Rick Renner Podcast (Audio) – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Wednesday – The First Sign
Air Date: January 7, 2026
Host: Rick Renner Ministries – Rick Renner
Series: How Close Are We to the End? (Part 3 of 10)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Rick Renner resumes his series, "How Close Are We to the End?," focusing on Jesus’ description of the foremost sign preceding the end of the age, based especially on Matthew 24:3-4. Renner delves deeply into Jesus’ warning concerning end-times deception, explaining the original Greek meaning behind the terms used and making connections to modern societal shifts. Listeners are guided through key scriptures and Greek terms that clarify these prophetic teachings.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Disciples’ Question on the Mount of Olives

• Biblical Setting (01:45)
  • Jesus and his disciples were privately seated on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem.
  • Quote: “When you get alone with the Lord, you can ask him things that you cannot ask in front of other people.” – Rick Renner (03:10)
• The disciples, like many today, were “fixated on prophetic questions or issues having to do with eschatology.”

2. Jesus Identifies the Foremost Sign: Deception

• The disciples ask for “the sign” of Jesus’ coming (05:01).
• Renner highlights that Jesus’ primary sign is not political or natural, but moral and spiritual deception:
  • “Take heed that no man deceive you.” (Matthew 24:4)
• Greek Breakdown:
  • Take heed = “blepo” – means “watch, listen, pay attention… it is intended to jar and jolt the listeners.”
  • Deceive = “planau” – means a “deceptive moral wandering”; people veer dangerously from traditional, solid paths.
  • Jesus forecasts a worldwide moral wandering at the end of the age (08:45).
• Memorable Explanation:
  • “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.” – Rick Renner (10:32)

3. Inter-Testamental and Rabbinical Context (12:00)

• Rabbis and spiritual leaders between the Old and New Testaments predicted end-times marked by “hordes and hordes of demon spirits that will cause society to leave a well trodden, safe, traditional path.”
  • “They will suddenly throw away all the morals of the past and replace them with new ideas, perhaps even calling them progressive ideas.” – Rick Renner (12:38)
• Planao also used in agriculture to describe animals irreversibly lost—applying this imagery to society wandering so far it cannot return.

4. Link to Paul’s Warning: The Great Apostasy (2 Thessalonians 2:3) (14:36)

• Paul calms Thessalonians anxiously believing the Rapture had passed.
• Falling away (apostasia):
  • Detailed Greek etymology: apo ("away") + histemi ("to stand") = "one who steps away from something and actually distances himself."
  • “Apostasia…a picture of people or groups of people who once were very close to the faith... but now they’ve stepped away from what they used to believe.” (17:02)
  • It can also mean “a political revolt or mutiny.”
• Quote:
  • “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.” – Rick Renner (17:48)
• The world’s readiness for Antichrist is set by this broad rejection of Judeo-Christian principles, now seen in generational gaps and shifting values.

5. Societal Implications and Prophetic Fulfillment (19:25)

• 50 years ago, the world would have never received a "man of lawlessness," but current values allow for his expected acceptance.

6. God’s Response to Rebellion (2 Thessalonians 2:11; Romans 1) (20:36)

• As people reject God’s truth, God releases them to their choice: “For this cause God gave them over to a reprobate mind… a better interpretation would be for this cause, God released them.”
• Strong delusion (Greek: enargeo + planeo):
  • Means energized wandering, a forceful push into deviant thinking and behavior.

7. Testing for Truth in the Last Days (22:51)

• Listeners are advised to test teachings: “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.” – Rick Renner (22:44)
• Reference to 1 Timothy 4:1 and 1 John 4:1 on the necessity of discerning truth from error.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the seriousness of the end-times deception:
  “Here's the number one sign that you've come to the very end of the age: Worldwide deception.” – Rick Renner (24:05)

• On moral confusion in society:
  “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 unimaginable that it could even happen.” – Rick Renner (22:15)

• Encouragement to stay grounded:
  “Say Jesus is Lord. Amen. Amen. Remember, Ecclesiastes 8:4 says, where the word of a king is, there is power.” – Rick Renner (24:21)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:45 – Setting the scene on the Mount of Olives; the disciples’ private conversation with Jesus
• 06:14 – Greek word study: “Blepo” and “Planau”
• 12:38 – Background from inter-testamental Jewish writings; meaning of end-times deception
• 14:36 – Parallel to Paul and the Thessalonians (2 Thess. 2)
• 17:48 – “A worldwide spiritual mutiny against the rule of God”
• 20:36 – God’s response to human rebellion, Romans 1 connection
• 22:44 – How to discern false teaching in the last days
• 24:05 – Recap of the #1 sign: worldwide deception

Next Episode Preview

• Rick promises to cover signs 2–6 in the next episode, examining additional end-times indicators from Jesus’ teachings.

Tone & Style

Rick Renner’s delivery is passionate, didactic, and rooted in deep biblical and linguistic study. He aims to encourage, exhort, and instruct believers to stay alert and grounded in scriptural truth amid contemporary confusion.

Conclusion

Main Takeaways:

• The first and foremost end-times sign, according to Jesus, is worldwide deception—specifically, a deep, irreversible moral wandering.
• Biblical language, especially the Greek, reveals this is more than casual error but a profound, society-wide departure from foundational truths.
• Listeners are urged to stay anchored in God’s word and to test teachings carefully in these deceptive times.

Reminder:
Tomorrow’s episode will continue with more prophetic signs from Jesus’ discourse in Matthew 24.