The Cross Always Comes Before the Crown!

There is clear scriptural distinction between today which is the time before the manifestation of the kingdom of God, and that day in the future when the kingdom of God will be revealed. (2 Tm.4:1,8; 1Tm6:14) Indeed the Kingdom of God has always existed, (Dan.4:3, 34;7:14,27) and we become members of that kingdom at the time we place faith in Jesus Christ and are born again. (Col.1:13) We spiritually become members of that kingdom and are called citizens (Phil.3:20-21), but we remain in time, here on earth, surrounded by the kingdom’s of this world, serving as ambassadors to the people of the worldly kingdoms. (2 Co.5:20; 4:5; 2:14) The kingdom of God is not here yet, nor can it be until the King comes. Jesus said himself:

"My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36)

Paul lived as though the kingdom would be manifested later (Rm.8:18f; 2 Co. 4:17; also, 1 Pt.4:13; 5:1) and rebuked those who confused today’s kingdoms with the Kingdom that will come. (1 Co.4:8; 1 Tm. 6:5; also, Rev.3:17) The reason this becomes an issue is that our view of the Kingdom will:

1. determine our attitude toward our role as a servant today (John13:12-17; Matt.20:25-28)
2. influence the significance we place on material possessions today(1 Tm.6:5, 9, 11)
3. determine how we assess circumstances (Phi.3:7-12;4:11-12) (good and bad) today

To have a wrong view of the kingdom could derail our purpose and God’s calling on our life (2Tm4:10; 1Tm1:19) because, simply put, we will resist the truth and purse a lie (2 Tm3:8) . We could turn from God’s will to follow a fantasy.

Today we are servants of an unseen kingdom. (Rm6:22; Titus2:13) Paul, James, Peter, Jude and John called themselves servants in time, (Rm.1:1;Jm.1:1; 2 Pt.1:1, Jude 1;Rv.1:1) but recognize themselves as kings when the Kingdom comes. (1 Co. 4:8; 15:49; 1 Pt.2:9,11;1 Jn.3:2; Rv.2:26) To live as a king today and reject the position of servant hood is to subject yourself to Jesus’ warning that when the Kingdom comes “there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.” (Lk. 13:29-3) We may not be willing to sacrifice today what it takes to become the type of king God has planned for us in eternity. (Mk.10:29-31)

Jesus was tempted by Satan to take the kingdom before he took the cross. (Mt.4:8-9) In the same way, the people wanted Jesus to take the kingdom of the Jews from Rome on Palm Sunday, but instead “he humbled himself and became obedient to death.” (Ph.2:8) Even his disciples’ first major concern after the resurrection was not obedience but “restoring the kingdom.” (Acts 1:6)

God is not restoring us to Adam’s position. Adam was “the earthly man.” (1 Co.15:48) God is changing us into “the likeness of the man from heaven,” (1 Co. 15:49) and we will see it! (1 Jn.3:1-3)

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

God’s Personal Word to Jeremiah

Like all of us, the prophet Jeremiah became confused and discouraged when things did not work out like he had expected. Jeremiah told God,

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight.” (15:16)

Soon, the cost of having received the sweet word of God brought bitterness. Jeremiah complains of the isolation and affliction the word brought into his life when he says,

“I sat alone because your hand was on me. Why is my pain unending? (15:17)”

He then accuses God of being deceptive and failing him. (15:18)

The Lord had told Jeremiah when he called him,

“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.” (1:17)

Twenty-four years later Jeremiah is complaining and God answers by telling him to repent of these things:

Fearing Men— In 15:10 Jeremiah had complained to God that no one liked him. He described himself as, “a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!” He says, “everyone curses me.” God’s reply was, “If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me” (15:19)

False Doctrine—Jeremiah was to bring the sinful people back to God. But in 14:7 Jeremiah prays false doctrine, “Although our sins testify against us, O Lord, do something for the sake of your name.” He was asking God to overlook sin and bless the people. God rebukes him for his false doctrine when he says, “If you utter worthy, not worthless words, you will be my spokesman.” (15:19)

Following Messages of Men-Jeremiah told God, “the prophets keep telling them, ’You will not see the sword. . .I will give you lasting peace’. (14:13) God replied, “Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them.” (15:19)

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Eternal Rewards

The Bible teaches that rewards are available to the believer from God as recognition of that believer’s faithful service.

Some Christians question the existence of these rewards and others consider it selfish to even discuss them. In order to begin to clear up confusion and establish doctrine we need to identify the differences between the issue of eternal salvation and eternal rewards.

Four basic differences exist concerning salvation and rewards: God offers the lost salvation through faith in Christ.
1) God offers the believer rewards for faithful service.
2) Salvation is described as a free gift. Rewards are earned by works.
3) Salvation is a present possession now in time. Rewards will be possessed in the future and given at the Lord’s return.
4) Salvation can not be lost. Rewards can be lost.

From this list you can begin to see how people can get Bible verses about salvation and rewards confused and develop some of these false concepts:
A) Salvation is worked for or maintained by faithfulness
B) There is equality in heaven. Everyone receives rewards.

Our rewards will be determined by our actions on earth. It is possible to spend your life thinking you are serving the Lord only to find out you have few rewards. (1 Cor.3:15; 9:27) Receiving rewards is based on:
1) Pure or sincere motivation.
2) True and right actions.

To be sincere and pure in motive but to do the wrong thing equals zero. To do the right thing for the wrong reason brings the same, zero. Rewards are a matter of the heart and the head.

Rewards are based on knowledge of God’s will and a heart committed to that will. Rewards are distributed after a judgment before God. There are seven judgments recorded in scripture: 1—Believers from the church age,
2– Old Testament saints,
3—Martyrs of the Tribulation,
4—Jewish survivors of the Tribulation,
5– Gentile survivors of the Tribulation,
6—Satan and fallen angels,
7—The unsaved people of all time.

Romans 14:10-12 describes judgment for the church age believer: “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. . So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

“Stand before” is a technical Greek term meaning to stand before a judge. The word “account” is the Greek word “logos” and means “a word or a rational expression.” We will not only be evaluated individually for our faithfulness, but we will also have to respond to the Lord with a rational expression of our lives.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

"Heavenlies" in Ephesians 1:3

The phrase "heavenly realms" in Ephesians 1:3 (NIV) is from one Greek adjective ἐπουρανίοις or epouraniois. This adjective that stands alone without a noun at the beginning of the longest sentence in all of known ancient Greek (verses 3-14) means "above the sky, celestial, in heavenly, high." Nouns like "realm", "places", "world" are often added in the English translations to make sense of this Greek adjective so it say "heavenly realms" or "heavenly places."

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

A little study and investigation of this word gives us insight into the spiritual dimension that so often we dismiss or are unaware. In the Jewish understanding of the "the heavens" there was an upper part of this earth's atmosphere (as they understood the atmosphere or the sky) that was the realm of spiritual activity concealed from human view but directly involved in it. This may be similar to many ancient theologies that understood the upper levels of the sky to be the home of the gods. The gods were believed to be aware and involved in human events.

Paul refers to the "heavenlies" five times in Ephesians. In fact, this adjective is only used in Ephesians.

In Ephesians 1:3 we are said to be blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. Paul is saying that in Christi the believer has every spiritual advantage available in this spiritual dimension. Remember, this spiritual dimension is not future but currently active and effecting the natural world.

In Ephesians 1:20 we are told that Jesus was seated at the right hand of God who is himself seated in the "heavenlies." Paul then says that Jesus' position at the right hand of God in the heavenlies is far above all the other spiritual forces (or, gods) that occupy the heavenlies. This verse identifies these spiritual beings in four classes: rule, authority, power, dominion.

In Ephesians 2:6 we are told that believers have been seated with Christ in the heavenlies. This once again demonstrates an incredible truth concerning the depth and extent of our complete salvation in Christ.

In Ephesians 3:10 God's intention for the church is that his wisdom should be made known to the spiritual powers (rulers and authorities) in the heavenlies. God is demonstrating his varied and multi-dimensional wisdom today to these spiritual beings who occupy the heavenlies.

In Ephesians 6:12 we are told that our struggle today is not against the natural realm "but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies." Because this is our struggle we are told to put on the armor of God.

From these verses we see that the heavenlies is the location of spiritual forces and oppostion to God who himself is seated with in the heavenlies but at the head of all the powers in the heavenlies. Jesus is seated with God and we are seated with Christ. In this position (with Christ or in Christ) we have been blessed with every spiritual advantage available in the heavenlies. During our time on earth God is demonstrating his wisdom to these powers in the heavenlies through our lives and the evil spiritual forces in the heavenlies are opposing us as God continues to demonstrate his wisdom through our lives (the church) in our times.

With this understanding Ephesians 2:2 receives some light for understanding:

. . . in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

And, also in Daniel 10:12-13 when the angel Gabriel said:

Do not be afraid,Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen . . .

Join us for our Tuesday night Bible study through Ephesians in West Des Moines or online.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Essays for Bible School

There is a new site for the Generation Word Bible School students to respond to essay questions. The new site is set up as a blog with 61 entrees or posts. Each post corresponds to a chapter in the textbook Framework for Christian Faith. Each post is titled after a chapter and is followed with an essay question to respond to in the comment box. At this time about fifteen of the questions are ready, but all 61 posts are set in place. Take a look at Generation Word's Online Bible School Essay Blog page.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

New Quiz Site for New Textbook

I have just established a location on the internet to create, host and evaluate online tests and quizzes that will correlate with our new Bible school textbook, Framework for Christian Faith. I have had three people email just this week to sign up for the Generation Word Bible School. The material is ready but the sign up, evaluation and certification process are being assembled as we go. The first chapter test is complete and can be accessed here:

Introduction to Apologetics - Section A, Chapter 1

There are sixty one chapters in the book, and some of them are monster chapters.

Please take this test. It is free for the students and you do not have to register your name to take the test or to have it graded. Give me some feedback if you have time. I can rewrite the test questions, but I can not rewrite the book until the second printing which will occur after we have distributed 3,000 books (or, about 3 1/4 ton of paper.)

I am planning on adding to the assessment segment of the Bible school a blog page with a few essay questions. We envision having at least one essay question for each chapter. Students around the world can comment on the essay answers posted on the blog. This could simulate a classroom environment with feedback, motivation, a variety of perspectives, along with the negative features, such as fear, peer pressure and classroom bullies. There will also be additional reading assignments available.

Here is the Generation Word Bible School profile page which will serve as an index to all the tests that we create. You can see this first quiz at the bottom of that profile page.

The text and information from chapter one can be found here.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Audio Christmas Card

There are several things I need to add to this blog including responses to the rapture discussion and the atheistic crimes/violence. Also, I want to add a couple of blogs which include a brief teaching on Paul's intention for the Greek adjective translated "heavenlies" in Ephesians 1:3 and my plan to add online tests, an essay blog and online reading opportunities (or, assignments) for the Generation Word Bible School. But, for today I would like to give you a link to Toni's and my audio Christmas card. I hope you enjoy it and we wish you a Merry Christmas!

Click here to go to our audio Christmas card

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Spilled Walnut Stain

Yesterday in my 8th grade shop classes the students were staining their oak end tables. We spent three days staining 100 of these tables. Finally on the third day the inevitable happened. As one student was repositioning his end table he knocked another student's one quart can of dark walnut wood stain on the floor. The stain splattered everywhere and on everything in a 10 foot radius. If this ever happens to you the first response is to prevent the students from walking away from ground zero which would result in stain being tracked through out the shop. The student whose stain was spilled quickly escaped ground zero to get something to begin cleaning up the mess before the wrath of Mr. Wiemers was released. After having left walnut foot prints all the way to the sink and back, she returned to ground zero with two paper towels.

It was at this point I realized I was observing a future sermon illustration. This poor student was going to try to hold off my anger, disappointment and frustration by bringing two inadequate paper towels to clean up a quart of walnut stain pooled up on the floor and splattered in every direction. Not to mention, in her attempt to help, she had tracked the stain across the shop and back and others were preparing to follow her. The usefulness of this illustration is enormous and its application will surely be used some Sunday morning.

It did remind me of the time a friend of mine cut his thumb off on the table saw in high school. With the student's thumb laying on the table saw the teacher that day said, "I'll go get a band-aid," and then left to locate a bandaid!? Both paper towels and band-aids are useful but not when we are dealing with a quart of walnut stain and a severed thumb.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Quadrants of Life

Through out the scriptures we are told that God is good. When we hear this we tend to describe the word good in terms of immediately recognizable “good.” Our definition of the term “good” could alternately use synonyms like “pleasant, pleasing, desirable, pain-free, or sought-after.” When we study the verses that often surround the praise “God is good,” we see that part of God’s “good” activity towards us is not within our definition. Things like “testing,” “trying,” “examining,” and “sacrificing.” In Psalm 107, which begins and ends with statements attesting to the “goodness” of God, forty-three verses are laced with real life situations where the goodness of God is manifested to people. Some of these people were lost and wandering, some had been subjected to bitter labor by God, others where caught in a storm sent by God, some of them were suffering in divine discipline for their rebellion. Although each group was in a different situation and for a different reason (some had rebelled, some had obeyed, some were guilty, some were innocent), they all were in the goodness of God.

The truth that God is doing something in our lives to change us is so obvious it goes without saying, but yet it is one of the things we must be taught so we do not go to extremes.

In Philippians 4:12-13 Paul says he has “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” With the phrase “learned the secret” he uses a technical term that refers to the process of initiation. The initiation would include more than knowledge but a sequences of life experiences. The situations in life are then listed by Paul forming a quadrant. Paul says he has learned to be content when “well fed,” “hungry,” “in plenty,” or “in want.” These four may seem redundant in the English Bible as if saying “prosperity or poverty, or prosperity or poverty.”

The tenses of the verbs that Paul uses in the Greek text develops the quadrants that can categorize every situation in life.

The first prosperity phrase (“well fed”) is passive. Meaning Paul was the recipient and not the doer of the verb. In other words he did not cause it to happen. This is true of the last phrase (“in want”) indicating there were times that Paul was in need that were out of his control. Paul did not deserve or cause the lack in this situation, it was given to him. The other two phrases (“hungry” or “plenty”) are in the active tense meaning Paul did or created both of these in his life at some time.

All of these serve a purpose and is the manifestation of the goodness of God in our lives. You may be suffering undeserving like Joseph or deserving like Samson. You may be prosperous undeservingly like Solomon or deserving like Abraham. But, one thing is true, God’s goodness will eventually take you to all four quadrants and through his initiation you can be content in any of them.

Galyn Wiemers

http://www.generationword.com

Three areas that cause us to sin:

1. Pride
2. Self-preservation
3. Lust

Five things we need to avoid sinning:

1. Fear of God
2. Trust in God
3. Be Humble Before God
4. Learn of God
5. Walk with God

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Connxions - Event Center and Bookstore

Last night Toni and I had the privilege of attending Jerry Chiaramonte's grand opening reception for his new bookstore/event center in Urbandale. It has been a forty year dream for Jerry who began writing down ideas and drawing images of this project as a 20 year old college student. He told me he was going through a folder the other day containing pages of plans he had collected over the years and came across a forty year old sketch he had made of the layout of the store with a baby-grand piano in the center. Then he pointed right behind where I was sitting at the new baby-grand piano. Every detail of the store had been in the process of development over all these years. This is an inspiration for all of us who have dreams and plans. Abraham waited 25 years for a son, Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness before delivering Israel, and now, Jerry Chiaramonte has built his bookstore after forty years of planning and waiting.

One of the many features of Jerry's bookstore is the classroom he has set up right across the hallway from the event center. Beginning in January I will be teaching a weekly class in this classroom at Connxions beginning at 7:00 PM. (We are still discussing which night.) We will be handing out copies of our new 550 page book called Framework for Christian Faith and teaching through this Bible School material in a year.

Visit Connxions website

Download the .pdf files here for the new Framework for Christian Faith book which will be available in print in about a week.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

God Moves Through People

Tonight in Bible study we reviewed Zechariah's eight night visions he received on February 15, 519 BC. The consistent theme of the visions was to show that God was able and willing to restore the Jews returning from Babylonian exile. The purpose of the visions was to motivate the Jewish leaders and the general public to fulfill God's plan for their generation.

In the fifth vision Zechariah is shown a lampstand that was burning oil supplied by two olive trees. At the end of the vision Zechariah ased the angel who was talking to him , "What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?" The problem with this question was the use of the word "What" instead of "Who" because the angel answered, "These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth."

The two trees were two men, Joshua, the high priest, and, Zerubbabel, the governor or civil leader. These two men were represented as two trees who supplied an unlimited supply of oil for the lamp, but this was only possible because they were anointed by God.

The point: God anoints people in order to accomplish his will. It was clear through out these eight visions that God was ready to move but he first had to convince the people who were anointed for that generation to move before his plan for rebuilding the temple and reestablishing the nation of Israel would move forward. It is the same today. When God moves in the earth or provides the supplies that are needed he will do it through people.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Individual Responsibility and Capitalism

Our cultural foundation includes the economic concept of capitalism. Capitalism has at its core the necessity of individual responsibility. For individuals to act responsibly there must be some level of ethics and morality. Before an individual or a cultural can identify right from wrong so that ethics and morality can be established there has to be some standard that is recognized as absolute. Thus, the sequence for establishing a capitalistic society:

1. Absolute standards
2. Ethics and morality
3. Responsible individuals
4. Profitable and beneficial capitalism
5. A Successful society

In Hope for America's Last Generation I closed the book with the following statement in the epilogue:

The other, and perhaps most important, thing you can do is change yourself. Begin to do what is right in every area of your life - taking personal responsibility for all your choices. If you change the one institution you have control over, the rest of the institutions will fall in line. (page 251)

The five institutions established by God for the well-being of mankind and man's societies are: individual responsibility (free will), marriage, family, nationalism and government. We know that nationalism, family, and marriage are under attack in our culture today. Could it be that due to the failure of individual responsibility being kept in perspective the institution of government is also being forced further out of line? The need for the bailouts is a sign that our new principles are false and failing. We have neglected Truth and reality for false philosophies and vanity. Are we following our idols to judgment?

Read Hope for America's Last Generation online in .pdf or request a copy at gw@generationword.com

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Why Do Children Suffer?

Jan, a longtime listener and promoter of Generation Word who lives in Australia, emailed this morning and asked this question:

Hi Galyn,
Hope you and Toni and boys are all well, all my best wishes for your holiday season.

I am enjoying your teaching on Ephesians and I am also doing Romans (from the blue tabs). I was asked a question by a new believer (friend) and I didn't really know enough to answer her sufficiently and wondered if you could help me. I know you are very busy and I don't want to encroach upon your time, but if you could send a reply I would be really grateful. Her question was "why does God allow little children to suffer e.g. being born with aids or drug addiction or being abused by adults" my friend is a nurse and works in hospitals where she sees the suffering of small children and wonders why these things are allowed by a gracious and loving God.

Jan,
Thanks for the email. It is always encouraging to hear from you and know you are still using the website. I have attached an audio clip from the series "30 Questions and Answers". In this message I answer the question "Do science and the Bible conflict?" then in the second half I address the question you are interested in: "How could God allow suffering and evil?"

http://www.generationword.com/on_line_audio/q_a_3_4.ram

This message may also be of interest: "What do I say to my patients? How did Satan come to be?" It can be heard at:

http://generationword.com/on_line_audio/q_a_16_17.ram

The basic answer to the question is that God created a perfect world for man and then God told man that he was free to eat from any tree in the garden but advised him not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Gen. 2:17

In summary:
1. God made a perfect world.
2. God told man he was free.
3. Man choose to corrupt the perfect world.
4. The result: we live in a fallen world.

Adam choose to live outside of God's will back then which still effects us now. Today men, including me, often make choices that are in rebellion to God's will which continues to compound the problem. Realize though that even if we choose to do everything in perfect agreement with God's plan (live a sinless life) we would still face suffering since we live in a fallen world.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

The Rapture and 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3

A key verse to the time of the rapture (harpadzo) referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is found in Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians in verse 2:1-3. I teach that this event, the removal of the church, will occur before the beginning of Daniel's last "week" or the seven year tribulation. Friends of mine who attend one of my Bible studies hold to the mid-tribulation rapture that occurs at the 3 1/2 year mark or the half-way point of the tribulation. Still many others believe the church will continue on the earth through the entire seven year tribulation. This is an interesting study that has drawn good, Bible-believing Christians to the defense of any of these three positions of interpretation.

In 2 Thessalonians Paul writes to correct a mistaken understanding and application of his previous teaching. He writes:

"Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction."

Several key phrases need to be correctly identified to keep Paul's comments in context. Again, the views Bible teachers have here will vary. These are some of the phrases:

1. "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him"
2. "easily unsettled or alarmed"
3. "the day of the Lord"
4. "the day of the Lord has already come"
5. "that day will not come until: A) the rebellion occurs, B) the man of lawlessness is revealed

Number 1 - "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" is his appearing to take the church and "our being gathered to him" is the rapture itself.

Number 2 - "easily unsettled or alarmed" is from the Greek words "εἰς τὸ μὴ ταχέως σαλευθῆναι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ νοὸς μηδὲ θροεῖσθαι" and is translated in the NAS as "that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed" (notice the NIV translates the thought of the Greek but the NAS translates the words) . The key words "unsettled" means "to shake, to cause to move to and fro, to cause to waiver like the shaking of a foundation." This word "unsettled" is used beside the word "mind" in the Greek meaning the shaking is being done in their mind, the faculty for reasoning or understanding. This is followed by the word "alarmed" which in the Greek means "to be disturbed, to be frightened, to be inwardly aroused." The report the Thessalonians had accepted had not changed their outward circumstances (there was no increase in persecutions, plagues, or marks of the beast, etc.) but the trouble was on the inside caused by unwarranted fear of something that had not yet manifested.

Number 3 - "day of the Lord" is an Old Testament term for God's Day, or period (Daniel's 70th week) of judgment on the earth and Israel's testing.

Number 4 - "day of the Lord has already come" tells us what they were so unsettled and alarmed about in the mind and inward being. They were anticipating the tribulation and its accompanying events.

Number 5 - Paul says that day worthy of fear will not come until "the rebellion occurs" and "the man of lawlessness is revealed".

The Thessalonian believers wrongfully feared they had missed the rapture that occurs with the appearing of the Lord before the tribulation begins. The tribulation is a seven year period that includes judgment on the nations, but also, a time of testing for Israel in order to bring them to a place of repentance when God pours out on them "a spirit of grace and supplication" mentioned in Zechariah 12:10 (12:10-14:21).

This is the order of events presented in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3:

1. Coming of the Lord to gather the church (rapture)
   
2. "The Rebellion" and "revealing" of the anti-Christ
3. The period of judgment known as the Day of the Lord, the seven year tribulation

Watch and listen to Galyn's teaching on End Time Basics in RealPlayer:

• End Time Basics 1
• Daniel's Prophecy
• Daniel's Weeks; Matthew 24; Luke 21
• Rapture
• The First Half of the Tribulation
• The Second Half of the Tribulation

Or, listen online to these entire audio sets:

• Verse by verse through the book of Revelation
• Overview of Eschatology
  

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Book Details

I began in January of 2008 attempting to write and organize notes, thoughts and general information that I taught in our Generation Word's 50 week Bible School. During the next five months I found myself too busy with work, teaching Bible classes, following my boy's activities, updating the websites, etc. to make any progress on the book that I wanted to call "Generation Word's Bible School Notes."

But, when summer came I spent every possible minute between June 9 and August 12 writing and drawing maps for 61 chapters. The editing process began right away with many people reading through sections of the book. Tim Vaniman edited the portions that were turned in until sometime in October when we handed the book over to Clint Hansen to set the book for printing and add his illustrations.

Then over Thanksgiving break Jennifer Ruisch, Tim Vaniman and myself read through what Clint had put together. Today the final copy of the book was sent to the printer. The final page count was 550 pages.

When I asked about the shipping cost of the final product I was amazed to find out that the 3,000 books that will be delivered to my house for distribution will weigh over 6,500 pounds. So, sometime in the next 2-3 weeks we will be unloading 3 1/4 ton of "Framework for Christian Faith."

It has been called extensive by Steve Deace of WHO, comprehensive by Joe McGee of Faith for Families, a useful tool by Chuck Grassley of the United States Senate and a valuable reference tool by Mike Swaim, a leader of the men's Cross Trainers group.

I have dedicated this book to people who have spent years sitting in church but have never had the privilege of hearing teaching from the Word of God.

We have already had request from Pakistan, Finland, England, Australila, Nigeria, South Africa for this book. A church in Birmingham, Alabama is planning on using the book for developing Bible teachers and general Christian faith for their people.

We will start another weekly class in Urbandale, Iowa early in January to go through each of the 550 pages of what I call a textbook.

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com

Combat Correspondent, LCPL. Wiemers, Justin

My son Zachary, age 15, was writing a paper for school about the Marines and was searching the web for infomation. What he found accidently was this article from the Quantico Sentry, the corps oldest newspaper, from Quantico, Virgina by his brother, Pfc. Justin Wiemers (age 25 and as of yesterday promoted to Lance Corporal). Justin is a combat correspondent for the Marines. The below articles were written by Justin and the photos were also taken by him:

http://www.dcmilitary.com/stories/111308/quanticosentry_28164.shtml
http://www.dcmilitary.com/stories/112608/quanticosentry_28159.shtml
http://www.dcmilitary.com/stories/112008/quanticosentry_28175.shtml

Justin will be continuing his training after Christmas in broadcasting with the United States Marines.

LCPL. Wiemers, Justin, Combat Correspondent

Galyn Wiemers
http://www.generationword.com