SECTION A
甲部
1. Hello, listening friends.
亲爱的朋友，你好。
2. We are glad you’ve joined us in this last in the series of four reasons for Advent.
很高兴你能收听“耶稣降生的目的”这个系列的最后一讲。
3. I want to begin by asking you a question.
首先，我来问你一个问题。
4. How ready are you to meet Jesus Christ, if He comes back today,
假如耶稣今天回来，你准备好见祂了吗？
5. or, if you knew that you only had a short time to live,
或者，假如你知道自己不久就要离开这个世界，
6. what preparations would you make?
你有什么打算呢？
7. Would you change your life goals?
你会不会改变自己的人生目标？
8. Would you call someone and ask for their forgiveness?
你会不会给某人打个电话，请他饶恕你的过去呢？
9. Would you restore things or relationships?
你会不会去补救一些过失或弥补跟别人的关系呢？
10. Would you try to forgive someone against whom you’ve carried a grudge?
你是否会尝试去饶恕你本来怨恨的人呢？
11. If you begin to make a list of things to do,
如果你列出一长串你想要做的事情的话，
12. then, you are not ready to meet Jesus face to face.
很可能你还没有预备好迎见主耶稣。
13. It’s like that minister who was preaching on Christ’s Second Coming.
就好像有一次，一个牧师讲道的主题是“耶稣再来”。
14. He asked his audience this question:
他问会众这个问题：
15. “If the trumpet of Christ sounded tonight, announcing the coming of Jesus,
“假如今夜耶稣再来的号角声已经吹响，
16. how many of you will be ready to meet Him?”
你们当中，有多少人已经准备好要见耶稣了？”
17. Everyone raised their hands,
于是每个人都举起了手，
18. so he deliberately and carefully rehearsed the question;
然后，牧师故意再次问同样的问题；
19. but, again, everyone raised their hands.
他们再次把手举起来。
20. Meanwhile, he placed a boy with a trumpet to wait on the top of a nearby tree;
这位牧师事先安排了一个小孩子在附近一棵树上等着；
21. so, he asked for the third time;
他第三次问同样的问题；
22. and they all raised their hands.
他们也同样举起手来。
23. Finally, he signaled the boy and the boy blew the trumpet;
这时，他作手势叫小孩子吹响号角；
24. and, as soon as the trumpet blew, everyone hid under their chairs.
当角声响起的时候，每一个人却都藏到椅子底下去了。
25. They were not really ready, were they?
其实他们并没有准备好，是吗？
26. If you have joined us for the first time,
假如你是第一次收听这个节目，
27. this is the fourth and the last message on the purpose of Advent.
今天是“耶稣降生的目的”这个系列的最后一讲。
28. Jesus comes to prepare us for His Second Advent.
耶稣降生，是为祂第二次的降临作准备。
29. First, we saw that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.
耶稣降生的第一个目的就是要摧毁撒但的作为。
30. Secondly, we saw that Jesus came to take away sin.
第二，耶稣来要除去罪恶。
31. Thirdly, we saw that Jesus came to reveal the Father;
第三，耶稣来为要将父显明给我们；
32. and, today, we will see how Jesus came to prepare us for the Second Advent.
今天，我们要学习，耶稣来的第四个目的， 就是为祂第二次降临作准备。
33. If you have a Bible, please turn to Hebrews, Chapter 9, verses 27 and 28.
假如你有圣经，请翻到希伯来书第 9 章，27
到 28 节。
34. Here’s what the Word of God said:
圣经说：
35. “And, just as it is appointed for man to die once and after that, the judgment,
“按着定命，人人都有一死，死后且有审判，
36. so Christ, having been once offered to bear the sins of many,
像这样，基督既然一次被献，担当了多人的罪，
37. shall appear the second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly awaiting him.”
将来要向那等候祂的人第二次显现，并与罪无关，乃是为拯救他们。
38. He came once in order that He might be able to come again.
祂第一次来到世上，是为了再一次回来。
39. At the birth of Jesus, the angels proclaimed, “Peace on earth...”
在耶稣降生的那天夜里，天使宣告说：“在地上有平安……”
40. yet, we see, in reality, that there is no peace on earth.
可是，现实却告诉我们，地上其实没有平安。
41. Some people have peace in their hearts; others don’t.
平安只存在某些人的心中；而另外一些人却不得安宁。
42. We have joy, but not complete joy.
我们虽然有喜乐，但这种喜乐却不完全。
43. Why is that?
这是为什么呢？
44. Is that a contradiction in the Bible?
是不是圣经自相矛盾呢？
45. Not at all.
绝对不是。
46. The declaration of the New Testament was that Jesus, who has come, will come again;
圣经新约清楚地告诉我们说，耶稣已经来过，祂还要再次降临；
47. that His first Advent was, indeed, a preparation for His Second Advent;
所以，耶稣第一次的降生，就是为了第二次的降临作准备；
48. that the consummation of the first Advent will be His Second Advent.
第二次降临是祂第一次降生的完全实现。
49. His Second Coming will be a personal coming.
主第二次的降临是有形有体的。
50. His Second Coming will be a definite coming,
主第二次的降临是千真万确的，
51. a coming that is as positive and real in human history as was His first.
就像祂第一次降生一样，这第二次的降临将成为人类历史上的真实事件。
52. The Word of God tells us that His Second Coming is a definite event,
圣经告诉我们，主第二次降临是必然的事，
53. a future, historic reality.
是将来必成就的历史事实。
54. There are a variety of views as to how Jesus will come, and when He will come,
人们对耶稣怎样再来，什么时候再来，众说
纷纭，
55. but that’s not what I’m talking about.
但我今天不讲这些。
56. Jesus was saying
耶稣说，
57. that, just as He was lifted up to Heaven after the resurrection,
当祂从死里复活升天时，祂怎样升上去，
58. He will come back in the same way.
祂还要怎样回来。
59. There were five hundred people standing there when Jesus was lifted up to Heaven.
当耶稣被接升天的时候，有 500 人站在那里
观看。
60. They all saw Him;
他们都亲眼目睹了这一刻；
61. so, either He is coming back in the same way as He’s gone,
因此，要不就是祂要以升天同样的方式回来，
62. or the angels were lying.
要不就是天使在撒谎。
63. Listen to what Paul tells us in Thessalonians.
保罗在帖撒罗尼迦书中说：
64. “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout;
”主必亲自从天降临，有呼叫的声音，
65. with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God,
和天使长的声音，又有神的号吹响；
66. and the dead shall rise first. Then we that are alive shall together be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
那在基督里死了的人，必先复活。以后我们这活着还存留的人，必和他们一同被提到云里。在空中与主相遇。
67. And so we shall be with the Lord forever.”
这样，我们就要和主永远同在。
68. There are very few Christians who focus daily on the Second Coming.
很少信徒在日常生活里，会把注意力集中在耶稣第二次降临这件事情上。
69. There are even fewer messages preached on the Second Coming
更少传道人讲耶稣第二次降临的信息。
70. yet, as I read the history of the early church,
可是，每当我读初代教会的历史，
71. the Second Coming was their all-consuming hope.
就发现，早期的基督徒日思夜盼的就是耶稣再临。
72. This hope gave them moral intensity.
这盼望给了他们坚韧的道德勇气。
73. This hope occupied their lives.
这盼望充满在他们生活中。
74. It dominated their life’s goals.
这盼望主宰他们生活的目标。
75. It gave them the power to laugh in the face of death.
让他们有足够的胆量在逼迫中视死如归。
76. It gave them the strength to overcome the evil forces;
让他们有力量战胜邪恶的势力；
77. so, my listening friend, the question is this:
所以，我亲爱的朋友，问题在于：
78. how does the Second Coming of Christ penetrate your life’s goals?
耶稣第二次的降临如何影响你的人生目标呢？
79. The Second Coming of Christ not only dominated the preaching of Paul,
耶稣第二次降临不仅仅是保罗讲道的中心，
80. but it dominated the thoughts of other Apostles.
也主导了众圣徒的思想。
81. Listen to what James said:
雅各说：
82. “Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.”
“弟兄们哪，你们要忍耐，直到主来。”
83. Listen to what Peter said:
彼得说：
84. “Be sober. Set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming at the return of Christ.”
“所以要谨慎自守，专心盼望耶稣基督显现的时候所带来给你们的恩。”
85. Listen to what John said:
约翰说：
86. “We know that if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
“主若显现，我们必要像祂，因为必得见祂的真体。
87. And everyone who has this hope in him, purify himself as he is pure.”
凡向祂有这指望的，就洁净自己，像祂洁净一样。”
88. Listen to what Jude said:
犹大说：
89. “Hear, beloved, build yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
”你们却要在至圣的真道上造就自己，在圣
灵里祷告，
90. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ and eternal life...”
保守自己常在神的爱中﹐仰望我们主耶稣基督的怜悯，直到永生。”
91. or, look again at our text of Hebrews 9:27 and 28.
现在，我们再来看一下希伯来书9：27-28，
92. “Christ shall appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly awaiting him.”
基督第二次再来，与罪无关，乃是要拯救那等候他的人。”
93. To understand His Second Coming, you must contrast it with His first coming,
为了明白耶稣第二次的降临，我们要对照看一下耶稣头一次的降生，
94. for His Second Coming will be so different from His first.
因为耶稣第二次降临和祂头一次降生截然不同。
95. His first Advent was conducted within sin,
祂头一次降生，世界还在罪中，
96. and we saw how He came to take away sin.
我们也知道，祂来为的是除掉罪。
97. By His first coming,
第一次降临时，
98. sin and the gravity of sin became painfully obvious.
世上的罪孽和罪的苦果是刻骨铭心的。
99. By His first coming,
祂第一次来到世上，
SECTION B
乙部
1. He bore our sins.
担当了我们的罪。
2. Our sins had burdened Him.
我们的罪成为祂的重担。
3. Our sins grinded Him,
是我们的罪把祂压伤，
4. not only on the cross,
不仅是在十字架上面，
5. but, throughout His thirty-three years, He put Himself in our sinful environment in order to take away sin.
而且在三十三年中，祂时刻生活在充满罪恶的环境里，为要除掉罪。
6. Throughout the whole of His earthly life, He bore the limitation of sin,
祂在世上的时候，也承受着我们罪身的局限，
7. in poverty,
祂经历贫穷，
8. in sorrow,
饱尝忧患，
9. in loneliness,
忍受孤独，
10. in betrayal,
被门徒出卖，
11. in denial.
被人弃绝。
12. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem as a baby,
从婴孩耶稣诞生在伯利恒开始，
13. He entered into the limitation which is the result of sin.
祂就进入了罪身的局限当中，
14. He bore sin in His conscious throughout all His earthly life.
祂一生都背负着我们的罪。
15. Finally, He bore the wages of sin upon Himself on the cross.
最后，在十字架上祂为我们付出了罪的沉重代价，就是死亡。
16. Very God, but also very man;
祂既是完全的神，也是完全的人；
17. yet, He put Himself underneath sin until its weight crushed Him on the cross.
祂把自己放在罪的重压之下，让十字架的刑罚把自己完全压碎。
18. Not so in the Second Coming.
然而，耶稣第二次的降临大不相同了。
19. This helpless baby in the manger will return,
那在马槽中柔弱无助的小婴孩要再降临，
20. not in poverty, but in wealth.
不再贫穷，而是富贵在身。
21. He will return, not in loneliness,
祂要再临，不再形单影只，
22. but to gather around Him all those who put their trust in Him,
而是率领所有相信祂的人一同回来，
23. those who are awaiting Him,
就是那些等候祂的人，
24. those who are serving Him,
那些服侍祂的人，
25. those who are eagerly looking forward to His coming.
那些迫切盼望祂再次降临的人。
26. In the first Advent, there was no room for Him in the inn;
当祂第一次降生的时候，客店里没有地方；
27. but when He comes again,
当祂第二次降临，
28. the whole world will make haste to make room for Him.
全世界都要争先恐后地开怀迎接祂。
29. In His first Advent,
祂第一次来到世上，
30. He was seen holding the reed of mockery,
人们给祂芦苇为权杖，戏弄祂，
31. robed in the purple of contempt,
给祂披上紫袍，藐视祂，
32. crowned with thorns,
用荆棘作冠冕，刺伤祂，
33. surrounded by a mob;
被暴徒围攻，毒打祂；
34. but when He comes again,
然而，当祂再次降临，
35. He will hold the scepter of the universe in His right hand.
祂要执掌大权，统治全宇宙。
36. Upon His brow, there will be many diadems.
在祂头上，戴着许多冠冕。
37. He’ll return with all of the splendor of God the Father;
祂要满载圣父的威荣而来；
38. and the 10,000 times 10,000 angels will be the cohorts that accompany Him.
有天上的千军万马跟随祂。
39. The first Advent was in sorrow, in tears, in loneliness, in poverty and in sin;
头一次，主是带着忧伤、眼泪、孤单、贫穷和受罪辖制的身体而来到这个世界上；
40. but, in His Second Advent,
可是，当祂再次降临的时候，
41. sorrow will be replaced by unspeakable joy.
无以言喻的喜乐代替了忧伤。
42. All tears of sorrow will be wiped away,
一切的眼泪都被擦干，
43. all the power of sin dissolved.
罪恶的势力尽都解除。
44. The first Advent was for atonement.
第一次的降生是为了赎罪，
45. The Second Advent will be for getting those who accepted His atonement.
而第二次的降临是为了迎接那些已经得蒙赦罪之恩的人。
46. In His first Advent, Jesus came to take away sin.
耶稣第一次降生，是为了除去罪。
47. In His Second Advent, He will set up His Kingdom, the foundation of which He laid on the cross.
而第二次降临，为要完全实现祂的天国，这国度是建立在十字架的根基上。
48. The Bible clearly tells us that it is appointed unto man to die once;
圣经清楚地告诉我们，按着定命，人人都有一死；
49. not twice or three times.
不是两次或者三次。
50. You live once.
我们只有一次活在世上，
51. You die once.
也只能死一次。
52. You are judged once;
只有一次的审判；
53. but I want you to notice something very important in this text.
但是，我想请你特别留意这段经文的重点。
54. It is appointed unto man to die once and, after that, the judgment.
按着定命，人人都有一死﹐死后且有审判。
55. What does this mean to those who do not believe in Jesus Christ?
这句话对于那些还没有接受主耶稣的人，有什么意义吗？
56. My listening friend, if you’re not a believer in Jesus Christ, I want you to listen carefully,
我亲爱的朋友，假如你还没有信主的话，我想请你留心听，
57. because the Bible says that there is no other chance after death.
因为圣经告诉我们，当人死了之后，我们就没有机会悔改了。
58. To those who have heard the message of the first Advent,
如果你听过有关耶稣第一次降临的信息，
59. and believed it and trusted in His work of redemption,
而且相信和接受了主的救恩，
60. those who have been redeemed and forgiven,
罪蒙赦免的话，
61. there is going to be salvation—not judgment.
你所面临的将是救赎，而不是审判。
62. To them, that day is not frightening.
对这些人来说，世界末日并不可怕。
63. It is a joyful day of salvation;
那将是一个快乐的救赎日；
64. but those who will not shelter beneath Christ’s first Advent
但是，如果你没有接受耶稣第一次降临所带来的救恩，
65. will be judged.
你将要面临审判。
66. All the things that began by His first Advent will be consummated by His second.
祂第二次的降临就是要完成祂第一次降临所开展的工程。
67. That is why eternal life begins here and now.
所以，从这个意义上来说，当下的这一刻已经是永生的开始了。
68. Eternal life begins the day you say "yes" to Jesus.
从你决志接受耶稣的那一刻开始，你就已经
获得了永生。
69. Your final destination is His Second Advent.
主第二次的降临就是你永恒的结局。
70. You may ask, “What about those who have died in Christ?”
也许你会问：“那些信耶稣的人死后会怎么样呢？”
71. The Bible tells us that they are safe with God.
圣经告诉我们，他们要和天父同在一处。
72. They are at rest.
他们安息在主的怀抱里。
73. They are absent from the body, at home with the Lord.
他们离开世界，回天家与主同在。
74. Do you know why the New Testament uses the word "asleep" for the Christian?
你知道在新约圣经当中，为什么把信徒的死说成是“睡了”呢？
75. Because sleep is a temporary action.
因为睡觉是一个暂时的动作。
76. It is expected that he who is asleep will wake up again;
睡觉的人总会醒过来的；
77. so, in Jesus’ Second Coming, He will bring salvation that is final.
因此，当耶稣再次降临的时候，祂要带来完全的救赎。
78. He will bring complete salvation for those who are waiting on Him.
祂要彻底救拔那些等候祂降临的人。
79. Christ shall appear a second time apart from sin to salvation.
基督再次降临与罪无关，乃是要拯救他们。
80. My listening friend, listen carefully as I conclude.
亲爱的朋友，在结束的时候，请留心听我讲。
81. There will be no second chance after you die.
一旦你离开这个世界，你就再也没有机会悔改了。
82. Your choice of where you spend eternity must be now.
要在哪里度过你的永恒，你必须现在作出决定。
83. To receive Christ now is to be received by Him at His coronation.
假如你现在接受基督为你的救主，在祂降临作王的时候，祂也会接纳你。
84. You can come to Him now and receive eternal life now.
你现在就可以来到祂面前，得到永恒的生命。
85. It is our prayer that you would come to Jesus today;
盼望你今天就愿意接受耶稣为你的救主；
86. and, then, write to us and tell us.
请你来信和我们分享你的见证。
87. Until next time, I wish you God’s richest blessing.
好，我们下次再见，愿神大大地赐福给你。
