於2017-03-20發佈


愛神所愛─啟示錄

四活物各有六個翅膀,遍體內外都滿了眼睛。他們晝夜不住的說:聖哉!聖哉!聖哉!主神是昔在、今在、以後永在的全能者。 (啟示錄4:8)

聖經中,四代表著『完整』的數字,例如『地的四方』指的是全地。因為人是在第六天被造,六經常代表人的數字。以後我們會看見『罪人』,也就是人的罪的化身,有666的數字,或是三個六。這是人的罪完全滿盈,想要以敬拜人取代敬拜三一真神的啟示,這亦是人本主義的終極成熟。 

這四活物是人類的先知性比喻,正如它在神的寶座前,遍體內外都滿了眼睛』,我們被賜予很棒的能力來向外看和向內看。翅膀代表遨翔在地以上的能力,儘管這些非凡能力因著墮落而損毀與變質,但神已將此能力賜予人類。我們也不斷渴望能觸摸到天,這是從神而來的,當人類被重建,再次連結於祂的同在中,這些能力將會得以完全。 

在這段經文裡,這些特質得以完全的方式是由四活物宣告著─敬拜這位聖潔主,看見祂的聖潔,看見祂在我們的過去、現在與未來,看祂如同是每件事情的終極瞭解。 

一旦我們看見祂坐在寶座上,我們不會再繼續崇拜受造物,只會單單稱頌造物主。當我們與神擁有對的關係,我們便能與受造物有著正確的關係,包括與我們自己。於是我們將像四活物一樣,晝夜都被我們可畏的聖潔神吸引。 

我們是為著神的喜悅而受造;因此,沒有任何事物能比帶給神喜悅更令我們滿足,先從愛祂開始。倘若我們按我們所當的來做,我們也會愛人與愛受造物。神愛世人(世界)』不單是人而已,正如啟示錄十一章18節所看見的,主將敗壞那些敗壞世界之人。那些任意摧毀受造物之人,已經喪失他們受造的本質。 

當我們在對神的愛中成長,我們的愛也在對祂所愛的一切事物中成長,我們不會隨意摧毀或損害祂所愛的。神給予人的第一個命令便是看管園子,這也是人的一部分目的。當我們被重建成為我們最初被造的樣式,我們對受造物的照顧也會隨著對造物主的愛成長。 

倘若我們不連結於主,人就會被扭曲。雖然有些事已被墮落的人扭曲了,但這並不表示我們要躲開這些事;反之,我們必須努力來做這些事,以對的靈帶著卓越來做,這靈是出於被主的榮耀轉變,活在祂的同在裡。 

主被宣告是昔在、今在、以後永在的全能者,要認識祂,我們必須從昔在、今在、以後永在這三方面來看祂。我們認識祂是造物主,祂『倒空自己』成為人的樣式,住在地上活在人中間,為世人成為贖罪祭。祂不再是『拿撒勒的耶穌』,而是榮耀的主,坐在寶座上,父神的右邊。那即是我們現在認識祂的樣式,但我們也必須知道祂將要成為─萬王之王,祂將帶著眾天軍來復興全地。當我們繼續來看大而可畏的啟示錄,我們將詳述這一切。 

 (摘自喬納 word for the week,Week9, 2017)

 

Loving What God Loves—The Book of Revelation
Week 9, 2017
Rick Joyner

The four living beings, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME" (Revelation 4:8).

         In Scripture, the number four is a number for “whole,” such as when the “four corners of the earth” speaks of the whole earth. Because man was created on the sixth day, six is usually the number of man. Later we will see how the “man of sin,” who personifies the sin of man, has the number 666, or three sixes. This is a revelation of how the sin of man in its full maturity seeks to displace the worship of the Trinity with the worship of man. This is the ultimate maturing of humanism.

         These four living beings are a prophetic metaphor of mankind as it is before the throne of God. With “eyes around and within,” we have been given a magnificent ability to see externally and internally. The wings speak of the ability to soar above the earth. Even though these remarkable abilities of mankind are now marred and distorted because of the corruption of the Fall, God gave these abilities to man. He put it in us to want to see, understand, and explore things around us and in us. We also have a constant yearning to reach for the heavens. These are from God, and when mankind is restored and again abiding in His presence, they will be perfected.

         The way that these attributes will be perfected is declared by these beings in this text—worshipping the Holy One by seeing His holiness, and seeing Him in our past, our present, and our future. This is to see Him as the ultimate understanding of everything. Once we see Him on His throne, we will not continue to worship the creation but only the blessed Creator. When we have a right relationship to God, we can then have a proper relationship to the creation, including to ourselves. Then we will, like the four living beings, be captivated night and day by our awesome, holy God.

         We are created for God’s pleasure. Therefore, there is nothing that can be more fulfilling to us than doing the things that bring pleasure to God. This begins with loving Him. If we do this as we should, we will also love all others and will love the creation. “God so loved the world not just mankind. As we see in Revelation 11:18, the Lord will “destroy those who destroy the earth.” Those who wantonly destroy the creation have lost the essence of who they were created to be.

         As we grow in our love for God, we also grow in our love for all that He loves, and we will not needlessly destroy or mar what He loves. The first command given to man was to take care of the garden. This too is part of the purpose of mankind. As we are restored to who we are created to be, our care for the creation will grow with our love for the Creator.

         Every love, or devotion, that mankind has will be distorted if we do not abide in the Lord. Although some things are distorted by fallen men, this does not mean that we avoid them. Rather, we must endeavor to do them in the right spirit with excellence that comes from being changed by the glory of the Lord and living in His presence.

         He is declared to be “He who was and is and is to come.” To know Him, we must see Him in all three. We come to know Him as the Creator who “emptied Himself” to become a man and live on earth among men to make the propitiation sacrifice for the world. He is no longer “Jesus of Nazareth” but is the Lord of Glory, sitting on His throne at the right hand of the Father. That is how we know Him now, but we must also know Him as He will be—the King of kings who will come again with His hosts to restore the earth. We will expand upon all of this as we continue our study of the awesome Revelation.