於2018-03-11發佈


觀看主─啟示錄 

我們繼續來讀啟示錄十六章,神大怒的碗傾倒在地上:

第一位天使便去,把碗倒在地上,就有惡而且毒的瘡生在那些有獸印記、拜獸像的人身上。 

第二位天使把碗倒在海裡,海就變成血,好像死人的血,海中的活物都死了。 

第三位天使把碗倒在江河與眾水的泉源裡,水就變成血了。 

我聽見掌管眾水的天使說:昔在、今在的聖者啊,祢這樣判斷是公義的;

他們曾流聖徒與先知的血,現在祢給他們血喝;這是他們所該受的。 

我又聽見祭壇中有聲音說:是的,主神─全能者啊,祢的判斷義哉!誠哉!

第四位天使把碗倒在日頭上,叫日頭能用火烤人。

人被大熱所烤,就褻瀆那有權掌管這些災的神之名,並不悔改將榮耀歸給神。 

第五位天使把碗倒在獸的座位上,獸的國就黑暗了。人因疼痛就咬自己的舌頭; 

又因所受的疼痛,和生的瘡,就褻瀆天上的神,並不悔改所行的(啟示錄16:2-11) 

在這裡我們看見一些最可怕的審判臨到地上,最後的結果不是人轉向神,而是褻瀆祂的名,並不悔改所行的。 

與許多人所相信的相反,審判或害怕審判在帶來悔改上並不管用。這是原則,不是律法,原則有許多的例外,正如約拿單.愛德華滋(Jonathan Edwards)的講道:『落在忿怒之神手中的罪人』,還有查爾斯.芬尼(Charles Finney)與其他人的一些講道。悔改是來自神的恩典,由聖靈動工使人知罪,指出十字架是我們罪惡的唯一解藥。然而,在神忿怒時期在地上不悔改的人,代表他們已經在敗壞中硬著心。像這樣的人,毀滅是唯一的解決之道。 

我們繼續來讀啟示錄十六章12-16節:  

第六位天使把碗倒在伯拉大河上,河水就乾了,要給那從日出之地所來的眾王預備道路。 

我又看見三個污穢的靈,好像青蛙,從龍口、獸口並假先知的口中出來。 

他們本是鬼魔的靈,施行奇事,出去到普天下眾王那裡,叫他們在神全能者的大日聚集爭戰。 

(看哪,我來像賊一樣。那警醒、看守衣服、免得赤身而行、叫人見他羞恥的有福了!) 

那三個鬼魔便叫眾王聚集在一處,希伯來話叫做哈米吉多頓。 

在這裡我們看見第六位天使將他的碗傾倒,伯拉大河(幼發拉底河)的河水就乾了,並且從龍口(撒旦)、獸口和假先知的口中釋放鬼魔的勢力。幼發拉底河從土耳其開始,流經敘利亞,然後進入伊拉克。這條河乾掉是為了成為道路好讓軍隊前去哈米吉多頓。倘若河水真的乾了,可能軍隊更容易穿越。然而,那裡已有許多橋樑橫跨大河,現代軍隊皆有快速造橋的能力,此河水乾了可能不單是為了地上的軍隊能穿越。因此,我們應該思量讓此河水乾了遠超過自然界的意義。 

根據此預言,此地區是我們應當尋找大邪惡顯現的地方,這個地區所釋放的鬼魔勢力目前是非常真實的,它們已經吸引美國與其他國家的軍力。當他們想要離開,因著罪惡如此迅速填補空缺,所以他們目前還不能擺脫。 

啟示錄下一章將給予更多對此的洞見,所以我們將稍等一下再更深瞭解,目前我們應當將眼目放在正在這些國家所發生的事。更重要的是,我們應該觀看主和祂正在做的事,遠勝過撒但,獸和假先知所做的。 

 (摘自喬納 word for the week, Week9, 2018)

 
Watching for the Lord: The Book of Revelation
Week 9, 2018
Rick Joyner

       We will continue with Revelation 16, in which the bowls of wrath are poured out on the earth:

        So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

    Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

    Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

    And I heard the angel of the waters saying: "You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things.

    For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. Forit is their just due."

    And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments."

    Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.

    And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

    Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.

         So they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds (Revelation 16:2-11). 

     Here we see some of the most terrible judgments to come upon the earth. The end result is not that men turn to God, but rather that they blaspheme His name and do not repent. 

Contrary to the belief of many, judgment, or the fear of judgment, is not very effective in bringing repentance. This is a principle not a law, and there are exceptions to principles, such as the sermon by Jonathan Edwards entitled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and sermons by Charles Finney and others. Repentance is grace from God orchestrated by the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin and points to the cross as the only remedy for our guilt. However, for the people on earth during this time of the wrath of God who do not repent, it indicates that they have been hardened in their corruption. For such, destruction is the only remedy.  

       We continue with Revelation16:12-16:     

         Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

         And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

         For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

         “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

We see here that when the sixth angel pours out his bowl, it dries up the Euphrates River and releases demonic forces from the mouth of the dragon (Satan), the beast, and the false prophet. The Euphrates River begins in modern Turkey, runs through Syria and into Iraq. It is the drying up of this river that makes the way for the armies to march to Armageddon. If the river literally dries up, it could make it easier for armies to cross. However, as there are already many bridges across it and every modern army has the capability of building bridges swiftly, the drying up of this river is not likely just to physically enable these armies to pass. Therefore, we should consider the drying up of this river to be more than just physical. 

According to this prophecy, this region is where we should look for great evil to emerge. The release of demonic forces from this region is very real at the present time. They have drawn in major forces from the U.S. and other countries. These have yet been unable to extricate themselves because of the way evil so quickly fills the vacuum when they try to pull out. 

The coming chapters of Revelation give more insight into this, so we will wait to go deeper. For now, we should keep our eyes on what is happening in these countries. Yet even more so, we should watch for the Lord and what He is doing, even more than what Satan, the beast, and the false prophet are doing.