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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 welcome to today's program. My name is Rick Renner and I've been waiting for the clock to strike so we could get started. And today we're going to return to my series called How Close Are we to the End of the Age? It is a 10 part series which deals with all the signs Jesus gave us to let us know prophetically where we are in time. And it comes with a wonderful study guide. And of course I'm just really excited about my book Signs yous'll See Just Before Jesus Comes. I know that book will help you because it helped me when I wrote it, it really helped me to identify prophetically where we are. And if you're wondering how close we are to the end, you need to read that book and it would be a great gift to give to someone else. And right now we do have a gift for you from us and it is a timeline of the end times. It's our gift. It is so beautifully designed. It shows where we have been in the prophecies are currently being fulfilled and where we fit in them and what still needs to take place in the future. And my friends, we designed this just for you because we want you to see prophetically where we are in time. You can go online and download it yourself or if you want a hard copy, call the number on the screen and tell us and we will send you a hard copy. And please, when you reach out to us, we want to know how to pray for you. We're praying for you anyway. I've already prayed for you today. But when we hear from you specifically and we know exactly what we need to pray for, it helps us to be more effective in prayer. And I promise you that when you call us for prayer or send us an email, you will really aggressively be prayed for and Jesus will do what needs to be done. But today we're going to move on and see what is the next big sign that we've come close to the end of the age. But let's return to Matthew 24:3, which is the foundation for this series. And in Matthew 24:3, Jesus is seated on the Mount of Olives with his disciples behind him across the Kidron Valley is the beautiful panoramic view of the Temple Mount. What a prophetic setting. And the disciples came to him privately, saying, tell us, when shall these things be? And they were talking about end time events. What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? Now, yesterday we really covered this verse. I took it apart, all of these important words, so you really understood what the disciples were asking. And if you didn't see yesterday's episode, please go back to the archives and see it, because you need to understand this verse. But they asked for a sign. But they were privately with Jesus. And when you get along with Jesus, he'll answer your one question and he'll tell you other things as well. And that's what happened here. They asked for a sign and Jesus gave them a sign, the primary sign. And then many other signs. And here they are, signs 1 through 14 worldwide. Deception, wars, rumors of wars, commotions, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom, famines, scarcity, economic woes, pestilence, diseases, catastrophic events, monstrous developments, and signs from the heavens. But in Matthew 24:8, Jesus says, these are just the beginning of sorrows. And that word sorrows in the Greek text is the word Odin. It is the word for the birth pains that a woman has as she approaches the delivery of the baby. Now, I'm going to go back to the board because I want to give you a graph one more time. I believe it's so important for you to understand prophetically where we've been, where we are and where we are headed. So I'm not an artist, but I'm going to do my best to demonstrate to you this prophetic timeline. So let's say this is time. Now remember, I'm not an artist, but we're beginning with the cross. And the cross took place in the year 33. The Cross and the resurrection some days later was Pentecost. And we know that Pentecost also was in the year 33, and it began exactly at 9am or at least that's when it was announced. Perhaps it started a little time before that. But Peter stood up and said, friends, it's nine o' clock in the morning and the Spirit of God has been poured out. He really told us exactly what when the outpouring at Pentecost began. And it triggered a period which in the Bible is called the last days. Now, let's say this is the end of the last days. Now, we've been living in this time frame for 2000 years. Technically, it is called the last days. It is a 2000 year period. Some people call it the church age. That's all right, because certainly this is the age of the church. Some people call it the age of grace. And that is true. We're living in a period of God's grace. And by the way, when we get here and the seven year tribulation begins, this age of grace is going to be finished and God's going to begin dealing with the ungodly in a very severe way. Thank God. We're living in the age of grace, the church age. But technically it is called the last days and it is a 2000 year period. 2000 year period. And it began on the day of Pentecost and it continues until the rapture of the Church. This is the rapture, my friends. The rapture is not a fantasy. It's really going to take place when Jesus is going to come into the clouds. He's not going to come to the earth, but above the earth, and he's going to snatch those who belong to him and take them to heaven for the marriage feast of the Lamb and for the Bema, judgment seat of Christ. And this is a seven year period, a seven year period which is also on the earth called the tribulation. The tribulation. Now this is a 2000 year period of time. And when the disciples asked, lord, how will we know when will these things be? What will be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the age? They're not talking about the whole period. They're talking about the very end of the age right here. What will be the signs to let us know? We're right here. Now you got to go to Matthew 24:8, where Jesus uses the Greek word Odin, which describes the birth pains of a woman. And Jesus said, when you come to the very, very end of the last days, when you come to the culmination of this period, all these signs will begin to take place and it will be like the birth pains of a woman. Now I remember when Denise gave birth to Paul, who was our first son, and when she had her first birth pain, she wasn't even really sure she had a birth pain. She said, rick, I just felt something. Maybe that was a contraction. But it wasn't long until she wasn't guessing any longer. She knew she was having contractions and they began to come faster and faster and harder and harder until finally it was one contraction on top of the next, on top of the next, on top of the next. And she was getting ready to deliver our first son. Now Jesus uses this word, uden, which is the word for contractions or birth pains, to say, as we come to the very, very end of the age, the world at large will begin to experience occasional episodes. But as time gets by, there'll be more and more and more and more and more and more and more. Just like a woman that's in contractions getting ready to have a baby until it's one piled on top of the next, on top of the next, on top of the next, all of these signs will begin to pile one on top of the other. And if you're my age, you know that just 50 years ago these world shattering events that happen every day now used to occur once in a while and they really made big news. But now there are so many of them happening simultaneously, the people are nearly numb to how earth shattering these events are. We've been cooked in this and now we're just living in one contraction on top of the next, on top of the next, on top of the next. And it's all a sign that we're leading up to the conclusion of this age and the birth of the next age. And the end of this age is going to end with the Rapture of the Church. We're going to be taken to heaven for the marriage feast of the Lamb and the Bema seat of Christ, and the judgment seat of Christ is going to be glorious. But those seven years on earth is going to be a time of tribulation. And at the end of those seven years Christ will come and we will come with him in the Rapture. He comes for us in the Second Coming or the Second Advent. We return with him, and then he begins the 1000 year millennial reign. Now I want to read something to you from Acts 2, because in Acts 2 the day of Pentecost is taking place and Peter stands up and comments on what is happening. And he says this, listen to this, Acts 2:14. But Peter, standing up with the 11, lifted up his voice and said unto them, you men of Judea, and all you that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words, for these are not drunken as you suppose, and but it is seeing. It is but the third hour of the day, or nine o' clock in the morning. Then he said, and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon the flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants, on my handmaidens, I will pour out in those days upon my spirit, and they shall prophesy. And then in verse 19 he says, and I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and vapor of smoke and fire. And the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before that great and notable day of the Lord. Well, that's describing this period right here because the tribulation is also called the great day of the Lord. So Jesus Peter describes the day of Pentecost all the way to the end of the this age. But all the things that Jesus described and what we are experiencing right now are part of the contractions or the birth pains signaling that we're really coming very close to the end of the age. But now we're going to See Sign number 15. Sign number 15 that Jesus gave us that we're close to the end of the age is worldwide persecution. Now, where you live, you may not think about people dying for their faith because you have religious rights and religious liberties. I know that even in the Western world today there's a lot of pressure on Christians. But in other parts of the world, people are still suffering for their faith. In fact, right now, more than 200 million Christians are suffering to some degree for their faith. But listen to pages 117, 120, and 124 in my book Signs. You'll see just before Jesus comes, it says, these are serious days. We must never overlook the fact that approximately 75% of the world right now lives in situations that are precarious for believers. In fact, it is only a small fraction of the world that knows no Christian persecution. According to the United States government of State, Christians in more than 60 countries face persecution from their government or surrounding neighbors simply because of their belief in Jesus Christ. The U.S. department of State confirms this statistic that believers in more than 60 nations of the world face persecution because of their Christian faith. More than 200 million Christians are suffering from some kind of persecution for their faith. And by definition, these persecutions include harassments, pressures, hardness of life and hostility, and oftentimes violence and even leading to death simply for calling oneself a Christian. Types of persecution range from pressures from family and community to government imposed afflictions and to violent acts carried out by terrorist groups. And the Bible prophesies that persecution in some form will come to the church worldwide at the very end of the age. Jesus himself said it would. And it is time for the Christian community to be wide awake and United in order to spiritually withstand the powers of the wickedness that will attempt to modify the church and nullify its effectiveness in the last of the last days. Wow, that is amazing. But let's see what Jesus said about worldwide persecution at the end of the age. Let's go to Matthew 24:9, which says, they shall deliver you up to be afflicted. I want to show you this word afflicted. Now, I'm going to be showing you a lot of words that are going to be scattered all over the board. But the word afflicted, this is a very important word. The word afflicted is the Greek word thalypsis, Thalipsis. If you want to write this in English, it would be spelled like this. This word thalypsis is very, very important. It is a Greek word which describes a heavy pressure situation. It was first used to describe an act of torture whereby they would take a person, tie him with ropes, lay him on his back, and tell him to reject his faith or to admit a crime. And if that person would not comply, they would lower a big stone down on top of him and then they would say again, recant or reject your faith. If he refused, they would keep lowering it and lowering it until finally thalipsus, he would feel the full pressure of it upon him. And finally, if he would not comply, they would cut the rope, the stone would fall and it would crush him. And therefore it describes a crushing or debilitating situation. It pictures affliction, tribulation, trouble, great pressure, crushing pressure, suffocating pressure, a horribly tight, life threatening squeeze. And Jesus says this kind of pressure is going to come to believers all over the world. And in fact, in Matthew 24, he then added that they will kill you. What does that mean, kill? Well, the word kill is the Greek word apokteno. Oh, this is a terrible, terrible word. If you're taking notes in English, you would spell it like this. Opochteno. It describes butchery. Butchery. Now, you may not know any Christians in your neighborhood being butchered for their faith, but my friends, Christians are being butchered today all over the world. There's a lot of slaughter of believers in Africa and the Middle east, my friends. This is happening right now. And in fact, this word apochteno means to slaughter, to massacre, to butcher, to ruthlessly kill, or to torture. It is outright slaughter. And it can also indicate a death sentence. Many believers around the world today really are living under a death sentence. We've already seen 200 million believers are suffering around the world, but then in Matthew 24:9, 10, Jesus added, you will be hated of all nations for my name's sake. The word hated is also very important. So let's look at it. The word hated. In Greek it is the word misao spelled like this. In English it would be like this. This word mashae is repeated twice in Matthew chapter 24. And this word describes hate. It means to abhor it is to find something utterly repulsive. It is a deep seated animosity. It pictures intense hatred, repugnance towards something. To find something objectionable or something that causes one to feel disgust and repulsion. It is a dangerous, deep seated aversion is not just a case of dislike, it is a case of actual hatred. And Jesus now uses this word nisseo to describe a repugnance that the end of the age society is going to have for Christians. They won't just dislike them, there will actually be a hatred that brews in society against Christians all over the world at the end of the age. And then Jesus says, many will be offended. Offended. Well, what does that mean? Offended? The word offended. My goodness, these words are so indicative of the age which we're living in right now. It is the Greek word scandalizo. In English you would spell it like this. But guess what, it's where we get the word for a scandal. And here we find that at the end of the age, the lost world will become so negative about Christians that they will find Christians to be objectionable and even scandalous. How dare you say Jesus is the only way? How dare you say there is only one gender. How dare you be so bigoted and narrow minded. They will find Christians simply to be scandalous. And Jesus prophesied this. But that's not all. In Matthew 24:10 he continued to say, and they will betray one another. The word betray is also very important. It is the Greek word para, didomi. Now if you want to write that down in English it would be like this, para didomi. The word didome means to give. The word para means along. Put it together. It means to hand over or to deliver. But wait, that's not all. In Matthew 24:10 he says, Again, they will hate each other. The word hate is again this word miseo. It means absolute hatred. They will find Christians to be repulsive and objectionable. And in fact they will find them to be so objectionable that Luke 21:12 says they will deliver you to the synagogues. You say, what in the world does the synagogue have to do with anything? Well, in the first Century when Jesus was speaking in all the local communities, the synagogue also served as the local court for the legal system. So when Jesus says they're going to deliver you to the synagogues, he was actually saying they're going to turn you over to the legal system. In here, Jesus prophesies the weaponizing of the legal system at the very end of the age. He says, they're going to put you in prison. And then in Luke 21:13, he says, and this, that is this situation of persecution shall turn to you for a testimony. This is going to be your opportunity to speak of Jesus. And then in Luke 21:14, 15, Jesus tells us, settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate before what you will answer for. I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. But as we wrap it up today, I want you to see what Jesus said about worldwide persecution is already a reality. And it's a sign that we're coming very close to the end of the age. Right now, 200 million Christians are suffering worldwide right now. We've got to pray fervently for our brothers and sisters in Christ that are in jeopardy. We've got to do everything we can that is possible to help them. Whether that's sowing finances to help them or whether it's praying for them. My friends, this is our opportunity to intercede that God will intervene on their behalf. But you can't escape this because Jesus said it's going to come to the whole world at the end of the age. I'll be back in just a moment and I'm going to pray for you.