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Rick Renner Podcast (Audio)
Wednesday - The First Sign
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Rick Renner exposes end-time deception and how to outlast the lies with truth from Scripture. Don’t blink. Watch now.
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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 you. And today we're returning to the series which is called How Close are We to the End? People are asking that question. They're wanting to know how quickly is the rapture really going to take place? And so we're going to answer that question. And we're looking at Matthew chapter 24 where Jesus gave us a list of signs that we would see as we come to the very end of the age. But the series is called How Close are We to the End? It is a 10 part series. It comes with a wonderful study guide. Everything in the series is in the study guide because I want you to be able to see the information while you're seeing or hearing the series. And I'm so excited about my book, which is called Signs you'll see just before Jesus Comes, which really dives into Matthew 24, Mark, Chapter 13 and Luke 21 to enumerate all the signs Jesus said we would see as we come closer to the end of the age. And right now we want to give you as our gift an end times timeline which shows all the prophecies that have already been fulfilled, those that are still being fulfilled, those that are yet to be fulfilled. Because we want you to be able right in front of you in one easy view. Everything that has happened is happening and is prophesied to happen in front of us. And that is our gift to you today. All you have to do is call the number on the screen or go online. You can download it or if you wish, we will send you a hard copy. And hey, when you reach out to us, we want to pray for you. We believe that Jesus answers prayer Jeremiah 33:3 says, Call unto me, I'll hear you, I'll answer you, and I'll show you great and mighty things. And we want to call out to God with you in faith and he will hear us and Jesus will do what needs to be done. And if you want us to pray with you, then just call the number on the screen and please write it down. Save that number so you always have it. Nearby, if you need somebody to pray with you, maybe you would prefer to write us an email. Send us an email. Either way, whether you call or write, we're going to really pray for you, and Jesus is going to do what needs to be done. But I want you to reach for your Bible. We always use the Bible in this program. And today we're returning to Matthew 24:3. And as I've told you in the two previous programs, Jesus and his disciples were seated on the Mount of Olives. Well, if you've ever been to Jerusalem, you know the Mount of Olives is just across the Kidron Valley from the Temple Mount. And you go up to the top, and from the top of the Mount of Olives, if you set in the right direction, then behind you is this beautiful view of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. And that's where Jesus and his disciples were on this particular day. And as they were sitting there with this spectacular prophetic view of Jerusalem behind them, Jesus began to answer questions that the disciples put to him. And we find their questions in Matthew 24:3. And the Bible says, and as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately. And I want to say again that when you get along with the Lord, you can ask him things that you cannot ask in front of other people. This was the case with the disciples. It is still the case with us. And they particularly asked him, tell us, when shall these things be? And they were pointing to the end of the age. They were really fixated on. On prophetic questions or issues having to do with eschatology. In fact, the world of the 1st century in Israel was very fixated on the end of the age. And now here we are at really the end of the age, and people once again have a fixation and obsession, such a deep interest in prophetic things or things of an eschatological nature. People really sense something is about to happen. And they were sensing that at the first coming of Jesus. And so they said, tell us, when shall these things be? What shall be the sign? Notice they're just asking for one. What is the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? But as you saw in the previous episodes, all of these words are very, very important. The word when. The word what? The word sign, the word coming, the word end, the word world. All of these are keys to. To this verse. And if you didn't see the two previous programs, please go back and watch them, because you need to understand each one of these words. But they were asking, what is the sign they were just asking for one. But if you combine all the texts, Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, Jesus answered them and gave them more than 20 signs, but they asked for one. So Jesus began with the foremost sign that we've come to the end of the age. Most people would say it's the restoration of Israel. And indeed that is really one of the major signs. But that was not the answer Jesus gave as the sign that we've sailed to the end of the age and we find the sign, the number one sign, the foremost sign in verse four, when Jesus said unto them, take heed that no man deceive you. And here we find sign number one is worldwide deception at the end of the age. And Jesus said, take heed that no man deceive you. I'm going to go to the board and I want to give you these words in Greek and I want to explain them to you. And I want you to write these down, and I'm going to give it to you both in the Greek, and then I'm going to spell the equivalent in English so you can take notes. First of all, Jesus says, take heed in Greek. This is the word blepo. Blepo. If you're going to spell it in English, it would be spelled like this. But this word blepo means take heed. It really means watch, listen, pay attention. It is intended to jar and jolt the listeners. Blepo, I want you to really hear me. Throw your shoulders back, hold your head high, pay attention. I want you to really listen to what I am saying. So when Jesus used this word blepo, it was an alert that they should really pay attention, because now he was going to give to them the foremost sign that we come to the end of the age. And then he added, take heed that no man. What does it say? Deceive you. The word deceive is very important. And this particular word for deceive appears all over the New Testament. It is the Greek word planau. Well, it's a form of this word. If you want to spell it in English, it would be spelled like this. The word planau. And this word planao is such a very important word. And it was really used between the Old and the New Testament in the intertestamental period by spiritual leaders who prophetically begin to forecast what was going to happen in society and in the world at the very, very, very end of the age. And over and over and over, they said, at the very end of the age, there's going to be planao or deception. Deception. But what does this word planao or the word deceive really mean? I'm going to read to you from my notes. This word deceive describes a deceptive moral wandering. Did you hear that? It is a moral wandering. It depicts a people who have veered from a solid path, those who teeter now on a dangerously treacherous moral path. And it means to morally wander. Particularly it has to do with moral veering, moral wandering. And here is what the spiritual leaders and rabbis taught between the Old and the New Testament and the intertestamental period, and how Jesus is speaking in the same vein, that at the very end of the age, this is really what they taught. Into the earth will be released hordes and hordes of demon spirits that will cause society to leave a well trodden, safe, traditional path and will cause society to go in a new direction. And these demon spirits will cause them to walk right on the edge of a treacherous moral path. They will suddenly throw away all the morals of the past and replace them with new ideas, perhaps even calling them progressive ideas. This is really what the word deceive means. It is a worldwide moral wandering, Jesus said, will occur at the very, very end of the age. And it's very important that this word planau was also used in an agricultural sense to describe an animal that got so lost it couldn't find its way back home. So we're not talking just about a little veering or a little wandering. We're talking about an animal that has got so lost, when it turns around and wants to come back home, it can't find its way back home. And by using this word, deception, Jesus forecasts at the very end of the age, worldwide society is going to go so far off track morally that they will lose their way and will be unable to return back to where they used to be. That's really what Jesus said in this verse. Now they asked, lord, tell us the sign of your coming and of the end of the age. And Jesus said, all right, Blepo, blepo, pay attention. Here's the Greek word, blepo. Hold your head high, throw your shoulders back. Watch, listen, really hear me. Remember, understand, let no man plough, deceive you. And Jesus here forecasting worldwide moral deception at the end of the age. And certainly we are witnessing that with our own eyes. And this really agrees with what the Apostle Paul wrote in 2nd Thessalonians 2. So open your Bible to 2nd Thessalonians 2 and let me give you a little background to that chapter. The Thessalonians were really upset because someone told them that the Rapture happened and the day of the Lord had already begun. In other words, somebody told them they were already living in the tribulation. Well, if somebody told you that you missed the Rapture and you were living in the Tribulation, it might upset you. And the Thessalonians were really upset. So now Paul writes back to them and he says to them in verse three, second Thessalonians two, three, let no man deceive you by any means, for that day, that is the Rapture and the seven year tribulation period, the day of the Lord it shall not come, except there come a falling away first. And then that Son of Man be revealed, the Son of perdition. But let's look at two words here, the words falling away and the word first. The word falling away is in Greek, is the word apostasia. Do you hear another word? It's where we get the word apostasy. But here in the King James Version, it is translated falling away. But it is the word apostasia. And it's very importantly a compound of two words. The first word is the word apo. You can write it down in English, it's spelled like this. But the second word, stasia, is actually a derivative of the word histami, which means to stand. But when you put these two words together, apo and histami, it forms a very different picture. The word apo means away. It carries the idea of putting distance between you and something else. The word histami means to stand. But when you compound the two words together, apo and histami, it forms the word apostasia, which is one who steps away from something, steps away from something, and he doesn't just step away from it, but he actually apo, he distances himself from what he used to be close to. And this is why it becomes the English word apostasy. Apostasy, which is a picture of people or groups of people who once were very close to the faith, even walking in faith. But now, apostasia, they've stepped away from what they used to believe. But wait, wait, wait. There's even more than that. This word apostasia is used all over Greek literature. Now, Paul was a linguist, and when Paul chose these words, he knew exactly what was the meaning of these words. Some people today try to infer that this word apostasia, used in this verse is another way of describing the Rapture. My friends, that is absolutely incorrect. If you hear anybody teach you that they don't know Greek. This word apostasia describes. Listen to this. It describes a falling away or a revolt. A revolt. It describes a political revolt or a mutiny. It is a mutinous attitude. And every single time this word is used, that's what it means. And that's what it means in this verse. Hence, in this verse, the apostle Paul is saying, at the very end of the age, before the rapture, before the tribulation begins, there is going to emerge a worldwide spiritual mutiny against the rule of God and the word of God. That's what's going to happen. And this fits very well with this word deception, the word plinel, which describes a worldwide wandering until finally society gets completely off track. And now we find apostasia. It's really the idea of a mutiny. There is going to be a worldwide mutiny against the law of God. And Paul says it's going to happen first. The Greek word proton, P R O T O n. It means in the first place, before the rapture happens, before the day of the Lord begins, this is going to happen first. And then he continues to say, and then that man of sin will be revealed. It's talking about the Antichrist, the word revealed, the Greek word apokalupto, which means to pull the curtains apart. And here we find the Antichrist is going to be center stage, waiting for his big moment of revelation. But it can't be revealed until first the world is primed and prepared for him. If the antichrist had appeared 50 years ago, the world would have never received him because he's going to be the man of iniquity, the man of lawlessness, the man that is against the law of God and the influence of God. Wow. In fact, the Bible here calls him the son of perdition, which means the son of doom and gloom. Everything he touches will turn into spirits, will rot. And if the Antichrist had even appeared 50 years ago, the world would have never received a man like that. Because 50 years ago people were still established in Judeo Christian principles. But today the world planau is wandering. It has wandered so far from Judeo Christian principles that the younger generation doesn't even know what they are. And now the younger generation has become a lawless place. And in a great sense, the whole world in this new woke environment has rebelled against the law of God. And we're living in a mutinous period when the world at large is deceived and has a mutinous rebellious attitude toward the dictates and the instructions and the law of God. All of that had to happen first, before the Rapture and the day of the Lord and the introduction of the Antichrist can take place. All of this is very important for you to understand, but I want to give you the riv of 2 Thessalonians 2, 3. It says, in light of these things, I urge you to refuse to allow anyone to take advantage of you in any way. For example, you won't need a letter to tell you when the day of the Lord has come. You ought to know by now that day can't come until first. A worldwide insurgency, rebellion, riot and mutiny against God has come about in society. Once that occurs, the world will be primed, prepared and ready to embrace the man of lawlessness, the one who hates law and has rebellion running in his blood. This is the long awaited and predicted Son of Doom destruction, the one who brings rot and ruin to everything he touches. When the time is just right, he will finally come out of hiding and go public. Well, that is such a good interpretation of 2 Thessalonians 2, 3. But then when you get down to verse 11, it says, because the world at large rejects the will of God, rejects the word of God, rejects the rule of God, God will give them what they want. You know, when you come to Romans chapter one, it says, for this cause God gave them over to a reprobate mind, for this cause God gave them over. And people think it's a picture of God just washing his hands of people. But a better interpretation would be for this cause, God released them. God is going to allow you to have whatever you want. And if people at the end of the age don't want God, but they want something else, God, God will release them to it. He will honor their choice. And here we find in second Thessalonians 2, 11, for this cause, the Greek says diatalito. A better translation would be for this very reason, because of this. And it pictures God's response to their choice. For this cause, God will send them strong delusion. Strong delusion. What is strong delusion? Well, it's two words in Greek. The first word comes from a form of the Greek word enargeo, Inargao, spelled like this in English, enargeo. And it's where we get the word energy. Energy. The second word is the word, a form of the word planes, which is from the word planeo, which we have already seen. And it describes a wandering. A wandering. Well, when you put these two words together, it describes an energized wandering. An energized wandering. The Word enargeo depicts a force propelling something forward, or an energy that ignites a process and facilitates it, or all the way to its conclusion. The second word, plonia, again pictures a wandering, a moral wandering or a deviant behavior. And here we find that if this is what people want, God will release them to it. And the riv of this verse says, because they chose to reject the truth, God will send delusion and error into their midst, compelling them believe the lie that is being offered to them. But what I want you to see is the Holy Spirit says very clearly, at the very, very end of the age, deception is going to affect the entire world. And the number one sign that Jesus gave is worldwide deception. Take heed the word blepo. Hold your head high, throw your shoulders back. Really listen. I want you to hear, I want you to see this. He's trying to jar them and jar us. Let no man deceive you. Plun out. Don't let anyone lead you off track morally. And hear Jesus forecasting a worldwide moral wandering at the end of the age. And I want to ask you, my friend, is it happening? Do you see it when you live in a moment when people don't even know what gender they are? We're talking about a society that has wandered so far off track it is just imaginable, unimaginable that it could even happen. But Jesus forecasts when you see this, number one, here's the number one sign that you've come to the very end of the age. Worldwide deception. Now, when we come back in the next episode, we're going to see the next signs which Jesus gave. I'll be back in just a moment, and I'm going to pray for you. Someone has asked the question, how can I be sure that I'm not being swayed by false or wrong teaching? Well, first of all, we're told in First Timothy 4. One that in the end of the age there's going to be false teaching. It says some are going to depart from the faith. And when you read that in the Greek text, it has a definite article which means it's not the departure just from faith, but it's from the faith or from the clear, sound teaching of Scripture. And when you read that in First Timothy 4. One, it's not something that possibly may take place. The Holy Spirit says explicitly it will occur. And in First John 4:1, we are commanded to try the spirits to see whether they be of God. That word try means to really test. And, my friends, your mind and your spirit is Very important. And before, before you eat what is set on the table in front of you, you need to try it, you need to test it and make sure you're being served spiritual food that will produce a healthy state of being in your life.
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How Close Are we to the End? It's a question people have been asking for 2,000 years, but as Christians, we have access to the answer. In his new series, How Close Are we to the End? Rick Rent dives into Jesus prophetic teachings of the End times to break down the signs that we need to be looking out for. In this ten part series, you will learn where the current days fit on the End Times timeline, how to expose End Times deception, what events are signs of the end, and more. Available in digital or physical formats Starting at just $20, this series will help you you understand the signs around you and equip you to determine for yourself where we stand today. In addition to this teaching series, you can order Rick's book Signs yous'll See Just Before Jesus comes for just $17 to support your deeper study of the End Times. As our free gift to you, we also want to offer you your own printed copy of the End Times timeline. Don't miss this special offer. How Close are We to the End? Signs you'll See Just Before Jesus Comes and the free printout of the End Times timeline. Call the number on your screen now or go to renner.org to order. Call or go online now.
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Wow. We have covered a lot of material today and we're just getting started. We've just seen sign number one that Jesus gave us that we're near to the end of the day and it is worldwide deception. But when we come back tomorrow, we're going to see sign number 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. It is going to be amazing. Please do not miss tomorrow's program but I'm teaching my 10 part series called How Close Are we to the End? It comes with a study guide and I'm so excited to tell you again about my book called Signs yous'll See Just Before Jesus Comes. And in this book I really enumerate all this teaching and make it so clear we need to know what Jesus said. And right now I'm excited to tell you about the End Time timetable which we have for you. And if you'll just call or go online, you can download yours or you can ask for us to send you a hard copy. It is so wonderful and we've designed it as a gift for you because we want you to be able to see past prophecy fulfilled, those that are being fulfilled, and those that are about to be fulfilled. And it's our gift to you. But you can find out more about all these things by going online or by giving us a call. And my friend, before we close, I just want to speak the peace of God to your heart. Jesus is in charge. Say Jesus is Lord. Amen. Amen. Remember, Ecclesiastes 8:4 says, where the word of a king is, there is power. Hey friends, my wife and I are coming to the United States to hold some wonderful meetings and I want to tell you about them. But please be sure to go to our website to affirm all these times and dates because sometimes things change. But we are coming to Florida on Sunday, Monday, January 11th and 12th to Naples. We're going to be at the Faith Church with Pastors Andre and Jenny Robert. On Friday, January 16th, we're coming to Brandon, Florida to the Happy Gospel Church to a Friends in Ministry with Robert's Lerdin meeting. Then on Sunday, January 18th, we're coming to Newark, Texas to Eagle Mountain International Church to be with Pastors Jesus, George and Terri Pearsons and the whole Church. On January 25th, we're coming to Green Mountain Falls, Colorado to Legacy Church to be with Pastors Jeremy and Sarah Pearsons. On Friday, Saturday, Sunday, January 30th, 31st and February 1st, we're coming to Mesa, Arizona, DaVita Church to be with Pastors Ben and Kara Diaz. On Sunday, February 8th, we're coming to Southfield, Michigan to be at Word of Faith with Bishop Keith and Pastor Deborah Butler. On Sunday, February 15th, we're coming to Tulsa, Oklahoma to be at Millennial Church with pastors Paul and Karen Brady. And on Saturday and Sunday, February 21st and 22nd, we're coming to Midland, North Carolina to encounter a church to be with Bishop Allen and Tara Didio and and friend. I want to invite you to come to one of these meetings. We're waiting to see you there. If you've never received Jesus as your Savior and Lord, now is the time for you to experience a new life. Jesus has to give you. Pray this prayer with me right now. Lord, I repent of my sin and receive you as my Savior. And Lord, wash away my sins and make me completely new. I thank you that my sin is removed and Satan no longer has any right to lay claim on me. I faithfully promise that I will serve you as my Lord for the rest of my life. Amen. Thank you for joining Rick Renner today. For more information about Renner Ministries Industries and product resources, visit renner.org.