你能證明有天堂嗎？Is There Proof of Heaven?
作者：Matt Smethurst 譯者：駱鴻銘
看不見的東西是否存在？如果你問的是氧氣、重力，或你正在用來閱讀此文的WiFi（無線網絡）訊號，答案是很明顯的。但是那些無法用科學方法來測量的看不見的現實又怎麼說呢？比如說，愛、尊嚴、公平、希望。Do unseen things
exist? The answer is obvious once you consider oxygen, gravity, or the WiFi
signal you’re using to read
this article. But what about invisible realities that can’t be scientifically
measured? Well, think of love, or dignity, or justice, or hope.
是否存在一個靈性的世界，雖然眼不能見，卻是完全真實的呢？這正是聖經所教導的（林後四18）。其中之一就是天堂。Now might there be a spiritual
world that, though unseen, is entirely real as well? This is precisely what the
Bible teaches (2 Cor. 4:18). And one of these realities is heaven.
原來我們不是顧念所見的，乃是顧念所不見的；因為所見的是暫時的，所不見的是永遠的。 (2Co 4:18)
儘管你無法像證明台北存在一樣，證明天堂也是存在的，但是這不能代表天堂這個地方是虛構的。誠然，相信天堂的存在最終是要靠信心——雖然不是盲目的或沒有理性的信心，但仍然是信心。希伯來書的作者是這樣定義信心的：「信就是所望之事的實底，是未見之事的確據。」（來十一1）While it’s impossible to prove the existence of heaven in the
same way you’d prove the
existence of Chicago, that doesn’t mean the place is
fictional. To be sure, belief in heaven finally boils down to faith—not blind
or irrational faith, but faith nonetheless. As the author of Hebrews puts it,
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”
(Heb. 11:1).
基督徒相信有天堂，基本上是因為他們相信聖經，因為聖經清楚說到了天堂，而上帝的話是值得信賴的真理，是人生命的靠山。無可否認地，我們經常會渴望更確定的事，盡信書不如無書，不是親眼目睹的都不算數。然而使徒彼得告訴我們，比起耶穌自己在登山變相時所顯現的榮耀，聖經是「更確實」的啟示（彼後一19；參《新譯本》）。這是一個會讓人目瞪口呆的聲明。彼得是說，聖經本身是上帝所曾經賜給人、最有說服力的「證據」。Christians believe
in heaven fundamentally because they believe the Bible that so clearly speaks
of heaven. You can bank your life on God’s Word. Admittedly, we often crave
something more certain, more verifiable, more impressive than words in a book.
Yet Peter tells us Scripture is a revelation “more sure” than even Jesus
himself in transfigured glory (2 Pet. 1:19 NASB). That’s a stunning claim. He
is saying the Bible itself is one of the most convincing “proofs” God’s ever
given.
雖然聖經也許沒有告訴我們一切我們想知道的有關天堂的內容，但是它們的確告訴了我們一切我們必須知道的。它們的見證是完整的、充足的、足夠的。So, while the
Scriptures may not tell us everything we want to know about heaven, they do
tell us everything we need to know. Their witness is complete, sufficient,
enough.
真的有天堂嗎？Heaven Is for Real?
對我們許多人來說，天堂算是我們熟悉的觀念，但究竟天堂是什麼呢？最簡單地說，天堂是上帝的住所。「我們在天上的父」，這是我們在主禱文裏所複誦的。好，這不代表上帝不在其他地方，上帝是無所不在的。但是天堂是祂的居所，是祂特別與人同在，要賜福給人的地方。我們的財寶藏在那裏（太十九21），我們是那裏的國民（腓三20），我們的產業在那裏（彼前一4-5），我們的盼望也存在那裏（西一5）。Heaven’s a familiar idea
to many of us, but what exactly is it? Most simply, it’s the place where God
lives. “Our Father in heaven,” we recite in the Lord’s Prayer. Now, this
doesn’t mean God is absent elsewhere; he’s present everywhere. But heaven is
the place where his presence uniquely dwells to bless. It’s the place of our
treasure (Matt. 19:21), our citizenship (Phil. 3:20), our inheritance (1 Pet.
1:4–5), and our stored-up hope (Col. 1:5).
或許你注意到我一直在用這個字「那裏」。這是因為天堂不只是一個概念，或心靈狀態；它是一個真實的地點（約十四2-3；徒一9-11；七55-56）。當跟隨耶穌的人過世時，雖然我們的身體會留在地上，但是我們的靈魂馬上就會與上帝同在（腓一23；林後五8）。這是一個暫時的處境或「中間狀態」，到耶穌再來的那日，我們的身體會復活，與我們的靈魂重新結合在一起，直到永遠。Perhaps you’ve noticed I keep using the word “place.”
That’s because heaven
isn’t a mere concept or state of mind; it’s a real location (John 14:2–3; Acts
1:9–11; 7:55–56). When followers of Jesus die, though our bodies remain on
earth, our souls immediately enter God’s presence (Phil. 1:23; 2 Cor. 5:8). This
is a temporary situation or “intermediate state” until the day when Jesus
returns and our bodies are raised and reunited with our souls forever.
沒有圓嘟嘟的天使No Chubby Angels
你明白嗎，身為基督徒，我們最終的盼望不是完全脫離這個地球，而是使全地得到恢復。有一天，當得贖的罪人領受一個得贖的世界時，天上的城市會裂天而降（啟廿一1-4；參：彼後三13；羅八13）。這就是為什麼聖經用具體的、實質的措辭來描繪我們未來的家的原因——「新天新地」（賽六十五17；彼後三13；啟廿一1-4）。換句話說，我們不會飄浮在黃金豎琴和圓嘟嘟的天使周圍，而是會不斷奔跑、工作、玩耍、歌唱、歡笑、安息，並陶醉在對美善和榮美上帝的無盡驚訝中。Our ultimate hope
as Christians, then, is not evacuation from this earth but the restoration of
this earth. One day, heaven’s city will split the skies as redeemed sinners
inherit a redeemed world (Rev. 21:1–4; cf. 2 Pet. 3:13; Rom. 8:13). This is why
the Scriptures picture our future home in concrete, material terms—“new heavens
and a new earth” (Isa. 65:17; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1–4). We won’t be floating
around with golden harps and chubby angels, in other words. We’ll be running
and working and playing and singing and laughing and resting and reveling in
the endless wonders of good and beautiful God.
因此談論永恆的「天堂」並不算錯，只要我們記得，天堂只是「新天新地」的簡稱——在我們的君王面前，一個永遠長存、越來越喜樂的世界。So it’s fine to talk about eternity in “heaven”
so long as we remember the word is just shorthand for the new heavens and new
earth—a world of
everlasting, ever-increasing joy in the presence of our King.
深切的盼望Longings that Point
根據傳道書的說法，上帝已經「把永生安置在世人心裏」（傳三11）。按照上帝的形象被造，我們有永恆的生命，並且有永生的能力，會本能地盼望永生。我們被造本是要永遠活著。According to
Ecclesiastes, God has “put eternity into
the human heart” (Eccl. 3:11). As
persons crafted in his image, we are eternal beings with an innate longing and
capacity for eternal life. We were made to live forever.
人類對無盡幸福的渴望永遠得不到滿足，也是無可否認的。我們在世上最成功的人身上，經常可以親眼目睹他們的坐立難安與不滿足。他們已經擁有一切，卻仍然滿懷失落。如同金凱瑞這位著名的戲劇演員曾經說過的，「我認為每個人都應該變得有錢有名，並實現所有的夢想，好叫他們能明白，這並不是答案。」Humanity’s desire for unending happiness is insatiable
and undeniable. Consider the deep restlessness and dissatisfaction we often
witness among the world’s most accomplished people. They have everything, yet
something is still missing. As actor Jim Carrey once said, “I think everybody
should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed so they can see
that it’s not the answer.”
這怎麼解釋呢？What explains this?
在一篇以「我們的神話故事」為題的長篇論文裏，托爾金（J.R.R.Tolkien）思考著人類對奇幻故事的愛好（註1）。像我們這樣的現代人明知這些故事不是真的，我們為什麼會深受吸引呢？托爾金指出，這些故事所具有的某些特色，會與我們的靈魂起共鳴，比如說：In a lengthy essay
titled “On Fairy Stories,” J. R. R. Tolkien ponders the human love for
fantasy stories.1 Good moderns like us know the tales aren’t true; why, then,
are we so drawn to them? Tolkien suggests they contain features that uniquely
resonate with our souls, things like:
l 英雄的自我犧牲
l 站到時間之外
l 與非人的生物交往
l 好人戰勝惡人
l 逃過死亡
l 永不分離的愛情（「從此過著幸福快樂的日子」）
Heroic
self-sacrifice
Stepping
outside of time
Communion
with non-human beings
Good
triumphing over evil
Escape
from death
Love
without parting (“happily ever after”)
神話故事會深入到我們的渴望裏，這是現代寫實小說無法觸及的。儘管我們從理智上深信，沒有什麼東西可以滿足我們的渴望，因為這些東西是「美的讓人難以相信」，但是我們仍然會不自主的懷有這些盼望。心靈深處，我們有著揪心的懷疑——盼望——懷疑這個世界原本不是這樣，未來也不會如此。因此，神話故事會把我們傳送到「那裏」，喚醒我們在「這裏」的天生渴望。它們指向一種潛在的實況，而我們心靈深處知道那是真實的。Fairy tales tap
into desires that realistic fiction can’t touch. Though we’re intellectually convinced nothing
can fulfill our desires for what’s “too good to be true,” the desires won’t
leave us alone. Deep down we have a gnawing suspicion—a hope—that our world
isn’t the way it’s supposed to be and isn’t the way it always will be. So by
transporting us to places “out there,” fairy tales awaken hardwired longings
“in here.” They point an underlying reality we sense deep in our souls is
somehow true.
基督信仰之美在於：福音不只是又一個指向潛在事實的美妙故事，福音就是那潛在的事實，而其他的故事都是指向這個事實。當耶穌再來時，那原本捉摸不定、遙不可及，以及「美得讓人難以相信」的事，會直接撞入到現在，包裹我們的經驗，並使我們喜樂充滿。The beauty of
Christianity is that the gospel is not just one more wonderful story pointing
to the underlying reality; rather, the gospel is the underlying reality to
which all the other stories point. When Jesus returns, what always felt elusive
and distant and “too good to be true” will come crashing into the present,
enveloping our experience and drenching us with joy.
托爾金的朋友魯益士說得也許更妙：「如果我們在自己身上找到這個世界所無法滿足的渴望，最有可能的解釋是我們是為另一個世界造的。」Tolkien’s friend C. S. Lewis perhaps put it best: “If we find in ourselves a desire that nothing
in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made
for another world.”
天堂的大門是敞開的Heaven’s Open Door
清教徒湯瑪斯·布魯克斯說道，「我們無法誇大基督或天堂」。我們不可能高估那在來世裏與基督同在的生命的美妙。因為我們所要探索的基督恩典有無窮無盡的層面，天堂因此是永恆的。“Neither Christ nor
heaven can be hyperbolized,” observed Puritan
Thomas Brooks. It’s impossible to
overestimate the wonder of life with Christ in the world to come. Heaven will
be eternal because the dimensions of his grace to be explored will be endless.
雖然你我都無法從科學上「證明」天堂是存在的（或不存在），但持守這個信念卻是完全合理的。聖經可靠的見證，以及我們靈魂澆滅不息的渴望，都強而有力地證實了這個事實。Though you or I
cannot scientifically “prove” heaven’s existence (or non-existence, of course), it is an
entirely plausible belief to hold. The reliable testimony of the Scriptures, as
well as the unquenchable longings of our souls, powerfully attest to its
reality.
最後，我們必須謹記，我們可以上天堂唯一的理由是因為上帝已經讓天堂臨到我們身上。兩千年前，在耶穌基督身上，上帝已經活出我們未能活出的生命，為我們應得的死亡而死，並從死裏復活，好叫所有接待祂的人可以享受祂，直到永遠。Finally, we must
remember the only reason we can go to heaven is because God left heaven to come
to us. Two thousand years ago, in the person of Jesus Christ, God lived the
life we’ve failed to live, died the death we deserve to die, and rose again so
that all who embrace him might enjoy him forever.
如果你為了救恩而信靠耶穌，宇宙的審判者看到你——罪和一切——就會看到祂毫無瑕疵的愛子。If you’re trusting Jesus for salvation, the Judge of
the cosmos looks at you—sin and all—and sees his spotless Son.
陶恕（A.W Tozer）曾經問道：「你是否曾駐足思考，上帝會很高興在天堂與你同在，就像你很高興到天堂一樣。」“Did you ever stop
to think,” asked A. W. Tozer,
“that God is going to be as pleased to have you
with him in heaven as you are to be there?”
祂等不及了，你呢？He can’t wait. Can you?
註：
1.
2014年二月20日在救贖主長老教會，凱勒（Tim Keller）把這篇文章應用在一場以「轉變人的盼望」為題的演講裏，作為他們「探索基督信仰」系列的一部分。以上對托爾金作品的討論是引自這場演說。
編者按：本文的另一個版本刊載於ExploreGod.com。
1 Tim
Keller helpfully applies this essay in a lecture titled “Hope That Transforms,”
delivered February 20, 2014 at Redeemer Presbyterian Church as part of their
“Questioning Christianity” series. The discussion of Tolkien’s work above is
indebted to this lecture.
Editors’
note: A version of this article appeared at ExploreGod.com.