CHAPTER II - 啟示錄 Revelation 1:4-8 - 全備的福音 FULL GOSPEL

CHAPTER II

全備的福音 FULL GOSPEL 

( 啟示錄 Revelation1:4-8)

人寫信，一定有一個目的。知道目的，就會更明白信的內容。讀聖經時，也要注意該書成書的目的，就會更深入了解書的內容。成書的目的常在前面引言裡面就可找到，今天所讀雖然是一個開場白與問候，但本書的目的已經清楚可以看見。

Whenever people write a letter it is always with a purpose. Once you know the purpose of the letter you will be able to understand its content better. When you read the Bible you need to pay attention to the purpose of each book so you can better understand its content. The purpose of the entire book can often be found in the introduction. From this passage, though it is an introductory greeting, we can clearly see the purpose of the book.

常有人說啟示錄的內容叫人害怕。人害怕的原因是因為人沒有控制的能力，沒有權能或力量去改變事情。如果人能夠控制事情的發生，自然就不會害怕了。

People always say that the content of the book of Revelation makes people fearful. People are fearful because they do not have the ability, the power or the authority to control certain things from happening. If they could control events from happening they would not be afraid.

人坐飛機的時候，以為人的科技已經發達到可以全面控制飛機與天氣，可以應付各種困難。直到遇見強大的氣流時就會開始害怕，如果再看見引擎掉下，就會痛哭呼號，那時才知道人並非全能。很多不信者就有這種錯覺，以為靠自己什麼都可以解決，不需要神。不錯，神給我們有解決問題的頭腦，很多生活上的問題，如果智慧地安排好，也可以順利的過去，但以為因此不需要神，就大錯特錯了。

When people travel by air, they believe that due to the advancement in technology they can achieve full control of the aircraft and the weather and cope with various difficulties. But when they encounter severe turbulence, then they start getting scared; if they see the engine falling off from the plane, they will really panic and start to cry frantically. At that moment they will realize that they are not omnipotent beings. Many unbelievers have the misconception that they can solve anything on their own and that they do not need to depend on God at all. Yes, God has given us a problem-solving mind, we can successfully solve some life issues wisely, but if you think that there is no need for God, you better think again.

這種想法以為人擁有全備的智慧與能力，無論什麼意外事件都可以應付。人有這種想法只因還沒有遇到大麻煩而已。

People who believe that they have the wisdom and the ability to cope with any kind of unexpected circumstances think that way because they have not yet encountered extreme difficulties.

過去的時代當人遇到苦難，心會迴轉，會尋求神，看看自己做錯了什麼事。子女受責打之後會聽從父母的話。但末世的人遇到苦難的時候會咒罵神，子女受到責打的時候，會控告父母。這是一種錯覺，以為人的前途操縱在自己的手上。約翰要我們搞清楚，什麼是真正的權能，那時才能正確面對末世的事件。所以這一段的主題是｢神的完全與全備｣。

In the past, when people encountered difficult situations, they would examine themselves to see where they went wrong and then they would turn their hearts to God and seek Him. Children would listen to their parents after they have been disciplined. But during the end times , when people encounter hardships, they will curse God. Children will sue their parents for disciplining them. They have the misconception that they have the power to control their own destiny. John wants us to know what real power is so we know how to face the future events of the end times the right way. So the theme of this passage is: “THE PERFECT FULLNESS OF GOD”.

全備的三一神一同施恩

THE PERFECT TRIUNE GOD SHEDS HIS GRACE

4 約翰寫信給亞西亞的七個教會，但願從那昔在、今在，以後永在的神，和祂寶座前的七靈，5 並那誠實作見證的神，從死里首先復活，為世上君王元首的耶穌基督，有恩惠平安歸
與你們

4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

基督坐上大衛傳下來之寶座作王，以前的王，都不長久，只有基督永遠不會下台。

Christ reigns sitting on the throne passed down from David; the kings of old were not permanent, only Christ will reign forever.

多個詞都只出現在啟示錄，｢昔在今在以後永在」、｢七靈」、｢首先復活」等，告訴我們，這位是全能、全知、全在的永生神。

In here there are many words that appear only in Revelation, words like “who is”, “who was”, and “who is to come”, “the seven Spirits”, “the firstborn from the dead”; these words tell us that He is the almighty, all knowing, eternal living God.

另外還有一些詞句，｢使成王國」、｢作父神的祭司」，｢阿拉法、俄梅戛」，｢全能者」等，都只在啟示錄出現。這一位三位一元，全能的神，都一起向我們施恩。

In addition, there are words like “made us to be a kingdom”, “priests to serve His God and Father”, “the Alpha”, “the Omega”, “the Almighty”, etc. that appear only in Revelation . Here we see, the Triune Almighty God bestowing His grace upon us.

有人會說，他們的偶像很靈驗、很有能力。那都是次等的能。撒但有偷竊、殺害、毀壞之能，它能用法術害人，能幫人發財升官，得到短暫的榮華富貴，但它不能給人新生命、豐盛的生活、與永遠的榮耀。

Some people might say that their idols work wonders and are very powerful. But their power is inferior. Satan has the power to steal, murder, and destroy; he can use sorcery to hurt others, he can help people have riches and glory for a brief period of time, but he cannot give people new life, abundant life, and eternal glory.

基督全備救贖工程

CHRIST ' S PERFECT PLAN OF SALVATION

5 祂愛我們，用自己的血使我們脫離罪惡。6 又使我們成為祂父神的王國與祭司。

5 To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father.

基督救贖的工程使人脫罪、成立王國，及使人作祭司等詞，都是用過去式，不是等將來才發生，那是教會的歷史，是主王國建立的過程。

Christ's plan of salvation freed us from our sins and made us to be a kingdom and priests. The verbs used here are all in the past tense. We do not have to wait for the future, it already happened; it is all part of the history of the church. It was a process which the Kingdom of Christ had to go through in order to be established.

祂怎樣建立這王國呢？這完全是由基督所作成的：.

How did He establish this Kingdom? It was completely done by Christ:

( 1) 祂自己流血救罪人。( 2) 使這些人成為王國即教會。( 3) 使這些人成為祭司，做世人與神之間的中間人，為人代求，這才是完備的救恩。並不是使人得救就完工了。

(1) He shed His own blood to save sinners. (2) He made these people to become a Kingdom which is the Church. (3) And made them to be priests, to be a mediator between God and the people of this world , and to pray for them. This is the complete plan of salvation. It was not just for people to be saved.

基督的工作做到哪一步才是完全？是在信徒脫離了自我中心生活，成為幫助人的祭司，成為主的王國，也就是王國中的官員Officer ，與主一同作王。這樣好像已經完全了，其實還有一步。

When is Christ's work complete? Christ's work is complete when the believer breaks away from his self-centered lifestyle and becomes a priest to help the people; when he becomes the kingdom of the Lord and an officer of the kingdom, to reign together with the Lord. After all this happens, it may seem that the task is completed, but there is one more step.

7 看哪，祂駕雲降臨，眾目要看見祂，連刺祂的人也要看見祂，地上的萬族都要因祂哀哭。

7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”

祂駕雲再來，才完成整個運作。在猶太人的禮拜中，已經可以隱約看見。祭司進入聖所為他們禱告，他們都站在外面等候，像今天基督在天上的聖所為我們禱告一樣。祭司供職完畢，出來為他們祝福，禮拜才算做完。祂駕雲再來，才算完全了祂的工作。

He is coming back with the clouds to complete the entire operation.  We kind of get an idea of it by watching a Jewish worship ceremony. The priest will enter into the Sanctuary to pray for the congregation while the congregation waits outside, similar to Christ praying for us in the Sanctuary in heaven. After the priest is done performing his duty, he then comes out to bless the congregation; at that point the worship service is completed.

雲彩表示神的同在，祂駕雲升天的時候，已經正式恢復成為全能的神，那時候是暫時的離開地上，其他的人還沒機會見到祂的威嚴榮耀。當祂回來的時候，也是駕雲降臨，是大有威榮的降臨。

A cloud represents the presence of God. Christ ascended to heaven with the clouds; officially restored as the Almighty God. At that time He was leaving this world temporarily and only a few had the opportunity to see His awesome glory. When He comes back the second time, He will also be coming with the clouds but then He will be returning in all His glory and majesty.

祂第一次到世上來，以愛和忍耐完成祂的救贖。當祂第二次來，祂要以公義的神、審判的主、威嚴的王之身份顯現。

Jesus Christ first came into this world with love and forbearance to complete His plan of salvation. When He returns the second time, He will appear as the righteous God, the Judge, and the Majestic King.

本書雖然提到很多災難、戰爭，人對聖殿的種種破壞，敵神帝國的手段，但我們最需要看見的，卻是基督要帶著眾聖徒降臨的大日。祂降臨的時候，先與被提的眾聖徒在天上的聖所相會。那時，也就是基督婚筵的時候，也是地上七年大災難發生的時間，留在地上的是那些不信的人與在那七年中才真正信主的人，包括猶太人在內。

Although this book mentions many disasters, wars, the destruction of the temple and the evil schemes of the empire that is against God, we should focus our attention on that wonderful day when Christ will return with all His saints. When He returns, He will first meet with the raptured saints in the heavenly sanctuary. That is the time of the wedding banquet of Christ, and the seven years of great tribulation on the earth. The ones who remain on the earth are the unbelievers and those who will believe in the Lord during the seven years of tribulation, including the Jews.

主第一次來，降生在卑微的牛棚中，是低調的來。升天的時候也是低調的去，只有門徒送行。主再臨的時候，眾目要看見祂，地上的萬族都要因祂哀哭。因為祂是審判萬人的王，是我們所難以想像的。

When the Lord came to this world the first time He kept a low profile, as He was born in a humble manger. When He ascended to heaven it was also very low-key, only the disciples saw Him depart. But, when the Lord returns for the second time, it will not be low-key anymore, every eye will see Him, and all the peoples on earth will mourn because of Him. He will come as the King who will judge the whole world. He will return in such a grandiose way that we cannot even imagine.

約翰不知道該怎樣表達那個大場面，只能說：｢這話是真實的，阿們。」一點沒有誇大。世人無論多尊貴，總有人鄙視他。沒有人能得全世界的人跪拜，但主再來的時候，全部都要下跪，因為祂是萬王之王，是至高的審判官。

John did not know how to express this spectacular scene, so he said: “So shall it be! Amen.” No matter how respectable a person is, there will always be someone who will despise him. No one can get the whole world to bow down to them, but when the Lord returns to earth again, everyone will bow down to Him because He is the King of Kings, He is the Judge Most High.

創始成終的全能神

ALMIGHTY GOD FROM BEGINNING TO END

8 主神說：｢我是阿拉法，我是俄梅戛，是昔在、今在、
以後永在的全能者。」

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is , and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

這句話在啟示錄之外看不見。用希臘文首末兩個字母，表示祂是創始成終的主，沒有別人能夠做得到。歷史就是人開始了，卻不能持續到永遠的記錄。古埃及文明只差一小步，如果不是人自我毀滅，人類早幾千年已上太空，但人進步到某一個地步，就會自我毀滅。只有祂是創始成終的主，祂的王國是永遠的國。

This sentence can only be found in book of Revelation. The Alpha and the Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet which means that the Lord established everything from the beginning, no one else could do that but Him. History started with mankind but it will not last forever. Ancient Egyptian Civilization is just a small part of it, if it was not for self-destruction of mankind, humans could have gone to space thousands of years earlier, but people progress to a certain extent, then war occurs, self-destruction. Only the Lord God is the beginning and the end, His kingdom is everlasting.

當我們只看見片段，會以為大事不好了。例如看見七個教會中的示每拿教會有苦難，但神用不同的事件、不同的環境，用萬事叫愛神的人得益處。不如意的事，可以變成使我們得益處的因素。

When we can only see a small part of the whole picture, we tend to think that whatever happened is bad. For example, when see the suffering of the Church in Smyrna, one of the seven churches in Revelation, we think is bad; but God can use different events, different circumstances, and different ways to benefit those who love Him. Things that happened to us that we think are bad can actually be for our own good.

這段經文出現｢全能神｣這一個詞。到底祂怎樣的全能呢？聖經有多個能力的字：有權柄、有大力、有威力，這裡是指掌控之能。全能者 panto+krater 全所有 掌控。民主 demo+crat 是｢人民+ 掌控」，獨裁 auto+crat 是｢獨自+ 掌控」。｢全能神」就是｢全所有掌權者」。這個

詞告訴我們，全人類的歷史，從頭到尾，全在祂掌管之下。

The word “Almighty” appears in this verse. Actually, how almighty is God? The Bible uses different words for power like: authority, strength, might. Here it refers to the power to control. The Almighty, “panto+ krater”= ( total + control). Democrat “demo+crat” is control by the people. Autocrat “ auto+ crat ”= (sole + control). “Almighty God” means “The One who has absolute control over everything.” This word tells us that the history of mankind, from beginning to end, is under God's absolute control.

在這多災多難的期間，我們不用擔心，因為主是｢全然掌管｣的神。祂不忘記我們。只要我們不忘記祂，就能夠過得快樂像小孩子一樣。

During these tumultuous times we do not have to worry because our Lord is God Almighty and He has “absolute control over everything”. As long as we do not neglect Him, we will be able to enjoy a happy life just like a child.