"epiphaneia" is a compound word made up of "epi" and "phaino."

"phaino" is translated "to manifest" or "to show."


It is also translated "to shine" in reference to the sun, moon and lamps in Rev. 1:16; 21:23; John 5:35 and 2 Peter 1:19.

The root word "phaino" is used in Colossians 3:4 two times,

"When Christ , who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

"epiphaneia" means "manifestation" or "glorious appearance." It was used to speak of a glorious manifestation of a Greek god that appeared with striking splendor with the intention of bringing helpful intervention.

"epiphaneia" is used to denote the sudden and unexpected appearance of an enemy who is bringing the battle to their opponents. It also is used of a god bringing helpful intervention during the battle. "epiphaneia" began to be used more generally to refer to divine assistance. Josephus used the word as a synonym for the Greek word "parousia"

In the New Testament "epiphaneia" is used most often for the future appearing of Jesus.

"Then the lawless one will be revealed (apokalupto), whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with thebreath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming." 2 Thessalonians 2:8

"I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time." 1 Timothy 6:14

"In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: PREACH the WORD! 2 Timothy 4:1, 8

"We wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great Godand Savior, Jesus Christ." Titus 2:1

Galyn Wiemers
Generation Word
http://www.generationword.com

The Greek Word "embateuo" means "to enter"

 "embateuon" is the present active participle of "embateuo" found in Colossians 2:18. It means "entering" but its translation is disputed since Paul does not use it with an object in this sentence. Paul writes to the Colossians:

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you fro the prize. Such a person goes into great detail  ("embateuon") about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions." - Colossians 2:18

This verse is addressing the false philosophy/religion that had caused the Colossians to stumble in their Christian doctrine and their Christian walk. Paul uses pronouns like "anyone," "he," "his" and "him" in this verse to identify what seems to be a local shaman who must have served as a spiritual guide in the syncretism (mixed religious ideas) in Colossians. The people had become Christian, but continued to follow this man because of his "entering" or "embateuo." What did he enter into? Again, there is no object in Paul's sentence. There is simply a mention of his "entering" and having seen things? This word ("embateuo") has recently been found in a temple to Apollo 30 miles north of Ephesus in Greek inscriptions. The Greek inscriptions list the names of official delegates that had come to Apollo's temple to receive oracles. These visitors who wanted to receive an oracle had gone through two stages in the ritual. The first stage was the initiation where they were given the mysteries of the cult. The second stage was simply called "embateuo" or "the entering." This "embateuo" referred to the delegate entering the inner sanctuary for consultation with the the god or demon. The individual that was distracting the Colossian's spiritual growth appears to have "entered" into some temple, some heavenly sphere or some spiritual vision that was believed by the people to give that person some insight or wisdom from this superspiritual experience (or, experiences).


Galyn Wiemers
Generation Word
http://www.generationword.com

The Greek Word "apantesis" means "to meet"

apantesis is translated "to meet" in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 where Paul writes:

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

apantesis is a technical term in the ancient Greek that was used to describe a delegation of citizens from a city leaving their city in order to meet an arriving dignitary, ambassador or important government official in order to show their visitor honor and respect by ceremonially escorting them the rest of the way into their city. This was the custom of the Greek world that Paul was writing to.This word apantesis is also used in Matthew 25:6 when the wise virgins went "to meet" the bridegroom and Acts 28:15 when the Christian citizens of Rome "met" Paul south of the city to escort him into Rome.

Galyn Wiemers
Generation Word
http://www.generationword.com

The Greek Word "Harpadzo" means "Rapture"

RAPTURE  - “harpagesometha” in First Thessalonians 4:17 is the future indicative passive of  “harpadzo” and means “to snatch up, to seize, to carry off by force, to rapture. The word often denotes the emotion of a sudden swoop, and usually that of a force which cannot be resisted.” An example of this Greek word’s use is seen in Acts 8:39 when the Holy Spirit physically took ("harpasen" the aorist indicative active of “harpadzo”) Philip away from the Ethiopian to be found later in the town of Azotus...There will be a rapture, but we will not be counting down when it happens!


Galyn Wiemers
Generation Word
http://www.generationword.com

Mother's Day Special: My Wife and Our Six Sons in the News

My wife Toni and our six sons are featured on this news video clip from KCCI channel 8 Des Moines for Mother's Day 2011:

http://www.kcci.com/video/27820952/detail.html

Galyn Wiemers
Generation Word
http://www.generationword.com

Truth (From the "Defending the Faith" Series)

What makes me worthy to identify the Truth and expose the lie?

It is not my own righteousness, but the simple fact that the Truth exists. This portion of the debate is not about my character, but about the existence of Truth. My character (at this point of the argument) has nothing to do with identifying Truth.

Both, those who say there IS a standard of Truth and righteousness and those who say there IS NO standard of Truth and righteousness, find themselves sinning and doing wrong. The difference is that the first group has a standard to compare themselves to, but the second group really can not say they are sinners. They can not even say the first group is wrong since in their own philosophy they claim there are no standards. Thus, only the first group (those who hold to an absolute standard of Truth and righteousness) are logical.

Watch Video HERE (RealPlayer)

Christians, Get Focused! Spare the Drama!

As the northern kingdom of Israel stumbled through their 210 year history which ultimately ended in the Assyrian dispersion in 721 BC, their kings were continually recorded as never having repented of the sin of Jeroboam, the very first king of Israel in the north. This sin included Jeroboam's re-writing Israel's history, introducing new gods and establishing a new philosophy to live by. With out the road map of history Israel could never return to where they had derailed from God's plan. Thus, they could never really identify their sin and repent. History, that is correctly recorded and taught, is the truth that is necessary for a nation to judge itself by. Incorrect history is not truth. Re-written history is a lie and will lead to wrong conclusions.

Some modern errors in the church need to be identified with a little more precision. I am thinking about churches and Christians, including my church and myself, who are quick to point out the sin of homosexuality, the blaspheme of public schools as they forbid prayer while claiming to be non-religious and the failure of our government to honor the constitution while American citizen's race into social error, ignorant of American history and world history. But, these are not the heaviest pivotal points for our society!

How can churches blame homosexuality when adultery and divorce are what actually destroy marriage, families and children? How can churches accuse public schools of not praying when we do not hear prayers of repentance and intercession from the church itself? How can the church accuse politicians of forsaking the Constitution and bemoan the ignorance of public knowledge of our history when the vast majority of churches have forsaken the Scripture and the average Christian's knowledge of the Bible is so pathetic that they would fail an entrance exam into a fifth grade Sunday school class, let alone a college entrance exam.

We, the church, have "redefined" marriage and are destroying children, the next generation!
We, the church, are the one's who refuse to pray, even when we are allowed to pray!
We, the church, are forsaking the Bible and are ignorant of its contents.

Indeed, homosexuality is a sin against God, against man and against natural law. Public schools do oppress Christianity, our Constitution is forsaken and the public is ignorant. But, don't you think it is time for the church to take the beam out of its own eye before they attempt to surgically eradicate evil in human society?

Philosophical Atheism

For the past 15 years I have rested comfortably in my faith holding to facts and convictions that supported the Scriptures. In January of 1996 I responded to an article that attacked Christianity on 16 points by writing a 100 page booklet. I then used this booklet to teach a couple of classes. Challenges of skeptics, atheists and evolution were resolved in my mind. Eventually, I lost interest in debating the topic.

Both atheism and humanism lost ground in the later 1900's. Even Antony Flew, the champion of atheism who debated C.S. Lewis, renounced atheism in favor of deism. Now, with the emergence of the new-atheist, who are emboldened by men like Richard Dawkins, atheism and humanism are attempting to make a comeback. I have been drawn back into the debate and have began reading some of their books. Yesterday I told my wife that I felt compelled to research and write a book in the next few months to address atheism's new strategies. This book would also speak to some of the other issues that can be addressed with apologetic evidence. I am now continuing to read and decide if I really want to extend the effort debating and researching something I could quickly loose interest in. There are already many very good sources available, yet it would be interesting to search out and address all the skeptic's questions and challenges. I know I would sleep better if I did.

One book I have been reading again is Dinesh D'Souza's What's So Great About Christianity. In chapter fourteen he discusses atheism's scientific methodology. There is a bias in science towards materialism and naturalism which is understandable on one level, but very dangerous on the other. This materialism manifests itself in two forms of atheistic science. One form is acceptable and necessary. The other is an ideology and a religion.

D'Souza calls the first type procedural or methodological atheism because it means that scientists go about their work presuming that we live in a natural, material world. Which, of course, is true. These scientist are not looking for God nor are they going to resolve difficult problems by saying, "Well, then this must have been a miracle or supernatural intervention." None of us want our scientists, doctors or, even, our car mechanics to give us an answer that sounds like that. We want facts. So, science uses the materialistic and natural scientific methodology. These scientists are not saying there is no God, there is no supernatural, or there is no soul. They are simply saying the scientific method does not measure these areas. So, we do not comment on those areas.

The second form of atheism is philosophical atheism. These scientist believe "that material and natural reality is all that exists. Everything else must be illusory." They hold to the conviction that because God cannot be measured or proven with an experiment then there is no way of discovering God. They tend to present their views as if one of their greatest discoveries was the discovery of not finding God. Thus, there is no God and anyone who says differently is unscientific and ignorant according to their doctrine.

D'Souza writes:

If you were to ask a scientist, "Why is that water boiling?" he or she would answer in terms of molecules and temperatures. But there is a second explanation: the water is boiling because I want to have a cup of tea. This second explanation is a perfectly valid description of reality, yet it is ignored or avoided by the scientific account. The reason for this is that science is incapable of answering questions about the nature or purpose of reality.

Philosophical atheism is narrowly dogmatic because it closes itself off from knowledge that does not conform to materialism and naturalism. . . By contrast, the theist is much more open-minded and reasonable. The theist does not deny the validity of scientific reasoning. On the contrary, the theist is constantly reasoning in this way in work and life. The theist is entirely willing to acknowledge material and natural causes for events, but he also admits the possibility of other types of knowledge.

The People Who Know Their God Will Firmly Resist Him

Writing prophetically in 536 BC of events that would occur in 168 BC, Daniel says,

"With flattery he (Antiochus Epiphanes IV) will corrupt those who have violated the covenant (Jews who followed the ways of worldly Hellenism and liberal scholarship), but the people who know their God will firmly resist him."

This was a time when the world powers of Syria and the Seleucid kings in the North plus Egypt and the Ptolemies in the South pressed Judah for taxes, political support and cultural conformity. These demands of politics and society eventually crossed a line that forced the Jews to compromise their commitment to the Lord who was their creator and savior.

Those that "know their God" found an inner strength, or commitment, to hold to the Truth. This strength resulted in action. Knowledge of God will produce an inner resolve which will lead to corresponding action such as Godly decisions and deeds. Knowledge leads to understanding which produces the wisdom to act in line with the truth.

The New American Standard translation reads:

"And by smooth words he (Antiochus) will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will
display strength and take action."

The English Standard Version reads:

"He (Antiochus) shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action."

If the Ptolemies or the Selucid kings were allowed to define God for the people then religion would have had no reason to resist politics. Or, if the people accepted the knowledge of God as taught by the liberal scholars of the day there would not have been a conflict. There would have been no display of strength, nothing to stand firm on and, most importantly, no reason to take action or to resist.

If you are not taking some kind of action, then you probably do not know God. If you are not resisting at some level, then you probably do not know God as well as you would like to think.

(The image on the coin above is that of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.)