hundred and twenty as well. The difference was the judgment against Nebuchadnezzar converted him and made him a wise king, whereas Belshazzar’s judgment was upon the foolish king.
请注意,邪恶的伯沙撒是那位愚昧的王。他遭受了与他父亲尼布甲尼撒相同的审判,因为这两次审判都被表述为《利未记》二十六章的“七个时期”。尼布甲尼撒在野地像兽一样生活了二千五百二十天,也就是七个圣经年;而他儿子伯沙撒的审判——写在墙上的那一段——同样代表二千五百二十。不同之处在于,对尼布甲尼撒的审判使他悔改,成为一位智慧的王;而伯沙撒的审判则临到那愚昧的王。
“To the last ruler of Babylon, as in type to its first, had come the sentence of the divine Watcher: ‘O king, . . . to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.’ Daniel 4:31.” Prophets and Kings, 533.
正如以预表的方式临到它的第一位君王一样,那位神圣的守望者的判语也临到了巴比伦的末代统治者:“王啊……这话是对你说的:你的国位已经离开你了。”但以理书4:31。先知与君王,533。
The handwriting on the wall for the last president is the first amendment which identifies the “wall” of separation of church and state, which the final foolish king does not understand. The “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six represents a “scattering of the people” that is accomplished by the king of the north at the Sunday law. That scattering is the national ruin that follows the Sunday law. The sixth nation forgot the lessons of their founding fathers who penned the Constitution to protect not only from a corrupt church, but also from the tyrannical European kings that the corrupt woman slept with. The founding fathers represent those who rejected the papacy and the kings of Europe for they knew from their own experience after coming out of a scattering of twelve hundred and sixty years of papal darkness, that protections against that type of tyranny must be the center piece of their new Constitution. They were wise fathers, they were lamb-like, but not so with the last father, for he will speak as a dragon. The Fathers came out of a scattering and the son goes back into a scattering. The tyrant in both instances is the first papacy and the last papacy.
对最后一任总统而言,“墙上的字迹”就是第一修正案,它指出政教分离的“墙”,而这位最终的愚昧君王却不明白这一点。《利未记》二十六章的“七次”象征着“百姓的分散”,这将在星期日法令时由北方王造成。那次分散就是紧随星期日法令而来的国家毁灭。第六个国家忘记了他们开国先贤的教训;先贤们起草宪法,不仅是为了防备腐败的教会,也为了防备那位败坏的女人与之苟合的专制欧洲诸王。开国先贤代表那些拒绝教皇权和欧洲诸王的人,因为他们亲身经历过并从一千二百六十年教皇黑暗时期的分散中出来,深知针对那类暴政的保障必须成为他们新宪法的核心。他们是智慧的父辈,像羔羊一般;但最后这位父亲却不是如此,因为他要像龙一样说话。父辈从分散中出来,而儿子又回到分散之中。这两种情形中的暴君分别是最初的教皇权与最后的教皇权。
The symbol of the judgment upon Nebuchadnezzar, the first king and the last king Belshazzar was the “seven times” scattering of Leviticus twenty-six. Nebuchadnezzar lived it, and Belshazzar had it written upon the wall as his epitaph the very night he died. The symbol of the Republican horn in the beginning was its escape from the king of the north’s bondage and the symbol of the Republican horn at its end is captivity brought about from the king of the north. The Sunday law is the “very night” that it dies as the sixth kingdom of Bible prophecy. In all four illustrations, Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar, and the beginning and ending of the Republican horn the twenty-five twenty of Leviticus twenty-six, is the symbol represented at the beginning and the ending. That represents the signature of Alpha and Omega.
临到尼布甲尼撒(第一位王)和伯沙撒(末位王)的审判之象征,是利未记二十六章中的“七倍”分散。尼布甲尼撒亲身经历了它,而伯沙撒在他死的那一夜,它被写在墙上,成了他的墓志铭。共和之角在开始时的象征,是它从北方王的束缚中逃脱;而在其结束时的象征,则是由北方王带来的被掳。星期日法令,就是它作为圣经预言的第六个王国而死亡的“那一夜”。在这四个例证——伯沙撒、尼布甲尼撒,以及共和之角的开始与结束——当中,利未记二十六章的二千五百二十,都是在起头与末了所呈现的象征。这代表了阿尔法和俄梅伽的署名。
The first “time prophecy” William Miller discovered was the twenty-five twenty of Leviticus twenty-six. It was the first stone in the foundation that Jesus laid through the work of Miller. It was also the first foundational truth that was set aside by Adventism in 1863. When all of Miller’s stones of truth were put into the foundation, those truths were represented on the two tables of Habakkuk, which are the 1843 and 1850 pioneer charts. Those two tables represent the covenant relationship between God and His denominated people just as the two tables of the Ten Commandments represented the covenant with ancient Israel.
威廉·米勒所发现的第一个“时间预言”,是利未记二十六章中的“二五二〇”。这是耶稣借着米勒的工作所铺设根基的第一块石头。它也是复临运动在1863年所搁置的第一条根基真理。当米勒的一切真理之石都被放入根基时,那些真理就被呈现在“哈巴谷的两块版”上,也就是1843年和1850年的先驱图表。这两块版代表着上帝与称为祂名下之民之间的盟约关系,正如十诫的两块法版代表着与古代以色列所立的盟约一样。
At the end of Laodicean Adventism, when it is spewed out of the mouth of the Lord at the Sunday law, the handwriting on the wall is those two sacred pioneer charts. Charts which they are unable to read, for they refused to be benefitted by the warning message in their beginning of their history….
在老底嘉的复临运动的末期,当星期日法令之时,它被主从口中吐出去,墙上的字迹就是那两幅神圣的先锋图表。这些图表他们却读不懂,因为他们在其历史之初就拒绝从那警告的信息中受益……
The financial crisis of 1837 in the United States was a complex event triggered by a combination of economic factors, policies, and speculative activities.
美国1837年的金融危机是由经济因素、政策和投机活动共同作用引发的一场复杂事件。
Speculative Bubble: In the years leading up to 1837, there was a speculative boom in land and investments, driven in part by the westward expansion of the country. Land speculation, particularly in the western frontier, led to inflated land prices and excessive borrowing.
投机泡沫:在1837年前的几年里,部分受国家向西扩张的推动,土地和投资出现了投机热潮。土地投机,尤其是在西部边疆,导致地价虚高和过度借贷。
Easy Credit and Speculative Lending: Banks and financial institutions were issuing large amounts of credit and loans, often without adequate collateral. This easy access to credit contributed to the speculative frenzy and increased the risks of financial instability.
宽松信贷与投机性放贷:银行和金融机构大量发放信贷和贷款,往往缺乏足够的抵押品。这种容易获得的信贷助长了投机狂潮,并加大了金融不稳定的风险。
Overexpansion of Banks: Banks were expanding their operations rapidly, often issuing more paper money (banknotes) than they had specie (gold and silver) to back it up. This practice, known as “wildcat banking,” resulted in an overabundance of unregulated and unreliable currency in circulation.
银行的过度扩张:银行迅速扩张业务,往往发行的纸币(银行券)多于其用于支撑的金银(黄金与白银)。这种做法被称为“野猫银行”,导致市面上缺乏监管且不可靠的货币过度泛滥。
Jackson’s Economic Policies: President Andrew Jackson’s policies played a role in exacerbating the crisis. He issued the Specie Circular in 1836, which required that public lands be purchased with hard currency (gold and silver) rather than paper money. This led to a rush to convert banknotes into specie, causing financial strains and bank failures.
杰克逊的经济政策:安德鲁·杰克逊总统的政策在加剧这场危机方面发挥了作用。他于1836年颁布了《金银通令》,要求购买公共土地必须使用硬通货(黄金和白银),而不是纸币。这导致人们争相将纸币兑换成金银,引发金融紧张和银行倒闭。
International Factors: The crisis in the United States was also influenced by international economic conditions. A slump in the British economy, a major trading partner of the United States, led to a reduction in demand for American goods and exports. This, in turn, affected American businesses and contributed to economic distress.
国际因素:美国的这场危机也受到国际经济形势的影响。作为美国重要贸易伙伴的英国经济陷入低迷,导致对美国商品的需求下降,从而压缩了美国的出口。这反过来影响了美国企业,并加剧了经济困境。
Panic and Bank Runs: In May 1837, a series of financial shocks, including bank failures and credit contractions, led to a panic among investors and depositors. This panic triggered a wave of bank runs and a severe contraction of credit.
恐慌与银行挤兑:1837年5月,一系列金融冲击,包括银行倒闭和信贷收缩,引发了投资者和储户的恐慌。这场恐慌触发了一波银行挤兑,并导致信贷大幅收缩。
Contraction of Money Supply: As banks failed and credit tightened, the overall money supply in the economy contracted significantly. This contraction of money aggravated economic difficulties and deepened the recession. The combination of these factors led to a severe economic downturn, characterized by bank failures, unemployment, reduced consumer spending, and a general economic depression.
货币供应量收缩:随着银行倒闭、信贷收紧,经济中的总体货币供应量显著收缩。这种货币供给的收缩加剧了经济困难,并加深了衰退。这些因素叠加导致了一场严重的经济下行,其特征是银行倒闭、失业、消费者支出减少,以及总体性的经济萧条。
“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” Life Sketches, 196.
我们对将来没有什么可怕的,除非我们忘记了主怎样带领我们,以及祂在我们过去历史中的教训。 生平素描,196。