December 6

"Behold¹, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (Rev.3:11)

George Mueller bears this testimony², "When it pleased God in July, 1829, to reveal to my heart the truth of the personal return of the Lord Jesus, and to show me that I had made a great mistake in looking for the conversion³ of the world, the effect that it produced upon me was this: From my inmost soul I was stirred up to feel compassion⁴ for perishing sinners, and for the slumbering⁵ world around me lying in the wicked one, and considered, 'Ought I not to do what I can for the Lord Jesus while He tarries, and to rouse a slumbering church?"'

There may be many hard years of hard work before the consummation, but the signs are to me so encouraging that I would not be unbelieving if I saw the wing of the apocalyptic⁶ angel spread for its last triumphal flight in this day's sunset; or if tomorrow morning the ocean cables should thrill us with the news that Christ the Lord had alighted on Mount Olivet or Mount Calvary to proclaim universal dominion⁷. O you dead churches wake up! O Christ, descend⁸! Scarred temple, take the crown! Bruised⁹ hand, take the sceptre! Wounded foot, step the throne! Thine is the kingdom. ━Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage, D. D.

“It may be in the evening,

When the work of the day is done,

And you have time to sit in the twilight¹⁰,

And watch the sinking sun,

While the long bright day dies slowly

Over the sea,

And the hours grow quiet and holy

With thoughts of Me;

While you hear the village children

Passing along the street━

Among those passing footsteps

May come the sound of My Feet.

Therefore I tell you. Watch!

By the light of the evening star

When the room is growing dusky

As the clouds afar,

Let the door be on the latch¹¹

In your home,

For it may be through the gloaming

I will come."

十二月六日

「我必快来，你要持守你所有的，免得人夺去你的冠冕。」 （启三:11）

这是莫勒先生所作的见证：「一八二九年七月神启示我主耶稣再来的真理。并叫我看见我以前等候全世界的人得救，是一个极大的错误；这样的启示在我身上所产生的效果乃是：从我灵里激起了一种怜悯灭亡的罪人和酣睡的世界的心情；于是我就想道：『当主耶稣迟延的时候，我岂不应该替祂唤醒沉睡的人们呢？』」

完美世界的来临，或许还要经过许多艰苦的岁月和艰苦的工作，但它的迹象是乐观的，如果我看见日落时所启示的天使，展开它胜利的翅翼，或者明天早晨海外传来消息，耶稣基督又在橄榄山出现，重掌世界统驭权，我决不会不相信。主耶稣再来的预兆，一天一天增多了。沉睡的教会阿，醒来罢！基督徒阿，你有没有预备戴冠冕、执王权、登王位呢？━泰尔美其

到了傍晚,你一天的工作已成,

或许有时间坐在薄暮里,

观看太阳西沉,

白昼跟着渐渐隐泯,

此时你思念着我,

感到神圣和宁静。

你听见那些街头的儿童,

沿着大街走过,

在他们的脚步声中,

可能会辨出我的足音。

因此,我告诉你,要儆醒!

在星光闪耀的黄昏,

房间里也像远方的天边,

笼罩了乌云的阴暝,

你的注意家里的大门,

只下键,不要上锁,

因为,我可能在薄暮中来临。

1 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

2 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。

3 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

4 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

5 slumbering   

微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• It was quiet. All the other inhabitants of the slums were slumbering. 贫民窟里的人已经睡眠静了。
• Then soft music filled the air and soothed the slumbering heroes. 接着，空中响起了柔和的乐声，抚慰着安睡的英雄。

6 apocalyptic   

adj.预示灾祸的，启示的

参考例句：

• The air is chill and stagnant,the language apocalyptic.空气寒冷而污浊，语言则是《启示录》式的。
• Parts of the ocean there look just absolutely apocalyptic.海洋的很多区域看上去完全像是世界末日。

7 dominion   

n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图

参考例句：

• Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
• In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里，当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。

8 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

9 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

10 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

11 latch   

n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁

参考例句：

• She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
• The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。