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This program is made possible by the giving of the God called Partners of Renner Ministries. Get ready for a teaching that feeds your spirit and your mind, where the Word is the anchor in uncertain times. And doctrine doesn't bend to culture. We keep it simple, but dive deep, revealing a truth that strengthens us, a love that emboldens, and a mission that touches the world. Let's join Rick Renner.

Rick Renner (0:38)

Welcome to today's program. It's the first of the week and today we're going to return to our subject, which is called How Close Are we to the End? And I have a new series by that title, 10 parts, comes in all kinds of formats, with a study guide that has everything in the study guide that is in the series. I really believe in science proves that when you read while you hear or see information, it really causes all that teaching and revelation to take root down deep inside you. And I'm very excited about my book, Signs yous'll See Just Before Jesus Comes. I wrote that book for me because I wanted to know what are the signs we'll see just before Jesus comes. And I believe this book would be a great blessing to you or to anybody who has a hunger to know what's going to happen between now and the rapture of the church. And right now, for free, we have a very special gift for you. We have designed an end time timeline chart. It is just amazing. It is so beautifully designed and it shows past prophecies, it shows where we are now, prophecies that are still being fulfilled and prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled in the future. And we designed this because I want you to have it right in front of you so you can really see where we are in prophetic time. And you can get yours by downloading it at our website or give us a call. Just call the number on the screen and we will send you a hard copy as our gift to you. And when you go online or call that number, you can ask about all of these resources. And please, when you reach out to us, would you let us know how to pray for you? We believe in the power of prayer. Jesus said, listen to this, if two of you will agree as touching anything on earth, I will do it. That my Father will be glorified. Well, here we are. There you are. It takes two and we're on earth. If two of you shall agree as touching anything on earth, if we can get into agreement and if we can pray scripturally, we're told in First John 5, 14, 15 that God will Hear us when we pray his word. And we'll have the petitions that we request of Him. And we know how to pray scripturally. So reach out to us. Call that number. And by the way, write it down, save that number. So that when you get in a fix and you really wish you had somebody to pray with you, you've got a number to call. That's our number. You can trust us. We are confidential and we will sincerely pray for you. And Jesus really will do what needs to done. But I want you to reach for your Bible because we always use the Bible in this program. And today we're going to return to Matthew 24:3. And because it's the beginning of a new week, I want to review this verse one more time. When you come to Matthew 24, Jesus and His disciples have just left the Temple. They've gone across the Kidron Valley, and now they are seated on the Mount of Olives. Well, the Mount of Olives is just across the Kidron Valley. And when you sit on the Mount of Olives and look that direction across the Kidron Valley before you is a beautiful prophetic panoramic view of the Temple Mount. It is just magnificent. If you've ever been to Jerusalem, you know what I'm talking about. It is just beautiful. And now Jesus and his disciples are seated on the Mount of Olives, and they come to him privately. Let's look at it. It says in Matthew 24:3, and as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately. I think this is so very important because when you come to Jesus privately, you can ask things that you cannot ask when you're with a group. And when you're privately with the Lord, he's gonna say things to your heart and to your mind that he's not gonna say to you when you're with a lot of other people. And now they came to him privately saying, tell us, when shall these things be? And they were talking about end time events. And at this particular moment there was a great fixation on end time events or things of an eschatological nature. Between the Old and the New Testament, which is called the intertestamental period, there was a lot of speculation and prophecy about the end of the age. And so when they asked this question, when shall these things be? It was very fitting with the spirit of that age. That's what people were asking. And here we are now waiting for the rapture of the Church, the coming of Jesus, and people again are asking the very same questions. They said, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? But I'm going to go to the board because I want to review these words with you one more time, because it's the beginning of the week and I want to make sure you understand exactly what the disciples were asking Jesus. The first question they asked was, when? When shall these things be? The word when in Greek is very important. It is the Greek word pote, the word poteh. Now, if you want to know how to spell that in English, you would spell it like this. But this word pote means exactly when. It was the equivalent of saying, Lord, we don't want a general answer. We want to know exactly when. Lord, it's just us and you. We're here privately together. Tell us exactly when shall these things be? And then they asked, and what shall be the sign of thy coming at the end of the age? The word wat is the Greek word t, and it's spelled like T in English. This word T describes the most minute, minuscule detail. It was the equivalent of saying, Lord, we want you to get down to the bare facts. Give us the most minute, minuscule details. Tell us precisely exactly what will be the sign. Then they use the word sign, which in Greek is the word Simeon. Simeon. And this is really important. In English, it would be spelled like this. This word Simeon describes an authenticating marker, and it was the word used to describe a road sign that you would see as you're journeying from one place to another destination. In the first century, they really had road signs. Now, I gave this example before, but I want to give it to you again for review. Let me use the example of me and Denise. Let's say this is the city of Moscow and this is the Kremlin, right in the heart of Moscow. Denise and I live outside the city. Seven and a half miles. That's where our studio is, that's where some of our offices are. And of course, there's a road that goes all the way into Moscow. Well, out where we live, there's pastures, there's forests. It's just beautiful. There are small neighborhoods, but as you take this road, the atmosphere begins to change, the scenery begins to change. And you know by the change in scenery, the signs, that things are changing and you're headed somewhere significant. First there are tall buildings, then there are industrial buildings, Then there are taller and taller and a lot of big buildings, and more and more industry becomes more congested. And, you know you're headed somewhere really significant. Until finally you get to this, which is a highway called Imcod. And when you get to it, there's a big sign that says Moscow. It lets you know you're no longer traveling toward the city, but you've entered the territory of Moscow in the same way. The disciples were saying, lord, what are the prophetic markers? What are the prophetic signs we're going to see along the prophetic road to the end of the age? And by using this word signs, the Greek word Simeon. And they were saying, lord, what is the changes we're gonna see as time moves forward? Specifically, how will we know where we are in time and how much further we have to go to the end of the age. But in Greek, they just asked for one sign. One sign. But Jesus gave them over 20 signs to let them know exactly where they are on the road to the end of the age. But then they asked, what is the sign of thy coming? The word coming is also very important. It is the Greek word parousia. Parousia. This is a very important New Testament word. In English, it would be spelled like this. And this word parousia is really from the word per, which means alongside. And the word usia means to be present. You put the two words together, it describes the coming or the presence of the Lord. And many people argue that this word parousia describes the second advent, which is the end of the tribulation period. But that's really not the case. This word parousia is used to describe the rapture of the Church and also the second advent. How it is used has to be determined by the context of the verses. But importantly, this word parousia. And I want to read to you from my notes because this is so powerful. Listen to this. It is a technical expression for the royal visit of a king or emperor, or the arrival of one who alone has the authority and power to deal with the situation and to put things in order. And certainly when the Rapture begins, that's when the power of God's going to be released to begin dealing with the world and the ungodly for seven years and to finally put things in order. And it will be wrapped up at the end of the seven year tribulation. But they went on to say the sign of thy coming and of the end of the age. The word end is also very important. In Greek. It is the word. In English it would be spelled like this. I hope you enjoy having all these Greek words. This word sunteleis doesn't really describe the end. The End. The end. But it's the wrap up, or it's the conclusion, or it's the culmination of one thing. And in the King James Version they said the end of the world. That is a very poor translation because the Greek word is aionos. Aionos. And this in English would be spelled like this. And the word ionos does not describe the world. The word world is the Greek word ges. These two words don't even look the same. The word Ionis describes an age. An age. So now when you put all of this together, here is what they were asking, Lord, tell us exactly when, Lord. We don't want a general answer, we want to know explicitly when shall these things be? And Lord, what, Lord, tell us down to the smallest detail, what will be the road marker, the primary sign to let us know where we are on the prophetic road, and the sign of thy coming, when you're going to come to deal with everything wrong and set everything right and of the culmination of this particular age. That's what they were asking. And we have seen that Jesus gave them many answers. They asked for one. But Jesus gave them many, many signs. And here are the first 11. First he said there will be worldwide deception, wars, rumors of wars, commotions, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom, famine, scarcities, economic woes, pestilence and disease. But that's not all. That's what we have covered so far. But today we're going to look at signs number 12, 13 and 14, and they are catastrophic events, monstrous developments and signs from the heavens. But let's go to Matthew 24:7, where Jesus said, for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. We saw this in the previous episode. Then he said, there shall be notice. He says, shall be, shall be, shall be. He's pointing to the end of the age and he's answering their question, what will be the sign of thy coming and of the end, or the culmination of the age? And Jesus says, when you come to the culmination of the age, there shall be a time when nation shall rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There shall be famines. And in Greek it is plural. And that word famines is loaded. Go back to the next episode so you'll really understand it. It says there shall be pestilences. Greek, it is plural. It means there's going to be a rampage of all kinds of epidemics at the end of the age. And then he says, and earthquakes in divers places. The word earthquakes, believe it or not, the word earthquakes now, if you're taking notes, write this down. The word earthquakes. You're going to recognize this word is the Greek word seismos. Seismos. Do you hear another word? That's where we get the word seismograph. It is the registering of an earthquake. And that is the word that is used here. And it really describes a lot of seismic activity. It could be volcanoes, it could be earthquakes. But Jesus is describing a lot of seismic activity and he says, in diverse places. But then when you go to Luke 21, verse 11, where Jesus also comments on this, he also says, and there will be great, great earthquakes. And the word great, let's write it down. If you're taking notes. The word great in Greek is the word megaloi. Megaloi. This loi makes it plural. If you're going to spell this in English, it would be like this. Megaloi. The word seismos would be like this. But the word megaloi describes a multiplicity of things. It can refer to the size or to the quantity. And here it probably refers to both. There's going to be many, many great earthquakes. And megaloi would also imply an increase in seismic activity. Now I want to read to you from pages 100 to 101 from my book Signs yous'll see just before Jesus comes. Listen to this. The words great earthquakes in Greek literally mean great seismic activity. The word used in the original language can depict something large in size or it can also mean numerous in quantity. Furthermore, Jesus stated that these earthquakes will occur in diverse places. This means the earth touched globally by increased seismic activity toward the end of the age. And scientific records demonstrate that earthquakes are a part of the geologic history of the earth. But Jesus was not giving a history of the earth when he spoke about earthquakes in Matthew 24:7 and Luke 21:11. He was forecasting what will happen in a condensed period of time at the very end of the era. And according to. According to Jesus, increased seismic activity will take place globally and a vast number of earthquakes will be felt in various places across the earth. And recent reports made by the United States Geological Survey estimate that several million earthquakes occur in the world now each year. However, many of these go undetected because they affect remote areas or register very small earthquakes magnitudes. But in Luke's Gospel, Jesus said there would be great seismic activity as the time of his return approached. And we can infer from this scripture that great may mean great in quantity. Approximately 500,000 smaller earthquakes are occurring every year right now. And we know that Even now the earth is trembling with a great number of earthquakes. Earthquakes. That is amazing. But let's continue in Luke 21:11, where Jesus also said, there will be. Are you ready for this? Fearful sights. The word fearful sights. Fearful sights. If you're taking notes, write this down. Is a very, very strange Greek word. It is so strange that translators didn't know what to do with it, and that's why they translated it Fearful sights. It is the Greek word phobetron. Now, the word phobitron, if you're going to write this down in English, it would be spelled like this is a word that was well known in the Greek world. The word phobetron described monsters. Monsters. That is a literal translation. Scary. Scary creatures that are abnormalities. It describes monstrous events. Scary events. Or again, it was used by the Greeks to describe monsters. What in the world did Jesus mean when he said, there will be the appearance of monsters at the end of the age? Well, that's very interesting. It could describe monstrous events. For example, on page 103 of my book Signs, you'll see just before Jesus comes, I write, one previously unimaginable possibility that has arisen in the modern age is the advent of horrific scientific or technological developments. The idea that technology could unleash profound devastation comes as no surprise in the modern era. And maybe it's talking about something like that. But what is so very profound is that to the Greek world and to Greek readers, when they saw the word phobetron, they weren't thinking about technology, they were thinking about monsters. That's what this word means. Well, in a certain sense, we're living in a day of monsters. People are doing things to their body that they should not do. People are trying to change their gender. People are trying to mess with who God made them to be. And if you just go down to the mall and watch and I'm not trying to be offensive, sometimes you feel like you're setting world filled with monsters. We see things today. People are doing things to themselves that they were not doing 100 years ago. And if you try time transported a person from 100 years ago to the present and put them in the mall and just let them watch people, they might kind of feel like they're surrounded by monsters. But hey, then Jesus said something else very interesting. He said, and great signs shall there be from heaven. And the word from is very important in Greek. It's the word apo. It describes something coming directly out of the skies or something coming out of the heavens. Well, there could be a lot of conjecture about what this is. Some people think this will be an asteroid or a meteor. And certainly there are a lot of scientific talk about that these days. And of course we even know that people are talking about UFOs and UAPs, all these things that are appearing out of the heavens that were not appearing 100 years ago, but suddenly it seems like everybody's seeing them and even Congress is talking about it. Jesus said when you come to the very, very end of the age, there's going to be the appearance of monsters and people are going to be fixated with things coming down out of the heavens. Jesus said when this happens, you'll know you've come to the very close of the age. But today we've seen sign number 12, 13 and 14. But when we come back in the next program, we're going to see the next signs Jesus gave us to let us know how close we are to the end. I'll be back in just a moment and I'm going to pray for you.