BASIC CHRISTIANITY Q&A
LESSON NUMBER 53– MARCH 8, 2015
RIO Revolution Church – 3419 East Lamar Alexander Parkway – Maryville, Tennessee
www. riorevolution.net – (865) 984.9200 – Pacer Hepperly, Pastor
This lesson is written to teach basic concepts of Christianity. RIO Revolution Church desires that members and visitors begin
studying the basics of Christian faith. Please study each lesson, as we learn together what we Christians should know and
believe. Lessons are numbered. If you miss lessons, we have replacement lessons available for you. Please share copies of
any lessons you find useful with relatives, friends, neighbors, or co-workers. Help us spread the Good News (the Gospel),
which is: Jesus the Messiah died for our sins and is resurrected to live eternally with those who believe in and follow Him!
We continue a series of lessons that will take several weeks to complete. Be patient, though. The topic is as important as any
we could teach. The Bible is abundantly clear: Jesus will return to call His faithful followers to be with Him for eternity. Jesus'
disciples asked Him what would be the signs of His return to earth. He explained these signs in a teaching known as “the
Olivet Discourse.” Study with us. Tell others. Our Savior's return is “at the doors.” Be ready to meet Him in victory and
triumph, not in defeat and shame! Try to take as many to Heaven with you as possible!
All prophecies required for Jesus' return have been sufficiently fulfilled to permit His return. He could come at any time.
Whether the return is tomorrow or ten years from now, Bible prophecies are accurate. Prepare for His return with great hope.
WHEN WILL JESUS RETURN?
The Olivet Discourse – Part 4: Persecution
INTRODUCTION. We continue Jesus' important prophetic teaching, the Olivet Discourse, which foretells signs of His return and the end
of Age of Grace.
PERSECUTION. Another sign of the end of the Age of Grace is persecution (Matthew 24:9-11): [Jesus said] “And they will deliver you
up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will
betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”
●-Be thankful you are hated: God's people– Jews and Christians– have always been hated. Although people spout the hateful speech
and accomplish the evil deeds, such hatred comes from Satan (read Genesis 3:15). Be overjoyed that you are hated. If you were not
worshiping the true God and following the true Savior, you would not evoke Satan's notice, much less his hatred.
A brief history of hatred of the Church: Christians have been under attack from the very beginning of the Christ's Church on the Day of
Pentecost in ca AD 33 (read Acts, chapter 2). [Church {capital C} = the worldwide body of believers in and followers of Jesus.]
●-Stephen, the first martyr: Stephen, one of the seven deacons of the early church in Jerusalem, supervised church benevolence (read
Acts 6:5); was a powerful preacher (read Acts 7:2); was full of faith and the Holy Spirit (read Acts 6:5), wisdom (read Acts 6:3, 10), power
(read Acts 6:8, 15); and possessed fullness of love (read Acts 7:60) and faith (read Acts 7:56). Stephen was martyred for his faith in ca AD
34 (Acts 7:54-60): When they heard [Stephen's preaching] they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with [their] teeth.
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" Then they cried out with a
loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast [him] out of the city and stoned [him]. And the
witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on [God]
and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with
this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Stephen was one of the first Christian martyrs, and the first martyr named in the
New Testament. Notice in this passage that Stephen saw Jesus standing. Jesus is usually depicted as sitting at the right hand of the
Father. Did Jesus stand out of respect for Stephen's martyrdom and the millions of martyrs who would follow him? In this passage, we
read of a young man, Saul, who held the garments of those who stoned Stephen. As Saul, he consented to Stephen's death (read Acts
8:1) and zealously persecuted early church members (read Acts 8:3-4). This young man would later become a Christian and have his
name changed to Paul. As Paul, he tirelessly spread the Gospel and wrote the major portion of our New Testament. He would later
lament his role in Stephen's martyrdom (Acts 22:20): "'And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing
by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.'" Paul would later (AD 67 or 68) also be
martyred (by beheading) for his faith in Jesus as Savior. A sixteenth century English historian, John Foxe, wrote a book, Foxe's Book of
Martyrs, which can be read online (www. ccel.org/f/foxe/martyrs/home.html). Foxe tells of the tortured deaths of early Christians. Every
Christian should read this book to appreciate more about the costs of our faith– and examples of faithfulness even to death.
NOTE: Martyr = a person killed because of his/ her belief, especially a religious belief. “Martyr” comes from the Greek martus,
translated as “witness” or “testifier.” A martyr is a witness of unshakable faith, who is willing to forfeit his/ her most valuable possession–
life– for that faith. Foxe's Book of Martyrs explains that any early Christian martyr would have been spared a horrible death, if only he/
she would recant (withdraw) the testimony that Jesus was the Son of God, was crucified, and was raised to life. Not a single Christian
denied the Christ and willingly died for Him. They bravely, even joyfully went to their deaths as witnesses for the Christ. Would they have
all died needlessly for a fraud? Do their testimonies strengthen your faith? Do their testimonies embolden you?
●-Roman Empire persecution: The Roman Empire tried to eliminate Christ's Church through nearly two centuries of horrendous
persecution. In AD 312, Emperor Constantine the Great made Christianity an official religion of Rome. Constantine's actions stopped the
persecution, but the entanglement of church and state created new problems. During the Roman persecution, the Church grew faster
than the Romans could martyr Christians.
●-The Dark Ages: During the Dark Ages, Christians turned on themselves, as a corrupt Catholic Church sought to stop the Protestant
Reformation, but the Church remained intact.
●-Modern persecution: In the past century, enemies of Jesus the Christ– primarily Muslims– have tried to remove Christians from "their"
land through forced conversions to Islam or death, but the Church has grown steadily in these areas.
●-Satan... no match for God: The harder Satan in the past persecuted or now persecutes God's people, the more resolute and
numerous Christians have become! And, of course, the Jews have always been terribly persecuted in the past and presently.
●-The final battle: The Holy Bible (in large part, the books of Daniel and Revelation) tells of an evil government during the seven-year
Tribulation. This government may come through the United Nations and/or the European Union. This one-world government, headed by
the Antichrist and the False Prophet, will be established to accomplish Satan's bidding and to oppose the Holy Trinity. Before the
Tribulation begins, Christians will be removed from the earth by the Rapture (according to the pre-Tribulation resurrection/ rapture
interpretation of Scripture). God will not leave the earth without hope, though, and He will raise up144,000 Jewish evangelists and the
Two Witnesses to proclaim His Gospel message of grace (salvation through Jesus' blood sacrifice) throughout the world. Millions upon
millions will be converted to faith in Jesus during this time. The Antichrist's government will ruthlessly hunt down these recently converted
Christians, and they will be martyred (murdered). All the puzzle pieces are falling into place to fulfill the prophetic scenario outlined above
in the near future. Consider these facts: Although dysfunctional and deeply in debt at the moment, Europe is building a powerful
federation of nations. Europe is mostly apostate, with little practice of Christianity in many countries and with anti-Christian hostility in
some countries. Europe's long-standing anti-Semitism (hatred of Jews) is intensifying. Europe is increasingly becoming allied with Islamic
nations, which hate Jews and Christians. Even in America, the Judicial System, some members of Congress, the State Department,
many members of the media, and members of the entertainment community are strongly biased against Christianity (called
“Christianophobia”). The world is ready for the Antichrist and the unmerciful persecution of Jews and Christians he will unleash. Satan will
execute his plan for a few years, until he is defeated by Jesus the Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords, at His Second Coming!
JUDEO-CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION TODAY AND DURING THE TRIBULATION. It is estimated that more than 72-million Christians
have been martyred since Stephen. More than 100-million Christians live under persecution throughout the world today. More than 170thousand Christians will be martyred in 2015. (To put this martyrdom in perspective, the population of Blount County is a little more than
125-thousand. 170-thousand worldwide martyrs would be the same as if every man, woman, and child in Blount County were killed from
January, 2015 through September, 2015, and the murderers had to move to Knox County in October to keep up their murderous
rampage.) Our government and the United Nations remain silent about Christian martyrdom. (Their attitude seems to be: “After all, they're
only [mostly poor] Christians. So, why should we worry? Let's focus our attention on social and environmental issues.”) The Antichrist will
kill untold millions of God's people during the Tribulation. Their cries will rise up to God to form the Fifth Seal Judgment (Revelation 6:910): When [Jesus] opened the fifth seal, I [the Apostle John] saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the
word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true,
until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Interestingly, these martyrs will be murdered by beheading
(read Revelation 20:4). Beheading is a favorite method of killing Christians today by ISIS and other terrorists. Will Muslims be influential in
the Antichrist's government? Christians are being killed by ISIS terrorists and other groups today. Open Doors USA publishes an annual
watch list for nations most dangerous for Christians. The top ten nations (in descending order of danger to Christians) are: North Korea,
Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran, Pakistan, Eritrea, and Nigeria. Christian genocidal cleansing is actively practiced in some
of these countries. (OF INTEREST: This church supports Pastor Richard Isindu's mission efforts [RIO Africa] in Kenya. Kenya is number
19 on the list of most dangerous nations for Christians.)
MARTYRDOM REWARDED BY JESUS. Jesus knows a great deal about being hated and suffering martyrdom (John 15:18-19): [Jesus
said] “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. … [B]ecause you are not of the world,... the world
hates you.” When you lose something in service for the Lord, much more will some day be given to you. An example is the Crown of Life
for Christian Martyrs, as promised in Revelation 2:10: [Jesus said] “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer.
Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be
faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” [our underlining || space will not permit explanation of the “ten days of
tribulation” in this verse] Jesus promised a special reward (a crown) for anyone who loses his/ her life because of faith in Him. When a
martyr comes to his/ her Bema Judgment, being awarded the Crown of Life and, perhaps, a “Thank you for your faithfulness” from Jesus
may far outweigh any persecution or martyrdom suffered on earth.
Watch for these possible future events, as we rush toward the Tribulation:
●-Persecution of God's people– Christians and Jews– from Islamic terrorists, atheists, and others will increase.
●-In nations which claim freedom of religion (for example, the United States), nonlethal anti-Christian/ anti-Jewish hatred will increase.
There is a sequence of attitudes and events which may ultimately lead to martyrdom:
mockery ► ostracism (shunning, exclusion) ► discrimination ► harassment ► persecution ► martyrdom.
If you have Jesus, you should not miss being shunned or mocked by enemies of the cross (1 John 4:4): You are of God, little children,
and have overcome them, because He [God] who is in you is greater than he [Satan] who is in the world.
●-People with some degree of authority and community standing (for example, university/ college professors, news media reporters/
commentators, politicians, and business persons) will mock and/ or discriminate against Jesus, Christians, and persons with conservative
ideals (those with a “guns and Bible mentality”). Expect such bigotry, but stand fast in your faith and beliefs.
●-Jesus the Christ will be viciously demeaned and ridiculed, but few Christians will rise to His defense. QUESTION: Have you heard
Jesus or His followers demeaned? Did you offer any defense? Did you protest? Probably not. Most of us stand by and watch our Jesus
and our fellow Christians mocked and harassed. Consider three quotations: (1)-Edmund Burke (Irish statesman, 1729-1797): “The only
thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” (2)-Martin Niemöller (anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor,
1892-1984), speaking of the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust: “First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a
Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade
unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for
me.” (3)-The Apostle James (James 4:17): Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
ALERT! World conditions and fulfilled prophecies are primed for great pre-Tribulation and Tribulation persecution and martyrdom. Even
so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20b). Prepare for Jesus' return in the clouds to call you home.
All Scriptures are taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION (NKJV), © Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. Holy Scriptures are
reproduced in red boldface font.
●-If you have questions about salvation or re-dedication of your life to serve God or if you wish to be counseled, call the RIO Revolution Church office at
(865) 984.9200, email the pastoral staff at www.riorevolution.net/contact-us/ , or come to the altar during any worship service.
●-If you have questions, comments, or suggestions concerning this lesson series, contact the author, Raymond Finney, at (865) 984.1424 or
raymondfinney@charter.net . The author assumes full responsibility for any error or misstatement.
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