二王的故事─啟示錄

在此研讀中，我們花很長的時間談到推雅推拉的教會，此教會橫跨教會時代最長的時間，約有1260年。此時期始於羅馬皇帝在主後538年所頒佈的指令，使羅馬主教成為教會的頭，直到1798年拿破崙廢除教皇的權柄。

歷史記載拿破崙是如何在他成為皇帝的加冕典禮上，貶低教皇的權柄。當教皇準備加冕他時，就像他對歐洲其他君王所做的，拿破崙從教皇手中拿起冠冕，直接戴在自己頭上，宣告除了他自己以外，沒有人可以加冕他。

這對教皇而言是一種震驚的指責與羞辱，但拿破崙得寸進尺，他繼續侮辱教皇直到最後把他關在監獄。宗教改革者認為此應驗了在以賽亞書十四章『對巴比倫王的辱罵』：

當耶和華使你脫離愁苦、煩惱，並人勉強你做的苦工，得享安息的日子，

你必題這詩歌論巴比倫王說：欺壓人的何竟息滅？強暴的何竟止息？

耶和華折斷了惡人的杖，轄制人的圭，

就是在忿怒中連連攻擊眾民的，在怒氣中轄制列國，行逼迫無人阻止的。 

他們都要發言對你說：你也變為軟弱像我們一樣嗎？你也成了我們的樣子嗎？

你的威勢和你琴瑟的聲音都下到陰間。你下鋪的是蟲，上蓋的是蛆。

明亮之星，早晨之子啊，你何竟從天墜落？你這攻敗列國的何竟被砍倒在地上？

你心裡曾說：我要升到天上；我要高舉我的寶座在神眾星以上；我要坐在聚會的山上，在北方的極處。

我要升到高雲之上；我要與至上者同等。

然而，你必墜落陰間，到坑中極深之處。

凡看見你的都要定睛看你，留意看你，說：使大地戰抖，使列國震動，

使世界如同荒野，使城邑傾覆，不釋放被擄的人歸家，是這個人嗎？ 

教皇自稱為『地上的神』，還有在聖經中其他歸給基督的頭銜。他高舉自己『在眾星以上』，或神手中的使者，正如我們在啟示錄二、三章所讀到的。教皇不僅宣稱自己的權柄高過神的使徒，更宣稱自己的話大過聖經的權柄，這即是何以宗教改革的基本訴求，就是『唯有聖經』成為教會教義的基礎。

當教皇衰弱的在監獄裡，全世界都大大震驚，他們似乎直接用以賽亞的預言來抵擋『巴比倫王』。正如上面所談到的，『神秘的巴比倫』是啟示錄裡大淫婦教會的另一個稱號。 

當教皇最終死在監獄裡，拿破崙拒絕再任命另一個教皇，許多人認為教皇地位已死。七年之後，在拿破崙決定將君王神聖的權利給予兒子以成為他的繼承者，他允許另一個教皇被任命來執行此權利。宗教改革者認為此應驗『那死傷的頭卻醫好了。』（正如教皇宣稱自己是教會的頭），教皇地位因此起死回生。 

許多神學家也留意到，拿破崙的軍隊戰役與當時其他的指揮官，似乎與但以理書十一章的預言相互吻合。聖經預言的研究與它們在歷史與自己時代的應驗，成為當時極大的熱愛。事實上整個新教運動，以及許多天主教和東正教神學家，對這些預言如何正確地被應驗非常感興趣。 

在新教基督徒當中一致同意這些預言的應驗，直到1844年的復臨運動。在此運動之後，末世論的歷史觀點似乎早被新興的福音派教會所遺忘。在此同時，許多新教教會變得非常機構化，以致於他們開始做許多羅馬教會曾做過的相同事情。他們也開始避開一些聖經預言，儘管有一些人例外。在1844年復臨運動之後，關於預言最受歡迎的書多半是從未來主義來看每件事，除了以下兩個重大例外：一、復臨運動本身持續擁抱聖經預言應驗的歷史性觀點，二、查爾斯.羅素（Charles Russell）亦是如此，他是十九世紀中旬到第一次世界大戰期間的暢銷作家之一。 

羅素運動在他去世後轉變成耶和華見證人，他的繼承人改變許多他的教導。很快，這兩個運動被福音派視為異端，他們的末世論在福音派世界也成為咒詛。 

許多未來主義的觀點的確有其價值，有許多事顯然已得著應驗。然而，不是全都應驗了。不管是歷史或未來主義思想學校的擁護者，若沒有檢視另一方、思考其價值，似乎都看見兩者的重大破口與矛盾。 

為此緣故，在此研讀中我提出許多歷史主義的觀點，因為它在近代一直被忽略，而這是很大的錯誤。主告訴約翰這些都是『快成』的事，它們在當時確實立即開始發生，今日持續發生，未來我們將持續看其發生。 

 (摘自喬納 word for the week,Week46, 2016)

 
The Tale of Two Emperors—The Book of Revelation

         In this study, we have spent the longest time on the church at Thyatira. This church spans the longest period of time in the church age, about 1,260 years. This period is measured from the Roman Emperor’s decree in 538 A.D. that made the Bishop of Rome the head of the church to Napoleon’s decree in 1798 that revoked that authority of the Pope.  

         History records how Napoleon demoted the Pope’s authority at his coronation as Emperor of what was effectively continental Europe at the time. When the Pope was about to crown him, as he did every other monarch in Europe, Napoleon took the crown out of the Pope’s hands, placed it on his own head, and declared that no man crowned him, but he crowned himself.

         This was a shocking rebuke and humiliation for the Pope, but Napoleon would go further. He continued insulting the Pope until he finally had him thrown into prison. The Reformers considered this the fulfillment of the “taunt against the king of Babylon” in Isaiah 14, which is a remarkable parallel. Here we will scan the highlights of this prophecy in Isaiah:

         It will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved,

         that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, "How the oppressor has ceased, and how fury has ceased!

         "The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers

         "that used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes, that subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution.

       "Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come; it arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth; it raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.

       "They will all respond and say to you, 'even you have been made weak as we, you have become like us.

         'Your pomp and the music of your harps have been brought down to Sheol; maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you and worms are your covering.'

         "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!

         "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north.

         'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'

         "Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.

         "Those who see you will gaze at you, they will ponder over you, saying, 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,

         'Who made the world like a wilderness and overthrew its cities, who did not allow his prisoners to go home?'" (Isaiah 14:3-6, 10-17).

         The Pope claimed to be “God on earth,” as well as the titles attributed to Christ in Scripture. He exalted himself “above the stars of God,” or the messengers of God who are in His hand, as we see in Revelation 2 and 3. The Pope not only claimed authority over the apostles of God, but also that his word eclipsed the authority of Scripture. This is why the Reformation’s basic message was “Scripture alone” as the basis for the church’s doctrine.

         As the Pope languished in prison, the whole world was astounded, seemingly taking their words straight from Isaiah’s prophecy against “the king of Babylon.” As covered, “Mystery Babylon” was another title for the harlot church in Revelation.

         When the Pope finally died in prison, Napoleon refused to let another Pope be appointed. Many considered the papacy to be dead. Seven years later, after Napoleon decided that he wanted the divine right of kings bestowed upon his son as his successor, he allowed another Pope to be appointed to perform this right. Reformers considered this the fulfillment of “the fatal head wound that was healed” (as the Pope claimed to be the head of the church) so that the papacy came back to life.

         It also came to the attention of many theologians at the time how Napoleon’s military campaigns and the other commanders of the time seemed to fit with those in the prophecies of Daniel 11. Studies of biblical prophecies and their fulfillment in history, and in their own time, became a great passion of the day. Virtually the entire Protestant movement, and many Catholic and Orthodox theologians, were intrigued with how accurately these prophecies seemed to be fulfilled.

         That these were the fulfillment of prophecy became almost a consensus among Protestant Christians until the 1844 Advent Movement. After this movement, the historical view of eschatology seemed almost forgotten by the emerging evangelical church. At the same time, many Protestant churches started becoming so institutionalized that they began doing many of the same things that the Roman Church had done. They also began avoiding biblical prophecy, although there were exceptions. After the 1844 Movement, the most popular books on prophecy were the ones that saw everything futuristically, with two major exceptions: The Advent Movement itself continued to embrace the historic perspective of the fulfillment of biblical prophecies, as did Charles Russell, one of the most widely read authors in the world from the mid-1800s until World War I.

         Russell’s movement morphed into the Jehovah’s Witnesses after his passing, when his successor changed many of his teachings. Soon, both of these movements were considered sects or cults by evangelicals, and their eschatology also became anathema in the evangelical world.

         Much of the futuristic view has some merit when it takes into account many things that have obviously been fulfilled. However, not all has been fulfilled yet. Adherents of both the historic and futuristic schools of thought that have not examined the other to consider its merits seem to see significant holes and contradictions in them.

         For this reason, in this study I draw a lot from the historical view because it has been neglected in recent times, and that is a major mistake. The Lord told John these things would “shortly” come to pass. They did begin to unfold immediately and have continued to today, as we will continue to see.