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To Brothers and Sisters in faith who are Bible class teachers,

We do have the Bible class materials published also in booklets in English or Chinese language.  If you need them, please contact us through e-mail and we would send a copy to you which you can photo copy and distribute to your class. All the services  from this website are provided free by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to us.

To Brothers and Sisters in faith who are individual truth seekers and  love the Bible,

We would be privilege to fellowship and pray and learn together with you. Please contact us through e-mail. May all glory belong to our Heavenly Father through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!

 

對於主內主日學老師的兄弟姐妹們，
我們也出版了聖經課堂材料的英文或中文小冊子。 如果您需要它們，請通過電子郵件與我們聯繫，我們將向送您一份，您可以將其複印並分發給您的學生。 本網站上的所有服務, 均由主耶穌基督給我們的恩典, 免費提供。
對於那些追求真理並熱愛聖經的兄弟姐妹，
如果您想分享自己的感受和見證，我們將很榮幸與您一起團契，祈禱，和學習。 請通過電子郵件與我們聯繫。願所有的榮耀，通過我們的主耶穌基督，歸於我們的天父, 阿們!

 

 Our e-mail address:    pastor@reminderfromapastor.org

 

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Contents of this Webpage

* Bible Study- The Book of Psalms     查經- 詩篇

* Bible Study- The Book of Judges     士師記聖經研究

* Bible Study- The Book of Ecclesiastes  《傳道書》的聖經研究

* Bible Study- History of Israel 以色列的歷史的聖經研究

* Bible Study- History of Jerusalem耶路撒冷的歷史

* Bible Study- Jewish Holidays猶太人的節日

* Bible Study- Church and Government 教會與政府

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查經- 詩篇

Bible Study- The Book of Psalms

 

Lately, we started to read and meditate  on the book of Psalms. We started with Psalm 1, then Psalm 2. then Psalm 3, etc. It has been indeed an amazing journey in meditating, pleading, and praising with the psalm’s authors to our merciful and almighty LORD.
最近，我們開始閱讀和沈思詩篇。 我們從詩篇1開始，然後是詩篇2，然後是詩篇3，以此類推。在詩篇的課程中, 學習和詩篇作者一起來沉思，懇求和讚美慈悲萬能的耶和華上帝，這確實是一個奇妙的旅程。

 

There are five divisions of the book of psalms. Each division ends in a doxology. The five divisions are Ps 1 to Ps 41; Ps 42 to Ps 72; Ps 73 to Ps 89; Ps 90 to Ps 106; and finally Ps 107 to Ps 150. The book of psalms covers a period of 900 years from Moses time (1410 BC) to the post-exilic period. There are many authors of the psalms including most famously King David. We love the David’s psalms because of its description of his conflicts with his enemies, and his reliance on God.
詩篇分為五個部分。 每個部門都以上帝讚美詩結尾. 這五個部分分別是詩篇 1至詩篇 41；詩篇42至詩篇 72; 詩篇73至詩篇89； 詩篇90至詩篇 106； 最後是詩篇 107至詩篇150。詩篇涵蓋了900年,從摩西時代（公元前1410年）到流放後的時期。 詩篇的作者很多，其中包括最著名的大衛王。 我們愛大衛的詩篇，因為它描述了他與敵人的衝突，以及他對上帝的依賴。

 

The actual author of the Psalter  is,  of course, God. Thus, it is instructional, inspirational, and comforting, just as indicated in  2 Tim 3:16-17, ”16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Personally, we are amazed by the immense applicabilities of the Psalter to our daily living.
詩篇的真正作者當然是上帝。 因此，這是有教益，鼓舞人心和令人欣慰的，正如提摩太後書 3:16-17中所述 聖經都是有益的: “16 聖經都是神所默示的，於教訓、督責、使人歸正、教導人學義都是有益的， 17 叫屬神的人得以完全，預備行各樣的善事。” 就個人而言，我們對詩篇在日常生活中的巨大適用性感到驚訝.

In psalms, we are instructed about God’s holy attributes; we read psalms praising God as the Creator in controlling clouds and thunders, wind and storms, growing fruits and foods,  and healing diseases; God in control of history by involving in saving His people, in blessing His people, and in defeating their enemies; we saw disobedience of Israel and in the foolishness of gentiles in idol worship, and severe judgements from God; we read people crying to God for their distresses and God heard their dire pleads and saved them; we also read the prophesies concerning our Lord Jesus Christ; we are taught on  the ways to blessing and the ways to destruction. Most of all, we saw the conflicts among peoples, and among individuals, particularly sufferings of King David. We are also reassured and thankful to God of purifying the faithful remainders of His chosen people. Indeed, the book of psalms fully portray our current world and show us how to live in a wicked world, and how to rely on God alone and praising His wonderful deeds among us all the times.

在詩篇中，我們被教導關於神的聖潔屬性;我們讀過詩篇，讚美上帝為創造者，讚美上帝在控制雲層，雷電，暴風雨，保佑生產水果和食物以及治癒疾病方面強大權力;上帝通過參與拯救他的子民，祝福他的子民以及打敗他們的敵人來控制歷史; 我們看到以色列人不服從他們的救主上帝，外邦人在偶像崇拜中的愚昧無知，以及上帝的嚴厲審判; 我們讀到人們為痛苦而向上帝哭泣，上帝聽到了他們的懇求並救了他們; 我們還看到了有關我們的主耶穌基督的預言； 我們學習了獲得上帝祝福的道路和毀滅的道路; 最重要的是，我們看到了民族之間和個人之間的衝突，特別是大衛王的苦難。 我們也為上帝淨化選定人民的忠實餘民而感恩; 的確，詩篇充分地描繪了我們當今的世界，並向我們展示瞭如何生活在一個邪惡的世界中，以及如何單單依靠上帝並在我們當中無時無刻地讚美他的奇妙作為.

A Bible Study on the Book of Judges

 

I. INTRODUCTION

 

As you know, the Old Testament (OT) shows the historical events of God’s creation, man’s fault, God’s sovereign choice of Israel as His people to spread the salvation gospel to the world, and God’s grace in delivering Israel, times and times again, against their enemies. Thus, a key part of OT consists of the Israeli history which can teach Christians great lessons in dealing with the issues of life and conflict in the world.

 

The Book of Judges in OT portrays the Israeli conflicts in the period of conquering  and settling down in the promised land. It covers a time period of about 450 years according to Apostle Paul in Acts 13: 20. Historically, the Book of Judges describes a very important political transition from the period of Israelis living under the guidance of God-fearing leaders like Moses and Joshua to the period ruled by their kings. In this transition period, there was no king to rule Israel yet, and people did what each of them wanted. In view of what are happening in the USA and the world today,  the book of Judges provides us  with a very timely and relevant historical lesson.

 

士師記聖經研究

 

I.  引言

II.  總覽

III 《士師記》的默想 

 

I.  引言

如您所知，舊約顯示了上帝創造，人類的犯罪，上帝對選擇以色列作為向世界傳播救恩福音的人民的歷史，以及上帝一次次地從敵人拯救以色列的恩典 。 因此，舊約的一個關鍵部分就是以色列的歷史，這對於基督徒在處理我們的生活和世界衝突方面的經驗教訓非常有益。

舊約的《士師記》描述了以色列人在征服應許之地的時期以及他們在應許之地定居的時期的衝突。 根據使徒保羅在使徒行傳13：20中的描述，這段時期大約為450年。從歷史上看，《士師記》描述了一個非常重要的過渡時期，即從以色列人民在像摩西和約書亞這樣敬畏上帝的領袖的指導下生活的時期到 以色列國王統治的時期。 在士師時期，還沒有以色列國王，人們做了他們每個人想要的事情。 鑑於當今美國和世界正在發生的事情，《士師記》為我們提供了非常及時和相關的歷史課程。

 

When people are living without knowing God, human depravities will take over in their societies resulting in lawless and anarchy. Eventually, people will lose their God-given freedom, and be enslaved by their atheistic leaders. The Book of Judges reveals to us such repeated cycles: generation after generation of human failures and tragedies. This cycle can be described as  a 4-step process  in this period. 

1. A chosen people forgot their history and they forsook their God by following their own lusts, sexual depravities, idolatries, lawless, and evils such as robberies, mass violences, rapes, and murders of innocents, etc.
2. God punished the wicked people by letting them be enslaved by their enemies.
3. In their servitude, tragical hardship, and suffering, they suddenly remembered history and their God, and cried to God for mercy and delivery.
4. God raised Judges to deliver them from their enemies and to guide them.

 

當人們在不認識上帝的情況下生活時，我們的人類墮落本性將接管一切，我們的社會將走向無法無政府狀態。 甚至最壞的情況是，人們將受到欺騙，失去自由，失去上帝，再加上無神論者的奴役。 士師記向我們揭示了這樣一個重複”人為失敗和悲劇的產生”的循環。 在《士師記》里邊，這個週期可以用四步過程來描述。

(1) 選民忘記了自己的歷史，並通過追隨自己的慾望，性墮落，偶像崇拜，無法無天以及諸如搶劫，大規模暴力，強姦和謀殺無辜者之類的邪惡來拋棄自己的上帝。

(2) 上帝懲罰邪惡的社會，讓他們被仇敵奴役。

(3) 在他們的奴役，悲慘的苦難和痛苦中，他們突然想起歷史和他們的上帝，並向上帝呼求憐憫和拯救。

(4) 上帝召集士師，將他們從仇敵中解救出來並引導他們。

 

Actually, the above cycle is a very accurate description of the whole human history as well. Furthermore, the Book of Judges is a great reminder to each Christian believer  what to do in their pilgrimage journey toward their heavenly home.

 

In the Book of Judges, the above-mentioned cycle repeated many times and hence, there were many judges mentioned in the Book of Judges including Othniel, Ethud, Deborah & Barak, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthal, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson.

 

Before we go further, it is worth to understand why the Book of Judges is seldom studied?  The description of human disobedient cycles in old history was not inspiring partly because it reflected our own failures as well. Furthermore, texts dealt with many historical Israel cities and the names of their enemies which were quite unfamiliar to us, and hence hard to comprehend and maintain continuous interest. But, we will not be profitable and will miss the full council of the Bible if we ignore the God words such as the Book of Judges.

 

實際上，以上循環也是對整個人類歷史作了非常準確的描述。 此外,《士師記》也極大地提醒了每個基督徒，在回天家的朝聖之旅中該做什麼。

 

在《士師記》中，上述週期重複了很多次，因此，在《士師記》中提到了很多士師，包括俄陀聶，以笏，底波拉與巴拉，基甸，陀拉，睚珥，耶弗他，以比讚，以倫，押頓和參孫。

 

在我們進行下一步之前，值得注意的是，為什麼很少研究《士師記》？ 重複人類反叛的循環並沒有鼓舞人心的作用，部分原因是它也反映了我們自己的失敗。 此外，文中涉及許多我們不熟悉的以色列城市和敵人名字，因此難以理解和保持注意力。 但是，如果我們忽略《士師記》之類的神的話，我們將不會是完整的，並且會失去聖經的全部教導。

 

 

II. OVERVIEW

 

The following provides an overview of the Book of Judges:

 

A. Chapter 1 an 2 provide introduction and  summary. These chapters tell the disobedience of Israel including incomplete conquest over the Canaanites, and,  after the death of Joshua and the passing of the Israelis elders, new generations (who did not know LORD nor the work which  He had done for Israel),  forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt;  and they followed the gods from among  the gods of the people who were all around them  (Judge 2: 10 -12). An interesting  side note: compare this with the current on-going protests to destroy all historical statues in USA and Europe. 

 

B. The following table summarizes the repeated cycles of disobedience of Israel and the events of various judges raised by their merciful God to deliver them from their slaveries by their vicious and evil enemies.

 

 

Judge, (Tribe), and the years of peace	Israel Enemies and years of servitude	Why	Qualification of Judges
Othniel, (Judah), and peace for 40 years	Under the king of Mesopotamians for 8 years	Forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and Asherahs Judge 3:7	The Spirit of  came upon him to go to war against Mosopotamians
Ehud (Benjamin), and peace for 80 years	Moab, Ammonites, and Amalekites for 18 years	Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD Judge 3:12	A left-handed man to assassin the king of Moab
Shamgar	Philistines		Deliver Israels by killing 600 men of Philistines with an ox goad
Deborah (Ephraim), Barak (Naphtali) and 40 years	Under king of Canaan slavery for 20 years	The children of Israel again did evil in the sight of LORD Judge 4:1	Deborah,A prophetess Barak led the fight against Canaanites
Gideon (Manasseh) and 40 years	Midianites, Amalekites for 7 years	Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. Judge 6:1	Gideon was sent by the LORD and was obedient to the LORD’s commands, Judge 6:27
Tola (Issachar), after the death of Abimelech, and 23 years	Abimelech, a son of Gideon by a concubine created a conspiracy to kill all his 70 brothers except the youngest one who hided. Caused civil war. Abimelech ruled for 3 years	After the death of Gideon, the children of Israel played the harlot with the Baals and made Baal-Berith their god.  Children of Israel did not remember the history of delivery by their God. Judge 8:33-34
Jair (Gilead -Manasseh) and judged for 23 years		After the death of Tola
Jephthah (Gilead - Manasseh) and judged Israel for 6 years	Slavery by Philistines and  Ammonites for 18 years; Civil war with the tribe of Ephram	The children of Israel served the Baals and Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the god of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines and they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him. Judge 10:6	Jephthah was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of Gilead by a harlot.
Iban (Bethlehem - Zebulen) and judged for 7 years
Elon  ( Zebulen ) and judged for 10 years
Abdon (Ephraim) and judged for 8 years
Samson (Dan) and judged for 20 years	Slavery by Philistines for 40 years	The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD	A Nazirite to God

 

 

 

C. Chapters 17 to 21 describes the epilogue of the Book of Judges which tells the idolatries of an individual family of Micah and of the tribal Danites. Also the dereliction of Israel caused the crime at Gibeah which led to the war against Benjamin.

 

II.  總覽

 

以下概述了《士師記》：

 

A. 第1章和第2章提供了介紹和總結。 它描述以色列人不服從，包括對迦南人的不完全征服，約書亞死後，以色列長老去世之後，以色列有別的世代興起，不知道耶和華，也不知道耶和華為領他們出埃及地所行的事。離棄了他們列祖的神, 行耶和華眼中看為惡的事； 他們去叩拜別神，就是四圍列國的神（士師記2：10 -12）。 一個有趣的旁注：將其與目前正在進行以”摧毀美國和歐洲的所有歷史雕像”的抗議活動進行比較，。

 

B. 下表總結了以色列不服從的反复循環以及仁慈的上帝興起的各士師將他們從奴隸制中解救出來所發生的事件。

 

 

士師（部落）與和平年代	以色列敵人和多年奴役	為什麼	士師資格
俄陀聶（猶大）與和平40年	在美索不達米亞國王統治下長達8年	忘記耶和華他們的神，去侍奉諸巴力和亞舍拉，士師記3：7	耶和華的靈降在他身上，與美索不達米亞人作戰
以笏（便雅憫）與和平80年	摩押，亞捫人，亞瑪力人18年	以色列人又行耶和華眼中看為惡的事	一名左撇子刺殺摩押王
珊迦	非利士		他用趕牛的棍子打死六百非利士人，救了以色列人
底波拉 （以法蓮), 巴拉(拿弗他利) 和和平40年	在迦南國王奴隸統治下長達20年	以色列人又行耶和華眼中看為惡的事 士師記 4:1	底波拉 ：女先知 巴拉 領導了反對迦南王的戰鬥
基甸（瑪拿西）和和平40年	米甸人，亞瑪力人奴隸 以色列7年	以色列人又行耶和華眼中看為惡的事 士師記 6:1	基甸是耶和華差遣的，順從耶和華的命令。 士師記6:27
陀拉（以薩迦，）亞比米勒死後和平23年	基甸的兒子亞比米勒 創造了一個陰謀，殺死了他所有的70個兄弟，除了最小的一個藏匿的兄弟。 引起內戰。 亞比米勒統治了3年	基甸死後，以色列人又去隨從諸巴力行邪淫，以巴力比利土為他們的神， 以色列人不記念耶和華他們的神，就是拯救他們脫離四圍仇敵之手的 。士師記 8:33-34
睚珥 (基列 -瑪拿西） 作以色列士師22年		陀拉死後
耶弗他 (基列 - 瑪拿西)  作以色列士師6年	非利士人和亞捫人的奴隸統治長達18年; 與以法蓮支派的內戰	以色列人又行耶和華眼中看為惡的事，去侍奉諸巴力和亞斯她錄，並亞蘭的神、西頓的神、摩押的神、亞捫人的神、非利士人的神，離棄耶和華，不侍奉他。 士師記 10:6	耶弗他是一個英勇的勇士，但他是基列和妓女的兒子。
以比讚(伯利恆 - 西布倫) 作以色列士師7年
以倫  ( 西布倫 ) 作以色列士師10年
押頓（以法蓮) 作以色列士師8年
參孫 (但 ) 作以色列士師20年	非利士人的奴隸統治長達18年	以色列人又行耶和華眼中看為惡的事 士師記 13:1	出胎就歸神做拿細耳人

 

 

 

 

C. 第17至21章描述了《士師記》的結語，其中講述了米迦立像, 米迦家族和但支派人的偶像崇拜。 以色列的失職也導致了基比亞匪類之惡行，這導致了對便雅憫支派的戰爭。

 

 

III. MEDITATION ON THE BOOK OF JUDGES

 

1. To forsake of the Creator God and to ignore of the history of His deliverance always lead to the tragic societal infrastructure of the elite leadership which in turn will  result in  lawless and suffering of people. Why? Because without God’s guidance and God’s constraint of evils, the depravities of human beings will take over and the deceptions and corruptions will prevail, which invariably result in chaos and daily street violences and/or tribal massacres as shown in many cities in the USA and in a few countries in the Middle East. When people forsake their core values in cultures and in history, everyone will do what one wants. 
2. In a period of about 450 years, how many times that Israel rejected their God to worship the gentile gods of their enemies! The Book of Judges clearly teaches us that each generation need to seek their Creator God for their peace and prosperity.
3. It is very interesting to note that God actually chose people of no particular qualifications to be the judges who delivered Israel from the oppressions of their wicked enemies. Everybody who is wise or fool, male or female, mighty or weak, etc., can be used by God. There is no special recognition of the so called elites of a society.
4. There was no end to the degree of evils that  human depravities can lead to except by the constraint of God.
5. Those who do not learn from the history will definitely repeat the tragedies of their failures again.
6. What the Book of Judges teaches us? A few examples are listed below:     

• Repeated disobedience to their God and did evils in the sight of the LORD, 
• Repeated slaveries by their enemies,
• Conflicts between individual tribes, 
• Conflicts between individuals including man and woman, 
• Violent crimes of all sorts,
• Peace and prosperity when blessed by God,
• Song  of Deborah and Barak, 
• Individual idolatry, family idolatry, and tribal/national idolatry,
• Deception scheme of distorting history,
• Deception scheme of repeated lies,
• Deception scheme by blaming others first,
• The parable of trees
• Cavalier life style of Samson, 
• Tragedy of the betrayal of Samson by Delilah,
• Final repentance of Samson,
• Samson’s ultimate sacrifice to fulfill his calling,
• Everyone did what was right in his/her own eyes.

 

III 《士師記》上的默想

 

A. 拋棄造物主上帝和不知道他的救恩歷史, 總是導致所謂精英族的悲慘領導，更導致人民遭受無法無天的苦難。 為什麼？ 因為沒有上帝的引導和上帝對於邪惡的約束，人類的墮落本性將接管一切，欺騙和腐敗將盛行，這不可避免地導致混亂，每天發生街頭暴力和部落屠殺，這在美國許多城市和中東一些國家中都可看到。 當人們放棄文化和歷史的核心價值觀時，每個人都會做自己想做的事情。

B. 在大約450年的時間裡，以色列多少次拋棄他們的上帝,去敬拜外邦敵人的假神?。 士師記清楚地告訴我們，每一代人都需要為自己社會的和平與繁榮尋求創造主。

C. 有趣的是，上帝實際上選擇了沒有特殊資格的人，來擔任士師，將以色列從邪惡的敵人的壓迫中解救出來。不管是聰明或愚蠢的人，無論男女，強大或軟弱的人都可以被上帝使用。 沒有所謂的社會精英的特殊承認。

D. 除上帝的約束外，人類墮落可能導致的邪惡程度是沒有止境的。

E. 那些不汲取歷史的教訓的人，肯定會再次重蹈覆轍。

F. 士師記教了我們什麼？ 下面列出了一些示例：

    *多次不服從他們的上帝，

    *被敵人反复奴役，

    *各個部落之間的衝突，

    *個人之間的衝突，包括男人和女人，

    *各種暴力犯罪，

    *上帝賜予的和平與繁榮，

    *底波拉與巴拉的歌，

    *個人偶像崇拜，家庭偶像崇拜和部落/民族偶像崇拜，

    *扭曲歷史的欺騙方案，

    *重複謊言的欺騙方案，

    *先摔鍋指責他人的欺騙方案，

    *樹木的寓言

    *參孫的生活方式，大利拉出賣參孫的悲劇

    *參孫的最後悔改和為完成被召使命而做出的最後犧牲，

    *"人們做了他們每個人想要的事情”的後果。

 

《傳道書》的聖經研究
大綱
一。 為什麼要學習傳道書
二。 本書的歷史觀點
三。 本書的整體背景
四。 我們從傳道書中學到了什麼

一。 為什麼要學習傳道書
《傳道書》是聖經中智慧書籍的一部分，其中還包括約伯，詩篇，箴言和所羅門之歌。《傳道書》涉及搜尋生命的意義和追求幸福的方式。 它還描述了用“每個人都認為正確的”方法來追求幸福，是非常愚蠢的。

傳統上，所羅門王被視為歷史上非常明智的國王，並且是《傳道書》的作者。 學習他所說的話將是一很重要的經歷。

在對本書進行冥想之後，我們認為本書提供了另一種傳授聖經真理的教學方法。 如果聖經是一個無誤的上帝之道，為什麼沒有那麼多基督徒真正熱愛聖經研究呢？ 我們不需要人們提醒我們需要吃飯。 但是，如果讀經是我們靈性生活的食物，為什麼我們不熱衷於愛我們靈的食物呢？ 經過多年的觀察和個人失敗，我的觀點是，如果我們認真地看待我們的個人生活，家庭生活和教會生活，我們會熱愛聖經的！

這使我們回到為什麼要學習《傳道書》？ 因為我們希望學會全心全意地依靠我們的主耶穌基督，如何應對自己的生活問題，以及如何更快樂，更有意義，更自信地過自己的服侍生活！

 

The Bible Study of the Book of Ecclesiastes

 

I. Why the study of the Book of Ecclesiastes?

The Book of Ecclesiastes is part of the wisdom book collection in the Bible, which includes also  Job, Psalms, Proverbs,  and Song of Solomon, The Book of Ecclesiastes deals with meanings of life and ways of the pursuit of happiness. It also describes the follies of human wisdom in formulating the “What each thinks is right”  approach. Traditionally, King Solomon was regarded as a very wise king in history and as the author of the  Book of Ecclesiastes. It would be a great learning experience in finding out what he said about this important subject.

After meditation on this Book, this book provides a different teaching method in conveying the truth of the Bible. If the Bible is an un-erring Word of God, why not many Christians truly love the Bible studies? We do not need people to remind us that we need to eat? But if the scripture reading is the food for our spiritual being, why we are not eagerly loving our spiritual food? After many years of observation and personal failures, my view is that we will love and search the Scripture if we view our individual life, family life, and church life seriously! 

That brings us back to why the study of the Book of Ecclesiastes? Because we will hopefully learn how to deal with our own life’s issues and how to live our own individual serving life more joyfully, more meaningfully, and more confidently by relying on our Lord Jesus Christ  wholeheartedly!

二。 本書的歷史觀點

根據《聖經》的各種評論，傳道書是最難掌握其意圖的聖經書之一。 如果不仔細的話，這本書往往會引起對某些說法的混淆，有些經文可能被誤解與聖經的教義不太吻合。 此外，非信徒或邪教經常對這本書錯誤引用或扭曲以適應其曲折的暗盤。 這意味著《傳道書》的上下文背景不容易掌握，因此，我們需要花費精力來理解文本背景的含義。 換句話說，我們需要通過吃肉來長大，而不是像嬰兒一樣只喝牛奶！

II. Historical Perspectives of this Book

According to various commentaries on the Book, Ecclesiastes is one of the hardest books  in the Bible to grasp its intentions or purposes. If not careful, this book tends to cause confusions about its certain sayings which may not fit well with the teachings of the Scripture. Furthermore, this book was a favor for non-believers or cults to misquote or twist certain text to fit their devious agenda. This implies that the contextual elements of the Book are not easy to grasp and hence, we need to spend effort to understand the meaning of the textual background. In other words, we need to grow up by eating meat rather than just drinking milk like a baby!

三。 本書的整體背景

本書涉及許多問題。 以下是僅使用中文和合本所涉及的標題為示例。

傳道者言萬事盡屬虛空 (第1章)     喜樂福祉亦屬虛空 (第2章)
萬事均有定時勞碌無益 (第3章)     受虐流涕無人慰藉(第4章)
於神前勿造次多言(第5章)    富有資財不得享用仍屬虛空 (第6章)
美名愈於香膏 (第7章)                   宜遵守王命 (第8章)
義人智人咸在神掌握 (第9章)        論智愚 (第10章)
 論施濟 (第11章)                  少壯時宜念造化之主 (第12章)
因此，試圖使用標題，來理解傳道書時可能會產生很大的誤導和困惱。
 

以下對整體背景的補充說明，在增加理解傳道書時，應會有所幫助。
 

1.傳道書可以說是所羅門王一生的戲劇性自傳，當時他正試圖通過自己的智慧，離開上帝來尋求自己的幸福。

2.所羅門以傳教士的角色（參見第1章至第7章），在年老時解釋了自己一生進行各種實驗的結果，並得出結論說，在這些實驗中，他的一生不值一提，只是虛空的虛空。 在這種情況下，他的許多言論與追求生活問題的世俗方法，並沒有什麼不同。 我們可能會問為什麼上帝允許這種方法來傳遞真理？ 這與您如何說服驕傲的人們，去擺脫他們的破壞性生活方式有關！ 在傳道書裡面，所羅門基本上說：“看哪！ 我比任何人擁有更好的權力，財富和手段，可以經歷所有實驗，但是它們的結果是愚蠢的，都是虛空的虛空。 所以，看看我的一生，引以為鑒，您可以聽聽我的建議嗎?” 他的實驗包括：
 * 通過科學的方式敏銳地觀察（第1章：4-11節）
 * 通過運用智慧和知識來分析事件和經驗（1:12-18）
 * 通過滿足眼目的情慾，肉體的情慾和今生的驕傲 (2:1-11)
 * 除了一代又一代地重複人類的愚蠢之事，人還能做什麼呢！ 智者與傻瓜沒有區別。 人類的一切努力都是虛空的。 決定結果的是上帝，而不是人類。（2:12-26）
 * 宿命論與命運（3：1-15）
* 人類司法系統中沒有絕對正義。 也沒有絕對的公平； 針對個人的系統暴力，針對老年人和年輕人的鬥爭（3:16- 4:16）
* 甚至宗教也無法改變貪婪，不妨喝酒和快樂（第5章） 
* 擁有財富也是虛空，因為沒有保證能享受財富。 孩子眾多和長壽也是虛空（第6章）
* 在人際關係中，尤其是在非法的男女關係中，很難找到忠誠。 智慧勝過愚蠢，卻也無法避免失敗或失誤（第7章）

 

3. 所羅門試圖以他的一生為例，警告人們不要被世界的快樂所困，更要阻止他們徒勞的追求，因為有更好可選擇上帝的方式。 正如所羅門在第12章9節中所表達的，這是他為傳道人的最終目的。在傳道書的這一部分裡面，所羅門在這部分的講道（第8-12章），是以來自神的角度，而不是以前面所提到的人類愚蠢角度來說的。他的建議包括以下內容：

*  宜遵守王命 (第8:1-9節)
*  儘管有罪惡，敬畏神終得福樂 (8:10-17)
*  儘管好人可能會遇到壞事。義人智人咸在神掌握 (第9章)
*  論智愚 (10: 1-17)
*  論懈惰 (10:18-20)
*  論施濟（11：1-8）包括人類的能力和智慧非常有限
*  鼓勵人要幼時當知神必鞫諸事,以上帝的審判來追求幸福(11：9-10）
*  少壯時宜念造化之主（12：1-12）
*  敬畏神謹守誡命為人當盡之分的結論（12：13-14）

 

III. Overall Context of the Book of Ecclesiastes

This Book deals with many issues. Just look at the outlines proposed by various Bible commentators will illustrate potential confusion. Thus, the use of the headings could be very misleading in trying to understand the Book of Ecclesiastes. 

 

The following additional remarks should add a few clarifications in understanding the Ecclesiastes:

 

1. Ecclesiastes is the dramatic autobiography of Solomon’s life when he was trying to pursue his own happiness by his human wisdom away from God.

 

2.  Acting as a preacher (See Chapter 1:1-2), Solomon at his old age explained the results of his own effort in carrying out various experiments and concluded that his life during these experiments was not worth anything but vanity upon vanity. In this context, many of his remarks were not much different from various worldly approaches to pursue the issues of life. We may ask why God allows this approach to proclaim the truth? This would be related with “how do you convince the proud people  to turn around from their  destructive ways!”  Basically, Solomon said “Behold!  I have had power, wealth, and means more than anybody to carry out all the experiments, yet these endeavors are all foolish and vanity upon vanity. So look at my follies as a warning and listen to my advice!” His experiments included the following:
* By keen observations through scientific ways (Chapter 1:4-11)
* By using wisdom and knowledge to analyze events and experience (Chapter 1:12-18)
* By satisfying lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and pride of the life (Chapter 2: 1-11)
* What men can do other than repeating human follies for each generation! There was no difference between the wise and the fool. All human endeavors are vanities . It is up to God not human beings to decide the outcome.(Chapter 2:12-26)
* Fatalism and Destiny (Chapter 3:1-15)
* No absolute justice in human justice system. No absolute fairness as well; system violence over individual , and conflicts between the youth and the senior (Chapter 3:16- 4:16)
* Even religion cannot change greeds and may as well drink and be merry (Chapter 5)
*  Emptiness in possessing wealth because no guaranty of enjoying it. Lots of children  and longevity are also vanity (Chapter 6)
* Loyalty is very rare in human relationship, particularly illicit man-woman relationship. * Wisdom is better than foolishness, yet failure or mistake cannot be avoided (Chapter 7)

 

3.   Solomon was trying to use his life as an example of warning people not to be trapped by the pleasures of the world, but rather to deter them from such vain pursuits because there was a better choice of the  God’s way. This was the ultimate purpose of the preacher as expressed by Solomon in Chapter 12: 9.  In this portion of the Ecclesiastes, Solomon covered this portion of his preaching ( Chapter 8-12), more from the Divine prospective than from the previous mentioned human follies. His advice included the following:
* Need to follow the commands (Chapter 8:1-9)
* Despite evils, blessed are those who chose to obey the LORD (Chapter 8:10-17)
* Although bad things may happen to good people. God is sovereign (Chapter 9)
* On wisdom and folly (Chapter 10: 1-17)
* On laziness and idleness (Chapter 10:18-20)
* On compassions  (Chapter 11: 1-8 )  including human ability and wisdom are very limited
* Encourage to the young to learn that God will judge at the end; Always keeping God’s judgement as a guiding light for dealing with the pursuit of happiness in life (Chapter 11:9-10)
* Need to take the Creator in life when young (Chapter 12:1-12)
* Concluded by fearing God and keeping His commandments as our guiding light in life (Chapter 12:13-14)

 

四。 我們從傳道書中學到了什麼

 

1. 如果我們了解所羅門王在兩個方面扮演傳教士的角色，那就不會對《傳道書》感到那麼混亂了。 首先，他以一生為例，講了人類，試圖用智慧追求生活的意義/目的/幸福的愚蠢。 傳道書的這一部分大致涵蓋了第1-7章。 在傳道書的第二部分，所羅門從上帝的角度扮演傳教士的角色，以警告/鼓勵人們，尤其是年輕人，儘早了解上帝是主權者，上帝最終將審判一切。( 第8-12章）。
 

2. 由於肉體的短暫性，這個世界上許多人類的努力確實是虛空的。永生是父神通過他獨生的兒子我們的主耶穌基督所賜的禮物。正如約翰福音1：4中明確指出的那樣：“在他裡面有生命，而生命就是人的光”。為什麼要遵循自稱為照明大師的欺騙路徑，並為此生承担沉重的負擔？傳道書就是這種虛榮和絕望的典範。為什麼不採取簡單的信仰方式！馬太11：28-30，「 28 凡勞苦擔重擔的人，可以到我這裡來，我就使你們得安息。 29 我心裡柔和謙卑，你們當負我的軛，學我的樣式，這樣你們心裡就必得享安息。 30 因為我的軛是容易的，我的擔子是輕省的。」。我們在這個世界上是找不到真正的幸福，即使這個腐敗的世界也會消失毀滅！永生在耶穌基督裡。他是我們從上帝那裡賜予的禮物。約翰福音3：16「神愛世人，甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信他的不致滅亡，反得永生。」讓那些有耳朵的人應該聽！
 

3. 在歷史上，有各種各樣的人類悲劇性實驗，包括政治，經濟，文化，社會等。 我們大家自己都可以列舉幾個！ 不斷發生兩次世界大戰，多次區域戰爭。 我們都需要像《傳道書》中所明確建議的那樣，盡可能早地醒來。
 

4. 因為傳道書的語調，人們可能會想知道所羅門王是否曾經真正地悔過並得救。 有一些經文，例如 撒母耳记下 7:14和歷代志上 22:10確實使我們確信上帝對他的子孫包括所羅門和我們的無限慈悲和愛。
 

5. 對於那些深愛或討厭生命的人，傳道書確實為我們提供了很好的教訓。 在我們這個時代，尤其是在照明大師的欺騙，仍然提倡他們曲折實驗的時候， 在太陽底下和人類的歷史上，傳道書生動地為我們提供了所有堕落心智之愚蠢實驗的教訓。 讓我們大家跟隨我們的主耶穌！只有他才是真理，道路和生命！ （見約翰福音14：6）
 

6. 下表總結了虛空俱樂部的會員資格以及捕風者協會的資格及其治療方法。
 

7. 很明顯地，所羅門的抱怨是基於（a）生命的暫時性，（b）人類無法建立公正和同情的人際關係，（c）人類的一切努力都沒有持久價值，（d）人類控制 生命和未來能力的限制，（e）人類完全沒有能力擺脫人類的墮落，(f) 在這個腐朽的世界中沒有永生, (g)還有更多...。 傳道書指出，人類愚昧地運用自己的所有智慧和理性去追求幸福，無非就是執行各種引人注目的大戰略來使人加入虛榮俱樂部和捕風者協會！ 確實只有一種解決方案。 也就是說，全人類將通過悔改，來信仰耶穌基督，而返回上帝。 唯有在基督耶穌裡，才能永遠解決所有人類的問題。 同時，我們這些永遠愛主耶穌的人，也可以享受與這位無限恩主，在超越時空之外的偉大團契。 阿們！

 

 

什麼	為什麼	議題	解答
傳道書1:2 萬物皆虛空	傳道書1:4 世代相傳	生命的短暫本質； 人類的有限性	永恆的生命在基督耶穌裡面 (約翰1:4)
傳道書( 2:12) 智慧，瘋狂和愚蠢	傳道書(1:18) 多有智慧，多有悲傷。 多知識增加多悲傷	相對主義與人類的局限	上帝所有的豐盛居住在基督裡，（歌羅西書1:19）
傳道書( 2:1-4) 尋求快樂的虛空	這個世界沒有無盡的宴會	世界上一切都要過去，包括地球	啟(21：1-2) 一切都變新了
傳道書(2:5-11)  房屋，葡萄園，企業，財物的虛空	獲得一些，失去一些，在陽光下沒有新事物	變化是恆定趨勢	只有基督的王國永遠長存（希伯來書1：8）
傳道書(2:12-26) 智者與愚者的盡頭	傳道書( 2:16) 他們都滅亡，沒有人記得他們	所有人都會死的（羅馬書5:12）	通過信仰耶穌基督到 永生（約翰福音3:16）
傳道書（3:1-15）一切都有定時	宿命論與命運	人無法控制未來	只有上帝控制時間和空間（啟21:6）
傳道書（3:16-22）人與動物的結局相同	傳道書( 3:20)  一切都歸塵，塵土歸塵土	生命有限	耶穌基督說：“我是複活和生命”（約翰福音11:25）
傳道書（4:1-12）不公正似乎佔上風	世界上沒有絕對的正義和同情心	所有人都有罪。 人不能拯救自己（詩14:1-3）	藉著耶穌基督流在十字架上的寶血獲得救贖（彼得一書1:18-19）
傳道書（4:13-16）衝突永無止境	舊人的墮落（以弗所書4:22）	在這個腐敗的世界中無法實現的和平	平安就是信賴我們的主耶穌基督（約翰福音16:33）
傳道書（5; 1-20）尖舌的虛空與獲得榮耀的虛空	貪婪導致辛勞和不快樂傳道書(5:10)	熱力學第二定律的詛咒	重生是唯一的希望(啟21:5）
傳道書（6:1-2）濃醇無法填補空虛的生活	人類無法控制誰將享受勞動成果	人的道路受到許多不確定因素的影響	上帝的天堂是最好的（啟21：3-4）
傳道書（6：3-12）很多孩子和長壽的虛空	無法控制後代子孫的結局	生活事件是不可預測的	唯一沒有詛咒的地方。 （啟22：3）
傳道書（7:19-29）義人並非無可非議，很難找到忠誠	都被污染了	沒有絕對的真理	上帝是主，會在末日審判一切（傳道書11：9）
如何擺脫虛榮與愚蠢（傳道書第8-12章）	只有上帝是全能的，並且是永恆的	人的道路與神的道路之間的選擇	唯獨基督(啟21:6-7);約翰14:6）; 每天跟隨基督（路加9:23）

 

 

IV.  What We Learned in Ecclesiastes

 

1. It would be less confusion if we take King Solomon playing the role of the preacher in two aspects. First, using his life as an example, he preached on the follies of human wisdom trying to pursue the meaning/purpose/ happiness of life. This portion of Ecclesiastes covered roughly Chapter 1-7.  In second portion of the Ecclesiastes, Solomon playing the role of the preacher from the God’s perspective to warn/encourage people, especially the young people to learn as early as possible that God is sovereign and God will judge all things at the end ( roughly Chapter 8-12).

2. Many human endeavors in this world are indeed vanity of vanity because of transient nature of  the flesh. Eternal life is a gift from God the Father through His only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ.  As taught so clearly in John 1:4, “ In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” Why follow the deception paths of the self-appointed illuminati and be heavily burden in this life? Ecclesiastes is a great example of such endeavors of vanities and hopeless. Why not take the easy faith way!  Matthews 11:28-30, “28 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” We can not find true happiness in this world because even the corrupt world will go away! Eternal life is in Jesus Christ. He is our gift from God. John 3:16, “16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life”. Let those who have ears hear!

3. There are, through the mankind history, all kind of human tragic experiments including political, economic, cultural, social,…. We can all name a few! Two world wars, numerous regional wars, on and on. We all need to wake up as earlier as possible as indicated so clearly in Ecclesiastes.

4. Because the tones of the Ecclesiastes, one may wonder if King Solomon ever repented and was saved. There are a few verses such as 2 Samuel 7:14, and 1 Chronicles 22:10 which do reassure us God’s infinite mercy and love for His children, including Solomon and us.
 

5. For those who love or hate life dearly, the Book of Ecclesiastes indeed offers us a great lesson. This is particularly true in our age where leftists still advocate their devious experiments. “Under the Sun” and through the human’s history, Ecclesiastes gave mankind a vivid lesson for all the follies of the deprived minds. Let all of us follow our Lord Jesus! He alone indeed is the truth and  the way  and the life! (see John 14:6)
 

6. The following Table summarizes the membership of the Vanity Club and the qualification for the Wind Capturer Society and the Cures thereof. 
 

7. It is quite clear that the Solomon’s complaints rested on (a) temporary nature of life, (b) mankind’s inability of a just and compassion human relationship, (c) No lasting values of all human endeavors, (d) limitation of mankind to control life and future, (e) total inadequacy of mankind to get rid of human depravities, and more… including no eternal life in this decaying world. Ecclesiastes points out  that the follies of the mankind in using all their wisdom and rationalism in pursuit of happiness are nothing but joining the Vanity Club to perform various wind catching grand strategies! There is indeed only one solution. That is, all mankind shall repent and return to God through the faith in Jesus Christ. It is only In Christ Jesus that all human’s problems can be gone forever.  And what a great (and beyond time and space) blessed fellowship with our Infinite merciful and loving Lord, may be enjoyed and cherished by all who love Him forever and ever. Amen!

 

 

WHAT	WHY	ISSUE	SOLUTION
Eccl. 1:2 Everything is vanity	Eccl. 1:4 Generations come and gone	Transient Nature of Life; Mankind’s finiteness	Eternal Life is in Christ Jesus John 1:4
Eccl.  2:12 wisdom, madness, and folly	Eccl. 1:18 much wisdom much grief; knowledge increases sorrow	Relativism and Limitation of humankind	In Christ all God’s fullness should dwell (Colossians 1:19)
Eccl. 2:1-4 The Vanity of Pleasure	No such thing as the endless banquet in this world	Everything in the world is passing  including the earth	Rev 21:1-2 All things are made new
Eccl 2:5-11 The vanity of possessions ( Houses, Vineyards, Businesses)	Gain some, Lost some, Nothing Good Under the Sun	Changes are here to stay	Only Christ’s Kingdom is ever lasting (Hebrews 1:8)
Eccl. 2:12-26  The End of the wise and the fool	Eccl. 2:16 They all perish and No one remember them	All men die (Romans 5:12)	Eternal Life through faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16)
Eccl.  3:1-15 Everything has its time	Fate and Destiny	Man can not control future	Only God controls Time and Space (Rev 21:6)
Eccl.  3: 16-22 Man and Animal meet the same ending	Eccl. 3: 20 All came dust and return to dust	Finiteness of Life	Jesus Christ  said ” I am the Resurrection and the life”  (John 11:25)
Eccl.  4:1-12 Injustice seems to prevail	No absolute justice and compassion in the world	All have sin; Man can not save himself/herself (Ps 14:1-3)	Salvation through Jesus Christ Precious Blood shedded at the Cross (1 Peter 1:18-19)
Eccl.  4:13-16 Conflicts never end	Depravity of Old Nature (Ephesians 4:22)	Unattainable Peace in this corrupt world	Peace is in trusting Jesus Christ our Lord (John 16:33)
Eccl. 5;1-20 The Vanity of Sharp Tongue and The Vanity of Gain and Honor	Greed leads to toil and unhappiness Eccl. 5:10	Thermodynamics Second Law	Need Regeneration as the only hope ( Rev 21:5)
Eccl. 6: 1-2 Richness cannot fill emptiness in life	Mankind can not control who will enjoy the fruits of labor	Man’s path is subject to many uncertainties	God’s heaven is the best (Rev. 21:3-4)
Eccl. 6: 3-12 The vanity of lot of Children and longevity	Can not control the outcome of posterity	Life events are not predictable	Only place where there is no curse. (Rev 22:3)
Eccl. 7: 19-29 The Righteous is not blameless and hard to find the loyalty	All are contaminated	No absolute	God is sovereign and will judge everything at the end (V 11:9)
How to get out of the vanity and folly (Eccl. chapters 8-12)	Only God is almighty, and eternal	Choice between man’s way and God’s way	Solas Christo (Rev 21:6-7; John 14:6) ; Follow Christ Everyday (Luke 9:23)

 

The History of Israel

I. Introduction

From a believer’s  viewpoint, I should be familiar with the history of Israel so that I have a better understanding of current world situation and the forthcoming end time prophecies. This subject is of particular importance to people coming from the far east cultures because we are so far away and are indeed ignorant of the Jewish culture. When we talk about Israel history, we will focus on the historical events which are relevant to the Bible revelations of the chosen people. Our interest is on major historical events in the Jewish history which were revealed and foretold in the Bible.

 

You may ask why studying this topic. For me, the history of mankind is intertwined with history of the chosen people, and the history of the Christian Church. Many of the future events revealed in the Bible involved Jewish people and city of Jerusalem. Also, we could not understand the conflicts in the holy land if we do not have any ideas of historical conflicts of Israel with its neighbors.

 

以色列的歷史

I.  介紹

從信徒的角度來看，我應該熟悉以色列的歷史，以便對當前的世界局勢和即將到來的末日預言有更好的了解。 這個主題對來自遠東文化的人們特別重要，因為我們離猶太文化如此之遙，而且也的確不了解他們。當我們談論以色列歷史時，我們將專注於與聖經啟示相關的歷史事件。。 我們的興趣在於聖經中揭示和預言之猶太歷史上的重大事件。

 

您可能會問為什麼要研究此主題。 對我而言，人類的歷史與被選民族猶太人的歷史，以及基督教教會的歷史交織在一起。 聖經中揭示的許多未來事件都涉及猶太人和耶路撒冷城。 此外，如果我們對以色列與其鄰國的歷史衝突沒有任何了解，我們就無法理解聖地的衝突。

 

II.   History of Israel

1. Abrahamic Covenant
(a) First of all, it all started with God’s sovereignly entered a Covenant relationship with Abraham. As you know, a covenant is an agreement between two parties. In ancient time, a middle east custom of entering a covenant was for each party to walk through a path which had two halves of a slaughtered animal placing at each side of the path. 
(b) What so unique about the Abraham covenant with God are: (1) an agreement of a created  finite being with his infinite Creator, (2) this covenant was initiated by God and agreed by both parties, and (3) ceremonially only God went through the path mentioned above. (See Genesis  Chapter 15). Even more fascinating was that God’s promise to Abraham was acted before the ceremonial act of God. “5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” 8 He said, “O Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?”  (Genesis 15:5-8). Thus, the ceremony of the Covenant was to assure Abraham.
(c) What so important about the Abrahamic Covenant is that it provides the basis for possession of the land claimed by the Israel later. Genesis 15:18-21,“18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,“To your descendants I have given this land,From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:19 the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite 20 and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim 21 and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.” 
(d) We should all know that Abrahamic Covenant came after the following historical events:
    (i) After Adam and Eve sinned and were evicted from the paradise.
    (ii) After the Flood that destroyed the whole human race except Noah’s family (8 people)
    (iii) After The Babel tower event in that God confused the human language.
    (iv) After God called Abram to leave his home land to a promised land (Genesis 12:1-4)
(e)  Time and Place of Abraham Covenant- 
    (i) Time: About 1921 BCE (Abram was born around 1996 BCE and he left Haran to Canaan when he was 75)
    (ii) Place: The oak of Moreh, the site of Shechem,(See Genesis 12:6)

 

二。 以色列歷史

1. 亞伯拉罕之約
(a) 首先，一切始於上帝主權地與亞伯拉罕建立的盟約關係。 如您所知，盟約是雙方之間的協議。 在遠古時代，中東人進入盟約的習俗是通過這種方式: 取屠宰牛或羊的一半放在一邊，取屠宰牛或羊的另一半放在另一邊，讓每一方都走過宰殺動物兩半的中間立約。
(b) 亞伯拉罕與上帝立約的獨特之處在於：（1）是有限被造者與他的無限創造主達成的協議；（2）該立約是由上帝發起並得到雙方的同意；（3）儀式上只有上帝通過 上面提到的立約禮儀。 （見創世記第15章）。 更加令人驚訝的是，上帝對亞伯拉罕的應許是在上帝的立約禮儀行為之前的。創世記 15:5-8, “5 於是領他走到外邊，說：「你向天觀看，數算眾星，能數得過來嗎？」又對他說：「你的後裔將要如此。」 6 亞伯蘭信耶和華，耶和華就以此為他的義。 7 耶和華又對他說：「我是耶和華，曾領你出了迦勒底的吾珥，為要將這地賜你為業。」 8 亞伯蘭說：「主耶和華啊，我怎能知道必得這地為業呢？」”。 因此，盟約的儀式是上帝向亞伯拉罕保證。
(c) 《亞伯拉罕盟約》如此重要的是，它為以色列後來佔有的土地提供了基礎。創世記 15:18-21, “18 當那日，耶和華與亞伯蘭立約，說：「我已賜給你的後裔，從埃及河直到伯拉大河之地， 19 就是基尼人、基尼洗人、甲摩尼人、 20 赫人、比利洗人、利乏音人、 21 亞摩利人、迦南人、革迦撒人、耶布斯人之地。」”
(d) 我們都應該知道亞伯拉罕之約是在以下歷史事件之後發生的：(i）亞當和夏娃犯罪並被逐出樂園之後。（ii）洪水摧毀了除諾亞一家（8人）之外的整個人類（iii）在巴別通天塔事件之後，上帝混淆了人類的語言。（iv）在上帝呼召亞伯蘭離開他的家園到應許之地之後（創世記12：1-4）
(e) 亞伯拉罕聖約的時間和地點: 時間: 大約 公元前 1921 (他75歲離開哈蘭, 他出生於公元前1996年),  地點: 示劍地方，摩利橡樹那裡，在迦南地（創世記12：6）

 

2. From Abraham to Jacob - Where Israel came from?

(a)  From Abraham and Sarah came the son Isaac. From Isaac and Rebecca came their second son Jacob. There were couple of events happened to Jacob that were important to our study. 
(b) Jacob pretended to be Esau, his oldest brother, and deceived his father, Isaac, to bless him with the Esau’s blessing. His mother received the information that Esau planned to kill Jacob, sent Jacob away to Haran, where his uncle Laban lived.
(c) On his way to Haran, Jacob came to a place to rest after sunset. He had a dream that there was a stair standing from the earth to heaven and the Lord standing above it and blessed him. See Genesis 28:12-19,  God reaffirmed His promise to Abraham to him and promised “the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.” This is very important because, out of Jacob came the twelve tribes of Israel, this promise belongs to Israel.
(d) Later on after his long service years to his uncle Laban and married his uncle’s two daughters( Leah and Rachel), Jacob went home with all his family. On his way home, he had an event of wresting an angel of the Lord all night long and refusing to let the angel go unless  the angel bless him. This angel changed his name from Jacob to Israel and did bless him.
(e) From Jacob and Leah came the tribes of Israel: 1. Reuben, 2. Simeon, 3. Levi, 4. Judah, 9. Issachar, and 10. Zebulun.
      From Jacob and Rachel’s maid, Bilhah: 5. Dan, and 6. Naphtali.
      From Jacob and Leah’s maid, Zipah: 7. Gad, and 8. Asher. 
      From Jacob and Rachel: 11. Joseph, and 12. Benjamin. 

 

2.從亞伯拉罕到雅各-以色列從哪裡來？

(a)  從亞伯拉罕和撒拉生兒子以撒。 從以撒和利百加生他們的次子雅各。 我們來研討發生在雅各身上的一些事件。
(b) 雅各假裝是他的大哥以掃，欺騙了父親以撒，以長子以掃的身份祝福他。 他的母親收到了以掃計劃殺死雅各的情報，將雅各送往哈蘭，他的叔叔拉班住在那裡。
(c) 在去哈蘭的路上，雅各在日落之後來到一個休息的地方。 他有一個夢，看到有一個梯子從大地通到天上，而主上帝站在它上面並祝福他。(創世記 28:12-14) “我是耶和華你祖亞伯拉罕的神，也是以撒的神，我要將你現在所躺臥之地賜給你和你的後裔。 14 你的後裔必像地上的塵沙那樣多，必向東西南北開展。地上萬族必因你和你的後裔得福”。因為以色列的十二個支派從雅各那裡出來，這祝福是非常重要的，是上帝對以色列的祝福。
(d) 雅各長期服侍叔叔拉班，娶叔叔的兩個女兒，大的名叫利亞，小的名叫拉結。20年後，雅各想家，雅各與家人一起回家。 在回家的路上，他發生了整夜與主的天使搏鬥的事件，除非天使祝福他，否則他拒絕讓天使離開。 這個天使把他的名字從雅各改成了以色列，並祝福了他。
(e) 以色列十二支派來源 (創世記 35:23-26)
從雅各和利亞：1.流便，2.西緬，3.利未，4.猶大，9.以薩迦，10.西布倫。
從雅各和拉結的女僕辟拉：5.但，6.拿弗他利
從雅各和利亞的女僕悉帕：7.迦得，8.亞設
從雅各和拉結：11.約瑟，12.便雅憫 。

3. From Jacob to Moses and Joshua (About 450 years: 400yrs Egypt+40yrs in wildness+10 yrs conquer)

(a) Jacob lived in the land of Canaan. We knew the story of Joseph being sold  by his brothers to a caravan of Ishmaelites on their way to Egypt and how God prepared Joseph to become Chancellor of Egypt under  Pharaoh. This was to prepare for saving Jacob’s family escaping to Egypt due to severe famine.
 (b) After moving to Egypt, Israel became prosperous and were eventually got envy by the locals. After the passing of Joseph, new Pharaoh ruled and treated Israel badly  and placed them under slavery.
(c) It is interesting to note that in God’s promise to Abram: 13 God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. (Genesis 15:13). This was prophesied at least three generations before it happened.(i.e., Abram  to Issac to Jacob to Joseph). This is indeed a great lesson on prophesy. God is in control but He gave only the outcome without giving detailed settings. But it is certain what God said will come to pass in due time.
(d) Moses led Israel out of Egypt - Under Egyptian slavery, Israelis people cried to their God and the Lord heard their cries and sent Moses to save them. This part of history was recorded in Exodus. A very important aspect of this history involved the giving of the Law through Moses and  the establishment of a Leviticus sacrifices offering system through Arron and his sons.
(e) Joshua led the Israel to conquer the promised land and to distribute the land among Israelis tribes  in the promised land.  The book of Joshua recored this period of the Israel history including the settling down in the promised land. Distribution of the land among Israelis tribes meant that a tribe was assigned to a certain region of the promised land and it was up to them to conquer and secure the region promised to them. This was also an important aspect of historical lesson. God guaranteed the delivery of their enemies to them, but it was up to their faith to take action to conquer the promised land. God would help them and provided all necessary means to guarantee the final outcome. Faith always means action according to God’s will.
(f) Here we mentioned that Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Israelis were descendants of Shem. Canaanites were descendants of Ham. Canaan was a grandson of Noah. He was cursed by Noah. Genesis 9:25-27, 25 So he said, “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants. He shall be to his brothers.” 26 He also said,“Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant. 27 “May God enlarge Japheth, And let him dwell in the tents of Shem; And let Canaan be his servant.”

 

3.  從雅各到摩西和約書亞（大約450年：埃及400年+ 荒野40年+ 征服10年）

(a)  雅各住在迦南地。 我們知道約瑟被其兄弟出賣給，前往埃及的途中以實瑪利人商隊，以及上帝如何使約瑟成為法老王下的埃及總理的故事。 這是為了拯救雅各的家族，後來因嚴重飢荒逃到埃及作準備。
(b) 移居埃及後，以色列變得繁榮強壯起來，最終被當地人妒忌。 約瑟逝世後，新的法老王統治埃及，虐待以色列，並將他們置於奴隸制之下。
(c) 有趣的是上帝很早就預言了這件事，在神對亞伯蘭的應許中: “13 耶和華對亞伯蘭說：「你要的確知道，你的後裔必寄居別人的地，又服侍那地的人，那地的人要苦待他們四百年 (創世記 15:13)。這預言至少經過三代人的預言（即亞伯蘭、以撒、雅各至約瑟）。 這確實是關於預言的重要教訓。 上帝控制了一切，但祂只預言出了結果，沒有給出詳細的情況。 但是可以肯定的是，上帝所說的話將在適當的時候實現。
(d) 摩西帶領以色列人離開埃及。在埃及的奴隸制下，以色列人民向他們的上帝哭泣，而耶和華聽到他們的呼喊，並派遣摩西拯救他們。 這部分歷史記錄在「出埃及記」中。 這段歷史的一個非常重要的方面涉及通過摩西頒布律法，以及通過亞倫和他的兒子們建立「利未記」獻祭制度。
(e) 約書亞帶領以色列征服了應許之地，並在應許之地的以色列支派之間分配了這片土地。 「約書亞記」描述了以色列歷史的這一時期，包括在應許之地定居。 在以色列支派之間分配土地意味著將一個支派分配到應許土地的某個地區，但征服和確保應許給他們的地區取決於他們。 這也是歷史的重要教訓。 上帝保證將敵人交給他們，但要採取行動征服應許之地，這取決於他們的信念。 上帝會幫助他們，並提供一切必要手段保證最終結果。 信仰永遠意味著按照上帝的旨意行事。
(f) 在這裡我們還提到以色列征服了是迦南人之地。挪亞的有三個兒子: 閃、含和雅弗。以色列人是閃的後裔。迦南人是含的後裔。迦南是挪亞的孫子，他被挪亞詛咒成為閃的僕人: 創世記 9:25-26, 25 就說：「迦南當受咒詛！必給他弟兄做奴僕的奴僕。」 26 又說：「耶和華閃的神是應當稱頌的！願迦南做閃的奴僕。27 願神使雅弗擴張，使他住在閃的帳篷裡，又願迦南做他的奴僕。」

 

4. Period of Judges ( About 450 years per Acts 13: 20)

(a) The period of Judges spanned between Joshua and the period of Samuel that Israelis had a king to rule them. The period of Judges was interesting in that “25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” (Judges 21:25). It was a historical period about 430 years ruled loosely by about a dozen or so judges. 
(b) After the passing of Joshua and elders, Israel tribes got astray and forgot their God and did evil things in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord delivered Israel to their enemies. The enemies prosecuted them and enslaved them. Then, Israel remembered their God and cried to God for delivery from their miseries. God raised a judge to deliver them and ruled them for a period of time. Then, Israel forgot their God again and worshipped other gods and the miseries started all over again. Israel cried to God again for their miseries and God raised another judge to deliver them from their enemies. Judging from the number of judges in this period, it was easy to see how many times that Israel wondering away from their God. Very sad indeed! But judging from human history in general and Israelis history in particular, due to depravity of our fallen human nature, it is indeed the norm for people to do their evil things and to do what is right in their eyes.  Only the remnants heard God’s call and were faithful in carrying out the actions of God.

 

4.  士師記時期（根據使徒行傳13:20, 約450年）

(a)  士師記的時期介於約書亞和撒母耳時期，以色列人還沒有國王來統治他們。 士師記的時期很有趣：” 25 那時以色列中沒有王，各人任意而行。” （士師記21:25）。 這是一個大約430年的歷史時期，由大約十二名士師鬆散地統治以色列。
(b) 約書亞和以色列長老過世後，以色列支派誤入歧途，忘記了他們的上帝，在耶和華眼前做了惡事。於是主將以色列交給了敵人，敵人虐待並奴役了他們。然後，以色列想起了他們的上帝，並向上帝哭喊要從痛苦中解救他們。上帝興起了一位士師來解救他們，並統治了一段時間。然後，以色列再次忘記了他們的上帝並崇拜其他神，痛苦再次來臨。以色列再次因痛苦而向上帝哭泣，上帝又興起了一位士師將他們從敵人中救出來。從這一時期興起的士師人數來看，很容易看出以色列有多少次離開自己的上帝。確實很傷心！但是從人類的總體歷史，尤其是以色列的歷史來看，由於我們墮落的人性，這確實是人們各人任意而行的世界。只有餘數的少數人的聽到了上帝的召喚，並忠於執行上帝的行動。

5. Period of Kings ( About 450 years: 1037-586 BCE)

(a) King Saul, King David, and King Solomon - King David and King Solomon were the golden period of Israel history. It was during Kind David time that he first conquered the city of Jerusalem around 1000 BC. We should also know that King Solomon built the first Jewish temple.
(b) We should realize that conflicts were always there due to Israel need to fight for their existence and survival. The land of Palestine is located very near to various empires in Asian and in Europe and in Egypt and hence always had conflicts from invasions of various parties. Yet, despite all those invasions, Israel people are still living in the promised land while all other big players such as Persia, Assyria, Babylonia, Greek, Roman, Ottoman, Stalin, Hitler and more are all gone. Praise the Lord!
(c) After Solomon, United Kingdom of Israel and Judah split  into the Northern kingdom (Kingdom of Israel) and the Southern kingdom (Kingdom of Judah). 
(d) According to the Old Testament Bible, the territory of the Kingdom of Israel comprised the territories of the tribes of Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and Gad. Its capital was Samaria according to the Book of Isaiah.The Kingdom of Israel existed roughly from 930 BCE until 720 BCE. All kings in the Northern kingdom weren’t faithful to the Lord their God and hence was conquered and destroyed by the Neo-Assyrian Empire. 
(e) After the death of Solomon in about 931 BCE, most of the Israelite tribes (ten Northern tribes) except for Judah and Benjamin refused to accept Rehoboam, the son and successor of Solomon, as their king. Only a few kings in the Southern kingdom were faithful to their God.The Kingdom of Judah was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE.
(f) If we take the reign of King Saul as 1037-1010 BCE; King David as 1010-970BCE; King Solomon as 970-931BCE, then this period is from 1037 to 586 BCE or about 450 years.
(g) One key thing to remember: Throughout history,  Israel existed prosperously if they obey their God. Israel people were scattered among the gentile countries if Israel forgot their God and worshiped other gods.

 

5.  國王時期（大約450年：公元前1037-586年）

(a)  掃羅王，大衛王和所羅門王。 大衛王和所羅門王是以色列歷史的黃金時期。 正是在“大衛王”時期，他才在公元前1000年左右征服了耶路撒冷。 我們還應該知道，所羅門王建造了第一個猶太聖殿。
(b) 我們應該認識到，由於以色列需要為生存而鬥爭，因此衝突始終存在。 巴勒斯坦的地區非常靠近亞洲，歐洲和埃及的各個帝國，因此，總是因各方入侵而發生衝突。 然而，儘管發生了所有這些入侵衝突，以色列人民今天仍然生活在應許的土地上，而其他所有大國如波斯，亞述，巴比倫，希臘，羅馬，奧斯曼帝國，斯大林，希特勒等等都消失了。 讚美耶和華！
(c) 所羅門之後，以色列聯合王國分裂為北部王國（以色列王國）和南部王國（猶大王國）。
(d) 根據舊約聖經，以色列王國的領土包括西布倫，以薩迦，迦得，亞設，但，拿弗他利，瑪拿西，以法蓮，和流便的領土。 根據《以賽亞書》，它的首都是撒馬利亞。以色列王國大約存在於公元前930年至公元前720年之間。 北部王國的所有國王都不忠於他們的主上帝，因此被新亞述帝國征服並摧毀。
(e) 公元前931年所羅門去世後，除猶大和便雅憫 外，大多數以色列支派（北部的十個支派）拒絕接受所羅門的兒子和繼承者羅波安為國王。 南部王國中只有幾位國王忠於他們的上帝。公元前586年，新巴比倫帝國摧毀了猶大王國。
(f) 如果我們將掃羅王統治於公元前1037-1010年， 大衛王公元前1010-970年； 所羅門王為公元前970-931年，那麼這個時期是從公元前1037年到586 年或大約450年。
(g) 要記住的一關鍵事：在整個歷史中，以色列只要服從上帝，就會繁榮昌盛。 如果以色列忘記了他們的上帝並敬拜其他神，以色列人民就會散佈在各邦國之間。

 

6.   Exile to Babylon as Captivities (From 586 BCE to 538 BCE)

(a)  The Babylonians defeated the Jewish nation in a war in 606 BCE. and so the Israelites lost their independence that year. In 586 BCE, Babylonia King Nebuchadnezzar  conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the city and the Temple that Solomon had built. The Israelites were exiled in several waves to Babylon since 606 BCE. This fulfilled the prophesy of Moses: “63 Just as it pleased the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.  64 Then the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.” (Deuteronomy 28:63-64)
(b) Daniel and his three friends were part of the captured spoil taken to Babylonia in the first wave of deportation which occurred in 606 BCE. Daniel prayed to his God three times a day and determined not to be contaminated by king’s feast and wines.  Daniel excelled in Babylonia  by God’s provision in interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.  In earlier history, God used the similar process in elevating Joseph in the Pharaoh Egypt by enabling Joseph to interpret  the Pharaoh dream.
(c) By studying Scripture, Daniel knew from Prophet Jeremiah that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. Daniel pleaded with the Lord to restore Jerusalem. This resulted in Angel Gabriel ’s visit and revealed the famous 70 times 7 prophesy  concerning  Israel and Jerusalem to Daniel  (See Daniel chapter 9), which revealed Jerusalem would be rebuilt at 62 times 7. This prophesy of rebuilding Jerusalem and Temple was fulfilled by God’s instrument  King Cyrus of Persia’s  decree at 538BCE. Incidentally, there were several decrees related to the rebuilding the Temple and The City of Jerusalem: King Cyrus (Ezra 1), King Darius (Ezra 6), King Artaxerxes (Ezra 7), and King Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 2).  Also, Babylon was conquered in 539 B.C., by Persian King Cyrus the Great. 
(d) Rebuilding Jerusalem and Temple were indeed a big task. There were several waves of Jewish returns( i.e., Sheshbazzar/ Zerubbabel ( in 538BCE), Scribe Ezra(in 457 BCE), and Prophet Nehemiah (in 445BCE)).   In the first wave of return, the number of Jewish people returned to build Jerusalem was around 50,000.  the rebuilt projects were under the collective management of Joshua and Zerubbabel (See Ezra 3:1-2).
(e) Since a sizable of Jews stayed at Babylonia, they adopted to their host countries for several thousands of years. The book of Ester described some aspects of this type of the captivity living. You might wonder where was the legionary city of Babylon located? The ruins of Babylon can be found in modern-day Iraq, about 52 miles to the southwest of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. In its  ancient hay days, Babylonia was an important trade hub of the Mesopotamian civilization.

 

6.  被流放到巴比倫為奴（公元前586年至公元前538年）

(a)  巴比倫人在公元前606年的一場戰爭中擊敗了猶太民族。 因此，以色列人在那年失去了獨立。 公元前586年，巴比倫國王尼布甲尼撒征服了耶路撒冷，並摧毀了所羅門建造的城市和聖殿。 自公元前606年以來，以色列人就多次被流放到巴比倫。 這滿足了摩西的預言：
“63 先前耶和華怎樣喜悅善待你們，使你們眾多，也要照樣喜悅毀滅你們，使你們滅亡，並且你們從所要進去得的地上必被拔除。 64 耶和華必使你們分散在萬民中，從地這邊到地那邊，你必在那裡侍奉你和你列祖素不認識、木頭石頭的神。” (申命記 28:63-64)

(b)  但以理和他的三個朋友是在公元前606年發生的第一波被放逐中，被帶到巴比倫的戰利品的一部分。 但以理一天三度向他的上帝祈禱，並決心不被國王的盛宴和美酒所污染。 但以理在上帝的詮釋尼布甲尼撒國王的夢中被巴比倫王重用。 在較早的歷史中，上帝使用了類似的過程，使約瑟通過能夠解釋法老的夢，被埃及法老重用。

(c)  通過學習聖經，但以理從先知耶利米得知，耶路撒冷的荒蕪將持續七十年。 但以理懇求上帝恢復耶路撒冷。 這導致了天使加百列的到訪，並向但以理揭示了有關以色列和耶路撒冷的著名70個7預言（參見但以理書第9章），該預言顯示耶路撒冷將在62個7後重建。 上帝使波斯國王居魯士在公元前538年下詔 。允許猶太人返回，重建 耶路撒冷和聖殿。順便說一句，頒布了重建 耶路撒冷和聖殿的幾項法令，包括居魯士王（以斯拉記1章），達魯迪王（以斯拉記6章），亞達薛西王（以斯拉記7章）和亞達薛西王（尼希米記2章）。 同樣，巴比倫在公元前539年被波斯國王居魯士大帝征服。

(d)  重建耶路撒冷和聖殿確實是一項艱鉅的任務。 有幾波猶太人回返浪潮。 例如，設巴薩/所羅 巴伯(公元前538年），律法師以斯拉（公元前457年）和先知尼希米（公元前445年））。 在第一波回返浪潮中，返回修築耶路撒冷的猶太人數約為50,000。 重建的項目由約書亞和所羅巴伯共同管理（見以斯拉記3:1-2)。

(e)  由於相當數量的猶太人留在巴比倫，他們適應了當地文化數千年。 《以斯帖記》描述了這種圈養生活的某些方面。 您可能想知道大名鼎鼎巴比倫城市在哪裡？ 巴比倫的遺址可以在現代伊拉克中找到，距伊拉克首都巴格達西南約52英里。 在古老的時代，巴比倫是美索不達米亞文明的重要貿易樞紐。

 

7.  Return From Exile Under  the Persians ( About 200 years)

(a) The Jews were not an independent country but a subordinate under the Persian Empire. For reference, Persian kings were King Cyrus (reign 550-530BC), King Darius (r. 522-486 BC), King Xerxes (r. 485-465BC), and King Artaxerxes (r. 464-424BC).  Under King Darius, the second temple was built in basic form (c. 537–516 BC) by Zerubbabel, but it was nothing like the first temple. However, the sacrifices were offered again from the rebuilt second temple.
(b) Under King Xerxes, the events in Esther occurred. Under King Artaxerxes, the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt by Nehemiah.
(c) The Persian Empire was a true great empire stretching from northern borders of Greece down through the Egypt and  eastwardly toward the borders of India. They ruled the Mediterranean world for over two centuries.  

 

7. 在波斯人的統治下流亡返回（約200年）

(a)  以色列不是一個獨立的國家，而是波斯帝國的下屬。作為參考，波斯國王是古列王（公元前550-530年)，大利烏王（公元前522-486年)，薛西王（公元前485-465年）和亞達薛西王（公元前464-424年）。在波斯王大利烏統治時期，所羅巴伯建造第二聖殿。 大約在公元前537年至公元前516年完成，所羅巴伯以基本形式建造，但這完全不像第一聖殿的壯麗輝煌。 但是，獻祭犧牲是從重建的第二聖殿再次提供的。
(b) 在薛西王統治下，以斯帖記載的事件發生了。 在亞達薛西王統治下，耶路撒冷的城牆由尼希米重建完成。
(c) 波斯帝國是一個真正的偉大帝國，從希臘的北部邊界一直延伸到埃及，再向東延伸到印度的邊界。 他們統治了地中海世界兩個多世紀。

 

8. Under the Greeks (From 336 BCE for about 200 years)

(a) In 334 BCE, Alexandra the Great invaded the Persian empire and began a series of wars lasting about 10 years. He reigned the Persians from 330 to 323 BCE. 
(b) Alexander ruled the Greek as the King of Macedon from 336- 323 BCE.
(c) After the death of Alexander in 323 BCE, his empire settled into four stable power blocs: Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Mesopotamia and Central Asia, Attalid Anatolia, and Antigonid Macedon. Thus, Jews were under the influences of Seleucid empire and Greek.
(d) Same as before, Jewish state was a Greek province with a temporary independence with Maccabean revolt, lasting from 167 to 160 BCE.

 

8. 在希臘人統治下（從公元前336年起持續200年）

(a) 公元前334年，亞歷山大大帝入侵了波斯帝國，並開始了持續約10年的一系列戰爭。 他在公元前330至323年間統治波斯。
(b) 從公元前336年至323年，亞歷山大以馬其頓國王統治希臘。
(c) 亞歷山大在公元前323年去世後，他的帝國分裂成四個穩定的權力集團：托勒密·管轄埃及;塞琉古·管轄美索不達米亞和中亞，安塔利亞·管轄安納托利亞和安蒂岡·管轄馬其頓。 因此，猶太人受到塞琉古帝國和希臘的影響。
(d) 與以前一樣，以色列是希臘的下屬，以色列因馬卡比起義而暫時獨立，從公元前167年持續到公元前160年。

 

9. Under the Romans (From 63 BCE to 70 AD)

(a)  Jerusalem was conquered  in 63 BCE by the Roman general Pompey in his eastern campaign.  Julius Caesar conquered Alexandria in 47 BCE and defeated Pompey in 45 BCE. Thus, Jews were under the Roman control since 63 BCE and Roman Empire annexed Israel as a Roman province in 6 AD.
(b) Our Lord Jesus came to the earth in 3 BCE and died at the cross in 30 AD and resurrected 3 days later to save those who believe in Him.
(c) Herod did expand the rebuilt of  the second temple from 20 BCE and lasting 46 years. He doubled the area of the Temple Mount and surrounded it by a wall with gates. He completely overhauled the temple into the large and magnificent edifices and facades. So the second temple was complete when our Lord visited it in His ministry.
(d) In Mark 13:1-2,” 13 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” 2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Here, our Lord predicted the destroy of the second temple.  This was due to the rejection of Jesus Christ by His own people. Matthews 27: 24-25, “ 24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” 25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” The second temple was completely burned and destroyed in AD 70 by the Romans. Only the Kotel remained to this date. The Jews were deported as slaves across the Roman Empire and the sacrificial system was completed stopped as well. As a matter of facts, Jews lost their nation and were scattered throughout the world for twenty centuries. Sad indeed!

 

9.  在羅馬人統治下（從公元前63年到公元70年）
 
 (a) 公元前63年，羅馬將軍龐培在他的東部戰役中攻陷了耶路撒冷。凱撒大帝在公元前47年征服了亞歷山大，並在公元前45年擊敗了龐培。 因此，以色列自公元前63年起就受到羅馬的控制，羅馬帝國在公元6年吞併了以色列，成為羅馬的一個省。
(b) 我們的主耶穌於公元前3年來到世上，並於公元30年在十字架上死去，並在三天后復活，以拯救那些相信他的人。
(c) 希律確實從公元前20年開始，擴大了第二聖殿的重建，持續了46年。 他將聖殿山的面積擴大了一倍，並用牆包圍著。 他將聖殿徹底翻修成了宏偉壯觀的建築物和外牆。 因此，當我們的主耶穌在聖殿傳道時，聖殿已經完成了。
(d) 馬可福音 13:1-2, 13 耶穌從殿裡出來的時候，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？將來在這裡沒有一塊石頭留在石頭上不被拆毀了。」在這裡，我們的主預言了第二聖殿的毀滅， 這是由於他自己的人民以色列拒絕了耶穌基督。馬太福音 27:24-25, 24 彼拉多見說也無濟於事，反要生亂，就拿水在眾人面前洗手，說：「流這義人的血，罪不在我，你們承當吧！」 25 眾人都回答說：「他的血歸到我們和我們的子孫身上！」第二聖殿在公元70年被羅馬人完全燒毀。 到目前為止，只有哭牆仍然存在。 猶太人被驅逐為整個羅馬帝國的奴隸，並且祭祀制度也已停止。 事實上，猶太人失去了國家，並流浪散佈在全世界二十個世紀。 確實可悲的歷史殘酷事實！

 

10. Worldwise Exiles (about 1900 years)

(a)  Since AD 70, Jews were dispersed worldwide in foreign lands and usually under prosecution. Example were: Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal in 1492; 1821 Odessa by the local Greeks; 1881-1884 anti Jewish riots and programs in Imperial Russia; Hitler, through Nazi Germany, exterminated around 6 millions Jews living in Europe with concentration camps and gas chambers, etc.
(b) The curses of Moses reflected the true miseries of Jews in this period. “65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart.” ( Deuteronomy 28:65)
(c) But Why!? Because they crucified their Christ and because they forsake their God.” 25 And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt  “ ( Deuteronomy 29:25). Very sad history indeed!  During last two thousand years, Jewish people did receive very unfair prosecutions in many places including Middle East countries, in Europe, and in Russia. God loves His chosen people- Israel, and all Christians shall support Israel.
(d) During 0- 330 AD: During this period, the land of Palestine was under the Roman Empire. It was also the crucial period that Christian church was born under the ministry of Jesus Christ and His disciples, particularly St. Paul’s missionary journeys. During this period, Christians were prosecuted by the Romans and by the Jewish religion establishment during the first 70 years. After the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Second Temple by the Romans, Jews were exiled out of Israel. Both Jews and Christians were prosecuted by the Romans. See 1 Peter for the suffering of the Christian churches during this period. The year 330 AD was quite special because Christianity became the Roman state religion.
(e) The Roman Empire became so big that it was split  around 285 AD by Emperor Diocletian into two for more effective administrations- Western Rome with capital at Rome and Eastern Rome (later called the Byzantine Empire) with capital at Constantinople.
(f) The Western Roman Empire had tangled with Germanic tribes for long time and ended in 476 AD when Rome was conquered by Odoacer, a German barbarian who proclaims himself king of Italy. After that, Europe became city states and various autonamous regions.
(g)  In 390 AD, Israel came under ruling of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire lasted till 1453 AD when Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Depending on which suzerain ruling the Byzantine Empire, Jews were treated differently. Generally, they were allowed to worship their ways. But, at times, they might be treated ruthlessly and restricted with where to live, banned from marriage between Jews and Christians, and prohibited molesting the converted Jewish christians, etc.
(h) The rise of the Ottoman Empire (1299- 1923) caused more complexities in  the Israel history. The Ottoman Empire stretched from Western Asia to Northern Africa, and Southeastern Europe. Palestine including Jerusalem came under the Ottoman Empire control around 1512 AD.
(i) Overall, Ottoman rule was much more tolerant to Jews than Byzantine rule had been. Prosecutions of Jews from the popes and from Catholic countries caused many exiles of Jews into the Ottoman Empire. Exiles of the prosecuted Jews included, but not limited to the following: exile from Hungary in 1376 AD, from France in 1393, from Salonika in 1420’s, from Bavaria in 1470, from Apulia(Italy) in 1537, from Bohemia in 1542, from Sicily early in the 15th century, and from massacres of Poland and Ukraine in 1660. In 1492, the Spain ordered the expulsion of the Jews from the country for the unconverted Jews. Portugal did the same in 1497. These were the infamous Sephardic Exiles. 
(j) From the early 15th century on, the Ottoman empire welcomed Jews immigrants. As far as each paid the head tax and accepted the supremacy of Moslem, each non-Moslem religious community was responsible for its own institutions, including schools. Throughout its history, the Ottoman Empire was a place where Jews could live without fear of persecution, a comfort denied to them in most of Europe in the same period.
(k) Treatments of Christians were not the same under the Ottoman Empire. For example, the Hamidian massacres of 1894-1896, the Ottoman Empire killed between 100,000 and 300,000 of Armenians. Furthermore, the infamous Armenian genocide was the systematic mass murder and expulsion of 1.5 million  ethnic Armenians carried out in Turkey and adjoining regions by the Ottoman government between 1914 and 1923.

 

10.  世界流放者（大约1900年）

(a)  自公元70年以來，猶太人散佈在世界各地的外國土地上，通常受到壓榨迫害。 例如：1492-1494年，猶太人被從西班牙和葡萄牙驅逐出境； 1821年被當地希臘人驅逐； 1881-1884年俄羅斯帝國的反猶太暴動和壓榨； 希特勒通過納粹德國以集中營和毒氣室等方式消滅了約600萬居住在歐洲的猶太人。
(b) 摩西的詛咒反映了這一時期猶太人的真正痛苦。申命記 28:65, 65 在那些國中，你必不得安逸，也不得落腳之地；耶和華卻使你在那裡心中跳動，眼目失明，精神消耗。
(c) 但為什麼！？ 因為他們釘死了他們的基督，並且因為他們遺棄了他們的上帝。申命記 29:25, “25 人必回答說：『是因這地的人離棄了耶和華他們列祖的神領他們出埃及地的時候與他們所立的約” 。確實非常可悲的歷史！ 在過去的2000年中，猶太人的確在中東，歐洲和俄羅斯等許多地方受到了非常不公正的迫害。 上帝愛他的選民-以色列，所有基督徒都應支持以色列。
(d) 在0-330年：在此期間，巴勒斯坦在羅馬帝國的統治下。 這也是基督教在耶穌基督和他門徒的帶領下誕生的關鍵時期，特別是聖保羅的傳教旅程。 在此期間，基督徒在頭70年被羅馬和猶太宗教機構迫害。 羅馬摧毀耶路撒冷城和第二聖殿後，猶太人被逐出以色列。 猶太人和基督徒都被羅馬人迫害。 請參閱彼得一書，了解這段時期基督教會的苦難。 公元330年非常特殊，因為基督教成為羅馬國教。
(e) 羅馬帝國的規模如此之大，以至於羅馬皇帝戴克里先在公元285年左右，將其分為兩部分，以建立更有效的政府體系：首都在羅馬的西羅馬帝國和首都在君士坦丁堡的東羅馬帝國（後稱拜占庭帝國）。
(f) 西羅馬帝國與日耳曼部落糾纏了很長時間，直到公元476年羅馬被奧多阿塞征服，奧多阿塞稱自己為意大利國王。 此後，歐洲成為城市國家和各個自治區。
(g) 公元390年，以色列受到拜占庭帝國的統治。 拜占庭帝國一直持續到公元1453年，君士坦丁堡被奧斯曼帝國征服後才結束。 在此期間，根據不同宗主統治拜占庭帝國，對猶太人的待遇有所不同。 通常，他們被允許猶太敬拜。 但有時，他們可能會受到殘酷對待，並受到居住地的限制，禁止猶太人和基督徒之間的婚姻，並禁止鎮壓和虐待猶太基督徒，等等。
(h) 奧斯曼帝國（1299-1923年）的崛起在以色列歷史上造成了更多的複雜性。 奧斯曼帝國從西亞延伸到北非和東南歐。 包括耶路撒冷在內的巴勒斯坦，在公元1512年左右被奧斯曼帝國控制。
(i) 總體而言，奧斯曼帝國的統治對猶太人的容忍度要比拜占庭帝國統治好多了。 從教皇和天主教國家對猶太人的迫害導致許多猶太人流亡到奧斯曼帝國。 被迫害猶太人的放逐包括以下：1376年從匈牙利流亡，1393年從法國流亡，1420年代從薩洛尼卡流放，1537年從巴伐利亞流放，1537年從意大利普利亞（Apulia）流放，1542年從波希米亞流放， 15世紀的西西里島，以及1660年波蘭和烏克蘭的大屠殺。1492年，西班牙下令將不願意改信天主教猶太人從該國驅逐出境，。 葡萄牙在1497年也這樣做。這就是臭名昭著的西班牙流放。
(j) 從15世紀初開始，奧斯曼帝國就歡迎猶太移民。 只要每個人繳納人頭稅並接受穆斯林的至高無上，每個非穆斯林的宗教團體都可以治理自己的機構，包括學校 、宗教等等。 在整個歷史中，奧斯曼帝國是一個猶太人可以生活而又不用擔心遭受迫害的地方，這比在同期的歐洲大部分地區好多了。
(k) 在奧斯曼帝國時期，基督徒的待遇是不同的。 例如，1894年至1896年的哈米德大屠殺，奧斯曼帝國殺死了10萬至30萬亞美尼亞人。 此外，臭名昭著的亞美尼亞種族滅絕是奧斯曼政府在1914年至1923年間在土耳其及其毗鄰地區對150萬亞美尼亞人進行的系統性大規模殺害和驅逐。亞美尼亞種族絕對多數97％是基督徒。

 

11. Re-birth of Modern Israel Nation
(a)  Due to Provision of God, Jews, without a home land, have been preserved even under severe prosecution and holocaust throughout the centuries. God is faithful and always keeps His promises.
Deuteronomy 30: 3-4, “3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. 4 Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. “ This was fulfilled in 1948 AD.

(b)  On November 29, 1947, the United Nations the Partition Resolution  that would divide Great Britain’s former Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states in May 1948. Under the resolution, the area of religious significance surrounding Jerusalem would remain under international control administered by the United Nations. When Israel officially declared independence on May 14, 1948. the surrounding five Arab armies invaded and war broke out. Arab armies were from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt. Saudi Arabia sent a formation that fought under the Egyptian command. The Jewish forces were composed of the Haganah, the underground militia of the Jewish community in Palestine, and two small irregular groups, the Irgun, and LEHI. Fighting continued into February , 1949 when armistice agreements was reached.

(c) The Recovery of Jerusalem in the 6-day Israel-Arab War in June 5-10,1967
Israel’s decisive victory included the capture of the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Old City of Jerusalem, and Golan Heights; the status of these territories subsequently became a major point of contention in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

(d)  Reformation of the Israel  as a nation and regain of Jerusalem as its capital were monumental events which announced the advent of the end time prophesy. It is noted that the United States Embassy officially relocated to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018, to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Israeli Declaration of Independence.

(e) Prophetic Significance of 1948 AD
For ease of explanation, note the following:
* Ezekiel predicted 430 years of exile for their sin. (see Ezekiel 4:4-8)
* Israel paid 70 years in their first exile  in Babylon as per Jeremiah 25:11. This means that there was 430-70=360 years to go in their exile.
* Multiply the punishment by 7 if not repented per Leviticus 26:18). This brings 360x7=2520 years.
Now the detailed computation follows:
* The Babylonian exile lasted from 606BCE to 537BCE which was 606-537=69.This was counted as Gregorian solar years. Now, convert the Jeremiah 70 years to the solar year by 70x(360/365.242)=69
* Now to convert 2520 years to the solar years. 2520x(360/365.242)=2484. Now add 2484 to 537 BCE=1948 AD, given that there was no year 0 in AD.

 

11.現代以色列國的重建

(a)  由於上帝的保守，好多世紀以來，即使受到嚴厲的迫害和大屠殺，猶太人也沒有家園，就得以保存下來。 上帝是忠實的，始終信守諾言。申命記 30:3-4, “3 那時耶和華你的神必憐恤你，救回你這被擄的子民。耶和華你的神要回轉過來，從分散你到的萬民中將你招聚回來。 4 你被趕散的人，就是在天涯的，耶和華你的神也必從那裡將你招聚回來”。這預言是在公元1948年實現的。
(b) 1947年11月29日，聯合國通過了一項分區決議，該決議於1948年5月將英國的前巴勒斯坦任務劃分為猶太人和阿拉伯國家。根據該決議，耶路撒冷周圍具有宗教意義的地區將繼續受到聯合國的國際控制管理 。 1948年5月14日以色列正式宣布獨立時，周圍的五支阿拉伯軍隊入侵，戰爭爆發。 阿拉伯軍隊來自黎巴嫩，敘利亞，伊拉克和埃及。 沙地阿拉伯派遣了一支在埃及指揮下戰鬥的編隊。 猶太部隊由哈加那，巴勒斯坦猶太社區的地下民兵和兩個小的不規則團體組成，分別是Irgun和LEHI。 戰鬥一直持續到1949年2月才達成停戰協定。
(c) 1967年6月5日至10日的為期6天的以色列-阿拉伯戰爭中，以色列終於收復耶路撒冷。以色列的決定性勝利包括佔領了西奈半島，加沙地帶(Gaza Strip)，西岸(West Bank)，耶路撒冷舊城和戈蘭高地。 這些領土的地位隨後成為阿以沖突的主要爭論點。
(d) 以色列國的重建和重新奪回耶路撒冷作為其首都的歷史性事件，宣告了末日預言的到來。 值得一提的是，美國駐以色列大使館於2018年5月14日正式遷往耶路撒冷，正值《以色列獨立宣言》成立70週年之日。
(e) 公元1948年的預言意義
為了便於說明，請注意以下幾點：
* 以西結預言因他們的罪將流亡430年。 （見以西結書4：4-8）
* 根據耶利米書25:11，以色列首次流亡在巴比倫已有70年之久。 這意味著剩餘流亡的時間是430-70 = 360年。
* 如果按利未記26:18，以色列未悔改，則將懲罰乘以7倍。 這帶來了剩餘流亡的時間是360x7 = 2520年。
*注意: 這裡的一年意味著360天，但是公曆太陽年是 365.242天
現在詳細的計算如下：
* 以色列首次流亡巴比倫，從公元前606年持續到公元前537年，即606-537 = 69公曆太陽年。
* 將耶利米70年轉換為公曆太陽年。 70x（360 / 365.242）= 69. 這符合於以色列首次流亡巴比倫的時間
* 現在將剩餘流亡的時間2520年，轉換為公曆太陽年。 2520x（360 / 365.242）= 2484。
* 現在從公元前537年 計算2484 年 = 1948 AD。(注意:  2484-537=1947, 因為沒有公元0年，所以1947+1= 1948)

12. Looking at the Present

(a) In closing, we need to pay attention to how the current events related to the revelations in the Bible. Listen to our Lord Jesus Christ’s teachings about being watchful for the current events. Luke 12:54-56, 54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?

(b) In the first quarter of the twenty first century, current situations are as follow:

* Most of the immediate threats to the Jewish people came from various terrorist groups supported by Iran government which has openly threatened to wipe out Israel. These terrorist groups are extreme jihadists, who are Islamists aiming to reorder government and society in accordance with Islamic law, or Sharia.
* Extreme jihadists groups including al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) destabilized the Middle East region and caused wars in Iraq and Syria. Thousands of refugees, mostly Christians and other religious minorities, fled the war zones. 
* Meanwhile, conflicts between and Israelis and Palestinians continue. 

 

12.  觀察現在

 (a) 最後，我們需要注意時事與聖經啟示之間的關係。 聽聽我們的主耶穌基督關於當心時事的教導。路加福音 12:54-56, 54 耶穌又對眾人說：「你們看見西邊起了雲彩，就說『要下一陣雨』，果然就有。 55 起了南風，就說『將要燥熱』，也就有了。 56 假冒為善的人哪，你們知道分辨天地的氣色，怎麼不知道分辨這時候呢？
(b) 在二十世紀的第一季度 (2000-2025)，當前情況如下：
* 對猶太人民的大多數直接威脅來自伊朗政府支持的各種恐怖組織，這些政府公開威脅要消滅以色列。 這些恐怖組織是極端的聖戰分子，他們是伊斯蘭主義者，旨在根據伊斯蘭法律（Sharia)對政府和社會進行重新改组。
* 阿蓋達組織 (al Qaeda)，伊拉克和敘利亞伊斯蘭國（ISIS）等極端聖戰組織破壞了中東地區的穩定，並在伊拉克和敘利亞引發了戰爭。 成千上萬的難民逃離了戰區，其中大多數是基督徒和其他宗教少數群體。
* 同時，以色列人與巴勒斯坦人之間的衝突仍在繼續。

 

13. What Are Coming in the Future

(a) Human beings are very much limited in everything  and cannot control the future. However, the Scripture revealed what are coming in the end time. Our Lord Jesus will return to rule and judge the world. See judgement in Matthew 25: 31-46; Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13, and Luke 21; and the revelation from Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation.

(b) In the Daniel’s 70-week prophesy, there was a break between the 69th week and the 70th week. We are now in this gap called the Church Age, which was called by Apostle Paul as the mystery not revealed until in New Testament time (See 1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 3:9-11). The 1948 formation of the Israel nation again was a necessary condition for Israel as a nation to carry the 70th week’s  revelation. Thus, the end is truly near.

 

13.  將來會發生什麼

 (a) 人類的一切都非常有限，無法控制未來。 然而，聖經揭示了末世將會發生什麼。 我們的主耶穌將重返地球，來統治世界並審判世界。 見馬太福音25：31-46中的審判。 馬太福音24和25，馬可福音13和路加福音21中的橄欖山論述話語； 以及《啟示錄》中耶穌基督的啟示。
(b) 在但以理書70週的預言中，第69周和第70週之間有一段間隔。 我們現在處於一個被稱為“教會時代”之中，這是使徒保羅稱之為直到新約時代才揭曉的歷代奧秘（見哥林多前書2：7，以弗所書3：9-11）。 1948年再次成立的以色列國，成為以色列可以履行第70周啟示的必要條件。 因此，末日確實臨近了。

 

III. Concluding Remarks
(a) Through the history of Israel, human depravities were abound. God told Israel that men will be blessed if they honor and obey God and will be cursed if they revolt against God and do evils in the sight of the Lord. Gospel is through Israel to the world. Thus the same law applies to all mankind.

(b) Men are not faithful. We all have responsibilities to teach our children about peace and prosperity and eternal life through the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

(c) For those people interesting in accuracy of the scripture prophesies, there was a precise counting of the calendar day that our Lord fulfilled in His  triumphant Psalm Sunday entry into Jerusalem as revealed by the Scripture.  Truly Amazing indeed and the truth will set us free from the deceptions of this world! Praise the Lord for His faithfulness! History is indeed His story! Praise His Holy Name forever and ever, Amen!

 

三， 結語

(a) 在以色列的歷史上，人類的墮落無處不在。 上帝告訴以色列，如果人們敬畏並服從上帝，他們將蒙受祝福；如果他們在上帝的眼中反叛上帝並行惡，就會受到詛咒。 福音通過以色列傳遍世界。 因此，同一法律適用於全人類。
(b) 人類是不忠實的。 我們所有人都有責任教導我們的孩子:  唯有通過信主耶穌基督，才有和平，繁榮與永生的祝福。
(c) 對於那些對聖經預言的準確性感興趣的人，就是我們的主騎著驢駒進入耶路撒冷之棕樹主日 (約翰福音 12:13, 3 就拿著棕樹枝出去迎接他，喊著說：「和散那！奉主名來的以色列王是應當稱頌的！」的棕樹主日) 是可以從但以理的69周預言，有一個精確計算的，預言的確是根據其時成就的。真是不可思議的精確! 真理的確會讓我們獲得自由，擺脫這個世界的欺騙！ 讚美主耶穌的忠誠信實！ 歷史確實是他的故事！ 永遠讚美崇拜他的聖名，阿們！

 

 

History of Jerusalem

 

I. Introduction

 

If we read the Bible for awhile, it is clear that Jerusalem occupied a very important role in the history of Jewish people and will play a key role in the End time events in the future. But for a Christian of the Far East cultures, I really do not have a good knowledge  base of history of Jerusalem. Because of this deficiency, presented below is a brief summary of the history of this fascinating city.

 

耶路撒冷的歷史

 

一。介紹

 

如果我們讀聖經，很顯然，耶路撒冷在猶太人民的歷史上起著非常重要的作用，並將在未來的末日事件中發揮關鍵作用。 但是對於一個遠東文化的基督徒來說，我確實對耶路撒冷的歷史並不了解。由於這種關係，下面簡要介紹了這座魅力城市的歷史。

 

II. Location of Jerusalem

 

Jerusalem is in Israel which is located in Palestine neighboring Jordan to the east, Lebanon and Syria to the north, Mediterranean sea to the east,  and Egypt to the southwest, in the Middle East region. Geographically, Palestine is in a region with heavy traffic from Europe to Western Asia and North Africa. Historically, there had been multiple conflicts and wars in Palestine due to power struggles of various empires in the region such as Assyria, Persia, Babylonia, Greek, Roman, Egypt, and Turkey.

 

二。 耶路撒冷的位置

 

耶路撒冷位於以色列，以色列位於中東的巴勒斯坦地區，東鄰約旦，北鄰黎巴嫩和敘利亞，東鄰地中海，西南鄰埃及。從地理上看，巴勒斯坦是一個從歐洲到西亞和北非的商貿中心地區。 歷史上，由於該地區各個帝國（如亞述，波斯，巴比倫，希臘，羅馬，埃及和土耳其）的權力鬥爭，巴勒斯坦發生了多次沖突和戰爭。

 

III. Why Study the History of Jerusalem

 

Once we have a basic understanding of what happened to this great city of antiquity throughout the past three thousand years, we would have the multiple benefits to our spiritual growth.

 

1. From actual historical events, we would have a reality check about how God dealt with His chosen people in various situations.
2. The story of Jerusalem is part of His story so that we are fully convicted that History is indeed His story.
3. All historical events were not randomly coming out of nowhere. God’s provision, righteousness, and grace as well as judgement  were all in them to show the world His faithfulness and mercies toward people who love God.
4. Significant redemption events were closely related with Jerusalem. If you are a good student of the Bible, you would know that many future end time events will be related with Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple.
5. A believer of Jesus Christ is part of the God’s family. All believers should know God’s Will, God’s plan, and God’s revelations about the future of the Church, the Jewish nation, and the world. Jerusalem is where the future actions at.
6. With the history of Jerusalem, we would understand better the current events happening in the Middle East.
7. With the history of Jerusalem, we would know the depravity of the human race across the history and truly hope the return of our Savior Jesus Christ to right the world.

 

三， 為什麼要研究耶路撒冷的歷史

 

一旦我們對過去三千多年的古代大城市發生了什麼有了基本的了解，我們就會獲得靈性成長的多重好處。

1. 從實際的歷史事件中，我們將對上帝在各種情況下如何對待他所揀選的人進行現實檢查。
2. 耶路撒冷的故事是他的故事 (His story)的一部分，因此我們完全確信歷史(History=His +story)確實是他的故事( His Story)。
3. 並非所有歷史事件都是隨機發生的。 上帝的供應，公義，恩典和審判都在其中，向世人展示他對愛上帝的人的忠誠和憐憫。
4. 重大的贖回事件與耶路撒冷密切相關。 如果您是聖經的好學生，您會知道將來很多末世的事件都會與耶路撒冷和猶太聖殿有關。
5. 耶穌基督的信徒是神家庭的一部分。 所有信徒都應該了解上帝的旨意，上帝的計劃，以及上帝對教會，猶太民族和世界未來的啟示。 耶路撒冷是未來末世的行動之所在。
6. 有了耶路撒冷的歷史，我們會更好地了解中東發生的當前事件。
7. 有了耶路撒冷的歷史，我們將了解人類在整個歷史上的墮落，並真正希望我們的救世主耶穌基督能夠重歸世界來審判世界。

 

IV. History of Jerusalem

 

A. From Around 2000 BCE to 1000 BCE In antiquity, we know that Palestine was inhabited by Canaanites. At the time of Abram, Jerusalem may be just a prototype of a village or small place in Canaan, which is current day Palestine.

 

B.  From Around 1000 BCE to 64 BCE

(1) Around 1010 BCE, King David attacked and captured Jerusalem. He made Jerusalem the city of David and it was the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel. In recorded history, this was the start of our study.

(2) Table 1 covers the main events of the period of 1000 to 586 BCE. This period shows the ends of the Northern Israel Kingdom at 720 BCE by Neo-Assyrian Empire and the Southern Kingdom Judah at 586 BCE by Neo-Babylonian Empire.

Table 1- In the period 1000 BCE to 586 BCE

 

WHEN (All Approximate Year)	WHO	WHAT
A. Period of Kings (1037-586 BCE)
Around 1010 BCE	King David	Captured Jerusalem and made it the City of David
	The United Kingdom of Israel	Jerusalem as its capital
962 BCE	King Solomon	Built the first Temple
930 BCE	Solomon died, Kingdom Split into:Judah (south); Israel (north)	Jerusalem, Capital of Kingdom of Judah
925 BCE	Pharaoh Sheshook I	Captured and Ransacked Jerusalem
850 BCE	Philistines, Arabs, Ethiopians	Ransacked Jerusalem and carried away king Jehoram
830 BCE	Hazael conquered Jerusalem	King Jehoash of Judah gave Jerusalem treasures as a tribute
786 BCE	King of Northern Kingdom Israel	Sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the walls
B. Neo-Assyrian Empire        (740- 720 BCE)
740 BCE	Assyrians	Occupied most of Canaan
733 BCE	Neo-Assyrian Empire	Jerusalem, a vessel of the Empire
720 BCE	Neo-Assyrian Empire	The Northern Israel Kingdom was destroyed
C. Neo-Babylonian Empire     (606 -586 BCE)
606 BCE	Neo-Babylonian Empire	Judah became a vassal to Babylon
597 BCE	Neo-Babylonian Empire	First Siege:  King Jehoiachin was deported to Babylon
586 BCE	Neo-Babylonian Empire	Destroyed Jerusalem /Temple Ended Kingdom of Judah

 

 

 

四。 耶路撒冷的歷史

A.  從公元前2000年到公元前1000年，在古代，我們知道巴勒斯坦是迦南人居住的地方。 在亞伯蘭時代，耶路撒冷也許只是迦南一個村莊或小地方的原始類型，而迦南是今天的巴勒斯坦。

B.  從公元前1000年到公元前64年

(1) 公元前1010年左右，大衛王進攻並佔領了耶路撒冷。 他使耶路撒冷成為大衛的城，它是以色列聯合王國的首都。 在記錄的歷史中，這是我們研究年代的開始。

(2) 表格1-涵蓋了公元前1000年到公元前586年之間的主要事件。 這一時期顯示了新亞述帝國，在公元前720年毀滅以色列北國，新巴比倫帝國，在公元前586年毀滅的猶大南國。

 

 

 

表格1- 公元前1000年到公元前586年

 

 

何時（大約）	誰	什麼
A. 國王時期（公元前1037-586年）
公元前1010年左右	大衛王	攻占耶路撒冷並成為大衛城
	以色列聯合王國	耶路撒冷作為首都
公元前 962	所羅門王	建第一個聖殿
公元前 930	所羅門去世，王國分裂為：猶大（南）; 以色列（北部）	耶路撒冷，猶大王國首都
公元前 925	法老謝肖克一世	耶路撒冷被佔領並被洗劫一空
公元前 850	非利士人，阿拉伯人，衣索比亞人	洗劫耶路撒冷，帶走耶羅蘭王
公元前 830	哈撒爾征服了耶路撒冷	猶大王約阿施用耶路撒冷珍寶作為進貢
公元前 786	北部以色列國之王	洗劫耶路撒冷，毀壞城牆
B.新亞述帝國（公元前740-720年）
公元前 740	亞述人	佔領迦南大部分地區
公元前 733	新亞述帝國	耶路撒冷，帝國的屬地
公元前 720	新亞述帝國	以色列北國被毀終結
C.新巴比倫帝國（606 -586 BCE）
公元前 606	新巴比倫帝國	猶大成為巴比倫的附庸
公元前 597	新巴比倫帝國	第一次圍困：約雅敬國王被驅逐到巴比倫
公元前 586	新巴比倫帝國	耶路撒冷/聖殿被毀; 猶大王國終結

 

(3)   Table 2 gives the details of the period from 585 to 64 BCE. This table covers the following:

• Persian Empire (From 585 - 410 BCE)
• Under Alexander the Great and the split of his Empire (From 411 - 64 BCE)

 

By studying Scripture, Daniel knew from Prophet Jeremiah that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. Daniel pleaded with the Lord to restore Jerusalem. This resulted in Angel Gabriel ’s visit and revealed the famous 70 times 7 prophesy  concerning  Israel and Jerusalem to Daniel  (See Daniel chapter 9), which revealed Jerusalem would be rebuilt at 62 times 7. This prophesy of rebuilding Jerusalem was fulfilled by God’s instrument  King Cyrus of Persia’s  decree at 538BCE. (Ezra 1:1-4). Incidentally, Babylon was conquered in 539 B.C., by Persian King Cyrus the Great. Under King Darius, the second temple was built in basic form (c. 537–516 BC) by Zerubbabel, but it was nothing like the first temple. However, the sacrifices were offered again from the rebuilt second temple.

 

After the death of Alexander in 323 BCE, his empire settled into four stable power blocs: Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Mesopotamia and Central Asia, Attalid Anatolia, and Antigonid Macedon. Thus, Jews were under the influences of Seleucid empire and Greek. Same as before, Jewish state was a Greek province with a temporary independence with Maccabean revolt, lasting from 167 to 160 BCE. Under the Greek Empire, Jerusalem was a vessel of the Greek Empire.

 

Table 2 - For the Period of 585 to 64 BCE

 

 

WHEN	WHO	WHAT
A, Under The Persian Empire
538 BCE	King Cyrus	Allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem to build the City
516 BCE	King Darius	Zerubbabel built 2nd Temple
445 BCE	King Artaxerxes	Jehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem
B. Under The Greek Empire
332 BCE	Alexander The Great	Controlled Jerusalem
336-323 BCE	Alexander The Great	Ruled the Greece and his Empire
323 BCE	Alexander died and his empire split by his 4 generals	Selencid: control Mesopotamia  Antigonid: Macedon
167-160 BCE	Macabee	Temporary independent

 

 

 

(3) 表格2 給出了公元前585年至64年這一時期的詳細情況。 該表包括以下內容：

  * 波斯帝國（公元前585年-410年）

  * 亞歷山大大帝統治下和他的帝國分裂（公元前411年-64年）

通過學習聖經，但以理從先知耶利米得知，耶路撒冷的荒蕪將持續七十年。 但以理懇求主恢復耶路撒冷。 這導致了天使加百列（Angel Gabriel）的到訪，並向但以理揭示了關於以色列和耶路撒冷的著名的70x7預言（請參閱但以理書第9章），該預言顯示耶路撒冷將在62x7時重建。 波斯國王古列於公元前538年下詔 。允許猶太人返回，重建 耶路撒冷 (以斯拉記1：1-4）。 順便說一句，巴比倫在公元前539年被波斯國王古列征服。在波斯王大利烏統治時期，所羅巴伯建造第二聖殿。 大約在公元前537年至公元前516年完成，所羅巴伯以基本形式建造，但這完全不像第一聖殿的壯麗輝煌。 但是，獻祭犧牲是從重建的第二聖殿再次提供的。

 

亞歷山大在公元前323年去世後，他的帝國分裂成四個穩定的權力集團：托勒密·管轄埃及;塞琉古·管轄美索不達米亞和中亞，安塔利亞·管轄安納托利亞和安蒂岡·管轄馬其頓。 因此，猶太人受到塞琉古帝國和希臘的影響。與以前一樣，以色列是希臘的下屬，以色列因馬卡比起義而暫時獨立，從公元前167年持續到公元前160年。

 

表格2 - 公元前585年至公元前64年

 

什麼時候	誰	什麼
A, 波斯帝國統治下
公元前538年	波斯國王古列	允許猶太人返回，重建 耶路撒冷
公元前516年	波斯王大利烏統治時期	所羅巴伯建造第二聖殿
公元前445年	波斯國亞達薛西王	尼希米重建了耶路撒冷的城牆
B.在希臘帝國統治下
公元前332年	亞歷山大大帝	控制耶路撒冷
公元前336-323年	亞歷山大大帝	統治希臘及其帝國
公元前323年	亞歷山大去世，帝國由四位將軍分裂	塞琉古:管轄美索不達米亞和中亞 安蒂岡:管轄馬其頓
公元前167-160年	馬卡比	以色列短期獨立

 

 

C.  Under the Romans Empire (63 BCE- 313 AD)

 

(1)  Jerusalem was conquered  in 63 BCE by the Roman general Pompey in his eastern campaign.  Julius Caesar conquered Alexandria in 47 BCE and defeated Pompey in 45 BCE. Thus, Jews were under the Roman control since 63 BCE and Roman Empire annexed Israel as a Roman province in 6 AD.

(2)  Our Lord Jesus came to the earth in 3 BCE and died at the cross in 30 AD and resurrected three-day later, to save those who believe in Him.

(3)  Herod did expand the rebuilt of  the second temple from 20 BCE and lasting 46 years. He doubled the area of the Temple Mount and surrounded it by a wall with gates. He completely overhauled the temple into the large and magnificent edifices and facades. So the second temple was complete when our Lord visited it in His ministry.

(4)  The following Table 3 provides what happened in this period.

 

Table 3   From 63 BCE to 313 AD

WHEN	WHO	WHAT
63 BCE	Pompey	Conquered Jerusalem
20 BCE - 26 AD	King Herod	Expand the Temple Mount and Overhauled the 2nd Temple
30 AD	Savior Jesus Christ	Died at the Cross to save the human kind who believe Him
70 AD	Romans	Destroyed Jerusalem/ Temple Exiled Jews out of Jerusalem
50 AD - 313 AD	Romans	Jerusalem under Romans control
64 - 68 AD	Emperor Nero	Persecuted Jews and Christians
66 - 73 AD	Jewish People	Revolt and first Roman-Jewish war
90 - 96 AD	Emperor Dormitian	Severely persecuted Jews and Christians
115 - 117 AD	Jewish People	Jews revolted against Romans
130 AD	Emperor Hadrian	Built on the old site of destroyed Jerusalem and renamed Colonia Aelia Capitolina
132 - 135 AD	Jewish People	Jews revolted against Romans
136 - 140 AD	Emperor Hadrian	Built Temple to Jupiter on Temple Mount;Temple to Venus on Calvary; foreboded Jews and Christians in Jerusalem

 

C. 在羅馬帝國統治下（公元前63年-公元313年）

（1）公元前63年，羅馬將軍龐培（George Pompey）在其東部戰役中征服了耶路撒冷。 朱利葉斯·凱撒（Julius Caesar）在公元前47年征服了亞歷山大，並在公元前45年擊敗了龐培。 因此，自公元前63年以來，猶太人就受到羅馬的控制，羅馬帝國於公元6年吞併了以色列，成為羅馬的一個省。

（2）我們的主耶穌於公元前3年來到世上，於公元30年在十字架上死去，三天后復活，以拯救那些相信他的人。

（3）希律確實從公元前20年延續了第二座聖殿的重建工作，歷時46年。 他將聖殿山的面積擴大了一倍，並用一扇帶門的牆包圍。 他將聖殿徹底翻修成宏偉壯觀的建築物和外牆。 因此，當我們的主在他的事工中，就是在完成了的第二座聖殿里傳道。

（4）下面的表格3提供了此期間發生的情況。

 

 

 

表格3 - 公元前63至公元313年

 

 

什麼時候	誰	發生什麼事
公元前63年	龐培	征服耶路撒冷
公元前20年-公元26年	希律王	擴建聖殿山並大修第二聖殿
公元30年	救世主耶穌基督	死在十字架上以拯救相信他的人類
公元70年	羅馬	毀耶路撒冷/聖殿; 逐出耶路撒冷的猶太人
公元50年-公元313年	羅馬	耶路撒冷在羅馬人的控制下
公元64-68年	尼祿(Nero)皇帝	迫害猶太人和基督徒
公元66-73年	猶太人	叛亂和第一次羅馬-猶太人戰爭
公元90-96年	羅馬皇帝多米提安 ( Dormitian )	嚴重迫害猶太人和基督徒
公元115-117年	猶太人	猶太人反抗羅馬人
公元130年	羅馬皇帝哈德良 (Hadrian)	在被毀的耶路撒冷舊址上建造，並更名為科洛尼亞·艾莉亞·卡皮托利納 (Colonia Aelia Capitolina)
公元132-135年	猶太人	猶太人反抗羅馬人
公元136-140年	羅馬皇帝哈德良 (Hadrian)	在聖殿山建造希臘神朱庇特神殿；在各各他建造希臘女神維納斯神殿；禁止 猶太人和基督教徒在耶路撒冷之內

 

 

 

D. Byzantine Empire Period (323 AD - 1453 AD)

 

(1)  The Roman Empire became so big that it was split  around 285 AD by Emperor Diocletian into two for more effective administrations- Western Rome with capital at Rome and Eastern Rome (later called the Byzantine Empire) with capital at Constantinople.

(2)  The Western Roman Empire had tangled with Germanic tribes for long time and ended in 476 AD when Rome was conquered by Odoacer, a German barbarian who proclaims himself king of Italy. After that, Europe became city states and various autonamous regions.

(3)   In 390 AD, Israel came under ruling of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire lasted till 1453 AD when Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Depending on which suzerain ruling the Byzantine Empire, Jews were treated differently. Generally, they were allowed to worship their ways. But, at times, they might be treated ruthlessly and restricted with where to live, banned from marriage between Jews and Christians, and prohibited molesting the converted Jewish christians, etc.

(4)  Fighting with Iran:  The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 was the final and most devastating of the series of wars fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire of Iran. Iranian invasion of the Byzantine Empire repelled. Return to the status quo ante bellum as the Sasanians agree to withdraw from all occupied territories. Sasanians were the Arab tribes in Mesopotamia.

(5)  Fighting with Syria, Turkey, and Egypt:  Islamic Caliphates began after the death of Mohammad in 632 AD. A caliphate was an islamic state led by a caliph (a successor of political and religious leader) to the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. List of key caliphates will help understand the conflicts in this time period.

    * The Rashidum Caliphate (632 - 661 AD)

    * The Umayyad Caliphate (661 - 750 AD) covered N. Africa, Western India, Spain

    * The Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 AD)

    * The Fatimid Caliphate (909- 1171 AD)

 

(6)  As far as Jerusalem was concerned, after 636 AD the city was mostly under Islamic (Arab ) Caliphate until Crusades in the 11th century.

(7)  The following Table 4 provides what happened in this period.

 

 

WHEN	WHO	WHAT
A.  Under Byzantine Empire
313 AD	Constantine I issued the Edict of Milan	Legalized Christianity throughout the Roman Empire
324 - 325 AD	Christian Elders	First Council of Nicaea
326 AD	St. Helena, Mother of Emperor Constantine	Visited Palestine: Ordered destruction of the Hadrian’s Temple
333 AD	St. Helena, Mother of Emperor Constantine	Built the Eleona Basilica on the Mount of Olives, site of the Ascension of Jesus Christ
335 AD	Constantine I	Built First Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Calvary
361 AD	Julian the Apostate became Roman Emperor	Commissioned Aljpius to build 3rd Temple
363 AD	Death of Julian	End the attempt to build 3rd Temple
602 - 628 AD	Byzantine- Sussanid War	Most of Jerusalem destroyed Most of Christians massacred The church of Holy Sepulchre was burned
629 AD	Byzantine Emperor Heraclius	Defeated the Sussanid Empire and Retook Jerusalem
B.  Early Muslim Period (632 - 968 AD)
632- 661AD	The Rashidun Caliphate	Conquered Jerusalem in 637 AD
636- 637 AD	The Rashidun Caliphate	Jerusalem became part of a province of the Arab Caliphate
661- 750 AD	The Umayyad Caliphate
687- 691 AD	Caliph Abd Marwan	The Dome of the Rock was built
705 AD	Caliph Al-Walid	Built the Masjid al-Aqsa on top of the Temple Mount
744 - 750 AD	The Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258AD)	Control of the entire empire including Jerusalem
813 AD	Caliph Al-Ma’mum	Extensive renovation of the Dome of Rock
878 AD	Ruler of Egypt	Conquered Jerusalem and Syria
904 AD	Abbasid	Regain control of Jerusalem
C. Fatimid Caliphate (909- 1171 AD)
1009 AD	Fatimid Caliphate (909 - 1171AD)	Ordered destruction of churches including the Church of Holy Sepulchre
1021 AD	Caliph Ali az-Zahir	Extensive renovation of the Dome of Rock
1030 AD	Ali az-Zahir in treaty with Byzantine Emperor Romanos III	Rebuilt the church of Holy Sepulchre and other churches
1077 AD	Emir Atsiz	Jerusalem revolt but was crushed and local population massacred
1091-1098 AD	Split of the great Seljuk Empire	Internal fights among Muslims  Jerusalem under Muslim control

 

D.拜占庭帝國時代（公元323年-1453年）

(1) 羅馬帝國的規模如此之大，以至於羅馬皇帝戴克里先在公元285年左右，將其分為兩部分，以建立更有效的政府體系：首都在羅馬的西羅馬帝國和首都在君士坦丁堡的東羅馬帝國（後稱拜占庭帝國）。

(2) 西羅馬帝國與日耳曼部落糾纏了很長時間，直到公元476年羅馬被奧多阿塞征服，奧多阿塞稱自己為意大利國王。 此後，歐洲成為城市國家和各個自治區。

(3) 公元390年，以色列受到拜占庭帝國的統治。 拜占庭帝國一直持續到公元1453年，君士坦丁堡被奧斯曼帝國征服後才結束。 在此期間，根據不同宗主統治拜占庭帝國，對猶太人的待遇有所不同。 通常，他們被允許猶太敬拜。 但有時，他們可能會受到殘酷對待，並受到居住地的限制，禁止猶太人和基督徒之間的婚姻，並禁止鎮壓和虐待猶太基督徒，等等。

(4) 與伊朗作戰：602-628年的拜占庭-薩薩尼亞戰爭是拜占庭帝國與伊朗薩薩尼亞帝國之間的一系列戰爭中的最後一場，也是最具破壞性的。 伊朗對拜占庭帝國的入侵被擊退。 薩薩尼亞人也同意撤出所有被佔領土，回到原狀。 薩薩尼亞人是美索不達米亞的阿拉伯部落。

(5) 與敘利亞，土耳其和埃及交戰：伊斯蘭回教國度( Caliphite) 在公元632年穆罕默德死後開始。回教國度是伊斯蘭國，由伊斯蘭回教國王領導（政治和宗教的領袖，是伊斯蘭先知穆罕默德的繼任者）。 下列伊斯蘭回教國名單將有助於理解這一時期的衝突。

     *拉希頓(Rashidum) 伊斯蘭回教國（公元632年-661年）

     *烏馬耶德(Umayyad )伊斯蘭回教國（公元661年至750年）覆蓋了非洲北部，印度西部，西班牙

     *阿拔斯(Abbasid) 伊斯蘭回教國（公元750-1258年）

     *法蒂瑪(Fatimid) 伊斯蘭回教國（公元909-1171年）

(6）就耶路撒冷而言，公元636年後，這座城市大部分處於伊斯蘭(阿拉伯)回教帝國的統治之下，直到11世紀十字軍東征為止。

(7）下表格4提供了此期間發生的情況。

 

 

 

什麼時候	何人	什麼事情
A.拜占庭帝國統治下
公元313年	君士坦丁一世發布《米蘭法令》	整個羅馬帝國的合法基督教
公元324 - 325	基督教長老/主教	尼西亞第一大公會議
公元326	聖海倫娜，君士坦丁皇帝的母親	造訪巴勒斯坦：命令摧毀哈德良神廟 (Hadrian’s Temple)
公元333	聖海倫娜，君士坦丁皇帝的母親	在耶穌基督升天的橄欖山上建造埃萊奧納大教堂( Eleona Basilica)
公元335	君士坦丁一世	在各各他(on Calvary)上建造了第一座聖墓教堂
公元361	朱利安叛教者成為羅馬皇帝	委託Aljpius建造第三聖殿
公元363	朱利安之死	結束建造第三聖殿的嘗試
公元602 - 628	拜占庭-薩珊王朝戰爭(Byzantine- Sussanid War)	“耶路撒冷大部分被摧毀; 大多數基督徒被屠殺; 聖墓教堂被燒毀了”
629 AD	拜占庭皇帝赫拉克留斯(Heraclius)	擊敗薩珊王朝並奪回耶路撒冷
B.穆斯林早期（公元632-968）
公元632- 661	拉希頓伊斯蘭回教國	公元637年征服耶路撒冷
公元636- 637	拉希頓伊斯蘭回教國	耶路撒冷成為阿拉伯回教國之省的一部分
公元661- 750	烏馬耶德伊斯蘭回教國
公元687- 691	阿比德馬爾萬(Abd Marwan)	建成岩石圓頂(The Dome of the Rock)
公元705	瓦爾迪( Al-Walid )	在聖殿山的頂部建造清真寺阿克薩清真寺(the Masjid al-Aqsa)
公元744 - 750	阿拔斯伊斯蘭回教國 (公元750-1258)	控制包括耶路撒冷在內的整個帝國
公元813	阿爾瑪 (Al-Ma’mum)	岩石圓頂(the Dome of Rock)的全面翻新
公元878	埃及統治者	征服了耶路撒冷和敘利亞
公元904 AD	阿拔斯伊斯蘭回教國	重新控制耶路撒冷
C. Fatimid Caliphate (909- 1171 AD)
公元1009	法呢米伊斯蘭回教國 (Fatimid 公元909 - 1171)	摧毀包括聖墓教堂在內的教堂
公元1021	阿里·扎希爾(Ali az-Zahir)	岩石圓頂(the Dome of Rock)的翻新
公元1030	阿里·扎希爾（Ali az-Zahir）與拜占庭皇帝羅馬諾斯(Romanos III) 三世簽訂條約	重建聖墓教堂和其他教堂
公元1077	埃米爾·阿蒂斯（Emir Atsiz）	耶路撒冷起義，但遭到鎮壓，屠殺了當地居民
公元1091-1098	塞爾柱帝國( Seljuk Empire)的分裂	“穆斯林之間的內部鬥爭； 耶路撒冷受穆斯林控制”

 

 

 

E.  Crusades and  Sunni Ayyubid Dynasty Period (1099 - 1260 AD)

 

(1) It is noted that  Byzantine through the centuries from 390- 1453 AD  lost considerable territory to the invading Seljuk Turks. Jerusalem was mostly under the Arab Caliphates from 636 AD until the crusades in the 12th century.

(2) At 1095 AD, Pope Urban called for the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont. Crusades caused wars between Christians and Muslims to control the Holy City of Jerusalem. Crusades happened in a period of about two hundred years (1096 -1291 AD). There were 8 major crusades. Key players in this period were  (a) the Islamic Caliphates of the Middle East and North Africa, (b) Byzantine Empire, and (c) Western Europe.

(3) The Ayyubid dynasty was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. Under Saladin, Egypt became the leading Muslim state in the region. The Ayyubids are remembered for both fighting and negotiating with the Christian Crusaders. Saladin and al-Kamil signed treaties with the Crusaders, the latter returning Jerusalem to Christian rule for ten years.

(4) Table 5 shows the overall outline of crusades.

 

 

WHAT	WHEN	IMPACTS
1st Crusade	1096-1099 AD	Created Crusade States: Jerusalem, Edessa, Antioch,Tripoli
Muslims captured Edessa	1144 AD	Caused 2nd Crusade
2nd Crusade	1147- 1149AD	Attacked Damacus but ended in failure
Muslims captured Jerusalem	1187 AD	Controlled Jerusalem and large surrounding region
3rd Crusade	1187-1192AD	Established the Kingdom of Jerusalem again but without  the city of Jerusalem
4th Crusade	1198 AD	Internal power struggle in Byzantine. Recovered Constantinople
Final Crusades	1208 - 1271AD
	1208-1229 AD	To root out heretical christians in France
	1211- 1225 AD	The Baltic Crusade to subdue pagans in Transylvania
	1221 AD	Children Crusade: never reach Jerusalem
5th Crusade put together Pope Innocent III	1217- 1221 AD	Attacked Egypt but failed miserably
6th Crusade	1229 AD	Got Jerusalem back under Crusaders control for ten years
7th Crusade	1248-1254 AD	Against Egypt but failure
8th Crusade	1270 AD	Redirected to Tunis
9th Crusade	1271 AD	Allied with the Mongols and captured Jerusalem  for a short time
The Crusade basically ended	1291 AD	Lost the last crusaders’ city Acre
Church organized minor crusades	After 1291 AD	Mainly to push back Muslims from conquered territory
Concluding Remarks	Defeats of Europeans by Muslims	Keep Jerusalem alive in Christianity during long Muslims controls

(5) Crusaders did put a  temporary stop to the invading Turks in about two centuries. Kept Jerusalem alive in Christianity during long Arab caliphates. During the wars in crusades, there were massacres of Jews causing great hatred from Jews towards Christians. 

 

(6) An interesting note: In 1258 AD, the Mongols captured Baghdad.  At 1260 AD, the army of the Mongol Empire reached Palestine and raided Jerusalem as part of alliance with the crusaders. Jerusalem was remitted to the Christian control under the Franco-Mongol Alliance. Because of the death of Mongke,(the fourth khagan of the Mongol Empire, ruling from 1 July 1251, to 11 August 1259), the leader of the Mongol Palestine army returned to Mongolia and left a small army which was defeated by the Muslims.

 

E. 十字軍東征和遜尼派阿育吠陀王朝時期（公元1099年至1260年）

(1)   值得注意的是，從公元390年至1453年的幾個世紀以來，對入侵的塞爾柱剋土耳其人，拜占庭人喪失了相當大的領土。 從公元636年到12世紀的十字軍東征之前，耶路撒冷主要在阿拉伯伊斯蘭回教國之下。

(2)   公元1095年，教皇厄本在克萊蒙議會，呼籲第一次十字軍東征。 十字軍東征造成基督徒與穆斯林之間的戰爭，以控制耶路撒冷聖城。 十字軍東征發生在大約兩百年（公元1096 -1291年）期間。 有8個主要的十字軍東征。 這一時期的主要參戰者是（a）中東和北非的伊斯蘭伊斯蘭回教國，（b）拜占庭帝國，和（c）西歐。

(3)   阿尤比德王朝是遜尼派穆斯林朝代，是薩拉丁（Saladin）建立並集中在埃及的王朝。 在薩拉丁統治下，埃及成為該地區主要的穆斯林國家。 阿尤比德人因與基督教十字軍的戰鬥和談判而聞名。 薩拉丁和凱米爾人與十字軍簽署了條約，十字軍使耶路撒冷重返基督教統治了十年。

(4)  表5顯示了十字軍東征的總體概況

 

 

 

什麼	什麼時候	影響
第一次十字軍東征	公元1096-1099	十字軍東征創建的國度：耶路撒冷，埃德薩，安提阿，的黎波里
穆斯林征服埃德薩	公元1144	造成第二次十字軍東征
第二次十字軍東征	公元1147- 1149	攻擊了大馬士革，但以失敗告終
穆斯林占領了耶路撒冷	公元1187	控制耶路撒冷和周邊大區域
第三次十字軍東征	公元1187-1192	再次建立了耶路撒冷王國，但沒有耶路撒冷城
第四次十字軍東征	公元1198	拜占庭的內部權力鬥爭。 恢復君士坦丁堡
最終十字軍東征	公元1208 - 1271
	公元1208-1229	剷除法國的異端基督徒
	公元1211- 1225	波羅的海十字軍征服特蘭西瓦尼亞異教徒
	公元1221	兒童十字軍東征：未到達耶路撒冷
第五次十字軍東征，由教皇無辜三世組織	公元1217- 1221	攻擊埃及，但慘敗
第六次十字軍東征	公元1229	使耶路撒冷回到十字軍的控制下十年
第七次十字軍東征	公元1248-1254	針對埃及但失敗
第八次十字軍東征	公元1270	重定向到突尼斯
第九次十字軍東征	公元1271	與蒙古人結盟並在短時間內佔領了耶路撒冷
十字軍東征基本上結束了	公元1291	失去了最後一個十字軍的城市Acre
教會組織的小型十字軍東征	公元1291年後	主要是將穆斯林趕出征服的領土
結語	穆斯林擊敗歐洲人	在穆斯林長期控制下，讓耶路撒冷在基督教中保持生命

 

 

 

F.  Mamluk Period ( 1260 - 1516 AD)

 

(1) With the fall of the Ayyubids, the Mamluk Sultanate  ruled over Egypt, Syria, and Palestine including Jerusalem for over two and a half centuries from 1260 until 1516. If we thought that the bright eras of the city  Jerusalem started with Herod, who formed its first stages, then the Umayyads formed the second stage, while the Mamluks formed the third stage. Some of the main architectural signs of civilization in Jerusalem today are from the Mamluk period.

(2) The most enduring Mamluk realm was the knightly military class in Egypt in the Middle Ages, which developed from the ranks of slave soldiers. These were mostly enslaved Turkic peoples, Egyptian Copts, Circassians, Abkhazians, and Georgians. Many Mamluks were also of Balkan origin (Albanians, Greeks, and South Slavs)

(3) At 1300 AD, there were further Mongolian raids into Palestine. Jerusalem was held by the Mongols for 4 months. King of Armenia, who allied to the Mongols, visited Jerusalem.

(4) At 1347 AD,  the Black Death occurred Jerusalem and much of the Mamluk Sultanate.

(5)  Henry IV of England was a dedicated crusader in the years before he seized the throne in 1399. He took part in two crusades to Prussia and made one pilgrimage to Jerusalem 1392-1393. 

 

F.  馬穆魯克(Mamluk)時期（公元1260年-1516年）

 

(1) 隨著阿育吠陀 ( the Ayyubids) 的陷落，馬穆魯克國從1260年到1516年統治埃及，敘利亞和巴勒斯坦，包括耶路撒冷長達兩個半個多世紀。如果我們認為耶路撒冷這座城，文明建築的光明時代始於希律，希律就形成了 第一階段時期，然後由烏馬亞德(Umayyads)組成第二階段，而馬穆魯克組成第三階段。 當今耶路撒冷一些主要的文明建築標誌來自馬穆魯克時期。

(2) 馬穆魯克的特色是中世紀埃及的騎士式軍事階級，它是從奴隸士兵的隊伍中發展而來的。 這些人大多是被奴役的突厥民族，埃及科普特人，切爾克斯人，阿布哈茲人和格魯吉亞人。 許多馬穆魯克人也是巴爾幹血統（阿爾巴尼亞人，希臘人和南斯拉夫人）

(3) 公元1300年，蒙古進一步襲擊巴勒斯坦。 耶路撒冷被蒙古人佔領了四個月。 與蒙古盟國的亞美尼亞國王訪問了耶路撒冷。

(4) 公元1347年，黑死病死亡發生在耶路撒冷和馬穆魯克國的大部分地區。

(5) 英國亨利四世（Henry IV）在1399年奪取王位之前曾是一名敬業的十字軍。他參加了兩次對普魯士(Prussia )的十字軍東征，並在1392-1393年去耶路撒冷朝聖。

 

 

G.  Ottoman Empire Period (1516 - 1924)

(1) In 1516, Ottoman Empire replaced the Mamluks in Palestine and took control of Cairo, Egypt until Caliphate was abolished by Ataturk, the first President of Turkey in 1924. 

(2) The rise of the Ottoman Empire (1299- 1923) caused more complexities in  the Israel history. The Ottoman Empire stretched from Western Asia to Northern Africa, and Southeastern Europe. Palestine including Jerusalem came under the Ottoman Empire control around 1512 AD.

(3) From the early 15th century on, the Ottoman empire welcomed Jews immigrants. As far as each paid the head tax and accepted the supremacy of Moslem, each non-Moslem religious community was responsible for its own institutions, including schools. Throughout its history, the Ottoman Empire was a place where Jews could live without fear of persecution, a comfort denied to them in most of Europe in the same period.

(4) The following Table 6 shows the main activities related with Jerusalem in this period.

 

 

WHEN	WHO	WHAT
1535- 1538 AD	Suleiman the Magnificent	Rebuilt the walls around Jerusalem
1541 AD		The Golden Gate was permanently sealed
1516 AD		Damaging Earthquake shook Palestine region
1624 AD	The Ottomans appointed Emir of Arabistan	To govern the region including Jerusalem.
1672 AD		Synod of Jerusalem
1757 AD	Osman III	Issued a firman that preserved the Status Quo of various Holy Land sites for Christians, Muslims, and Jews.
1768- 1774 AD	The Russo-Turkish War	Giving Russia the right of protecting all Christians in the Ottoman Empire
1799 AD	Napoleon	Campaign in Egypt and Syria
1831 AD	The First Turko-Egyptian War	Muhammad  Ali of Egypt conquered Jerusalem
1840 AD	The Ottoman Turks	Retook Jerusalem
1852 AD	Abdulmecid I’s decree	Endorsed the status quo between the Greek and Latin churches with regard ownership of and prayer rights at the Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
1853-1854 AD	Napoleon III	Ottoman confirmed France and Catholic Church as the authority in Jerusalem with control over the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This caused the Crimean War with Russia
1860- 1875 AD	Israelis	Built 5 Jewish settlements outside the Old City walls.
1882 AD	Israelis	25000-35000 Zionist Immigrants entered the Palestine region
1897 AD	Israelis	First Zionist Congress on Jerusalem as future capital of Israel
1901 AD	Ottoman Empire	Restricted Zionist Immigration to Jerusalem
1917 AD	British Military	The Ottoman Empire was defeated in 1917 during the first World War

 

 

G. 奧斯曼帝國時期（1516年-1924年）

(1) 1516年，奧斯曼帝國取代了巴勒斯坦的馬穆魯克人，並控制了埃及開羅，直到哈里發特被1924年土耳其第一任總統阿塔圖爾克廢除。

(2) 奧斯曼帝國（1299-1923年）的崛起在以色列歷史上造成了更多的複雜性。 奧斯曼帝國從西亞延伸到北非和東南歐。 包括耶路撒冷在內的巴勒斯坦在公元1512年左右被奧斯曼帝國控制。

(3) 從15世紀初開始，奧斯曼帝國就歡迎猶太移民。 只要每個人繳納了人頭稅並接受了穆斯林的至高無上，每個非穆斯林的宗教團體都要對自己的機構負責，包括學校。 在整個歷史中，奧斯曼帝國是一個猶太人可以生活而又不用擔心遭受迫害的地方，在同一時期，大多數歐洲人都拒絕給予猶太人這種安慰。

(4) 表6顯示了這段時期與耶路撒冷有關的主要活動

 

 

 

 

什麼時候	誰	什麼
公元1535年至1538年	蘇萊曼大帝 (Suleiman the Magnificent)	重建耶路撒冷周圍的城牆
公元1541		耶路撒冷金門被永久封閉
公元1516		破壞性地震震撼了巴勒斯坦地區
公元1624	奧斯曼帝國任命阿拉伯聯合國酋長	統治包括耶路撒冷在內的地區
公元1672		耶路撒冷主教會議( the Synod of Jerusalem)
公元1757	奧斯曼三世	發行了一個法令，保留了基督教徒，穆斯林和猶太人各個聖地遺址的現狀權利。
公元1768- 1774	俄土戰爭	賦予俄羅斯保護奧斯曼帝國所有基督徒的權利
公元1799	拿破崙	埃及和敘利亞戰役
公元1831	第一次土埃戰爭	埃及的穆罕默德·阿里征服了耶路撒冷
公元1840	奧斯曼土耳其人	奪回耶路撒冷
公元1852	阿卜杜勒密西德一世(Abdulmecid I)法令	認可希臘和拉丁教會在耶路撒冷基督教聖地的所有權和祈禱權方面的現狀
公元1853-1854	拿破崙三世	奧斯曼帝國確認法國和天主教會為耶路撒冷的統治當局，並控制聖墓教堂。 這引起了克里米亞與俄羅斯的戰爭
公元1860- 1875	以色列人	在老城牆外建造了5個猶太人定居點(settlements)。
公元1882	以色列人	25000-35000猶太復國主義者(Zionist)移民進入巴勒斯坦地區
公元1897	以色列人	第一次猶太復國主義者大會以耶路撒冷為以色列的未來首都
公元1901	奧斯曼帝國	限制猶太復國主義者向耶路撒冷的移民
公元1917	英國軍事	奧斯曼帝國在第一次世界大戰期間於1917年被擊敗

 

 

H. Rebirth of Modern Israel Nation (1924- 2020)

 

(1) Jerusalem was under British Military Administration (1918 -1920).

(2) The British Mandate was established in 1920 and the United Nation’s Partition Resolution on Nov. 1947.

(3) The following Table  7 shows the main events.

 

 

WHEN	WHO	WHAT
Nov. 29, 1947	United Nations	The Partition Resolution  that would divide Great Britain’s former Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states in May 1948
May 14, 1948	Israelis	Israel officially declared independence
5/14/1948 - 2/1949	Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt with Saudi Arabia	Five Arab armies invaded Israel and war broke out
June 5-10,1967	Six-day War	Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Old City of Jerusalem, and Golan Heights
May 14, 2018	U.S.A.	United States Embassy officially relocated to Jerusalem
On-going		Israel and Arab Conflicts

 

H. 現代以色列國的重生（1924- 2020）

 

(1)   耶路撒冷在英國軍事管理下（1918 -1920）。

(2)   英國授權成立於1920年，聯合國分區決議於1947年11月成立。

(3)   下表7顯示了主要事件。

 

 

什麼時候	誰	什麼
1947年11月29日	聯合國	1948年5月將英國的前巴勒斯坦授權分為猶太人和阿拉伯人的分區決議
1948年5月14日	以色列人	以色列正式宣布獨立
5/14/1948 - 2/1949	黎巴嫩，敘利亞，伊拉克和埃及與沙特阿拉伯	五支阿拉伯軍隊入侵以色列，戰爭爆發
1967年6月5日至10日	六日戰爭	以色列佔領了西奈半島，加沙地帶，西岸，耶路撒冷舊城和戈蘭高地
2018年5月14日	美國	美國大使館正式遷往耶路撒冷
不斷的 (On-going)		以色列與阿拉伯衝突

 

 

V. Concluding Remark

 

A. Jerusalem played a central role as capital of Israel under United Jewish Kingdom around 1000 BCE. First Temple was built by King Solomon then on the Temple Mount.

B. First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE.

C. The Second Temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel in 516 BCE under the Persian King Darius the Great. Second Temple was substantially overhauled by King Herod around 20 BCE to 26 AD. 

D. Our Lord Jesus Christ visited the Second Temple during His first coming to the Earth to be the Savior of the world.

E. The Second Temple was destroyed in AD 70 and Jews went into the world-wise exile until rebirth of Modern Israel Nation in 1948. Jerusalem was back to Israel in 1967.

F. Looking at the history of Jerusalem, we learned many valuable lessons including:

(1) Jerusalem is blessed when Israel is obedient to  their God and worship their God.

(2) Jerusalem is condemned, forsaken, and under gentile control when Israel is under God’s judgement.

(3) During the time period from 70 AD to 1948, Jerusalem was mostly under gentile control while Jews were scattered in a world-wise exile. Various structures on the Temple Mount, particularly the Muslim sacred structures were built under the Islamic Caliphates after 632 AD.

(4) The human history from the creation, the Flood, the repopulation, and all the wars and all the civilizations were under the control of God. History is indeed His story.

(5)  It is indeed very sad to see so much sufferings of the Holy City and its inhabitants during last two thousand years. When the Name of God is not feared and His Holiness not upheld by  any individual/group/nation, we can be sure from the current study of the history of Jerusalem that God’s severe judgement will surely fall on that individual/group/nation within years. The judgement can be man-made disasters or natural calamities. One thing that has been clearly demonstrated in the history of Jerusalem, is that the judgement is sure and without delay.

(6) Depravities of human beings are indeed so wicked and without limit. The only hope that an individual has is through the promise and faithfulness of God via believing Jesus Christ and obeying Him to receive God’s blessings.

(7) A person, who deliberately choose to reject God, is indeed forgetting to look at himself/herself on a mirror on the limitations of mankind, and  is willingly following the deceiver Devil to the endless sufferings of the unquenchable hellish fire. 

 

G. The formation and regathering of Jewish people represented the beginning of the End Time. We are rapidly approaching the 70th week of the Daniel’s End Time prophesy regarding the God’s chosen people Israel. We urgently plead with anyone who come to read this study and who seeks the Truth of Eternal Life to grasp the End Time grace period to receive Jesus Christ the Savior to avoid the pending severe God’s Judgement. Please listen to the call of Jesus:

 

Matthew 11:28-30

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

 

Listen to What God has promised:

John 3:16

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

 

May we all listen to the call of our merciful Creator!  May we praise His promise and His Faithfulness and His Glory! May all glory belong to the Triune God forever and ever, Amen!

 

五，結語

 

A. 耶路撒冷在公元前1000年左右作為聯合猶太王國統治下的以色列首都發揮著核心作用。 第一座聖殿由所羅門國王建造，然後在聖殿山上建造。

B.  第一聖殿在公元前586年被巴比倫帝國摧毀。

C.  第二聖殿是由扎魯巴伯在公元前516年由波斯國王大流士大帝重建的。 希律王在公元前20年至公元26年對第二聖殿進行了大修。

D.  我們的主耶穌基督在第一次來到地球成為世界的救世主時曾參觀過第二座聖殿。

E.  第二聖殿在公元70年被毀，猶太人流亡世界，直到1948年現代以色列國重生。耶路撒冷於1967年重返以色列。

F.  回顧耶路撒冷的歷史，我們學到了許多寶貴的經驗教訓，包括：

（1）當以色列順服他們的上帝並敬拜他們的上帝時，耶路撒冷是有福的。

（2）以色列在上帝的審判之下，耶路撒冷受到譴責，被拋棄，並受到外邦人的控制。

（3）在公元70年至1948年期間，耶路撒冷大部分處於外邦人世俗控制之下，而猶太人則分散在世界各地的流亡中。公元632年後，在聖殿山下建造了聖殿山上的各種建築物，特別是穆斯林的神聖建築物。

（4）人類的歷史從創造，洪水，人口再到以及所有戰爭和所有文明都在上帝的控制之下。歷史確實是他的故事。

（5）這實在是非常遺憾地看到在過去的兩千年聖城和它的居民這麼多的痛苦。當任何個人/團體/民族不懼怕上帝的名並且不崇尚他的聖潔時，我們可以從對耶路撒冷歷史的最新研究中確定，在數年之內上帝的嚴厲判斷必將落在該個人/團體/民族上。判斷可以是人為災難或自然災害。耶路撒冷歷史上已清楚表明的一件事是，判決是確定的，毫不拖延。

（6）人類的墮落確實是邪惡的，沒有限度。一個人唯一的希望就是通過上帝的應許和忠實，通過信靠耶穌基督並服從他接受上帝的祝福。

（7）一個故意選擇拒絕上帝的人，確實忘記了在鏡子上看待自己，以了解人類的局限性，並願意跟隨欺騙者魔鬼遭受不可熄滅的地獄之火的無盡痛苦。

 

G.  猶太人的形成和聚集代表了末日時代的開始。 我們正在迅速接近但以理書末日預言的第70週，這是關於神選民以色列的故事。 我們迫切懇求任何來閱讀本研究並且尋求永生真相的人，以抓住末日的寬限期，接受救世主耶穌基督，以避免即將來臨的嚴厲上帝的審判。 請聽耶穌的呼召：

 

馬太福音11：28-30

28 凡勞苦擔重擔的人，可以到我這裡來，我就使你們得安息。 29 我心裡柔和謙卑，你們當負我的軛，學我的樣式，這樣你們心裡就必得享安息。 30 因為我的軛是容易的，我的擔子是輕省的。」

 

聽上帝所應許的：

約翰福音3:16

16 「神愛世人，甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信他的不致滅亡，反得永生。

願我們所有人都聽到我們仁慈的創造者的呼喚！ 願我們永遠讚美他的應許，他的忠誠和他的榮耀，願所有的榮耀屬於我們的三位一體神! 阿們！