於2011-09-04發佈

當先知性啟示帶來混亂時

有一些先知性啟示是以異夢、異象或話語強烈地臨到。在我個人的經歷中,這些經常都關乎個人或小範圍的議題,沒有廣泛的影響或長期的結果。這並不會減少其重要性,就像我們所提到的,這是原則不是律例。是原則就有例外,但上述是我的經驗談。大多數時候,能影響列國的重大事件多半是以展開式的啟示臨到。

就拿我對美國西岸逼近之災難與毀滅的預言為例,1987年秋天神第一次向我顯示這些事件,那次我有兩天半的先知性經歷。到了1988年,我將這些經歷寫成『收割異象』(The Harvest)一書,在書中我把將臨到日本的大地震和美西地震與全球經濟崩潰連在一起。我在這二十五年反覆思想這些事件,也聆聽其他有相同領受之人的看見。有些人確實擁有我所沒有的部分,後來我所做的先知性異夢和經歷讓整個圖畫更加完整。即便如此,我仍沒有宣稱自己擁有完全的啟示,正如哥林多前書告訴我們,我們所知道的有限,先知所講的也有限。因此,我不認為有誰能擁有完整的圖畫。

我從來沒有公開將我所領受的在一個信息中分享完,只因為我認為還不是時候。光以我目前分享的西岸事件所造成的混亂程度來看,倘若我真的分享所有我看見的,我認為有可能會造成恐慌。即便如此,就本質來看,警報的作用正是為了讓人惱怒而引起注意力,更大威脅所帶來的警報甚至更讓人倉皇失措。到一個時候人們會放聲大叫,但我們還不到那種地步。我認為還有時間回應,所以我還不會分享全部,除非有從主來的清楚指示說是時候了。

哥林多前書十四章32節告訴我們:『先知的靈原是順服先知的。』我對此的詮釋為:除非主很明確指示我們要如何做,否則我們需要使用判斷力,知道在何時、何處並如何來傳達我們先知性的看見。由於這些警告所帶來的嚴重後果,我不想倉促分享出來,免得產生不良後果。然而,我承認我比較擔心的是大家沒有聽到,因為我之前為了不帶來混亂,並沒有像現在說的這麼清楚。混亂並不好,但為了求生存而來的混亂卻是值得的。這是生死攸關的議題,可能會影響到數百萬人。

我們要判斷何時、何處與如何傳達神讓我們看見之事物,在哥林多前書十四章33節提到一個重要因素:『因為神不是叫人混亂,乃是叫人安靜。』你只要一提到艱難、困苦,特別是神的審判,一些人會對每句話都感到混亂,一些人會立刻焦躁不安。使徒保羅寫到『那無學問、不堅固的人強解』保羅的教導『就自取沉淪』(參考彼得後書3:16)。總會有一些那樣的人,因著人領受方式的不同,你無法判定話語的真實性與否。正如我上面所分享的,我常常訝異那些成熟穩健的人最後卻完全變了樣,同樣也驚訝於不堅定之人的改變。我們可以在某些領域非常成熟穩健,卻在其他領域遲鈍落後。

然而,我從未想要造成任何混亂,除非是絕對必要的。就像羅得的例子,或許有一個時候情況混亂到你必須將一切拋在腦後,甚至是主賜福給你的事物。在這樣的景況中,回頭看是會致命的。即便如此,我們應當盡可能的尋求分賜一種平安,其只能在瞭解主全然掌權中找到,倘若我們轉向祂,我們會安然度過。

在聖經有許多例子關於話語如何以完全的智慧處理,卻仍造成看起來不好的結果。我們必須相信耶穌是以最崇高的智慧與判斷來分享祂的預言,但仍有一些預言,例如聖殿即將被毀,引起全國的憤慨。此預言亦是何以五天前歡迎祂的民眾,如今卻要將祂釘十字架的主因。

無論公平與否,人們傾向攻擊報惡信的使者,在危機事件壓力管理訓練對災難的回應,你所學到的一件事是當人們收到所愛之人死亡通知時,有三分之一的人會有激烈反應,甚至有許多案例是他們會到房間拿槍射殺信差。警察常處理這樣的事情,很少人能對壞消息應變良好。當我們對迫近的災難提出先知性警告時,儘管此壞消息尚未發生,我們卻仍天真的認為人們會正面接受。

你還要這樣的工作嗎?你應該要。或許今生不會有許多光彩與獎賞,但沒有什麼事能比服事主更美好。我們必須看重行祂的旨意,遠超過任何我們在今生可以得著之事,而且這樣做絕對值得。
  (摘自 喬納 word for the week, Week 34, 2011)


The Prophetic Experiences, Part 10
When Prophetic Revelation Brings Disruption
Week 34, 2011   

There are prophetic revelations that come poignantly in a dream, vision, or word. In my experience, these are usually about personal or localized issues that do not have widespread impact or long-term consequences. This is not to lessen their importance, and as with most of what we’re addressing, this is a principle and not a law. There are exceptions to principles, but the above has generally been my experience. Most of the time, major events that could impact nations come as unfolding revelations over time.

Using as an example my West Coast prophecies of the coming devastating and widespread destruction, I was first shown these events in a two-and-a-half day prophetic experience I had in the fall of 1987. In 1988, I wrote them in my book titled, The Harvest, in which I linked a coming great earthquake in Japan to quakes on our West Coast and a worldwide economic collapse. For nearly 25 years, I have been pondering these events and listening to what others have been getting about this. Some did have pieces I did not have, and later, I was given prophetic dreams or experiences that added more to the whole picture. Even so, I still don’t claim to have the full revelation. As we are told in I Corinthians13, we see in part, know in part, and prophesy in part. Therefore, I do not think anyone has the whole picture.

I have never put all that I have together in one message to share publicly simply because I don’t think it is time for that. To the degree that what I have shared so far has been disruptive to some on the West Coast, if I shared all that I have seen, I think it could cause a panic. Even so, by its nature, an alarm must be irritating to get your attention. Alarms for greater threats must be even more disconcerting. There is a time to scream and holler as loud as you can, but I don’t think we’re there yet in relation to this word. I still think there is time for the response to be orderly and will not share all that I have about this without very clear instructions from the Lord that it's time. 

we are told in I Corinthians14:32: “the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.” I interpret this to mean that we need to use our judgment in when, where, and how to communicate what we are seeing prophetically, unless we get a specific directive from the Lord to do otherwise. Because of the serious consequences of these warnings, I am concerned about not putting them out rashly or in a way that could be counter-productive. However, I confess to being far more concerned with not being heard because I was not clear than I am for possible disruptions in people’s lives. Disruptions can be bad, but being disrupted in order to live is worth it. This is a life or death issue, potentially for millions. 

An important factor with our judgment about how, when, and where to communicate what we’ve been shown is found in I Corinthians 14:33: “for God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” Some will be confused about every word and some will immediately lose their peace if you just mention hardships, difficulties, and especially God’s judgments. The Apostle Peter wrote about how the “unstable and untaught distort” Paul’s teachings “to their own destruction” (see II Peter 3:16). There always will be some of that, and you cannot determine that the word is true or not true because of the way people take it. As I shared above, I am often surprised by who the stable and mature turn out to be, as well as who the unstable can be. We can be very mature and stable in some areas and very dull and behind in others.

However, I never want to cause any more disruption than is absolutely necessary. There may be a time when, as in the case of Lot, to be so disrupted that you leave everything behind, even the things that the Lord has blessed you with. In such situations it can be deadly to keep looking back. Even so, as much as possible, we should seek to impart the peace that can only be found in the realization that the Lord is in control, and if we turn to Him we will come through this.

Examples of how a word can be handled with perfect wisdom but still cause what appears to be bad consequences are abundant in the Scriptures. We have to believe that Jesus shared His prophecies with the highest wisdom and judgment, and yet some of them, like the impending destruction of the temple, caused a virtual national outrage. This prophecy was an obvious factor in why the multitudes, just five days earlier, were welcoming Him as their Messiah and now calling for His crucifixion. 

Whether it is fair or not, people are prone to shoot the messenger that comes with what they consider to be bad news. One of the things you learn in Crisis Intervention and Stress Management training for Disaster Response is that about one-third of the people who receive a death notice about a loved one react violently. There are many cases of such going to another room to get a gun to literally shoot the messenger. Police deal with this all the time. People seldom do well with bad news. When we’re giving a prophetic warning about an impending disaster, even though it is bad news about something that has not happened yet, we are still naïve if we think people are going to receive it well. 

Do you still want this job? You should. There may not be a lot of glamour or reward for it in this life, but nothing is as wonderful as serving the Lord. We must esteem doing His will above anything we can get in this life, and it is worth it.