June 28

"A door opened in heaven." (Rev. 4:1)

You must remember that John was in the Isle¹ of Patmos, a lone², rocky, inhospitable prison, for the Word of God and the testimony³ of Jesus. And yet to him, under such circumstances, separated from all the loved ones of Ephesus; debarred from the worship of the Church; condemned⁴ to the companionship of uncongenial fellow-captives, were vouchsafed⁵ these visions. For him, also a door was opened.

We are reminded of Jacob, exiled from his father's house, who laid himself down in a desert place to sleep, and in his dreams beheld⁶ a ladder which united Heaven with earth, and at the top stood God.

Not to these only, but to many more, doors have been opened into Heaven, when, so far as the world was concerned, it seemed as though their circumstances were altogether unlikely for such revelations.

To prisoners and captives; to constant sufferers, bound by iron chains of pain to sick couches; to lonely pilgrims and wanderers; to women detained from the Lord's house by the demands of home, how often has the door been opened to Heaven.

But there are conditions. You must know what it is to be in the Spirit; you must be pure in heart and obedient in faith; you must be willing to count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ; then when God is all in all to us, when we live, move and have our being in His favor, to us also will the door be opened. --Daily Devotional Commentary.

"God hath His mountains bleak⁷ and bare,

Where He doth bid us rest awhile;

Crags where we breathe a purer air,

Lone peaks that catch the day's first smile.

"God hath His deserts broad and brown--

A solitude--a sea of sand,

Where He doth let heaven's curtain down,

Unknit by His Almighty⁸ hand."　

　 六月二十八日

“见天上有门开了”(启四：1) 。

　　你一定记得约翰为神的道，并为耶稣作的见证，曾囚在那名叫拔摩的海岛上——一个凄凉，冷落，荒野的监狱里。离开了以弗所的亲人；断绝了教会中的交通；所接触的，尽是些不相投的俘虏。在这种境遇之下，神会给他这样大的异象。在他无路可走的时候，神给他开了天上的门。

　　我们也记得雅各曾离开了父家，躺卧在一个荒寂的旷野里，梦见一个梯子立在地上，梯子的一头顶着天，耶和华站在梯子以上。

　　不只这两个人，还有许多信徒，从世界的眼光看来，他们的境遇未必能使他们得到这种启示；可是事实上，他们都曾看见天上有门为他们开了。

　　许多囚犯俘虏，许多被痛苦的铁链束缚在病榻上的长期受苦者，许多孤单漂泊的旅客，许多被家务缠累不能来聚会的妇女们，都曾看见过天上的门为她们打开了。

　　但是有条件的啊！我们要看见天上的门打开，必须知道怎样生活在灵里；必须有一颗清洁顺服的心；必须象保罗一样将万事当作有损的，以认识我们的主基督耶稣为至宝。等到我们把神当作一切的一切的时候，等到我们一举一动都蒙他喜悦的时候，天上的门自然也会为我们打开了。——译自日诚报

这一带寂寞的荒山，

神指定为我们休息的地方，

在悬崖上呼吸新鲜的空气，

在孤峰上欣赏微笑的曙光。

这一带黄沙万里，

极目无垠，广若海洋，

他亲手解开天国的帷幕，

在这里垂挂，在这里悬张。

1 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

2 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

3 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

4 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

5 vouchsafed   

v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 )；允诺

参考例句：

• He vouchsafed to me certain family secrets. 他让我知道了某些家庭秘密。
• The significance of the event does, indeed, seem vouchsafed. 这个事件看起来确实具有重大意义。 来自辞典例句

6 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

7 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

8 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。