Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · Revelation Capítulo 12

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Revelation Capítulo 12

1

Re 12:1-17.

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Re 12:1-17.

婦人、她的孩子、以及逼迫之龍的異象。

1. 這段插曲

(Re 12:1-15:8)

詳細描述了以色列和選民教會受獸逼迫的情形——這在Re 11:7-10中已簡略提及——以及忠心者的得勝和不忠者的痛苦。同樣,第十六至第二十章是對Re 11:13, 18中簡略提及的對獸之審判的詳細描述。Re 12:3等處的獸被顯示不是單獨的,而是撒但——那更大黑暗權勢——手中的工具。這從以下事實可見:第十一章的時期正是第十二和十三章事件發生的時期,即1260天

(Re 12:6, 14;Re 13:5;

比較

Re 11:2, 3)。

大——在尺寸和意義上。

異象——希臘文作"記號":意指重大真理的記號。

在天上——不僅僅是天空,而是剛才

Re 11:19

所提的天上;比較

Re 12:7-9。

身披日頭……月亮在腳下的婦人——即教會——先是以色列,然後是外邦教會;披戴基督——"公義的太陽"。"美如月亮,皎潔如日頭。"披戴太陽,教會在世界中是神聖超自然之光的承載者。因此七教會(即普世教會,那婦人)被表徵為發光的燈臺

(Re 1:12, 20)。

另一方面,月亮雖然站在海和地之上,卻完全與它們相連,是屬地的光:海、地和月亮代表與神國度——即天上、太陽——相對立的屬世元素。月亮不能驅散黑暗將之變為白晝:因此她代表(異教的)世界宗教之與超自然世界的關係。所以教會將月亮踏在腳下;但頭上的星——屬天的光——卻戴在額上。魔鬼將他的努力指向那些星——即將來要永遠發光的教會使者。圍繞她頭上的十二星冠冕是以色列的十二支派[奧伯倫]。對以色列的暗指與此相符:比較

Re 11:19,

"神的殿";"他的約櫃"。那在巴比倫被擄時失去、此後再未尋獲的約櫃,在"天上開了的神的殿"中被看見,表明神如今再次與他的古民立約。這婦人不可能按字面指耶穌的童貞母親,因為她並沒有逃到曠野、在那裏停留1260天,同時龍逼迫她其餘的兒女

(Re 12:13-17)

[德·伯格]。太陽、月亮和十二星是雅各、利亞(或拉結)和十二位先祖——即猶太教會——的象徵:進一步也指普世教會——腳下踏著那常常變化、以借來之光發亮的月亮——象徵猶太教時期如今處於從屬地位(雖然支撐著那婦人),也象徵今世變幻不定的事物;頭上戴著十二星的冠冕——十二使徒——然而他們與以色列十二支派密切相關。教會在進入外邦世界時:(1)受逼迫;(2)隨後被誘惑,因異教開始對她產生反作用。這就是那象徵性之婦人、獸、淫婦和假先知之意義的鑰匙。婦人和獸的對比如同但以理中人子與獸的對比。正如人子從天上來,婦人也在天上被看見

(Re 12:1)。

兩隻獸分別從海中(比較

Da 7:3)

和從地中

(Re 13:1, 11)

上來:它們的源頭不是屬天的,而是屬地的、屬地之士。但以理看見天上的新郎有形地降臨作王。約翰看見那婦人——新婦——其呼召是屬天的,在主再來之前處於世界之中。婦人的特徵——有別於男人——是她的順服、捨己和領受。這同樣是人與神的關係——順服神、從神領受。人靈的一切自主都顛倒了人與神的關係。婦人般的向神領受構成了信心。藉此,個人成為神的兒女;這些兒女集體被視為"那婦人"。人類——就其屬神而言——就是那婦人。基督——那婦人之子——在

Re 12:5

中被強調稱為"男孩子"(希臘文作"huios arrheen","男性孩子")。他雖為婦人所生、為人的緣故在律法之下,卻也是神的兒子,因此是教會的丈夫。作為婦人之子,他是"人子";作為男孩子,他是神的兒子,也是教會的丈夫。凡以為自己有生命之人,都與生命之源——他——隔絕了,靠自己的力量站立,淪為無知的獸。因此,婦人普遍指神的國度;獸指世界的國度。耶穌所由生的婦人代表舊約神的會眾。婦人的產難

(Re 12:2)

代表舊約信徒對所應許之救贖主的熱切渴望。比較他誕生時的喜樂

(Isa 9:6)。

正如新耶路撒冷(也稱為"婦人"或"妻子",

Re 21:2, 9-12),

有十二個門,是那高升、得變化的教會;照樣那戴著十二星的婦人也是那爭戰中的教會。

Original em inglês

Re 12:1-17.

VISION OF THE WOMAN, HER CHILD, AND THE PERSECUTING DRAGON.

1. This episode

(Re 12:1-15:8)

describes in detail the persecution of Israel and the elect Church by the beast, which had been summarily noticed,

Re 11:7-10,

and the triumph of the faithful, and torment of the unfaithful. So also the sixteenth through twentieth chapters are the description in detail of the judgment on the beast, &c., summarily noticed in

Re 11:13, 18.

The beast in

Re 12:3,

&c., is shown not to be alone, but to be the instrument in the hand of a greater power of darkness, Satan. That this is so, appears from the time of the eleventh chapter being the period also in which the events of the twelfth and thirteenth chapters take place, namely, 1260 days

(Re 12:6, 14; Re 13:5;

compare

Re 11:2, 3).

great--in size and significance.

wonder--Greek, "sign": significant of momentous truths.

in heaven--not merely the sky, but the heaven beyond just mentioned,

Re 11:19;

compare

Re 12:7-9.

woman clothed with the sun . . . moon under her feet--the Church, Israel first, and then the Gentile Church; clothed with Christ, "the Sun of righteousness." "Fair as the moon, clear as the sun." Clothed with the Sun, the Church is the bearer of divine supernatural light in the world. So the seven churches (that is, the Church universal, the woman) are represented as light-bearing candlesticks

(Re 1:12, 20).

On the other hand, the moon, though standing above the sea and earth, is altogether connected with them and is an earthly light: sea, earth, and moon represent the worldly element, in opposition to the kingdom of God--heaven, the sun. The moon cannot disperse the darkness and change it into-day: thus she represents the world religion (heathenism) in relation to the supernatural world. The Church has the moon, therefore, under her feet; but the stars, as heavenly lights, on her head. The devil directs his efforts against the stars, the angels of the churches, about hereafter to shine for ever. The twelve stars, the crown around her head, are the twelve tribes of Israel [AUBERLEN]. The allusions to Israel before accord with this: compare

Re 11:19,

"the temple of God"; "the ark of His testament." The ark lost at the Babylonian captivity, and never since found, is seen in the "temple of God opened in heaven," signifying that God now enters again into covenant with His ancient people. The woman cannot mean, literally, the virgin mother of Jesus, for she did not flee into the wilderness and stay there for 1260 days, while the dragon persecuted the remnant of her seed

(Re 12:13-17)

[DE BURGH]. The sun, moon, and twelve stars, are emblematical of Jacob, Leah, or else Rachel, and the twelve patriarchs, that is, the Jewish Church: secondarily, the Church universal, having under her feet, in due subordination, the ever changing moon, which shines with a borrowed light, emblem of the Jewish dispensation, which is now in a position of inferiority, though supporting the woman, and also of the changeful things of this world, and having on her head the crown of twelve stars, the twelve apostles, who, however, are related closely to Israel's twelve tribes. The Church, in passing over into the Gentile world, is (1) persecuted; (2) then seduced, as heathenism begins to react on her. This is the key to the meaning of the symbolic woman, beast, harlot, and false prophet. Woman and beast form the same contrast as the Son of man and the beasts in Daniel. As the Son of man comes from heaven, so the woman is seen in heaven

(Re 12:1).

The two beasts arise respectively out of the sea (compare

Da 7:3)

and the earth

(Re 13:1, 11):

their origin is not of heaven, but of earth earthy. Daniel beholds the heavenly Bridegroom coming visibly to reign. John sees the woman, the Bride, whose calling is heavenly, in the world, before the Lord's coming again. The characteristic of woman, in contradistinction to man, is her being subject, the surrendering of herself, her being receptive. This similarly is man's relation to God, to be subject to, and receive from, God. All autonomy of the human spirit reverses man's relation to God. Woman-like receptivity towards God constitutes faith. By it the individual becomes a child of God; the children collectively are viewed as "the woman." Humanity, in so far as it belongs to God, is the woman. Christ, the Son of the woman, is in

Re 12:5

emphatically called "the MAN-child" (Greek, "huios arrheen," "male-child"). Though born of a woman, and under the law for man's sake, He is also the Son of God, and so the HUSBAND of the Church. As Son of the woman, He is "'Son of man"; as male-child, He is Son of God, and Husband of the Church. All who imagine to have life in themselves are severed from Him, the Source of life, and, standing in their own strength, sink to the level of senseless beasts. Thus, the woman designates universally the kingdom of God; the beast, the kingdom of the world. The woman of whom Jesus was born represents the Old Testament congregation of God. The woman's travail-pains

(Re 12:2)

represent the Old Testament believers' ardent longings for the promised Redeemer. Compare the joy at His birth

(Isa 9:6).

As new Jerusalem (called also "the woman," or "wife,"

Re 21:2, 9-12),

with its twelve gates, is the exalted and transfigured Church, so the woman with the twelve stars is the Church militant.

2

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2. 生產之難——希臘文作"受折磨"(basanizomene)。德·伯格將此解釋為將長子再次帶到世上——當以色列終於歡迎他、當"男孩子必用鐵杖轄管萬國"之時。但此處婦人的痛苦生產與基督再來猶太教會——以色列中信的餘民——之間,有明顯的對比:"婦人未曾劬勞就生產……一個男孩子"——即幾乎沒有產難——她在(他第二次降臨時)領受彌賽亞和許多後裔,如同再次生下一般。

Original em inglês

2. pained--Greek, "tormented" (basanizomene). DE BURGH explains this of the bringing in of the first-begotten into the world AGAIN, when Israel shall at last welcome Him, and when "the man-child shall rule all nations with the rod of iron." But there is a plain contrast between the painful travailing of the woman here, and Christ's second coming to the Jewish Church, the believing remnant of Israel, "Before she travailed she brought forth . . . a MAN-CHILD," that is, almost without travail-pangs, she receives (at His second advent), as if born to her, Messiah and a numerous seed.

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3. 出現——「被看見」。

異象——希臘文作「semeion」,即「記號」。

紅——A和武加大譯本如此讀。但B、C和科普特譯本讀作「火」。無論如何,龍的顏色暗示他作為從起初就是殺人者的烈怒。他的代表獸與之對應——有七頭十角(角數與

Da 7:7;

Re 13:1

第四獸相同)。但在但以理書,十個冠冕在十角上(因為在末了之前,第四帝國分為十國);此處七個冠冕(更當作「頭飾」,希臘文作「diademata」——非stephanoi「花冠」)在七頭上。在

Da 7:4-7

中,基督第二次降臨之前的敵基督勢力由四獸代表,共有七頭——即第一、第二和第四獸各有一頭,第三獸有四頭。他以七個頭飾暗示他作為這墮落世界之王的普世統治權(對比基督頭上的「許多頭飾」,

Re 19:12——

他來是要毀滅他和他的國)——這是對七重神之靈的拙劣模仿。他屬世的權力工具以十角為記——十是世界的數目。他和獸同時有七(神聖之數)和十(世界之數)——這標示出他的自相矛盾。

Original em inglês

3. appeared--"was seen."

wonder--Greek, "semeion," "sign."

red--So A and Vulgate read. But B, C, and Coptic read, "of fire." In either case, the color of the dragon implies his fiery rage as a murderer from the beginning. His representative, the beast, corresponds, having seven heads and ten horns (the number of horns on the fourth beast of

Da 7:7; Re 13:1).

But there, ten crowns are on the ten horns (for before the end, the fourth empire is divided into ten kingdoms); here, seven crowns (rather, "diadems," Greek, "diademata," not stephanoi, "wreaths") are upon his seven heads. In

Da 7:4-7

the Antichristian powers up to Christ's second coming are represented by four beasts, which have among them seven heads, that is, the first, second, and fourth beasts having one head each, the third, four heads. His universal dominion as prince of this fallen world is implied by the seven diadems (contrast the "many diadems on Christ's head,"

Re 19:12,

when coming to destroy him and his), the caricature of the seven Spirits of God. His worldly instruments of power are marked by the ten horns, ten being the number of the world. It marks his self-contradictions that he and the beast bear both the number seven (the divine number) and ten (the world number).

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4. 拖——希臘文為現在式,「拖」——「拖拉下來」。他用他的尾巴(在怒中前後甩動)拖拉星辰下來,暗示他勸誘那些原本屬天的天使和曾經傑出的人類教師叛離——像他自己一樣——成為屬地的(比較

Re 12:1;1:20;Isa 14:12)。

等候——「站著」[阿福德]:完成式,希臘文作「hesteken」。

將要生產——「將要生產」。

要吞吃等——「好叫她生產之後,他可以吞吃她的孩子」。所以龍——由其代理人法老(所有埃及王共有的名字,據某些人解釋意為鱷魚——一種像龍的爬蟲,且被奉為埃及偶像)所代表——在那民族誕生之時已準備好要吞吃以色列的男丁。預表性地:真以色列人耶穌降生時,希律要尋索他來除滅——殺了伯利恆城內和四周一切的男丁。

Original em inglês

4. drew--Greek, present tense, "draweth," "drags down." His dragging down the stars with his tail (lashed back and forward in his fury) implies his persuading to apostatize, like himself, and to become earthy, those angels and also once eminent human teachers who had formerly been heavenly (compare

Re 12:1; 1:20; Isa 14:12).

stood--"stands" [ALFORD]: perfect tense, Greek, "hesteken."

ready to be delivered--"about to bring forth."

for to devour, &c.--"that when she brought forth, he might devour her child." So the dragon, represented by his agent Pharaoh (a name common to all the Egyptian kings, and meaning, according to some, crocodile, a reptile like the dragon, and made an Egyptian idol), was ready to devour Israel's males at the birth of the nation. Antitypically the true Israel, Jesus, when born, was sought for destruction by Herod, who slew all the males in and around Bethlehem.

5

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5. 男孩子——希臘文作「一個兒子,男性」。論此詞深奧的意義,見

Re 12:1, 2

的註釋。

管——希臘文作「poimainein」,即「如牧人牧養」(見

Re 2:27

的註釋)。

鐵杖——鐵杖是為對付長久的頑梗,直等到他們順服聽命[本格爾]:

Re 2:27;Ps 2:9——

這些經文證明所指的是主耶穌。任何忽略此點的解釋都必錯誤。男孩的誕生不可能是基督教國家的起源(基督教在君士坦丁下戰勝異教)——那並非婦人的屬神孩子,而有許多不潔的世俗成分。在次要意義上,見證人升到天上對應基督自己的升天——「被提到神和他的寶座那裏」;正如他之用鐵杖管轄列國也要為信徒所共享

(Re 2:27)。

那首先在婦人的神聖兒子身上發生的事,也要在那些與他合而為一的人身上發生——即以色列受印的人

(Re 7:1-8)

和萬國的選民——他們將被提,並在他顯現時與他同在地上作王。

Original em inglês

5. man-child--Greek, "a son, a male." On the deep significance of this term, see on

Re 12:1, 2.

rule--Greek, "poimainein," "tend as a shepherd"; (see on

Re 2:27).

rod of iron--A rod is for long-continued obstinacy until they submit themselves to obedience [BENGEL]:

Re 2:27; Ps 2:9,

which passages prove the Lord Jesus to be meant. Any interpretation which ignores this must be wrong. The male son's birth cannot be the origin of the Christian state (Christianity triumphing over heathenism under Constantine), which was not a divine child of the woman, but had many impure worldly elements. In a secondary sense, the ascending of the witnesses up to heaven answers to Christ's own ascension, "caught up unto God, and unto His throne": as also His ruling the nations with a rod of iron is to be shared in by believers

(Re 2:27).

What took place primarily in the case of the divine Son of the woman, shall take place also in the case of those who are one with Him, the sealed of Israel

(Re 7:1-8),

and the elect of all nations, about to be translated and to reign with Him over the earth at His appearing.

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6. 婦人逃——馬利亞帶耶穌逃往埃及是此事件的預表。

在那裏——C如此讀。但A和B加「在那裏」。

一個地方——外邦世界中那承認接受了基督教的部分——主要是第四國——以現代巴比倫——羅馬——為中心——暗示一切外邦世界在現今秩序下不會被基督教化。

神所預備——字面作「從神」。不是因人的任性或恐懼,而是按神所定的旨意和預知——婦人——教會——逃到曠野。

養活她——希臘文作「養活她」。不定式,意為「她將被養活」。外邦世界——曠野——不能養活教會,只能為她提供外在的庇護。此處如

Da 4:26

及其他地方,第三人稱複數指天上權勢——他們從神那裏供應教會的養分。正如以色列第一次出埃及進入曠野時有新婦初戀的時期,照樣基督教會的曠野——初戀時期就是使徒時代——那時它與這世界的埃及分別,在此沒有城,卻尋求那將來的;只有神所預備的曠野中的一個地方

(Re 12:6, 14)。

淫婦以世界之城為自己的——正如該隱是第一個城的建造者——而信心的先祖住在帳棚中。那時叛道的以色列是淫婦,年輕的基督教會是婦人;但很快屬靈的淫亂潛入,第十七章中的教會不再是婦人,而是淫婦——大巴比倫——然而其中有神隱藏的真百姓

(Re 18:4)。

教會越深入異教世界,自己也越變為異教化。她不但沒有勝過世界,反被世界所勝[奧伯倫]。如此,婦人是「新舊約那不可分離的合一教會」[亨斯滕貝格]——基督教會的根株是以色列(基督和他的使徒是猶太人)——外邦信徒已被接上,以色列歸信時也要接上,如同接入自己的橄欖樹。在整個教會歷史時期——即「外邦人的日子」——其間「耶路撒冷被外邦人踐踏」,沒有信主的猶太教會,所以只有基督教會能作「婦人」。同時,次要地,也指猶太人在此教會歷史時期中的保存——為使那曾經是「婦人」、並從其生了男孩子的以色列,在外邦日子結束時能再次如此,並站在兩個選民之首——即字面的以色列和屬靈的以色列——從猶太人和外邦人無分別地選出的教會。

Eze 20:35, 36,

「我必帶你們到萬民的曠野(希伯來文作「眾民」),在那裏與你們理論……如同從前在埃及的曠野與你們的列祖理論一般」(比較註,見

Eze 20:35, 36):

不是字面和地方上的曠野,而是屬靈上的——在外邦「眾民」之中的管教和試煉的狀態——貫穿漫長的外邦時期,並在敵基督下最後空前絕後的患難時期中達到頂峰——其間組成「婦人」的受印餘民

(Re 7:1-8)

仍蒙保守「脫離蛇的臉」

(Re 12:14)。

一千二百六十天——預表

Re 12:14——

那裏在適當位置提到導致她逃跑的逼迫:

Re 13:11-18

提供逼迫的細節。不太可能從基督的誕生直接跳到最後的敵基督,而完全忽略其間漫長的教會歷史時期。或許1260日——即代表這漫長間隔的時期——在最後敵基督短暫統治期間以較短的比例被類比地重述。它們相當於三年半——作為神聖之數七的一半——象徵世界對教會表面的得勝。既然它們包括整個耶路撒冷被外邦踐踏的外邦時期,就必定遠超1260年;因為耶路撒冷傾覆以來已過去了遠超1260年。

Original em inglês

6. woman fled--Mary's flight with Jesus into Egypt is a type of this.

where she hath--So C reads. But A and B add "there."

a place--that portion of the heathen world which has received Christianity professedly, namely, mainly the fourth kingdom, having its seat in the modern Babylon, Rome, implying that all the heathen world would not be Christianized in the present order of things.

prepared of God--literally, "from God." Not by human caprice or fear, but by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, the woman, the Church, fled into the wilderness.

they should feed her--Greek, "nourish her." Indefinite for, "she should be fed." The heathen world, the wilderness, could not nourish the Church, but only afford her an outward shelter. Here, as in

Da 4:26,

and elsewhere, the third person plural refers to the heavenly powers who minister from God nourishment to the Church. As Israel had its time of first bridal love, on its first going out of Egypt into the wilderness, so the Christian Church's wilderness-time of first love was the apostolic age, when it was separate from the Egypt of this world, having no city here, but seeking one to come; having only a place in the wilderness prepared of God

(Re 12:6, 14).

The harlot takes the world city as her own, even as Cain was the first builder of a city, whereas the believing patriarchs lived in tents. Then apostate Israel was the harlot and the young Christian Church the woman; but soon spiritual fornication crept in, and the Church in the seventeenth chapter is no longer the woman, but the harlot, the great Babylon, which, however, has in it hidden the true people of God

(Re 18:4).

The deeper the Church penetrated into heathendom, the more she herself became heathenish. Instead of overcoming, she was overcome by the world [AUBERLEN]. Thus, the woman is "the one inseparable Church of the Old and New Testament" [HENGSTENBERG], the stock of the Christian Church being Israel (Christ and His apostles being Jews), on which the Gentile believers have been grafted, and into which Israel, on her conversion, shall be grafted, as into her own olive tree. During the whole Church-historic period, or "times of the Gentiles," wherein "Jerusalem is trodden down of the Gentiles," there is no believing Jewish Church, and therefore, only the Christian Church can be "the woman." At the same time there is meant, secondarily, the preservation of the Jews during this Church-historic period, in order that Israel, who was once "the woman," and of whom the man-child was born, may become so again at the close of the Gentile times, and stand at the head of the two elections, literal Israel, and spiritual Israel, the Church elected from Jews and Gentiles without distinction.

Eze 20:35, 36,

"I will bring you into the wilderness of the people (Hebrew, 'peoples'), and there will I plead with you . . . like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of Egypt" (compare Notes, see on

Eze 20:35, 36):

not a wilderness literally and locally, but spiritually a state of discipline and trial among the Gentile "peoples," during the long Gentile times, and one finally consummated in the last time of unparalleled trouble under Antichrist, in which the sealed remnant

(Re 7:1-8)

who constitute "the woman," are nevertheless preserved "from the face of the serpent"

(Re 12:14).

thousand two hundred and threescore days--anticipatory of

Re 12:14,

where the persecution which caused her to flee is mentioned in its place:

Re 13:11-18

gives the details of the persecution. It is most unlikely that the transition should be made from the birth of Christ to the last Antichrist, without notice of the long intervening Church-historical period. Probably the 1260 days, or periods, representing this long interval, are RECAPITULATED on a shorter scale analogically during the last Antichrist's short reign. They are equivalent to three and a half years, which, as half of the divine number seven, symbolize the seeming victory of the world over the Church. As they include the whole Gentile times of Jerusalem's being trodden of the Gentiles, they must be much longer than 1260 years; for, above several centuries more than 1260 years have elapsed since Jerusalem fell.

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7. 在

Job 1:6-11; 2:1-6

中,撒但出現在神的眾子之中,在天上神的面前呈現自己,作為聖徒的控告者;又見於

Zec 3:1, 2。

但當基督作為我們的救贖主降臨時,他便從天墜落,尤其是在基督受苦、復活、升天之時。當基督作為我們的中保出現在神面前,那控告人的對頭撒但就再不能在神面前對抗我們,而已被在審判上趕出

(Ro 8:33, 34)。

他和他的使者此後遍行空中與地上,過了相當時日(即升天與再臨之間的時期)也要從此處被趕出,並被捆綁在陰間。此處的「天」並非僅指空中,而是天使的居所,這由

Re 12:9, 10, 12; 1Ki 22:19-22

可以看出。

有了——希臘文作「發生了」或「興起了」。

在天上就有了爭戰——何等看似矛盾、卻是真實的話!可與基督得勝所帶來的蒙福結果相對照:

Lu 19:38

「在天上有平安」。

Col 1:20

「藉著祂在十字架上所流的血成就了和平,便藉著祂叫萬有,無論是地上的、天上的,都與自己和好了」。

米迦勒同他的使者……龍……同他的使者——叛亂既由不忠的天使及其首領所發起,那麼由忠心的天使及其天使長在天上迎戰並勝過他們,是合宜的安排。在地上,他們以獸與假先知為代表,由人子與其聖徒的軍隊迎戰並勝過,也是合宜的

(Re 19:14-21)。

地上的衝突,正如

Da 10:13

那樣,在天上有天使相應的衝突。米迦勒特別是猶太民族的君,即主理的天使。天上的衝突,雖然從基督復活與升天之時起已在審判上對撒但作出了判決,卻是在天使將撒但從天上趕出之時才實際完成。從基督升天起,撒但在審判上對信主的選民再無立足之地。

Lu 10:18,

「我曾看見(在那交付門徒制服鬼魔之事上作為將來完全應驗之憑據的)撒但從天上墜落,像閃電一樣」。米迦勒從前曾為舊約中保的身體與撒但爭辯

(Jude 9),

如今新約的中保藉著獻上自己無罪的身體為祭,賜米迦勒能力更新並以完全的勝利結束這場爭戰。撒但雖在基督升天之時這審判性的判決已得著批準,卻尚未實際並最終被趕出天外,這由

Eph 6:12

「在天空(希臘文「屬天的」)屬靈的惡魔」可以看出。這是此處首要的教會歷史意義。但由於以色列的不信,撒但對那蒙選的國家也有了把柄,在神面前作它的控告者。在以色列復興的前夕,就其更遠的意義而言,撒但在天上對以色列的立足之地也將被奪去,「揀選耶路撒冷的主」要責備他,並藉著猶太人的君、即主理天使米迦勒,實際而永遠地將他從天上趕出。因此

Zec 3:1-9

嚴格地與之平行:大祭司約書亞代表他的國家以色列,而撒但站在神的右邊作對頭,要抵擋以色列的稱義。那時,直到那時,才完全

(Re 12:10

「如今」等)應驗:萬物都要在基督裏、在天上與他和好

(Col 1:20),

並有在天上的平安

(Lu 19:38)。

抵擋——A、B、C抄本讀作「同」。

Original em inglês

7. In

Job 1:6-11; 2:1-6,

Satan appears among the sons of God, presenting himself before God in heaven, as the accuser of the saints: again in

Zec 3:1, 2.

But at Christ's coming as our Redeemer, he fell from heaven, especially when Christ suffered, rose again, and ascended to heaven. When Christ appeared before God as our Advocate, Satan, the accusing adversary, could no longer appear before God against us, but was cast out judicially

(Ro 8:33, 34).

He and his angels henceforth range through the air and the earth, after a time (namely, the interval between the ascension and the second advent) about to be cast hence also, and bound in hell. That "heaven" here does not mean merely the air, but the abode of angels, appears from

Re 12:9, 10, 12; 1Ki 22:19-22.

there was--Greek, "there came to pass," or "arose."

war in heaven--What a seeming contradiction in terms, yet true! Contrast the blessed result of Christ's triumph,

Lu 19:38,

"peace in heaven."

Col 1:20,

"made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; whether . . . things in earth, or things in heaven."

Michael and his angels . . . the dragon . . . and his angels--It was fittingly ordered that, as the rebellion arose from unfaithful angels and their leader, so they should be encountered and overcome by faithful angels and their archangel, in heaven. On earth they are fittingly encountered, and shall be overcome, as represented by the beast and false prophet, by the Son of man and His armies of human saints

(Re 19:14-21).

The conflict on earth, as in

Da 10:13,

has its correspondent conflict of angels in heaven. Michael is peculiarly the prince, or presiding angel, of the Jewish nation. The conflict in heaven, though judicially decided already against Satan from the time of Christ's resurrection and ascension, receives its actual completion in the execution of judgment by the angels who cast out Satan from heaven. From Christ's ascension he has no standing-ground judicially against the believing elect.

Lu 10:18,

"I beheld (in the earnest of the future full fulfilment given in the subjection of the demons to the disciples) Satan as lightning fall from heaven." As Michael fought before with Satan about the body of the mediator of the old covenant

(Jude 9),

so now the mediator of the new covenant, by offering His sinless body in sacrifice, arms Michael with power to renew and finish the conflict by a complete victory. That Satan is not yet actually and finally cast out of heaven, though the judicial sentence to that effect received its ratification at Christ's ascension, appears from

Eph 6:12,

"spiritual wickedness in high (Greek, 'heavenly') places." This is the primary Church-historical sense here. But, through Israel's unbelief, Satan has had ground against that, the elect nation, appearing before God as its accuser. At the eve of its restoration, in the ulterior sense, his standing-ground in heaven against Israel, too, shall be taken from him, "the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem" rebuking him, and casting him out from heaven actually and for ever by Michael, the prince, or presiding angel of the Jews. Thus

Zec 3:1-9

is strictly parallel, Joshua, the high priest, being representative of his nation Israel, and Satan standing at God's fight hand as adversary to resist Israel's justification. Then, and not till then, fully

(Re 12:10,

"NOW," &c.) shall ALL things be reconciled unto Christ IN HEAVEN

(Col 1:20),

and there shall be peace in heaven

(Lu 19:38).

against--A, B, and C read, "with."

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8. 並沒有得勝——A抄本與科普特譯本讀作「他並沒有得勝」。但B、C抄本與英文聖經版本相同。

也——A、B、C抄本讀作「甚至不」(希臘文「oude」):是一層遞進。他們不僅沒有得勝,甚至在天上再也找不到他們的地方了。撒但在愈來愈深的墜落中有四個階段:(一)他喪失了屬天的卓越,雖然直到基督首次降臨仍能作為人的控告者進到天上。正如那時天尚未向人完全敞開

(Joh 3:13),

照樣也尚未對撒但和他的鬼魔關閉。舊約時代不能勝過他。(二)從基督到千禧年,他在審判上被趕出天上,不再作選民的控告者,並在千禧年前不久失去對以色列的權勢,米迦勒對他和他的使者完全執行了驅逐的判決。他在地上的狂怒因此更大,因他的權勢集中於地上,尤其是末了之時,那時「他知道自己時候不多」

(Re 12:12)。

(三)在千禧年間他被捆綁

(Re 20:1-3)。

(四)在被釋放片刻之後,他永遠被扔在火湖裏。

Original em inglês

8. prevailed not--A and Coptic read, "He prevailed not." But B and C read as English Version.

neither--A, B, and C read, "not even" (Greek, "oude"): a climax. Not only did they not prevail, but not even their place was found any more in heaven. There are four gradations in the ever deeper downfall of Satan: (1) He is deprived of his heavenly excellency, though having still access to heaven as man's accuser, up to Christ's first coming. As heaven was not fully yet opened to man

(Joh 3:13),

so it was not yet shut against Satan and his demons. The Old Testament dispensation could not overcome him. (2) From Christ, down to the millennium, he is judicially cast out of heaven as the accuser of the elect, and shortly before the millennium loses his power against Israel, and has sentence of expulsion fully executed on him and his by Michael. His rage on earth is consequently the greater, his power being concentrated on it, especially towards the end, when "he knoweth that he hath but a short time"

(Re 12:12).

(3) He is bound during the millennium

(Re 20:1-3).

(4) After having been loosed for a while, he is cast for ever into the lake of fire.

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9. 古蛇——暗指

Ge 3:1, 4。

魔鬼——希臘文,即「控告者」或「讒謗者」。

撒但——希伯來文,即「對頭」,尤指法庭中的對頭。這雙重的稱呼——希臘文與希伯來文——標示出他控告與試探的雙重對象,即選民中的外邦人與選民中的猶太人。

天下——希臘文作「有人居住的世界」。

Original em inglês

9. that old serpent--alluding to

Ge 3:1, 4.

Devil--the Greek, for "accuser," or "slanderer."

Satan--the Hebrew for "adversary," especially in a court of justice. The twofold designation, Greek and Hebrew, marks the twofold objects of his accusations and temptations, the elect Gentiles and the elect Jews.

world--Greek, "habitable world."

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10. 如今——就是撒但如今既已被趕出天上。首先部分應驗於耶穌復活與升天之時,那時祂說

(Mt 28:18),

「天上地下所有的權柄[希臘文「exousia」,即「權柄」,如此處;見下文]都賜給我了」;與

Re 12:5

相連,「她的孩子被提到神和祂的寶座那裏」。在更遠的意義上,這指基督第二次再來的前夕,那時以色列即將恢復為基督教界的母會,而撒但——他素來以以色列的不配為由抵擋她的復興——已被米迦勒、即以色列屬天的君(見

Re 12:7

的註解)所趕出。因此,這與同樣表達的榮耀事件——

Re 11:15,

「世上的國成了(此處同字,希臘文「egeneto」,即「成了」、「已經成就了」)我們主和主基督的國」——平行,且是其必要前提,是以色列恢復其地位的結果。

救恩等——希臘文作「那救恩(即完全、最終、勝利地成就的救恩,

Heb 9:28;

參

Lu 3:6,

仍是將來之事;故蒙福者直到如今才為羔羊的救恩獻上最完全的哈利路亞,

Re 7:10; 19:1)

大能(希臘文「dunamis」),以及祂基督的權柄(希臘文「exousia」;即「合法的權能」;見上文)」。

在我神面前晝夜控告他們——因此,受壓迫的教會——神自己的選民(如那寡婦常常來,甚至使不義的官心煩)——有此必要晝夜向祂呼求。

Original em inglês

10. Now--Now that Satan has been cast out of heaven. Primarily fulfilled in part at Jesus' resurrection and ascension, when He said

(Mt 28:18),

"All power [Greek, 'exousia,' 'authority,' as here; see below] is given unto Me in heaven and in earth"; connected with

Re 12:5,

"Her child was caught up unto God and to His throne." In the ulterior sense, it refers to the eve of Christ's second coming, when Israel is about to be restored as mother-church of Christendom, Satan, who had resisted her restoration on the ground of her unworthiness, having been cast out by the instrumentality of Michael, Israel's angelic prince (see on

Re 12:7).

Thus this is parallel, and the necessary preliminary to the glorious event similarly expressed,

Re 11:15,

"The kingdom of this world is become (the very word here, Greek, 'egeneto,' 'is come,' 'hath come to pass') our Lord's and His Christ's," the result of Israel's resuming her place.

salvation, &c.--Greek, "the salvation (namely, fully, finally, and victoriously accomplished,

Heb 9:28;

compare

Lu 3:6,

yet future; hence, not till now do the blessed raise the fullest hallelujah for salvation to the Lamb,

Re 7:10; 19:1)

the power (Greek, 'dunamis'), and the authority (Greek, 'exousia'; 'legitimate power'; see above) of His Christ."

accused them before our God day and night--Hence the need that the oppressed Church, God's own elect (like the widow, continually coming, so as even to weary the unjust judge), should cry day and night unto Him.

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11. 他們——在希臘文中為強調語。「他們」特指。他們,且唯獨他們。他們才是得勝的人。

勝過了——(羅8:33, 34, 37; 16:20)。

他——(約壹2:14, 15)。

這是同一種對撒但和世界的得勝(獨特的約翰式用語)。約翰福音描述基督生平中的得勝,約翰書信描述每位信徒生命中的得勝,而啟示錄描述教會生命中的得勝。

藉着等——希臘文(dia to haima;對格而非屬格,英譯本所要求的,來9:12比較),「因着(基於)羔羊的血」;「因為」;因着它已流出並憑其功效。若那血未曾流出,撒但的控告便無法回答;如今這血應付每一次控告。肖特根提到拉比的傳統:撒但一年到頭控告人,惟獨贖罪日除外。蒂特曼將希臘文「dia」理解為它常有的意思,即顧念羔羊的血;這是促使他們為它爭戰的動因;但上述觀點是正確的希臘文用法,且更符合聖經的一貫意義。

因着自己見證的道——希臘文「因着自己見證的道」。基於他們忠心的見證,甚至至死不渝,他們成為得勝者。他們的見證藉着羔羊的血的功效,表明了他們對他的勝利。他們藉此承認自己是被殺羔羊的敬拜者,並勝過那獸——撒但的代表;這是15:2「勝了獸的人」的預示(13:15, 16比較)。

至於——希臘文「achri」,「甚至直到」。他們將不愛惜生命甚至直到死。

Original em inglês

11. they--emphatic in the Greek. "They" in particular. They and they alone. They were the persons who overcame.

overcame--

(Ro 8:33, 34, 37; 16:20).

him--

(1Jo 2:14, 15).

It is the same victory (a peculiarly Johannean phrase) over Satan and the world which the Gospel of John describes in the life of Jesus, his Epistle in the life of each believer, and his Apocalypse in the life of the Church.

by, &c.--Greek (dia to haima; accusative, not genitive case, as English Version would require, compare

Heb 9:12),

"on account of (on the ground of) the blood of the Lamb"; "because of"; on account of and by virtue of its having been shed. Had that blood not been shed, Satan's accusations would have been unanswerable; as it is, that blood meets every charge. SCHOTTGEN mentions the Rabbinical tradition that Satan accuses men all days of the year, except the day of atonement. TITTMANN takes the Greek "dia," as it often means, out of regard to the blood of the Lamb; this was the impelling cause which induced them to undertake the contest for the sake of it; but the view given above is good Greek, and more in accordance with the general sense of Scripture.

by the word of their testimony--Greek, "on account of the word of their testimony." On the ground of their faithful testimony, even unto death, they are constituted victors. Their testimony evinced their victory over him by virtue of the blood of the Lamb. Hereby they confess themselves worshippers of the slain Lamb and overcome the beast, Satan's representative; an anticipation of

Re 15:2,

"them that had gotten the victory over the beast" (compare

Re 13:15, 16).

unto--Greek, "achri," "even as far as." They carried their not-love of life as far as even unto death.

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12. 所以——因為撒但被摔到地上(12:9)。

住在——字面作「支搭帳幕」。不僅天使和義人的靈魂與神同在,還有地上忠心的爭戰教會——他們在靈裏已經在天上支搭帳幕,以那裏為家和國籍所在——歡喜撒但被趕出他們的家。「支搭帳幕」代替「住在」是用來標明:雖然他們仍在地上,他們在靈裏卻隱藏在「神帳幕的隱密處」。他們不屬這世界,因此為這世界的王受了審判而歡欣。

住在其中的——如安德烈所讀。但A、B、C抄本省略。這話大概是從8:13插入的。

下來了——更宜如希臘文作「catebee」,「是下來了」;約翰以天為立足點,從天上俯視大地。

與你們——即地和海及其中的居民;那些倚靠地(比較約3:7,邊註,與約3:31; 8:23; 腓3:19末; 約壹4:5比較)及其海般動盪政治的人。撒但因被逐出天堂而狂怒,又知道自己在地上的時間不多——直到基督來設立他的國度(20:1, 2)他被摔下去——便集中一切力量毀滅盡可能多的靈魂。雖然不能再在天上控告選民,卻能在地上試探並逼迫。光越得勝,黑暗勢力的掙扎就越大;因此,在最後的危機中,反基督將以比以往更甚的不法彰顯自己。

不多的時候——希臘文「kairon」,「節期」:他攻擊的時機。

Original em inglês

12. Therefore--because Satan is cast out of heaven

(Re 12:9).

dwell--literally, "tabernacle." Not only angels and the souls of the just with God, but also the faithful militant on earth, who already in spirit tabernacle in heaven, having their home and citizenship there, rejoice that Satan is cast out of their home. "Tabernacle" for dwell is used to mark that, though still on the earth, they in spirit are hidden "in the secret of God's tabernacle." They belong not to the world, and, therefore, exult in judgment having been passed on the prince of this world.

the inhabiters of--So ANDREAS reads. But A, B, and C omit. The words probably, were inserted from

Re 8:13.

is come down--rather as Greek, "catebee," "is gone down"; John regarding the heaven as his standing-point of view whence he looks down on the earth.

unto you--earth and sea, with their inhabitants; those who lean upon, and essentially belong to, the earth (contrast

Joh 3:7,

Margin, with

Joh 3:31; 8:23; 1Jo+4:5">Php 3:19, end; 1Jo 4:5)

and its sea-like troubled politics. Furious at his expulsion from heaven, and knowing that his time on earth is short until he shall be cast down lower, when Christ shall come to set up His kingdom

(Re 20:1, 2),

Satan concentrates all his power to destroy as many souls as he can. Though no longer able to accuse the elect in heaven, he can tempt and persecute on earth. The more light becomes victorious, the greater will be the struggles of the powers of darkness; whence, at the last crisis, Antichrist will manifest himself with an intensity of iniquity greater than ever before.

short time--Greek, "kairon," "season": opportunity for his assaults.

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13. 從12:6恢復話題的線索——此前被12:7-12的插曲(在不可見的世界中給出可見世界中光與暗相應衝突的基礎)所打斷——本節解釋她逃到曠野(12:6)的原因。

Original em inglês

13. Resuming from

Re 12:6

the thread of the discourse, which had been interrupted by the episode,

Re 12:7-12

(giving in the invisible world the ground of the corresponding conflict between light and darkness in the visible world), this verse accounts for her flight into the wilderness

(Re 12:6).

14

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14. 大鷹的兩個翅膀賜給婦人——這不是從龍口中直接的拯救,而是神所提供的逃脫試探或逼迫的途徑——與哥林多前書10:13相比較。翅膀象徵神迅速的護理(出19:4;申32:11, 12;賽40:31)。兩個翅膀——即充足而完全的。這雙重性與以色列人出埃及時完全一致——他們從埃及被領到西奈山(神的山),其間有兩個階段——首先脫離法老的權勢,然後從紅海到神的山。照樣,教會在最後的危機中有兩個階段——首先逃到某個安全的地方,然後被提到空中與主相遇。並且與基督的逃到埃及(太2:13-15)以及他隨後的歸回(何11:1的應驗)相似。翅膀也與以諾和以利亞的屬天翻譯相符(創5:24; 王下2:11)——後者同樣從耶洗別的手中逃脫。在此意義上——基督的身體、教會所經歷的,正是基督自己曾經歷的——正如約翰在12:1-5中所描繪的。

曠野——與世俗文明隔絕的地方——在那裏婦人受神親自的供養(12:6, 14),如昔日以色列在曠野中受嗎哪的供養。「我們出來到曠野,走三天的路程」(出5:3)——遠離埃及。教會從世上分別出來,是它安全的秘訣。正如在以利亞的日子,七千未曾向巴力屈膝的人在以色列中蒙存留,照樣在最後背叛中有忠心的餘民蒙保守。

到她的地方——神為她預備的地方——不是她自己選擇的。

一載二載半載——即但以理的「一載、二載、半載」(但7:25; 12:7)——三年半——教會受反基督逼迫的時期。與11:2, 3的「四十二個月」和「一千二百六十日」相同。這是耶路撒冷被外邦人踐踏的期限——即「外邦人的日期」(路21:24)的末了階段。

Original em inglês

14. were given--by God's determinate appointment, not by human chances

(Ac 9:11).

two--Greek, "the two wings of the great eagle." Alluding to

Ex 19:4:

proving that the Old Testament Church, as well as the New Testament Church, is included in "the woman." All believers are included

(Isa 40:30, 31).

The great eagle is the world power; in

Eze 17:3, 7,

Babylon and Egypt: in early Church history, Rome, whose standard was the eagle, turned by God's providence from being hostile into a protector of the Christian Church. As "wings" express remote parts of the earth, the two wings may here mean the east and west divisions of the Roman empire.

wilderness--the land of the heathen, the Gentiles: in contrast to Canaan, the pleasant and glorious land. God dwells in the glorious land; demons (the rulers of the heathen world,

Re 9:20; 1Co 10:20),

in the wilderness. Hence Babylon is called the desert of the sea,

Isa 21:1-10

(referred to also in

Re 14:8; 18:2).

Heathendom, in its essential nature, being without God, is a desolate wilderness. Thus, the woman's flight into the wilderness is the passing of the kingdom of God from the Jews to be among the Gentiles (typified by Mary's flight with her child from Judea into Egypt). The eagle flight is from Egypt into the wilderness. The Egypt meant is virtually stated

(Re 11:8)

to be Jerusalem, which has become spiritually so by crucifying our Lord. Out of her the New Testament Church flees, as the Old Testament Church out of the literal Egypt; and as the true Church subsequently is called to flee out of Babylon (the woman become an harlot, that is, the Church become apostate) [AUBERLEN].

her place--the chief seat of the then world empire, Rome. The Acts of the Apostles describe the passing of the Church from Jerusalem to Rome. The Roman protection was the eagle wing which often shielded Paul, the great instrument of this transmigration, and Christianity, from Jewish opponents who stirred up the heathen mobs. By degrees the Church had "her place" more and more secure, until, under Constantine, the empire became Christian. Still, all this Church-historical period is regarded as a wilderness time, wherein the Church is in part protected, in part oppressed, by the world power, until just before the end the enmity of the world power under Satan shall break out against the Church worse than ever. As Israel was in the wilderness forty years, and had forty-two stages in her journey, so the Church for forty-two months, three and a half years or times [literally, seasons, used for years in Hellenistic Greek (MOERIS, the Atticist), Greek, "kairous,"

Da 7:25; 12:7],

or 1260 days

(Re 12:6)

between the overthrow of Jerusalem and the coming again of Christ, shall be a wilderness sojourner before she reaches her millennial rest (answering to Canaan of old). It is possible that, besides this Church-historical fulfilment, there may be also an ulterior and narrower fulfilment in the restoration of Israel to Palestine, Antichrist for seven times (short periods analogical to the longer ones) having power there, for the former three and a half times keeping covenant with the Jews, then breaking it in the midst of the week, and the mass of the nation fleeing by a second Exodus into the wilderness, while a remnant remains in the land exposed to a fearful persecution (the "144,000 sealed of Israel,"

Re 7:1-8; 14:1,

standing with the Lamb, after the conflict is over, on Mount Zion: "the first-fruits" of a large company to be gathered to Him) [DE BURGH]. These details are very conjectural. In

Da 7:25; 12:7,

the subject, as perhaps here, is the time of Israel's calamity. That seven times do not necessarily mean seven years, in which each day is a year, that is, 2520 years, appears from Nebuchadnezzar's seven times

(Da 4:23),

answering to Antichrist, the beast's duration.

15

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15. 蛇就在婦人身後,從口中吐出水來,像河一樣——蛇——即撒但(12:9)——從他口中吐出水來——即如洪流般的試探和逼迫——以之追逐和淹沒婦人——教會。「水」在聖經中常象徵民眾(17:15——「你所看見那淫婦坐的眾水,就是列國」)——因此撒但藉着列國的軍事和政治力量來逼迫教會。

像河一樣——原文作「如江河」。這不僅是一股細流,而是氾濫的洪水——如詩篇中所描繪的(詩18:4; 32:6; 124:4, 5——「波浪洪濤漫過我身」)。比較以賽亞書8:7, 8——亞述如幼發拉底河的洪水上漲。撒但的逼迫如洪水——來勢洶洶、無孔不入。

要將婦人沖去——即徹底消滅教會——正如法老要消滅以色列的男嬰、亞哈要殺盡耶和華的先知、希律要除滅伯利恆的嬰孩、猶太人要殺保羅。歷世歷代,撒但的目的都是相同的——消滅基督的見證。然而正如約拿從大魚的腹中出來、基督從墳墓中出來,照樣教會必從撒但的洪水中得蒙拯救。

Original em inglês

15, 16. flood--Greek, "river" (compare

Ex 2:3; Mt 2:20;

and especially

Ex 14:1-31).

The flood, or river, is the stream of Germanic tribes which, pouring on Rome, threatened to destroy Christianity. But the earth helped the woman, by swallowing up the flood. The earth, as contradistinguished from water, is the world consolidated and civilized. The German masses were brought under the influence of Roman civilization and Christianity [AUBERLEN]. Perhaps it includes also, generally, the help given by earthly powers (those least likely, yet led by God's overruling providence to give help) to the Church against persecutions and also heresies, by which she has been at various times assailed.

17

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17. 向……發怒——希臘文作「at」。

去——希臘文作「離去」。

她其餘的兒女——在某種意義上與婦人本身有所區別。撒但首先企圖剷除基督教會,使基督教不再有任何可見的信仰宣告。此計既失敗,牠便向無形的教會爭戰(

啟 11:7; 13:7),

即向「那些遵守神誡命、為耶穌作見證的」人爭戰(A、B、C 省略「基督」)。這些人就是「其餘的兒女」,或作她兒女中的餘數,一方面有別於她的兒女「男孩子」(

啟 12:5),

另一方面有別於那些僅僅掛名的信徒。教會在其美麗與合一之中(以色列居於基督教世界之首,整體構成一個完全的教會),如今尚未顯明,乃等候基督再來之時「神眾子的顯現」。撒但既不能毀滅基督教與整體教會,便將其敵意指向真基督徒——蒙揀選的餘民;其餘的人牠則任其安然無恙。

Original em inglês

17. wroth with--Greek, "at."

went--Greek, "went away."

the remnant of her seed--distinct in some sense from the woman herself. Satan's first effort was to root out the Christian Church, so that there should be no visible profession of Christianity. Foiled in this, he wars

(Re 11:7; 13:7)

against the invisible Church, namely, "those who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus" (A, B, and C omit "Christ"). These are "the remnant," or rest of her seed, as distinguished from her seed, "the man-child"

(Re 12:5),

on one hand, and from mere professors on the other. The Church, in her beauty and unity (Israel at the head of Christendom, the whole forming one perfect Church), is now not manifested, but awaiting the manifestations of the sons of God at Christ's coming. Unable to destroy Christianity and the Church as a whole, Satan directs his enmity against true Christians, the elect remnant: the others he leaves unmolested.