新约 - 启示录(Revelation)第12章

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads.
His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.
She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.
The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.
Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.
But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
启示录第十二章   启 12:1-6> 妇人、婴孩,告诉我们一件既远又近的事情…… 

  12:1-6 这妇人代表一切等候弥赛亚的忠心仆人;她头上的十二颗星代表以色列的十二支派。神把犹太人分别出来归给祂自己(参罗 9:4-5 ),让弥赛亚在犹太人当中降生。那男婴( 12:5 )就是耶稣,从虔诚的童女马利亚而生(参路 1:26-33 )。邪恶的希律王立刻想要杀害婴孩耶稣(参太 2:13-20 )。希律要杀这新生的“王”,除去对他王位的威胁,是受了撒但(红龙)的驱使,要杀害这世界的救主。 

  启 12:1-14:20> 七号之后与七碗之前,开展了二股力量之角力,孰胜孰负?耐人寻味…… 

  12:1-14:20 第七号( 11:15 )展开了碗的审判( 15:1-16:2 ),但在这两段之间,约翰看到神与撒但的争战。他看到地上的一切罪孽、邪恶、逼迫和苦难的根源,也明白神和撒但两股力量之间的争战马上就要爆发,在这段经文里,罪恶的真面目暴露了,撒但也显出它邪恶的手段。 

  启 12:3-4> 大龙连同天上星,坠落人间,它们是什么呢? 

  12:3-4 那大红龙,就是撒但,有七头、十角和七个冠冕,象征了它的权力和它所统治的地上国家。那些和它一块儿坠落到地上去的众星,相信就是跟撒但一同堕落的天使,后来成为鬼魔。(参 9:3-11 注释;可 5:1-20 。) 

  12:6 旷野代表免受撒但攻击的属灵避难所。神帮助妇人逃到旷野,也使一切真心的信徒得到安全的保护。撒但常常攻击神的子民,但神保护他们,免受灵性的伤害。有些人即使在肉身上受到伤害,但他们的灵魂必蒙保护,神永不会任凭撒但夺取忠心信徒的灵魂。 

  启 12:6> 那龙在地上任意妄为的时间…… 

  12:6 1260 天(三年半)正是容许那龙在地上任意妄为的时间( 13:5 ),也是圣城被践踏的时间(参 11:3 注释)。 

  启 12:7> 这事原来早就在先知书中预言了…… 

  12:7 这一事件应验了但以理书 12 章 1 节所记载的话。米迦勒是天使长,他的职责之一是要保护神的信徒。 

  启 12:7-17> 七年大灾难,是有?还是没有?然而作者记这事的意义…… 

  12:7-17 基督的复活确定了撒但的最后失败。有些人相信,撒但坠落到地上发生于基督复活或升天的时候,而 1260 天(三年半),只是象征基督第一次和第二次降临之间的时间。另有人说,真有七年的大灾难,撒但被打败发生在教会被提之后,但在基督第二次降临和千禧年之前。无论怎样解释这段经文,我们必须牢记,基督终必得胜,撒但在基督舍身十字架上的时候,便已经被击败了( 12:10-12 )。 

  启 12:9> 真有撒但!你不是以为这只是一个象征吧…… 

  12:9 撒但并不是一个象征或传说;它是真实存在的。它本来是神所造的天使,但因为骄傲而败坏。魔鬼是神的仇敌,它经常企图破坏神的工作,但被神的大能所限制,只能做神所容许的事情(参伯 1:6-2:8 )。“撒但”的意思是“控告者”;它积极寻找可攻击的人(参彼前 5:8-9 ),并努力追捕那些灵性软弱的信徒,或不与其他信徒交往的人。 

  虽然神容许撒但在这世上工作,但祂仍然控制一切。耶稣可以完全控制撒但──当祂为了世人的罪舍身、复活的时候,便已经击败了撒但。有一天,撒但要永远被捆绑,再不能做它邪恶的工作了( 20:10 )。 

  启 12:10> 撒但被摔下去了!神何时才会成就这事? 

  12:10 很多人相信,直到那时刻,撒但仍然可以到神的面前(参伯 1:7-12 注释)。但从此它就永远与神隔绝( 9:1 ),再不能在神面前控告世人了。 

  启 12:11> 胜过撒但?!因为祂,我就不用怕吗?只是我还是有点怕…… 

  12:11 那羔羊耶稣为了我们的罪流出宝血,完全打败了撒但,靠着“牺牲”才可得胜──基督为我们的罪而受罚,以及我们为信靠祂而作出的牺牲。当我们与撒但战争的时候,不必恐惧、也不用逃避,总要忠心地事奉基督,因为只有祂能够带来胜利(参罗 8:34-39 )。 

  启 12:12> 撒但竟可以这样随意作恶?神何竟容许它这样行? 

  12:12 魔鬼开始加紧它的迫害,因为它知道自己“时候不多”了。我们正活在末世,撒但的工作愈来愈紧张。撒但虽然非常有能力,正如我们可以从世上的景况所看到的,但它仍在神的控制之下。神任凭撒但作恶和试探人,原因之一是要把那些假意跟随基督的人分别出来。 

  撒但在地上的工作 

  启 12:17> 妇人、男婴及其他人,你还不知道他们所代表的吗? 

  12:17 妇人( 12:1 )代表忠心的犹太人,而男婴( 12:5 )代表基督,至于“她其余的儿女”极有可能是犹太的信徒,或是所有的信徒。 

  启 12:17> 属灵争战,看似遥远,其实……你相信靠主你便可以得胜吗? 

  12:17 使徒保罗告诉我们,我们正处在一场属灵战争中(参弗 6:10-12 )。约翰说,这场战争仍在进行,但战争的结果却是早已确定了的。撒但和它的爪牙已经被击败,也将要被消灭。但撒但仍然每日作战,使更多人加入它的行列,与神作对;属乎基督的人,他们已经站在神的那边参战,神也保证他们得胜。请你完全投向基督,不要动摇。一场属灵的大战正在进行,不要再犹疑不决了。──《灵修版圣经注释》