1. Hello, listening friends.
亲爱的朋友，你好，
2. We welcome you to this very last broadcast from 1 Peter.
欢迎你收听我们的节目，这是彼得前书系列信息的最后一讲。
3. We have been studying this magnificent epistle for the last several messages.
我们已经花了好多次的节目时间来讲这一卷伟大的书信，
4. And today we’re going to look at the very last section of the epistle.
今天我们要看这卷书的最后一段经文。
5. And if you have your Bibles, you can turn to 1 Peter chapter 5, verses 8 to 14.
如果你手上有圣经，请翻开彼得前书五章8-14节。
6. And as you get your Bibles ready,
在你翻开圣经的时候，
7. I want to tell you some things that I have learned from life.
让我告诉你我从人生里学到的功课。
8. I have met people who refuse to be warned of the warning signs.
我遇到过一些人，他们就是不肯听从警告。
9. They would have warnings that their business is in trouble, but they refuse to take notice.
有人提醒他们的生意将会有麻烦了，但他们就是不理会；
10. They get warnings that their marriage is in trouble, but they refuse to take notice.
有人警告他们婚姻将要出问题了，但他们不理会。
11. Now I want to talk to you about this refusing to take notes of warnings,
今天我就是要跟你谈谈不听警告这件事，
12. because Satan forever is luring believers into a false sense of security.
因为魔鬼撒但不断地引诱基督徒上当，骗他们自以为很安全；
13. Satan is forever trying to convince believers that all is well with their half-hearted commitment to Christ.
魔鬼撒但不断地欺骗基督徒，叫他们不需要全心全意信靠基督，这是没问题的，
14. In the meantime, there are troubles around the corner.
但事实上危机四伏。
15. Peter concludes his first epistle with a dire warning to Christians in Asia Minor.
彼得对小亚西亚的基督徒提出了紧急的警告，来结束他这封书信。
16. Look at 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 8.
请看彼得前书五章8节：
17. “Be sober. Be vigilant. Because your adversary, the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.”
务要谨守、儆醒，因为你们的仇敌魔鬼，如同吼叫的狮子，遍地游行，寻找可吞吃的人。
18. Being sober is different from being vigilant.
谨守和儆醒是有区别的，
19. You can be sober, but not vigilant.
你可以儆醒，却不一定谨守；
20. But you cannot be vigilant without being sober.
但你若不儆醒，就不能谨守；
21. And that is why Peter puts being sober first.
所以彼得说，要儆醒，才能谨守。
22. Driving under the influence of alcohol is the number one cause of traffic death throughout the Western world.
在西方社会里致命的车祸，首要的肇事原因，就是醉酒驾驶。
23. Why?
为什么？
24. Because a drunk driver has impaired vision.
因为司机喝醉了，影响视力衰减；
25. A drunk driver has impaired reactive mechanisms.
司机喝醉了，减低他的反应机能；
26. A drunk driver has impaired control over his limbs.
司机喝醉了，就不能正常控制四肢的动作。
27. But here’s the tragedy.
但可悲的是，
28. Everybody else around that drunk can see the effect of alcohol except the drunk himself.
旁观者清，当局者迷，旁边的人都知道酒精的影响，只有喝醉的人不知道。
29. Why?
为什么？
30. Because drunkenness creates the ultimate self-deception.
因为醉酒会产生自我欺骗的幻觉。
31. The Christian who allows Satan to deceive him,
一个基督徒如果容许撒但来欺骗他，
32. sooner or later will begin to deceive themselves.
迟早他们也会落在自欺的景况里。
33. And that is why Peter is pleading for the Christians to be serious minded about the devil.
所以彼得在这里呼吁基督徒，要很严肃地面对魔鬼。
34. Do you know what Satan’s modern-day deception is?
你知道撒但的最新伎俩吗？
35. It is keeping us so busy that we become numb with tiredness.
就是让我们非常忙碌，以致于我们因过度疲劳而麻木。
36. It is keeping us so strung up for time that we have no time to be sober and vigilant.
我们把时间绷得太紧，而没有时间儆醒谨守。
37. It is keeping us over committed that we are running haggard.
我们负责过度，却把自己弄得很憔悴。
38. And once he has you running completely exhausted,
一旦你筋疲力尽，
39. once he has you over committed,
一旦你工作过劳，
40. then he will attack you.
魔鬼就会攻击你，
41. And before you know it, you are spiritually blown off the map.
在你毫无防备之下，你已经体无完肤了。
42. Peter is telling believers to be serious minded about the devil’s intentions.
彼得告诉基督徒，要很认真的提防魔鬼的企图，
43. His intentions are always known, and that is to entrap you.
他的阴谋就是要陷害你，这是众所皆知的。
44. I have researched the reasons for Peter’s use of the image of a lion to describe the devil.
为什么彼得要以狮子的形象代表魔鬼呢？我做了一些研究。
45. Some early Christian tradition said that Peter wrote this particular epistle from the city of Rome.
根据早期教会的传统说法，彼得是在罗马城写这封书信的。
46. There, he may have seen how some Christians were devoured by hungry lions in the Roman stadiums.
彼得很可能亲眼看见在罗马的斗兽场里，许多基督徒被饥饿的狮子吞吃；
47. Or he probably thought back to the words of Jesus when he said to him, “Peter, Peter, Satan has sought permission to sift you as wheat, but I’m praying for you.”
或者彼得想起耶稣曾对他说的话：“彼得！彼得！撒但想要得着你们，好筛你们像筛麦子一样，但我已经为你祈求。”
48. Peter probably thought about how Satan was trying to devour him on that last day before Good Friday,
彼得很可能想起在主耶稣受难的前一天，撒但几乎把他吞吃了，
49. when he denied the Lord Jesus three times.
也就是他三次不认主的时候。
50. I also learned something else about lions and their roaring.
我也发现了一些有关狮子吼叫的资料，
51. Lions apparently roar on three different occasions.
显然在三种情形之下，狮子会吼叫。
52. A lion roars when a competitor strays into his territory and tries to hunt on his turf.
当其他的狮子闯入一只狮子猎食的地盘时，这只狮子就会吼叫。
53. At that point, a lion’s roar is to tell the intruder to “butt out. That’s my territory.”
这时，吼叫的狮子就是对入侵者的警告说，快走开，这是我的地盘。
54. The second occasion in which the lion is known to roar is when he is caught in a storm.
狮子吼叫的第二种情况，就是在暴风雨之下，
55. Lions apparently detest thunder and lightning.
很显然狮子不喜欢打雷闪电。
56. The third occasion in which the lion is known to roar vigorously is after catching his prey.
狮子大声吼叫的第三种情况，就是当牠捕到猎物时，
57. This is most likely the roar that Peter has in mind here.
这很可能就是彼得心目中的图画。
58. When a lion catches his prey and wrestles it to the ground, he roars a roar of triumph.
一只动物在狮子的利爪下挣扎，而狮子就不断地发出胜利的吼叫，
59. This is the lion’s way of saying, “I have got you under my control.”
狮子似乎是说，你逃不出我的爪子。
60. This is the lion’s way of intimidating the prey into nonresistance.
狮子的吼叫，就是要吓唬猎物，不要再抵抗了。
61. Lions are very cunning creatures.
狮子是很聪明的动物，
62. They do not roar before they catch their prey.
还没有捕到猎物前，牠们是不吼叫的。
63. Why?
为什么？
64. It would scare the prey into running away.
因为会把猎物吓跑了。
65. So, he creeps quietly so that no one is the wiser.
牠静悄悄地爬行，神不知鬼不觉；
66. He tippy toes so that he may not be detected.
牠小心翼翼地前进，不让猎物觉察；
67. He quietly prowls until the prey is totally unsuspecting.
牠无声无息地潜伏，使猎物毫不提防；
68. And once the prey lies down and goes to sleep,
当猎物躺下睡觉时，
69. he moves in with the speed of lightning.
牠就像闪电般扑上去，
70. At that point, he roars as if to say, “I have got you and you cannot get away from me.”
这时牠吼叫，似乎在说，我逮到你了，别想逃跑。
71. The devil does the same thing.
魔鬼也是这样。
72. Satan gets you involved in all kind of extraneous activities,
撒但让你为许多琐碎的事忙碌，
73. thinking that you are doing good work.
你还以为自己在做好事呢！
74. He gets you busy with life’s problem.
牠让你忙着解决人生的难题；
75. He gets you busy with life’s pleasures.
牠让你忙着享受人生的乐趣；
76. He gets you busy with life’s activities.
牠让你在生活的各种活动中，忙得团团转；
77. He gets you busy with lust and greed and more and more.
牠让你忙着追求各种享受，和永不满足的欲望。
78. When you don’t have time for prayer,
使你没有时间祷告，
79. and when you don’t have time for the Word of God,
没有时间读神的话语，
80. and when you don’t have time for fellowship and be accountable to others,
没有时间跟其他的基督徒在一起，彼此分享，互相督促，
81. then you do this day after day after day.
你就是日复一日地忙个不停。
82. What is Satan doing?
而撒但在做什么呢？
83. He is waiting.
牠等待，
84. He’s prowling.
牠潜伏，
85. He’s tippy toeing.
牠静悄悄的逐步靠近，
86. And once you become spiritually lethargic,
一旦你的灵性松懈、懒散下来了，
87. he gets you under him and he roars to his heart’s content.
牠就扑上来把你踩在脚下，尽情的吼叫。
88. And that is why Peter left his most important warning to the end.
所以彼得把这最重要的警告放在最后，
89. “Be sober and be vigilant.
要儆醒，要谨守，
90. Don’t be flippant about your enemy.
对敌人不要掉以轻心，
91. Don’t be ignorant about his intentions toward you.
对牠的阴谋不可无知，
92. Don’t think for a moment that he is not setting a trap for you.”
不可丝毫放松警觉，以为牠不会来陷害你了。
93. In the Old Testament, David was a man after God’s own heart.
在旧约圣经里，大卫是一个合神心意的人，
94. And yet, in a period of a few years, Satan got David to relax,
然而在短短几年里，撒但让大卫松懈下来。
95. and enjoy all of his success and his resources,
他为自己的成就和富足，感到志得意满，
96. and David could not hear the lions creeping into his life.
大卫却没有听见，那只狮子已经静悄悄地爬到他身边。
97. David ceased to be spiritually vigilant and sober,
大卫的心灵不再儆醒谨守，
98. and he began to enjoy the acceptance by society.
他享受着众人对他的拥戴。
99. For a poor boy growing up in a poor home,
对于一个在贫困家庭中长大的穷孩子，
100. setting up and enjoying his throne is natural, but not supernatural.
享受自己所建立的王朝是人之常情，但不能过分。
101. David was not struggling with God in prayer any more.
大卫不再奋力向神祷告，
102. David stopped walking across the street and spending time in the temple of God.
大卫不再走到附近的圣殿去亲近神，
103. And in time, David fell into the snare of the enemy,
没多久，大卫就落入敌人的网罗里了，
104. and began his downward spiral which put a huge blotch on his pure heart.
使他泥足深陷，并在他纯洁的心中留下了污点。
105. Satan has a clear aim.
撒但有清晰的目标，
106. Satan has a well-defined goal.
撒但有明确的目的，
107. Tempt believers to sin and make them afraid of standing before God.
就是诱惑基督徒犯罪，使他们不敢站在神面前。
108. Satan’s clear aim is to destroy the impact of the Gospel in the world.
摧毁福音对这世界的影响，就是撒但清晰的目标；
109. Satan’s precise goal is keep unbelievers from becoming believers.
阻止非信徒成为基督徒，就是撒但明确的目的；
110. Satan’s aim is to deceive people into believing that they can be good without God.
撒但的目标就是要欺骗人，使他们以为，没有神他们也能行善；
111. Satan’s clear aim is to distort the Gospel.
撒但清晰的目标，就是要曲解福音。
112. Why?
为什么？
113. So that it does not stand in clear contrast to false belief systems.
这样，就不会跟虚假的信仰产生清楚的对比。
114. Satan’s greatest activities take place when believers are alert and sober and having victory over sin.
每当基督徒提高警觉，保持儆醒，胜过罪恶时，撒但也不会罢休的。
115. My listening friends, please listen to me very carefully.
亲爱的朋友，请特别留心我所说的，
116. I want you to look at 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 10.
请看彼得前书五章10节，
117. Listen to what Peter said,
请听彼得怎么说。
118. “Our God is a God of all grace and he will come to our aid the moment we call upon him.”
那赐诸般恩典的神……等你们暂受苦难之后，必要亲自成全你们，坚固你们，赐力量给你们。
119. You must never try to be a spiritual commando and attempt to take the devil on by yourself.
你千万不要把自己当作属灵的突击队员，单枪匹马地对付魔鬼，
120. That would be one of the greatest mistakes that you can make.
你将铸下大错。
121. The God of all grace is ready and willing to defend you.
赐诸般恩典的神将要护卫你；
122. The God of all grace is ready and willing to protect you.
赐诸般恩典的神将要保守你；
123. The God of all grace is ready and willing to fight on your behalf.
赐诸般恩典的神将要为你作战；
124. All you need to do is ask.
你只要向祂祈求，
125. That’s what being sober and vigilant is all about.
这就是谨守儆醒的意思，
126. Staying close to God.
紧紧靠着神，
127. The God of all grace is ready and willing to strengthen you.
赐诸般恩典的神，将要赐力量给你。
128. In verse 13 of chapter 5, Peter said,
第五章13节，彼得说，
129. “She who is in Babylon,”
在巴比伦的。
130. Who is he talking about?
他说些什么？
131. The “she” is the church in Rome,
这里指的是罗马的教会，
132. the bride of Christ in the city of Rome.
也就是在罗马城里基督的新妇。
133. Babylon refers to Rome because it was a city that had become like Babylon of old.
以巴比伦代表罗马，因为那时的罗马，已逐渐演变为像古代的巴比伦一样了。
134. Even pagan Romans nicknamed Rome Babylon.
甚至那些罗马的异教徒，都称罗马为巴比伦。
135. Why?
为什么？
136. Because of the level of decadence and self indulgence that it revealed.
因为在那里表现出严重的腐败，和情欲的放纵。
137. The same thing could be said of many faithful churches in many cities of the world today.
今天在这个世界上许多信仰纯正的教会，也在同样的处境里。
138. The spirit of Babylon,
巴比伦的特色，
139. which is the spirit of decadence and self-indulgence,
就是腐败和放纵情欲，
140. has invaded many cities in the world.
已经侵袭世上许多的城市了，
141. And many believers live in a modern day Babylon.
许多基督徒就住在现代的巴比伦城里。
142. There was once a famous animal trainer.
从前有一个著名的驯兽师，
143. He trained wild beasts to respond to his commands.
他训练野兽听从他的命令。
144. One particular act that always brought the crowd to its feet involved a thirty five-foot boa constrictor.
其中一个最受欢迎的节目，是他跟一条35呎长的蟒蛇一起表演的。
145. The trainer had raised this huge snake for twenty-five years.
驯兽师养这条大蛇已经有25年之久，
146. He got it when it was only a few days old.
从这条蛇只有几天大的时候就开始养起。
147. He cared for it.
照顾牠，
148. He fed it.
喂牠吃，
149. And he worked with it daily.
每天训练牠。
150. In this particular act,
在这项节目里，
151. the trainer would lie down on the ground with his pet boa.
驯兽师跟蟒蛇一起躺在地上，
152. The snake then would begin to wrap its long, strong tail around his body.
然后蟒蛇用牠粗壮的尾巴盘蜷在驯兽师身上。
153. The massive reptile was easily strong enough to crush the man into pieces.
其实蟒蛇可以轻易地把驯兽师压死，
154. But it would always release him just as he trained it.
但牠总是照着平时的训练，及时放开驯兽师。
155. But one day, things did not work out the way they were supposed to.
有一天突然发生意外，
156. The boa wrapped around his master like he always did,
蟒蛇照例盘蜷在主人身上，
157. when suddenly, the reptile’s true nature seemed to return.
忽然蟒蛇兽性大发，
158. In front of the watching eyes of hundreds upon hundreds of startled people,
就在几百个惊讶的观众眼前，
159. the boa kept squeezing and squeezing and squeezing.
大蟒蛇越缠越紧。
160. Only this time, it did not uncoil and loose its grip.
这一次牠没有放松，
161. It just kept on squeezing.
继续紧缠不放，
162. The trainer screamed for help,
驯兽师大声呼救，
163. but it was too late.
但已经太迟了。
164. Before the horrified crowd,
在惊恐的观众眼前，
165. the boa squeezed the lifebreath out of his trainer and crushed him to death.
大蟒蛇用力的挤压，使驯兽师窒息而死。
166. The man’s pet had become his cruel master.
他的宠物，成了他残酷的主人。
167. My listening friend, let me ask you this.
亲爱的朋友，请问你，
168. What is gradually wrapping itself around you?
有什么东西正在逐渐地缠绕你？
169. What is slowly crushing the spiritual life out of you?
有什么东西正在慢慢地挤压你，使你窒息？
170. What temptations are you flirting with?
你正在什么诱惑中周旋着？
171. What pets are you lying down with and cuddling?
你和什么宠物躺下，蜷在一起？
172. Could it be that your career is slowly squeezing out of you the desire for God and his Word?
你是否让自己的事业渐渐挤压你，使你不再渴慕神的话语？
173. Is your work keeping you from spending time with him and serving Him?
你的工作是否拦阻你亲近神，事奉神？
174. Could it be the lure of material things that is crushing your spiritual life?
物质的诱惑是否扼杀了你的属灵生命？
175. What is it for you?
是哪一样呢？
176. Be sober; be vigilant because of your adversary, the devil.
务要谨守儆醒，因为你们的仇敌魔鬼。
177. It is my prayer that you are sober and vigilant.
我祈求神让你能谨守儆醒，
178. And until next time, I wish you God’s riches blessing.
愿神大大地赐福给你，下次节目再会。
