晨興聖言-經歷、享受並彰顯基督(四)(W40-1)

第四十週.週一

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晨興餧養

啟一1 『耶穌基督的啟示,就是神賜給祂,叫祂將必要快發生的事指示祂的眾奴僕;祂就藉著祂的使者傳達,用表號指示祂的奴僕約翰。』

五5  『長老中有一位對我說,不要哭;看哪,猶大支派中的獅子,大衛的根,祂已得勝,能以展開那書卷,揭開它的七印。』

基督是猶大支派中的獅子,〔啟五5,〕擊敗了背叛神的仇敵撒但,並且祂是救贖的羔羊,除去了墮落之人的罪,藉此祂去掉了成全神旨意的攔阻。所以祂配展開關於神經綸的書卷。(新約總論第十四冊,一四六頁。)

信息選讀

獅子表徵基督,描繪出祂是抵擋仇敵的剛強戰士,如創世記四十九章八至九節所豫言的。祂的得勝使祂彀資格展開那書卷,揭開它的七印。

啟示錄這卷書…乃是一幅『圖畫』,描繪並描述耶穌。…全書二十二章是猶大支派獅子的一幅好畫,這些章節裏也有陪襯。除了獅子以外,還有帶角的獸,甚至有一條龍。(十三1~2,11,十二3。)約翰曾因看到天上的景象而大哭,但猶大支派中的獅子來到時,卻有大歡樂。(五3~4,8~14。)至終,獅子作為羔羊娶了新婦,這新婦成為方正的城,而羔羊同神坐在寶座上。(十九7,二一16,二二1。)獅子在新耶路撒冷的中心登寶座,作萬王之王、萬主之主。然後從這寶座有一道生命水的河流出,明亮如水晶,河裏長著生命樹。這乃是啟示錄這卷啟示耶穌基督的書裏,神聖獅子的『圖畫』。

在啟示錄這卷書裏,我們只該看見一個人物—耶穌基督,因為這卷書乃是啟示並揭示耶穌基督。啟示錄的主角是作為猶大支派獅子的基督。(五5。)…我們必須轉眼不看青蛙、獸、蝗蟲、龍和蛇;反之,我們必須將眼目轉到這獅子身上。…啟示錄中所題到一切較小的項目,都是主要畫面的背景和陪襯,這主要的畫面乃是基督這猶大支派中的獅子。…對於我們,獅子是救贖的羔羊;但對於仇敵,羔羊是得勝的獅子。不僅如此,祂完全彰顯於燈臺、(一、)被贖的大批群眾、(七、)光明的婦人連同她的男孩子、(十二、)莊稼和初熟的果子、(十四、)玻璃海上的得勝者、(十五、)為著婚娶豫備好了的新婦、(十九、)軍隊(十九)和新耶路撒冷。(二一~二二。)

在祂的升天裏,基督是獅子羔羊。…當約翰發現『沒有能展開、能觀看那書卷的』,(五3,)因而大哭的時候,長老中有一位對他說,『不要哭;看哪,猶大支派中的獅子,大衛的根,祂已得勝,能以展開那書卷,揭開它的七印。』(5。)在基督釘十字架以前,約翰要哭還有理由,但在基督升天後哭,就太愚昧了。今天你還哭泣麼?如果你還在哭泣,就表示你還沒有看見啟示錄五章裏升天基督的異象。我們應當觀看這猶大支派中的獅子。

創世記四十九章八至九節豫言,基督是猶大的獅子;但是只有啟示錄告訴我們,基督是猶大支派中的獅子。猶大支派中的獅子這個稱呼,表徵基督是得勝的王。一切活的受造之物都在祂以下。沒有人能征服祂;祂反倒征服一切。(新約總論第十四冊,一三六至一三八頁。)

參讀:新約總論,第四百一十五、七十七篇。

WEEK 40 — DAY 1

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Morning Nourishment

Rev. 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him to show to His slaves the things that must quickly take place; and He made it known by signs, sending it by His angel to His slave John.

       5:5 And one of the elders said to me, Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so that He may open the scroll and its seven seals.

As the Lion of the tribe of Judah [Rev. 5:5], Christ overcame and defeated the rebellious Satan, the enemy of God, and as the redeeming Lamb, He took away the sin of fallen man. By doing so, He removed the hindrances to the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Therefore, He is worthy to open the scroll concerning God’s economy. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4235)

Today’s Reading

The lion is a symbol of Christ, portraying Him as a strong fighter against the enemy, as prophesied in Genesis 49:8-9. Christ’s overcoming qualifies Him to open the scroll and its seven seals.

[Revelation is] a single portrait, a “painting” portraying and depicting Jesus…[All the] chapters of Revelation are a good painting of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, but they also show an environment. Besides the Lion, there are beasts with horns and even a dragon (13:1-2, 11; 12:3). When John saw the situation in heaven, he wept, but when the Lion of the tribe of Judah came, there was great rejoicing (5:3-4, 8-14). Eventually, the Lion as the Lamb marries a bride, the bride becomes a square city, and the Lamb sits on the throne with God (19:7; 21:16; 22:1). The Lion is enthroned in the center of the New Jerusalem as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Then out of this throne flows a river of water of life, bright as crystal, and in the river the tree of life is growing. This is the “painting” of the divine Lion in the book of Revelation, the revelation of Jesus Christ.

In the book of Revelation we should see only one figure, Jesus Christ, because this book is the revelation and unveiling of Jesus Christ. The main figure in the book of Revelation is Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (5:5)…We must turn our eyes away from the frogs, the beasts, the locusts, the dragon, and the serpent; instead, we must turn our eyes upon this Lion… All the smaller items mentioned in Revelation are the background and environment of the main picture, which is Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah…To us, the Lion is the redeeming Lamb, but to the enemy, the Lamb is the overcoming Lion. Moreover, He is fully expressed in the lampstands (ch. 1), the great multitude of the redeemed (ch. 7), the bright woman with her man-child (ch. 12), the harvest with its firstfruits (ch. 14), the overcomers on the sea of glass (ch. 15), the bride ready for marriage (ch. 19), the armies (ch. 19), and the New Jerusalem (chs. 21—22).

Christ is the Lion-Lamb in His ascension…While John was weeping because “no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look into it” (5:4), one of the elders said to him, “Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so that He may open the scroll and its seven seals” (v. 5). Before the crucifixion, there might have been reason for John to weep. But it was foolish for him to weep after the ascension. Are you weeping today? If you are still weeping, it means that you have not seen the vision of the ascended Christ in Revelation 5. We need to behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

Genesis 49:8-9 prophesies concerning Christ as the Lion of Judah, but only in Revelation are we told that Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The title the Lion of the tribe of Judah signifies Christ as the triumphant King. All living creatures are under Him. None can subdue Him; rather, He subdues everything. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4226- 4228)

Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 415, 77

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