末世的預兆 Part 1 馬可福音 13:1-21
- 馬克牧師
- Mar 23, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 24, 2024
預言聖殿被毀
（太24‧1－2；路21‧5－6）
1耶穌從殿裏出來的時候，有一個門徒對他說：「夫子，請看，這是何等的石頭！何等的殿宇！」 2耶穌對他說：「你看見這大殿宇嗎？將來在這裏沒有一塊石頭留在石頭上，不被拆毀了。」
災難的起頭
（太24‧3－14；路21‧7－19）
3耶穌在橄欖山上對聖殿而坐。彼得、雅各、約翰，和安得烈暗暗地問他說： 4「請告訴我們，甚麼時候有這些事呢？這一切事將成的時候有甚麼預兆呢？」 5耶穌說：「你們要謹慎，免得有人迷惑你們。 6將來有好些人冒我的名來，說：『我是基督』，並且要迷惑許多人。 7你們聽見打仗和打仗的風聲，不要驚慌。這些事是必須有的，只是末期還沒有到。 8民要攻打民，國要攻打國；多處必有地震、饑荒。這都是災難的起頭。 9但你們要謹慎；因為人要把你們交給公會， 並且你們在會堂裏要受鞭打，又為我的緣故站在諸侯與君王面前，對他們作見證。 10然而，福音必須先傳給萬民。 11人把你們拉去交官的時候，不要預先思慮說甚麼；到那時候，賜給你們甚麼話，你們就說甚麼；因為說話的不是你們，乃是聖靈。 12弟兄要把弟兄，父親要把兒子，送到死地；兒女要起來與父母為敵，害死他們； 13並且你們要為我的名被眾人恨惡。惟有忍耐到底的，必然得救。」
大災難
（太24‧15－28；路21‧20－24）
14「你們看見那行毀壞可憎的，站在不當站的地方（讀這經的人須要會意）。那時，在猶太的，應當逃到山上； 15在房上的，不要下來，也不要進去拿家裏的東西； 16在田裏的，也不要回去取衣裳。 17當那些日子，懷孕的和奶孩子的有禍了！ 18你們應當祈求，叫這些事不在冬天臨到。 19因為在那些日子必有災難，自從神創造萬物直到如今，並沒有這樣的災難，後來也必沒有。 20若不是主減少那日子，凡有血氣的，總沒有一個得救的；只是為主的選民，他將那日子減少了。
各位平安，今天我們要分享的是馬可福音第13章的故事。耶穌在這裡談到了末世的預兆，這一段講述了未來要發生的事情。我們將這段話分成兩個 Podcast 進行分享，因為理解這段故事需要特殊的文學視角，稱為啟示文學。一旦你理解了啟示文學，你就能更清晰地理解聖經中的基本概念，例如但以理書的最後一段，啟示錄，以及這段預言。這些都是猶太啟示文學的風格。
在新舊約中，有一段時間，猶太人被外族征服，他們失去了國家和土地。他們渴望主的日子，即救主的來臨，這個時刻產生了一種有趣的宗教文學，稱為啟示文學。這些文學作品中充滿了對主來臨時所發生事情的意象、夢境等，這些都建立在舊約的經文之上，並加入了當時的情況和歷史事件，使其呈現出預言的故事性質。舊約中的但以理書和啟示錄都包含了一些關於未來征服者和預言的故事，這些是特別代表性的例子。
當你了解了啟示文學風格後，再去閱讀啟示錄，你就會發現其中一些內容確實符合了當時羅馬帝國所發生的事情，或者是寫作背景的歷史事件。這樣我們就不會將一些內容過度解讀，例如將特定的歷史人物或事件與聖經中的符號直接聯繫起來。重要的是理解作者當時想要表達的意思，以及與我們直接相關的真理。
讓我們回到今天閱讀的這段經文，這段記載在第13章的前21節部分。耶路撒冷和聖殿的毀滅，耶穌在預言中提到的這一事件，在西元70年後確實發生了。耶路撒冷城被完全攻陷，聖殿被焚毀。耶穌事先告訴了門徒這些事情，也因為他們是基督徒，他們的信仰將會帶來迫害和殺身之禍。在羅馬帝國統治時期的三個世紀中，基督徒遭受著持續的壓迫，這也使得基督教成為了一個極端危險的宗教，信徒們必須用生命來捍衛他們的信仰。
這裡我們可以清楚地看到信仰所需付出的巨大代價。在第十四章的第12至23節中，甚至談到了家人彼此出賣，以躲避政府的壓迫。在這段時間裡，基督徒們確實經歷了許多極其殘酷的迫害，耶穌在這裡提前向門徒們提到了這一切。
這段經文中有一個非常重要的警告，即假先知和假基督的概念。魔鬼的手段之一，並不是完全地說謊，而是以95%的真理夾雜著5%的虛假。然而，這5%的虛假部分是至關重要的，它會扭曲了你的信仰根基，導致整個體系出現問題。想象一下建造一棟大樓，即使只少了兩根柱子，但如果這兩根柱子的位置是關鍵位置的，那麼這座大樓在面臨地震時就會崩潰。魔鬼的策略就是如此，牠不是完全地說謊，而是扭曲聖經的話語，用於攻擊，用於誤導，在關鍵時刻扭曲一些字眼，讓你產生誤解。一如創世紀魔鬼對夏娃所說的 “上帝真的有這樣說嗎？”這實際上是魔鬼更加厲害的武器，也像撒旦用聖經的話試探耶穌一樣。
當我們閱讀聖經時，如果不按照正確的總原則來理解，很容易被文字的表面所誤導。例如，當耶穌提到人的仇敵都是家裡的人時，難道我們就應該與家人為敵嗎？因此，在閱讀聖經時，我們必須小心，不要僅僅從字面上理解，而是要考慮聖經的整體原則和重複出現的概念。只有這樣，我們才能更安全地避免誤解，更深入地理解耶穌在這裡對門徒的警告，即會有許多假先知、假使徒和假基督出現。事實上，在公元1世紀到3世紀之間，確實出現了許多這樣的人，他們扭曲了當時的基督教正統信仰，例如馬吉安主義者特別強調舊約的無關重要性，試圖完全放棄舊約。
因此，當我們稍微研究一下教會歷史，就會明白為什麼歷代的教會和基督徒需要聚集開會討論關於信仰的問題，例如後來的使徒信經，亞他那修信經，尼西亞信經，就是在這些大公會議上所確立的。這些信經的目的是幫助我們把握信仰的核心，並且成為評判信仰正確與否的標準。但是，我們不應該將這些信經變成棍子，用來批評和攻擊其他人。這些信經是歷代聖徒用性命所確立的重要結論，讓我們正確地使用它們。
感謝各位的聆聽，明天我們分享十三章的下半段，沒有人知道末日的時間。
The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times
As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”
“Do you see all these great buildings?”replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately,
“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”
Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you.
Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
“You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.
Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
“When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out.
Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak.
How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!
Pray that this will not take place in winter,
because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.
Peace to you all. Today, we're going to share the story from Mark 13 in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus talks about the signs of the end times here, describing what will happen in the future. We're splitting this passage into two podcasts for sharing because understanding this story requires a special literary perspective known as apocalyptic literature. Once you grasp apocalyptic literature, you'll have a clearer understanding of basic concepts in the Bible, such as the final section of the Book of Daniel, the Book of Revelation, and this particular prophecy. These all represent the style of Jewish apocalyptic literature.
During a period in both the Old and New Testaments, the Jewish people were conquered by foreign powers, losing their nation and land. They longed for the day of the Lord's arrival, which led to the emergence of an intriguing religious literature called apocalyptic literature. These literary works are filled with imagery, dreams, and visions of what will happen when the Lord arrives. They're based on Old Testament scriptures but incorporate contemporary situations and historical events, presenting them as prophetic stories. The books of Daniel and Revelation in the Old Testament contain stories and prophecies about future conquerors, serving as prime examples.
Once you understand the style of apocalyptic literature, reading the Book of Revelation becomes clearer. You'll realize that some of its content indeed matches events that occurred during the time of the Roman Empire or the historical context in which it was written. This prevents us from overinterpreting certain content, such as directly linking specific historical figures or events with symbols in the Bible. What's important is to understand the message the author intended to convey and the truths that directly relate to us.
Let's return to the passage we read today, which is recorded in verses 1 through 21 of chapter 13. The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, an event foretold by Jesus in prophecy, did indeed occur after AD 70. The city of Jerusalem was completely overrun, and the temple was burned. Jesus had forewarned the disciples of these events, and because they were Christians, their faith would bring persecution and even death. During the three centuries of Roman rule, Christians faced relentless persecution, making Christianity an extremely dangerous religion where believers had to defend their faith with their lives.
Here, we can clearly see the immense cost of faith. Even in verses 12 through 23 of chapter 4, it mentions families betraying each other to evade government oppression. During this time, you indeed experienced many extremely cruel persecutions against Christians, and Jesus here warned the disciples of all these things in advance.
There's a crucial warning in this passage about the concept of false prophets and false christs. One of the devil's tactics is not outright lying but mixing 95% truth with 5% falsehood. However, this 5% falsehood is critical as it distorts the foundation of your faith, leading to systemic problems. Imagine building a skyscraper, and even if only two pillars are missing, if those pillars are in crucial positions, the entire building will collapse in an earthquake. The devil's strategy is similar; it's not outright lying but distorting the words of the Bible, using them to attack and deceive, twisting words at crucial moments to sow confusion. Just as the devil said to Eve in Genesis, "Did God really say that?" This is actually the devil's more cunning weapon, much like when Satan tempted Jesus with Scripture.
When we read the Bible, it's easy to be misled by the surface of the text if we don't understand it according to the correct overarching principles. For example, when Jesus mentions that a person's enemies will be members of their own household, does that mean we should be enemies with our own families? Therefore, when reading the Bible, we must be careful not to interpret it solely at face value but to consider the overall principles and recurring concepts. Only then can we safely avoid misunderstandings and have a deeper understanding of Jesus' warning to the disciples here, that there will be many false prophets, false apostles, and false christs. Indeed, between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, many such individuals emerged, distorting the orthodox beliefs of Christianity at the time. For instance, the Marcionites emphasized the irrelevance of the Old Testament, attempting to completely discard it.
Hence, when we examine church history, we understand why successive churches and Christians needed to gather and discuss matters of faith, leading to the formulation of creeds such as the Apostles' Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Nicene Creed at these major councils. The purpose of these creeds is to help us grasp the core of our faith and serve as standards for judging the correctness of faith. However, we shouldn't wield these creeds as weapons to criticize and attack others. These creeds represent significant conclusions established by saints throughout history, so let's use them correctly.
Thank you for listening. Tomorrow, we'll share the second half of chapter 13, as no one knows the time of the end.
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