首先我們看一下耶穌在被捕前後發生事件的次序，祂到客西馬尼園是相當的晚，祂被捕後的當晚，第一次被猶太人帶到大祭司前受審，他們只能用耶穌的話定罪祂。接著是第二天早晨是在公會前受審，祂在第二次並沒有改變祂說的話，所以應該是沒用太多的時間就定罪祂了。因當時的猶太人的公會是不能判死刑的，所以他們將耶穌解到彼拉多前，希望能判祂死罪。然後彼拉多把祂送給希律受審，發覺祂沒有犯該死的罪，最後是在彼拉多前受審，也沒有發覺祂犯該死的罪，他的初衷本是要釋放耶穌的，最終還是「非法」的讓耶穌釘了十字架。

1. 耶穌被捕後第一次是在大祭司前受審

       我們看一下耶穌在被捕前後發生事件的次序，祂到客西馬尼園是相當的晚，因為門徒睡著了(參馬太福音 26:36-45)。 祂被捕後的當晚，第一次被猶太人審判，馬可福音將其情形記載得很清楚，『他們把耶穌帶到大祭司那裏，又有眾祭司長和長老並文士都來和大祭司一同聚集。…祭司長和全公會尋找見證控告耶穌，要治死他，卻尋不着。因為有好些人作假見證告他，只是他們的見證各不相合。又有幾個人站起來作假見證告他，說：「我們聽見他說：『我要拆毀這人手所造的殿，三日內就另造一座不是人手所造的。』」他們就是這麼作見證，也是各不相合。大祭司起來站在中間，問耶穌說：「你甚麼都不回答嗎？這些人作見證告你的是甚麼呢？」耶穌卻不言語，一句也不回答。 大祭司又問他說：「你是那當稱頌者的兒子基督不是？」耶穌說：「我是。你們必看見人子坐在那權能者的右邊，駕着天上的雲降臨。」大祭司就撕開衣服，說：「我們何必再用見證人呢？你們已經聽見他這僭妄的話了。你們的意見如何？」 他們都定他該死的罪。就有人吐唾沫在他臉上，又蒙着他的臉，用拳頭打他，對他說：「你說預言吧！」差役接過他來，用手掌打他。』(馬可福音 14:53-65)

     既然見証是假的，當然會不合，沒有用的。至於耶穌說三日建殿是這樣記載的，『耶穌回答說：「你們拆毀這殿，我三日內要再建立起來。」猶太人便說：「這殿是四十六年才造成的，你三日內就再建立起來嗎？」但耶穌這話，是以他的身體為殿。』(約翰福音 2:19-21) 這是指祂死了三日後復活，如經文所說，『他們還住在加利利的時候，耶穌對門徒說：「人子將要被交在人手裏。他們要殺害他，第三日他要復活。」…』(馬太福音 17:22-23)

      我們看到耶穌是要人先問祂是不是神的兒子，然後再說了實話，明知這樣說會被定罪，但仍然這樣說。他們的確是用耶穌的話定罪了祂，就將耶穌關了起來，所以路加福音會這樣說，『看守耶穌的人戲弄他，打他，又蒙着他的眼，問他說：「你是先知，告訴我們打你的是誰？」他們還用許多別的話辱罵他。』(路加福音 22:63-65) 這件事在馬可福音 14:53-65 基本上是說的相同的。

2. 第二次是在公會前受審

       『天一亮，民間的眾長老連祭司長帶文士都聚會，把耶穌帶到他們的公會裏，說：「你若是基督，就告訴我們。」 耶穌說：「我若告訴你們，你們也不信；我若問你們，你們也不回答。從今以後，人子要坐在神權能的右邊。」他們都說：「這樣，你是神的兒子嗎？」 耶穌說：「你們所說的是。」他們說：「何必再用見證呢？他親口所說的，我們都親自聽見了。」』(路加福音 22:66-71) 

       這應該是在送給彼拉多前的第二次在猶太人前受審，因馬可福音說得很清楚，『一到早晨，祭司長和長老、文士、全公會的人大家商議，就把耶穌捆綁，解去交給彼拉多。』(馬可福音 15:1) 就像耶穌在客西馬尼園所禱告的，『…願你的意旨成全。』(馬太福音 26:42) 祂在這一次和第一次一樣，沒有改變祂說的話。第一次已因祂的話定罪，所以這第二次應該沒用太多的時間就定罪祂了。因當時的猶太人的公會是不能判死刑的，所以他們將耶穌解到彼拉多前，希望能判祂死罪。

3. 在希律前受審

       祂是首先的這樣被解到彼拉多前的，約翰福音有詳細的記載。『眾人將耶穌從該亞法那裏往衙門內解去，那時天還早，他們自己卻不進衙門，恐怕染了污穢，不能吃逾越節的筵席。彼拉多就出來，到他們那裏，說：「你們告這人是為甚麼事呢？」他們回答說：「這人若不是作惡的，我們就不把他交給你。」彼拉多說：「你們自己帶他去，按着你們的律法審問他吧！」 猶太人說：「我們沒有殺人的權柄。」這要應驗耶穌所說自己將要怎樣死的話了。』(約翰福音 18:28-32)

    我們看到彼拉多是相當尊重猶太人的規矩，即然猶太人不願進衙門，他就自己出來。我們在這裏也証實了他們為耶穌到彼拉多那裏去。下面的經文記載了祂為什麼會在希律前受審：『眾人都起來，把耶穌解到彼拉多面前，就告他說：「我們見這人誘惑國民，禁止納稅給凱撒，並說自己是基督，是王。」彼拉多問耶穌說：「你是猶太人的王嗎？」 耶穌回答說：「你說的是。」彼拉多對祭司長和眾人說：「我查不出這人有甚麼罪來。」但他們越發極力地說：「他煽惑百姓，在猶太遍地傳道，從加利利起，直到這裏了。」彼拉多一聽見，就問：「這人是加利利人嗎？」既曉得耶穌屬希律所管，就把他送到希律那裏去。那時希律正在耶路撒冷。希律看見耶穌，就很歡喜，因為聽見過他的事，久已想要見他，並且指望看他行一件神蹟，於是問他許多的話，耶穌卻一言不答。祭司長和文士都站着，極力地告他。希律和他的兵丁就藐視耶穌，戲弄他，給他穿上華麗衣服，把他送回彼拉多那裏去。從前希律和彼拉多彼此有仇，在那一天就成了朋友。』(路加福音 23:1-12)

       我們可看到耶穌並沒有在希律前行神蹟，要特別強調的一點，就是希律和彼拉多都找不出耶穌犯了任何該死的罪。因經文說，『彼拉多傳齊了祭司長和官府並百姓，就對他們說：「你們解這人到我這裏，說他是誘惑百姓的。看哪，我也曾將你們告他的事，在你們面前審問他，並沒有查出他甚麼罪來；就是希律也是如此，所以把他送回來。可見他沒有做甚麼該死的事。故此，我要責打他，把他釋放了。」』(路加福音 23:13-16) 在這裏，我們看到了彼拉多的初衷是想釋放耶穌。

     關於希律和彼拉多成為朋友的一事，有人說是由於耶穌的死，仍能在死前使希律和彼拉多釋隙成為朋友，但聖經並沒有這樣說，但的確是記載了這一個事實，雖然可能可以用人性來解釋，我們不知道確實是為什麼？聖經沒有講或沒有概念的事，不能從人的角度亂下結論，這樣會導致公說公有理、婆說婆有理的結果，會強解聖經，引起爭論。

4. 在彼拉多前受審的前半段及其初衷

       『耶穌站在巡撫面前，巡撫問他說：「你是猶太人的王嗎？」 耶穌說：「你說的是。」他被祭司長和長老控告的時候，甚麼都不回答。彼拉多就對他說：「他們作見證告你這麼多的事，你沒有聽見嗎？」耶穌仍不回答，連一句話也不說，以致巡撫甚覺希奇。巡撫有一個常例，每逢這節期，隨眾人所要的，釋放一個囚犯給他們。當時，有一個出名的囚犯叫巴拉巴。眾人聚集的時候，彼拉多就對他們說：「你們要我釋放哪一個給你們？是巴拉巴呢？是稱為基督的耶穌呢？」巡撫原知道，他們是因為嫉妒才把他解了來。正坐堂的時候，他的夫人打發人來說：「這義人的事你一點不可管，因為我今天在夢中為他受了許多的苦。」』(馬太福音 27:11-19)

    我們首先看到了耶穌是用同樣的方式問答。在這裏我們也看到彼拉多的初衷本是要釋放耶穌的，他的夫人也要他不要管這義人的事，只是他沒有聽勸。雖然他找不到耶穌犯了任何該死的罪，最終還是「非法」的讓耶穌釘了十字架。「非法」，不是今日的一些基督徒仍遭遇的情況嗎？

       關於祂站在巡撫前，約翰福音有這樣的記載。『彼拉多又進了衙門，叫耶穌來，對他說：「你是猶太人的王嗎？」耶穌回答說：「這話是你自己說的，還是別人論我對你說的呢？」彼拉多說：「我豈是猶太人呢？你本國的人和祭司長把你交給我，你做了甚麼事呢？」耶穌回答說：「我的國不屬這世界。我的國若屬這世界，我的臣僕必要爭戰，使我不至於被交給猶太人，只是我的國不屬這世界。」彼拉多就對他說：「這樣，你是王嗎？」 耶穌回答說：「你說我是王，我為此而生，也為此來到世間，特為給真理作見證。凡屬真理的人就聽我的話。」『彼拉多說：「真理是甚麼呢？」…』(約翰福音 18:33-38)

       耶穌的國的確不是屬於這世界的，祂被捕時就說，『你想，我不能求我父現在為我差遣十二營多天使來嗎？若是這樣，經上所說事情必須如此的話，怎麼應驗呢？』(馬太福音 26:53-54) 請注意祂是說要求我父，這是因為他道成肉身後是一個完全的人，是完全的人就不能直接差遣天使，雖然祂仍保有那不變的、完全是神的身份。基督徒有內住的聖靈，他們的國也不屬於這世界，在這世界中是過客。這就像亞伯拉罕一樣，是『…等候那座有根基的城，就是神所經營、所建造的。』(希伯來書 11:10) 我們以後會看到，彼拉多就如他所說的一樣，的確是不在乎真理是什麼，對他來說，站在人世間的政治對的那一方，更為重要。

    關於其初衷本是想釋放耶穌，而眾人不肯，寧可釋放強盜，置祂於死地，經文是這樣說的：『彼拉多說：「真理是甚麼呢？」說了這話，又出來到猶太人那裏，對他們說：「我查不出他有甚麼罪來，但你們有個規矩，在逾越節要我給你們釋放一個人，你們要我給你們釋放猶太人的王嗎？」他們又喊着說：「不要這人，要巴拉巴！」這巴拉巴是個強盜。』(約翰福音 18:38-40)

     約翰是親自在那裏的，所以約翰福音的記載是非常的正確。雖然彼拉多給了他們一個看起來是很明顯的選擇，但他們寧可釋放一個殺過人的強盜，而要把按羅馬法沒有罪的耶穌置於死地。 我們看到了這次的分享，只是詳細的敍述了耶穌被捕後發生的前半段事情，在下次的分享中，我們會描述後半段發生的事情，耶穌是如何會被判釘在十字架上的。

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

First, let’s take a look at the sequence of events before and after Jesus’ arrest. He arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane quite late. On the night after His arrest, He was brought to the high priest for the first time by the Jews for trial. They could only use Jesus’ words to condemn Him.  Then there was the trial before the Sanhedrin the next morning. He did not change what He said in the second time, so it probably did not take much time to condemn Him.  Because the Jewish Sanhedrin at that time could not impose the death penalty, they brought Jesus before Pilate, hoping to sentence Him to death.  Then Pilate sent Him to Herod for trial, and found that He was not guilty of a crime worthy of death. Finally, he was tried before Pilate, and was not found guilty of a crime worthy of death. The original intention of Pilate was to release Jesus, but in the end he sentenced Jesus to be crucified “illegally.”

 ​

1. Jesus’ first trial after His arrest was before the high priest

Let’s look at the sequence of events before and after Jesus’ arrest. He arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane quite late because the disciples were going to sleep (see Matthew 26:36-45).  On the night after His arrest, He was tried by the Jews for the first time. The Gospel of Mark records the situation very clearly, “They led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes gathered together. …Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’” Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers received Him with slaps in the face.”(Mark 14:53-65)

Since the testimony is false, of course it will be inconsistent and useless.  As for Jesus’ saying that he built the temple in three days, it is recorded as follows, “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.”(John 2:19-21) This refers to His resurrection after three days of death. As the scripture says, “And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” …”(Matthew 17:22-23)

We see that Jesus wanted people to ask Him first if He was the Son of God, and then told the truth. He knew that saying this would lead to condemnation, but He still said it.  They indeed used Jesus’ words to condemn Him and locked Him up. That’s why the Gospel of Luke says, “Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him and beating Him, and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, “Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?” And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.”(Luke 22:63-65) There is basically the same thing said in Mark 14:53-65.

2. The second time was before the Sanhedrin

“When it was day, the Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council chamber, saying, “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask a question, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.” Then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.””(Luke 22:66-71)

This should have been the second trial before the Jews before being sent to Pilate, because the Gospel of Mark says very clearly, “Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council, immediately held a consultation; and binding Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate.”(Mark 15:1) Just as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “…My Father, …Your will be done.”(Matthew 26:42) He did not change His words this time the same as those He had the first time.  He was already condemned by His words the first time, so it shouldn’t take much time to condemn Him the second time.  Because the Jewish Sanhedrin at that time could not impose the death penalty, they brought Jesus before Pilate, hoping to sentence Him to death.

3. Tried before Herod

He was the first to be led to Pilate in this way, as is recorded in detail in the Gospel of John. “Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?” They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,” to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.”(John 18:28-32)

We see that Pilate respected Jewish rules very much. The Jews did not want to enter the Praetorium, he actually came out to meet them. We also have confirmation here that they went to Pilate for potentially sentencing Jesus.  The following verses record why He was tried before Herod: “Then the whole body of them got up and brought Him before Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” So Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say.” Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” But they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.” When Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time. Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate. Now Herod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.”(Luke 23:1-12)

We can see that Jesus did not perform any miracles before Herod. One point that needs to be emphasized is that neither Herod nor Pilate could find Jesus guilty of any crime worthy of death.  Because the scripture says, “Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him. No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him. Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.””(Luke 23:13-16) Here, we see that Pilate’s original intention was to release Jesus.

Regarding the fact that Herod and Pilate became friends, some people say that it was because of the death of Jesus. Yes, it is true that Herod and Pilate actually became friends before His death. However, the Bible does not say the reason, but it does record this fact. A fact that, although it may be explained in the aspect of human nature, we don’t know exactly the reason why?  Things that are not mentioned in the Bible or have no concept should not be drawn to random conclusions from a human perspective. This will lead to the result of forcefully interpreting the Bible and cause controversy.

4. The first half of the trial before Pilate and its original intention

“Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.””(Matthew 27:11-19)

We first saw Jesus asking questions in the same way.  Here we also see that Pilate’s original intention was to release Jesus, and his wife also asked him to leave the affairs of this righteous man alone, but he did not listen.  Although he could not find Jesus guilty of any crime worthy of death, he ultimately had Jesus crucified “illegally.”  Isn’t “illegal” a situation that some Christians still encounter today?​

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Concerning Him standing before the governor, the Gospel of John has this record.  “Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” …”(John 18:33-38)

Jesus’ kingdom is indeed not of this world. When He was arrested, He said, “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”(Matthew 26:53-54) Please note that He said asking My Father. This is because after He became flesh, He became a perfect man. As a perfect man, He could not directly send angels, although He still retained completely the same identity of a complete God.  Christians have the indwelling Holy Spirit, and their kingdom does not belong to this world. They are passers-by in this world.  This is like Abraham, 

“for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”(Hebrews 11:10) We will see later that Pilate, just as he said, did not care what the truth was. For him, standing on the correct side of the world’s politics was even more important. 

Regarding the original intention to release Jesus, but the crowd refused, preferring to release the robbers and put Him to death, the scripture says this: “Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?” So they cried out again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.”(John 18:38-40)

John was there personally, so the record in the Gospel of John is very accurate.  Although Pilate gave them what seemed an obvious choice, they would rather release a robber who had committed a murder than Jesus, who was not guilty according to Roman law.  We have seen this sharing, which only details the first half of what happened after Jesus was arrested. In the next sharing, we will describe what happened in the second half, and how Jesus was sentenced to be crucified.

(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

    首先我们看到了耶稣预言了彼得三次不认主，虽然彼得和众门徒愿意与耶稣同死，但事到临头却软弱了，羊分散了，四处逃走。但主真的是已经为他祈求，叫他不至于失了信心，在他悔改回头以后，能够坚固弟兄。第二，我们从彼得的反应中看到了彼得当时的个性，是不顾后果的想要马上解决问题。第三，我们看看彼得三次不认主是如何成就的，以及他的悔改。最后，我们来看圣经如何说一个相关的经文，就是耶稣为什么三次问彼得说你爱我吗，在这里我们看到了圣经如何的说这些经文，并简短的讨论了两个具有争议性的想法。

1. 预言彼得三次不认主     

    『主又说：「西门！西门！撒但想要得著你们，好筛你们像筛麦子一样；但我已经为你祈求，叫你不至于失了信心。你回头以后，要坚固你的弟兄。」彼得说：「主啊，我就是同你下监，同你受死，也是甘心！」耶稣说：「彼得，我告诉你，今日鸡还没有叫，你要三次说不认得我。」』(路加福音 22:31-34)       

    我们先看彼得真的有这意愿和主同死，这我们可从下列经文看到。『当时，耶稣对众人说：「你们带著刀棒出来拿我，如同拿强盗吗？我天天坐在殿里教训人，你们并没有拿我。但这一切的事成就了，为要应验先知书上的话。」当下，门徒都离开他逃走了。拿耶稣的人把他带到大祭司该亚法那里去，文士和长老已经在那里聚会。彼得远远地跟著耶稣，直到大祭司的院子，进到里面，就和差役同坐，要看这事到底怎样。』(马太福音 26:55-58)       

    耶稣被捕的时候，门徒都离开他逃走了，只除了彼得和约翰，彼得在院子等结果，详情在约翰福音说得很清楚，『西门彼得跟著耶稣，还有一个门徒(约翰)跟著。那门徒是大祭司所认识的，他就同耶稣进了大祭司的院子，彼得却站在门外。大祭司所认识的那个门徒出来，和看门的使女说了一声，就领彼得进去。那看门的使女对彼得说：「你不也是这人的门徒吗？」 他说：「我不是。」仆人和差役因为天冷，就生了炭火，站在那里烤火，彼得也同他们站著烤火。』(约翰福音 18:15-18)     

    大祭司是在房间里审判主，所以我们也能从这些经文看到约翰应该是进去了，看见了审判的过程。彼得没有进去，留在院子烤火，等下我们谈到这预言彼得三次不认主是如何成就的，就可以知道为什么最后只有约翰在十字架前。我们知道那门徒是约翰，因最后只有约翰在十字架前，因为经文说到了耶稣托付马利亚给约翰。『耶稣见母亲和他所爱的那门徒(约翰)站在(十字架)旁边，就对他母亲说：「母亲，看，你的儿子！」又对那门徒说：「看，你的母亲！」从此那门徒就接她到自己家里去了。』(约翰福音 19:26-27)       

    在马可福音记载同样的事情并说复活以后要先往加利利与他们相会。『耶稣对他们说：「你们都要跌倒了，因为经上记著说：『我要击打牧人，羊就分散了。』但我复活以后，要在你们以先往加利利去。」彼得说：「众人虽然跌倒，我总不能。」耶稣对他说：「我实在告诉你：就在今天夜里，鸡叫两遍以先，你要三次不认我。」彼得却极力地说：「我就是必须和你同死，也总不能不认你！」众门徒都是这样说。』(马可福音 14:27-31)        

    虽然众门徒也愿与耶稣同死，但事到临头却因要付上死的代价，软弱了，羊分散了，四处逃走，甚至于『有一个少年人，赤身披著一块麻布，跟随耶稣，众人就捉拿他。他却丢了麻布，赤身逃走了。』(马可福音 14:51-52) 圣经上没有说这少年人是谁，有人会去猜测，只是这样最多只是猜测而已，在逻辑上不会有真正结论的，不如不猜。另外一点，主预先就知道自已会受死，而祂是完全的人，有著如门徒般的自由意志，我们从门徒的四散，也可看到从人看来，祂这样做是多么的不容易啊！但祂甘心乐意的选择顺服神，为了我们而钉上十字架。     

    在马太福音 26:31-35 记载了同一件事情。在约翰福音也这样提到，『西门彼得问耶稣说：「主往哪里去？」 耶稣回答说：「我所去的地方，你现在不能跟我去，后来却要跟我去。」彼得说：「主啊，我为甚么现在不能跟你去？我愿意为你舍命。」耶稣说：「你愿意为我舍命吗？我实实在在地告诉你：鸡叫以先，你要三次不认我。」』(约翰福音 13:36-38) 四福音书都提到这一件事，可见这事的重要性。除此之外，约翰福音保证了基督徒虽有一死，但死后会复活升天，因主为我们死而复活升天，我们后来都会跟著去。我们看到了四福音书中的约翰福音是最后写的，常常补充了前三本福音中没有写的事情。       

    最后我们看到这是一个「撒但想要得著你们，好筛你们像筛麦子一样」的一个例子。是的，彼得真跌倒了，以致于他三次不认主，但主真的是已经为他祈求，叫他不至于失了信心，在他悔改回头以后，能够坚固弟兄，这显然是彼得恢改以后做的事情。

2. 彼得的反应       

    『耶稣又对他们说：「我差你们出去的时候，没有钱囊，没有口袋，没有鞋，你们缺少甚么没有？」 他们说：「没有。」耶稣说：「但如今有钱囊的可以带著，有口袋的也可以带著，没有刀的要卖衣服买刀。我告诉你们，经上写著说：『他被列在罪犯之中。』这话必应验在我身上，因为那关系我的事必然成就。」他们说：「主啊，请看！这里有两把刀。」 耶稣说：「够了。」』(路加福音 22:35-38)    

    前段是指以前，『耶稣差这十二个人去，吩咐他们说：「外邦人的路，你们不要走；撒马利亚人的城，你们不要进；…行路不要带口袋，不要带两件褂子，也不要带鞋和拐杖，因为工人得饮食是应当的。』(马太福音 10:5-10) 现在情况不同了。在这里，因耶稣预言了祂会被列在罪犯之中，且隐藏的预言了祂在人世间会遭遇的事情，因祂说关系我的事必然成就。在这些经文中，耶稣显然不是说物质的刀，两把物质的刀怎么会够呢？刀是指属灵的刀，就是圣灵的宝剑，因经文说，『要穿戴神所赐的全副军装，就能抵挡魔鬼的诡计。…拿著圣灵的宝剑，就是神的道。』(以弗所书 6:11-17) 我们以前分享过，那全副军装只有圣灵的宝剑是攻击的武器，其余的都是防卫性的。       

    我们可以从另外一件事情看到了彼得当时的个性，是不顾后果的想要马上解决问题。当耶稣被卖而被捕时，『左右的人见光景不好，就说：「主啊！我们拿刀砍可以不可以？」内中有一个人把大祭司的仆人砍了一刀，削掉了他的右耳。耶稣说：「到了这个地步，由他们吧！」就摸那人的耳朵，把他治好了。』(路加福音 22:49-51) 虽然路加福音只说有一个人，但我们知道那一个人就是彼得，因后来有经文补充说，『有大祭司的一个仆人，是彼得削掉耳朵那人的亲属，…』(约翰福音 18:26) 可见彼得是不顾后果的，倒是看见了耶稣仁慈的行了一个神迹，也让彼得能不面临他冲动行为的后果。

3. 彼得三次不认主是如何成就的       

    『他们拿住耶稣，把他带到大祭司的宅里。彼得远远地跟著。他们在院子里生了火，一同坐著；彼得也坐在他们中间。有一个使女看见彼得坐在火光里，就定睛看他，说：「这个人素来也是同那人一伙的。」彼得却不承认，说：「女子，我不认得他。」过了不多的时候，又有一个人看见他，说：「你也是他们一党的。」彼得说：「你这个人！我不是。」约过了一小时，又有一个人极力地说：「他实在是同那人一伙的，因为他也是加利利人。」彼得说：「你这个人！我不晓得你说的是甚么！」正说话之间，鸡就叫了。主转过身来看彼得，彼得便想起主对他所说的话：「今日鸡叫以先，你要三次不认我。」他就出去痛哭。』(路加福音 22:54-62)       

    彼得三次不认主的情况在路加福音说得很清楚。在马可福音 14:66-72 和马太福音 26:69-75 中记录了同一件事情，后者并说前二次是不同的使女问他的，且说『…旁边站著的人前来对彼得说：「你真是他们一党的，你的口音把你露出来了。」』(马太福音 26:73) 难怪路加福音会说他是加利利人。彼得三次不认主后看到主转过身来看他，立时想起了主的预言，他后悔他做的事情，就出去痛哭。『我们若认自己的罪，神是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义。』(约翰一书 1:9) 看彼得以后仍然是使徒之首，这句话不就是他最好的写照吗？他一切的罪因他那时的悔改被洗净了！在这里，我们看到彼得因悔改而出去了，最后只有约翰在十字架前。

4. 耶稣为什么三次问彼得你爱我吗？       

    我们再看一些相关的经文，就是耶稣问了彼得三次你爱我吗？我们以前分享过这一点，现在放在这里希望能更清楚些。经文说，『耶稣从死里复活以后向门徒显现，这是第三次。他们吃完了早饭，耶稣对西门彼得说：「约翰的儿子西门，你爱(agapao, G25，动词)我比这些更深吗？」 彼得说：「主啊，是的，你知道我爱你。」 耶稣对他说：「你喂养我的小羊。」耶稣第二次又对他说：「约翰的儿子西门，你爱(G25)我吗？」 彼得说：「主啊，是的，你知道我爱你。」 耶稣说：「你牧养我的羊。」第三次对他说：「约翰的儿子西门，你爱(G5368, phileo)我吗？」 彼得因为耶稣第三次对他说「你爱我吗」，就忧愁，对耶稣说：「主啊，你是无所不知的，你知道我爱你。」 耶稣说：「你喂养我的羊。」』(约翰福音 21:14-17)       

    有人说彼得曾三次不认主，所以主在复活后就三次问他你爱我吗，去建立彼得，虽然我以前也是这样想，但发觉问题是圣经从来没有这么说过！那么圣经到底怎么说呢？我们就看耶稣怎么说，在第一次和第二次耶稣都是用神的爱(G25)。当耶稣用神的爱时，祂告诉彼得说，「你喂养我的小羊」和「你牧养我的羊」，因此必须用神的爱去喂养和牧养。第三次耶稣就不一样了，是用人间的爱(G5368, phileo)，这时祂说：「你喂养我的羊。」 所以用人间的爱只能喂养，不能牧养。如果一个人自己都没有神的爱，怎么可能去牧养呢？顺便一提的是，爱在原文中有很多种，但中文和英文的翻译都是用爱这同样的一个字，不能区别是那种爱，这时非得看希腊原文才能够区别出来。对于我这种不懂原文的人，只能用工具书如汇编等。       

    因彼得三次回答的爱字都是用人间的爱 G5368 (phileo)，而耶稣第三次用的也是同样的爱(G5368)，所以有人说是耶稣降低标准去配合彼得。这是不对的，因耶稣是三位一体的神中的一位，是信实的，祂从来没有降低过标准。有人可能会说大卫对亚吉撒谎，因经文说得很清楚，『大卫在非利士地住了一年零四个月。…亚吉说：「你们今日侵夺了甚么地方呢？」大卫说：「侵夺了犹大的南方，耶拉篾的南方，基尼的南方。」无论男女，大卫没有留下一个带到迦特来。…』(撒母耳记上 27:7-12) 神并没有追究他撒谎的这一件事，律法中不是说：『你们…不可彼此说谎』吗？(利未记 19:11) 神虽没有叫他撒谎，这不是神降低了标准吗？不是，他是为保命而不得不在世俗的事情上向外邦人撒谎。难道我们就可以说我们可以撒谎吗？不是，这只是特例，因神是看内心的，而不要人死守律法，祂更看重的是大卫的生命，所以在拔示巴的事上，神除掉了大卫的死罪(参撒母耳记下 12:13)，我们不会在属世的事上和他情况相同的。况且神有绝对的主权，就像『窰匠难道没有权柄从一团泥里拿一块做成贵重的器皿，又拿一块做成卑贱的器皿吗？』(罗马书 9:21) 在属灵的事上，启示录清楚的说，『…你务要至死忠心，我就赐给你那生命的冠冕。』(启示录 2:10)    

    因『…圣灵将神的爱(G26, 名词)浇灌在我们心里。』(罗马书 5:5)  那时的彼得尚没有被圣灵充满，因圣灵的充满要等到五旬节(参使徒行传 2:1-4)  所以他那时只知道有人间的爱，难怪他三次都用人间的爱回答。我们以前在油管(YouTube) 中的「200920 再谈读经要从神的角度看」，详细的讨论了这问题，有兴趣的人可以在那里找到一些讨论。现在是圣灵内住在基督徒中，我们都可以按著大使命所要求的去传道 (参马太福音 28:18-20)，因三位一体的神有绝对的主权，所以恩赐『…都是这位圣灵所运行、随己意分给各人的。』(哥林多前书 12:11) 我们应该照我们所得的恩赐去喂养和牧养。

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到这网站后要按『对属灵生命的了解』。)      

       首先我們看到了耶穌預言了彼得三次不認主，雖然彼得和眾門徒願意與耶穌同死，但事到臨頭卻軟弱了，羊分散了，四處逃走。但主真的是已經為他祈求，叫他不至於失了信心，在他悔改回頭以後，能夠堅固弟兄。第二，我們從彼得的反應中看到了彼得當時的個性，是不顧後果的想要馬上解決問題。第三，我們看看彼得三次不認主是如何成就的，以及他的悔改。最後，我們來看聖經如何說一個相關的經文，就是耶穌為什麼三次問彼得說你愛我嗎，在這裏我們看到了聖經如何的說這些經文，並簡短的討論了兩個具有爭議性的想法。

1. 預言彼得三次不認主

       『主又說：「西門！西門！撒但想要得着你們，好篩你們像篩麥子一樣；但我已經為你祈求，叫你不至於失了信心。你回頭以後，要堅固你的弟兄。」彼得說：「主啊，我就是同你下監，同你受死，也是甘心！」耶穌說：「彼得，我告訴你，今日雞還沒有叫，你要三次說不認得我。」』(路加福音 22:31-34)

       我們先看彼得真的有這意願和主同死，這我們可從下列經文看到。『當時，耶穌對眾人說：「你們帶着刀棒出來拿我，如同拿強盜嗎？我天天坐在殿裏教訓人，你們並沒有拿我。但這一切的事成就了，為要應驗先知書上的話。」當下，門徒都離開他逃走了。拿耶穌的人把他帶到大祭司該亞法那裏去，文士和長老已經在那裏聚會。彼得遠遠地跟着耶穌，直到大祭司的院子，進到裏面，就和差役同坐，要看這事到底怎樣。』(馬太福音 26:55-58) 

       耶穌被捕的時候，門徒都離開他逃走了，只除了彼得和約翰，彼得在院子等結果，詳情在約翰福音說得很清楚，『西門彼得跟着耶穌，還有一個門徒(約翰)跟着。那門徒是大祭司所認識的，他就同耶穌進了大祭司的院子，彼得卻站在門外。大祭司所認識的那個門徒出來，和看門的使女說了一聲，就領彼得進去。那看門的使女對彼得說：「你不也是這人的門徒嗎？」 他說：「我不是。」僕人和差役因為天冷，就生了炭火，站在那裏烤火，彼得也同他們站着烤火。』(約翰福音 18:15-18) 

     大祭司是在房間裏審判主，所以我們也能從這些經文看到約翰應該是進去了，看見了審判的過程。彼得沒有進去，留在院子烤火，等下我們談到這預言彼得三次不認主是如何成就的，就可以知道為什麼最後只有約翰在十字架前。我們知道那門徒是約翰，因最後只有約翰在十字架前，因為經文說到了耶穌託付馬利亞給約翰。『耶穌見母親和他所愛的那門徒(約翰)站在(十字架)旁邊，就對他母親說：「母親，看，你的兒子！」又對那門徒說：「看，你的母親！」從此那門徒就接她到自己家裏去了。』(約翰福音 19:26-27)

       在馬可福音記載同樣的事情並說復活以後要先往加利利與他們相會。『耶穌對他們說：「你們都要跌倒了，因為經上記着說：『我要擊打牧人，羊就分散了。』但我復活以後，要在你們以先往加利利去。」彼得說：「眾人雖然跌倒，我總不能。」耶穌對他說：「我實在告訴你：就在今天夜裏，雞叫兩遍以先，你要三次不認我。」彼得卻極力地說：「我就是必須和你同死，也總不能不認你！」眾門徒都是這樣說。』(馬可福音 14:27-31)

        雖然眾門徒也願與耶穌同死，但事到臨頭卻因要付上死的代價，軟弱了，羊分散了，四處逃走，甚至於『有一個少年人，赤身披着一塊麻布，跟隨耶穌，眾人就捉拿他。他卻丟了麻布，赤身逃走了。』(馬可福音 14:51-52) 聖經上沒有說這少年人是誰，有人會去猜測，只是這樣最多只是猜測而已，在邏輯上不會有真正結論的，不如不猜。另外一點，主預先就知道自已會受死，而祂是完全的人，有著如門徒般的自由意志，我們從門徒的四散，也可看到從人看來，祂這樣做是多麼的不容易啊！但祂甘心樂意的選擇順服神，為了我們而釘上十字架。

       在馬太福音 26:31-35 記載了同一件事情。在約翰福音也這樣提到，『西門彼得問耶穌說：「主往哪裏去？」 耶穌回答說：「我所去的地方，你現在不能跟我去，後來卻要跟我去。」彼得說：「主啊，我為甚麼現在不能跟你去？我願意為你捨命。」耶穌說：「你願意為我捨命嗎？我實實在在地告訴你：雞叫以先，你要三次不認我。」』(約翰福音 13:36-38) 四福音書都提到這一件事，可見這事的重要性。除此之外，約翰福音保証了基督徒雖有一死，但死後會復活升天，因主為我們死而復活升天，我們後來都會跟著去。我們看到了四福音書中的約翰福音是最後寫的，常常補充了前三本福音中沒有寫的事情。

       最後我們看到這是一個「撒但想要得着你們，好篩你們像篩麥子一樣」的一個例子。是的，彼得真跌倒了，以致於他三次不認主，但主真的是已經為他祈求，叫他不至於失了信心，在他悔改回頭以後，能夠堅固弟兄，這顯然是彼得恢改以後做的事情。

2. 彼得的反應

       『耶穌又對他們說：「我差你們出去的時候，沒有錢囊，沒有口袋，沒有鞋，你們缺少甚麼沒有？」 他們說：「沒有。」耶穌說：「但如今有錢囊的可以帶着，有口袋的也可以帶着，沒有刀的要賣衣服買刀。我告訴你們，經上寫着說：『他被列在罪犯之中。』這話必應驗在我身上，因為那關係我的事必然成就。」他們說：「主啊，請看！這裏有兩把刀。」 耶穌說：「夠了。」』(路加福音 22:35-38)

    前段是指以前，『耶穌差這十二個人去，吩咐他們說：「外邦人的路，你們不要走；撒馬利亞人的城，你們不要進；…行路不要帶口袋，不要帶兩件褂子，也不要帶鞋和枴杖，因為工人得飲食是應當的。』(馬太福音 10:5-10) 現在情況不同了。在這裏，因耶穌預言了祂會被列在罪犯之中，且隱藏的預言了祂在人世間會遭遇的事情，因祂說關係我的事必然成就。在這些經文中，耶穌顯然不是說物質的刀，兩把物質的刀怎麼會夠呢？刀是指屬靈的刀，就是聖靈的寶劍，因經文說，『要穿戴神所賜的全副軍裝，就能抵擋魔鬼的詭計。…拿着聖靈的寶劍，就是神的道。』(以弗所書 6:11-17) 我們以前分享過，那全副軍裝只有聖靈的寶劍是攻擊的武器，其餘的都是防衛性的。

       我們可以從另外一件事情看到了彼得當時的個性，是不顧後果的想要馬上解決問題。當耶穌被賣而被捕時，『左右的人見光景不好，就說：「主啊！我們拿刀砍可以不可以？」內中有一個人把大祭司的僕人砍了一刀，削掉了他的右耳。耶穌說：「到了這個地步，由他們吧！」就摸那人的耳朵，把他治好了。』(路加福音 22:49-51) 雖然路加福音只說有一個人，但我們知道那一個人就是彼得，因後來有經文補充說，『有大祭司的一個僕人，是彼得削掉耳朵那人的親屬，…』(約翰福音 18:26) 可見彼得是不顧後果的，倒是看見了耶穌仁慈的行了一個神蹟，也讓彼得能不面臨他衝動行為的後果。

3. 彼得三次不認主是如何成就的

       『他們拿住耶穌，把他帶到大祭司的宅裏。彼得遠遠地跟着。他們在院子裏生了火，一同坐着；彼得也坐在他們中間。有一個使女看見彼得坐在火光裏，就定睛看他，說：「這個人素來也是同那人一夥的。」彼得卻不承認，說：「女子，我不認得他。」過了不多的時候，又有一個人看見他，說：「你也是他們一黨的。」彼得說：「你這個人！我不是。」約過了一小時，又有一個人極力地說：「他實在是同那人一夥的，因為他也是加利利人。」彼得說：「你這個人！我不曉得你說的是甚麼！」正說話之間，雞就叫了。主轉過身來看彼得，彼得便想起主對他所說的話：「今日雞叫以先，你要三次不認我。」他就出去痛哭。』(路加福音 22:54-62)

       彼得三次不認主的情況在路加福音說得很清楚。在馬可福音 14:66-72 和馬太福音 26:69-75 中記錄了同一件事情，後者並說前二次是不同的使女問他的，且說『…旁邊站着的人前來對彼得說：「你真是他們一黨的，你的口音把你露出來了。」』(馬太福音 26:73) 難怪路加福音會說他是加利利人。彼得三次不認主後看到主轉過身來看他，立時想起了主的預言，他後悔他做的事情，就出去痛哭。『我們若認自己的罪，神是信實的，是公義的，必要赦免我們的罪，洗淨我們一切的不義。』(約翰一書 1:9) 看彼得以後仍然是使徒之首，這句話不就是他最好的寫照嗎？他一切的罪因他那時的悔改被洗淨了！在這裏，我們看到彼得因悔改而出去了，最後只有約翰在十字架前。

4. 耶穌為什麼三次問彼得你愛我嗎？

       我們再看一些相關的經文，就是耶穌問了彼得三次你愛我嗎？我們以前分享過這一點，現在放在這裏希望能更清楚些。經文說，『耶穌從死裏復活以後向門徒顯現，這是第三次。他們吃完了早飯，耶穌對西門彼得說：「約翰的兒子西門，你愛(agapao, G25，動詞)我比這些更深嗎？」 彼得說：「主啊，是的，你知道我愛你。」 耶穌對他說：「你餵養我的小羊。」耶穌第二次又對他說：「約翰的兒子西門，你愛(G25)我嗎？」 彼得說：「主啊，是的，你知道我愛你。」 耶穌說：「你牧養我的羊。」第三次對他說：「約翰的兒子西門，你愛(G5368, phileo)我嗎？」 彼得因為耶穌第三次對他說「你愛我嗎」，就憂愁，對耶穌說：「主啊，你是無所不知的，你知道我愛你。」 耶穌說：「你餵養我的羊。」』(約翰福音 21:14-17)

       有人說彼得曾三次不認主，所以主在復活後就三次問他你愛我嗎，去建立彼得，雖然我以前也是這樣想，但發覺問題是聖經從來沒有這麼說過！那麼聖經到底怎麼說呢？我們就看耶穌怎麼說，在第一次和第二次耶穌都是用神的愛(G25)。當耶穌用神的愛時，祂告訴彼得說，「你餵養我的小羊」和「你牧養我的羊」，因此必須用神的愛去餵養和牧養。第三次耶穌就不一樣了，是用人間的愛(G5368, phileo)，這時祂說：「你餵養我的羊。」 所以用人間的愛只能餵養，不能牧養。如果一個人自己都沒有神的愛，怎麼可能去牧養呢？順便一提的是，愛在原文中有很多種，但中文和英文的翻譯都是用愛這同樣的一個字，不能區別是那種愛，這時非得看希臘原文才能夠區別出來。對於我這種不懂原文的人，只能用工具書如彙編等。

       因彼得三次回答的愛字都是用人間的愛 G5368 (phileo)，而耶穌第三次用的也是同樣的愛(G5368)，所以有人說是耶穌降低標準去配合彼得。這是不對的，因耶穌是三位一體的神中的一位，是信實的，祂從來沒有降低過標準。有人可能會說大衞對亞吉撒謊，因經文說得很清楚，『大衞在非利士地住了一年零四個月。…亞吉說：「你們今日侵奪了甚麼地方呢？」大衞說：「侵奪了猶大的南方，耶拉篾的南方，基尼的南方。」無論男女，大衞沒有留下一個帶到迦特來。…』(撒母耳記上 27:7-12) 神並沒有追究他撒謊的這一件事，律法中不是說：『你們…不可彼此說謊』嗎？(利未記 19:11) 神雖沒有叫他撒謊，這不是神降低了標準嗎？不是，他是為保命而不得不在世俗的事情上向外邦人撒謊。難道我們就可以說我們可以撒謊嗎？不是，這只是特例，因神是看內心的，而不要人死守律法，祂更看重的是大衞的生命，所以在拔示巴的事上，神除掉了大衞的死罪(參撒母耳記下 12:13)，我們不會在屬世的事上和他情況相同的。況且神有絕對的主權，就像『窰匠難道沒有權柄從一團泥裏拿一塊做成貴重的器皿，又拿一塊做成卑賤的器皿嗎？』(羅馬書 9:21) 在屬靈的事上，啓示錄清楚的說，『…你務要至死忠心，我就賜給你那生命的冠冕。』(啓示錄 2:10)

    因『…聖靈將神的愛(G26, 名詞)澆灌在我們心裏。』(羅馬書 5:5)  那時的彼得尚沒有被聖靈充滿，因聖靈的充滿要等到五旬節(參使徒行傳 2:1-4)  所以他那時只知道有人間的愛，難怪他三次都用人間的愛回答。我們以前在油管(YouTube) 中的「200920 再談讀經要從神的角度看」，詳細的討論了這問題，有興趣的人可以在那裏找到一些討論。現在是聖靈內住在基督徒中，我們都可以按著大使命所要求的去傳道 (參馬太福音 28:18-20)，因三位一體的神有絕對的主權，所以恩賜『…都是這位聖靈所運行、隨己意分給各人的。』(哥林多前書 12:11) 我們應該照我們所得的恩賜去餵養和牧養。

 (你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

First, we saw that Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Him three times. Although Peter and the disciples were willing to die with Jesus, they became weak when things came to pass, and the sheep were scattered and fled in all directions.  But the Lord has really prayed for Peter so that he would not lose faith and that he would be able to strengthen his brothers after he repented and turned around.  Second, from Peter’s reaction, we saw Peter’s personality at that time, which was that he wanted to solve the problem immediately regardless of the consequences.  Third, we look at how Peter denied the Lord three times and repented.  Finally, we look at what the Bible says about a related verse, which states that Jesus asked Peter three times ‘do you love me?’ Here we see what the Bible says about these verses and briefly discuss two controversial explanations.

 ​

1. Prophecy that Peter would deny the Lord three times

““Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.””(Luke 22:31-34)

We first see that Peter really has this desire to die with the Lord. We can see this from the following verses. “At that time Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me. But all this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets.” Then all the disciples left Him and fled. Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together. But Peter was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in, and sat down with the officers to see the outcome.”(Matthew 26:55-58)

When Jesus was arrested, all the disciples left him and fled, except for Peter and John. Peter was waiting in the courtyard for the outcome. The details are very clear in the Gospel of John, “Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in. Then the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself.”(John 18:15-18)

The high priest judged the Lord inside, so we can also see from these verses that John should have entered inside and saw the process of judgment.  Peter did not go in and stayed in the courtyard to warm himself by the fire. Later we will talk about how this prophecy of Peter denying the Lord three times was fulfilled, and we will know why only John was in front of the cross in the end.  We know that the disciple was John because the scripture says that Jesus entrusted Mary to John.  “When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.”(John 19:26-27)

The Gospel of Mark records the same thing and says that after resurrection, He will first go to Galilee to meet them. “And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” But Peter kept saying insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also.”(Mark 14:27-31)

Although all the disciples were willing to die with Jesus, they became weak because they had to pay the price of death. The sheep were scattered and fled in all directions. Even to the extent that “A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked.”(Mark 14:51-52) The Bible does not say who this young man is. Some people guess it, but this is just a guess at most. There will be no real conclusion logically, so it is better not to guess.  Another point is that the Lord knew in advance that He would die, and He was a perfect human being with free will like the disciples. From the scattering of the disciples, we can also see how difficult it was for Him to do so from a human perspective. Ah!  But He willingly chose to obey God and was crucified for us.

The same thing is recorded in Matthew 26:31-35.  It is also mentioned in the Gospel of John, “Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.”(John 13:36-38) All four gospels mention this matter, which shows the importance of this matter.  In addition, the Gospel of John guarantees that even though Christians will die once, they will be resurrected and ascended to heaven after death. Because the Lord died for us, was resurrected and ascended to heaven, we will all follow him later.  We have seen that John’s Gospel was written last of the four Gospels and often adds things not written in the first three Gospels.

Finally, we see that this is an example of “…Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat.”(Luke 22:31) Yes, Peter indeed fell so much to the extent that he denied the Lord three times, but the Lord really prayed for him so that he would not lose his faith. After he repented and turned around, he strengthened his brothers. This is obvious since it indeed is what Peter did after his repentance and thus recovery.

2. Peter’s reaction

“And He said to them, “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one. For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, ‘And He was numbered with transgressors’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.” They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.””(Luke 22:35-38)

The first paragraph refers to the past event, “These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; …Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.”(Matthew 10:5-10) The situation is now different. Here in the paragraph, Jesus predicted that He would be numbered with the criminals. Because He also said that things related to me will definitely come true, He implicitly predicted what He would encounter in the human world. In these verses, Jesus obviously did not mean a material sword. How could two material swords be enough? The sword refers to a spiritual sword. The sword is the sword of the Spirit, because the scripture says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. …And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”(Ephesians 6:11 -17) We have shared before that only the sword of the Holy Spirit is the offensive weapon in the full armor, and the rest are defensive.

We can see from another incident Peter’s personality at that time, which was that he wanted to solve the problem immediately regardless of the consequences.  When Jesus was betrayed and arrested, the situation was like this. “When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.”(Luke 22:49-51) Although the Gospel of Luke only says that there was one man, we know that that man was Peter, because later scriptures added, “One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, …”(John 18:26) It can be seen that Peter was reckless, but he saw Jesus mercifully performed a miracle, which allowed Peter not to face the consequences of his impulsive behavior. 

3. How did Peter deny the Lord three times?

“Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance. After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, “This man was with Him too.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.” A little later, another saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.”(Luke 22:54-62)​

The circumstances of Peter’s three denials of the Lord are clearly stated in the Gospel of Luke.  The same thing is recorded in Mark 14:66-72 and Matthew 26:69-75. The latter also said that different servant-girls asked him in the first two times, and “…the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.”(Matthew 26:73) No wonder the Gospel of Luke says that he was a

Galilean.  After Peter denied the Lord three times, he saw the Lord turning around to look at him. He immediately remembered the Lord’s prophecy. He regretted what he had done and went out to weep bitterly. In the era of the New Testament, it is “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(1 John 1:9) Seeing that Peter is still the head of the apostles, isn’t this sentence the best portrayal of him?  Even he still was in the era of the Old Testament since Jesus wasn’t dead and resurrected yet, all his sins were washed away by his repentance at that time!  Here we see Peter really going out in repentance and finally only John was at the cross.

 ​

4. Why did Jesus ask Peter three times ‘do you love me?’

Let’s look at some related scriptures, that is, Jesus asked Peter three times do you love me?  We’ve shared this before, but here it is hopefully a little clearer.  The scripture says, “This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead. So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love (agapao, G25, verb) Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (G25) Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (G5368, phileo) Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.”(John 21:14-17)

Some people say that Peter denied the Lord three times, so after the resurrection, the Lord asked him three times ‘do you love me’ to build Peter up. Although I thought this way before, I found the problem is that the Bible never said that!  So, what does the Bible say?  Let’s see what Jesus said. In both the first and second times, Jesus used God’s love (G25).  When Jesus used the love of God, He told Peter, “Tend My lambs” and “Shepherd My sheep,” so it must be tended and shepherded with the love of God.  The third time Jesus was different, He used human love (G5368, phileo). At this time He said: “Tend My sheep.” Therefore, using human love can only be tended, not shepherd.  How can a person pastor if he or she does not have the love of God?  By the way, there are many kinds of love in the original text, but the Chinese and English translations both use the same word ‘love.’ It is impossible to distinguish which kind of love it is. In this case, you have to read the original Greek text to distinguish it.  For people like me who don’t understand the original text, they can only use reference books such as the Strong’s Concordance.

Because Peter used the word love G5368 (phileo) in his three answers, and Jesus used the same love (G3268) the third time, some people say that Jesus lowered His standards to match Peter’s.  This is not true because Jesus is one of the Trinity and is faithful. He never lowers His standards.  Someone may say that David lied to Achish, because the scripture clearly states, “The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months. …Now Achish said, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David said, “Against the Negev of Judah and against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites and against the Negev of the Kenites.” David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring to Gath, …”(1 Samuel 27:7-12) God did not hold him accountable for lying. Doesn’t the law say: “You shall not …lie to one another?”(Leviticus 19:11) Although God did not tell him to lie, didn’t this mean that God had lowered His standards?  No, David had to lie to the Gentiles about worldly things to save his own life. 

Can we just say we can lie at unbelievers then?  No, this is just a special case, because God looks at the heart and does not want people to stick to the Law to commit suicide. He values ​​David’s life more, so in the case of Bathsheba, God took away David’s death penalty (see Samuel (2 Chronicles 12:13), we will not be in the same condition as him in earthly things.  Moreover, God has absolute sovereignty, just like “…does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?”(Romans 9:21) In spiritual matters, the book of Revelation clearly says, “…Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”(Revelation 2:10)

In the book of Romans, it says, “…the love of God (G26, noun) has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit…”(Romans 5:5) At that time, Peter had not yet been filled with the Holy Spirit, because the filling of the Holy Spirit had to wait until Pentecost (see Acts 2:1-4). So at that time, he only knew human love. No wonder all three times he answered with human love.  We previously discussed this issue in detail in “200920 Let’s talk again about reading the Bible from God’s perspective” on YouTube in Chinese. Those who are interested can find some discussions there.  Now that the Holy Spirit is indwelling Christians, we can all preach according to the requirements of the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:18-20). Because the Triune God has absolute sovereignty, the “…one and the same Spirit works all these things (gifts), distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”(1 Corinthians 12:11) We should tend and shepherd according to the gifts we have been given.

(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

    首先我们看到加略人犹大只是为了三十块钱卖主，而且是用亲蜜的动作亲嘴而卖主，世人眼中看长子的名份实在不值钱。主已知道犹大将会卖祂，仍然祷告说愿神的旨意成全，我们也看到了犹大的结局及一个预言的成就。第二，我们指出以前讨论过预备逾越节筵席的预言及成就，也借著它们讨论了为什么需要回顾，才能了解神当时是怎么作工。第三，我们讨论了主在逾越节的筵席中亲自设立了饼杯之礼，我们看其意义和规矩。在经文中，我们也看到了真要能要有先不受审的分辩，这不只是在饼杯之礼时如此，在平时也该这样。要知道，我们遭遇苦难有时是被主惩治，绝不要去自讨苦吃。最后在第四中，我们指出在何处已讨论过门徒争论谁为大，请到那里去看详细的这话题和相关经文的讨论。

1. 加略人犹大卖主的时间，过程，及结局      

    犹大起意卖主的时间在这经文中写得很清楚: 『除酵节又名逾越节近了。祭司长和文士想法子怎么才能杀害耶稣，是因他们惧怕百姓。这时，撒但入了那称为加略人犹大的心，他本是十二门徒里的一个。他去和祭司长并守殿官商量，怎么可以把耶稣交给他们。他们欢喜，就约定给他银子。他应允了，就找机会，要趁众人不在跟前的时候把耶稣交给他们。』(路加福音 22:1-6) 所以经文会说，『他(犹大)本来列在我们数中，并且在使徒的职任上得了一分。』(使徒行传 1:17) 他自己放弃了这职任，所以『…诗篇上写著说：…『愿别人得他的职分。』』(使徒行传 1:20)       

    祂在犹大的眼中到底值多少钱呢？『当下，十二门徒里有一个称为加略人犹大的，去见祭司长，说：「我把他交给你们，你们愿意给我多少钱？」他们就给了他三十块钱。从那时候，他就找机会要把耶稣交给他们。』(马太福音 26:14-16)     

    耶稣是长子，就像这经文所说，『因为他预先所知道的人，就预先定下效法(模成, be conformed to)他儿子的模样(形像, image)，使他儿子在许多弟兄中作长子。』(罗马书 8:29) 而世人眼中的长子名份实在很便宜，就像旧约中一个情况所说的，『有一天，雅各熬汤，以扫从田野回来累昏了。以扫对雅各说：「我累昏了，求你把这红汤给我喝。」因此以扫又叫以东。雅各说：「你今日把长子的名分卖给我吧！」以扫说：「我将要死，这长子的名分于我有甚么益处呢？」雅各说：「你今日对我起誓吧！」以扫就对他起了誓，把长子的名分卖给雅各。于是雅各将饼和红豆汤给了以扫，以扫吃了喝了，便起来走了。 这就是以扫轻看了他长子的名分。』(创世记 25:29-34) 在这个情况中长子的名份只值一碗红豆汤和饼，因此希伯来书会说，『…有贪恋世俗如以扫的，他因一点食物把自己长子的名分卖了。』后来想要承受父所祝的福，竟被弃绝，虽然号哭切求，却得不著门路使他父亲的心意回转。这是你们知道的。』(希伯来书 12:16-17)    

    这祝福是指天父的祝福经过人间的父亲降下来的，以撒知道这点很清楚，因为『以撒就大大地战兢说：「你未来之先，是谁得了野味拿来给我呢？我已经吃了，为他祝福，他将来也必蒙福。」以扫听了他父亲的话，就放声痛哭说：「我父啊，求你也为我祝福！」以撒说：「你兄弟已经用诡计来将你的福分夺去了。」』(创世记 27:33-35) 如果不是神要这样做，难道凭人的一些话就可以改变神的旨意吗？神原先的旨意本是如此，借著人的行为成就了，『耶和华对她(利百加)说：「两国在你腹内，两族要从你身上出来；这族必强于那族，将来大的要服事小的。」』(创世记 25:23) 这件事显示了神的预知和预定，这本是一体的两面，所以罗马书会说，『因为他预先所知道的人，就预先定下效法(模成)他儿子的模样(形像)，使他儿子在许多弟兄中作长子。』(罗马书 8:29)    

    关于耶稣预知犹大会卖祂这点，我们以前在『2030 最后的晚餐 (3) – 逻辑，洗脚，预知，及争论』中的『3. 预知犹大卖主』谈过，就不多说了，有兴趣知道详情的人，可以到那边去看看。在这里我们只提一节经文，『卖耶稣的犹大问他说：「拉比，是我吗？」 耶稣说：「你说的是。」』(马太福音 26:25) 即使耶稣已知道这点，在客西马尼园仍这样祷告: 『他说：「阿爸，父啊！在你凡事都能，求你将这杯撤去；然而，不要从我的意思，只要从你的意思。」』(马可福音 14:36) 做为一个完全的人，这是多么不容易啊！但祂知道要完成救恩，祂必须流血付上钉十字架死的代价，所以祂说『只要从你的意思』。我们再看看犹大是如何卖主的:  『犹大随即到耶稣跟前说：「请拉比安。」就与他亲嘴。』(马太福音 26:49) 亲嘴本是和他人亲密的动作，犹大却用它来卖主！     

    我们看看加略人犹大的结局，『这时候，卖耶稣的犹大看见耶稣已经定了罪，就后悔，把那三十块钱拿回来给祭司长和长老，说：「我卖了无辜之人的血是有罪了。」 他们说：「那与我们有甚么相干？你自己承当吧！」犹大就把那银钱丢在殿里，出去吊死了。』(马太福音 27:3-5) 自杀本不是一个基督徒应该做的事情，虽然犹大跟随了耶稣多年，他不是一个真正的基督徒，他最后卖主，虽后悔，但和彼得完全不同，他选择了不该做的事。      #####在这里我们看到了一个预言的应验，就是 『祭司长拾起银钱来说：「这是血价，不可放在库里。」他们商议，就用那银钱买了窰户的一块田，为要埋葬外乡人。所以那块田直到今日还叫作「血田」。这就应了先知耶利米的话，说：「他们用那三十块钱，就是被估定之人的价钱，是以色列人中所估定的，买了窰户的一块田；这是照著主所吩咐我的。」』(马太福音 27:6-10)    

    从上面的经文我们知道是祭司长他们帮他买的一块田，我们不知道为什么他在吊死后会落得肚腹崩裂，下面的经文是如此的记载著。『他本来列在我们数中，并且在使徒的职任上得了一分。「这人用他作恶的工价买了一块田，以后身子仆倒，肚腹崩裂，肠子都流出来。住在耶路撒冷的众人都知道这事，所以按著他们那里的话给那块田起名叫亚革大马，就是血田的意思。』(使徒行传 1:17-19)  难怪耶稣会说，『人子必要去世，正如经上指著他所写的，但卖人子的人有祸了，那人不生在世上倒好！』(马太福音 26:24)  最后我们知道他吊死而肚腹崩裂是因为圣经如此说，从人的角度看，这也是绝对可能的！譬如说，他选择吊死的地点是在野外，而吊死的绳子最后不能承受重量而断了，所以身子仆倒，以后有野兽经过，使他肚腹崩裂，肠子都流出来。

2. 预备逾越节筵席的预言及成就       

    『除酵节，须宰逾越羊羔的那一天到了。耶稣打发彼得、约翰，说：「你们去为我们预备逾越节的筵席，好叫我们吃。」他们问他说：「要我们在哪里预备？」耶稣说：「你们进了城，必有人拿著一瓶水迎面而来，你们就跟著他，到他所进的房子里去，对那家的主人说：『夫子说：客房在哪里？我与门徒好在那里吃逾越节的筵席。』他必指给你们摆设整齐的一间大楼，你们就在那里预备。」他们去了，所遇见的正如耶稣所说的。他们就预备了逾越节的筵席。』(路加福音 22:7-13)     

    我们看到这预言当天就成就了，通常预言在圣经没有说到预言成就的时间，只有少数的例外。成就的时间有如这样很短的，也有长时间才应验的。我们以前在『2075 耶稣骑驴驹进耶路撒冷，和洁净圣殿 –耶稣(28)』，讨论过这点，并借著相关的经文，讨论了为什么我们常常需要回顾，才能了解神当时是怎么作工的。譬如说，圣经说，『神能照著运行在我们心里的大力，充充足足地成就一切，超过我们所求所想的。』(以弗所书 3:20) 有人想解释这经节，就用现在的例子说明是超过我们所求所想的事，这是不合逻辑的。既然可举出一个现在的例子，那例子不是可想的吗？所以我们以前在『2048 耶稣的权柄和超过所求所想的事  – 耶稣的形像(3)』中讨论什么叫做超过所想的事情，都是用过去发生过的例子，在当时是超过那时的人所想的事情。我们非回顾不可，在这里就不多说了。

3. 逾越节的筵席中设立饼杯之礼    

    『时候到了，耶稣坐席，使徒也和他同坐。耶稣对他们说：「我很愿意在受害以先和你们吃这逾越节的筵席。我告诉你们：我不再吃这筵席，直到成就在神的国里。」耶稣接过杯来，祝谢了，说：「你们拿这个，大家分著喝。我告诉你们，从今以后，我不再喝这葡萄汁，直等神的国来到。」又拿起饼来，祝谢了，就擘开，递给他们，说：「这是我的身体，为你们舍的，你们也应当如此行，为的是记念我。」饭后也照样拿起杯来，说：「这杯是用我血所立的新约，是为你们流出来的。看哪，那卖我之人的手与我一同在桌子上。人子固然要照所预定的去世，但卖人子的人有祸了！」他们就彼此对问，是哪一个要做这事。』(路加福音 22:14-23)     

    当然现在我们确实的知道是犹大卖主，在先前已讨论过这点。在这里，经文是说开饭前先分杯，并告诉他们祂不再喝这葡葡汁，直等神的国来到。神的国来到应该是在祂复活升天后，所以会有后来五旬节圣灵的充满。然后有擘饼，饭后有立约的杯。     

    类似的经文在马太福音 26:26-29 和马可福音 14:22-25 也有。所以饼杯之礼是主亲自设立的，我们也可从下面经文看到这点，并其意义和规矩。『我当日传给你们的，原是从主领受的，就是主耶稣被卖的那一夜，拿起饼来，祝谢了，就擘开，说：「这是我的身体，为你们舍的。你们应当如此行，为的是记念我。」饭后，也照样拿起杯来，说：「这杯是用我的血所立的新约。你们每逢喝的时候，要如此行，为的是记念我。」你们每逢吃这饼，喝这杯，是表明主的死，直等到他来。所以，无论何人不按理吃主的饼、喝主的杯，就是干犯主的身、主的血了。人应当自己省察，然后吃这饼、喝这杯。因此，在你们中间有好些软弱的与患病的，死的也不少。我们若是先分辩自己，就不至于受审。我们受审的时候，乃是被主惩治，免得我们和世人一同定罪。所以我弟兄们，你们聚会吃的时候，要彼此等待。若有人饥饿，可以在家里先吃，免得你们聚会，自己取罪。… 』(哥林多前书 11:23-34)     

    耶稣说，『我就是生命的粮。…吃我肉喝我血的人就有永生，在末日我要叫他复活。我的肉真是可吃的，我的血真是可喝的。』(约翰福音 6:48-55) 我们再看看希伯来书怎么说？『看你们学习的工夫，本该作师傅，谁知还得有人将神圣言小学的开端另教导你们，并且成了那必须吃奶、不能吃干粮的人！』(希伯来书 5:12) 我们看到了这粮是指神的圣言。    

    『按著律法，凡物差不多都是用血洁净的，若不流血，罪就不得赦免了。照著天上样式做的物件，必须用这些祭物去洁净；但那天上的本物自然当用更美的祭物去洁净。』(希伯来书 9:22-23) 『神设立耶稣作挽回祭，是凭著耶稣的血，借著人的信，要显明神的义。…』(罗马书 3:25) 从信开始，能够这样做有效是凭著耶稣的血。在物质的世界，我们看到了，『耶稣大声喊叫，气就断了。殿里的幔子从上到下裂为两半。』(马可福音 15:37-38)  在灵界也是如此，『弟兄们，我们既因耶稣的血，得以坦然进入至圣所，是借著他给我们开了一条又新又活的路，从幔子经过，这幔子就是他的身体。』(希伯来书 10:19-20) 我们都要走那一条又有新又活的路，是我们所不知道的。这和旧约时相似，『(约书亚)吩咐百姓说：「你们看见耶和华你们神的约柜，又见祭司利未人抬著，就要离开所住的地方，跟著约柜去。只是你们和约柜相离，要量二千肘，不可与约柜相近，使你们知道所当走的路，因为这条路你们向来没有走过。」』(约书亚记 3:3-4)  新旧约都是同一位神，是一样的原则显明了神的义。     

    所以在聚会吃的时候，我们要彼此等待，一起开动，而且我们真要能有不受审的分辩，这不只是在饼杯之礼时如此，在平时也该这样。要知道就像经文所说，我们遭遇苦难有时是被主惩治，旧约也是这样说。举个例子，大卫在赫人乌利亚和他的的妻子拔示巴的事件中，『大卫对拿单说：「我得罪耶和华了！」拿单说：「耶和华已经除掉你的罪，你必不至于死。只是你行这事，叫耶和华的仇敌大得亵渎的机会，故此，你所得的孩子必定要死。」』(撒母耳记下 12:13-14) 当然，还有其他的惩罚，『耶和华如此说：『我必从你家中兴起祸患攻击你，我必在你眼前把你的妃嫔赐给别人，他在日光之下就与她们同寝。你在暗中行这事，我却要在以色列众人面前、日光之下报应你。』』(撒母耳记下 12:11-12)     

    我们绝对不要去自讨苦吃，我们会遭遇因试探而来的苦难已经是够多了。有些苦难是神允许的，为要祝福人，如约伯记中的约伯般。以前我试过要分办苦难是由撒但来的，或是神允许的，或是因为神直接的惩治。现在发觉，对苦难中的人，这其实没有多大的用处，因对苦难中的人还是要亲自经过苦难的。我们只要知道，神不允许，没有事情会发生的。我们能够做的是，『你们要将一切的忧虑卸给神，因为他顾念你们。务要谨守、警醒，因为你们的仇敌魔鬼，如同吼叫的狮子，遍地游行，寻找可吞吃的人。你们要用坚固的信心抵挡他，因为知道你们在世上的众弟兄也是经历这样的苦难。那赐诸般恩典的神曾在基督里召你们，得享他永远的荣耀，等你们暂受苦难之后，必要亲自成全你们，坚固你们，赐力量给你们。』(彼得前书 5:7-10) 我们看到撒但从没有停止工作过，但『你们所遇见的试探，无非是人所能受的。神是信实的，必不叫你们受试探过于所能受的。在受试探的时候，总要给你们开一条出路，叫你们能忍受得住。』(哥林多前书 10:13) 所以我们受苦难是暂时的，主会借著别人，或亲自会成全我们的。后者就如约伯记中所记的，『那时，耶和华从旋风中回答约伯…』(约伯记 38:1)

4. 门徒争论谁为大   

    『门徒起了争论，他们中间哪一个可算为大。耶稣说：「外邦人有君王为主治理他们，那掌权管他们的称为恩主。但你们不可这样。你们里头为大的，倒要像年幼的；为首领的，倒要像服事人的。是谁为大？是坐席的呢？是服事人的呢？不是坐席的大吗？然而，我在你们中间如同服事人的。我在磨炼之中，常和我同在的就是你们。我将国赐给你们，正如我父赐给我一样，叫你们在我国里，坐在我的席上吃喝，并且坐在宝座上，审判以色列十二个支派。」』(路加福音 22:24-30)    

    所以属世和属灵原则是完全不同的，属世的领袖是高高在上，而属灵则是会去服事人。那时加略人犹大仍在那十二中人坐席，只是他选择了卖主，放弃了自己的职分，其他十一人是主亲自选的。所以神虽然有恩典和有仁慈拣选了我们，我能是不要如犹大般放弃的。在使徒行传说的马提亚是摇籖出来的 (参使徒行传 1:23-26)，不是主亲自选的。主在复活后亲自在大光中拣选的是保罗 (参使徒行传 22:6-11)，所以主亲自拣选的使徒还是十二位。我们在『2031 最后的晚餐 (4) – 争论，新命令，预知彼得的事，及买刀』的「争论」中详细的讨论了、路加福音的这话题和相关的经文，这里就不多说了。

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到这网站后要按『对属灵生命的了解』。) 

       首先我們看到加略人猶大只是為了三十塊錢賣主，而且是用親蜜的動作親嘴而賣主，世人眼中看長子的名份實在不值錢。主已知道猶大將會賣祂，仍然禱告說願神的旨意成全，我們也看到了猶大的結局及一個預言的成就。第二，我們指出以前討論過預備逾越節筵席的預言及成就，也藉著它們討論了為什麼需要回顧，才能瞭解神當時是怎麼作工。第三，我們討論了主在逾越節的筵席中親自設立了餅杯之禮，我們看其意義和規矩。在經文中，我們也看到了真要能要有先不受審的分辨，這不只是在餅杯之禮時如此，在平時也該這樣。要知道，我們遭遇苦難有時是被主懲治，絕不要去自討苦吃。最後在第四中，我們指出在何處已討論過門徒爭論誰為大，請到那裏去看詳細的這話題和相關經文的討論。

1. 加略人猶大賣主的時間，過程，及結局

      猶大起意賣主的時間在這經文中寫得很清楚: 『除酵節又名逾越節近了。祭司長和文士想法子怎麼才能殺害耶穌，是因他們懼怕百姓。這時，撒但入了那稱為加略人猶大的心，他本是十二門徒裏的一個。他去和祭司長並守殿官商量，怎麼可以把耶穌交給他們。他們歡喜，就約定給他銀子。他應允了，就找機會，要趁眾人不在跟前的時候把耶穌交給他們。』(路加福音 22:1-6) 所以經文會說，『他(猶大)本來列在我們數中，並且在使徒的職任上得了一分。』(使徒行傳 1:17) 他自己放棄了這職任，所以『…詩篇上寫着說：…『願別人得他的職分。』』(使徒行傳 1:20)

       祂在猶大的眼中到底值多少錢呢？『當下，十二門徒裏有一個稱為加略人猶大的，去見祭司長，說：「我把他交給你們，你們願意給我多少錢？」他們就給了他三十塊錢。從那時候，他就找機會要把耶穌交給他們。』(馬太福音 26:14-16)

     耶穌是長子，就像這經文所說，『因為他預先所知道的人，就預先定下效法(模成, be conformed to)他兒子的模樣(形像, image)，使他兒子在許多弟兄中作長子。』(羅馬書 8:29) 而世人眼中的長子名份實在很便宜，就像舊約中一個情況所說的，『有一天，雅各熬湯，以掃從田野回來累昏了。以掃對雅各說：「我累昏了，求你把這紅湯給我喝。」因此以掃又叫以東。雅各說：「你今日把長子的名分賣給我吧！」以掃說：「我將要死，這長子的名分於我有甚麼益處呢？」雅各說：「你今日對我起誓吧！」以掃就對他起了誓，把長子的名分賣給雅各。於是雅各將餅和紅豆湯給了以掃，以掃吃了喝了，便起來走了。 這就是以掃輕看了他長子的名分。』(創世記 25:29-34) 在這個情況中長子的名份只值一碗紅豆湯和餅，因此希伯來書會說，『…有貪戀世俗如以掃的，他因一點食物把自己長子的名分賣了。』後來想要承受父所祝的福，竟被棄絕，雖然號哭切求，卻得不着門路使他父親的心意回轉。這是你們知道的。』(希伯來書 12:16-17)

    這祝福是指天父的祝福經過人間的父親降下來的，以撒知道這點很清楚，因為『以撒就大大地戰兢說：「你未來之先，是誰得了野味拿來給我呢？我已經吃了，為他祝福，他將來也必蒙福。」以掃聽了他父親的話，就放聲痛哭說：「我父啊，求你也為我祝福！」以撒說：「你兄弟已經用詭計來將你的福分奪去了。」』(創世記 27:33-35) 如果不是神要這樣做，難道憑人的一些話就可以改變神的旨意嗎？神原先的旨意本是如此，藉著人的行為成就了，『耶和華對她(利百加)說：「兩國在你腹內，兩族要從你身上出來；這族必強於那族，將來大的要服事小的。」』(創世記 25:23) 這件事顯示了神的預知和預定，這本是一體的兩面，所以羅馬書會說，『因為他預先所知道的人，就預先定下效法(模成)他兒子的模樣(形像)，使他兒子在許多弟兄中作長子。』(羅馬書 8:29)

    關於耶穌預知猶大會賣祂這點，我們以前在『2030 最後的晚餐 (3) – 邏輯，洗腳，預知，及爭論』中的『3. 預知猶大賣主』談過，就不多說了，有興趣知道詳情的人，可以到那邊去看看。在這裏我們只提一節經文，『賣耶穌的猶大問他說：「拉比，是我嗎？」 耶穌說：「你說的是。」』(馬太福音 26:25) 即使耶穌已知道這點，在客西馬尼園仍這樣禱告: 『他說：「阿爸，父啊！在你凡事都能，求你將這杯撤去；然而，不要從我的意思，只要從你的意思。」』(馬可福音 14:36) 做為一個完全的人，這是多麼不容易啊！但祂知道要完成救恩，祂必須流血付上釘十字架死的代價，所以祂說『只要從你的意思』。我們再看看猶大是如何賣主的:  『猶大隨即到耶穌跟前說：「請拉比安。」就與他親嘴。』(馬太福音 26:49) 親嘴本是和他人親密的動作，猶大卻用它來賣主！

     我們看看加略人猶大的結局，『這時候，賣耶穌的猶大看見耶穌已經定了罪，就後悔，把那三十塊錢拿回來給祭司長和長老，說：「我賣了無辜之人的血是有罪了。」 他們說：「那與我們有甚麼相干？你自己承當吧！」猶大就把那銀錢丟在殿裏，出去吊死了。』(馬太福音 27:3-5) 自殺本不是一個基督徒應該做的事情，雖然猶大跟隨了耶穌多年，他不是一個真正的基督徒，他最後賣主，雖後悔，但和彼得完全不同，他選擇了不該做的事。

     在這裏我們看到了一個預言的應驗，就是 『祭司長拾起銀錢來說：「這是血價，不可放在庫裏。」他們商議，就用那銀錢買了窰戶的一塊田，為要埋葬外鄉人。所以那塊田直到今日還叫作「血田」。這就應了先知耶利米的話，說：「他們用那三十塊錢，就是被估定之人的價錢，是以色列人中所估定的，買了窰戶的一塊田；這是照着主所吩咐我的。」』(馬太福音 27:6-10) 

    從上面的經文我們知道是祭司長他們幫他買的一塊田，我們不知道為什麼他在吊死後會落得肚腹崩裂，下面的經文是如此的記載著。『他本來列在我們數中，並且在使徒的職任上得了一分。「這人用他作惡的工價買了一塊田，以後身子仆倒，肚腹崩裂，腸子都流出來。住在耶路撒冷的眾人都知道這事，所以按着他們那裏的話給那塊田起名叫亞革大馬，就是血田的意思。』(使徒行傳 1:17-19)  難怪耶穌會說，『人子必要去世，正如經上指着他所寫的，但賣人子的人有禍了，那人不生在世上倒好！』(馬太福音 26:24)  最後我們知道他吊死而肚腹崩裂是因為聖經如此說，從人的角度看，這也是絕對可能的！譬如說，他選擇吊死的地點是在野外，而吊死的繩子最後不能承受重量而斷了，所以身子仆倒，以後有野獸經過，使他肚腹崩裂，腸子都流出來。

2. 預備逾越節筵席的預言及成就

       『除酵節，須宰逾越羊羔的那一天到了。耶穌打發彼得、約翰，說：「你們去為我們預備逾越節的筵席，好叫我們吃。」他們問他說：「要我們在哪裏預備？」耶穌說：「你們進了城，必有人拿着一瓶水迎面而來，你們就跟着他，到他所進的房子裏去，對那家的主人說：『夫子說：客房在哪裏？我與門徒好在那裏吃逾越節的筵席。』他必指給你們擺設整齊的一間大樓，你們就在那裏預備。」他們去了，所遇見的正如耶穌所說的。他們就預備了逾越節的筵席。』(路加福音 22:7-13)

      我們看到這預言當天就成就了，通常預言在聖經沒有說到預言成就的時間，只有少數的例外。成就的時間有如這樣很短的，也有長時間才應驗的。我們以前在『2075 耶穌騎驢駒進耶路撒冷，和潔淨聖殿 -耶穌(28)』，討論過這點，並藉著相關的經文，討論了為什麼我們常常需要回顧，才能瞭解神當時是怎麼作工的。譬如說，聖經說，『神能照着運行在我們心裏的大力，充充足足地成就一切，超過我們所求所想的。』(以弗所書 3:20) 有人想解釋這經節，就用現在的例子說明是超過我們所求所想的事，這是不合邏輯的。既然可舉出一個現在的例子，那例子不是可想的嗎？所以我們以前在『2048 耶穌的權柄和超過所求所想的事  – 耶穌的形像(3)』中討論什麼叫做超過所想的事情，都是用過去發生過的例子，在當時是超過那時的人所想的事情。我們非回顧不可，在這裏就不多說了。

3. 逾越節的筵席中設立餅杯之禮

    『時候到了，耶穌坐席，使徒也和他同坐。耶穌對他們說：「我很願意在受害以先和你們吃這逾越節的筵席。我告訴你們：我不再吃這筵席，直到成就在神的國裏。」耶穌接過杯來，祝謝了，說：「你們拿這個，大家分着喝。我告訴你們，從今以後，我不再喝這葡萄汁，直等神的國來到。」又拿起餅來，祝謝了，就擘開，遞給他們，說：「這是我的身體，為你們捨的，你們也應當如此行，為的是記念我。」飯後也照樣拿起杯來，說：「這杯是用我血所立的新約，是為你們流出來的。看哪，那賣我之人的手與我一同在桌子上。人子固然要照所預定的去世，但賣人子的人有禍了！」他們就彼此對問，是哪一個要做這事。』(路加福音 22:14-23)

     當然現在我們確實的知道是猶大賣主，在先前已討論過這點。在這裏，經文是說開飯前先分杯，並告訴他們祂不再喝這葡葡汁，直等神的國來到。神的國來到應該是在祂復活升天後，所以會有後來五旬節聖靈的充滿。然後有擘餅，飯後有立約的杯。

     類似的經文在馬太福音 26:26-29 和馬可福音 14:22-25 也有。所以餅杯之禮是主親自設立的，我們也可從下面經文看到這點，並其意義和規矩。『我當日傳給你們的，原是從主領受的，就是主耶穌被賣的那一夜，拿起餅來，祝謝了，就擘開，說：「這是我的身體，為你們捨的。你們應當如此行，為的是記念我。」飯後，也照樣拿起杯來，說：「這杯是用我的血所立的新約。你們每逢喝的時候，要如此行，為的是記念我。」你們每逢吃這餅，喝這杯，是表明主的死，直等到他來。所以，無論何人不按理吃主的餅、喝主的杯，就是干犯主的身、主的血了。人應當自己省察，然後吃這餅、喝這杯。因此，在你們中間有好些軟弱的與患病的，死的也不少。我們若是先分辨自己，就不至於受審。我們受審的時候，乃是被主懲治，免得我們和世人一同定罪。所以我弟兄們，你們聚會吃的時候，要彼此等待。若有人飢餓，可以在家裏先吃，免得你們聚會，自己取罪。… 』(哥林多前書 11:23-34)

     耶穌說，『我就是生命的糧。…吃我肉喝我血的人就有永生，在末日我要叫他復活。我的肉真是可吃的，我的血真是可喝的。』(約翰福音 6:48-55) 我們再看看希伯來書怎麼說？『看你們學習的工夫，本該作師傅，誰知還得有人將神聖言小學的開端另教導你們，並且成了那必須吃奶、不能吃乾糧的人！』(希伯來書 5:12) 我們看到了這糧是指神的聖言。

    『按着律法，凡物差不多都是用血潔淨的，若不流血，罪就不得赦免了。照着天上樣式做的物件，必須用這些祭物去潔淨；但那天上的本物自然當用更美的祭物去潔淨。』(希伯來書 9:22-23) 『神設立耶穌作挽回祭，是憑着耶穌的血，藉着人的信，要顯明神的義。…』(羅馬書 3:25) 從信開始，能夠這樣做有效是憑著耶穌的血。在物質的世界，我們看到了，『耶穌大聲喊叫，氣就斷了。殿裏的幔子從上到下裂為兩半。』(馬可福音 15:37-38)  在靈界也是如此，『弟兄們，我們既因耶穌的血，得以坦然進入至聖所，是藉着他給我們開了一條又新又活的路，從幔子經過，這幔子就是他的身體。』(希伯來書 10:19-20) 我們都要走那一條又有新又活的路，是我們所不知道的。這和舊約時相似，『(約書亞)吩咐百姓說：「你們看見耶和華你們神的約櫃，又見祭司利未人抬着，就要離開所住的地方，跟着約櫃去。只是你們和約櫃相離，要量二千肘，不可與約櫃相近，使你們知道所當走的路，因為這條路你們向來沒有走過。」』(約書亞記 3:3-4)  新舊約都是同一位神，是一樣的原則顯明了神的義。

      所以在聚會吃的時候，我們要彼此等待，一起開動，而且我們真要能有不受審的分辨，這不只是在餅杯之禮時如此，在平時也該這樣。要知道就像經文所說，我們遭遇苦難有時是被主懲治，舊約也是這樣說。舉個例子，大衞在赫人烏利亞和他的的妻子拔示巴的事件中，『大衞對拿單說：「我得罪耶和華了！」拿單說：「耶和華已經除掉你的罪，你必不至於死。只是你行這事，叫耶和華的仇敵大得褻瀆的機會，故此，你所得的孩子必定要死。」』(撒母耳記下 12:13-14) 當然，還有其他的懲罰，『耶和華如此說：『我必從你家中興起禍患攻擊你，我必在你眼前把你的妃嬪賜給別人，他在日光之下就與她們同寢。你在暗中行這事，我卻要在以色列眾人面前、日光之下報應你。』』(撒母耳記下 12:11-12)

     我們絕對不要去自討苦吃，我們會遭遇因試探而來的苦難已經是夠多了。有些苦難是神允許的，為要祝福人，如約伯記中的約伯般。以前我試過要分辦苦難是由撒但來的，或是神允許的，或是因為神直接的懲治。現在發覺，對苦難中的人，這其實沒有多大的用處，因對苦難中的人還是要親自經過苦難的。我們只要知道，神不允許，沒有事情會發生的。我們能夠做的是，『你們要將一切的憂慮卸給神，因為他顧念你們。務要謹守、警醒，因為你們的仇敵魔鬼，如同吼叫的獅子，遍地遊行，尋找可吞吃的人。你們要用堅固的信心抵擋他，因為知道你們在世上的眾弟兄也是經歷這樣的苦難。那賜諸般恩典的神曾在基督裏召你們，得享他永遠的榮耀，等你們暫受苦難之後，必要親自成全你們，堅固你們，賜力量給你們。』(彼得前書 5:7-10) 我們看到撒但從沒有停止工作過，但『你們所遇見的試探，無非是人所能受的。神是信實的，必不叫你們受試探過於所能受的。在受試探的時候，總要給你們開一條出路，叫你們能忍受得住。』(哥林多前書 10:13) 所以我們受苦難是暫時的，主會藉著別人，或親自會成全我們的。後者就如約伯記中所記的，『那時，耶和華從旋風中回答約伯…』(約伯記 38:1)

4. 門徒爭論誰為大

       『門徒起了爭論，他們中間哪一個可算為大。耶穌說：「外邦人有君王為主治理他們，那掌權管他們的稱為恩主。但你們不可這樣。你們裏頭為大的，倒要像年幼的；為首領的，倒要像服事人的。是誰為大？是坐席的呢？是服事人的呢？不是坐席的大嗎？然而，我在你們中間如同服事人的。我在磨煉之中，常和我同在的就是你們。我將國賜給你們，正如我父賜給我一樣，叫你們在我國裏，坐在我的席上吃喝，並且坐在寶座上，審判以色列十二個支派。」』(路加福音 22:24-30)

    所以屬世和屬靈原則是完全不同的，屬世的領袖是高高在上，而屬靈則是會去服事人。那時加略人猶大仍在那十二中人坐席，只是他選擇了賣主，放棄了自己的職分，其他十一人是主親自選的。所以神雖然有恩典和有仁慈揀選了我們，我能是不要如猶大般放棄的。在使徒行傳說的馬提亞是搖籖出來的 (參使徒行傳 1:23-26)，不是主親自選的。主在復活後親自在大光中揀選的是保羅 (參使徒行傳 22:6-11)，所以主親自揀選的使徒還是十二位。我們在『2031 最後的晚餐 (4) – 爭論，新命令，預知彼得的事，及買刀』的「爭論」中詳細的討論了、路加福音的這話題和相關的經文，這裏就不多說了。

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

First of all, we see that Judas the Iscariot betrayed the Lord only for thirty dollars, and he sold Him with an intimate action. We also see that the birthright of the eldest sonship in the eyes of the world is not worth much.  The Lord already knew that Judas would betray Him, but still prayed that God’s will would be accomplished. We also see Judas’ ending and the fulfillment of a prophecy.  Second, we point out that we had previously discussed the prophecies and achievements in preparing for the Passover feast, and also used them to discuss why we need to look back in order to understand how and why God was working that way at that time.  Third, we discuss that the Lord Himself instituted the ceremony of bread and cups during the Passover feast, and we look at its meaning and rules.  In the scriptures, we also see that we need to truly be able to discern with right judgment. This is not only true during the ceremony of bread and cups, but also in ordinary times.  We must know that when we encounter suffering, we are sometimes punished by the Lord, and we should never ask for it.  Finally, we point out where we have discussed the disciples’ dispute over who is greater. Please go there for a detailed discussion of this topic and related scriptures.

1. The time, process, and ending of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal

The time when Judas decided to betray the Lord is clearly stated in these verses: “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people. And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money. So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd.”(Luke 22:1-6) So the scripture would say, “For he (Judas) was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.”(Acts 1:17) He himself gave up this office, so ““For it is written in the book of Psalms, …‘Let another man take his office.’”(Acts 1:20)

How much was He worth in the eyes of Judas? “Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.”(Matthew 26:14-16)

Jesus is the firstborn Son, as this scripture says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”(Romans 8:29) In the eyes of the world, the birthright is really very cheap. Just like a situation in the Old Testament said, “When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”(Genesis 25:29-34) In this situation, the firstborn sonship is only worth bread and lentil stew. Therefore, the Book of Hebrews will say, “…there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.”(Hebrews 12:16-17)

This blessing refers to the blessing of the Heavenly Father coming down through the human father. Isaac knew this very clearly, because “Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” And he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.””(Genesis 27:33-35) If God didn’t want to do this, nothing could be accomplished by this way. God’s will cannot be changed by some human words. We can see that this was God’s original purpose, which was fulfilled through human actions since His original will can be seen in this verse, “The LORD said to her her (Rebekah), “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.””(Genesis 25:23) This incident shows God’s foreknowledge and predestination, which are two sides of the same coin, so the book of Romans says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”(Romans 8:29)

Regarding the fact that Jesus foresaw that Judas would betray Him, we have talked about it before in “(3) Foreknowledge regarding Judas’ betrayal” of “1030 Last supper (3) – Logic, washing feet, and foreknowledge”, so we won’t say more. Those who are interested in knowing the details can go there and have a look.  Here we only mention one verse, “And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.””(Matthew 26:25) Even though Jesus had already known this, He still prayed like the following in the Garden of Gethsemane: “And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.””(Mark 14:36) He is a one hundred percent human, how difficult this is for a man! But He knew that in order to complete salvation, He had to shed His blood and pay the price of crucifixion, so He said, “yet not what I will, but what You will.” Let’s now look at how Judas betrayed his Lord: “Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.”(Matthew 26:49) Kissing is an act of intimacy with others, but Judas used it to betray the Lord!

Let’s now look at the ending of Judas Iscariot, “Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.”(Matthew 27:3-5) Suicide is not what a Christian should do. Although Judas had followed Jesus for many years, he was not a true Christian. In the end, he betrayed the Lord. Although he regretted it, but he was completely different from Peter’s repentance. He chose something that he shouldn’t have done.

Here we see the fulfillment of a prophecy, that is, “The chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood.” And they conferred together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers. For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel; and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me.””(Matthew 27:6-10)

From the above scriptures, we know that it was a field bought by the chief priests and others for him. We don’t know why his belly collapsed after hanging. The following scriptures record this. “For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that in their own language that field was called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)”(Acts 1:17-19) No wonder Jesus said, “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”(Matthew 26:24) Finally, we want to emphasie that he hanged himself and his belly burst because the Bible says so. From a human point of view, this is absolutely possible! For example, the place he chose to hang himself might be in the wilderness, and the rope finally broke because it could not bear the weight, so he fell down. Later, a wild animal passed by, causing his belly to burst and his intestines to flow out.

2. Preparation for the Passover Feast Prophecy and Fulfillment

“Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.” They said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?” And He said to them, “When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there.” And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.”(Luke 22:7-13)

We see that this prophecy was fulfilled that day. Usually prophecies in the Bible do not mention the time when the prophecy will be fulfilled, with only a few exceptions.  The time of achievement may be very short, and it may take a long time to be fulfilled.  We have discussed this before in “1075 Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt and cleanses the temple – Jesus (28)”, and through relevant scriptures, we discussed why we often need to look back in order to understand how and why God did what He did at that time. For example, the Bible says, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”(Ephesians 3:20) Some people want to explain this verse and use the current example to show that it is more than what we ask or think. This is illogical.  Since a current example can be given, isn’t that example conceivable?  So in the past, we discussed in “1048 Power of Jesus and things beyond all that we ask or think – The image of Jesus (3)” regarding things that are more than what you think. We used examples that happened in the past. At that time, they were more than what people could think at their time.  We have discussed it, so we won’t go into details here.

3. The ceremony of setting up bread and cups at the Passover feast

“When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.”(Luke 22:14-23)

Of course, we now know for sure that it was Judas who betrayed Him, as we have discussed previously.  Here, the text says that the cups were divided before the meal was started, and that He told them that He would not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the Kingdom of God came.  The kingdom of God should come after His resurrection and ascension to heaven, so there will be the subsequent filling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  Then there was the breaking of bread, and after the meal there was the covenant cup.

Similar verses are found in Matthew 26:26-29 and Mark 14:22-25.  Therefore, the ceremony of bread and cups was established by the Lord Himself. We can also see this from the following scriptures, as well as its meaning and rules. “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. …”(1 Corinthians 11:23-34)

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. …He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.”(John 6:48-55) Let’s look at what the book of Hebrews says?  “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” (Hebrews 5:12) We see that this bread refers to the Word of God since the oracles of God are in the Bible and the Bible is inspired by God.

“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”(Hebrews 9:22-23) “(Jesus Christ) whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, …”(Romans 3:25) Starting from faith, which can be effective is due to the blood of Jesus.  In the material world, we can see that “And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”(Mark 15:37-38) The veil is also torn in the spiritual world as said in Hebrews 10:19-20, “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.” We all walk in a new and living way, which we did not know before.  This is similar to the time in the Old Testament, “At the end of three days the officers went through the midst of the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.””(Joshua 3:2-4) Both the Old and New Testaments are the same God, and the same principles are used to reveal God’s righteousness.

So when we eat at a gathering, we need to wait for each other and start together. “But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.”(1 Corinthians 11:28-29) This is not only true during the ceremony of bread and cups, but also in ordinary times.  You must know that as the scriptures say, when we encounter suffering, we are sometimes punished by the Lord. The Old Testament also says the same.  For example, in the incident involving Uriah the Hittite and his wife Bathsheba, “…David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.””(2 Samuel 12:13-14) Of course, there are other punishments. 

“Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’””(2 Samuel 12:11-12)

We must not ask for trouble. We have encountered enough suffering due to temptation.  Some sufferings are allowed by God in order to bless people, like Job in the book of Job.  In the past I have tried to find out whether suffering is caused by Satan, permitted by God, or directly punished by God.  Now I realize that this is not of much use to people who are suffering, because they still have to go through suffering personally.  As long as we know that nothing will happen if God does not allow it, it is sufficient. What we can do is, “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”(1 Peter 5:7-10) We see that Satan never stops working, but “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”(1 Corinthians 10:13) Therefore, our suffering is only temporary, and the Lord will reveal us through others or by Himself.  The latter is like what was recorded in the Book of Job as the following verse says, “…the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind …”(Job 38:1)

4. The disciples argued about who was greater

“And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”(Luke 22:24-30)

So the worldly and spiritual principles are completely different. Worldly leaders are rulers, while spiritual leaders serve people.  At that time, Judas Iscariot was still sitting at the table with the twelve, but he chose to betray the Lord and gave up his position. The other eleven were chosen by the Lord Himself.  Therefore, although God has chosen us with grace and mercy, we cannot give up like Judas. Matthias in the book of Acts was chosen by drawing lots (see Acts 1:23-26), not chosen by the Lord Himself.  After the resurrection, the Lord Himself chose Paul in the great light (see Acts 22:6-11), so there were still twelve apostles chosen by the Lord Himself.  We have discussed this topic in Luke’s Gospel and related scriptures in detail in the “(1) Dispute” of “1031 Dispute, new command, foreknowledge about Peter – Last supper (4),” so we will not discuss it here. 

(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

    首先我们在经文中看到了末期的预兆和基督徒的对策，就是不要预先思想怎样分诉，完全的依靠圣灵，而在过程中，就是要忍耐到底。第二，我们以前分享过耶路撒路的预言和结局，就不多讲，但指出那里可找到以前分享的详情。第三，我们看到末期人子荣耀的驾云降临，提到基督徒和非基督徒的反应完全不同。又一次看到神借圣经告诉我们是一致的，在末时，祂会驾云降临。最后在第四时，我们讨论了用无花果树和各样的树的发芽作比喻，看见发芽的时候，自然是顺理成章的看见神的国近了，也讨论了在旧约中以色列会复国的预言。末期会有很多预兆的，不只是以色列的复国造成了国要攻打国的局面而已，福音要传遍天下末期才会来到。我们实在是『务要谨守、警醒，因为你们的仇敌魔鬼，如同吼叫的狮子，遍地游行，寻找可吞吃的人。』(彼得前书 5:8)

1.  末期的预兆及对策       

     『他们问他说：「夫子，甚么时候有这事呢？这事将到的时候有甚么预兆呢？」耶稣说：「你们要谨慎，不要受迷惑，因为将来有好些人冒我的名来，说：『我是基督』，又说：『时候近了』，你们不要跟从他们！你们听见打仗和扰乱的事，不要惊惶，因为这些事必须先有，只是末期(G5056)不能立时就到。」当时，耶稣对他们说：「民要攻打民，国要攻打国，地要大大震动，多处必有饥荒、瘟疫，又有可怕的异象和大神迹从天上显现。「但这一切的事以先，人要下手拿住你们，逼迫你们，把你们交给会堂，并且收在监里，又为我的名拉你们到君王诸侯面前。但这些事终必为你们的见证。」「所以，你们当立定心意，不要预先思想怎样分诉，因为我必赐你们口才、智慧，是你们一切敌人所敌不住、驳不倒的。连你们的父母、弟兄、亲族、朋友也要把你们交官，你们也有被他们害死的。你们要为我的名被众人恨恶，然而，你们连一根头发也必不损坏。』(路加福音 21:7-18)    

    他们在问末期的事，末期的来临是有预兆的，现在的俄乌战争，和扩大的以哈战争等等，显然是民要攻打民，国要攻打国。战争是会引起饥荒的，现在又有新冠病毒的瘟疫，地震也不断，但没有可怕的异象和大神迹从天上显现，并没有发生所有的预兆。在启示录也很清楚的说到会有各式各样的灾难，并说『我向一切听见这书上预言的作见证，若有人在这预言上加添甚么，神必将写在这书上的灾祸加在他身上；这书上的预言，若有人删去甚么，神必从这书上所写的生命树和圣城删去他的分。』(启示录 22:18-19) 有人对我说，属灵的人才能看见七雷，如九一一事件是七雷之一，但圣经明讲，『七雷发声之后，我正要写出来，就听见从天上有声音说：「七雷所说的你要封上，不可写出来。」』(启示录 10:4) 这实在是在启示录的预言中加添了一些。神的旨意本是要、在从七雷发生之后的灾难才知道七雷已发生过，要不然其他的都写出来，为什么唯独要封了七雷？当然我们从这里也看到约翰的顺服，他的确没有写出来。我们知道最后有新天新地 (参启示录 21:1)，以前所分享的以西结书预言的圣殿尚未建造，一定会先建造才会有新天新地的，因神的预言从不落空。我们在『2079  预言圣殿的被毁和以西结预言的圣殿 –耶稣(31)』中已详述这一点，有兴趣的人请去那儿看详情。       

    末期的预兆很清楚的记在这里，只是在这之先我们会受到逼迫，就像经文所说，『当时，那按著血气生的，逼迫了那按著圣灵生的，现在也是这样。』(加拉太书 4:29)   这其实和这节经文类似的还有，『…你们要为我的名被众人恨恶，惟有忍耐到底的(G5056)，必然得救。』(马可福音 13:13) 的确现在是如此，中国发生的事情就是很好的例子。我们特别把忍耐到底的汇编原文数字标注出来，因和末期是同一个字，中文和合本的翻译不是很容易看到这点。    

    教导我们的对策也很简单，就是不要预先思想怎样分诉，完全的依靠圣灵，而在过程中，就是要忍耐到底。这也是我们在诗歌的敬拜中为什么选择了「后是膏油先是血」，如约伯记中的约伯，在他得到祝福前神允许他受二次严厉的试探，最后神自己介入让约伯看清了自己而悔改，这也说明了为什么耶稣会说，『不背著他的十字架跟从我的，也不配作我的门徒。』(马太福音 10:38) 大卫数民也是一样，让他看清了自己而悔改 (参撒母耳记下 24:1-14) 圣经中还记录了其他的例子，就不多说了。我们也看到了『你们连一根头发也必不损坏』的应许，在那时，当家人和我们理念不同的时候，是会发生『人的仇敌就是自己家里的人。』(马太福音 10:36) 那时，我们真会要为耶稣的名被众人恨恶。    

    我们现在要过的是一个信望爱而分别为圣的生活，从信开始，『因为神的义…是本于信，以至于信。如经上所记：「义人必因信得生。」』(罗马书 1:17) 有了信，我们就有盼望，因为『我们又借著他(耶稣)，因信得进入现在所站的这恩典中，并且欢欢喜喜盼望神的荣耀。』(罗马书 5:2) 『所以要约束你们的心，谨慎自守，专心盼望耶稣基督显现的时候所带来给你们的恩。』(彼得前书 1:13) 『盼望不至于羞耻。因为所赐给我们的圣灵将神的爱浇灌在我们心里。』(罗马书 5:5)

2. 预言耶路撒冷的灾难       

    『你们看见耶路撒冷被兵围困，就可知道它成荒场的日子近了。那时，在犹太的应当逃到山上，在城里的应当出来，在乡是我们在诗歌的敬拜中下的不要进城，因为这是报应的日子，使经上所写的都得应验。当那些日子，怀孕的和奶孩子的有祸了！因为将有大灾难降在这地方，也有震怒临到这百姓。他们要倒在刀下，又被掳到各国去。耶路撒冷要被外邦人践踏，直到外邦人的日期满了。』(路加福音 21:20-24)       

    我们看到了这是报应的日子，也说到了时间，虽然在新约时代的我们已因耶稣在十字架的受死而得赦免，但我们不要忘记，『公义和公平，是你(耶和华)宝座的根基…』(诗篇 89:14) 虽然新约中只记载了亚拿尼亚一件因欺哄圣灵而立刻倒弊的例子 (参使徒行传 5:1-10)， 但要记得，『弟兄们，你们蒙召是要得自由，只是不可将你们的自由当作放纵情欲的机会，总要用爱心互相服事。』(加拉太书 5:13) 『主所应许的尚未成就，有人以为他是耽延，其实不是耽延，乃是宽容你们，不愿有一人沉沦，乃愿人人都悔改。』(彼得后书 3:9) 凡事都有定时，所以会说要到外邦人的日期满了。我们以前讨论过这些经文就不多说了，更多的讨论请看『2067 窄门，耶路撒冷，医治水臌的人，和自高的 –耶稣(20)』。

3. 末期人子荣耀的驾云降临        

    『日、月、星辰要显出异兆，地上的邦国也有困苦，因海中波浪的响声，就慌慌不定。天势都要震动，人想起那将要临到世界的事，就都吓得魂不附体。那时，他们要看见人子有能力，有大荣耀驾云降临。一有这些事，你们就当挺身昂首，因为你们得赎的日子近了。』(路加福音 21:25-28)       

    从这经文，我们看见了虽然基督徒和非基督徒都会同样的遭遇苦难，但两者的反应会大不相同。对非基督徒而言，想到启示中提到的那将要临到世界的灾难，会吓得魂不附体。而基督徒知道得赎的日子近了，反而会挺身昂首。我们再看看这经文，『说了这话，他们正看的时候，他就被取上升，有一朵云彩把他接去，便看不见他了。当他往上去，他们定睛望天的时候，忽然有两个人身穿白衣，站在旁边，说：「加利利人哪，你们为甚么站著望天呢？这离开你们被接升天的耶稣，你们见他怎样往天上去，他还要怎样来。」』(使徒行传 1:9-11) 又一次看到神借圣经告诉我们是一致的，在末时，祂会驾云降临。    

    就如我们以前所说，我们可看见神借圣经告诉我们是一致的许多例子，但是不论如何，这些例子总会是有限的，我们必须扩展这事实成为逻辑的公理，作为我们逻辑推导的开始的一部份。我们也看到，『看哪！我来像贼一样。…』(启示录 16:15) 贼不会告诉你偷东西的时间让你有所防备的，所以我们不知道祂来的确实时间，但祂的来临是有如前所述的预兆的。在启示录也可看到在祂来临之后发生的事情，祂不像道成肉身时是谦卑的来临，诞生在马槽里，那时祂来是大有荣耀的，我们谈到启示录时再详细分享这点。

4. 用无花果树和各样的树的发芽比喻神的国近了     

    有人说无花果树的发芽就是指以色列的复国，不是这样的，我们要看经文怎么说！ 『耶稣又设比喻对他们说：「你们看无花果树和各样的树：它发芽的时候，你们一看见，自然晓得夏天近了。这样，你们看见这些事渐渐地成就，也该晓得神的国近了。「我实在告诉你们：这世代还没有过去，这些事都要成就。天地要废去，我的话却不能废去。「你们要谨慎，恐怕因贪食、醉酒，并今生的思虑累住你们的心，那日子就如同网罗忽然临到你们，因为那日子要这样临到全地上一切居住的人。你们要时时警醒，常常祈求，使你们能逃避这一切要来的事，得以站立在人子面前。」耶稣每日在殿里教训人，每夜出城在一座山，名叫橄榄山住宿。众百姓清早上圣殿，到耶稣那里，要听他讲道。』(路加福音 21:29-38)       

    这里说到了在橄榄山的住宿，这是明说了以前所分享的，祂在祂的时间没有到的时候作事的模式，白天进耶路撒冷讲道，晚上出城，一直到祂的时间到了，被钉在十字架上。至于我们，是『…要拿起神所赐的全副军装，好在磨难的日子抵挡仇敌，并且成就了一切，还能站立得住。』(以弗所书 6:13) 我们以前提到过，那全副的军装中只有神的道的圣灵的宝剑是攻击的武器 (参以弗所书 6:14-17)，我们知道我们自己不能做什么 (参约翰福音 15:5)，实在是『不要消灭圣灵的感动。』(帖撒罗尼迦前书 5:19) 当圣灵要我们去攻击时，绝对不会失败。    

    耶稣『又说：「神的国，如同人把种撒在地上。黑夜睡觉，白日起来，这种就发芽渐长，那人却不晓得如何这样。地生五谷是出于自然的：先发苗，后长穗，再后穗上结成饱满的子粒。谷既熟了，就用镰刀去割，因为收成的时候到了。」』(马可福音 4:26-29) 所以这里是说，当我们看见发芽的时候，自然是顺理成章的看见神的国近了。有人说无花果树发芽就是指以色列复国，因此神的国近了！但是圣经没这样说，说的是当无花果树和各样的树发芽的时候，不只是说到无花果树。就像之前所分享的，照目前的局势看来，应是指「民要攻打民，国要攻打国」的预兆，而渐渐成就的预兆有很多种，不能只有一种就说是末期了。   

    我们要注意到，即使天地废去，耶稣的话却不能废去。那日子就如同网罗忽然临到你们，就如我们之前所分享的，『看哪！我来像贼一样。…』(启示录 16:15) 『惟有忍耐到底的(G5056)必然得救。这天国的福音要传遍天下，对万民作见证，然后末期(G5056)才来到。』(马太福音 24:13-14) 什么时候福音才算是传遍天下呢？我们不知道，至少现在有卫星的网路，一些以前福音传不到的地方，现在可以传到了。我们实在是『务要谨守、警醒，因为你们的仇敌魔鬼，如同吼叫的狮子，遍地游行，寻找可吞吃的人。』(彼得前书 5:8)       

    关于以色列 1948 年的复国，圣经的确有预言，我们来看看如后的两个地方的经文。『万军之耶和华如此说：「我要从东方、从西方救回我的民。我要领他们来，使他们住在耶路撒冷中。他们要作我的子民，我要作他们的神，都凭诚实和公义。」』(撒迦利亚书 8:7-8) 『不要害怕，因我与你同在！我必领你的后裔从东方来，又从西方招聚你。我要对北方说：『交出来！』对南方说：『不要拘留！』将我的众子从远方带来，将我的众女从地极领回。』(以赛亚书 43:5-6)  我们看到了这些经文不是在指归回重建圣殿的时候，那时归回的人只有从东方来，因为这些经文是说有人从各方而来，所以这是指现今时代以色列的复国。虽然以色列已亡国二千多年，他们现在复国了，世上没有一个国家灭亡了二千多年仍能复国的，但神的应许从不落空。

    顺便一提的是，因为『耶和华命定律法中的一条律例乃是这样说：你要吩咐以色列人，把一只没有残疾、未曾负轭、纯红的母牛牵到你这里来，…人要在他眼前把这母牛焚烧，牛的皮、肉、血、粪都要焚烧。祭司要把香柏木、牛膝草、朱红色线都丢在烧牛的火中。』(民数记 19:2-6) 目的是要，『…收起母牛的灰，存在营外洁净的地方，为以色列会众调做除污秽的水。…』(民数记 19:9) 所以正在寻找这样的纯红母牛。网路上有一个不能完全证实的消息说，以色列人已准备好重建圣殿的材料，一但找到红母牛，就会重建圣殿。很显然的，这和圣经所说的不合，没有预言说到圣殿的重建，只有预言说会建造以西结的圣殿，而重建圣殿的材料，显然是不够建造以西结的圣殿的。

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到这网站后要按『对属灵生命的了解』。) 

       首先我們在經文中看到了末期的預兆和基督徒的對策，就是不要預先思想怎樣分訴，完全的依靠聖靈，而在過程中，就是要忍耐到底。第二，我們以前分享過耶路撒路的預言和結局，就不多講，但指出那裏可找到以前分享的詳情。第三，我們看到末期人子榮耀的駕雲降臨，提到基督徒和非基督徒的反應完全不同。又一次看到神藉聖經告訴我們是一致的，在末時，祂會駕雲降臨。最後在第四時，我們討論了用無花果樹和各樣的樹的發芽作比喻，看見發芽的時候，自然是順理成章的看見神的國近了，也討論了在舊約中以色列會復國的預言。末期會有很多預兆的，不只是以色列的復國造成了國要攻打國的局面而已，福音要傳遍天下末期才會來到。我們實在是『務要謹守、警醒，因為你們的仇敵魔鬼，如同吼叫的獅子，遍地遊行，尋找可吞吃的人。』(彼得前書 5:8) 

1.  末期的預兆及對策

       『他們問他說：「夫子，甚麼時候有這事呢？這事將到的時候有甚麼預兆呢？」耶穌說：「你們要謹慎，不要受迷惑，因為將來有好些人冒我的名來，說：『我是基督』，又說：『時候近了』，你們不要跟從他們！你們聽見打仗和擾亂的事，不要驚惶，因為這些事必須先有，只是末期(G5056)不能立時就到。」當時，耶穌對他們說：「民要攻打民，國要攻打國，地要大大震動，多處必有饑荒、瘟疫，又有可怕的異象和大神蹟從天上顯現。「但這一切的事以先，人要下手拿住你們，逼迫你們，把你們交給會堂，並且收在監裏，又為我的名拉你們到君王諸侯面前。但這些事終必為你們的見證。」「所以，你們當立定心意，不要預先思想怎樣分訴，因為我必賜你們口才、智慧，是你們一切敵人所敵不住、駁不倒的。連你們的父母、弟兄、親族、朋友也要把你們交官，你們也有被他們害死的。你們要為我的名被眾人恨惡，然而，你們連一根頭髮也必不損壞。』(路加福音 21:7-18)

    他們在問末期的事，末期的來臨是有預兆的，現在的俄烏戰爭，和擴大的以哈戰爭等等，顯然是民要攻打民，國要攻打國。戰爭是會引起饑荒的，現在又有新冠病毒的瘟疫，地震也不斷，但沒有可怕的異象和大神蹟從天上顯現，並沒有發生所有的預兆。在啓示錄也很清楚的說到會有各式各樣的災難，並說『我向一切聽見這書上預言的作見證，若有人在這預言上加添甚麼，神必將寫在這書上的災禍加在他身上；這書上的預言，若有人刪去甚麼，神必從這書上所寫的生命樹和聖城刪去他的分。』(啓示錄 22:18-19) 有人對我說，屬靈的人才能看見七雷，如九一一事件是七雷之一，但聖經明講，『七雷發聲之後，我正要寫出來，就聽見從天上有聲音說：「七雷所說的你要封上，不可寫出來。」』(啓示錄 10:4) 這實在是在啓示錄的預言中加添了一些。神的旨意本是要、在從七雷發生之後的災難才知道七雷已發生過，要不然其他的都寫出來，為什麼唯獨要封了七雷？當然我們從這裏也看到約翰的順服，他的確沒有寫出來。我們知道最後有新天新地 (參啓示錄 21:1)，以前所分享的以西結書預言的聖殿尚未建造，一定會先建造才會有新天新地的，因神的預言從不落空。我們在『2079  預言聖殿的被毀和以西結預言的聖殿 -耶穌(31)』中已詳述這一點，有興趣的人請去那兒看詳情。

       末期的預兆很清楚的記在這裏，只是在這之先我們會受到逼迫，就像經文所說，『當時，那按着血氣生的，逼迫了那按着聖靈生的，現在也是這樣。』(加拉太書 4:29)   這其實和這節經文類似的還有，『…你們要為我的名被眾人恨惡，惟有忍耐到底的(G5056)，必然得救。』(馬可福音 13:13) 的確現在是如此，中國發生的事情就是很好的例子。我們特別把忍耐到底的彙編原文數字標註出來，因和末期是同一個字，中文和合本的翻譯不是很容易看到這點。

     教導我們的對策也很簡單，就是不要預先思想怎樣分訴，完全的依靠聖靈，而在過程中，就是要忍耐到底。這也是我們在詩歌的敬拜中為什麼選擇了「後是膏油先是血」，如約伯記中的約伯，在他得到祝福前神允許他受二次嚴厲的試探，最後神自己介入讓約伯看清了自己而悔改，這也說明了為什麼耶穌會說，『不背着他的十字架跟從我的，也不配作我的門徒。』(馬太福音 10:38) 大衞數民也是一樣，讓他看清了自己而悔改 (參撒母耳記下 24:1-14) 聖經中還記錄了其他的例子，就不多說了。我們也看到了『你們連一根頭髮也必不損壞』的應許，在那時，當家人和我們理念不同的時候，是會發生『人的仇敵就是自己家裏的人。』(馬太福音 10:36) 那時，我們真會要為耶穌的名被眾人恨惡。

    我們現在要過的是一個信望愛而分別為聖的生活，從信開始，『因為神的義…是本於信，以至於信。如經上所記：「義人必因信得生。」』(羅馬書 1:17) 有了信，我們就有盼望，因為『我們又藉着他(耶穌)，因信得進入現在所站的這恩典中，並且歡歡喜喜盼望神的榮耀。』(羅馬書 5:2) 『所以要約束你們的心，謹慎自守，專心盼望耶穌基督顯現的時候所帶來給你們的恩。』(彼得前書 1:13) 『盼望不至於羞恥。因為所賜給我們的聖靈將神的愛澆灌在我們心裏。』(羅馬書 5:5)

2. 預言耶路撒冷的災難

       『你們看見耶路撒冷被兵圍困，就可知道它成荒場的日子近了。那時，在猶太的應當逃到山上，在城裏的應當出來，在鄉是我們在詩歌的敬拜中下的不要進城，因為這是報應的日子，使經上所寫的都得應驗。當那些日子，懷孕的和奶孩子的有禍了！因為將有大災難降在這地方，也有震怒臨到這百姓。他們要倒在刀下，又被擄到各國去。耶路撒冷要被外邦人踐踏，直到外邦人的日期滿了。』(路加福音 21:20-24)

    我們看到了這是報應的日子，也說到了時間，雖然在新約時代的我們已因耶穌在十字架的受死而得赦免，但我們不要忘記，『公義和公平，是你(耶和華)寶座的根基…』(詩篇 89:14) 雖然新約中只記載了亞拿尼亞一件因欺哄聖靈而立刻倒弊的例子 (參使徒行傳 5:1-10)， 但要記得，『弟兄們，你們蒙召是要得自由，只是不可將你們的自由當作放縱情慾的機會，總要用愛心互相服事。』(加拉太書 5:13) 『主所應許的尚未成就，有人以為他是耽延，其實不是耽延，乃是寬容你們，不願有一人沉淪，乃願人人都悔改。』(彼得後書 3:9) 凡事都有定時，所以會說要到外邦人的日期滿了。我們以前討論過這些經文就不多說了，更多的討論請看『2067 窄門，耶路撒冷，醫治水臌的人，和自高的 -耶穌(20)』。

3. 末期人子榮耀的駕雲降臨

        『日、月、星辰要顯出異兆，地上的邦國也有困苦，因海中波浪的響聲，就慌慌不定。天勢都要震動，人想起那將要臨到世界的事，就都嚇得魂不附體。那時，他們要看見人子有能力，有大榮耀駕雲降臨。一有這些事，你們就當挺身昂首，因為你們得贖的日子近了。』(路加福音 21:25-28)

       從這經文，我們看見了雖然基督徒和非基督徒都會同樣的遭遇苦難，但兩者的反應會大不相同。對非基督徒而言，想到啓示中提到的那將要臨到世界的災難，會嚇得魂不附體。而基督徒知道得贖的日子近了，反而會挺身昂首。我們再看看這經文，『說了這話，他們正看的時候，他就被取上升，有一朵雲彩把他接去，便看不見他了。當他往上去，他們定睛望天的時候，忽然有兩個人身穿白衣，站在旁邊，說：「加利利人哪，你們為甚麼站着望天呢？這離開你們被接升天的耶穌，你們見他怎樣往天上去，他還要怎樣來。」』(使徒行傳 1:9-11) 又一次看到神藉聖經告訴我們是一致的，在末時，祂會駕雲降臨。

就如我們以前所說，我們可看見神藉聖經告訴我們是一致的許多例子，但是不論如何，這些例子總會是有限的，我們必須擴展這事實成為邏輯的公理，作為我們邏輯推導的開始的一部份。我們也看到，『看哪！我來像賊一樣。…』(啓示錄 16:15) 賊不會告訴你偷東西的時間讓你有所防備的，所以我們不知道祂來的確實時間，但祂的來臨是有如前所述的預兆的。在啓示錄也可看到在祂來臨之後發生的事情，祂不像道成肉身時是謙卑的來臨，誕生在馬槽裏，那時祂來是大有榮耀的，我們談到啓示錄時再詳細分享這點。

4. 用無花果樹和各樣的樹的發芽比喻神的國近了

      有人說無花果樹的發芽就是指以色列的復國，不是這樣的，我們要看經文怎麼說！ 『耶穌又設比喻對他們說：「你們看無花果樹和各樣的樹：它發芽的時候，你們一看見，自然曉得夏天近了。這樣，你們看見這些事漸漸地成就，也該曉得神的國近了。「我實在告訴你們：這世代還沒有過去，這些事都要成就。天地要廢去，我的話卻不能廢去。「你們要謹慎，恐怕因貪食、醉酒，並今生的思慮累住你們的心，那日子就如同網羅忽然臨到你們，因為那日子要這樣臨到全地上一切居住的人。你們要時時警醒，常常祈求，使你們能逃避這一切要來的事，得以站立在人子面前。」耶穌每日在殿裏教訓人，每夜出城在一座山，名叫橄欖山住宿。眾百姓清早上聖殿，到耶穌那裏，要聽他講道。』(路加福音 21:29-38)

       這裏說到了在橄欖山的住宿，這是明說了以前所分享的，祂在祂的時間沒有到的時候作事的模式，白天進耶路撒冷講道，晚上出城，一直到祂的時間到了，被釘在十字架上。至於我們，是『…要拿起神所賜的全副軍裝，好在磨難的日子抵擋仇敵，並且成就了一切，還能站立得住。』(以弗所書 6:13) 我們以前提到過，那全副的軍裝中只有神的道的聖靈的寶劍是攻擊的武器 (參以弗所書 6:14-17)，我們知道我們自己不能做什麼 (參約翰福音 15:5)，實在是『不要消滅聖靈的感動。』(帖撒羅尼迦前書 5:19) 當聖靈要我們去攻擊時，絕對不會失敗。

    耶穌『又說：「神的國，如同人把種撒在地上。黑夜睡覺，白日起來，這種就發芽漸長，那人卻不曉得如何這樣。地生五穀是出於自然的：先發苗，後長穗，再後穗上結成飽滿的子粒。穀既熟了，就用鐮刀去割，因為收成的時候到了。」』(馬可福音 4:26-29) 所以這裏是說，當我們看見發芽的時候，自然是順理成章的看見神的國近了。有人說無花果樹發芽就是指以色列復國，因此神的國近了！但是聖經沒這樣說，說的是當無花果樹和各樣的樹發芽的時候，不只是說到無花果樹。就像之前所分享的，照目前的局勢看來，應是指「民要攻打民，國要攻打國」的預兆，而漸漸成就的預兆有很多種，不能只有一種就說是末期了。

     我們要注意到，即使天地廢去，耶穌的話卻不能廢去。那日子就如同網羅忽然臨到你們，就如我們之前所分享的，『看哪！我來像賊一樣。…』(啓示錄 16:15) 『惟有忍耐到底的(G5056)必然得救。這天國的福音要傳遍天下，對萬民作見證，然後末期(G5056)才來到。』(馬太福音 24:13-14) 什麼時候福音才算是傳遍天下呢？我們不知道，至少現在有衛星的網路，一些以前福音傳不到的地方，現在可以傳到了。我們實在是『務要謹守、警醒，因為你們的仇敵魔鬼，如同吼叫的獅子，遍地遊行，尋找可吞吃的人。』(彼得前書 5:8)

       關於以色列 1948 年的復國，聖經的確有預言，我們來看看如後的兩個地方的經文。『萬軍之耶和華如此說：「我要從東方、從西方救回我的民。我要領他們來，使他們住在耶路撒冷中。他們要作我的子民，我要作他們的神，都憑誠實和公義。」』(撒迦利亞書 8:7-8) 『不要害怕，因我與你同在！我必領你的後裔從東方來，又從西方招聚你。我要對北方說：『交出來！』對南方說：『不要拘留！』將我的眾子從遠方帶來，將我的眾女從地極領回。』(以賽亞書 43:5-6)  我們看到了這些經文不是在指歸回重建聖殿的時候，那時歸回的人只有從東方來，因為這些經文是說有人從各方而來，所以這是指現今時代以色列的復國。雖然以色列已亡國二千多年，他們現在復國了，世上沒有一個國家滅亡了二千多年仍能復國的，但神的應許從不落空。

    順便一提的是，因為『耶和華命定律法中的一條律例乃是這樣說：你要吩咐以色列人，把一隻沒有殘疾、未曾負軛、純紅的母牛牽到你這裏來，…人要在他眼前把這母牛焚燒，牛的皮、肉、血、糞都要焚燒。祭司要把香柏木、牛膝草、朱紅色線都丟在燒牛的火中。』(民數記 19:2-6) 目的是要，『…收起母牛的灰，存在營外潔淨的地方，為以色列會眾調做除污穢的水。…』(民數記 19:9) 所以正在尋找這樣的純紅母牛。網路上有一個不能完全証實的消息說，以色列人已準備好重建聖殿的材料，一但找到紅母牛，就會重建聖殿。很顯然的，這和聖經所說的不合，沒有預言說到聖殿的重建，只有預言說會建造以西結的聖殿，而重建聖殿的材料，顯然是不夠建造以西結的聖殿的。

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

First of all, we see in the scriptures the signs of the end times and the Christian countermeasures, which is not to think in advance what to say, but to rely completely on the Holy Spirit, and in the process, to endure to the end.  Second, we have shared the prophecy and ending of Jerusalem before, so we won’t go into details about it, but we will point out where the details we shared before can be found.  Third, when the Son of Man comes in a cloud with power and great glory at the end of the world, we see that Christians and non-Christians have completely different reactions.  Once again, we see that God is consistent in telling us through the Bible that Jesus will come in clouds at the end of time.  Finally, in the fourth part, we discussed using the sprouting of the fig tree and various trees as a metaphor. When we see the sprouting, we naturally see that the kingdom of God is near. We also discussed the prophecy of the restoration of Israel in the Old Testament. There will be many signs of the end times. It is not just the restoration of Israel. The end will not come until the gospel is spread throughout the world.  We really need to “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”(1 Peter 5:8)

1. The signs of the end and countermeasures

“They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.” Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name. Yet not a hair of your head will perish.”(Luke 21:7-18)

They are asking about the end of the world and there are signs. The current Russian-Ukrainian war, the expanding Israel-Hamas war, etc. are obviously about people attacking people and countries attacking countries.  War can cause famine, and now there is the COVID-19 plague, and there are constant earthquakes, but there aren’t terrors and great signs from heaven. Apparently, not all signs are happening. The book of Revelation also clearly mentions that there will be various disasters and also says, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”(Revelation 22:18-19) 

Someone said to me that only spiritual people could see the seven peals of thunder. For example, that person said that the September 11 incident was one of them. But the Bible clearly says, “When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken and do not write them.””(Revelation 10:4) This really adds something to the prophecies in the Book of Revelation.  God’s will is to know that the corresponding disaster would occur only after the seven peals of thunder had occurred. Otherwise, if everything else was written down, why would only seven peals of thunder be sealed?  Of course, we also see John’s obedience here, since he did not write it down as told.  We know that there will be a new heaven and a new earth in the end (see Revelation 21:1). The temple prophesied in the book of Ezekiel that we shared before has not yet been built. It must be built first before there will be a new heaven and a new earth, because God’s prophecies never fail.  We have elaborated on this in “1079 Prophecy of the destruction of the temple and the temple prophesied by Ezekiel – Jesus (31).” Those who are interested should go there to see the details.

The signs of the end are clearly recorded here, but before that we will be persecuted, as the scripture says, “But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.”(Galatians 4:29) This is actually similar to this verse, “You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”(Mark 13:13) This is indeed the case now, and what is happening in China is a good example.  

The countermeasures taught to us are also very simple, that is, do not think about what to say in advance, rely completely on the Holy Spirit, and in the process, be patient to the end.  This is why we chose ‘First the Blood, then The Ointment’ in our hymn worship. Just like Job in the Book of Job, God allowed him to be severely tempted twice before he received the blessing. In the end, God Himself intervened to let Job see himself clearly and thus repented, which also explains why Jesus said, “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”(Matthew 10:38) David counted the people, and thus allowed him in the same way to see himself clearly and repent (see 2 Samuel 24:1-14). There are other examples recorded in the Bible, so I won’t go into details.  We also saw the promise that “Yet not a hair of your head will perish.”(Luke 21:18) At that time, when family members had different viewpoints from ours, it would happen that “…a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.”(Matthew 10:36) At that time, we will really be hated by everyone for the name of Jesus.

What we have to live now is a life sanctified by faith, hope and love, starting from faith, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.””(Romans 1:17) With faith, we have hope, because “through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exalt in hope of the glory of God.”(Romans 5:2) “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”(1 Peter 1:13) “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”(Romans 5:5)

2. Prophecy of disaster in Jerusalem

​”But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”(Luke 21:20-24)

We have seen that these were days of vengeance, and it also spoke when it would happen. Although in the New Testament era we have been forgiven because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we must not forget, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne …”(Psalm 89:14) “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”(Galatians 5:13) “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”(2 Peter 3:9) There is a time for everything, so it is said in Luke 21:24 that “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” We have discussed these verses before, so we won’t go into details. For more discussion, please see “1067 Narrow Gate, Jerusalem, Healing Dropsy, and Self Exalted – Jesus (20).”

3. Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory at the end of the world

​”There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”(Luke 21:25-28)

From these verses, we see that although Christians and non-Christians will encounter suffering in the same way, their reactions will be very different.  For non-Christians, the thought of the disasters mentioned in revelation that will come to the world can be frightening.  But when Christians know that the day of redemption is near, they will stand up and hold their heads high.  Let’s look at the verses in Acts 1:9-11, “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”” Once again, we see that God is consistent in telling us through the Bible that at the end of the day, Jesus will come in the clouds.

As we said before, we can see that God tells us through the Bible many examples that are consistent, but no matter what, these examples will always be finite. We must expand this fact into a logical axiom as the beginning of our logical derivation. We also see, “Behold, I am coming like a thief. …”(Revelation 16:15) The thief will not tell you the time to steal so that you can be on guard, so we don’t know the exact time of His coming, but His coming has the signs that were mentioned before.  We can also see what happened after His coming in the Book of Revelation. Unlike when He became flesh, He came humbly and was born in a manger. At that time, He came with power and great glory. We will talk about it in detail when we talk about the Book of Revelation.

4. Use the sprouting of fig tree and all the trees to recognize that the kingdom of God is near

Some people say that the sprouting of the fig tree refers to the restoration of Israel. This is not the case. We have to look at what the scriptures say. “Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but at evening He would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called Olivet. And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.”(Luke 21:29-38)

Here the ending verses talk about the accommodation on the Mount of Olivet. This clearly explains what we have shared before, His mode of doing things when His time has not come. He goes into Jerusalem to preach during the day and leaves the city at night, until His time comes and He is crucified on the cross.  As for us, “…take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:13) We have mentioned before that in the full armor only the word of God that is the sword of the Spirit is the weapon of attack (see Ephesians 6:14-17), we know that we by ourselves cannot do anything right (see John 15:5) and we have to “Do not quench the Spirit.”(1 Thessalonians 5:19) When the Holy Spirit tells us to attack, we will never fail.

And Jesus also “…was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows⁠—how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.””(Mark 4:26-29) So here it is said, when we see them sprouting, we naturally see that the kingdom of God is near.  Some people say that the fig tree sprouting refers to the restoration of Israel, so the kingdom of God is near!  But the Bible doesn’t say that. It says when the fig tree and all kinds of trees sprout, not just the fig tree.  As shared before, judging from the current situation, it should be a sign of “…Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.”(Luke 21:10) There are many types of signs that are gradually coming to fruition, and it cannot be said to be the end of the world with just one.

We need to note that even if heaven and earth pass away, the words of Jesus will not pass away.  That day will come upon you suddenly like a snare, as we shared before, “Behold, I am coming like a thief. …”(Revelation 16:15) “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”(Matthew 24:13-14) When will the gospel be preached throughout the world?  We don’t know that, at least now with the satellite network, the gospel can now reach some places where it could not be preached before.  We really need to “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”(1 Peter 5:8)

Regarding the restoration of Israel in 1948, the Bible does have prophecies. Let’s take a look at the following two places. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.’”(Zechariah 8:7-8) ““Do not fear, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth.”(Isaiah 43:5-6) We have seen that these verses do not refer to the time of returning to rebuild the temple. At that time, the returning people would only come from the east, because these verses say that people came from all directions. So this refers to the restoration of Israel in the present era.  Although Israel has been in ruins for more than 2,000 years, they are now restored. No country in the world can be restored after more than 2,000 years of destruction, but God’s promises have never failed.

By the way, because ““This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed. You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, …Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. The priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet material and cast it into the midst of the burning heifer.”(Numbers 19:2-6) The purpose is to “…gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin.”(Numbers 19:9) So they are looking for such a pure red heifer.  There is news on the Internet that cannot be completely confirmed that the Israelites have prepared the materials to rebuild the temple. Once the red heifer is found, the temple will be rebuilt.  Obviously, this is inconsistent with what the Bible says. There is no prophecy about the rebuilding of the temple, only the prophecy that Ezekiel’s temple will be built, and the materials for rebuilding the temple are obviously not enough to build Ezekiel’s temple.

 ​

(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)

    圣经上提到了三个圣殿，就是所罗门建造的圣殿称为第一圣殿，第二圣殿是指回归时所罗巴伯立下根基而重建的圣殿，后为大希律所扩建，又有以西结预言而尚未建立的圣殿，最后是在新天新地中『…圣城新耶路撒冷由神那里从天而降，…』(启示录 21:1-2) 『…未见城内有殿，因主神全能者和羔羊为城的殿。』(启示录 21:22)  在这里，我们首先谈到了第二圣殿被摧毁的预言，在其中我们简单的介绍了前二个圣殿的历史，然后我们将大部份时间用来讨论以西结书中预言的未来圣殿。我们看到圣经中的预言没有不应验的，所以以西结的圣殿一定会被建造的，这是为什么他连尺寸的大小都是这么详细的说明。因为非常困难在大纲中说清楚圣经是怎么说的，所以我们不在大纲中简介了，请直接到第二部份看看详情。

1. 预言圣殿的被毁和圣殿简史                

    『有人谈论圣殿是用美石和供物妆饰的，耶稣就说：「论到你们所看见的这一切，将来日子到了，在这里没有一块石头留在石头上不被拆毁了。」』(路加福音 21:5-6)          

    这里所说的是第二圣殿被摧毁的预言，我们以前在「2067 窄门，耶路撒冷，医治水臌的人，和自高的  –耶稣(20)」中讨论过，在那里，我们提到了这预言在历史中是如何成就的，这里就不多说了。我们现在就顺便简谈一下圣殿的历史。             

    第一圣殿为所罗门所建，地点很清楚，『所罗门就在耶路撒冷、耶和华向他父大卫显现的摩利亚山上，就是耶布斯人阿珥楠的禾场上、大卫所指定的地方预备好了，开工建造耶和华的殿。』(历代志下 3:1) 。『大卫(指示所罗门)说：「这一切工作的样式，都是耶和华用手划出来使我明白的。」』(历代志上 28:19) 开工的时间也清楚的记载，就是『所罗门作王第四年二月初二日开工建造。』(历代志下 3:2) 也就是『所罗门在位第四年西弗月，立了耶和华殿的根基。』(列王纪上 6:37) 『到十一年布勒月，就是八月，殿和一切属殿的都按著样式造成。他建殿的工夫共有七年。』(列王纪上 6:38) 这殿宇是金碧辉煌，就如所罗门所说，『我所要建造的殿宇甚大，因为我们的神至大，超乎诸神。』(历代志下 2:5)                 

    这第一圣殿的被毁是在『西底家…在耶路撒冷作王十一年』时 (历代志下 36:11)，那时『迦勒底人焚烧神的殿，拆毁耶路撒冷的城墙，用火烧了城里的宫殿，毁坏了城里宝贵的器皿。』(历代志下 36:19) 第一圣殿献殿时曾将约柜抬入，其过程在历代志下 5:2-7:10 中有详细的记载。所以那时约柜还在的，圣经没有讲约柜是什么时候失踪的，最后一次是提到在天上的约柜，『当时，神天上的殿开了，在他殿中现出他的约柜，随后有闪电、声音、雷轰、地震、大雹。』(启示录 11:19) 请注意，那时『因耶和华的荣光充满了耶和华殿，所以祭司不能进殿。』(历代志下 7:2) 在所罗门的圣殿献殿时是有耶和华的荣光的。这和当初摩西建造会幕完工时相似，『当时，云彩遮盖会幕，耶和华的荣光就充满了帐幕。摩西不能进会幕，因为云彩停在其上，并且耶和华的荣光充满了帐幕。』(出埃及记 40:34-35) 以西结预言的圣殿中，也是如此，『…我观看，见耶和华的荣光充满耶和华的殿，我就俯伏在地。』(以西结书 44:4) 这些都明显的看见了耶和华的同在。但重建为第二圣殿时，就没有见到如此。              

    第二圣殿是指在波斯王塞鲁士元年归回的时候重建的所罗门的圣殿，是先在原有的根基上筑坛，然后所罗巴伯才将耶和华殿的根基立定。(参以斯拉记 3:1-11) 这时殿的根基大概已不太相同，因『…有许多祭司、利未人、族长，就是见过旧殿的老年人，现在亲眼看见立这殿的根基，便大声哭号，也有许多人大声欢呼。』(以斯拉记 3:12) 大声欢呼是因为圣殿要重建了。直到『大利乌王第六年，亚达月初三日，这殿修成了。』(以斯拉记 6:15) 殿建了这么久，因为曾被强迫停止过，虽然圣经没有明说停止的过程，但提到了『在亚哈随鲁才登基的时候，上本控告犹大和耶路撒冷的居民。』(以斯拉记 4:6) 『于是，在耶路撒冷神殿的工程就停止了，直停到波斯王大利乌第二年。』(以斯拉记 4:24) 最后是『那时，撒拉铁的儿子所罗巴伯和约撒答的儿子大祭司约书亚，并剩下的百姓，都听从耶和华他们神的话，和先知哈该奉耶和华他们神差来所说的话；百姓也在耶和华面前存敬畏的心。…耶和华激动犹大省长撒拉铁的儿子所罗巴伯和约撒答的儿子大祭司约书亚，并剩下之百姓的心，他们就来为万军之耶和华他们神的殿做工。这是在大利乌王第二年六月二十四日。』(哈该书 1:12-15) 虽然圣经没有明讲殿的建造被停止的过程，但在以斯拉记 4:7-23，插了一段关于建城时被『…用势力强迫他们停工』(以斯拉记 23) 的类似情况，有兴趣的人请看那一段的历史。    

    那时，『以色列的祭司和利未人并其余被掳归回的人，都欢欢喜喜地行奉献神殿的礼。』(以斯拉记 6:16) 请注意，这时的第二圣殿并没有记载有耶和华的荣光显现。然后是大希律修理并扩充了圣殿，就如经文所说，『…这殿是四十六年才造成的，你三日内就再建立起来吗？』(约翰福音 2:20) 『但耶稣这话，是以他的身体为殿。所以到他从死里复活以后，门徒就想起他说过这话，便信了圣经和耶稣所说的。』(约翰福音 2:21-22) 门徒跟随祂三年多，但要到真正看到祂复活后才真正相信祂说的话，信是一件很不容易的事情。在这里我们也看到了基督徒是要回想的，才可以明白圣灵当时为什么会这么做。即使不明了也要顺服，要知道圣灵如此做，本是为我们的益处。『耶和华说：「我的意念非同你们的意念，我的道路非同你们的道路。天怎样高过地，照样，我的道路高过你们的道路，我的意念高过你们的意念。雨雪从天而降，并不返回，却滋润地土，使地上发芽结实，使撒种的有种，使要吃的有粮。』(以赛亚书 55:8-10)    

    最后就是历史告诉我们，在主后约七十年，罗马人将这第二圣殿如这预言所说的摧毁了 !  又有以西结预言而尚未建立的圣殿，在新天新地中『…圣城新耶路撒冷由神那里从天而降，…』(启示录 21:1-2) 我们等会看到，以西结的圣殿虽大，仍可被人手建造，而新城耶路撒冷是不可能被人手所建造的，那时是 『…未见城内有殿，因主神全能者和羔羊为城的殿。』(启示录 21:22)  在会幕和所罗门的圣殿的至圣所都有约柜代表了耶和华的同在，在新城里，『…有神和羔羊的宝座，他的仆人都要事奉他，也要见他的面。…』(启示录 22:3-4) 祂们已经同在，这样我们怎么还需要殿呢？

2. 以西结预言的圣殿             

    以西结预言而尚未建立的圣殿是以色列人建的，也是为以色列人建的。如果我们真正相信圣经是神所默示的，不把圣经的话打折扣，就可以看到这点，下面我们就慢慢的说明我们会为什么这样说。先是经文说，『那人对我说：「人子啊，凡我所指示你的，你都要用眼看，用耳听，并要放在心上。我带你到这里来，特为要指示你；凡你所见的，你都要告诉以色列家。」』(以西结书 40:4) 如果我们不把圣经的话打折扣，圣经是明说了要以西结告诉以色列家。有人就说，新约时代的所有基督徒就是以色列家，圣经从没有这样说过也没看到那些经节有这概念，只能说这是用人的看法去强解圣经啊！我们就看看圣经到底怎么说。    

    以西结书又说，『人子啊，你要将这殿指示以色列家，使他们因自己的罪孽惭愧，也要他们量殿的尺寸。』(以西结书 43:10) 接著又说，『他们若因自己所行的一切事惭愧，你就将殿的规模、样式、出入之处和一切形状、典章、礼仪、法则指示他们，在他们眼前写上，使他们遵照殿的一切规模典章去做。』 (以西结书 43:11) 是他们惭愧在先，而不是看著尺寸等因而惭愧！这就像约伯一样，要他先悔改，并为他的朋友们祷告，然后耶和华让他在苦境中转回，本末不要倒置啊！(参约伯记 42:1-10) 那么为什么会这么详细呢？因为终是要建造的，圣经上的预言没有最终不成就的，相信有关以西结圣殿的预言也会是如此，神是信实的。    

    照神借著圣经告诉我们是一致的看来，这情况是和摩西建会幕时相同的，耶和华那时晓谕摩西是多么的详细啊！祂且说得很清楚，要谨慎做这些物件，因为多次说，『…都要照著在山上指示你的样式。』(出埃及记 25:40) 天上有实体，地上的是影子，影子要反应出实体，必须如此。如不详细的说明，怎么能如此建呢？再说到『以色列神的荣光从东而来。他的声音如同多水的声音，地就因他的荣耀发光。』(以西结书 43:2) 这神是指耶和华，因经文说得很清楚，『…从此以后，这城的名字，必称为『耶和华(H3068)的所在(H4725)』。』(以西结书 48:35) 请注意，耶和华所在是两个字，在和合本中的以西结书 3:12 是说，『那时，灵将我举起，我就听见在我身后有震动轰轰的声音说：「从耶和华的所在(H4725)显出来的荣耀是该称颂的！」』汇编(Strong’s Concordance) 用的是一个字，这个字的确意谓著耶和华的所在。确定这一点，我们看了另一原文版本，在另一原文版本是用「那里(H8033)耶和华(H3068)」，这是一致的说是耶和华，而不是说三位一体的神。为什么这点这么重要的，因为犹太教只信耶和华不信三位一体的神，所以我们会说这预言中的圣殿是为信犹太教的以色列人所建。            

    以西结书也说到分地，我们看到殿是在所分的地的其中，因为经文说，『你们拈阄分地为业，要献上一分给耶和华为圣供地，长二万五千肘，宽一万肘。这分以内，四围都为圣地。…要以肘为度量地，长二万五千肘，宽一万肘。其中有圣所，是至圣的。』(以西结书 45:1-3) 我们再看殿四围的地也是为以色列分的，共有十三份，其中包括了但支派，玛拿西支派，以法莲支派，和其余的十支派，是整个以色列的支派都有份 (参以西结书 48:1-34) 另外，这殿是有至圣所的，就如经文所说，『他量内殿，长二十肘，宽二十肘。他对我说：「这是至圣所。」』(以西结书 41:4) 从圣经的一致性来看，这应该是和所罗门圣殿中的至圣所一样的大小。关于所罗门的圣殿，『内殿，就是至圣所，长二十肘，从地到棚顶，用香柏木板遮蔽。内殿长二十肘，宽二十肘，高二十肘，墙面都贴上精金。又用香柏木做坛，包上精金。』(列王纪上 6:20) 也请注意，至圣所是立方体的。        #

    再看会幕的大小是长三十肘，宽十肘，高十肘(参出埃及记 26:15-22)，虽圣经只说，『要使幔子垂在钩子下，把法柜抬进幔子内，这幔子要将圣所和至圣所隔开。』(出埃及记 26:33) 虽然这里并没有说到至圣所的大小，但宽和高已定，只有长没有说，从圣经的一致性来说，会幕的至圣所也应为立方体，也就是长十肘，宽十肘，高十肘，为所罗门圣殿的至圣所的各量度减半。这样分为至圣所和圣所即使从人的角度看也是非常合理的，我们就来看看其中的器具。『…把施恩座安在至圣所内的法柜上。把桌子安在幔子外帐幕的北面，把灯台安在帐幕的南面，彼此相对。』(出埃及记 26:34-35) 除此之外，『要把(金香)坛放在法柜前的幔子外，对著法柜上的施恩座，就是我要与你相会的地方。』(出埃及记 30:6) 所以圣所的器具是比至圣所多一些的，应该占据较大的地方。    

    如果我们大约参照以西结书 40-42，其中说，『我见殿四围有墙，那人手拿量度的竿，长六肘，每肘是一肘零一掌。他用竿量墙，厚一竿，高一竿。』(以西结书 40:5) 基本上都是以竿为单位的。我们看到了圣殿的尺寸虽然大，仍可以被人建立的。因为犹太教并不相信耶稣是神，只相信耶和华，所以这殿是耶和华的所在，为犹太教的以色列人所建立的。这时以色列的外邦人会如『主耶和华…说：以色列中的外邦人，就是身心未受割礼的，都不可入我的圣地。』(以西结书 44:9) 难怪这圣殿中会有如犹太教般的献祭，就如经文所说，『他对我说：「人子啊，主耶和华如此说：建造祭坛，为要在其上献燔祭洒血，…』(以西结书 43:18) 这是很合理的，因那时的以西结看到是犹太教。反过来看，新约时没有献祭，而这尚未建造的圣殿中有献祭，从神借著圣经告诉我们是一致的来讲，就知道这以色列民不是指新约时代的基督徒，而真正地在讲犹太教的以色列人。       

    至于殿的地点，我们看到『在神的异象中带我(以西结)到以色列地，安置在至高的山上；在山上的南边有仿佛一座城建立。…那人对我说：「人子啊，凡我所指示你的，你都要用眼看，用耳听，并要放在心上。我带你到这里来，特为要指示你；凡你所见的，你都要告诉以色列家。」』(以西结书 40:2-4) 这里是明讲了要告诉以色列家。从圣经的一致性，我们知道以西结的圣殿是建在摩利亚山上，顺便一提，『殿的法则乃是如此：殿在山顶上，四围的全界要称为至圣。这就是殿的法则。』(以西结书 43:12) 有人照圣经所写的估计以西结圣殿的大小，发觉这样的圣殿不可能建在现有的摩利亚山顶，因此结论说这不是实际建造的，只能用灵意解经。但要知道以西结的圣殿是在未来才被建造，不能用现在的看见限制住了自己，而忘了神的大能。我们今天就先不看属灵的意义，只看圣经怎么说到未来会发生的事情。       

    我们首先看这些经文，『他带我回到殿门，见殿的门槛下有水往东流出（原来殿面朝东）。这水从槛下，由殿的右边，在祭坛的南边往下流。…又量了一千肘，水便成了河，使我不能蹚过；因为水势涨起，成为可洑的水，不可蹚的河。』(以西结书 47:1-5) 现在摩利亚山上是没有河的，而那殿被建造的时候却是有的，这就说明了未来的地形有改变的事情。我们再看这节经文，『末后的日子，耶和华殿的山必坚立，超乎诸山，高举过于万岭，万民都要流归这山。』(以赛亚书 2:2) 照网上的资料，现在摩利亚山约 744 公尺，而橄榄山高为 811 公尺，那时耶和华殿的山超乎诸山，显然未来有地形变化的事情。       

    圣经在这点上说得很清楚，『那日，他的脚必站在耶路撒冷前面朝东的橄榄山上。这山必从中间分裂，自东至西，成为极大的谷。山的一半向北挪移，一半向南挪移。…那日，必有活水从耶路撒冷出来，一半往东海流，一半往西海流。冬夏都是如此。』(撒迦利亚书 14:4-8) 有低下的地方就会有高起来的地方，那时摩利亚山是超乎诸山，显然是要高起来并且山顶变大，能够建造以西结的圣殿。因殿是在北边而城在南边，且中间隔著利未区(参以西结书 45:1-5, 48:15)。按照诗篇，那时『神是我们的避难所，是我们的力量，是我们在患难中随时的帮助！…有一道河，这河的分汊，使神的城欢喜；这城就是至高者居住的圣所。』(诗篇 46:1-4) 在伊甸园是有河的 (参创世记 2:10-14)，那时这里也有了河，这河是由殿流到城后而分汊。        

    至于什么时候会建造这尚未建立的圣殿呢？我们首先看到在启示录中第六印已打开，而在第七印要打开之前发生的事情：『此后，我看见四位天使站在地的四角，执掌地上四方的风，叫风不吹在地上、海上和树上。我又看见另有一位天使，从日出之地上来，拿著永生神的印。他就向那得著权柄能伤害地和海的四位天使大声喊著说：「地与海并树木，你们不可伤害，等我们印了我们神众仆人的额。」我听见以色列人各支派中受印的数目有十四万四千。』(启示录 7:1-4) 这受印的人当中没有但支派的人。(参启示录 7:5-8) 而以西结书所讲的圣殿及其分地包括了但支派，因此讲的是两件事情。以西结所讲尚未建立的圣殿应建造在耶稣再来发生地形变化的时候之后，『但主的日子要像贼来到一样。…』(彼得后书 3:10) 因此我们只能从圣经的话语中得到一个很大的未知区间，而不能够知道确实的时间。不过，因为这是和新天新地所发生的是两件事情，这也再一次确定了那圣殿是如以前所说，是以色列的犹太教所建造的，是犹太教未来要发生的事情。             

    最后我们来看一下启示录在新天新地时的新耶路撒冷，『我被圣灵感动，天使就带我到一座高大的山，将那由神那里从天而降的圣城耶路撒冷指示我。…对我说话的，拿著金苇子当尺，要量那城和城门、城墙。城是四方的，长宽一样。天使用苇子量那城，共有四千里，长、宽、高都是一样；又量了城墙，按著人的尺寸，就是天使的尺寸，共有一百四十四肘。』(启示录 21:10-17) 我们看到这城是立方体的，是人手不能做的！而且『我未见城内有殿，因主神全能者和羔羊为城的殿。那城内又不用日月光照，因有神的荣耀光照，又有羔羊为城的灯。』(启示录 21:22-23) 虽然圣经没有明说，那立方体的城本身就应该是至圣所，因是和主神全能者和羔羊同在的地方，这怎么会还要有殿呢？    

    最近才知道有人看到这点，『…城是精金的，如同明净的玻璃。』(启示录 21:18) 那不用日月光照的城，也给在城外的人些许光照，那些在城外的人只是能看到些许光照，却不能进城。这是圣经明说的，有人『…可得权柄能到生命树那里，也能从门进城。城外有那些犬类、行邪术的、淫乱的、杀人的、拜偶像的，并一切喜好说谎言编造虚谎的。』(启示录 22:14-15) 这不像在圣经明说的第二次的死，『惟有胆怯的、不信的、可憎的、杀人的、淫乱的、行邪术的、拜偶像的和一切说谎话的，他们的分就在烧著硫磺的火湖里，这是第二次的死。』(启示录 21:8) 其中包括了那不信的，明说了那不信的都已在硫磺的火湖里。在启示录 22:15 没有包括那不信的，神是不会光照不信的人的，那些在城外的人是撒但成功的案例，因彼得说得很清楚，『…你们的仇敌魔鬼，如同吼叫的狮子，遍地游行，寻找可吞吃的人。』(彼得前书 5:8) 如果撒但每次都知道会注定失败，彼得就不会这样说，『务要谨守、警醒…』(彼得前书 5:8) 另外，即使从人的看法，神在那时是不可能光照不信的人的，所以城外的是有这样的曾经信过的基督徒。虽然这样的看法和一些人的想法不一样，圣经的确是这样说，重要的是，我们要做那能进城的基督徒。

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到这网站后要按『对属灵生命的了解』。) 

       聖經上提到了三個聖殿，就是所羅門建造的聖殿稱為第一聖殿，第二聖殿是指回歸時所羅巴伯立下根基而重建的聖殿，後為大希律所擴建，又有以西結預言而尚未建立的聖殿，最後是在新天新地中『…聖城新耶路撒冷由神那裏從天而降，…』(啓示錄 21:1-2) 『…未見城內有殿，因主神全能者和羔羊為城的殿。』(啓示錄 21:22)  在這裏，我們首先談到了第二聖殿被摧毀的預言，在其中我們簡單的介紹了前二個聖殿的歷史，然後我們將大部份時間用來討論以西結書中預言的未來聖殿。我們看到聖經中的預言沒有不應驗的，所以以西結的聖殿一定會被建造的，這是為什麼他連尺寸的大小都是這麼詳細的說明。因為非常困難在大綱中說清楚聖經是怎麼說的，所以我們不在大綱中簡介了，請直接到第二部份看看詳情。

1. 預言聖殿的被毀和聖殿簡史

                『有人談論聖殿是用美石和供物妝飾的，耶穌就說：「論到你們所看見的這一切，將來日子到了，在這裏沒有一塊石頭留在石頭上不被拆毀了。」』(路加福音 21:5-6)

           這裏所說的是第二聖殿被摧毀的預言，我們以前在「2067 窄門，耶路撒冷，醫治水臌的人，和自高的  -耶穌(20)」中討論過，在那裏，我們提到了這預言在歷史中是如何成就的，這裏就不多說了。我們現在就順便簡談一下聖殿的歷史。

             第一聖殿為所羅門所建，地點很清楚，『所羅門就在耶路撒冷、耶和華向他父大衞顯現的摩利亞山上，就是耶布斯人阿珥楠的禾場上、大衞所指定的地方預備好了，開工建造耶和華的殿。』(歷代志下 3:1) 。『大衞(指示所羅門)說：「這一切工作的樣式，都是耶和華用手劃出來使我明白的。」』(歷代志上 28:19) 開工的時間也清楚的記載，就是『所羅門作王第四年二月初二日開工建造。』(歷代志下 3:2) 也就是『所羅門在位第四年西弗月，立了耶和華殿的根基。』(列王紀上 6:37) 『到十一年布勒月，就是八月，殿和一切屬殿的都按着樣式造成。他建殿的工夫共有七年。』(列王紀上 6:38) 這殿宇是金碧輝煌，就如所羅門所說，『我所要建造的殿宇甚大，因為我們的神至大，超乎諸神。』(歷代志下 2:5)

                 這第一聖殿的被毀是在『西底家…在耶路撒冷作王十一年』時 (歷代志下 36:11)，那時『迦勒底人焚燒神的殿，拆毀耶路撒冷的城牆，用火燒了城裏的宮殿，毀壞了城裏寶貴的器皿。』(歷代志下 36:19) 第一聖殿獻殿時曾將約櫃抬入，其過程在歷代志下 5:2-7:10 中有詳細的記載。所以那時約櫃還在的，聖經沒有講約櫃是什麼時候失踪的，最後一次是提到在天上的約櫃，『當時，神天上的殿開了，在他殿中現出他的約櫃，隨後有閃電、聲音、雷轟、地震、大雹。』(啓示錄 11:19) 請注意，那時『因耶和華的榮光充滿了耶和華殿，所以祭司不能進殿。』(歷代志下 7:2) 在所羅門的聖殿獻殿時是有耶和華的榮光的。這和當初摩西建造會幕完工時相似，『當時，雲彩遮蓋會幕，耶和華的榮光就充滿了帳幕。摩西不能進會幕，因為雲彩停在其上，並且耶和華的榮光充滿了帳幕。』(出埃及記 40:34-35) 以西結預言的聖殿中，也是如此，『…我觀看，見耶和華的榮光充滿耶和華的殿，我就俯伏在地。』(以西結書 44:4) 這些都明顯的看見了耶和華的同在。但重建為第二聖殿時，就沒有見到如此。

                第二聖殿是指在波斯王塞魯士元年歸回的時候重建的所羅門的聖殿，是先在原有的根基上築壇，然後所羅巴伯才將耶和華殿的根基立定。(參以斯拉記 3:1-11) 這時殿的根基大概已不太相同，因『…有許多祭司、利未人、族長，就是見過舊殿的老年人，現在親眼看見立這殿的根基，便大聲哭號，也有許多人大聲歡呼。』(以斯拉記 3:12) 大聲歡呼是因為聖殿要重建了。直到『大利烏王第六年，亞達月初三日，這殿修成了。』(以斯拉記 6:15) 殿建了這麼久，因為曾被強迫停止過，雖然聖經沒有明說停止的過程，但提到了『在亞哈隨魯才登基的時候，上本控告猶大和耶路撒冷的居民。』(以斯拉記 4:6) 『於是，在耶路撒冷神殿的工程就停止了，直停到波斯王大利烏第二年。』(以斯拉記 4:24) 最後是『那時，撒拉鐵的兒子所羅巴伯和約撒答的兒子大祭司約書亞，並剩下的百姓，都聽從耶和華他們神的話，和先知哈該奉耶和華他們神差來所說的話；百姓也在耶和華面前存敬畏的心。…耶和華激動猶大省長撒拉鐵的兒子所羅巴伯和約撒答的兒子大祭司約書亞，並剩下之百姓的心，他們就來為萬軍之耶和華他們神的殿做工。這是在大利烏王第二年六月二十四日。』(哈該書 1:12-15) 雖然聖經沒有明講殿的建造被停止的過程，但在以斯拉記 4:7-23，插了一段關於建城時被『…用勢力強迫他們停工』(以斯拉記 23) 的類似情況，有興趣的人請看那一段的歷史。

    那時，『以色列的祭司和利未人並其餘被擄歸回的人，都歡歡喜喜地行奉獻神殿的禮。』(以斯拉記 6:16) 請注意，這時的第二聖殿並沒有記載有耶和華的榮光顯現。然後是大希律修理並擴充了聖殿，就如經文所說，『…這殿是四十六年才造成的，你三日內就再建立起來嗎？』(約翰福音 2:20) 『但耶穌這話，是以他的身體為殿。所以到他從死裏復活以後，門徒就想起他說過這話，便信了聖經和耶穌所說的。』(約翰福音 2:21-22) 門徒跟隨祂三年多，但要到真正看到祂復活後才真正相信祂說的話，信是一件很不容易的事情。在這裏我們也看到了基督徒是要回想的，才可以明白聖靈當時為什麼會這麼做。即使不明瞭也要順服，要知道聖靈如此做，本是為我們的益處。『耶和華說：「我的意念非同你們的意念，我的道路非同你們的道路。天怎樣高過地，照樣，我的道路高過你們的道路，我的意念高過你們的意念。雨雪從天而降，並不返回，卻滋潤地土，使地上發芽結實，使撒種的有種，使要吃的有糧。』(以賽亞書 55:8-10) 

    最後就是歷史告訴我們，在主後約七十年，羅馬人將這第二聖殿如這預言所說的摧毀了 !  又有以西結預言而尚未建立的聖殿，在新天新地中『…聖城新耶路撒冷由神那裏從天而降，…』(啓示錄 21:1-2) 我們等會看到，以西結的聖殿雖大，仍可被人手建造，而新城耶路撒冷是不可能被人手所建造的，那時是 『…未見城內有殿，因主神全能者和羔羊為城的殿。』(啓示錄 21:22)  在會幕和所羅門的聖殿的至聖所都有約櫃代表了耶和華的同在，在新城裏，『…有神和羔羊的寶座，他的僕人都要事奉他，也要見他的面。…』(啓示錄 22:3-4) 祂們已經同在，這樣我們怎麼還需要殿呢？

2. 以西結預言的聖殿

             以西結預言而尚未建立的聖殿是以色列人建的，也是為以色列人建的。如果我們真正相信聖經是神所默示的，不把聖經的話打折扣，就可以看到這點，下面我們就慢慢的說明我們會為什麼這樣說。先是經文說，『那人對我說：「人子啊，凡我所指示你的，你都要用眼看，用耳聽，並要放在心上。我帶你到這裏來，特為要指示你；凡你所見的，你都要告訴以色列家。」』(以西結書 40:4) 如果我們不把聖經的話打折扣，聖經是明說了要以西結告訴以色列家。有人就說，新約時代的所有基督徒就是以色列家，聖經從沒有這樣說過也沒看到那些經節有這概念，只能說這是用人的看法去強解聖經啊！我們就看看聖經到底怎麼說。

    以西結書又說，『人子啊，你要將這殿指示以色列家，使他們因自己的罪孽慚愧，也要他們量殿的尺寸。』(以西結書 43:10) 接著又說，『他們若因自己所行的一切事慚愧，你就將殿的規模、樣式、出入之處和一切形狀、典章、禮儀、法則指示他們，在他們眼前寫上，使他們遵照殿的一切規模典章去做。』 (以西結書 43:11) 是他們慚愧在先，而不是看著尺寸等因而慚愧！這就像約伯一樣，要他先悔改，並為他的朋友們禱告，然後耶和華讓他在苦境中轉回，本末不要倒置啊！(參約伯記 42:1-10) 那麼為什麼會這麼詳細呢？因為終是要建造的，聖經上的預言沒有最終不成就的，相信有關以西結聖殿的預言也會是如此，神是信實的。

    照神藉著聖經告訴我們是一致的看來，這情況是和摩西建會幕時相同的，耶和華那時曉諭摩西是多麼的詳細啊！祂且說得很清楚，要謹慎做這些物件，因為多次說，『…都要照着在山上指示你的樣式。』(出埃及記 25:40) 天上有實體，地上的是影子，影子要反應出實體，必須如此。如不詳細的說明，怎麼能如此建呢？再說到『以色列神的榮光從東而來。他的聲音如同多水的聲音，地就因他的榮耀發光。』(以西結書 43:2) 這神是指耶和華，因經文說得很清楚，『…從此以後，這城的名字，必稱為『耶和華(H3068)的所在(H4725)』。』(以西結書 48:35) 請注意，耶和華所在是兩個字，在和合本中的以西結書 3:12 是說，『那時，靈將我舉起，我就聽見在我身後有震動轟轟的聲音說：「從耶和華的所在(H4725)顯出來的榮耀是該稱頌的！」』彙編(Strong’s Concordance) 用的是一個字，這個字的確意謂著耶和華的所在。確定這一點，我們看了另一原文版本，在另一原文版本是用「那裏(H8033)耶和華(H3068)」，這是一致的說是耶和華，而不是說三位一體的神。為什麼這點這麼重要的，因為猶太教只信耶和華不信三位一體的神，所以我們會說這預言中的聖殿是為信猶太教的以色列人所建。

            以西結書也說到分地，我們看到殿是在所分的地的其中，因為經文說，『你們拈鬮分地為業，要獻上一分給耶和華為聖供地，長二萬五千肘，寬一萬肘。這分以內，四圍都為聖地。…要以肘為度量地，長二萬五千肘，寬一萬肘。其中有聖所，是至聖的。』(以西結書 45:1-3) 我們再看殿四圍的地也是為以色列分的，共有十三份，其中包括了但支派，瑪拿西支派，以法蓮支派，和其餘的十支派，是整個以色列的支派都有份 (參以西結書 48:1-34) 另外，這殿是有至聖所的，就如經文所說，『他量內殿，長二十肘，寬二十肘。他對我說：「這是至聖所。」』(以西結書 41:4) 從聖經的一致性來看，這應該是和所羅門聖殿中的至聖所一樣的大小。關於所羅門的聖殿，『內殿，就是至聖所，長二十肘，從地到棚頂，用香柏木板遮蔽。內殿長二十肘，寬二十肘，高二十肘，牆面都貼上精金。又用香柏木做壇，包上精金。』(列王紀上 6:20) 也請注意，至聖所是立方體的。

       再看會幕的大小是長三十肘，寬十肘，高十肘(參出埃及記 26:15-22)，雖聖經只說，『要使幔子垂在鈎子下，把法櫃抬進幔子內，這幔子要將聖所和至聖所隔開。』(出埃及記 26:33) 雖然這裏並沒有說到至聖所的大小，但寬和高已定，只有長沒有說，從聖經的一致性來說，會幕的至聖所也應為立方體，也就是長十肘，寬十肘，高十肘，為所羅門聖殿的至聖所的各量度減半。這樣分為至聖所和聖所即使從人的角度看也是非常合理的，我們就來看看其中的器具。『…把施恩座安在至聖所內的法櫃上。把桌子安在幔子外帳幕的北面，把燈台安在帳幕的南面，彼此相對。』(出埃及記 26:34-35) 除此之外，『要把(金香)壇放在法櫃前的幔子外，對着法櫃上的施恩座，就是我要與你相會的地方。』(出埃及記 30:6) 所以聖所的器具是比至聖所多一些的，應該佔據較大的地方。

    如果我們大約參照以西結書 40-42，其中說，『我見殿四圍有牆，那人手拿量度的竿，長六肘，每肘是一肘零一掌。他用竿量牆，厚一竿，高一竿。』(以西結書 40:5) 基本上都是以竿為單位的。我們看到了聖殿的尺寸雖然大，仍可以被人建立的。因為猶太教並不相信耶穌是神，只相信耶和華，所以這殿是耶和華的所在，為猶太教的以色列人所建立的。這時以色列的外邦人會如『主耶和華…說：以色列中的外邦人，就是身心未受割禮的，都不可入我的聖地。』(以西結書 44:9) 難怪這聖殿中會有如猶太教般的獻祭，就如經文所說，『他對我說：「人子啊，主耶和華如此說：建造祭壇，為要在其上獻燔祭灑血，…』(以西結書 43:18) 這是很合理的，因那時的以西結看到是猶太教。反過來看，新約時沒有獻祭，而這尚未建造的聖殿中有獻祭，從神藉著聖經告訴我們是一致的來講，就知道這以色列民不是指新約時代的基督徒，而真正地在講猶太教的以色列人。

       至於殿的地點，我們看到『在神的異象中帶我(以西結)到以色列地，安置在至高的山上；在山上的南邊有彷彿一座城建立。…那人對我說：「人子啊，凡我所指示你的，你都要用眼看，用耳聽，並要放在心上。我帶你到這裏來，特為要指示你；凡你所見的，你都要告訴以色列家。」』(以西結書 40:2-4) 這裏是明講了要告訴以色列家。從聖經的一致性，我們知道以西結的聖殿是建在摩利亞山上，順便一提，『殿的法則乃是如此：殿在山頂上，四圍的全界要稱為至聖。這就是殿的法則。』(以西結書 43:12) 有人照聖經所寫的估計以西結聖殿的大小，發覺這樣的聖殿不可能建在現有的摩利亞山頂，因此結論說這不是實際建造的，只能用靈意解經。但要知道以西結的聖殿是在未來才被建造，不能用現在的看見限制住了自己，而忘了神的大能。我們今天就先不看屬靈的意義，只看聖經怎麼說到未來會發生的事情。

       我們首先看這些經文，『他帶我回到殿門，見殿的門檻下有水往東流出（原來殿面朝東）。這水從檻下，由殿的右邊，在祭壇的南邊往下流。…又量了一千肘，水便成了河，使我不能蹚過；因為水勢漲起，成為可洑的水，不可蹚的河。』(以西結書 47:1-5) 現在摩利亞山上是沒有河的，而那殿被建造的時候卻是有的，這就說明了未來的地形有改變的事情。我們再看這節經文，『末後的日子，耶和華殿的山必堅立，超乎諸山，高舉過於萬嶺，萬民都要流歸這山。』(以賽亞書 2:2) 照網上的資料，現在摩利亞山約 744 公尺，而橄欖山高為 811 公尺，那時耶和華殿的山超乎諸山，顯然未來有地形變化的事情。

       聖經在這點上說得很清楚，『那日，他的腳必站在耶路撒冷前面朝東的橄欖山上。這山必從中間分裂，自東至西，成為極大的谷。山的一半向北挪移，一半向南挪移。…那日，必有活水從耶路撒冷出來，一半往東海流，一半往西海流。冬夏都是如此。』(撒迦利亞書 14:4-8) 有低下的地方就會有高起來的地方，那時摩利亞山是超乎諸山，顯然是要高起來並且山頂變大，能夠建造以西結的聖殿。因殿是在北邊而城在南邊，且中間隔著利未區(參以西結書 45:1-5, 48:15)。按照詩篇，那時『神是我們的避難所，是我們的力量，是我們在患難中隨時的幫助！…有一道河，這河的分汊，使神的城歡喜；這城就是至高者居住的聖所。』(詩篇 46:1-4) 在伊甸園是有河的 (參創世記 2:10-14)，那時這裏也有了河，這河是由殿流到城後而分汊。

        至於什麼時候會建造這尚未建立的聖殿呢？我們首先看到在啓示錄中第六印已打開，而在第七印要打開之前發生的事情：『此後，我看見四位天使站在地的四角，執掌地上四方的風，叫風不吹在地上、海上和樹上。我又看見另有一位天使，從日出之地上來，拿着永生神的印。他就向那得着權柄能傷害地和海的四位天使大聲喊着說：「地與海並樹木，你們不可傷害，等我們印了我們神眾僕人的額。」我聽見以色列人各支派中受印的數目有十四萬四千。』(啓示錄 7:1-4) 這受印的人當中沒有但支派的人。(參啓示錄 7:5-8) 而以西結書所講的聖殿及其分地包括了但支派，因此講的是兩件事情。以西結所講尚未建立的聖殿應建造在耶穌再來發生地形變化的時候之後，『但主的日子要像賊來到一樣。…』(彼得後書 3:10) 因此我們只能從聖經的話語中得到一個很大的未知區間，而不能夠知道確實的時間。不過，因為這是和新天新地所發生的是兩件事情，這也再一次確定了那聖殿是如以前所說，是以色列的猶太教所建造的，是猶太教未來要發生的事情。

             最後我們來看一下啓示錄在新天新地時的新耶路撒冷，『我被聖靈感動，天使就帶我到一座高大的山，將那由神那裏從天而降的聖城耶路撒冷指示我。…對我說話的，拿着金葦子當尺，要量那城和城門、城牆。城是四方的，長寬一樣。天使用葦子量那城，共有四千里，長、寬、高都是一樣；又量了城牆，按着人的尺寸，就是天使的尺寸，共有一百四十四肘。』(啓示錄 21:10-17) 我們看到這城是立方體的，是人手不能做的！而且『我未見城內有殿，因主神全能者和羔羊為城的殿。那城內又不用日月光照，因有神的榮耀光照，又有羔羊為城的燈。』(啓示錄 21:22-23) 雖然聖經沒有明說，那立方體的城本身就應該是至聖所，因是和主神全能者和羔羊同在的地方，這怎麼會還要有殿呢？

    最近才知道有人看到這點，『…城是精金的，如同明淨的玻璃。』(啓示錄 21:18) 那不用日月光照的城，也給在城外的人些許光照，那些在城外的人只是能看到些許光照，卻不能進城。這是聖經明說的，有人『…可得權柄能到生命樹那裏，也能從門進城。城外有那些犬類、行邪術的、淫亂的、殺人的、拜偶像的，並一切喜好說謊言編造虛謊的。』(啓示錄 22:14-15) 這不像在聖經明說的第二次的死，『惟有膽怯的、不信的、可憎的、殺人的、淫亂的、行邪術的、拜偶像的和一切說謊話的，他們的分就在燒着硫磺的火湖裏，這是第二次的死。』(啓示錄 21:8) 其中包括了那不信的，明說了那不信的都已在硫磺的火湖裏。在啓示錄 22:15 沒有包括那不信的，神是不會光照不信的人的，那些在城外的人是撒但成功的案例，因彼得說得很清楚，『…你們的仇敵魔鬼，如同吼叫的獅子，遍地遊行，尋找可吞吃的人。』(彼得前書 5:8) 如果撒但每次都知道會注定失敗，彼得就不會這樣說，『務要謹守、警醒…』(彼得前書 5:8) 另外，即使從人的看法，神在那時是不可能光照不信的人的，所以城外的是有這樣的曾經信過的基督徒。雖然這樣的看法和一些人的想法不一樣，聖經的確是這樣說，重要的是，我們要做那能進城的基督徒。

(你可以在『 https://a-christian-voice.com/ 』看到所有的文章，到這網站後要按『對屬靈生命的瞭解』。)

The Bible mentions three temples. The temple built by Solomon is called the First Temple. The Second Temple refers to the temple that Zerubbabel laid the foundation and rebuilt when returned. It was later expanded by Herod the Great, and there is the temple that Ezekiel prophesied but has not yet been built, and finally in the new heaven and new earth, “…the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, …” (Revelation 21:1-2) “…no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”(Revelation 21:22) Here, we first talk about the prophecy of the destruction of the Second Temple, in which we briefly introduced the history of the first two temples, and then we spent most of the time discussing Ezekiel’s future temple prophesied in the book of Ezekiel.  We see that all the prophecies in the Bible are fulfilled, so Ezekiel’s temple will definitely be built. This is why he even explained its construction in such detail.  Because it is very difficult to explain clearly what the Bible says in the outline, we will not introduce it in the outline. Please go directly to Part 2 for details.

1. Prophecy of the destruction of the Temple and brief history of the Temple

“And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.””(Luke 21:5-6)

What is being spoken of here is the prophecy of the destruction of the Second Temple, which we have previously discussed in “1067 Narrow Gate, Jerusalem, Healing Dropsy, and Self Exalted – Jesus (20),” where we mentioned how this prophecy was fulfilled in history, and I won’t go into detail here.  Let us now briefly discuss the history of the Temple.​

The first temple was built by Solomon, and the location is clear: “Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.”(2 Chronicles 3:1). ““All this,” said David, “the LORD made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, all the details of this pattern.””(1 Chronicles 28:19) The time when the work began is also clearly recorded, “He began to build on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his reign.” (2 Chronicles 3:2) That is, “In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv.”(1 Kings 6:37) It was finished as the scripture says, “In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.”(1 Kings 6:38) This temple is splendid, just as Solomon said, “The house which I am about to build will be great, for greater is our God than all the gods.”(2 Chronicles 2:5)​

The destruction of this first temple occurred when “Zedekiah …reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.”(2 Chronicles 36:11) The Chaldeans “burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles.”(2 Chronicles 36:19) The Ark of the Covenant was brought in when the First Temple was dedicated, and the process is recorded in detail in 2 Chronicles 5:2-7:10.  So the Ark of the Covenant was still there at that time. The Bible does not tell when the Ark of the Covenant disappeared. The last time it mentioned the Ark of the Covenant is in heaven, “And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.”(Revelation 11:19) Please note that at that time, “The priests could not enter into the house of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’S house.”(2 Chronicles 7:2) Therefore, there was the glory of the Lord when Solomon’s temple was dedicated.  This is similar to the situation when Moses finished building the tabernacle, “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.”(Exodus 40:34-35) The same was true in the temple prophesied by Ezekiel, “…I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD, and I fell on my face.”(Ezekiel 44:4) These all clearly saw the presence of the Lord.  But when it was rebuilt as the Second Temple, the glory of the LORD was not seen.

The Second Temple refers to the Temple of Solomon that was rebuilt when King Cyrus of Persia was in the first year of his reign. The altar was first built on the original foundation, and then Zerubbabel laid the foundation of the Temple of the Lord.  (See Ezra 3:1-11) The foundation of the temple at this time was probably not the same, because “Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy.”(Ezra 3:12) The reason for shouting loudly for joy is that the temple will be rebuilt.

Much later, “This temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.”(Ezra 6:15) The construction of the temple took so long because it was forced to stop. Although the Bible does not clearly explain the process of stopping, it does mention that “Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.”(Ezra 4:6) “Then work on the house of God in Jerusalem ceased, and it was stopped until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”(Ezra 4:24) So finally, “Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him. And the people showed reverence for the LORD. …So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.”(Haggai 1:12-15) Although the Bible does not explicitly mention the process of stopping the construction of the temple, in Ezra 4:7-23, a paragraph is inserted about the construction of the city when “…they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews and stopped them by force of arms.”(Ezra 23). If you are interested in this, please read that period of history.

At that time, “…the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.”(Ezra 6:16) Please note that there is no record of the glory of Jehovah appearing in the Second Temple at this time.  Then Herod the Great repaired and expanded the temple, as the scripture says, “…It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”(John 2:20) “But He (Jesus) was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.”(John 2:21-22) The disciples followed Him for more than three years, but they did not truly believe what He said until they actually saw His resurrection. Having faith is not easy. 

Here we also see that Christians need to think back before they can understand why the Holy Spirit did what they did.  We must obey even if we don’t understand. We must know that the Holy Spirit does this for our benefit. ““For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater.”(Isaiah 55:8-10)

Finally, history tells us that in about 70 AD, the Romans destroyed the second temple as predicted by this prophecy! There is also a temple that Ezekiel prophesied but has not yet built. Eventually, in the new heaven and new earth, “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, …”(Revelation 21:1-2) We will see later that although Ezekiel’s temple was large, it could still be built with human hands, but the new city Jerusalem cannot be built with human hands. At that time, “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”(Revelation 21:22) In the tabernacle of the meeting and in the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s temple, there was the ark of the covenant, which represented the presence of the Lord. In the new city, “…the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, …”(Revelation 22:3-4) They are already with us, so why do we still need a temple?

2. The temple prophesied by Ezekiel

The temple that Ezekiel prophesied but had not yet built was built by the Israelites and for the Israelites.  If we truly believe that the Bible is inspired by God and do not discount its words, we can see this. Below we will slowly explain why we say this.  First, the scripture says, “The man said to me, “Son of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and give attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.””(Ezekiel 40:4) If we do not discount the words of the Bible, the Bible clearly says that Ezekiel should tell it to the house of Israel.  Some people say that all Christians in the New Testament era are the house of Israel. The Bible has never said this and has not seen this concept in verses. We can only say that this is a forced interpretation of the Bible using human opinions!  Let’s see what the Bible actually says.

Ezekiel also says, ““As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the plan.”(Ezekiel 43:10) Then he said, “As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the plan.”(Ezekiel 43:11) They were ashamed first, not because they looked at the size and so on!  This is like Job. He was repented first and prayed for his friends, and then Jehovah allowed him to turn around in his plight. Don’t put the cart before the horse!  (See Job 42:1-10) So why is it so detailed?  Because it will eventually be built. All prophecies in the Bible will eventually come true. The prophecy about Ezekiel’s temple will be the same, since God is faithful. ​

According to what God tells us through the Bible is consistent, this situation should be the same as the time when Moses built the tabernacle. How detailed the instructions that the   Lord told Moses were at that time!  He also made it very clear that these items should be made carefully, for He said many times, “…you make them after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain.”(Exodus 25:40) There is the reality in heaven, and the shadow of it on the earth. The shadow must reflect reality, and this must be the case.  How could it be built like this without detailed explanation? 

Again, “and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.”(Ezekiel 43:2) This God refers to Jehovah, because the scriptures make it clear, “…and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘The LORD (H3068) is there (H4725).’” (Ezekiel 48:35) Please note that the word in Ezekiel 3:12, “…Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His place (H4725).” Strong’s Concordance uses one word, and this word does mean the place of the Lord.  To confirm this, we looked at another original text version. In the other original text version, “there (H8033) the Lord (H3068)” is used, which is consistent with saying that it is Jehovah, not the Trinity God.  Why is this so important? Because Judaism only believes in Jehovah and not the Trinity, so we would say that the temple in this prophecy was built for the Israelites who believed in Judaism.

The book of Ezekiel also talks about the allotment of land. We see that the temple is in the allotment of land, because the scripture says, “And when you divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer an allotment to the LORD, a holy portion of the land; …From this area you shall measure a length of 25,000 cubits and a width of 10,000 cubits; and in it shall be the sanctuary, the most holy place.”(Ezekiel 45:1-3) Let’s look at the land around the temple that was also divided for Israel. There were thirteen portions in total, including the tribe of Dan, the tribe of Manasseh, the tribe of Ephraim, and the remaining ten tribes. All the tribes of Israel have a share (see Ezekiel 48:1-34) In addition, this temple has the Holy of Holies, as the scripture says, “He measured its length, twenty cubits, and the width, twenty cubits, before the nave; and he said to me, “This is the most holy place.””(Ezekiel 41:4) From the consistency of the Bible, this should be the same proportion as the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple.  Concerning Solomon’s temple, “The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the altar with cedar.”(1 Kings 6:20) Please also note that the Holy of Holies was cube-shaped.

Looking at the size of the tabernacle, it is thirty cubits long, ten cubits wide, and ten cubits high (see Exodus 26:15-22). Although the Bible only says, “You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies.”(Exodus 26:33) Although the size of the Holy of Holies is not mentioned here, the width and height have been determined, and only the length is not mentioned. From the consistency of the Bible, the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle should also be the cube, that is, ten cubits long, ten cubits wide, and ten cubits high, which was half the measure of the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s Temple.  This division into the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place is very reasonable even from a human perspective. Let’s take a look at the utensils in it. “You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the holy of holies. You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side.”(Exodus 26:34-35) In addition, “You shall put this altar (of gold incense) in front of the veil that is near the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is over the ark of the testimony, where I will meet with you.”(Exodus 30:6) Therefore, the Holy Place has more utensils than the Holy of Holies and should occupy a larger space.

If we refer roughly to Ezekiel 40-42 which tells the size of the temple, it says in Ezekiel 40:5, “And behold, there was a wall on the outside of the temple all around, and in the man’s hand was a measuring rod of six cubits, each of which was a cubit and a handbreadth. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one rod; and the height, one rod.” So the basic unit is rod.  We saw that despite the size of the temple, it could still be built.  Because Judaism does not believe that Jesus is God, but only believes in Jehovah, this temple is where Jehovah is and was built for the Jewish Israelites.  At this time, the Gentiles in Israel will be like, “Thus says the Lord GOD, “No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary.” (Ezekiel 44:9) No wonder there are Jewish-like sacrifices in this temple, as the scripture says, “And He said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built, to offer burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it.”(Ezekiel 43:18) This is very reasonable, because Ezekiel at that time saw only Judaism. On the other hand, there were no sacrifices anymore in the New Covenant, but there are sacrifices in the temple. From the fact that what God tells us through the Bible is consistent, we know that the people of Israel does not refer to the Christians of the New Testament era, but truly refers to the Israelites in Judaism.

As for the location of the temple, we see that “In the visions of God He brought me (Ezekiel) into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, and on it to the south there was a structure like a city. …The man said to me, “Son of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and give attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.””(Ezekiel 40:2-4) First, here it is clearly stated that you will tell it to the house of Israel.  Second, from the consistency of Scripture, we know that Ezekiel’s temple was built on Mount Moriah, and by the way, “This is the law of the house: its entire area on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.”(Ezekiel 43:12)

Some people estimated the size of Ezekiel’s temple based on what is written in the Bible and found that such a temple could not be built on the existing Mount Moriah. Therefore, they concluded that it was not actually built but could only interpret the Bible spiritually.  But you must know that Ezekiel’s temple will be built in the future. You cannot limit yourself with what you see now and forget the power of God.  Let’s not look at the spiritual meaning today, but just look at what the Bible says about what will happen in the future. ​

Let’s first look at these verses, “Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. …Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded.”(Ezekiel 47:1-5) There is no river on Mount Moriah now, but there will be one when the temple is built. This shows that the terrain will change in the future.  Let’s now look at this verse, “Now it will come about that In the last daysThe mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.”(Isaiah 2:2) According to the information on the Internet, Mount Moriah is now about 744 meters high, while the Mount of Olives is 811 meters high. At that time, the mountain of the Temple of the Lord was higher than the other mountains. Obviously, there will be changes in the terrain in the future.

The Bible is very clear on this point, “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. …And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.”(Zechariah 14:4-8) Wherever there is a low place, there will be a high place in that large earthquake. At that time, Mount Moriah will be higher than all the mountains. It is obviously going to be high and the top of the mountain will become bigger, so that it will be large enough to build the temple Ezekiel prophesied.  Note that the temple is on the north and the city is on the south, with the Levitical district separated in between (see Ezekiel 45:1-5, 48:15).  According to the Psalms, then “…God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. …There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High.”(Psalm 46:1-4) There was a river in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 2:10-14). There was also a river here at that time whose streams make glad the city of God. Thus, the river flowed from the temple to the back of the city and branched.

As for when this yet-to-be-built temple will be built?  We first see in Revelation regarding what happened before the sixth seal was opened and before the seventh seal was opened: “After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.”(Revelation 7:1-4) Among those who were sealed, there was no one from the tribe of Dan.  (See Revelation 7:5-8) The temple and its portions mentioned in Ezekiel include the tribe of Dan, so they are talking about two different things.  The unbuilt temple that Ezekiel spoke of should be built after the changes in the terrain when Jesus returns, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, …”(2 Peter 3:10) Therefore, we can only get a large unknown interval from the words of the Bible, and we cannot know the exact time.  However, because this is two different things from what will happen in the new heaven and new earth, this once again confirms that the temple was built by Judaism in Israel as mentioned before, and it is something that will happen to Judaism in the future.

Finally, let’s look at the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth in the Book of Revelation, “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. …The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.”(Revelation 21:10-17) We see that this city is cube-shaped and cannot be built by human hands!  And “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.”(Revelation 21:22-23) Although the Bible does not say it clearly, the cube-shaped city itself should be the Holy of Holies, because it is the place where the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are present. There is no reason to have a temple.

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I recently learned that someone saw this, “…the city was pure gold, like clear glass.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​(Revelation 21:18) The city that does not shine with the sun or moon also gives some light to those outside the city. In other words, those outside the city can only see some light, but cannot enter the city.  This is clearly stated in the Bible. Some people “…may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”(Revelation 22:14-15) This is not like the second death, which is clearly stated in the Bible, “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”(Revelation 21:8) This includes those who do not believe, and it is clearly stated that those who do not believe are in the lake of fire and brimstone.  In Revelation 22:15, it does not include those who do not believe. God will not enlighten the unbelievers. Those outside the city are examples of Satan’s success because Peter made it very clear, “…Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”(1 Peter 5:8) If Satan had known that he was doomed to fail every time, Peter would not have said, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. …”(1 Peter 5:8) In addition, even if you follow the viewpoint of men, it is impossible for God to enlighten unbelievers at that time, so there were such Christians outside the city who had once believed.  Although this viewpoint is different from what some people think, the Bible does say this. The important thing is that we should be like those Christians who can enter the city.

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(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)

(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)