第69章 在橄榄山上
§1
第69章 在橄榄山上
§2
Chap. 69 - On the Mount of Olives
§3
（本章根据：太24:；可13:；路21:5-38）
§4
基督对祭司和官长们说：“看哪，你们的家成为荒场，留给你们。”（太23:38）这句话使他们恐慌不已。虽然他们装作不介意似的，可是，他们心中却常常起伏不定，这话是什么意思呢？好像有一种看不见的危险在威胁着他们。这庄严的圣殿乃民族的光荣，难道不久要成为荒凉的废墟吗？门徒也同样感到这是个凶兆。他们急切地想从耶稣口中听到一些更肯定的话。当门徒跟着耶稣从圣殿里出来时，他们请耶稣注意圣殿的坚固与美丽。建筑圣殿的石块都是最道地的大理石，洁白无瑕；其中有些石块大得几乎难以置信。有一段石墙曾抵挡过尼布甲尼撒军队的围攻，直存到现在。由于工程的精巧，这墙好似从石矿中凿出来的一整块大岩石。门徒不明白，这么坚固的石墙怎么会倾覆。[1]{DA 627.1}
§5
Christs words to the priests and rulers, Behold, your house is left unto you desolate (Matthew 23:38), had struck terror to their hearts. They affected indifference, but the question kept rising in their minds as to the import of these words. An unseen danger seemed to threaten them. Could it be that the magnificent temple, which was the nations glory, was soon to be a heap of ruins? The foreboding of evil was shared by the disciples, and they anxiously waited for some more definite statement from Jesus. As they passed with Him out of the temple, they called His attention to its strength and beauty. The stones of the temple were of the purest marble, of perfect whiteness, and some of them of almost fabulous size. A portion of the wall had withstood the siege by Nebuchadnezzars army. In its perfect masonry it appeared like one solid stone dug entire from the quarry. How those mighty walls could be overthrown the disciples could not comprehend. {DA 627.1}[1]
§6
当基督注意到圣殿的伟大和壮丽时，这被人拒绝的主，心中该有何等说不出的感想啊！在他面前的景象固然壮丽，但他满怀忧愁地说：这一切我都看见了。这些建筑固然庞大雄伟，你们以为这些墙不可能被摧毁吗？但你们听我说：日子将到，“将来在这里，没有一块石头留在石头上不被拆毁了。”[2]{DA 627.2}
§7
As Christs attention was attracted to the magnificence of the temple, what must have been the unuttered thoughts of that Rejected One! The view before Him was indeed beautiful, but He said with sadness, I see it all. The buildings are indeed wonderful. You point to these walls as apparently indestructible; but listen to My words: The day will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. {DA 627.2}[2]
§8
这些话是基督当着许多人讲的。及至他单独坐在橄榄山上时，彼得、约翰、雅各和安得烈到耶稣跟前问他说：“请告诉我们，什么时候有这些事？你降临和世界的末了，有什么预兆呢？”耶稣回答门徒时，没有把耶路撒冷的毁灭和他降临的大日分开，而是把这两件大事并在一起讲了。如果耶稣把将来的事,照他所看见的指示给门徒，他们必受不住。他因怜爱他们，就把这两件大事混合起来讲，让门徒自己去研究其中的意义。当耶稣提到耶路撒冷的毁灭时，他的预言就越过这件事，一直讲到世界最后的大灾；那时耶和华要从他的居所出来，刑罚地上居民的罪孽。地也必露出其中的血，不再掩盖被杀的人。这篇讲话不仅是对当时的门徒讲的，也是针对生活在末时代的人而讲的。[3]{DA 628.1}
§9
Christs words had been spoken in the hearing of a large number of people; but when He was alone, Peter, John, James, and Andrew came to Him as He sat upon the Mount of Olives. Tell us, they said, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world? Jesus did not answer His disciples by taking up separately the destruction of Jerusalem and the great day of His coming. He mingled the description of these two events. Had He opened to His disciples future events as He beheld them, they would have been unable to endure the sight. In mercy to them He blended the description of the two great crises, leaving the disciples to study out the meaning for themselves. When He referred to the destruction of Jerusalem, His prophetic words reached beyond that event to the final conflagration in that day when the Lord shall rise out of His place to punish the world for their iniquity, when the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. This entire discourse was given, not for the disciples only, but for those who should live in the last scenes of this earths history. {DA 628.1}[3]
§10
基督转过脸来朝着门徒，对他们说：“你们要谨慎，免得有人迷惑你们。因为将来有好些人冒我的名来，说：‘我是基督’，并且要迷惑许多人。”许多假基督将要出现，自言能行神迹，并宣称犹太国蒙拯救的时候已经到了。许多人要受他们的迷惑。基督这话已经应验了。从他的死到耶路撒冷被围困这段时期中，已有许多假基督出现。但这警告也是给我们现代人的。那在耶路撒冷毁灭之前，被人用过的种种骗术，在各世代都有人使用，而且将来还会重演。[4]{DA 628.2}
§11
Turning to the disciples, Christ said, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Many false messiahs will appear, claiming to work miracles, and declaring that the time of the deliverance of the Jewish nation has come. These will mislead many. Christs words were fulfilled. Between His death and the siege of Jerusalem many false messiahs appeared. But this warning was given also to those who live in this age of the world. The same deceptions practiced prior to the destruction of Jerusalem have been practiced through the ages, and will be practiced again. {DA 628.2}[4]
§12
“你们也要听见打仗和打仗的风声，总不要惊慌，因为这些事是必须有的,只是末期还没有到。”在耶路撒冷毁灭之前，世人会争夺权位，弑君犯上；到处有打仗和打仗的风声。基督说：“这些事是必须有的，只是末期（把犹太国当成一国而论,再亡之期）还没有到。民要攻打民，国要攻打国，多处必有饥荒、地震。这都是灾难的起头。”基督又说：当拉比们看到这些预兆时,他们必要说这是上帝降给辖制他选民之列国的刑罚。他们也要说这就是弥赛亚降临的先兆。你们不要受迷惑，因为这都是上帝所降灾难的起头。众人都依靠自己,不肯悔改归正，以致我无法医治他们。他们认为是自己从捆绑中得解放的征象，正是自己被毁灭的预兆。[5]{DA 628.3}
§13
And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, men wrestled for the supremacy. Emperors were murdered. Those supposed to be standing next the throne were slain. There were wars and rumors of wars. All these things must come to pass, said Christ, but the end [of the Jewish nation as a nation] is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Christ said, As the rabbis see these signs, they will declare them to be Gods judgments upon the nations for holding in bondage His chosen people. They will declare that these signs are the token of the advent of 6the Messiah. Be not deceived; they are the beginning of His judgments. The people have looked to themselves. They have not repented and been converted that I should heal them. The signs that they represent as tokens of their release from bondage are signs of their destruction. {DA 628.3}[5]
§14
“那时，人要把你们陷在患难里，也要杀害你们；你们又要为我的名被万民恨恶。那时，必有许多人跌倒，也要彼此陷害，彼此恨恶。”这一切，基督徒确实都忍受了。父母陷害儿女，儿女陷害父母；朋友将朋友交给公会。逼迫者遂了心愿，杀害了司提反、雅各和其他基督徒。[6]{DA 629.1}
§15
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My names sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. All this the Christians suffered. Fathers and mothers betrayed their children. Children betrayed their parents. Friends delivered their friends up to the Sanhedrin. The persecutors wrought out their purpose by killing Stephen, James, and other Christians. {DA 629.1}[6]
§16
上帝曾通过他的仆人，给犹太人最后悔改的机会。在基督的见证人被捉拿受审并坐牢时，他曾彰显自己的荣耀。然而，犹太的审判官还是定了他们的死罪。他们本是世界不配有的人，犹太人杀害他们，就等于将上帝的儿子重新钉在十字架上。同样的事必要重演：掌权者将要订出限制宗教自由的法律。他们要僭取上帝所独有的权柄,以为自己能强制别人的信仰。其实，唯有上帝才有权管理人心。但现在他们已经下手，并将要继续进行下去，直到他们到了不能逾越的界限为止。那时，上帝必为他忠心守诫的子民亲自出来加以干涉。[7]{DA 630.1}
§17
Through His servants, God gave the Jewish people a last opportunity to repent. He manifested Himself through His witnesses in their arrest, in their trial, and in their imprisonment. Yet their judges pronounced on them the death sentence. They were men of whom the world was not worthy, and by killing them the Jews crucified afresh the Son of God. So it will be again. The authorities will make laws to restrict religious liberty. They will assume the right that is Gods alone. They will think they can force the conscience, which God alone should control. Even now they are making a beginning; this work they will continue to carry forward till they reach a boundary over which they cannot step. God will interpose in behalf of His loyal, commandment-keeping people. {DA 630.1}[7]
§18
每当逼迫发生，一切有关的人就必须决定，是拥护基督还是反对基督。那些向受冤屈者表同情的人，显明他们是属于基督的。另有一些人，因为真理的原则直接干涉了他们的行为，就起了反感，因此许多人跌倒,背弃了他们曾一度持守的信仰。那些在受考验时背叛真道的人，为自己的安全，就妄作见证，陷害弟兄。基督已将这事警告我们，使我们看到那些拒绝真光者的悖天逆理和残酷手段时，就不至于感到惊奇。[8]{DA 630.2}
§19
On every occasion when persecution takes place, those who witness it make decisions either for Christ or against Him. Those who manifest sympathy for the ones wrongly condemned show their attachment for Christ. Others are offended because the principles of truth cut directly across their practice. Many stumble and fall, apostatizing from the faith they once advocated. Those who apostatize in time of trial will, to secure their own safety, bear false witness, and betray their brethren. Christ has warned us of this, that we may not be surprised at the unnatural, cruel course of those who reject the light. {DA 630.2}[8]
§20
基督赐给门徒一个关于耶路撒冷遭毁灭的预兆，并告诉他们如何逃脱。他说：“你们看见耶路撒冷被兵围困，就可知道它成为荒场的日子近了。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。”基督这话是为四十年后耶路撒冷被毁时所发的警告。那时，基督徒因听从了这个警告，在圣城陷落时没有一个遇难的。[9]{DA 630.3}
§21
Christ gave His disciples a sign of the ruin to come on Jerusalem, and He told them how to escape: When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. This warning was given to be heeded forty years after, at the destruction of Jerusalem. The Christians obeyed the warning, and not a Christian perished in the fall of the city. {DA 630.3}[9]
§22
基督说：“你们应当祈求，叫你们逃走的时候，不遇见冬天或是安息日。”设立安息日的主并没有废掉安息日，或把安息日钉在十字架上。他的死并没有使安息日失效。在他被钉后四十年，安息日仍被尊为圣日。门徒祷告了四十年之久，求上帝在他们逃跑的时候不遇见安息日。[10]{DA 630.4}
§23
Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter; neither on the Sabbath day, Christ said. He who made the Sabbath did not abolish it, nailing it to His cross. The Sabbath was not rendered null and void by His death. Forty years after His crucifixion it was still to be held sacred. For forty years the disciples were to pray that their flight might not be on the Sabbath day. {DA 630.4}[10]
§24
谈了耶路撒冷的毁灭之后,基督很快就谈到那重要的大事，就是世界历史的最后一幕上帝的儿子在威荣中降临。在这两件大事之间，他看到一段很长的黑暗时期，就是他的教会要经历许多世纪的流血、以泪洗面和极度痛苦的历史。这景象是他的门徒当时还担当不起的，所以耶稣只扼要地提了一下,说：“那时必有大灾难，从世界的起头直到如今，没有这样的灾难，后来也必没有。若不减少那日子，凡有血气的，总没有一个得救的；只是为选民，那日子必减少了。”一千多年的灾难，即世人从未见过的逼迫要临到基督徒。他千百万忠心的见证人都被杀害了。若不是上帝伸手保护他的子民,他们就要全被灭绝。他说：“只是为选民，那日子必减少了。”[11]{DA 630.5}
§25
From the destruction of Jerusalem, Christ passed on rapidly to the greater event, the last link in the chain of this earths history,--the coming of the Son of God in majesty and glory. Between these two events, there lay open to Christs view long centuries of darkness, centuries for His 6church marked with blood and tears and agony. Upon these scenes His disciples could not then endure to look, and Jesus passed them by with a brief mention. Then shall be great tribulation, He said, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elects sake those days shall be shortened. For more than a thousand years such persecution as the world had never before known was to come upon Christs followers. Millions upon millions of His faithful witnesses were to be slain. Had not Gods hand been stretched out to preserve His people, all would have perished. But for the elects sake, He said, those days shall be shortened. {DA 630.5}[11]
§26
接下来，我们的主用无可置疑的话讲到他第二次降临，为他复临以前所必有的危险，预先提出警告：“那时，若有人对你们说‘基督在这里’，或说‘基督在那里’,你们不要信。因为假基督、假先知将要起来,显大神迹、大奇事。倘若能行，连选民也就迷惑了。看哪，我预先告诉你们了。若有人对你们说，‘看哪，基督在旷野里’，你们不要出去；或说，‘看哪，基督在内屋中’，你们不要信。闪电从东边发出,直照到西边。人子降临，也要这样。”基督曾说过，耶路撒冷毁灭的预兆之一、就是有“好些假先知起来，迷惑多人。”后来假先知果然起来了，迷惑众人，并引领许多人到旷野去。术士们和行邪术的，自称有不可思议的能力，曾吸引群众跟他们到山间的荒野。但是这段预言也是为末后的日子说的；这也是基督第二次降临的预兆。就是现在，已有假基督和假先知现出神迹奇事来诱惑基督的门徒。我们岂不是听到有人喊：“基督在旷野里”吗？岂不是有成千人到旷野去，希望找到基督吗？而且在成千的集会中,有人自称能与鬼魂来往。现在岂不已经听见他们喊，“看哪，基督在内屋中”吗？这就是现代交鬼术所作的宣传。但基督说什么呢？“你们不要信。闪电从东边发出，直照到西边。人子降临，也要这样。”[12]{DA 631.1}
§27
Now, in unmistakable language, our Lord speaks of His second coming, and He gives warning of dangers to precede His advent to the world. If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. As one of the signs of Jerusalems destruction, Christ had said, Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. False prophets did rise, deceiving the people, and leading great numbers into the desert. Magicians and sorcerers, claiming miraculous power, drew the people after them into the mountain solitudes. But this prophecy was spoken also for the last days. This sign is given as a sign of the second advent. Even now false christs and false prophets are showing signs and wonders to seduce His disciples. Do we not hear the cry, Behold, He is in the desert? Have not thousands gone forth into the desert, hoping to find Christ? And from thousands of gatherings where men profess to hold communion with departed spirits is not the call now heard, Behold, He is in the secret chambers? This is the very claim that spiritism puts forth. But what says Christ? Believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. {DA 631.1}[12]
§28
救主除了指出他再来的许多预兆之外，还指定了头一个兆头出现的时间：“那些日子的灾难一过去，日头就变黑了，月亮也不放光，众星要从天上坠落，天势都要震动。那时，人子的兆头要显在天上，地上的万族都要哀哭。他们要看见人子有能力，有大荣耀,驾着天上的云降临。他要差遣使者,用号筒的大声，将他的选民从四方,从天这边到天那边,都招聚了来。”[13]{DA 631.2}
§29
The Saviour gives signs of His coming, and more than this, He fixes the time when the first of these signs shall appear: Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon 6shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. {DA 631.2}[13]
§30
基督宣称，在罗马教的大逼迫停止后，日头就要变黑，月亮也不放光。以后众星也要从天上坠落。他又说：“你们可以从无花果树学个比方：当树枝发嫩长叶的时候，你们就知道夏天近了。这样，你们看见这一切的事，也该知道人子近了，正在门口了。”（太24:32-33）[14]{DA 632.1}
§31
At the close of the great papal persecution, Christ declared, the sun should be darkened, and the moon should not give her light. Next, the stars should fall from heaven. And He says, Learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that He is near, even at the doors. Matthew 24:32, 33, margin. {DA 632.1}[14]
§32
基督已经提出他降临的种种预兆。他说我们可以知道什么时候他已临近,正在门口了。他论到那些目睹这些预兆的人说：“这世代还没有过去，这些事都要成就。”今天这些预兆都已出现，现在我们可以确知主降临的日子近了。他说：“天地要废去，我的话却不能废去。”[15]{DA 632.2}
§33
Christ has given signs of His coming. He declares that we may know when He is near, even at the doors. He says of those who see these signs, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. These signs have appeared. Now we know of a surety that the Lords coming is at hand. Heaven and earth shall pass away, He says, but My words shall not pass away. {DA 632.2}[15]
§34
基督将要在大荣耀中驾云降临，有无数光明的天使伴随着他。他来，要使死人复活，使活着的圣徒改变，荣上加荣。他来，要尊荣那些爱他并守他诫命的人，接他们到自己那里去。他没有忘记他们，也没有忘记自己的应许。那时，许多家庭必要重新团聚。现今，当我们为死者忧伤时，就要想到将来上帝号筒吹响的那个清晨，“死人要复活，成为不朽坏的，我们也要改变。”（林前15:52）过不久，我们要看见王的荣美；过不久，他将擦去我们一切的眼泪；过不久，他要使我们“无瑕无疵、欢欢喜喜地站在他荣耀之前”（犹24）。因此，当他提出自己降临的预兆时，接着说：“一有这些事,你们就当挺身昂首,因为你们得赎的日子近了。”[16]{DA 632.3}
§35
Christ is coming with clouds and with great glory. A multitude of shining angels will attend Him. He will come to raise the dead, and to change the living saints from glory to glory. He will come to honor those who have loved Him, and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them nor His promise. There will be a relinking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we may think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, when the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:52. A little longer, and we shall see the King in His beauty. A little longer, and He will wipe all tears from our eyes. A little longer, and He will present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Jude 24. Wherefore, when He gave the signs of His coming He said, When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. {DA 632.3}[16]
§36
然而，基督并没有把他降临的日子和时辰告诉人。他清楚地向他的门徒说,他自己也不知道他第二次显现的日子和时辰。如果他能随意讲明，又何必劝他们保持时刻警醒等候呢？如今有人宣称自己知道我们主显现的确切日期和时辰，他们非常认真地推测将来的事，但主已警告他们不可这样做。人子第二次降临的确切时辰，是上帝的奥秘。[17]{DA 632.4}
§37
But the day and the hour of His coming Christ has not revealed. He stated plainly to His disciples that He Himself could not make known the day or the hour of His second appearing. Had He been at liberty to reveal this, why need He have exhorted them to maintain an attitude of constant expectancy? There are those who claim to know the very day and hour of our Lords appearing. Very earnest are they in mapping out 6the future. But the Lord has warned them off the ground they occupy. The exact time of the second coming of the Son of man is Gods mystery. {DA 632.4}[17]
§38
接着，基督又指明了他降临时世界的状况，他说：“挪亚的日子怎样，人子降临也要怎样。当洪水以前的日子，人照常吃喝嫁娶，直到挪亚进方舟的那日，不知不觉洪水来了，把他们全都冲去。人子降临也要这样。”基督在这里并没有预指属世的千禧年，就是所谓一切人都能为永生作准备的一千年。他告诉我们，挪亚的日子怎样，人子降临的日子也要怎样。[18]{DA 633.1}
§39
Christ continues, pointing out the condition of the world at His coming: As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Christ does not here bring to view a temporal millennium, a thousand years in which all are to prepare for eternity. He tells us that as it was in Noahs day, so will it be when the Son of man comes again. {DA 633.1}[18]
§40
挪亚的日子是怎样的呢？“耶和华见人在地上罪恶很大，终日所思想的尽都是恶。”（创6:5）洪水以前的人背弃了耶和华，不肯遵行他的旨意。他们随从自己污秽的思想和乖僻的意念。他们之所以被毁灭，是因他们的罪孽。而今日的世界正是在重蹈他们的覆辙。这世界并未出现千禧年辉煌的诱人光景。违犯上帝律法的人，使罪恶充斥全地。他们的赌博、放荡、荒淫的行为，不羁的情欲，使地上充满了强暴。[19]{DA 633.2}
§41
How was it in Noahs day? God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5. The inhabitants of the antediluvian world turned from Jehovah, refusing to do His holy will. They followed their own unholy imagination and perverted ideas. It was because of their wickedness that they were destroyed; and today the world is following the same way. It presents no flattering signs of millennial glory. The transgressors of Gods law are filling the earth with wickedness. Their betting, their horse racing, their gambling, their dissipation, their lustful practices, their untamable passions, are fast filling the world with violence. {DA 633.2}[19]
§42
基督在预言耶路撒冷被毁时，说：“只因不法的事增多，许多人的爱心才渐渐冷淡了。唯有忍耐到底的必然得救。这天国的福音要传遍天下，对万民作见证，然后末期才来到。”这段预言将来必要再度应验。那时不法的事增多，与近代的罪恶泛滥，正好遥遥相对。关于宣传福音的预言，也是如此。在耶路撒冷倾覆之前，保罗受圣灵感动，说当时福音已经“传与普天下”（西1:23），现今也是如此。人子降临前，这永远的福音也必传到“各国、各族、各方、各民”（启14:6）。上帝“已经定了日子，要……审判天下。”（徒17:31）基督告诉我们那日子要来到，但他并没说世人都会悔改，只说:这天国的福音要传遍天下，对万民作见证，然后末期才来到。”我们能藉着传福音来加速主的复临。我们不单要仰望，而且也要促使上帝日子的到来。（彼后3:12钦订英文版译为“仰望并催促”）基督的教会已经完成上帝所指定的工作，全世界就早已听见警告，主耶稣也早已带着大能在荣耀里降临了。[20]{DA 633.3}
§43
In the prophecy of Jerusalems destruction Christ said, Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. This prophecy will again be fulfilled. The abounding iniquity of that day finds its counterpart in this generation. So with the prediction in regard to the preaching of the gospel. Before the fall of Jerusalem, Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, declared that the gospel was preached to every creature which is under heaven. Colossians 1:23. So now, before the coming of the Son of man, the everlasting gospel is to be preached to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. Revelation 14:6, 14. God hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world. Acts 17:31. Christ tells us when that day shall be ushered in. He does not say that all the world will be converted, but that this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. By giving the gospel to the world it is in our power to hasten our Lords return. We are not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:12, margin. Had 6the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory. {DA 633.3}[20]
§44
基督说明他降临的预兆之后,说:你们看见这些事渐渐地成就,也该晓得上帝的国近了。”“你们要谨慎,警醒祈祷。”上帝一向以快要临到的审判来警告世人。凡相信当时的信息，并以顺从主诫命的行动实践他们信仰的人，都逃避了当时降在忤逆不信之人头上的刑罚。主耶和华对挪亚说：“你和你的全家都要进入方舟，因为在这世代中,我见你在我面前是义人。”（创7:1）挪亚顺从,就得了拯救。也有警告传给罗得说：“你们起来离开这地方，因为耶和华要毁灭这城。”（创19:14）罗得接受天使的保护，也蒙拯救。古时，基督的门徒照样得到耶路撒冷毁灭的警告。凡注意那次毁灭来临的兆头而逃出那城的人都免于灭亡。我们现在也已听到有关基督再次降临的信息，和将要临到世人身上的毁灭的警告。凡注意这警告的人，就必得救。[21]{DA 634.1}
§45
After He had given the signs of His coming, Christ said, When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Take ye heed, watch and pray. God has always given men warning of coming judgments. Those who had faith in His message for their time, and who acted out their faith, in obedience to His commandments, escaped the judgments that fell upon the disobedient and unbelieving. The word came to Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me. Noah obeyed and was saved. The message came to Lot, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. Genesis 7:1; 19:14. Lot placed himself under the guardianship of the heavenly messengers, and was saved. So Christs disciples were given warning of the destruction of Jerusalem. Those who watched for the sign of the coming ruin, and fled from the city, escaped the destruction. So now we are given warning of Christs second coming and of the destruction to fall upon the world. Those who heed the warning will be saved. {DA 634.1}[21]
§46
因为我们不知道主降临的确切时辰，主吩咐我们要警醒。“主人来了，看见仆人警醒,那仆人就有福了。”（路12:37）警醒等候主来的人，并不是在闲懒地空等。人对基督降临的盼望使人敬畏上帝，惧怕他加于罪恶的刑罚，并感到拒绝他恩典的罪是何等大。同时，警醒等候主来的人，也必顺从真理而使自己的心灵得以纯洁。他们必把缜密的戒备同热诚的工作结合起来。因为他们知道主已在门前，所以热心勃发,与天使合作，从事救灵的工作。这等人就是忠心、有见识的仆人，管理主人的家,“按时分粮给他们”（路12:42）。他们传扬特别适应时代的真理。以诺、挪亚、亚伯拉罕和摩西怎样宣扬当代的真理，照样，现今基督的仆人，也应对本时代发出应时的警告。[22]{DA 634.2}
§47
Because we know not the exact time of His coming, we are commanded to watch. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching. Luke 12:37. Those who watch for the Lords coming are not waiting in idle expectancy. The expectation of Christs coming is to make men fear the Lord, and fear His judgments upon transgression. It is to awaken them to the great sin of rejecting His offers of mercy. Those who are watching for the Lord are purifying their souls by obedience to the truth. With vigilant watching they combine earnest working. Because they know that the Lord is at the door, their zeal is quickened to co-operate with the divine intelligences in working for the salvation of souls. These are the faithful and wise servants who give to the Lords household their portion of meat in due season. Luke 12:42. They are declaring the truth that is now specially applicable. As Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses each declared the truth for his time, so will Christs servants now give the special warning for their generation. {DA 634.2}[22]
§48
但基督又提到另一等人：“倘若那恶仆心里说：‘我的主人必来得迟’，就动手打他的同伴，又和酒醉的人一同吃喝。在想不到的日子，……那仆人的主人要来。”[23]{DA 634.3}
§49
But Christ brings to view another class: If that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him. {DA 634.3}[23]
§50
这恶仆在心里说：“我的主人必来得迟”，他并没说基督不会再来，也没讥诮主第二次降临的事，而是在他的心里和言行上，表明主的降临迟延了。他消除了别人心中所有主必快来的信念。他的影向导致人任意妄为，拖延预备，沉溺于世俗的昏昧中，以致内心充满了属世的情欲和腐败的思想。这恶仆和醉酒的人一同吃喝,与世人一同寻求罪中之乐。他打他的同伴，控告并谴责忠心侍奉主的人。他与世人同流合污，渐渐变成罪中之人，真是可怕的同化；他已与世人一同陷入网罗。“在想不到的日子，不知道的时辰，那仆人的主人要来，重重地处治他，定他和假冒为善的人同罪。”[24]{DA 635.1}
§51
The evil servant says in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming. He does not say that Christ will not come. He does not scoff at the idea of His second coming. But in his heart and by his actions and words he declares that the Lords coming is delayed. He banishes from the minds of others the conviction that the Lord is coming quickly. His influence leads men to presumptuous, careless delay. They are confirmed in their worldliness and stupor. Earthly passions, corrupt thoughts, take possession of the mind. The evil servant eats and drinks with the drunken, unites with the world in pleasure seeking. He smites his fellow servants, accusing and condemning those who are faithful to their Master. He mingles with the world. Like grows with like in transgression. It is a fearful assimilation. With the world he is taken in the snare. The lord of that servant shall come . . . in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. {DA 635.1}[24]
§52
“若不警醒,我必临到你那里，如同贼一样。我几时临到，你也决不能知道。”（启3:3）基督的复临，必出乎假教师的意料，使他们惊慌不已。他们在说“平安稳妥”，正如祭司和教师们在耶路撒冷陷落之前，还指望教会要享受地上的繁荣昌盛一样。当时发生的许多迹象，都被他们解释为光明的先兆。但圣经里怎么说呢？“灾祸忽然临到他们”（帖前5:3），上帝的日子必如网罗突然临到一切住在地上的人，临到一切以世界为家乡的人。那日子临到他们，像暗中偷袭的贼一样。[25]{DA 635.2}
§53
If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Revelation 3:3. The advent of Christ will surprise the false teachers. They are saying, Peace and safety. Like the priests and teachers before the fall of Jerusalem, they look for the church to enjoy earthly prosperity and glory. The signs of the times they interpret as foreshadowing this. But what saith the word of Inspiration? Sudden destruction cometh upon them. 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth, upon all who make this world their home, the day of God will come as a snare. It comes to them as a prowling thief. {DA 635.2}[25]
§54
这世界已经充满了放荡和荒淫的享乐，沉睡在肉体的安逸之中。世人将主的降临推到遥远的将来，并讥诮别人给他们的警告。他们夸口说:“万物与起初创造的时候仍是一样。”（彼后3:4）“明日必和今日一样，就是宴乐无量极大之日。”（赛56:12）但基督说:“我来像贼一样。”（启16:15）正当世人讥诮说：“主要降临的应许在哪里呢？”基督降临的预兆却正在应验。当他们说“平安稳妥”时，灾祸突然临头。当讥诮和拒绝真理的人，到了任意妄为时，当追求财利者不顾按道义经营谋利时，当学者正在兢兢业业地研究各种知识，而单把圣经丢在一边时，基督要像贼一样来临。[26]{DA 635.3}
§55
The world, full of rioting, full of godless pleasure, is asleep, asleep in carnal security. Men are putting afar off the coming of the Lord. They laugh at warnings. The proud boast is made, All things continue as they were from the beginning. Tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant. 2 Peter 3:4; Isaiah 56:12. We will go deeper into pleasure loving. But Christ says, Behold, I come as a thief. Revelation 16:15. At the very time when the world is asking in scorn, Where is the promise of His coming? the signs are fulfilling. While they cry, Peace and safety, sudden destruction is coming. When the scorner, the rejecter of truth, has become presumptuous; when the routine of work in the various money-making lines is carried on without regard to principle; when the student is eagerly seeking knowledge of everything but his Bible, Christ comes as a thief. {DA 635.3}[26]
§56
现今世上，万事纷扰动荡。时事的征兆凶险。未来的事，在前面投下阴影。上帝的灵正渐渐地从地上收回，海洋和陆地上的灾祸接踵而至；暴风、地震、大火、洪水以及各种杀人流血的事，到处皆是。谁知道将来还会发生何事？何处是安全之所？凡是人为的，或属世的事，未必可靠无疑。人们都迅速归属自己所选择的旗帜之下，坐卧不安地等待着、注意着他们带头人的动向。有一等人正在为我们主的显现而警醒等候并辛勤作工。另有一等人落在那叛道魁首的管制之下。很少人真心相信：我们确有一个地狱要逃避；确有一个天国要求得。[27]{DA 636.1}
§57
Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for our Lords appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win. {DA 636.1}[27]
§58
最后的危机正悄悄地向我们偷袭。太阳依然照耀天空，循环不息；诸天仍在叙说上帝的荣耀；世人照常吃喝嫁娶、耕种营造；商贾仍旧买卖逐利。人们彼此排挤、争权夺位；喜爱宴乐的人挤在戏院、赛马场和赌窟之中,兴奋到了顶点。殊不知，宽容时期行将结束，各人的命运快要永远决定了！撒但知道自己的时间不多，故已发动所有的力量使世人受欺骗、被迷惑，醉生梦死，直到宽容的时期过去，恩典的门永远关闭。[28]{DA 636.2}
§59
The crisis is stealing gradually upon us. The sun shines in the heavens, passing over its usual round, and the heavens still declare the glory of God. Men are still eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying, and giving in marriage. Merchants are still buying and selling. Men are jostling one against another, contending for the highest place. Pleasure lovers are still crowding to theaters, horse races, gambling hells. The highest excitement prevails, yet probations hour is fast closing, and every case is about to be eternally decided. Satan sees that his time is short. He has set all his agencies at work that men may be deceived, deluded, occupied and entranced, until the day of probation shall be ended, and the door of mercy be forever shut. {DA 636.2}[28]
§60
我们的救主从橄榄山上发出的警戒，经历世世代代，以严肃的声律传给我们：“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。”“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。”[29]{DA 636.3}
§61
Solemnly there come to us down through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. {DA 636.3}[29]