打破老我得自由─啟示錄 

這週我們繼續來看啟示錄20:1-3： 

我又看見一位天使從天降下，手裡拿著無底坑的鑰匙和一條大鍊子。

他捉住那龍，就是古蛇，又叫魔鬼，也叫撒但，把他捆綁一千年，

扔在無底坑裡，將無底坑關閉，用印封上，使他不得再迷惑列國。等到那一千年完了，以後必須暫時釋放他。 

在大爭戰過後─被獸與假先知引導的列國將攻打以色列，主會顯現用祂口中的利劍擊殺他們，摧毀他們的軍隊─接著基督將開始掌權一千年。先從撒旦被綑綁一千年開始， 等到一千年結束了，他必須暫時被釋放。為什麼呢？ 

在神對待人的時候，我們始終看見一個基本原則，就是祂總是允許祂的工作受到測試。祂把分別善惡的樹放在園子裡作為測試。祂這樣做不是為了造成亞當和夏娃的犯罪，而是真正的自由必須先擁有不順服的自由。因為哪裡有真實的敬拜，那裡也必須有不敬拜的自由。沒有相信的自由就不會有真正的信仰，主要祂的受造物事奉祂，是出於我們想要而不是我們必須要。 

在千禧年間沒有撒旦欺騙列國，事奉主將更容易些。然而，那並不代表會很容易，祂必須在地上掌權一千年的原因，是因為需要這麼長的時間除去將死亡帶到世界的罪與邪惡。每個人會立刻變得完美的概念並不符合聖經，也和主從起初在人身上所做的方式背道而馳。 

祂的方式顯明在我們重生之後，祂是如何改變我們。當我們重生得救，一切都變成新的，我們成為新造的人。然而，我們不會立刻完美，我們開始進入心意更新的過程，打破我們生命中罪與邪惡的勢力。這與老我的爭戰，強化我們走向更新，正如羅馬書十二章2節所說的： 

不要效法這個世界，只要心意更新而變化，叫你們察驗何為神的善良、純全、可喜悅的旨意。 

在這裡翻譯『變化』（transformed）的希臘文和英文的『蛻變』（metamorphosis）是同一個字。這即是毛毛蟲變成蝴蝶的過程，按著地上的結構，毛毛蟲本是必須在地上爬行的蟲，然後它進入一個繭在其中被轉化。然而，在裡面的新生物將面對的最大考驗就是破繭而出，但如此大的奮鬥強化了牠，當牠得自由時就可以拍動一雙大翅膀。 

我們也經歷大奮鬥而被轉化成我們所蒙召新造的人，打破『死去的老我』得自由是最大的奮鬥，也是神所設計來強化我們，好讓我們可以在所蒙召連結的天上遨翔。千萬不要浪費我們的試煉，我們若要堅強到足以成為我們所蒙召的樣式，千萬不要逃避奮鬥。  

所以當撒旦被釋放後再次欺騙列國，會發生什麼事呢？他們將通過測試，除了少數例外。然而，所有受造物從測試的明證中得知，儘管世界會再次墮落，主救贖和轉化的恩典與能力大過一切失敗。現在我們被呼召成為此示範，不要浪費你的試煉。 

 (摘自喬納 word for the week, Week30, 2018)

 
Breaking Free—The Book of Revelation
Week 30, 2018
Rick Joyner

         This week we continue with Revelation 20:1-3:      

       Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

       And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

       and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. 

         After the great battle—when the nations are led by the beast and false prophet to attack Israel and the appearing of the Lord who strikes them with the sword of His mouth to destroy their armies—then the millennial reign of Christ will begin. It begins with Satan being bound for the millennium. Then he must be released again at the end of the millennium.  Why? 

         One basic principle we see consistently in God’s dealings with man is that He always allows His work to be tested. He put the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden as a test. He did not do this to cause Adam and Eve to sin, but for there to be true obedience there must be the freedom to disobey. For there to be true worship, there must be the freedom not to worship. There cannot be true faith without the freedom to not believe. The Lord wants His creation to serve Him because we want to, not because we have to. 

         It will be easier to serve the Lord during the millennium without Satan to deceive the nations. However, that does not mean that it will be easy. The reason that He must reign for a thousand years over the earth is because it will take that long to rid the world of the sin and evil that brought death into the world. The concept that everyone will be instantly perfect is not biblical and counters all the ways that the Lord has dealt with man from the beginning. 

         His ways are revealed in how He transforms us after we are born again. When we were born again, all things became new to us and we became a new creation. However, we were not made instantly perfect. We began the process of having our minds renewed and breaking the power of sin and wickedness off of our lives. It was this battle with our old nature that strengthened us to walk in the new. We are told in Romans 12:2:     

     Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 

         The Greek word translated “transformed” in this verse is the same word that we translate as “metamorphosis” in English. This is the process of change from which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. The caterpillar is a worm that must crawl on the earth, being conformed to the contours of the earth. Then it goes into a cocoon where it is transformed. However, one of the biggest tests the new creature will face is breaking out of the cocoon, but it is this great struggle that strengthens it so that it can flap its large wings when it is free. 

         We too go through a great struggle being transformed into the new creation we are called to be. Breaking free of the old “body of death” is the greatest struggle of all. It too is designed by God to strengthen us so that we can soar high above the earth to the heavenly places we are called to abide in. We must not waste our trials. We must not run from the struggle if we are going to become strong enough to be what we are called to be. 

So what will happen when Satan is let loose to deceive the nations again? With but a few exceptions, they will pass the test. However, all of creation will know from the proof of the tests that even though the world was once fallen, the grace and power of the Lord to redeem and transform is greater than any failure. We are called to be a demonstration of this now. Do not waste your trials.