最大的遺珠─啟示錄 

我們已經完成啟示錄的研讀，我們將花今年的最後幾週來談到一些關於啟示錄最普遍的問題。 

何為最大的遺珠？

在此卷預言書中沒提到關於以色列的重建。 

怎麼會如此呢？許多人相信這是世界末了的最重要徵兆。然而，啟示錄沒提到不代表不重要。關於啟示錄的主要謬論是那是關於『世界末了』的啟示─正確來說應該是那是關於『耶穌基督的啟示』，正如約翰一開始所寫的，這些都是必要快成的事。幾乎就在約翰一領受異象後就開始發生一些快成的事，這是事先寫成的歷史預言，打從約翰一領受就開始，不單只關於末世。 

儘管如此，啟示錄一直到世界末了，是接下來的起頭。應該會提到諸如以色列重建如此重要的議題，卻沒提到隻字片語，一定有其重要理由。 

首先，神賜給約翰的啟示錄內容儘管廣泛，卻不是無所不包。任何人所知道、所看見或所預言的最大部分都很『有限』，此啟示錄的流動方向特別在於『耶穌基督的啟示』，以及將統治外邦人時期的敵基督系統，直到基督最終的勝利。 

聖經上有多處關於猶太人從應許之地被流放與後來被重建的預言，啟示錄實在沒必要多此一舉。即便如此，人們還是認為至少要稍微提到，因此我們確實想要瞭解為何啟示錄隻字不提，但先讓我們討論以色列在這些時候的預言有何等重要。 

重建以色列是末日的主要徵兆之一，以色列是人類與先知性時鐘的屬靈氣壓計，而重建以色列則是主重建地上與人類的基本策略。整本聖經除了六章以外都與重建有關─從墮落的所有後果中重建全地與人類。在聖經中唯一與重建無關的六章分別是前三章和後三章，前三章談到人的墮落，後三章則總結從墮落中完全恢復。在這當中瞭解曾發生了什麼，我們現在又在哪裡對瞭解時候是相當重要的。 

不瞭解以色列在其中的位置，幾乎不可能瞭解上帝在這世代的一些主要目的，因為聖經充滿關於以色列的預言。這全都與上帝重建的心有關，祂不斷重申祂對重建以色列回到他們土地的信實應許。這即是何以『取代神學』帶來很大傷害的一個原因，取代神學基本上將上帝給以色列的所有應許應用在教會身上，因而偏離了以色列與上帝旨意相關的基本信息。 

當然，許多給以色列的應許是與肉身的猶太人有關，也和屬靈的猶太人有關。亞伯拉罕的後裔會和海邊的沙與天上的星一樣多的應許，講的不單是數目而已，也是地上和天上或是屬靈後裔有關的預言。正如使徒保羅這位可能是教會歷史以來最偉大的神學家和教師，在加拉太書三章6-9節，26-29節所解釋的： 

正如亞伯拉罕信神，這就算為他的義。

所以，你們要知道：那以信為本的人，就是亞伯拉罕的子孫。

並且聖經既然預先看明，神要叫外邦人因信稱義，就早已傳福音給亞伯拉罕，說：萬國都必因你得福。可見那以信為本的人和有信心的亞伯拉罕一同得福。 

所以，你們因信基督耶穌都是神的兒子。

你們受洗歸入基督的都是披戴基督了。

並不分猶太人、希利尼人，自主的、為奴的，或男或女，因為你們在基督耶穌裡都成為一了。你們既屬乎基督，就是亞伯拉罕的後裔，是照著應許承受產業的了。 

新的約並沒有取消祂對以色列或肉身猶太人的先前應許，卻也擴大到那些『屬靈的猶太人』。無論是天生的或屬靈的猶太人後裔都是獨特的，瞭解其獨特性可以幫助我們避免許多只會遮蔽我們瞭解時候的錯誤。這已經造成一些人對也是亞伯拉罕後裔的人驕傲自大，聖經警告這是很嚴重的。為此緣故，在今年結束前幾週我們會更深討論到此。 

 (摘自喬納word for the week, Week 47, 2018)


The Big Omission—The Book of Revelation
Week 47, 2018
Rick Joyner 

Having completed our study of the Book of Revelation, we’ll take the last few weeks of this year to address some of the most common questions about Revelation.

 What is considered the biggest omission? 

There is no mention of the restoration of Israel in this prophecy. 

How could this be? Many believe this to be the most important sign of the end of the age. However, this not being mentioned in Revelation does not belittle its importance. A major fallacy about Revelation is that it is a revelation of the end of the age—it is a “revelation of Jesus Christ.” Just as John wrote in the beginning of it, these things would “shortly come to pass.” They began to come to pass almost immediately after he had the vision. It is an unfolding of history written in advance from the time that John received it, not just about the end times. 

Still, Revelation does go to the end of this age and the beginning of the next. It seems that there would be some mention of such an important event. For it to be left out, there must be an important reason. 

First, as expansive as the Revelation given to John is, it is not comprehensive. The most any know, see, or prophesy is “in part.” The stream of revelation shown was specifically a “revelation of Jesus Christ” and the unfolding anti-Christ system that would dominate much of “the times of the Gentiles” until Christ’s ultimate victory over it. 

There are so many other biblical prophecies about the exile of the Jews from their Promised Land and then their restoration to it that there was no need to be redundant about this in Revelation. Even so, one would think there would at least be a mention of it, so we do want to understand why it was left out, but first let’s discuss how important Israel is in the prophecy of these times. 

Restored Israel is one of the major signs marking the end of the age. Israel is a spiritual barometer of humanity and a prophetic clock. Restored Israel is also a basic piece of The Lord’s strategy for restoring the earth and mankind. The entire Bible, with the exception of just six chapters, is about restoration—the restoring of the earth and mankind from all the consequences of the fall. The only chapters in The Bible that are not about this are the first three and the last three. The first three lead up to the fall, and the last three conclude with the complete recovery from the fall. Understanding what has happened, what is yet to happen, and where we are now in this saga is crucial to understanding the times. 

It would be difficult to impossible to understand some of the major purposes of God in this age without understanding Israel’s place in them because The Bible is full of prophecies about it. It all has to do with God’s heart for restoration, which He links repeatedly to His faithfulness to His promise of restoring Israel to their land. This is one reason why “replacement theology” is considered so harmful. Replacement theology basically applies all of the promises made to Israel to the church, thereby distracting from the basic message that Israel is in relation to the purposes of God. 

Certainly, many of the promises made to Israel relate to the Jews according to flesh and also those who are according to The Spirit. The promise to Abraham that his seed would be as the sand of the seashore and the stars of heaven was not just about numbers. This was also a prophecy that he would have both earthly and heavenly—or spiritual—posterity. As the Apostle Paul, possibly the greatest theologian and teacher of the church age, explained in Galatians 3:6-9, 26-29: 

    Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

    Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.

    The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU."

    So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer…. 

   For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

   For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

   There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

   And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise. 

The New Covenant does not negate any of His former promises to Israel or the Jews according to the flesh, but it does expand some of them to those who are “Jews according to the Spirit.” There are some that are unique to each seed, the natural and the spiritual. Understanding the right distinctions can help us avoid many of the errors that  only cloud our understanding of the times. This has caused some to be arrogant toward those who are also the seed of Abraham, which is warned about very seriously in the Bible. For this reason, we will dig deeper into this in the remaining weeks before the end of this year.