6. Manna issue 64 - The Great Flood 大洪水
Eng Guan Tay—Singapore 新加坡
The world watched in horror
as tsunami waves swept irresistibly across coastal towns in eastern Japan on March 11, 2011.
The death toll was in the tens of thousands.
The area inundated was about 470 square kilometers
with the greatest height of the waves reaching ten meters.
世界驚恐注視著，
2011 年 3 月 11 日，海嘯無法阻擋地，橫掃了日本東部的沿海城鎮。
死亡人數達數萬人。
淹沒面積約 470 平方公里
海浪的最大高度達到十米。
Genesis 6-8 records the greatest natural disaster the world has ever known.
In comparison to the Japan tsunami,
the Great Flood inundated an area 300,000 times greater
—all the dry land of the earth.
The sea level rose to about a thousand times higher,
so that the water even covered the tops of the highest mountains
(cf. Gen 7:11-12, 17-20).
The recent earthquake in Japan moved parts of this country by up to four meters.
The Great Flood, however,
tore open many parts of the earth’s crust and probably shifted continents.
創世記六至八章，記錄了世界上有史以來，最大的自然災害。
與日本大海嘯相比，
大洪水淹沒的面積大 300,000 倍，
—淹沒了地上所有的乾地。
海平面上升大約一千倍，
以至於海水甚至淹沒了最高的山峰
（參見，創 7：11-12，17-20）。
日本最近的地震，使國土部分地區移動了四公尺。
然而，大洪水，
撕開地殼許多部分，並且可能推動了大陸。
And all flesh died that moved on the earth:
birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.
(Gen 7:21)
21凡在地上有血肉的動物，就是飛鳥、牲畜、走獸，和爬在地上的昆蟲，以及所有的人，都死了。
(創 7：21)
We know that the events in the Bible were recorded as examples and warnings for us.
In this way we are taught how to live our lives in a God-pleasing manner
(1 Cor 10:6).
Consequently, the greatest recorded natural disaster that ever struck our planet
teaches us how to save ourselves from eternal destruction.
我們知道，聖經記錄的事件，用來給我們作榜樣和警告。
通過這種方式，我們受教導，如何以神喜悅的方式生活
（林前 10：6）。
因此，有記錄以來，曾經襲擊過我們星球最嚴重的自然災害，
教會了我們如何免於永恆的毀滅。
GLOBAL WARMING OR GLOBAL WARNING? 全球暖化，還是全球警告？
We often hear that natural disasters are on the increase
due to our own carelessness about the environment.
Pollution has led to global warming and subsequently to cataclysmic climate changes.
For this reason, many zealously preach the message of safe environmental practices.
Green and nature have become lifestyle choices
that approach the devotion of religion among many good folks.
我們經常聽到，自然災害正在增加，
由於我們自己對環境的冷漠。
污染導致全球暖化，隨後導致災難性的氣候變化。
因此，許多人熱心宣傳安全環保做法的訊息。
綠色與自然已成為生活方式的選擇，
成為許多好人中，幾近於信仰的虔誠。
Loving and taking care of the environment and the earth
that God has given to us is natural to God’s children.
After all, the Scriptures talk about
sustainable agricultural practices, healthy living, and caring for animals.
珍惜愛護環境和地球，
那些神賜給我們的東西，對神的兒女來說是自然而然的。
畢竟，聖經談到，
可持續性的農業方式、健康的生活，以及要照顧動物。
But will these practices really save us from future disasters?
但這些做法，真能讓我們免於未來的災難嗎？
Genesis 9 tells us that God set a rainbow in the sky after the flood.
This rainbow was the sign of the covenant between God,
Noah and
“every living creature of all flesh;
the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh”
(Gen 9:15).
If not for God’s mercy, we would have perished long ago.
創世記第九章告訴我們，洪水過後神在天空中設立了一道彩虹。
這彩虹是與神之間立約的記號，
挪亞和“15各樣有血肉的活物所立的約，
水就再不氾濫、毀壞一切有血肉的物了。”
（創 9:15）。
如果不是神的憐憫，我們早就滅亡了。
Yet, the Bible tells us that
the earth’s second and final great destruction is at hand
when the sinful conditions of the antediluvian world repeat themselves:
然而，聖經告訴我們，
地球第二次，也是最後一次大毀滅即將來臨，
當遠古世界的罪惡狀況重新再現之時：
For this they willfully forget:
that by the word of God the heavens were of old,
and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water.
But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word,
are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
(2 Pet 3:5-7)
5他們故意忘記，
從太古，憑神的命有了天，
並從水而出、藉水而成的地。
6故此，當時的世界被水淹沒就消滅了。
7但現在的天地還是憑著那命存留，
直留到不敬虔之人受審判遭沉淪的日子，用火焚燒。
（彼前 3：5-7）
Today as in ancient times, the people of the world are slowly rejecting God.
First they focus on things that are material,
preferring objects and ideals that can be explained and felt in a physical way.
This also explains why they are focused on saving the earth but not the world of human souls.
Moving in the same direction, they dismiss the special relationship between God and man
by denying God in one instance and in another,
equating man with all of the other creation.
In evolutionary biology, man is but a small branch of an enormous tree of life
that sprang out from nowhere.
By deleting God and dragging man down to the level of animals,
they emphasize on following physical instincts and satisfaction
(e.g., “homosexuality is natural”),
term bestial behavior as normal and delete the morality that God gave to man:
“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”
(Gen 6:5).
今日和古代一樣，世人正慢慢地拒絕神。
首先，他們專注於物質的事物，
更喜歡可用物理方式解釋和感受的事物和思想。
這也解釋了，為什麼他們注意拯救地球，而不是拯救人類靈魂的世界。
朝著同樣的方向前進，他們忽略神與人的這種特殊關係，
藉由這個例子和另一個例子來否認神，
將人等同於所有其他的受造物。
在進化生物學中，人只不過是巨大生命之樹的一小分枝，
不知是從哪裡就冒出來的。
藉由消除神，並將人眨低到動物的水平，
他們強調遵循生理本能和滿足感
（例如，“同性戀是自然的”），
將獸性行為視為正常，並去除神賦予人類的道德：
“5耶和華見人在地上罪惡很大，
終日所思想的盡都是惡，。”
（創 6：5）。
If we look at the economic, romantic and life events on earth that preceded the flood,
we notice that they were surprisingly everyday:
如果我們檢視，洪水之前地球上發生的經濟、愛情和生活的事件，
我們會注意到，令人驚奇的是他們每天都發生：
For as in the days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
until the day that Noah entered the ark,
and did not know until the flood came and took them all away,
so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
(Mt 24:38-39)
38當洪水以前的日子，
人照常吃喝嫁娶，
直到挪亞進方舟的那日；
39不知不覺洪水來了，把他們全都沖去。
人子降臨也要這樣。
(太 24：38-39)
Similarly, just before the Lord comes again,
there will be a period when everything on earth looks quite normal.
There are wars and rumors of war, crime and terrorism,
but in many places, people are busy with their daily routines.
The world today with its strange juxtaposition of extreme fear and extreme pleasure
chillingly reminds us of the days before Noah entered the ark.
We should take this as a global warning of destruction and prepare a spiritual way of escape.
同樣的，就在主再來之前，
會有一段時間，地球一切的事物看起來都很正常。
有很多戰爭和戰爭、犯罪和恐怖暴行的謠言，
但有許多地方，人們忙於自已日常事務。
當今的世界，有很奇怪的極度恐懼和極度快樂並存，
讓我們不寒而栗的想起了，諾亞進入方舟之前的日子。
我們應該將此視為全球毀滅的警告，並準備一條屬靈的逃生之路。
Just as Noah and his family entered the ark to escape destruction,
we too must enter the spiritual ark to be saved from eternal death.
But where is this spiritual ark?
正如挪亞和家人進入方舟，逃脫毀滅一樣，
我們也要進入屬靈的方舟，才能脫離永恆的滅亡而得救。
但這個屬靈的方舟到底是在哪裡呢？
BEAUTIFUL PREFIGURATIONS OF THE TRUECHURCH 真教會美善的預表
The Saving Ark of the End Times 末日得救的方舟
A prefiguration in the Bible is a teaching embedded in an earlier Old Testament story
that is to be understood spiritually in the New Testament.
Noah’s ark is a prefiguration of the saving body of Christ, which is His church:
“And He put all things under His feet,
and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all”
(Eph 1:22-23).
聖經的預表，是置入早期舊約故事中的教導，
這是要以新約屬靈的方式解讀。
挪亞方舟預表了基督救贖的身體，也就是祂的教會：
“22又將萬有服在他的腳下，
使他為教會作萬有之首。
23教會是他的身體，
是那充滿萬有者所充滿的。”
（以弗所書 1:22-23）。
Just as there was only one ark, there’s only one true church
(Gen 6:14; Eph 4:4; Jn 10:16).
This true church must faithfully follow God’s words,
just as Noah built the ark exactly according to God’s measurements
(Gen 6:22; 1 Chr 28:12; Mt 7:21-23),
and have the Lord’s abidance.
In fact, God did not just shut Noah and his family in the ark to leave them by themselves
—He was in the ark Himself for He told Noah,
“Come into the ark, you and all your household”
(Gen 7:1).
正如只有一艘方舟，所以只有一個真教會
（創 6：14；弗 4：4；約 10：16）。
這間真教會，必須虔誠遵守神的話語，
就像挪亞完全按照神的尺寸建造方舟一樣
（創 6：22；志上 28：12；太 7：21-23），
並且有主的同在。
其實，神並沒有把挪亞一家人關在方舟裡，讓他們自生自滅，
—祂自己親自待在方舟裡，因為祂告訴挪亞，
“7你和你的全家都要進入方舟”
（創 7：1）。
Today, we enter the true church and saving ark through baptism:
成日，我們通過洗禮，進入真教會與得救的方舟
... when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah,
while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
There is also an antitype which now saves us--baptism
(not the removal of the filth of the flesh,
but the answer of a good conscience toward God),
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ ...
(1 Pet 3:20-21)
20...就是那從前在挪亞預備方舟、神容忍等待的時候。
當時進入方舟，藉著水得救的不多，只有八個人。
21這水所表明的洗禮，
現在藉著耶穌基督復活也拯救你們；
這洗禮本不在乎除掉肉體的污穢，
只求在神面前有無虧的良心。；
（彼前 3：20-21）
It is interesting to note that
Noah’s family of eight souls was not saved “from water”, but “through water”.
Indeed the teaching is profound and unlocks a totally different worldview.
God did not only intend to save Noah and his family from the floodwaters but,
more importantly,
He used the floodwaters as a means to save them from the polluting evil of the world!
God was cleansing the world.
Today, He cleanses us through water baptism when our sins are washed away and we are born again.
We are truly saved through water, i.e. water baptism!
有趣值得注意的是，
挪亞八口之家不是“從水中”得救，而是“通過大水”得救。
是的，這個教導很深刻，開啟了一個完全不同的世界觀。
神不僅想要從洪水中拯救挪亞和他的家人，而且，
更重要的是，
他用洪水作為拯救他們免受世界邪惡污染的方法！
神其實在潔淨世界。
今日，他用大水洗禮來潔淨我們，使我們的罪孽得以洗淨，並且獲得重生，。
我們是真是經由大水，因而得救水，也就是大水洗禮！
Moreover, the above verses tell us that only a few,
that is eight souls, were saved at the time of Noah.
Although the earth was not so populated at that time,
eight souls were still an awful minority.
Today, there are also few who enter the true church,
“because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life,
and there are few who find it”
(Mt 7:14).
而且，上面的經文告訴我們，只有少數，
就只有八個人，能在挪亞的時代得救。
雖然那個時代，地球人口還沒有那麼多，
八個靈魂仍然是一種可怕的少數。
今日，也很少有人進入真教會，
“14引到永生，那門是窄的，路是小的，
找著的人也少”
（太 7:14）。
The Dove of the Holy Spirit with Us 聖靈的鴿子同在
After 150 days of heavy rain, it began to clear up and the floodwaters started to recede.
When the waters had decreased to a certain level,
Noah sent out a dove
“to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground”
(Gen 8:8).
Since the ground was still covered with water,
the dove returned to Noah into the ark.
經過 150 天的大雨後，天氣開始放晴，洪水開始退去。
當水位下降到某些程度時，
挪亞放出一隻鴿子
“8要看看水從地上退了沒有。”
（創 8：8）。
由於地面仍被水淹沒，
鴿子回到諾亞方舟裡。
The dove prefigures the Holy Spirit (Mt 3:16).
The first period of the Holy Spirit’s work in the Old Testament was not one of indwelling.
God worked within the framework of a physical chosen people, the Israelites.
The Holy Spirit only dwelt temporarily in a few individuals.
The Law was given as a temporary measure to tutor the people
until Jesus Himself ushered in the era of faith
(Gal 3:23-25).
鴿子預表聖靈（太 3：16）。
舊約聖靈工作的第一個時期，不是內住。
神於一個有形肉體選民以色列人的框架內工作。
聖靈只是暫時住在少數人裡面。
頒佈律法作為教導百性的臨時措施，
直到耶穌親自開創了信仰的時代
（加 3：23-25）。
When Noah sent out the dove for the second time,
it returned with a fresh olive leaf in its mouth
(Gen 8:10-11).
This represents the Holy Spirit’s second period of work during the apostolic era.
Although the Lord Jesus established the church with the great downpour of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost,
heresies later entered the church and the Holy Spirit was withdrawn again.
當挪亞第二次放出鴿子時，
它嘴裡叼著一片新鮮的橄欖葉回來
（創 8：10-11）。
這代表聖靈在使徒時代工作的第二個時期。
雖然主耶穌在五旬節，大降聖靈的建立了教會，
後來異端進入教會，聖靈又被收回。
So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove,
which did not return again to him anymore.
(Gen 8:12)
12他又等了七天，放出鴿子去，
鴿子就不再回來了。
（創 8:12）
The Holy Spirit given in the latter days has revived the true church
and will be with us until Jesus comes again!
The final stage of history saw the revival of the true church through the downpour of the Holy Spirit.
This was evidenced by the speaking of tongues
and the return to the clear and simple doctrines of the Bible.
In this way, the Holy Spirit shows us and clearly confirms that
the True Jesus Church is the ark of the end times.
末世降下的聖靈復興了真教會，
並將與我們同在，直到耶穌再來！
歷史的最後階段，藉著聖靈的降臨，見證了真教會的復興。
證據就是說方言，
並重新回歸到聖經清楚簡單的教義。
以這種方式，聖靈向我們顯明，並清楚地證實
真耶穌教會是末世的方舟。
STAY IN THE ARK 待在方舟內
When the dove did not return to him,
Noah removed the covering of the ark to see whether the land around him was dry.
Although the ground was indeed dry,
he did not leave the ark until God personally instructed him to do so.
當鴿子沒有回到他身邊時，
挪亞掀開方舟的蓋子，看看他周圍的土地是否已乾燥。
雖然地面確實乾了，
直到神親自指示他離開方舟，他才離去。
We can imagine how much Noah must have been eager to go out and step on dry land after such a long time.
But just as he had faithfully followed God’s instructions to build the ark before the flood came,
he continued to follow God’s lead after his life had been saved.
可想而知，過了這麼久之後，挪亞有多麼渴望走出去，站上乾地。
但正如他忠心遵照神的指示，在洪水來臨之前建造方舟一樣，
在他的生命得救之後，他繼續跟隨神的帶領。
Today, we may have entered the ark of the last days,
but are we still following God’s lead?
今天，我們或許已經進入了末世方舟，
但我們還在跟隨神的帶領嗎？
Before Noah sent out the dove, he actually sent a raven.
But the raven
“kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth”
(Gen 8:7).
Ravens belong to the family of smaller birds of prey,
which partly feed on dead animals and the young of other birds.[1]
As such, the raven prefigures the devil and his unrelenting activity of devouring the souls of men on earth
(Lev 11:13, 15; Mt 13: 4, 1 Pet 5:8).
The devil has been at work since the time of Adam and Eve,
and will prowl and devour until the end.
在挪亞放出鴿子之前，他實際放出過一隻烏鴉。
但是烏鴉
“7那烏鴉飛來飛去，直到地上的水都乾了。”
（創 8：7）。
烏鴉屬於小型猛禽科，
部分以死去的動物和其他鳥類的幼崽為食。 [1]
因此，烏鴉預表，魔鬼及其吞噬世人類靈魂殘酷無情的活動，
（利 11：13，15；太 13：4、彼前 5：8）。
自亞當夏娃時代以來，魔鬼就一直作工，
會四處尋覓吞噬直到最後。
For this reason, we need to watch and pray,
so that we won’t fall into the trap of Satan
and be led away from the safe ark
(Mt 26:41).
為此，我們要警醒禱告，
免得落入撒但的圈套
並被誘離安全的方舟
（太 26：41）。
In fact, the precious Holy Spirit has been given to us in these last days
to help us in this endeavor.
事實上，在這末後的日子，已經賜給了我們寶貴的聖靈
幫助我們完成這項工作。
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
(Jn 14:26)
26但保惠師，就是父因我的名所要差來的聖靈，
他要將一切的事指教你們，並且要叫你們想起我對你們所說的一切話。
（約 14：26）
The Spirit of God will help us to willingly and humbly obey God’s words
and to remain in the ark of salvation until Jesus comes again to say,
“Go out of the ark”
(Gen 8:16).
神的靈會幫助我們，甘心樂意謙卑地順服神的話語，
並且留在救恩方舟中，直到耶穌再來時說：
“16出方舟”
（創 8：16）。
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
Also there was no more sea.
(Rev 21:1)
1我又看見一個新天新地；
因為先前的天地已經過去了，
海也不再有了。
（啟示錄 21：1）
“Behold, I am coming quickly!
Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
“Surely I am coming quickly.”
Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus!
(Rev 22:7, 20)
“7看哪，我必快來！凡遵守這書上預言的有福了！”
“20是了，我必快來！”
阿們！主耶穌阿，我願你來！
（啟 22：7、20）
[1] Sratton-Porter, Gene.
“Raven”,
International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia.
Edited by James Orr.
Blue Letter Bible.
1913, 5 May 2003 29 Jul 2011
[1] 斯特拉頓-波特，吉恩。
“烏鴉”，
國際標準聖經百科全書。
編輯者：詹姆斯·奧爾。
藍字聖經。 1913年，2003年5月5日至2011年7月29日
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
歡迎主內同靈來信加入翻譯
