來自天上的使者─啟示錄

上週我們開始談到神在基督裡的『崇高呼召』，以及要得著它所要做的，隨著啟示錄信息的揭開，我們會更多談到此。現在，我們只需要知道，有一位讓聖經所有的預言都合理了，這是我們一定要談到的。

正如幾週前我們談到啟示錄四章1-4節，在天上有門開了，有聲音呼叫我們上去。當我們進去時，我們看見有一位坐在寶座上。這扇門今日仍為我們每一人打開，我們每一天都應該尋求看見坐在寶座者的榮耀。當我們這麼做，我們會改變成祂的形象，變得像祂一樣並做祂所做的事。

耶穌行走在地上，但祂用天父的眼光從天上的角度來觀看，祂活著只做祂看見父所做的事情。以此方式，祂所到之處都以天堂來觸摸地上。這亦是我們的呼召─在天上的領域感覺更像家，將天堂帶到地上。

有一個神學原則稱為『首先提出的律法』（the law of first mention），這比較是原則而不是法則，意指在聖經中首先提到的事情通常是其目的的基本啟示。在聖經中第一次出現神有一個家或居所的地方，是當雅各夢見一個梯子直達天上。那即是神的家之目的的基本啟示─成為通往天上的地方。

雅各也看見神的使者在梯子上上下下，這是神的家教會被呼召的完全啟示─成為通往天上的地方，神的使者從那升上天，然後再帶著天上真實的確據下到地上。

這不也是耶穌所活出來的樣式嗎？祂不斷談論著天上的國度，因為那是祂不斷注視的地方，然後將天上國度的權柄示範在地上的任何景況上，甚至是死亡。

死亡是最終的敵人，它是神要來國度最後摧毀的敵人，於是死亡在天堂之下的受造物身上沒有任何地位。我們現在就可以住在神的國度裡，當我們在基督裡長大成熟，我們便長成在神國度的一切好處與權柄中。我們真實的屬靈權柄或天國權柄，取決於我們與萬王之王的連結程度。祂已勝過死亡，當我們常在祂裡面，我們便脫離死亡的懼怕，這是仇敵用來暫時綑綁我們在地上的終極枷鎖。

為此緣故，當我們尋求瞭解啟示錄，我們的主要目標在於看見基督，與祂親近並常在祂裡面，好讓祂可以藉由我們來彰顯祂自己。祂就是頭，我們是身體，用來反應頭的旨意。我們的目標是用祂的眼睛來看，用祂的耳朵來聽，用祂的心來瞭解，好讓我們變得像祂一樣。

在啟示錄中，約翰看見的多半是大淫婦教會─『奧秘的巴比倫』與敵基督。然而，當他被帶到更高的山，他看見了新耶路撒冷，也就是基督的新婦。我們所看見的是我們在哪裡的結果，看見巴比倫固然重要，那也是我們長大成熟的一部份，但我們不要停留在我們所看見的地方。我們要學習一些功課，使用它們上到更高的地方。

可以理解有許多人只想要直接去到山頂而不經過山谷，但這是行不通的。就像以色列，我們必須經過一段曠野才能到達應許之地，並沒有捷徑，但我們可以藉著如何回應我們必須學習的功課，來使我們的旅程縮短或加長。正如傅蘭吉（Francis Frangipane）曾說：『你從沒有失敗於神的任何一個考試，你只不過一直在考，直到通過。』試煉、人心邪惡的啟示，以及教會所跌落的邪惡，都是為了預備我們進入祂要我們走進的更大啟示與權柄中。

因此，當我們繼續前進，我們必須談到一些艱難的事，不要從中脫逃。要記得，我們被呼召成為得勝者。我們需要讓這些事來啟示我們必須勝過的事。關於敵基督的啟示是在『耶穌基督的啟示中』，因為若沒有基督，我們都會變得像敵基督一樣，這是我們何等需要基督的必要啟示。

我們全都會經歷被基督的榮耀與良善吸引的時刻，也會經歷被世界與我們自身邪惡驅動來親近祂，兩者皆是旅程的一部份，各有不同的季節。我們若認出所處的季節並欣然迎接，我們將走得更遠，讓我們定意得勝─而不是被征服。勝利來自信靠祂的十字架，並背起我們被呼召每天背起的十字架。

話雖如此，但我們旅程的完成會在一個地方，充滿著深不可測的榮耀、平安與聖靈裡的喜樂，那是我們的家─我們寄居的目的地。我們的目的是將其帶到仍在黑暗中的人，他們迫切需要從天上來的觸摸。您是其中一個使者，被呼召在雅各的天梯上上下下，在約翰福音一章47-50節顯示這天梯就是耶穌基督。

(摘自喬納 word for the week,Week5, 2017)

 
Messengers from Heaven—The Book of Revelation
Week 5, 2016
Rick Joyner

         Last week we began to address the “high calling” of God in Christ, and what it takes to attain to it. We will cover this more as the message unfolds in the Book of Revelation. For now, we just need to know that there is one to make sense of the biblical prophecies we must cover.

         As we covered in Revelation 4:1-4, a door stands open in heaven with a voice calling us up. When we enter, we see the One on the throne. This door is open for each of us today. It should be a daily quest to see the glory of the One who sits on the throne. As we do, we are changed into His image, becoming like Him and doing the works that He did.

         Jesus walked the earth, but He saw it from the perspective of heaven with His Father’s eyes. He lived to do what He saw the Father doing. In this way, He touched earth with heaven everywhere He went. This too is our calling—to be more at home in the heavenly realm than in the natural realm and to bring heaven to earth.

         There is a theological principle called “the law of first mention.” More of a principle than a law, it indicates that the first mention of something in Scripture is usually a basic revelation of its purpose. The first place in Scripture where it is revealed that God has a house, or dwelling place, is when Jacob dreamed of a ladder reaching into heaven. That is a basic revelation of the purpose of God’s house—to be the place of access to heaven.

         Jacob also saw the messengers of God ascending and descending upon it. This is a profound revelation of what the house of God, the church, is called to be—the place of access to heaven in which God’s messengers ascend into the heavenly places. They then descend back to earth with evidence of heaven’s reality.

         Is this not how Jesus lived? He constantly talked about the kingdom of heaven because that is what He constantly beheld. He then demonstrated the authority of the kingdom of heaven over any condition on the earth, even death.

         Death is the ultimate enemy. It is the last enemy destroyed in the coming kingdom, but then death will have no place in creation under heaven. We can live in the kingdom now, with all the benefits and authority of the kingdom that we grow in as we mature in Christ Jesus. We only have true spiritual authority, or kingdom authority, to the degree that we abide in the King. He has overcome death. As we abide in Him, we are freed from the fear of death, the ultimate shackle the enemy uses to keep us bound to the temporary and the earthly.

         For this reason, our main goal as we seek to understand Revelation is to see Christ, to draw closer and abide in Him so that He can express Himself through us. He is the Head, and we are the body that responds to the will of the Head. Our goal is to see with His eyes, hear with His ears, and understand with His heart, so that we become like Him.

         In Revelation, much of what John saw was the harlot church, “Mystery Babylon,” and the antichrist. However, when he was carried to a high mountain, he saw the New Jerusalem, the bride of Christ. So much of what we see is the result of where we are. Seeing Babylon is important and a part of our maturing, but we do not want to stay in the place where that is all we see. We want to learn the lessons and use them to go higher.

         It is understandable that many want to just go to the mountaintop and skip the valley, but that is not how it works. Like Israel, we must go through a wilderness to get to the Promised Land. There are no shortcuts, but we can make the journey either shorter or longer by how we respond to the lessons we must learn. As Francis Frangipane said, “You never fail one of God’s tests. You just keep taking them until you pass.” The trials and revelation about the evil of man and the evil the church has fallen to is intended to prepare us for the great revelation and authority He wants us to walk in.

         So, as we proceed we must cover some hard things. Do not run from them. Remember, we are called to be overcomers. We need to let these things reveal the things in us that must be overcome. Revelation about the antichrist is in this “revelation of Jesus Christ” because the antichrist is who we all are without Christ. It is a necessary revelation of how much we need Christ.

         We all go through times of being drawn to Christ by His glory and goodness and times when we are driven to Him by the evil in the world and in ourselves. Both are part of the journey. There are seasons for each, and we will get much further if we recognize the season we’re in and embrace it, resolving that we will overcome—not be overcome. The victory comes by trusting in His cross and taking up the cross we have been called to take up daily.

         This being said, the completion of our journey is a place of unfathomable glory, peace, and joy in the Spirit. That is our home—the destiny of our sojourn. Our purpose is to bring it to those still in darkness, those who desperately need a touch from heaven. You are one of the messengers called to ascend and descend upon Jacob’s ladder, who we are shown in John 1:47-50 is Jesus Christ.