Entries by

耶路撒冷的大灾难

2019-06-25 in /by

马太福音24: 15_22_耶路撒冷的大灾难

15 「你们看见先知但以理所说的『那行毁坏可憎的』站在圣地——读这经的人须要会意—— 16 那时，在犹太的，应当逃到山上； 17 在房上的，不要下来拿家里的东西； 18 在田里的，也不要回去取衣裳。 19 当那些日子，怀孕的和奶孩子的有祸了！

20 「你们应当祈求，叫你们逃走的时候，不遇见冬天或是安息日。 21 因为那时必有大灾难，从世界的起头直到如今没有这样的灾难，后来也必没有。 22 若不减少那日子，凡有血气的总没有一个得救的；只是为选民，那日子必减少了。

在马太福音24-25章里，耶稣很沉重地为耶路撒冷和世界的将来作了预言，该应验的己经应验，尚未应验的也将应验。

主耶稣引用但以理的预言：『那行毁坏可憎的』站在圣地，来比喻耶路撒冷将要面对的灾难。但以理所预言的可以分为三次来看，第一次是在约雅斤登基后不久，因为其父约雅敬背叛巴比伦王，尼布甲尼撒来到耶路撒冷，拿走了圣殿部份的器皿，掳走了王和贵族高官等人，但以理也在其中。这是『那行毁坏可憎的』站在圣地的开始。

第二次是在犹大灭亡时，圣殿被毁。犹太人回归后重建圣殿，但是在被希腊统治时，有希腊统治者在圣殿的祭坛上供了一头猪，又为宙斯设了一个祭坛等等，都是『那行毁坏可憎的』站在圣地的确实罪行。

The Mark of a True Friend (Plus, You Are Royalty Because of Jesus’ Blood)

2019-06-24 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 3:1-24.  Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 3:5 (NIV) 
5  and these were the children born to him there: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon. These four were by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel.

On verses 1-9:  In these verses the Chronicler lists the names of David’s sons.  Notice that Solomon was the youngest of the sons born to Bathsheba, who originally became romantically involved with David in an extramarital affair.  Yet God still chose Solomon to be the next king of Judah.  Once again it goes to show that God does not discount you because of your background.

Notice also that the third son that Bathsheba bore to David was called Nathan.  This is interesting, given that it was the prophet Nathan who rebuked David for murdering Bathsheba’s first husband Uriah and committing adultery with Bathsheba.  Apparently David so appreciated Nathan’s courage to speak the hard truth into David’s life that he named his third son with Bathsheba after him.

末世的征兆(下)

2019-06-24 in /by

马太福音24: 10_19_末世的征兆(下)

10 「那时，必有许多人跌倒，也要彼此陷害、彼此恨恶， 11 且有好些假先知起来，迷惑多人。 12 只因不法的事增多，许多人的爱心才渐渐冷淡了。 13 唯有忍耐到底的，必然得救。 14 这天国的福音要传遍天下，对万民作见证，然后末期才来到。

15 「你们看见先知但以理所说的『那行毁坏可憎的』站在圣地——读这经的人须要会意—— 16 那时，在犹太的，应当逃到山上； 17 在房上的，不要下来拿家里的东西； 18 在田里的，也不要回去取衣裳。 19 当那些日子，怀孕的和奶孩子的有祸了！

末世的征兆还有以下三点：

五．基督徒受逼迫（9-10节）基督徒怎会受逼迫？那是因为信仰的缘故。近代如著名的王明道，倪柝声等，就是为了信仰缘故而坐牢；倪弟兄是死在牢狱中，王弟兄过了27年牢狱生涯。主的话又应验了。

六．不法的事增多，人的爱心渐渐冷淡（12节）这是治安的问题。笔者居于美国德州晓士顿，本来这里的治安是胜过纽约，芝加哥，洛杉矶等大城市的，但近年已追上了，变坏了，白天也亮起红灯了，特别是华人被抢劫的数字往往是首屈，因为知道华人身上常有现款带着。据报道，美国各大城市治安的坏，刑事案的高，监牢狱的满等，都在节节上升着。这又应验了主的预言。

God Loves to Use the Least Likely

2019-06-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 2:1-55. Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 2:1-4 (NIV) 
1  These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, 
2  Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 
3  The sons of Judah: Er, Onan and Shelah. These three were born to him by a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shua. Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death. 
4  Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.

On verses 1-55:  Here the Chronicler continues to list the ancestors of King David, and eventually, of Jesus Christ, starting with Israel’s sons in verse 1 all the way to David in verse 15. 

When I read these verses, it strikes me how the family that gave rise to David King of Judah and eventually Jesus Christ was, from a human perspective, the type of family that no one would expect to give birth to a king. 

First, you have Abraham and Sarah, the grandparents of Israel, who were not supposed to have children in their old age.  Both Abraham and Sarah wavered in their faith.  Abraham lied.  Sarah doubted.  Both of them even agreed to execute a sinful strategy to “help God accomplish His plan” by having Abraham sleep with their maidservant Hagar.  Yet, even when they were faithless, God was faithful to His promise to give them a son of their own called Isaac.

末世的征兆(上)

2019-06-23 in /by

马太福音24: 3_9_末世的征兆

3 耶稣在橄榄山上坐着，门徒暗暗地来，说：「请告诉我们，什么时候有这些事？你降临和世界的末了有什么预兆呢？」 4 耶稣回答说：「你们要谨慎，免得有人迷惑你们。 5 因为将来有好些人冒我的名来，说：『我是基督』，并且要迷惑许多人。6 你们也要听见打仗和打仗的风声，总不要惊慌，因为这些事是必须有的，只是末期还没有到。 7 民要攻打民，国要攻打国，多处必有饥荒、地震， 8 这都是灾难的起头。 9 那时，人要把你们陷在患难里，也要杀害你们；你们又要为我的名被万民恨恶。

当主耶稣和门徒第三次到耶路撒冷的时候，门徒见到圣殿的雄伟壮观，就指给耶稣看，以为耶稣也会附和他们，将圣殿称赞一番，不料耶稣却说：“你们不是看见这殿宇吗？我实在告䜣你们，将来在这里，没有一块石头留在石头上不被拆毁了。”（2节）正是一盘冷水对头淋。主耶稣这句预言，在三十多年后就应验了。主后70年，犹太人因反抗罗马人，罗马将军提多就带领了五万大军攻打耶路撒冷，将城攻破，血流成河，并且焚烧圣殿。不知他们用了甚么化学燃料，圣殿竟然烧了七天七夜才熄灭，因为高温的缘故，圣殿中所有的金子都被烧溶化了，金子的溶液漫流至圣殿各处，罗马兵丁为了要挖取黄金，便将圣殿完全拆毁，没有一块石头留在石头上不被拆毁，完全应验了主的话。

当门徒听见主如此说时，就暗暗的说：“请告诉我们，甚么时候有这些事？你降临和世界的末了，有甚么预兆呢？”耶稣回答说：“你们要谨慎，免得有人迷惑你们。”（3-4节）然后就告诉他们在祂降临之前，世界上有下列七种征兆：　

预言圣殿被毁

2019-06-21 in /by

马太福音24: 1_2_预言圣殿被毁

1耶稣出了圣殿，正走的时候，门徒进前来，把殿宇指给他看。 2 耶稣对他们说：「你们不是看见这殿宇吗？我实在告诉你们：将来在这里没有一块石头留在石头上不被拆毁了。」

耶稣当时的圣殿是指第二圣殿，是大希律为了讨好犹太人而建的。他拆掉了所罗巴伯等人从巴比伦回来后修建的圣殿，在耶路撒冷的圣殿原址重新建造。这工程的计划始于主前19年，动工约10年后，圣殿可供崇拜和献祭之用；但大希律仍不断扩建，直到约主后63年才竣工。在耶稣当时，犹太人称大希律所建的圣殿工程，己建了46年之久（约2:20）。

在马可福音里记载了这事的原委，就是当耶稣从殿里出来的时候，有一个门徒对他说：「夫子，请看，这是何等的石头，何等的殿宇！」 所以耶稣才对他说：「你看见这大殿宇吗？将来在这里没有一块石头留在石头上不被拆毁了。」

耶稣是神。人看到的是眼前的辉煌，神却能看到在那辉煌的背后将要发生的一切。因此当门徒在惊叹圣殿之美时，耶稣却己预见圣殿将要临到的浩劫。

Not Just a List of Names

2019-06-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today we begin the book of 1 Chronicles.  The goal of 1 and 2 Chronicles is to give a history of the kingdom of Judah, beginning with King Saul taking his life, David taking over the throne, and then how David is succeeded by his son Solomon and later kings of Judah. 

While the events in 1 and 2 Chronicles overlap with many of the events we read about in 1 and 2 Kings, there are a couple major differences.  The first difference is that 1 and 2 Chronicles focuses only on the kingdom of Judah.  In contrast, 1 and 2 Kings gives a shorter account of both Judah and Israel. 

A second difference is that 1 and 2 Chronicles tend to go into greater detail about certain events in the lives of Judah’s kings.  So the insights we gain from reading 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles can be slightly different from, although complementary with, the insights we gain about those same kings as described in 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings.  It’s similar to how the New Testament contains four gospels, all talking about many of the same events, but from slightly different perspectives which complement one another. 

为耶路撒冷叹息

2019-06-20 in /by

马太福音23: 37_39_为耶路撒冷叹息

37 「耶路撒冷啊，耶路撒冷啊！你常杀害先知，又用石头打死那奉差遣到你这里来的人。我多次愿意聚集你的儿女，好像母鸡把小鸡聚集在翅膀底下，只是你们不愿意。 38 看哪，你们的家成为荒场留给你们！ 39 我告诉你们：从今以后，你们不得再见我，直等到你们说：『奉主名来的是应当称颂的！』」

自从大卫建国之后，耶路撒冷就成为以色列长久的都城。神也允许所罗门把圣殿建在这个神亲自拣选的地方，希望能和祂的子民欢桨地住在一起。可惜好景不常，从历代志到列王记，不仅君王不专心敬畏神，百姓也随从外邦的风俗去拜偶像,惹动神的怒气。以致于耶路撒冷三番四次被外邦蹂躏，以色列人和犹太人被迫离开家园，尝尽飘流之苦。这些耶稣都知道。

耶稣也记得，因为列王的悖逆，神的先知一个个在这圣城里被害，而将来主的门徒也要一个个在这个城里被杀。原是神所祝福的圣城，却因为以色列人的罪，被列国侵凌践踏？这颗神所宝贵的掌上明珠，何竟染满了刽子手的血迹？何竟沉沦为杀人之城，埋藏了许多神的仆人的鲜血。

Don’t Waste Too Much Time On…

2019-06-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Titus 3:9-15.  Let’s go!

Titus 3:9 (NIV) 
9  But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.

On verse 9:   Whereas focusing on the Gospel is “excellent and profitable for everyone” (v8), quarreling with people who like to talk to cause trouble is “unprofitable and useless” (v9).   When read together, verses 8-9 are Paul saying to Titus:  Focus on what’s important.  Don’t waste your time on what’s not important. 
 
Titus 3:10-11 (NIV) 
10  Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. 
11  You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.