使徒行传 17：24-31

创造宇宙和其中万物的神，既是天地的主，就不住人手所造的殿。也不用人手服事，好
像缺少什么，自己倒将生命气息，万物，赐给万人。他从一本造出万族的人，（本有古卷
作血脉），住在全地上，并且预先定准他们的年限，和所住的疆界。要叫他们寻求神，或
者可以揣摩而得，其实他离我们各人不远。我们生活，动作，存留，都在乎他，就如你们
作诗的，有人说，我们也是他所生的。我们既是神所生的，就不当以为神的神性像人用
手艺，心思，所雕刻的金，银，石。世人蒙昧无知的时候，神并不监察，如今却吩咐各处的
人都要悔改。因为他已经定了日子，要借着他所设立的人，按公义审判天下。并且叫
他从死里复活，给万人作可信的凭据。

Acts 17:24-31

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and
24 

does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as
if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything
else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth;
and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their
lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find
him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have
our being.’  As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
[a] [b]

“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is
29 

like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God
overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For
he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has
appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

这段经文第 26 节说，“他从一本造出万族的人，（本有古卷作血脉），住在全地上，并且
预先定准他们的年限，和所住的疆界。”对于“年限”，传统上的解释是指季节循
环。神预先定准“年限”，乃是祂用创造的大能使四季时节按时发生，使地上的人
能生活在自然规律之中。神的普遍恩典，由此可知。

In v.26 of this passage, Paul says, “From one man he made all the nations, that they
should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the
boundaries of their lands.” In traditional interpretation, “appointed time” means the circle
of seasons. God marked out the appointed time for human by setting time of different
seasons by His power, so that all the people on the earth live in natural laws. Thus, they
can know His common grace.

后来，有圣经学者对这个词有新的理解。此理解认为，神的年限不仅指四季循环，
也指世界重大的历史事件。神对历史也有计划，祂让某些重要的事件引导历史走向，
从而使人可以通过祂在历史中的作为认识祂。我们的生活，存留，气息都在乎于神，
不仅是因为四季规律由神掌握，也是因为历史走向在祂手中。这也是与圣经，特别
是旧约中的历史观相符合的。

Later, some Biblical scholars had new interpretation on this phrase. It says that God’s
“appointed time” means not only the circulation of seasons but also the historical events.
God intentionally guides the direction of history by appointing the big events in history,
so that people may know Him from what he did in history. We live and move and have
our being in Him, not only because He’s in control of the seasons, but also because
history is in His hand. This fits what the Bible, especially the Old Testament, says.

而保罗在讲道中继续说，“我们既是神所生的，就不当以为神的神性像人用手艺，心
思，所雕刻的金，银，石。世人蒙昧无知的时候，神并不监察，如今却吩咐各处的人都要
悔改。”若神的年限是祂对历史的引导，那么，祂希望祂的引导在人心中的效果就是，
离弃偶像，悔改归向真神。这个理解虽然耳熟能详，但在历史的事件中，往往也是最容
易被我们忽略的。大事发生时我们求生存，而灵性的层面容易被丢弃。在今日的境
况中，我们是在苦难中更抓紧自己的偶像，还是为自己的心，安上圣经中所讲的对神导
历史的理解角度呢？

Then, Paul continues in his sermon, “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should
not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human
design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all
people everywhere to repent.” If God’s appointed time is His guidance of history, the
effect that He wants His guidance to make in our heart is to abandon idols and repent to
the One True God. This sounds familiar to us. However, we are so ignorant of it when big
things happen in history. When big things happen, we strive to survive yet abandon our
spiritual need. So today, are we holding firmly to our idols in suffering, or preparing our
heart to understand the history which is guided by Him.