於2022-08-10發佈


DAY 50
從巴比倫到亞伯拉罕
雷克-喬納 Rick Joyner
翻譯:Kate
轉載/轉寄 請註明出處:國度禱告網

他們彼此商量說:來吧!我們要做磚,把磚燒透了。他們就拿磚當石頭,又拿石漆當灰泥。
他們說:來吧!我們要建造一座城和一座塔,塔頂通天,為要傳揚我們的名,免得我們分散在全地上。
耶和華降臨,要看看世人所建造的城和塔。
耶和華說:看哪,他們成為一樣的人民,都是一樣的言語,如今既做起這事來,以後他們所要做的事就沒有不成就的了。
我們下去,在那裡變亂他們的口音,使他們的言語彼此不通。
於是耶和華使他們從那裡分散在全地上;他們就停工,不造那城了。
因為耶和華在那裡變亂天下人的言語,使眾人分散在全地上,所以那城名叫巴別【就是變亂的意思】。(創世記11:3-9)

在花園裡,有兩個後裔被預言要從人身上產生。一個是蛇的後裔,當人聽從蛇的聲音並順從牠時,蛇的本性就被植入人的體內。另一個是預言從女人身上產生的後裔,他將壓碎蛇的頭,也就是基督。隨著頭兩個兒子的出生,我們看到了這些後裔各自性質的開始。聖經是這兩種後裔在人身上發展的歷史,也是神與他們的交往。一個帶來了基督,另一個在完全成熟後帶來了敵基督。這個關於巴別塔的故事深刻地揭示了將產生敵基督的反基督者。這就是啟示錄中成為 "神秘巴比倫 "的根源。

我們往往只想到蛇最明目張膽的邪惡本質。然而,那棵果子帶來死亡的樹就是善惡知識。知識之樹善的一面和惡的一面一樣致命,而且更具欺騙性。撒旦最具欺騙性的偽裝是當他以 "光明的天使"(見《哥林多後書》11:14)的身份出現,或者可以翻譯為 "真理的使者"。當撒旦通過宗教人士工作時,牠總是能夠對真理造成更大的破壞,這就是為什麼當時最虔誠的宗教人士是基督的最大反對者。然而,這種宗教人士的真實性質通常可以像那些試圖建造巴別塔的人一樣被識破。

這些人的目標似乎很高尚,要建造一座通往天堂的塔。然而,他們的本性卻被兩個基本問題所揭示。首先是他們建塔的原因。這不是為了更接近神,而是為了讓自己出名,有一個可以讓人聚集的計畫。他們本性暴露的第二個方式是他們建造的手段,也就是他們自己的智慧和能力。這是對人可以通過自己的智慧和能力獲得天性的持續推測。但正如主在撒迦利亞書4:6所說的:"不是倚靠勢力,不是倚靠才能,乃是倚靠我的靈方能成事。"

巴別塔的人徒勞地尋求的是主想給人的東西。祂希望我們與祂一起住在天上,祂想聚集我們。然而,我們不能以自私的動機,或自己的能力來做。對人來說,這似乎是件愚蠢的事,但似乎人並沒有放棄建造這樣一座塔。基督徒和其他人一樣容易這樣做。基督徒建造的巨大計畫中,從大教堂到甚至一些福音事工,有多少只是一些人試圖為自己揚名立萬,或有一個能聚集和激勵人的計畫?許多人甚至做這些事情是為了達到神的要求,或者是為了被神接受。然而,真正的事工不是為了達到神,而是從神通過十字架達到的地方來的。真正的事工不是為了被神接受,而是從通過十字架被神接受的立場出發。

主對巴別塔的反應是分散人的語言,使他們無法繼續建造。這個計畫的結果與他們所追求的恰恰相反。作為基督徒,我們試圖設計的許多屬靈計畫的結果是什麼?難道不是一樣的嗎?現在,教會被分為一萬多個不同的教派和運動,或"語言"。不管我們如何把神的名字附在某件事情上,如果動機是植根於自私的野心,或試圖聚集在任何東西周圍,而不是主耶穌自己,最終結果只能是進一步分裂。進入天堂或聚集人的唯一途徑是聚集到基督耶穌本身。祂坐在天上,高於一切統治、權柄和權力。我們住在祂裡面,那也是我們要居住的地方。

在巴別塔的故事後,我們來到了亞伯拉罕,他是神對巴別塔的愚蠢的反面。

"耶和華對亞伯蘭說:你要離開本地、本族、父家,往我所要指示你的地去。
我必叫你成為大國。我必賜福給你,叫你的名為大;你也要叫別人得福。
為你祝福的,我必賜福與他;那咒詛你的,我必咒詛他。地上的萬族都要因你得福。"(創世記12:1-3)

憑著信心,亞伯拉罕獲得了巴別塔的人妄想通過自己的能力和智慧來實現的東西--一個將被每一代人尊敬的名字,以及在有一天將所有人再次聚集在一起的神之城的位置。在希伯來書11:8-10的以下文字中,我們看到亞伯拉罕是如何做到這一點的:

亞伯拉罕因著信,蒙召的時候就遵命出去,往將來要得為業的地方去;出去的時候,還不知往哪裡去。
他因著信,就在所應許之地作客,好像在異地居住帳棚,與那同蒙一個應許的以撒、雅各一樣。
因為他等候那座有根基的城,就是神所經營所建造的。

亞伯拉罕也許不知道他要去哪裡,但他知道他在尋找什麼。亞伯拉罕的信心表現在,當他被呼召時,他就順從了。與巴別塔的人相比,亞伯拉罕沒有建造任何東西。他變得非常富有,可以輕易地建造一座城市,但他一生都住在帳篷裡。他尋求的不是地上的城市,而是天上的城市。他知道他在地上的住處是暫時的,所以他對住在帳篷裡並不太在意。

有一句話說:"你可以心懷天堂,以至於沒有任何塵世的好處"。這聽起來很可愛,但相反的情況實際上是真實的。如果我們的心態過於屬世,我們對天堂和地球就沒有任何好處。亞伯拉罕是地上的一個外國人和陌生人。他生命的目標是在神所建造的事物中擁有一席之地,而不是人。因為他的重點是神而不是人,所以他成為地上每個家庭的祝福。那些同樣將自己奉獻給神的永恆目的的人,也將為地上的人成就更多。

在約翰福音8章39節,法利賽人和耶穌之間有一個有趣的爭論:"他們說:我們的父就是亞伯拉罕。耶穌說:你們若是亞伯拉罕的兒子,就必行亞伯拉罕所行的事。"使徒保羅在加拉太書3:6-7中也闡述了這一點:"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。"我們不是因為知道必須憑信心生活而成為信心的後裔,而是通過實際擁有信心,通過做亞伯拉罕所做的同樣的事而成為信心的後裔。我們必須投身於尋找主正在建造的東西,並為成為其中的一部分而犧牲一切。

亞伯拉罕顯然是來自當時地上最偉大的文化中的一個貴族家庭。他們擁有超越當時任何其他文化的科學和技術。迦勒底人是世界上偉大奇蹟的守護者,但有東西在亞伯拉罕心中燃燒,要成為比人類所能建造的東西更偉大的一部分。他相信神,願意離開他所知道的一切,離開當時最偉大的生活,到未知的地方去尋求主的旨意。信心所看到的遠遠超過別人所能看到的。信心用心靈的眼睛看,靠心靈看到的東西比肉眼看到的東西走得更遠。

為什麼信心對神如此重要?為什麼祂不直接揭示自己,明確說明祂對我們的期望?因為祂正在尋找與祂兒子共同繼承的兒子和女兒。正是對神的懷疑導致了人類的墮落,而我們將通過相信祂來恢復。真正的信仰是從心裡升起的,而不僅僅是頭腦。

撒旦住在神的寶座上,看到了祂所有的榮耀,但仍然墮落。僅僅看到主,並不能使我們不跌倒。作為祂的共同後裔,祂要把比撒旦更多的能力託付給我們。我們現在通過我們的信心和順從證明我們愛真理,我們愛祂,甚至超過我們愛自己的生命。

儘管我們在看到主的榮耀時也會跌倒,正如撒旦所證明的那樣,在看到主的榮耀時很難不敬拜祂。在整個永恆中,整個受造物都知道,祂的兒女們敬拜祂,並為祂的真理而站立,抵擋整個世界的反對,現在這一切都在惡者的能力中。墮落之後,撒旦可以誇口說,即使在完美的世界裡,人也選擇背逆神。藉此牠為自己的背逆辯解。現在連牠自己的執政的、掌權的都看到了那些生活在最不完美的世界裡的人的見證,即使所有的地獄都對他們怒目而視,他們也愛主,甚至以生命為代價服從祂。這些人是所有受造物都會證明他們是值得的。

因此,要以與你的呼召相稱的方式行事。相信神。順服祂。為祂的福音做一切事情,讓基督的愛控制你。祂配得我們的順服和信任。

因此,我們常為你們禱告,願我們的神看你們配得過所蒙的召,又用大能成就你們一切所羨慕的良善和一切因信心所做的工夫;
叫我們主耶穌的名在你們身上得榮耀,你們也在他身上得榮耀,都照著我們的神並主耶穌基督的恩。(帖撒羅尼迦後書1:11-12)

我想,現在的苦楚若比起將來要顯於我們的榮耀就不足介意了。
受造之物切望等候神的眾子顯出來。
因為受造之物服在虛空之下,不是自己願意,乃是因那叫他如此的。
但受造之物仍然指望脫離敗壞的轄制,得享(享:原文是入)神兒女自由的榮耀。
我們知道一切受造之物一同歎息、勞苦,直到如今。
不但如此,就是我們這有聖靈初結果子的,也是自己心裡歎息,等候得著兒子的名分,乃是我們的身體得贖。
我們得救是在乎盼望;只是所見的盼望不是盼望,誰還盼望他所見的呢(有古卷作:人所看見的何必再盼望呢)?
但我們若盼望那所不見的,就必忍耐等候。(羅馬書8:18-25)

 

DAY 50
From Babylon to Abraham
Rick Joyner

And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly." And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.
And they said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.
"Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."
So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.
Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth (Genesis 11:3-9).

In the Garden, two seeds were prophesied to come from man. One was the seed of the serpent whose nature was implanted in man when they listened to his voice and obeyed him. The other was the seed that was prophesied to come from the woman that would crush the serpent's head, which was Christ. With the first two sons born, we see the beginning of the nature of each of these seeds. The Bible is the history of the development of these two seeds in men, and God's dealings with them. One brings forth Christ, and the other, when it is fully matured, brings forth the antichrist. This story of the Tower of Babel is a profound revelation of the seed that will bring forth the antichrist. This is the root of that which becomes "Mystery Babylon" in the Book of Revelation.

We tend to think of the serpent only in its most blatantly evil nature. However, the tree whose fruit brings death is the knowledge of both good and evil. The good side of the Tree of Knowledge is just as deadly as the evil side, and far more deceptive. Satan's most deceptive guise is when he comes as "an angel of light" (see II Corinthians 11:14), or what could have been translated, "a messenger of truth." Satan has always been able to do more damage to the truth when he works through religious men, which is why the most religious men of the time were the greatest opposers of Christ. However, the true nature of such religious men can usually be discerned as those who tried to build the Tower of Babel.

The goal of these men seems to be a noble one, to build a tower to heaven. However, their nature is revealed by two basic issues. The first is their reason for building the tower. It was not to get closer to God, but to make a name for themselves, and to have a project that men could gather around. The second way that their nature is revealed is their means for building it, which is their own wisdom and strength. This is the continuing presumption that men can gain the heavenly nature by their own wisdom and strength. But as the Lord said in Zechariah 4:6, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit."

What the men of Babel vainly sought was what the Lord wants to give to man. He wants us to dwell with Him in the heavenly places, and He wants to gather us together. However, we cannot do it with selfish motives, or our own strength. This may seem like a foolish thing for men to try to do, but it seems that men have not quit trying to build just such a tower. Christians have been just as prone to do it as anyone else. How many of the huge projects that Christians have built, from cathedrals to even some evangelistic outreaches, have been just an attempt by some to make a name for themselves, or to have a project that will gather and motivate men? Many even do these things in an attempt to reach God, or to be acceptable to Him. However, a true ministry does not come in order to reach God, but from a place of having been reached by God through the cross. A true ministry does not come as an attempt to be accepted by Him, but from a position of being accepted by Him through the cross.

The Lord's response to the Tower was to scatter men's languages so that they could not go on building. The result of the project was the opposite of what they were seeking. What are the results of many of the spiritual projects we have tried to devise as Christians? Are they not the same? Now the church is divided into more than 10,000 different denominations and movements, or "languages." It does not matter how much we attach God's name to something, if the motives are rooted in selfish ambition, or an attempt to gather around anything but the Lord Jesus Himself, the ultimate end will only be further division. The only way into heaven, or to gather men, is to be gathered to Christ Jesus Himself. He sits in the heavenly places above all rule and authority and power. If we abide in Him, that is where we, too, will dwell.

After the story of the Tower of Babel we come to Abraham, who was God's antitheses to the folly of Babel.

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you;
And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing;
And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:1-3).

By faith, Abraham gained the very things that the men of Babel had vainly sought to accomplish by their own strength and wisdom—a name that would be esteemed by every generation, and a place in the city of God that would one day gather all men together again. In the following text from Hebrews 11:8-10, we see how he did this:

By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.
By faith, he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Abraham may not have known where he was going, but he knew what he was looking for. Abraham's faith was demonstrated by the fact that when he was called, he obeyed. In contrast to the men of Babel, Abraham did not build anything. He became very wealthy and could have easily built a city, but he lived in tents all the days of his life. He was not seeking an earthly city, but a heavenly one. He knew that his earthly dwelling was temporary, so he was not overly concerned about living in a tent.

There is a saying that "you can be so heavenly minded that you are not any earthly good." This sounds cute, but the reverse is actually true. If we are too earthly minded, we will not be any good for heaven or the earth. Abraham was an alien and stranger on the earth. The goal of his life was to have a place in what God was building, not men. Because his focus was on God instead of men, he became a blessing to every family on the face of the earth. Those who will likewise give themselves to the eternal purposes of God will accomplish far more for those who are on the earth as well.

In John 8:39 there is an interesting dispute between the Pharisees and Jesus: "They answered and said to Him, 'Abraham is our father.' Jesus said to them, 'If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham.'" Paul the Apostle, also elaborates on this in Galatians 3:6-7, "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." We are not the heirs of faith because we know that we must live by faith, but we become the heirs of faith by actually having faith, by doing the same deeds that Abraham did. We must devote ourselves to finding what the Lord is building and sacrifice whatever is required to be a part of it.

Abraham was apparently from a noble family in what was then the greatest culture on the earth. They had science and technology that surpassed any other culture of the time. The Chaldeans were the custodians of the great wonders of the world, but something burned in Abraham's heart to be a part of something much greater than anything men could build. He believed God by being willing to leave everything that he had known, the greatest life available at that time, to seek the Lord's will in unknown places. Faith sees far beyond what others can see. Faith sees with the eyes of the heart, and walks more by what is seen by the heart than what is seen by physical eyes.

Why is faith so important to God? Why doesn't He just reveal Himself and make it clear what He expects of us? Because He is seeking sons and daughters who will be joint heirs with His Son. It was doubting God that brought about the Fall of man, and it will be by believing Him that we are restored. True faith rises from the heart, not just the head.

Satan dwelt in the very throne room of God, saw all of His glory, and still fell. Just seeing the Lord will not keep us from falling. As His joint heirs, He is going to trust us with more power than Satan ever had. We are now proving by our faith and obedience that we love the truth, and we love Him, more than we love even our own lives.

Even though we can fall even when beholding the glory of the Lord, as Satan proved, it is hard not to worship the Lord while we are beholding His glory. For all of eternity the whole creation will know that His sons and daughters worshiped Him, and stood for His truth, against the opposition of the whole world that now lies in the power of the evil one. After the Fall, Satan could boast that even in a perfect world, man chose to rebel against God. By this he has justified his own rebellion. Now even his own principalities and powers have beheld the witness of those who lived in a most imperfect world, and even when all hell raged against them, they loved the Lord and obeyed Him at even the cost of their lives. These are the ones who all of creation will testify that they are worthy.

Therefore, walk in a manner worthy of your calling. Believe God. Obey Him. Do all things for the sake of His gospel, and let the love of Christ control you. He is worthy of our obedience and faith.

To this end also we pray for you always that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power;
in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (II Thessalonians 1:11-12).

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it (Romans 8:18-25).