启一10 “当主日我在灵里，听见在我后面有大声音如吹号说。”

　　但二32~33 “这像的头是精金的，胸膛和膀臂是银的，肚腹和腰是铜的，腿是铁的，脚是半铁半泥的。”

　　启示录不仅强调神的灵是七倍加强的灵，为着神加强的行动；也强调人的灵，作我们领略并回应神行动的器官。惟有（我们的）灵能回应（神的）灵。本书是由四个主要的异象组成：（一）众召会的异象；（一~三；）（二）世界之定命的异象；（四~十六；）（三）大巴比伦的异象；（十七~二十；）（四）新耶路撒冷的异象。（二一~二二。）约翰是在灵里看见这四个异象，（一10，四2，十七3，二一10，）…我们要看见本书的异象，也必须在灵里。（圣经恢复本，启一10注2。）

　　Rev. 1:10 I was in spirit on the Lord’s Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.

　　Dan. 2:32-33 Concerning this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its abdomen and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

　　The book of Revelation stresses not only the Spirit of God as the sevenfold intensified Spirit for God's intensified move, but also our human spirit as the organ for us to realize and respond to God's move. Only spirit (our spirit) can respond to Spirit (God's Spirit). This book is composed of four major visions:

　　(1) the vision of the churches (chs. 1—3), (2) the vision of the destiny of the world (chs. 4—16), (3) the vision of Babylon the Great (chs. 17—20), and (4) the vision of the New Jerusalem (chs. 21—22). John was in his spirit when he saw these four visions (1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10)….We too need to be in our spirit to see the visions in this book. (Rev. 1:10, footnote 1)

　　世界局势最近有了许多重大的改变。世界局势总是主在地上行动的指标，这是一个历史的事实。…〔神〕经纶的完成与世界的局势很有关系。

　　创世记十章记载在洪水之后，地上的列国如何分裂。（参32。）这些列国乃是由有野心的人所建立的，但并不是那么显著。然而有一天，主自己建立了一个国，就是以色列国。摩西带领以色列人出埃及后，约书亚带领他们进入美地。之后，神使用大卫建立了以色列国，他击败了仇敌，建立耶路撒冷城，并为建造圣殿，作为神在地上的家作准备。大卫的儿子所罗门建造了圣殿；以后巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒进来，毁灭了以色列国。

　　但以理二章记载尼布甲尼撒作了一个梦，但以理讲解了这梦。在这梦里有个大人像，人像的金头表征尼布甲尼撒和他的巴比伦帝国，银的胸膛和膀臂表征玛代波斯帝国，铜的肚腹和腰表征亚历山大大帝和希腊帝国，铁的腿和脚表征罗马帝国，这像的脚是半铁半泥的，表征罗马帝国倾倒之后，基督第二次来临之前的列国。这像给我们看见地上的四大帝国及其政权。事实上这是一个预言，说明主为着完成祂的经纶，所主宰安排之人类政权的历史。

　　在新约时代开始之前，该撒犹流征服了巴勒斯坦地区。后来他的养子亚古士督在主前二十七年成了罗马帝国第一位正式的该撒。神为着完成祂新约的经纶，大大使用了这个帝国。基督是在亚古士督的时候出生的，也是在罗马帝国时代被钉死的。…基督的生与死都是借着罗马帝国而得以完成。罗马帝国一成立，那就是一个指标，显示神要直接作一些事，来完成祂新约的经纶。

　　罗马帝国也征服了整个地中海区域，把地中海周围的列国带到罗马帝国政权的控制之下；希腊文成了他们共同的语言，并且罗马帝国到处兴建公路，使旅行方便又安全。这是为着基督死而复活之后福音的传扬作准备。（世界局势与主行动的方向，二至四页。）

　　参读：但以理书生命读经，第三至四篇；世界局势与主行动的方向，第一至三章；世界局势与神的行动，第七章。

　　There have been many great and recent changes in the world. It is a historical fact that the world situation has always been the indicator of the Lord's move on earth….The carrying out of His economy has much to do with the world situation.

　　Genesis 10 gives a record of how the nations of the earth were divided after the flood (cf. v. 32). These nations were set up by ambitious persons, but they were not that prominent. One day, however, the Lord Himself established a nation, the nation of Israel. After Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, Joshua brought them into the good land. Then God used David to establish the nation of Israel by defeating the enemies, by building up the city of Jerusalem, and by preparing for the building up of the temple to be God's house on earth. Later, after David's son Solomon built the temple, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came to destroy the nation of Israel.

　　Daniel 2 records that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, which Daniel interpreted. In that dream there was a great human image. The golden head of this image signifies Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian Empire. The breast and arms of silver signify the Medo-Persian Empire. The abdomen and thighs of bronze signify the Grecian Empire with Alexander the Great. The legs and feet of iron signify the Roman Empire. The feet of the image were partly of iron and partly of clay, signifying the nations in the period after the fall of Rome and before the second coming of Christ. This image shows the four great empires on earth with their governments. It is actually a prophetic illustration of the history of human government, sovereignly arranged by the Lord for the carrying out of His economy.

　　Just before the beginning of the New Testament age, Julius Caesar conquered the area of Palestine. Later, his adopted son, Augustus, became the first formal Caesar of the Roman Empire in 27 B.C. That empire was greatly used by God in the carrying out of His New Testament economy. It was under Augustus that Christ was born, and it was under the Roman Empire that Christ was crucified….Christ's birth and death took place through the means of the Roman Empire. When the Roman Empire was formed, that was an indicator that God was going to do something directly to accomplish His New Testament economy.

　　The Roman Empire also conquered the entire Mediterranean region, bringing all the nations around the Mediterranean Sea under its governmental control, and Greek became its common language. Furthermore, highways were built throughout the Roman Empire to make travel easier and safer. This was a preparation for the spreading of the gospel after Christ's death and resurrection. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, "The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord's Move," pp. 268-269)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Daniel, msgs. 3-4; CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, "The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord's Move," chs. 1-3; CWWL, 1981, vol. 1, "The World Situation and God's Move," ch. 7