進入全世界─啟示錄

這週我們將談到主對別迦摩教會的吩咐，以及祂對在試煉中得勝者的應許。

所以，你當悔改；若不悔改，我就快臨到你那裡，用我口中的劍攻擊他們。

聖靈向眾教會所說的話，凡有耳的，就應當聽！得勝的，我必將那隱藏的嗎哪賜給他，並賜他一塊白石，石上寫著新名；除了那領受的以外，沒有人能認識（啟示錄2:16-17）。 

在這之前的教會─是受到最嚴重逼迫的教會─主卻沒有要他們悔改。似乎逼迫讓他們持守聖潔，但別迦摩的教會卻被警告，他們若不悔改，主會親自攻擊他們！祂會用『口中的劍』─祂的話來攻擊，祂會用定罪和真理的聲音，來挑戰那些將教會轉向與羅馬帝國結盟的人。直到今日，這幾乎持續成為挑戰，常成為誘惑神百姓的陷阱。 

因為此持續挑戰教會，我們應當如何成為列國和政府的先知性聲音─我們所蒙召成為的光和鹽─沒有錯誤連結而妥協了我們身為基督新婦的呼召？許多人屈服與這些政府結合，而背叛了我們成為主貞節童女的呼召。 

幾乎在聖經中的每一個先知都必須對君王或政府說話，例如以賽亞，與他們有著親近的個人關係。有些人則像但以理和約瑟，不僅對王說話，還在高階位子為他們工作，成為政府的行政官員。正如我們在約瑟和但以理身上所看見的，這種類型先知的一個重要特質是他們在主面前致力活出聖潔，甚至冒著生命危險與受盡逼迫，只為了持守聖潔和忠心。很少人能如此親近權力人士而不貪污腐敗。 

我去過許多國家的教會，他們多半都遠離政治，我想他們這麼做是對的，因為他們並不是在民主的權利與責任中成為政府的一份子。在民主或共和政體中，政府是為人民而存在並為他們負責，這是不同的。我們的呼召是成為鹽和光，理當促使我們投入國家的重要議題，不一定是以教會的身份，而是以基督徒的身份。 

大使命要我們『去到全世界』不單指地理位置，我們蒙召成為每一個影響領域的鹽和光，包括政府。然而，政府是最詭詐的，雖然每一個呼召都需要特別的恩典，但我認為被呼召進入政府部分的人需要額外特別的恩典，因為太過危險。 

在我曾去過的所有國家，我認為美國的基督徒最投入政府。這很可能是因為美國曾是受歐洲逼迫之基督徒的避難所，基督徒對此國家的誕生有著巨大的影響。他們持續在美國成為極大的影響，幾乎比其他國家多得多，特別是從中古世紀羅馬教會與東正教會掌權以來。 

在別迦摩教會期間（大約在主後323-538年），教會從逼迫到對政府有影響力，普遍做得並不好。她並沒有持守聖潔，乃是與地上的政府同流合污，於是反而成為抵擋為主持守聖潔之基督徒的武器。這樣的事也在美國發生，基督徒在自由黨和保守黨之間被分割，當一個政黨當權時，另一個政黨的基督徒常會受到逼迫。此逼迫可能不是折磨與死亡，卻是以許多其他形式臨到。 

研讀這樣的事如何在別迦摩時期的教會發生，可以幫助那些被呼召進入政府或對他們有影響力的人遠離陷阱。教會其中一個最大的陷阱是從羅馬皇帝改信基督教開始，我並不想爭論他是否真的改信基督教，但他的改信對教會與整個西方世界的影響非常糟。教會可能多少影響他一些，幫助他有更好的行為，但羅馬帝國影響教會更甚並帶來更大的邪惡。 

可能我們需要詢問為何我們要政府領袖成為敬虔的基督徒，神對政府的指令與對教會的不同，我們常常搞混了。瞭解在別迦摩時期所揭開的事，可以幫助我們釐清這些，這即是何以我們將繼續更深入來看此教會的原因。 

 (摘自喬納 word for the week,Week30, 2016)
 

 
Into All the World—The Book of Revelation
Weeky 30, 2016
Rick Joyner

         This week we will cover the Lord’s charge to the church at Pergamos and His promise to those who overcome their trials.

“Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it” (Revelation 2:16-17 NKJV).

         The church before this one—the one under the most intense persecution—was not called to repent. It seems the persecution kept them pure, but Pergamos was warned that if they did not repent, the Lord Himself with fight against them! He would do it with the “sword of His mouth”—His Word— and He did with great voices of conviction and truth challenging the direction of those turning the church toward alignment with the Roman Empire. To this day, this has been an almost continual challenge, and often a trap that subdues God’s people.

         Because of this almost continual challenge for the church, how should we be the prophetic voice to nations and governments—the light and salt we are called to be—without wrongly uniting with them in a way that compromises our calling as the bride of Christ? Many have succumbed to marrying these governments in a way that betrays our calling as a chaste virgin for the Lord.

         Almost every prophet in Scripture had to speak to kings or governments. Many, such as Isaiah, had close personal relationships with them. Some, like Daniel and Joseph, not only spoke to kings, but worked for them at the highest levels, becoming administrators over the government. As we see with Joseph and Daniel, one key characteristic of this type of prophet was their devotion to living pure before the Lord, even risking their lives and suffering great persecution to remain pure and faithful. Few are able to handle this kind of closeness to power without being corrupted.

         I have visited churches in dozens of countries, and most of them stay far from politics. For most of these, I think this is right for them because they are not in democracies with a right and responsibility to be part of government. In democracies, or republics, where the government exists for the people and is responsible to them, this is different. Our calling to be salt and light should cause us to engage in the important issues of our countries, not necessarily as the church but as Christians.

         The command to “go into all the world” was not just geographical. We are called to be salt and light in every field of influence, including government. However, government is the trickiest. Although we need special grace for every calling, I think we need an extra special grace to be called to government because of the dangers.

         Of all the countries I’ve been in, I think Christians in the U.S. are the most engaged in their government. This is likely because America was a refuge for persecuted Christians from Europe, and Christians were a huge influence in the birth of the nation. They continued as a great influence in the country, much more than almost any other country since the dominance of the Roman and Orthodox churches in the Middle Ages.

         During this period of the church at Pergamos (approximately A.D. 323-538), the church in general did not do too well moving from persecution to a place of influence in government. She did not stay chaste, but married the earthly government. Then she became a weapon against other Christians who resolved to stay pure virgins for their Lord. This has also happened to a degree in the United States. Christians have been split between the liberal and conservative parties about as equally as the people have been. When one group is in power, there has often been a persecution of the Christian brothers who are not. This persecution may not come with tortures and death, but it has come in many other forms.

         Studying how this happened during the church period represented by the church at Pergamos can help those called to be in government or to have influence with them stay away from the traps. One of the biggest traps for the church was opened with the conversion of the Roman Emperor. I’m not debating whether his conversion was real or not, but the effect of his conversion on the church, and then the entire Western world, was very bad. The church may have influenced him some in ways that helped bring better behavior, but the Empire’s ways influenced the church much more and brought greater evil.

         Maybe we need to ask why we want our civil government leaders to be devout Christians. The mandate on civil governments from God is different than the mandate on His church. We often get the two confused. Understanding what unfolded during the period represented by Pergamos can help us get this sorted out, and this is why we will continue with this church a bit more.