於2011-12-05發佈

光勝過黑暗

我們只稍許地談論到神的審判,但其卻是屬靈權柄的兩個基本根基之一,另一個則是公義,正如聖經所說:『公義和公平是祢寶座的根基』(參考詩篇89:14)。因此,當我們在祂的權柄裡成長,我們也當在我們對其的知識與順服中成長。

首先我們必須確定公義是主所說的公義,而非人所說的,我們也必須確定公平是祂所說的公平,而非人所說的。因此,我們應當透過祂所寫的話語─聖經,致力瞭解主的公義和公平,而祂所賜給我們的聖經是為了建立教義。

正如我們先前談過,整個教會時期是為了讓主找到尋求祂與事奉祂的人,甚至此意謂著會與世人走相反方向。當地上被重建時,這些人會與主在接下來的時期一起掌管與掌權。此時是為了『訓練來掌管』,這對那些有如此崇高呼召的人並不容易。

凡是被呼召在這世代末了受訓練的人,會在『黑暗遮蓋大地,幽暗遮蓋萬民』(參考以賽亞書60:2)被賜下最大的恩典。經文接著說:『耶和華卻要顯現照耀你;祂的榮耀要現在你身上。』甚至連古時的先知都渴望看見這些時候,我們被尊榮住在其間,接下來的三節經文帶給我們極大的鼓勵:

萬國要來就你的光,君王要來就你發現的光輝。
你舉目向四方觀看;眾人都聚集來到你這裡。你的眾子從遠方而來;你的眾女也被懷抱而來。
那時,你看見就有光榮;你心又跳動又寬暢;因為大海豐盛的貨物必轉來歸你;列國的財寶也必來歸你(以賽亞書60:3-5)。

光勝過黑暗!無論大地有多黑暗,萬民被多深層的黑暗勝過,光將會得勝。在世代末了光與黑暗終極碰撞的結果:就是萬國將來就光。我們的兒女會回來,列國的財富也必歸給主的管家。

正如以賽亞書六十章與其他經文清楚說到,我們正朝向光與黑暗的終極衝撞中,這是將敬拜順服神的人和其他人終極分別出來。臨到人身上的深層黑暗是悖逆神所帶來的結果,我們的心絕不要跟隨那些不跟隨主的人,也不要在我們所託付的真理上妥協。

此也表明凡是行在光中的人將會行在越來越大的光中,直到神的榮耀透過我們顯現出來,而那些轉向黑暗的人也會進入更多的黑暗中。當我們繼續往前時,行在光中與行在黑暗中的區分也會越來越大。

正如我們在啟示錄中所讀到的,當審判來到世界,悖逆者的回應是咒詛神,而不是轉向祂。我們不應感到訝異。到了一個時候,列國會來就光,但我們也可以從聖經預言中讀到,此不會先發生。思想一下保羅對末世所提出的下列警告,記載在提摩太後書三章1-5節:

你該知道,末世必有危險的日子來到。
因為那時人要專顧自己、貪愛錢財、自誇、狂傲、謗讟、違背父母、忘恩負義、心不聖潔、
無親情、不解怨、好說讒言、不能自約、性情兇暴、不愛良善、
賣主賣友、任意妄為、自高自大、愛宴樂、不愛神,
有敬虔的外貌,卻背了敬虔的實意;這等人你要躲開。

感覺像不像你的鄰舍?這些特性在過去五十年戲劇性的上升。電影、電視與音樂這些媒介已經成為新一世代屬靈與道德教育的基礎,不斷以越來越極端和殘忍的方式來灌輸悖逆與不法。俗語說的好:『倘若你不改變方向,最後只會朝著那方向前進』,而全世界正走向混亂和無法。悔改並回轉向神的國家不會走到那裡,但美國與歐洲卻一直在遠離神而不是轉向祂。是否鹽已經失了味,光已經藏了起來?

深入的研究顯示:信徒與非信徒在基本道德與誠信上並沒有明顯的區別。倘若你現在開始提到神的審判,許多在教會的人會比異教徒更快撲向你。為何有那麼多基督徒如此不想看見神在這方面的本質、工作,以及對我們所處時候最基本的聖經解釋?這是我們必須要瞭解的,正如我們被警告,有越來越多的基督徒無法忍受健全的聖經教義。

 (摘自 喬納 word for the week, Week 46, 2011)


The Judgments of God, Part 9
Light Overtakes Darkness
Week 46, 2011

We have only superficially covered the judgment of God, but it is one of the two basic foundations of spiritual authority. The other is righteousness, as we are told: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne” (see Psalm 89:14). Therefore, as we grow in His authority we should also grow in our knowledge and obedience to them.

We must first establish that righteousness is what the Lord says it is, not man. We also must establish that justice is what He says it is, not man. Therefore, our devotion to understanding these should be through His written Word, the Bible, which He gave us for establishing doctrine.

As we have covered, the entire church age was allowed for the purpose of the Lord finding a people who would seek Him and serve Him even when it meant going in the opposite direction of the rest of mankind. These will rule and reign with Him in the age to come when the earth is restored. This time of “training for reigning” was not intended to be easy for those who have such a high calling.

Those who have been called to be trained at the end of the age, and the time when “darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples” (see Isaiah 60:2), have been given the greatest privilege of all. As the next verse continues, “the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you.” Even the prophets of old desire to see these times, and we have been honored to live in them. Then we have the great encouragement of the next three verses:

“And Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

“Lift up your eyes round about and see; they all gather together, they come to you.
Your sons will come from afar, and your daughters will be carried in the arms.

“Then you will see and be radiant, and your heart will thrill and rejoice;
because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you,
the wealth of the nations will come to you” (Isaiah 60:3-5).

The light wins! Regardless of how dark it becomes and how the people are overcome with the “deep darkness,” the light will prevail. The result of the ultimate clash of light and darkness at the end of the age is that the nations will turn to the light. Our children will come back and the wealth of the nations will be brought to those who are the stewards of the Lord.

As Isaiah 60 and other texts make clear, we are headed for the ultimate clash of light and darkness. This is an ultimate separation of those who worship God and obey Him and those who do not. The deep darkness that comes upon the people is the result of having rebelled against God, and we must settle in our hearts that we will not follow those who do not follow Him or ever compromise His truth that we have been entrusted with.

This also indicates that those who walk in the light will walk in more and more light until the glory is revealed through them, and those who turn to darkness will get darker and darker. As we proceed, the distinctions between those who walk in the light and those who walk in darkness will increase.

As we see in the Book of Revelation, when the judgments come upon the world, the response of the rebellious will be to curse God, not turn to Him. This should not surprise us. There will be a time when the nations turn to the light, but we can also see by the biblical prophecies that this is not going to happen at first. Consider the following warning that Paul gave about these times in II Timothy 3:1-5:

"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

"For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers,
disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,

"unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

"holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power;
and avoid such men as these."

Sound like your neighborhood? These characteristics have been growing dramatically in the last fifty years. The media of movies, television, and music have become the basis of the spiritual and moral education of the emerging generation, and they are inculcating rebellion and lawlessness in increasingly extreme and diabolical ways. As the saying goes, “If you don’t change your direction, you will end up where you are headed,” and the whole world is headed for a meltdown into chaos and lawlessness. The nations that repent and return to the Lord do not have to end up there, but America and Europe have been turning from the Lord instead of to Him. Has the salt lost its saltiness and the light been hidden?

In-depth studies show that there is no distinguishable difference in basic morality and integrity between believers and non-believers. If you even begin to mention the judgment of God now, many in the church will jump you even faster than the heathen. Why are so many Christians so reticent to see this very basic part of God’s nature, His works, and the most basic biblical explanation of our own times? This we must seek to understand. As we were warned, an increasing number of Christians will not endure sound, biblical doctrine.