於2016-10-22發佈


公義本於信─啟示錄

正如我們先前所談到的,宗教改革隨著印刷業的發展生根和散播,聖經人們隨手可得。當人們開始讀聖經,制度化教會的常規和教義與神的話之間的對比顯而易見。在歐洲有許多人,甚至有許多國家開始離開羅馬教會,因此也開始了宗教改革,或是教會的革新。

此更新運動若沒有在每個國家中產生極大的衝突,是無法完成的。每個君王與政府權柄都在『斷定谷』,必須在新舊之間做選擇。當此分裂臨到歐洲,伊斯蘭教的勢力在東歐成長,並想要征服歐洲。海盜控制整個地中海,甚至稱其為伊斯蘭湖。

當宗教裁決增多,許多新教徒遭到拷打與殺害,一些新教徒地區動員起來,基督教與天主教之間的戰役隨之爆發。由於宗教制裁的殘暴,一些新教徒領袖甚至為伊斯蘭團體的到來歡呼,認為在伊斯蘭教下的生活好過羅馬教會(馬丁路德亦是其中一個領袖)。

伊斯蘭教並不是來解放,乃是來掌管。伊斯蘭的意思是『使歸順』,凡是不改信伊斯蘭教的人一旦被抓到,不是做奴隸就是被殺。想想看在羅馬教會下的生活有多糟,使得一些人更喜愛在伊斯蘭教下做奴隸或死亡。再想一想猶太人的困境,他們同時受到雙方的威脅。 

我談論這些並不是要污衊任何教會或團體,乃是要描繪出當時的正確圖像,以及我們今日所面對的許多重大問題是如何從那時開始生根。此時期被許多歷史學家稱為『黑暗時代』不是沒有原因的,要持有任何信念,便可能成為另一團體的致命敵人。在今日我們游擊隊的爭戰,甚至與恐怖主義的對抗,遠不及中古世紀末了所面對的殘暴邪惡。

猶太人在聖經中為何如此預言性地被使用的一個原因,是因為他們與人類困境有著類似的衝突。為此緣故,我們會簡短談論他們的歷史,以及以色列會如何再次成為世界衝突中心的前兆。

當馬丁路德讀到羅馬書,意識到公義必須本於信心,宗教改革因此點燃。很有趣地,保羅寫給羅馬人的書信,就是約翰在啟示錄看見大淫婦教會座落的城市,竟點燃了世界脫離教會得著釋放。神的話擁有無限的能力,但也帶著超越人類智慧的智慧。

保羅給羅馬人的書信被視為聖經中最重要的神學書卷,它對聖經中的福音與新約都有著最深度的宣告與解釋。我們也發現在九章到十一章有描寫到猶太人的地方,為何在舊約的百姓會在新約的宣告中被賜予如此顯著的位置?在這幾章也告訴我們當這兩方一起被接枝,就會開始經歷死而復生。

當我們領會猶太人必須在末了扮演重要部分,我們便瞭解何以撒旦會如此想要毀滅他們。當我們領會他們在神目的中的位置,我們便無法不擁有對以色列的異象─這對教會在為榮耀君王預備道路,進入其全然目的與聖潔息息相關。 

(摘自喬納 word for the week,Week39, 2016)


The Just Shall Live By Faith—The Book of Revelation
Week 39, 2016
Rick Joyner

         As we covered, The Reformation took root and spread with the development of the printing press and the Bible being made accessible to the people. As the Scriptures were read, the contrast between the practices and doctrines of the institutional church and the Word of God were easily seen. Multitudes, and even nations, began to break away from the Roman church in Europe. Thus began The Reformation, or the reforming of the church.

         This renewal movement was not accomplished without great conflict in every nation. Every king and governmental authority was in “the valley of decision,” having to choose between the new and the old. As this division rent Europe, the power of Islam grew in the east and was intent on conquering Europe. Pirates so dominated the Mediterranean Sea that it was called an Islamic lake.

         As the Inquisition grew and multitudes of Protestants were tortured and slain, some Protestant areas mobilized and wars broke out between them and the Catholics. Because of the brutality of the Inquisition, some Protestant leaders even cheered the coming of the Islamic hordes, thinking that life under Islam could not be as bad as life under the Roman church (Martin Luther was one of these).

         Islam was not coming to liberate but to dominate. Islam means “submission,” and those who would not convert to Islam when captured were either enslaved or killed. Consider how bad it had become under the Roman church that some preferred slavery or death under Islam. Then consider the plight of the Jews, who were threatened by all sides.

         I’m not covering this to smear any church or group, rather to paint an accurate picture of those times and how the roots of many of the serious problems we face today began then. This period was not called “The Dark Ages” by many historians without reason. To be of any persuasion was to be considered a deadly enemy of every other group. In all our partisan fighting today, even with terrorism, we are still far from facing the diabolical evils of the end of the Middle Ages.

         One reason why the Jewish people are used so prophetically in Scripture is that their conflicts within and without parallel the plight of humanity. For this reason, we will briefly cover their history through this time and how it foreshadowed the time when Israel is again at the heart of world conflicts.

         The Reformation ignited when Martin Luther, while reading the Book of Romans, awakened to how the just must live by faith. Interestingly, Paul’s epistle to the Romans, which would be the city John saw in Revelation that the harlot church would sit upon, would ignite the world’s deliverance from that church. The Word of God has infinite power, but it also has wisdom beyond human wisdom.

         Paul’s epistle to the Romans is considered the most important theological book in the Bible. It is the most profound declaration and explanation of the Gospel and New Covenant in Scripture. We also find the Jewish people’s place described in chapters nine through eleven. Why would the people of the Old Covenant be given such a prominent place in the declaration of the New Covenant? In this section we are also told of a grafting together of the two that will begin the resurrection.

         When we grasp the crucial part that the Jewish people have to play at the end of the age, we understand why Satan has been so intent on destroying them. When we grasp their place in His purpose, we cannot help but to have a vision for Israel—it is linked to the church coming to its full purpose and purity in being prepared for the King.