#27──四角──The Four Corners

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第三部分：創造的體系

第二十七章 四角

「根據使徒行傳第十章，聖彼得看見一個容器的異象（希臘文：σκεῦος， skeuos：「有一容器從天縋下、直來到他跟前，是一塊大布，繫著四角」） 從天降下，裡面裝滿了動物（使徒行傳 10:11）。天上有聲音叫彼得宰了吃，但因這器皿（或大布，ὀθόνη, othonē）裡面有不潔淨的動物，彼得拒絕了。這個命令又重複了兩次，同時還有聲音說：「神所潔淨的、你不可當作俗物。」（第15節），然後容器隨即收回天上去了（第16 節）。講到這裡的時候，從百夫長哥尼流所差來的人已經到了，並催促彼得和他們同往，他就和他們同去，且向哥尼流說話時提到這異象，說：「但　神已經指示我、無論甚麼人、都不可看作俗而不潔淨的。」（使徒行傳10:28）。彼得在使徒行傳11:4-9中再次講述這個異象。」 ³⁷³

我曾就使徒行傳中的這段話裡的食物進行過一些有趣的辯論。即使是維基百科的無神論者也承認，這異象的目的明顯是談論人類，而不是飲食限制。上帝透過經文中所提及的「大布」，向彼得傳達一個最單純的想法：人人都可以和配得基督耶穌為他們流出寶血。

需要特別注意的是，我們沒看到有任何動物在大布以外漂浮著，再看一遍…大布以外有多少動物在漂浮著？沒有。或者說，有很多塊大布嗎？沒有。所有眾生都描繪在一塊大布之上，所代表的是一片地土──單單是地上所有有智慧、有認知能力的一切動物。

以賽亞把這個預言寫出來了：「他必向列國豎立大旗、招回以色列被趕散的人、又從地的四方聚集分散的猶大人。」³⁷⁴ ──這是一個貫穿整本聖經的預言。上帝會恢復失落的民族，這是耶穌來、死而復活的目的，為的是重新迎娶被祂所棄的妻，³⁷⁵保羅稱這為一個奧秘。³⁷⁶以西結的異象與此一致：「主對我說、人子阿、你要發預言、向風發預言、說、主耶和華如此說、氣息阿、要從四方〔原文作風〕而來、吹在這些被殺的人身上、使他們活了。」³⁷⁷耶穌在馬太福音24:31和馬可福音13:27中再次闡明：「他要差遣使者、用號筒的大聲、將他的選民、從四方〔原文作風〕、從天這邊、到天那邊、都招聚了來。」³⁷⁸　講到這裡，我們偏離了聖經的宇宙論而去鑽研了末世論，但這兩者是相關的，為了顯示其相關性，我們應該更好地去學習聖經，不是嗎？

我覺得最有趣的事情是，掌管大地四角的天使擁有大能及不同的職位描述。撒迦利亞被允許得以看見他們：「天使回答我說、這是天上的四靈、是從普天下的主面前出來的。」³⁷⁹ 彼得和撒迦利亞，還有約翰都看見這四個大天使。約翰寫道：「此後我看見四位天使站在地的四角、執掌地上四方的風、叫風不吹在地上、海上、和樹上。」³⁸⁰ 然而，以西結並不把它們視作風和角的首領，但他確實看到了它們的影響（就像在以西結書37:9）。 在以西結書7:2，耶和華告訴他：「人子阿、主耶和華對以色列地如此說、結局到了、結局到了地的四境。(人子阿、主耶和華對以色列地如此說、結局到了、結局到了地的四圍。）」³⁸¹ 但以理也看到了這一點，他說：「我夜裡見異象、看見天的四風陡起、颳在大海之上。」 ³⁸²

約翰在第二十章的的啟示裡描述了第一次復活和之後發生的事。與我們的研讀有關的是第8、9節，在那裡我們看到當撒但被釋放後的一些有趣的事：「（撒但）出來要迷惑地上四方的列國、〔方原文作角〕就是歌革和瑪各、叫他們聚集爭戰．他們的人數多如海沙。他們上來遍滿了全地、圍住聖徒的營、與蒙愛的城．就有火從天降下、燒滅了他們。」³⁸³列國從大地的四角來到全地的廣闊平原之上──這聽起來像是個［戰國風雲］（Risk）遊戲³⁸⁴， 而不是在傢俱店找到的座枱地球儀。我認為，在我們親愛的朋友約翰的啟示中，隱藏著一個關於大地的深層奧秘，這與我們今天從政府機構中所發現的不一樣。我們都知道，在「上帝與萬國」的遊戲中，上帝必發笑、嗤笑他們，因為祂在遊戲開始以先，就早已知道結果了。 ³⁸⁵

為了讓我們的章節完整地了解──大地的圓形四方形──我們必須承認並記住以賽亞書55:8-9：「耶和華說、我的意念、非同你們的意念、我的道路、非同你們的道路。天怎樣高過地、照樣我的道路、高過你們的道路、我的意念、高過你們的意念。」 ³⁸⁶

註

³⁷³ wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter%27s_vision_a_sheet_with_animals, 2/16/2019

³⁷⁴ 以賽亞書11:12

³⁷⁵ 馬太福音15:24「耶穌說、我奉差遣、不過是到以色列家迷失的羊那裡去。」

³⁷⁶ 以弗所書3:6「這奧秘就是外邦人在基督耶穌裡、藉著福音、得以同為後嗣、同為一體、同蒙應許。」

³⁷⁷以西結書37:9

³⁷⁸ 馬太福音24:31「他要差遣使者、用號筒的大聲、將他的選民、從四方、從天這邊、到天那邊、都招聚了來。〔方原文作風〕」和 馬可福音13:27「他要差遣天使、把他的選民、從四方、從地極直到天邊、都招聚了來。〔方原文作風〕」

³⁷⁹ 撒迦利亞書 6:5 （KJ2000版本）

³⁸⁰啟示錄7:1

381 WB 版本

³⁸²但以理 7:2

³⁸³ 啟示錄20:8,9

³⁸⁴ 戰棋式桌上遊戲（Copyright, Parker Brothers, 1959）

385 詩篇2

386 和合本

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Part Three : The System of Creation

Chapter 27: The Four Corners

“According to the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 10, Saint Peter had a vision of a vessel (Greek: σκεῦος, skeuos; “a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners”) full of animals being lowered from heaven (Acts 10:11). A voice from heaven told Peter to kill and eat, but since the vessel (or sheet, ὀθόνη, othonē) contained unclean animals, Peter declined. The command was repeated two more times, along with the voice saying, “What God hath made clean, that call not thou common” (verse 15) and then the vessel was taken back to heaven (verse 16). At this point in the narrative, messengers sent from Cornelius the Centurion arrive and urge Peter to go with them. He does so, and mentions the vision as he speaks to Cornelius, saying “God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean” (Acts 10:28). Peter related the vision again in Acts 11:4-9.”¹

I have had some interesting debates regarding food from the passage here in the Book of Acts. Even the Godless people of Wikipedia recognizes that the obvious purpose of this vision was to speak of mankind and not of dietary restrictions. The “great sheet” mentioned in the passage was the closest pure idea that God could use to get through to Peter that all men were valid and worthy of the shed blood of Christ Jesus.

What is very important to notice is that we do not see any floating animals outside the sheet. Let’s look again… How many floating animals were there outside the sheet? None. Or rather, were there many sheets? No. All sentient men were represented on only one sheet, representing only one land. All sentient, intelligent, cognitive animalkind is on earth, and only earth.

Isaiah spells this prophesy out: “He will hoist a banner for the Goyim, assemble the dispersed of Isra’el, and gather the scattered of Y’hudah from the four corners of the earth.”² It is a prophecy that is prevalent through the entirety of the Bible. God will restore the lost tribes. This was Jesus’ purpose for coming to die and be resurrected, to remarry them whom He had divorced.³ Paul calls this a mystery.⁴ Ezekiel’s vision concurs: “Then said he to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”⁵ Jesus spells it out in Matthew 24:31 and again in Mark 13:27: “And he will send his angels with a trumpet of great voice, and they shall gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”⁶ But we digress from Biblical cosmology to delve into Eschatology to speak of this. The two are related, and to show correlation, only behooves us to become better students of the Word, does it not?

Something that I find most interesting is that the angels who are in charge of the four corners of the earth have vast power and varied job descriptions. Zechariah was allowed to see them: “And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of heaven, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.”⁷ Peter and Zechariah and also John saw these same four great angels. John writes: “And, after these things, I saw four angels, standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind might not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor on any tree.”⁸ However, Ezekiel did not see them as the chiefs of the corners and winds, but he did see their effects (just as in Ezekiel 37:9): In Ezekiel 7:2 YHVH tells him: “And thou, son of man, the Lord God of the land of Israel saith these things, The end cometh, the end cometh, on [the] four coasts of the land. (And thou, son of man, the Lord God saith these things to the land of Israel, The end cometh, the end cometh, on all four sides of the land.).”⁹ Daniel saw this as well. Daniel spake and said, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the sea,¹⁰

The apocalypse of John describes in chapter twenty, the first resurrection and what happens after it. Something that pertains to our study is verses 8,9 where we see something interesting after Satan is released: “and [Satan] will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.”¹¹ The nations come from the four corners of the earth onto the broad plain of the earth. This sounds more like the game of Risk¹² than a desk globe found at a furnishings store. I submit that hidden within the revelation of our dear friend, John, lies a deep mystery of an earth unlike what we find from our governmental agencies today. And we all know is that in the game of: “God vs. The Nations”, God laughs and mocks them, for He knows the outcome before the game begins.¹³

To leave our section complete about the shape of our circular, four-squared earth, we must acknowledge and remember Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”¹⁴

Footnotes

¹ wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter%27s_vision_a_sheet_with_animals, 2/16/2019

² Isaiah 11:12 CJB

³ Matthew 15:24, GNT, “Then Jesus replied, ‘I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.’”

⁴ Ephesians 3:6, ESV “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

⁵ Ezekiel 37:9, Webster

⁶ Matthew 24:31, ANT “And he will send his angels with a trumpet of great voice, and they shall gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” and Mark 13:27, ANT “And then will he send his angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the most distant part of earth to the most distant part of heaven.”

⁷ Zechariah 6:5 KJ2000

⁸ Revelation 7:1, EDB

⁹ WB

¹⁰ Daniel 7:2, MST-C

¹¹ Revelation 20:8,9 NASB1977

¹² Copyright, Parker Brothers, 1959.

¹³ Psalms 2

¹⁴ NIV

──Biblical Cosmology by Pauly Hart
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