CHAPTER XX – Revelation 启示录 8:7-13 – 末世战争的武器 THE WEAPONS OF WAR OF THE END TIMES



末世战争的武器 (启示录8:7-13)

第八、第九章是争议相当多的经文，原因是描写地上所发生的事， 佈景不在天上的圣所，也不是灵界中天使与魔鬼的争战。
Chapters 8 and 9 contain a lot of verses that have caused a lot of controversies and the reason is that they describe events that are happening on the earth, the scene that it portrays is not the sanctuary in heaven or a battle in the spiritual realm between angels and Satan.

地面上的事当然应该是按字面来解释。不过按字面解释还是有一定 的困难，因为约翰所见的景象，是他二千年後的事。他没有经历过末世 的生活，也没有末世的词可以运用，他用古代的文字描写现代的景象。 现代的人一定看得莫明其妙，大家的解释不会一样，也一定有差异。
The things that happened on earth should be explained literally, but there are certain difficulties in a literal interpretation because the vision that John saw pertains to things that take place 2000 years later. He had never experienced life during the end times, and he does not have the right words to use to explain what he is looking at, he used ancient language to describe scenes of modern times. People in modern times will find John’s descriptions puzzling, they will have different interpretations, and there will definitely be a lot of discrepancies.

吹号，有向大众宣告或召集群众的意思。一共有七位天使吹号，七 支号。前面四号是一组，五、六两号又是另一组，第七号会比较长。
Sounding the trumpet means making a proclamation to the people or gathering the masses. There are 7 angels sounding the trumpets, and there are 7 trumpets. The first four trumpet sounds belong to one group; the fifth and the sixth trumpet sound belong to another group and the seventh trumpet sound is rather a long one.

第一号到第四号描写得很简单、很短，完了之後，中间加插了一头 鹰，大声宣告叁个祸灾。五到六号记载很详细篇幅长很多，一看就知道 是另外一种题目的描写。
The first through the fourth trumpet sound have very short and simple descriptions, after the fourth trumpet sound an eagle is mentioned calling out in a loud voice three woes bring down disasters. The description of the fifth and the sixth trumpet sounds are longer and very detailed. By looking at it we can notice that it changed to a completely different topic.

先来看第一到第四号，这是描写末世战争的武器，都是大杀伤力的 武器。在约翰的时代，二千年前，是绝对看不到这种大杀伤力的武器， 所以他也没有词彙可以描写，当然也就写得不清楚了。
We will first take a look at the first four trumpet sounds, they describe the weapons of wars in the last days; those weapons are very lethal. During the times of John, 2,000 years ago, these kinds of lethal weapons did not exist, therefore he did not have the exact terminology to describe them, needless to say, he could not give a clear description of what he saw.


7第一位天使吹号，就有雹子与火搀著血丢在地上。地的 叁分之一和树的叁分之一被烧了，一切的青草也被烧了。

雹子，不是冰雹，是有火的，搀著血红色的火，把地上植物烧了。 古代战争都是用刀剑、矛枪、弓箭，但近代有了火药，造出鎗砲炸弹， 这些有爆炸力的武器厉害多了，第一次世界大战就是鎗砲炸弹的战争。
Hail, not balls of ice, it had fire, fire mixed with blood. It burned up the trees and the green grass. The wars in ancient times used knives and swords, lance and spears, bow and arrows, but now that that we have gunpowder, there are guns, cannons and bombs; these explosive weapons are much more powerful. During World War I, people used guns, cannons and bombs.


8第二位天使吹号，就有彷彿火烧著的大山扔在海中，海 的叁分之一变成血，9海中的活物死了叁分之一，船只也坏了 叁分之一。

这炸弹更厉害了，像大山一样，是非常强力的。也不是真的一座大 山，乃是彷彿(好像)大山。这两章｢彷彿｣或｢好像｣用的次数，比全新约 其他地方用这字总和更多，可见约翰有相当的难度描写这情况，他也不 够词用，因为从未见过这情形，这里描写的是更大的杀伤力武器，进入 了重型炸弹、氢弹与原子弹的时代。像烧著火的大山之威力。
These bombs are more powerful, like a huge mountain, very massive. It is not really a huge mountain, but something like a huge mountain. The words “something like” or “similar to” are used here more than in other parts of the New Testament which shows that John is having a lot of difficulty describing the circumstances, he also does not have enough words to describe what he sees, because he has never seen those situations. The weapons of war described herein are much more powerful, they have entered the era of heavy duty artillery, hydrogen and atomic bombs; resembling the force of a huge mountain, all ablaze.


10第叁位天使吹号，就有烧著的大星，好像火把从天上落 下来，落在江河的叁分之一，和众水的泉源上。11这星名叫茵 蔯，众水的叁分之一变为茵蔯，因水变苦，就死了许多人。

廿世纪後期多国发展了化学生物武器，美国在打越战的时候已用上 了化武。有七十多种化学武器，轻便而具有很大的杀伤力，不过也有很 大的後遗症。通常化武都是用炸弹携带的，好像放烟火。所以这里描写 像火把从天上落下，或像烧著的大星等，都是描写炸弹在发射化武。不 过约翰却不知道那些化学品是甚麽，所以全部都叫做｢茵蔯｣。
In the later period of the twentieth century many countries have developed chemical and biological weapons. The United States already used chemical weapons during the Vietnam War. There are more than seventy kinds of chemical weapons. They are lightweight, portable and very lethal but they also bring a lot of aftereffects. Usually, chemical weapons are carried through bombs, like releasing fireworks. Therefore, when it says “a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky”, it is describing a bomb launching a chemical weapon, but John does not know what a chemical weapon is, so he calls it “wormwood”.


12第四位天使吹号，日头的叁分之一，月亮的叁分之一， 星辰的叁分之一都被击打，以致日月星的叁分之一黑暗了，白 昼的叁分之一没有光，黑夜也是这样。

到了最末後时期，打仗武器进入太空时代，不单用核武，且用长程 飞弹，智慧型飞弹等，就是能追著目标的飞弹。飞弹带著核子弹头衝向 太空追著目标，敌人反导弹系统，要在太空中拦截，不让它到达自己地 土，所以必然在空中爆炸，天空一片黑暗，不见天日。各国武器发展都 朝这方向，所以太空战争日子不远。
During the end times, the weapons of war will enter the space age, not only will nuclear weapons be used but also long-range missiles, smart missiles that can chase the target. Missiles carrying nuclear warhead will be charged up to the sky while the enemy will use an anti-missile system to intercept the weapon and this will cause explosions in midair, the skies will turn dark, and sunlight will not shine through the darkness. The development of all these kinds of weapons by many countries are going in this direction, therefore Space Age wars are at hand.


我们现在回来再解释某一些词。其实第七章十四万四千人要先印上 印记时，也吩咐天使先不要伤害地、海、树，都有特别的含意。｢地｣， 是宗教界的基地；｢海｣，是政治界的基地；｢树｣，是生产或经济界的基 地。读12、13章就会看见，地出来的兽，海出来的兽，是指邪恶的宗 教领袖、政治领袖出现。
We will now explain the meaning of some words. Actually, the event of the 144,000, who were sealed in Chapter 7, and the angel giving the command not to harm the land or the sea or the trees until a seal was put on the foreheads of the servants of God; all these words have an implied meaning. “The land” relates to the religious sector; “the sea” relates to the political sector; “the trees” relate to the manufacturing or economic sector. When we read Chapters 12 and 13 we see the beast that comes out from the land, the beast that comes out from the sea, points to an evil religious leader and the rise of a political leader.

｢地与树｣：第一号所伤害的，主要是地与树，表示是对宗教与经济 的伤害很大。因为第一次世界大战是欧洲引发的，与宗教、民族主义及 经济有关。
“The land and the trees”: The first trumpet only harmed the land and the trees, which means that great harm was done to the religious and economic sectors. The First World War initiated in Europe and it was related to the areas of religion, nationalism and economy.

｢海｣：第二号，就是第二次大战所伤害的是海，因为主要是政权利 益的战争。看日本人所争夺的就是政权、地土，为了扩大自己政权，侵 略别的国家。
“The sea”: The second trumpet. The Second World War harmed the sea, because it was a war for political power and personal interests. We see that what the Japanese were fighting for was political power and land; they invaded other countries in order to expand their own regime.

｢江河泉源｣：第叁号化学武器战争，伤害的是江河泉源，是资源、 天然环境方面受伤害。这种战争的结果，使所呼吸的空气，所喝的水， 所吃的食物，都成毒害人的毒药。
“Rivers and springs of water”: The third trumpet. Wars with chemical weapons, it harmed the rivers and springs of water, which are resources, nature and the environment was harmed. The result of these kinds of wars was making poisonous the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.

｢天空｣：到第四号太空争霸战下所伤害的，主要是天空。指人精神 方面受伤，心理上受伤，在这种战争阴影下，人人觉得没有前途、没有 希望，人生一片灰暗。忧鬱症曼延。
“The sky”: The fourth trumpet. Space power struggles harmed mainly the sky. Indicates that people’s spirits are harmed, there is psychological trauma, under the shadow of these kinds of wars, everyone feels that there is no future, no hope, life feels gloomy. Depression sets in for a prolonged period of time.

全人类最主要引起战争的导火线，就是这几样。其中以宗教与精神 方面，就是地上与天空这方面是比较抽象。
These are mainly the things that will trigger wars among all human beings. Besides the aspects of religion and spiritual matters; the matters on the land and in the sky are relatively elusive.

中国以无神论唯物论立国，忽略这两方面的重要性，所教出来的人 民，在精神上丢弃过去崇高理想，一切以钱财、经济为前提。要出人头 地，目的也只是为赚钱，追求名誉、地位、学识。其实不用打仗，在精 神生活方面已经输了。以为宗教不重要，可以灭掉宗教，结果宗教引起 动乱。中国境内的佛教徒、回教徒，都会带来伤害。西藏、新疆问题， 甚至法轮功的问题，都是宗教问题。这种种宗教动乱不会平息。
China was established under the ideas of atheism and materialism and neglected the importance of these two aspects. Therefore, their people were taught to leave their spiritual ideals and depend only on money and the economy. To stand out among one’s peers, they focused on gaining wealth, pursuing fame, status and knowledge; actually, they did not even have to fight; in the aspect of spiritual life they had already lost. They thought religion was not important and that they could destroy it; the result was religious turmoil. The Buddhists and Muslims in China only brought harm. The troubles in Tibet, Xinjiang and even Falun Gong are all religious problems. All these kinds of religious uproars will never come to a peaceful ending.


再要解释的是｢叁分之一｣，这两章出现多次死了叁分一，受打击叁 分一等，因为全是叁分一，所以肯定不是一个实数，是个象徵数。从古 到今，分成叁分的，就是轮班制。一天廿四小时分叁班每班八小时。耶 稣的坟墓当日派了叁班罗马兵看守，共廿四个兵，八个一班，每班八小 时。所以耶稣复活之时，其中八个兵看见，他们全部躺在地上都好像死 了一样，当时是全部吓坏了，但实际上只有叁分之一的兵遇见。
The phrase “a third” needs further explanation. In these two chapters the phrases “a third died”, “a third was struck” appear several times. Due to the fact that all of them are “a third”, we can conclude that it is not a real number but a symbolic number. From ancient times until now, whenever things are divided into thirds, it means shift rotations. One day has 24 hours, divided into 3 shifts, 8 hours per shift. Guarding Jesus’ tomb were 3 shifts of Roman soldiers, a total of 24 soldiers, 8 soldiers each shift, each shift guarded the tomb for 8 hours. Therefore, when Jesus resurrected from the dead, 8 soldiers were guarding the tomb and they were so afraid that they shook and became like dead men. At that time, all the guards were scared to death, but actually only a third of the guards saw the event.

叁分一的意思就是，在当时、当地的情况，是局部性的，但却是全 面受破坏。当时、当地所有水受污染，像日本的海啸後的核污染，只算 叁分一。因为其他地方不在内。
The meaning of “a third” is that there was total destruction at a certain time and in a certain place. The complete destruction was only locally. At a certain time, in a certain place, all the waters were polluted. Like the nuclear contamination after the tsunami in Japan, this is considered “a third” because the disaster did not happen in any other place, just locally.

海里生物死叁分一，船毁灭叁分一，译者觉得船只怎毁灭叁分一？ 所以译为坏了。第七节也漏了一句叁分一，写成是一切青草。
A third of the living creatures in the sea died, a third of the ships were destroyed. Verse 7 says “all the green grass was burned up”; the phrase “a third” was omitted.

末世战争的武器，有非常大毁灭性。一受炸，在场的必死无疑。所 以叁分之一，乃是局部地区的全部。
The weapons of war during the last days will be extremely devastating. A single explosion will undoubtedly kill everyone present. Therefore “a third” refers to everyone or everything in a local area.

13我又看见一个鹰飞在空中，并听见牠大声说：叁位天 使要吹那其馀的号，你们住在地上的民，祸哉、祸哉、祸哉！
13 As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”

我又看见，表示是另一个异象。鹰是鸟中飞得最快的，也是灾祸来 临前的预告。在这里是一个异象，有鹰在说话，还大声宣告这灾祸的可 怕。是因为不只是伤害陆地、海洋、水源、天空，而且是将会死去很多 人，是对人的大灾祸。
“As I watched” means it is another vision. Eagles are the fastest flying birds and also an omen of a coming disaster. Here it is a vision where the eagle speaks and calls out in a loud voice announcing the terrifying disasters about to come, because these great disasters will not only affect the land, the sea, the water sources or the sky but many people will die. These great disasters will affect the human race.

叁次｢祸哉｣，是非常肯定一定会发生的。天使常称颂神｢圣哉、圣 哉、圣哉｣叁次，也是肯定之意。犹太人现在仍用重複字加强意思。
Three “woes” means it will definitely happen. When the angels praised God saying three times: “Holy, Holy, Holy,” it was a definite attitude. Jewish people nowadays still use repetitive words to reinforce an idea.

神对人说话也常不止一次，最常见的是叁次。有人问怎知神呼召我 们作传道？我说等一等。如果神呼召你，一定不止一次的呼召。神呼召 撒母耳叁次；对彼得，藉叁次异象劝他向外邦人传道。因为这是他很难 做的决定，他们一直跟外邦人分清界线，所以主对他说叁次，要他清楚 知道是神的旨意。
When God speaks to people He usually doesn’t just say it once, very often we see that He speaks three times. Someone asked, how can we know for certain that God is calling us to be a preacher? I say, wait a while. If God is really calling you, He will definitely not just call you just once. When God called Samuel, He did it three times; when He called Peter to preach to the gentiles, God showed him the same vision three times because that decision was very hard to make. The Jewish people did not associate with gentiles, therefore God spoke to Peter three times so that he would definitely know for sure that it was the will of God.

宋尚节唸完化学博士，献身去唸神学，在纽约协和神学院时，一天 出门，见小孩在地上写上｢安息｣的字，再往前走又见相同的事，一共叁 次，他想大概神叫我休息。结果那天回学院就被抓去精神病院住了几个 月，学校看见他太热心，说他精神有问题。朋友也不知道他到了哪里， 所以没有人救他。他也安心在精神病院把圣经读了四十遍，後来大使馆 纔把他救出来。神预先对他说了叁次，叫他好好休息。神如果要感动人 做事，祂不会只感动一次。神不要我们胡塗，乃是要我们清楚。
After Dr. John Sung finished his Ph.D. in Chemistry, he went on to study theology at the Union Theological Seminary in New York. One day when he was out on the streets, he saw a little child writing the word “rest” on the ground, he saw the same thing happen three times, he then thought that maybe God wanted him to rest. That day, after he returned to the seminary he was taken into a mental hospital against his will and was confined for a few months. The school saw that he was overly enthusiastic and assumed that he was mentally disturbed. His friends did not know of his whereabouts and so he had no one to rescue him from the mental institution. God told him beforehand three times that he should rest. When God moves people to do something, He will not just let him or her know one time. God does not want us to be confused; He wants us to know clearly what He wants us to do.

圣经里的预言也常说多过一次，藉著多个传道人重覆的显示，好让 我们确定这是神的心意。其实能说出预言，已经是神的作为。
The prophecies in the Bible are often spoken more than once by means of many preachers so we are certain of God’s intentions. Actually all prophecies come from God.

彼得後书1:21说：因为豫言从来没有出於人意的，乃是人被圣灵 感动，说出神的话来。
2 Peter 1:21 says: For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

另外有一些预言还不在圣经里，像古代的以诺书。以诺与神同行叁 百年後被主接去。他的书却不在圣经里，只有犹大书引用过他的话。
In addition, there are some prophecies that are not recorded in the Bible, like the Book of Enoch from ancient times. Enoch walked faithfully with God for 300 years; then he was no more, because God took him away. His book was not recorded in the Bible but the Book of Jude quotes words from Enoch’s book.

另外比较有名的是16世纪法国的犹太人 Nostradamus写了很多 预言诗，其中还有911事件的预言，并且说这事件之後，就开始第叁 次世界大战。我们不见有世界大战，但全世界很多国家都有战争。
Another famous person who wrote many prophetic poems during the 16th century was a French Jewish man called Nostradamus. The events on 911 were one of his prophecies; he also prophesied that after these events, World War III would begin. So far we have not seen World War III but many countries around the world are at war.

另一位12世纪的英国主教Malachi Morgan。1139年他在火车上 见异象，写下一些预言在他拉丁文圣经中。他预言自己死期与地点，并 列出从那时起到世界末日所有教皇名字或简单描写，非常準确。
There was another English Bishop from the 12th century called Malachi Morgan. He saw visions while traveling on a train in the year 1139. He wrote some of his visions on his Latin Bible. He prophesied about the date and the place of his own death. He also wrote down the names and a simple description of all the popes that would reign from that time until the end of the world. His writings were very accurate.

倒数最後第四位教宗约翰保罗第一，是1978年选出来的，他只在 位33天，在月缺的时候上任，也在月缺、月蚀之时过世。称为｢月之 缺｣。有人说他是被谋杀死的，因为他一上任，想大力整顿天主教，洁 净教会醜闻。结果死了，没有验屍报告，草草火葬。
The fourth to the last pope, John Paul I, was elected in 1978, he only reigned for 33 days, and he took office when the moon appeared exactly half full. He died the following month, soon after an eclipse of the moon. He was called “Of the half moon”. Some say that he was murdered because after he took office, he strongly wanted to reorganize the Catholic Church and get rid of its shameful actions. As a result, he died and was hastily cremated without performing a proper autopsy on his body.

跟著的教宗约翰保罗第二同一年选出，预言说他像｢日头之劬劳｣， 他的一生像日头一样，绕著地球转了多个圈，成为近代最受欢迎教宗。 他的作风是不管内政，到处旅行，到处去封圣人。
The next pope, John Paul II was elected the same year; the prophecy said he was “The labour of the sun”, his whole life resembled the sun, he traveled around the world many times, and he was the most popular pope of modern times. He did not care much about internal affairs but traveled a lot, canonizing saints.

根据Malachi Morgan的预言，约翰保罗第二之後，只有两任教宗 就到末日。继任的本督十六，称为｢橄榄的荣耀｣，或｢橄榄山的荣耀｣， 指耶稣在马太廿四章橄榄山上讲论末世事件时，提到信徒被提，那是荣 耀的被提。当他退任或离世之时就是信徒被提、七年大灾难开始之时。
According to Malachi Morgan’s prophecies, after John Paul II, there will only be two more popes and then the end of the world will come. John Paul II’s successor, Benedict XVI, is called “Glory of the olive” or “Glory of the Mt. of Olives”, pointing to Matthew chapter 24 where Jesus speaks about the events of the end of the world on Mt. of Olives, mentioning the rapture of the believers, that will be a glorious rapture. When he retires or dies, that will be the time when the rapture will take place and the time when the seven years of great tribulation will begin.

描写最後一位教宗比较详细，连名字都有。他名叫罗马的彼得，他 将会在大灾难期间出任教皇，并说，最後梵帝冈将会被毁灭。
The description of the last pope is rather detailed; even a name is given to him. His name of Peter the Roman, he is the pope who will reign during the great tribulation; it also says that in the end, the Vatican will be destroyed.

所以天主教会不肯接受这预言，因为在他们的神学里所有受了洗的 信徒，都必定被提，不需要经过大灾难，何况教宗本人？而且提到梵帝 冈被毁灭，也是他们所不能接受的事。
Therefore, the Catholic Church refuses to accept this prophecy, because, in their theology, all baptized believers will for sure be raptured and will not have to go through the great tribulation, let alone the pope himself. Furthermore, they will never accept the fact that the Vatican being destroyed.

其实不是所有称为基督徒的人都会被提，如果全部被提，圣经就不 需要提醒大家儆醒等候了。只有那些有主生命的人，有圣灵的人，纔会 被提。无论天主教、基督教、犹太教里面，都有很多所谓信主的人，没 有得到圣灵，只在头脑上认为自己是信徒，那些就是没有儆醒的人。
Actually, not all people who are called Christians will be raptured. If that was the case, the Bible would not need to remind everyone to be alert and watchful. Only those who have the life of the Lord and the Holy Spirit in them will be raptured. There are many so-called believers in the Catholic Church, in Christian Churches and in Jewish Temples who do not have the Holy Spirit in their hearts and in their lives. Their belief is only intellectual; those are the people who have not been alert.