時候的徵兆─啟示錄   

這週我們將繼續來看第六印：

揭開第六印的時候，我又看見地大震動，日頭變黑像毛布，滿月變紅像血， 

天上的星辰墜落於地，如同無花果樹被大風搖動，落下未熟的果子一樣（啟示錄6:12-13）。 

倘若第六印與第六個教會平行，那我們應當找出能應驗此預言的事件。果然不出所料，有些事件似乎真實的應驗，而且以很驚人的方式應驗。 

1755年十一月1日在里斯本的大地震是歷史上記載最大的地震，震動了大部分的歐洲、非洲，甚至在北美都可以感受到震動。在葡萄牙、西班牙與北非損失極度慘重，當時里斯本約有15萬人，單地震當天就死了9萬人。 

海水退去後，很遠就可以看到乾地，當海水復回，比原先的位置上升了50英尺，整個村莊都不見了。據報導大量的海水，如在蘇格蘭灣，水位上升超過堤岸，又退到比原來的水位還低。普遍認為那一天地表的大部分都被攪動了。 

這絕對具備約翰在第六印揭開所看見『地大震動』的條件，那日頭變黑又是怎麼回事？這也發生在1780年五月19日所謂的『黑日』（the Dark Day），黑暗程度與持續時間不同以往，但又不是日蝕，一般的日蝕持續數分鐘，但在新格蘭的黑日從上午十點開始，在不同地區持續了十四到三十六小時不等。日蝕像影子穿過地球，但此黑暗大到人們在白天若沒有蠟燭，連手錶幾點鐘都看不到。 

到了晚上，黑暗大到人們無法看見近在眼前的白紙，也看不見星星，只有少數地方有月亮。據報導還是血月，正如約翰所預言的。 

此現象產生的原因無法解釋，許多人認為這是審判日臨到的徵兆，據報導人們甚至因懼怕將臨到地上的事而心臟病發死去。歷史描述這一天，通常提到就像黑暗之災臨到摩西時期的埃及地一樣。 

第三個徵兆─天上的星辰墜落於地，如同無花果樹被大風搖動，落下未熟的果子一樣─這也在1833年十一月13日一連串的流星雨中得應驗。有些報導認為這是前所未有最壯觀的流星雨，有些人甚至描述其為『眾星墜落如同一棵樹上的果子被搖動一般』，正如約翰在這裡所描述的。 

在我們剛開始讀啟示錄時，曾提到星星代表教會的使者。似乎此流星雨事件成為一個徵兆，代表天上大群的使者被釋放到地上。從那時起，一些在教會歷史上最偉大的聲音開始出現，在他們短暫的生命閃亮燃燒著，就像流星雨一般。 

如此的徵兆成為時候的標誌，這些神奇的徵兆是在第六個教會時期發生，跨越第一次與第二次大覺醒，也可能因此帶來大覺醒。現代宣教與福音運動在此期間如雨後春筍般出現，並且遍及全地。在這些徵兆之後，我們應當來看約翰預言接下來將揭開的偉大事件，我們會在下週談到。 

(摘自喬納 word for the week,Week16, 2017)

 

 
Signs of the Times—The Book of Revelation
Week 16, 2017
Rick Joyner

         This week we will continue with the sixth seal:

       I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;

       and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind (Revelation 6:12-13).

         If the sixth seal parallels the sixth church age, then we should find events that could fulfill this prophecy. We are not disappointed—some events seem to have been fulfilled literally and in spectacular ways.

          The Great Lisbon Earthquake on November 1, 1755 may have been the most powerful quake in recorded history. It shook most of Europe, Africa, and was even felt in North America. The damage was extreme in Portugal, Spain, and North Africa. The population of Lisbon was about 150,000 at the time, and an estimated 90,000 died that day.

         The ocean receded so that dry land could be seen for a great distance from where it had been. When it came back, it had risen fifty feet above its previous level. Whole villages as far away as North Africa disappeared. There were reports of large bodies of water, such as the Lochs in Scotland, rising out of their banks and then withdrawing far below their previous levels. It is believed that a large part of the earth’s surface was agitated that day.

         This could certainly qualify as the “great earthquake” John saw with the opening of the sixth seal. But what about the sun turning dark? This too happened on what has been called “the Dark Day” of May 19, 1780. The degree of darkness, and the time it lasted, was different in various places, but it was far beyond what could have been considered an eclipse. Eclipses last for minutes, but this darkness began around 10am in New England and lasted from 14 to 36 hours in different places. An eclipse is like a shadow passing over the earth, but this darkness was so great that people were unable to read or see the time on their watches during normal daylight hours without candles.

         At night, the darkness was so thick that people reported being unable to see a white sheet of paper held inches away from their eyes. No stars were visible. On the few occasions that the moon appeared, it was reported to be blood red, just as in John’s prophecy.

         The cause of this phenomenon has never been explained. Many considered this a sign that Judgment Day had come, and it was reported that people died because their hearts failed them for fear of what had come upon the earth. The historic accounts often refer to this day as being like the plague of darkness that came upon the land of Egypt in the time of Moses.

         The third sign—stars falling like a fig tree casting its figs in a great wind—was also fulfilled on November 13, 1833 with a meteor shower. Some reports suggested that this was the most spectacular meteor shower ever witnessed. Some even described it as "stars falling like fruit shaken from a tree," just as John had described.

          As we read in the first part of Revelation, the stars represented the messengers to the churches. It seems that this great meteor shower event was a sign in the heavens of the great messengers being released upon the earth. Since that time, some of the greatest voices in church history appeared and burned brightly in the short span of their life, much like a meteor shower.

         Such signs are given as markers of the times. These amazing signs took place in the sixth church age. They spanned the time of the First and Second Great Awakenings and likely contributed to them. Modern missions and the modern evangelical movements emerged during this period and spread over the earth. After these signs, we should see the unfolding of the next great event John prophesied would come, which we will cover next week.