Sparking a Passion for Prophecy

David Reagan Interview

Tim Moore: I have the great pleasure of having Dr. David Reagan, my predecessor. Really, Dave, you’re the man who has inspired so many to be attracted to Bible prophecy, including me.

David Reagan: Well, thank you, brother. I appreciate that. It’s good to be with you always.

Tim Moore: You know, it’s always a daunting thing to interview you because you were in this spot interviewing so many for so many years.

David Reagan: That’s right, including you.

Tim Moore: Including me. Yes, sir. I used to be in the hot seat but now I get to put you in the hot seat.

David Reagan: Okay, okay.

Tim Moore: So I want to ask, Dave, you really sparked the passion in me to study God’s prophetic Word, but what sparked that hunger in your heart?

David Reagan: Well, the Lord called on my life. I mean, he called me when I was 20 years old. I knew he did and I said, “Here am I Lord, send anybody but me.” So I had my own ideas of what I was gonna do. So I pursued an academic career for 20 years and I was successful at it but I was miserable because I was out of God’s will. And so what got me going was I went to the Philippines in the mid ’60s as a professor at the University of the Philippines and that got me going because I’ve heard about an exceptional preacher in downtown Manila and everybody talked about it. So I said, I’ll go down and check this guy out.

Well, he held three services on Sunday morning, one in Chinese, one in Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines, and one in English. Found out he was born, he was from Kentucky, he was born in China of Chinese missionaries. He learned Chinese before he learned English and when the Japanese invaded China, his family fled to the Philippines just in time to be caught by the Japanese there. And they were put in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp and he spent all of his teenage years there. It was horrible, just horrible. And then he decided to stay in the Philippines. And so, I went to hear him and he was preaching on Bible prophecy. And I’d grown up in an amillennial church where prophecy was never mentioned, we never studied the Old Testament. And here was a man preaching on Bible prophecy. He preached about the millennium which I didn’t know anything about.

Tim Moore: Right.

David Reagan: And he was giving scriptures but they were from the Old Testament mainly and we never studied Old Testament church I grew up in. We bragged about we were a New Testament church and that meant when they said bring your Bible, you brought your New Testament. So I started being introduced to the Old Testament and to Bible prophecy. And as many have pointed out, you can’t understand New Testament prophecy without understanding Old Testament prophecy, they fit together like a hand in a glove.

And then to reinforce that is when I got back from the Philippines, it was 1967, the Six-Day War broke out. And after the war was over, I read an article from the Associated Press, and it said that on the last day of the war, the Israelis were trying to decide how they could conquer the old city. And they knew they could not attack from the Jaffa gate because that was where the Jordanians would expect them to attack. So they decided at nighttime, under the cover of darkness, to go around on the east side and attack from the east side the next morning. And somebody in the group, according to this reporter, said, “Let’s do it at the Eastern Gate because we can put satchel charges there, go in and that’ll catch them totally…

Tim Moore: The sealed gate.

David Reagan: Because it’s a sealed gate.

Tim Moore: Yes.

David Reagan: And there was a rabbi, a military chaplain there, and he said, “You do that over my dead body.” And they said, “Why?” He said, “Because the Bible says that gate is closed and will remain closed until the Messiah comes.” And I thought, what in the world is that all about? So I got my big old concordance out, that’s before computers, you know?

Tim Moore: Yeah, exactly.

David Reagan: And I looked at every verse in the Bible that said gate, and I found it. Ezekiel 44 says, “This gate’s going to be closed.” And I thought, well then how did it get closed? And nobody knows for sure but the general story is it was closed because a rumor swept Jerusalem that the Messiah was coming, and Suleiman the Magnificent was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem at that time. And so he said, “Come, bring me some rabbis. Tell me about this Messiah.” They said, “He’s gonna come from the East, he’s gonna go in the Eastern Gate. He’s going to overthrow you and he’s going to reign over all the world.” He said, “Thank you very much.” Called in his engineers and said to block up the Eastern Gate and put a Muslim cemetery out in front.

Tim Moore: And it’s there to this day.

David Reagan: So, the first time I went to Jerusalem, what I wanted to see was the Eastern Gate and that hooked me on Bible prophecy. I just, I mean, I could see it fulfilled before my very eyes.

Tim Moore: Well, you know, so many pastors today, Dave, they say, “Ah, I don’t want to have any interest in Bible prophecy because it’s pie in the sky, it’s esoteric, and it has no relevance.” But you are a living testimony to how Bible prophecy inspires an absolute commitment to Christ and an urgency to sharing the Good News of the Gospel.

David Reagan: And Tim, I’ve heard that so many times and I always tell these pastors that… they always say to me, “Well, you know, you’re an evangelist. You hit and run. But I’m a located pastor, I’ve got to deal with real problems.” And I say, “Well, you don’t understand Bible prophecy.” I said, “First of all, Bible prophecy is a great tool of evangelism.

Tim Moore: Yes, it is.

David Reagan: Look at Acts 2. The very first gospel sermon ever preached was nothing but Bible prophecy from beginning to end.

Tim Moore: Yes, it was.

David Reagan: Peter said, the prophet said this, Jesus fulfilled. Prophet said this, Jesus fulfilled it. Prophet said,…and finally people just cried out, “What do we got to do? We understand, he’s the Messiah.” And I said, “Second, if you can ever convince your congregation of two things about Bible prophecy, you’ll totally change them radically.” Number one, Jesus really is coming back. The average Christian believes it here but it has no impact until it moves there. It needs to be preached from the pulpit. And secondly, that’s an event that could occur any moment in the rapture of the church. And I said, that will motivate people to holiness and to evangelism. And what more could you ask for?

Tim Moore: Amen, brother. Well, you convinced me back in about 1993, the first time I heard you speak up in Northern Indiana and really it changed the course of my life as born testimony by the fact I’m sitting here interviewing you today. Who would’ve thought, little guy from Kentucky?

Olivier Melnick Interview

Nathan Jones: Olivier Melnick shares our next story about the event that sparked his interest in Bible prophecy. In his service with Chosen People Ministries, Olivier declares messianic prophecies that warn people away from antisemitism and introduce them to our Jewish Messiah.

Tim Moore: I’ll just ask this, Olivier. We obviously are hearkening to God’s prophetic Word. What drew you to a study and appreciation for the prophetic Word in God’s revelation?

Olivier Melnick: Well, maybe I need to rephrase your question because I was thinking about it and it’s studying Bible prophecy that drew me to God. Oh, so it’s the other way around.

Tim Moore: Okay.

Olivier Melnick: Because my wife, who back then was not my wife said, “I cannot marry you.” You know, she’s a Gentile, I’m a Jew and we married for 40 years. And she said, “You need to believe in Yeshua, in Jesus.” And I said, “Well, I don’t, I’m Jewish. Can we just agree to disagree?” And she showed me the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament and I looked at them in the Bible and then I looked at them in the book, “The Late Great Planet Earth” by Hal Lindsey. And I thought, wow, all these have been fulfilled, literally. And then this guy is saying that the second part, the return of this Jesus is going to be fulfilled. Why should I believe it’s not going to be literal? And so the study of Messianic prophecies drew me to a belief in Yeshua.

Tim Moore: You know, that’s a fantastic testimony, Olivier, because so many of our folks would say, “Well, I’ve never heard much about the prophecies of the Bible, but obviously I’m a follower of Christ.” But really, if you study the prophecies, it draws you deeper into an appreciation for the person of Christ, the fact that he came the first time and he’s coming again.

Olivier Melnick: And for the veracity of the Bible, I mean, if all those things happen literally, then we can trust the Bible.

Tim Moore: So over time, as you continue to study, I take it that it’s just deepened your commitment to Yeshua, to Messiah?

Olivier Melnick: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I’m comforted by the Messianic prophecies of the first coming and I’m excited about the upcoming prophecies to be fulfilled about the second coming.

Don Perkins Interview

Nathan Jones: Next up is Don Perkins of According to Prophecy Ministries. Don’s ministry is what we here at Lamb & Lion Ministries call a sister ministry. Here’s why.

Tim Moore: No, Don, you’ve been a long-time sister ministry with Lamb & Lion Ministries which means that Dr. David Reagan helped encourage you to launch your ministry. Tell us a little bit about your draw to Bible prophecy and the faith that you stepped out in to proclaim God’s prophetic Word.

Don Perkins: Well, I’ve been serving now 42 years in ministry, believe it or not. God used Dr. Reagan to challenge me to go full-time. The Lord called me, you know, I was in prayer and he spoke the call to my life. And I said, well, Lord, you need to confirm this to me because I was afraid of prophecy, I was afraid of Revelation. And then God called me. And when I accepted the call, he gave me an insatiable desire to study Bible prophecy. But Dave Reagan was instrumental in me going full time and I really to this day thank God for him in my life. You know, he’s challenged me to trust God and I’m grateful to that.

Tim Moore: You know what a lot of people may not know is there are actually two of you in the sense that you’ve got a twin.

Don Perkins: Yes, I’ve got a twin. Absolutely.

Tim Moore: And is he as good-looking as you? Not quite.

Don Perkins: Well, we’re identical. So I have to go with that, right? He has a pastoral call. And I have an evangelist teacher prophecy call. We’re identical twins, but different callings.

Tim Moore: I praise the Lord for both of you but I’m so grateful for your ministry and how you’ve really blessed my heart. So how has Bible prophecy, you said you were afraid of it one time but now not only does it come through with a passion as you speak, but how has it invigorated your Christian faith?

Don Perkins: Well, it has energized my faith and it has given me a hunger for the harvest. It strengthened my walk with God. You know, I say many times that I can tell when a person does not understand the end of the story by how they live in the present. This message for me gives me the grace to walk on the straight and narrow. You know what I mean? It really gives me the grace to just trust God. Bible prophecy has just changed my world in the sense of knowing where we are prophetically based on Bible prophecy. But the hunger I have for the harvest to me has been amazing. Even my love for Israel. Before teaching Bible prophecy, Israel was not part of my life and study. And now because I understand what the Scripture says and what’s going on there, I have a love for Israel. I mean, all those things were birthed to me in my life as a result of teaching and understanding Bible prophecy.

Tim Moore: Teaching and understand Bible prophecy and I think you’re exactly right. It creates a hunger to know God’s Word even more.

Don Perkins: Yes.

Tim Moore: But it has practicality because if we realize the Lord’s coming again, he’s coming soon.

Don Perkins: Yes, yes.

Tim Moore: And I have to be intentional and I have to be urgent about sharing the gospel.

Don Perkins: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Tim Moore: About evangelizing and about living a holy life.

Don Perkins: Absolutely. You gotta walk this life, you know, and it’ll keep you on a straight and narrow, no doubt about it.

J.B. Hixson Interview

Nathan Jones: Our next prophecy teacher is Dr. J.B. Hixson of Not by Works Ministries. J.B. demonstrates what a tremendous blessing Christian parents can be who foster in their young children a love for the return of Jesus Christ.

Tim Moore: J.B. what attracted you to the study of God’s prophetic Word? I know you’re a pastor, but you have a unique heart’s desire to share the prophetic Word.

J.B. Hixson: Yeah, so I was blessed to be raised in a Christian family and so came to know the Lord at the age of six, and my dad led me to the Lord. And so grew up in an environment where we talked a lot about the Bible and God’s Word, but my grandfather, my dad’s dad had been a pastor and he was a Dallas Seminary guy and was passionate about the end times. And so I can remember multiple conversations when we would go visit him just around the living room about things like the rapture, and the return of the Lord, and prophetic events. And so, I think it just kind of stuck with me as a young man and just really was always passionate about piecing together that portion of scripture.

Tim Moore: Well, we’ve heard from some who say I was drawn to faith in Christ through Bible prophecy. You having had faith from an early age, how has Bible prophecy really invigorated or informed your faith, deepened your resolve to follow as a disciple of Christ?

J.B. Hixson: Yeah, well, I mean, looking for the Blessed Hope has always been a big factor. You know, I can remember my grandfather had a little plaque on his door that we still have today and both my grandparents are with the Lord, but it’s all tattered and torn. But it was basically a message if the Rapture were to happen to those left behind, it explained what had happened to them and the Gospel and so forth. So I think it was real. It wasn’t just theological, it was real. And so I’ve always just expected, hey, it could be today, and then have taught and written about Bible prophecy for 35 years in ministry.

Tim Moore: Wow!

Mondo Gonzales Interview

Nathan Jones: Well, next up is Mondo Gonzalez, a name fairly new within the circles of Bible prophecy teachers but one who’s long studied eschatology. He’ll share how a passion for one particular doctrine inevitably leads one to an appreciation of prophecy.

Tim Moore: Well, Mondo, okay, we’re going to start right off and jump in the deep end. Why Bible prophecy? What attracted you to a study of Bible prophecy?

Mondo Gonzales: You know, I got saved in 1993 and my desire really is apologetics. So I…, getting into understanding prophecy as a young Christian, prophecy is one of the ways that shows that the Scripture is true. God is the only one that can, that knows the future, Satan doesn’t. So, in looking at revealed prophecy, whether it’s the Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament being fulfilled or even future prophecy, I began to use it as a way to show, again, the reliability of scripture and that the Bible is unique. It’s the only Holy book in the world that does that. In fact, in Isaiah 41, God invites the world to bring all the false gods.

Tim Moore: Yeah.

Mondo Gonzales: Bring forth your case. And so, ever since then, seeing the correlation as well, even back in the nineties, of course with Israel becoming a nation and other things, I was like, this is all true. And so as a young Christian, it was powerful to shape my thinking and of course to invest my time in the study of Scripture.

Tim Moore: Well obviously we know that Peter used Bible prophecy in Acts 2 to bear testimony to the person of Jesus Christ. We know Philip used Bible prophecy to reveal, again, the Gospel when he went and met with the Ethiopian eunuch. How has your passion now for Bible prophecy, obviously you worked for Prophecy Watchers and you share the Good News of Jesus Christ through that venue, but how has it invigorated your own Christian faith and your commitment as a disciple of Christ?

Mondo Gonzales: You know, it’s interesting because I spent basically 20 years pastoring and,..but yet I find it that the Lord always had me in prophecy anyway. And so with all that, I’d always, once a year I would teach a prophetic series, you know,…seven things that are happening in the world. And I always had an interest. Well, then of course when Prophecy Watchers called, I’m like, oh, I see why now the Lord was doing all this. But to me, throughout the years, again, using that in ministry and for the layperson to help them understand that, hey guys, we are waiting for the Lord’s return, that this isn’t going to be like this forever. But it helps in…, to me it brings also a desire to be ready and a desire to be pure and a desire to be found when the Lord comes to be doing his kingdom work.

Tim Moore: Yes.

Mondo Gonzales: And so it’s very, very practical in my own life but then of course, to teach that as a pastor to people say, Hey, you want the Lord to be ready and to say well done now, good and faithful servant. And so it’s, I think it’s an impetus for godly living but also readiness and also to be busy until He comes.

Tim Moore: Yes.

Lee Brainard Interview

Nathan Jones: Well, I first got to know our next guest through his nail-biting, planet-shaking series of fictional books about the end times. Lee Brainard of the ministry Soothkeep will now remind us of the purpose of Bible prophecy, having joy in our blessed hope.

Tim Moore: Just for our viewers today, how did you come to have a passion for Bible prophecy and how has it invigorated your own faith and your discipleship in Christ?

Lee Brainard: Well, as a young believer, when I was in the Ranger Battalion in 1980, my roommate discovered I didn’t have a Bible. And he said, “You knot-head.” And he went and took me to the bookstore and bought me a King James Study Bible, Dake’s annotated reference Bible.

Tim Moore: Now that’s a good buddy soldier right there. I’ll tell you what, that’s great!

Lee Brainard: And so, I started reading that Bible and before long my life was revolutionized. And the deeper I got into this, the more I saw, we know why we’re here, we know where we came from, we know what we’re supposed to be doing. We know how we’re supposed to live, and we know where we’re going. We know the past, the present, the future. Who else in the world knows that? And that’s where I got into prophecy. We know what’s coming.

Tim Moore: Well, Lee, what can our viewers do if they look around and are tempted to be anxious or fearful? How can they have the same kind of exuberant hope and confidence that you have?

Lee Brainard: Well, I think one of the things that we need to understand is as a believer, we have the opportunity to have joy residing in us that’s wrought by the Word of God and the Spirit of God, the power of God. Joy the world cannot give us and cannot take away. And I think this is part of the maturity that we have the privilege of maturing into as a believer. The world can come, they can throw us in prison, they can throw us in a FEMA camp, they can take our life, they can take our treasure, they can take our possessions, they can take our physical life, but they cannot take Jesus from our heart, they cannot take our hope or joy.

Tim Moore: So we need to have the joy that or the peace that passes understanding.

Lee Brainard: Amen.

Tim Moore: And even though we have troubles in the world, all around us, in our hearts we are not troubled.

Lee Brainard: So there are times when I feel the storm around me ruffling and I feel my exterior self getting a little ruffled, and I just have to look the Lord and say, “Okay Lord, we need Jesus to calm another storm.”

Tim Moore: Amen. You know what, if you’re enduring a storm in your life today, or you feel like the world is swirling around you, just as Lee said, we would encourage you to keep your eyes on Christ.

Lee Brainard: Amen.

Tim Moore: When Peter took his eyes off the Lord, he began to sink. He saw the wind and the waves and the spray. But if you keep your eyes on Christ, you can stand and walk above even the waves themselves.

Lee Brainard: Amen!

Conclusion

Tim Moore: To get our final testimony about what sparked an esteemed preacher’s heart towards God’s prophetic Word, I had to travel all the way to Nashville, Tennessee. There I met up with Pastor Robert J. Morgan at the Opryland Convention Center. He has been involved in pastoral ministry for over 40 years and is a bestselling writer of more than 35 books. Robert will close this episode by sharing his newest book, which emphasizes Lee Brainard’s vital point about how Bible prophecy is meant to give the believer great joy. Godspeed.

Robert Morgan Interview

Tim Moore: You are a prolific author because the Lord has given you a great gift of communicating, both as a pastor and now as a writer and you have been faithful in that. But I know you have been working on a book that’s about to come out even as we record this episode.

Robert Morgan: Yes, it’s called Whatever Happens, and the subtitle is Staying strong in your faith when the world is falling apart. And it’s based on the book of Philippians. The key verse to Philippians is Philippians 1:27. It really begins the body of the book and it says, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. So that whether I come to see you or only hear about you, I’ll know that you are standing firm in one spirit, not intimidated by those who oppose you.” So that’s the theme of Philippians and there are other sub-themes like joy and some wonderful verses there. But I go through the book of Philippians. I’ve been studying Philippians for a half-century.

Tim Moore: Wow!

Robert Morgan: So I go through it, paragraph by paragraph, pulling out very practical lessons of what it means to stand firm. And what… The interesting thing is that Paul did not know what was going to happen to him. He was facing trial. This is one of the prison epistles. He was going before a court in Nero’s imperial government in Rome. And he thought he would be released. He anticipated that he would, but he didn’t know. And he kept saying, “Whatever happens.” He says that a number of times, “Whether I live or whether I die.” This is when he said, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” I don’t know what’s going to happen. He didn’t know the future. The apostle Paul didn’t even know his own future, let alone the future of the church in Rome or the church of Jesus Christ, or the world. But he said, “Whatever happens here is what to do.” And that’s the message.

Tim Moore: That’s a tremendous message because I think a lot of people don’t want to consider what will happen in the future. And so they don’t really steel themselves to be so grounded in their faith that whatever happens, I will not be shaken, I will not be stirred. And yet we know and we can trust that everything is according to the will of God. We recently studied and talked about Daniel and in the opening two verses of Daniel, he said, “It was the will of God for my nation to be destroyed and for me to be carted off into exile.” Those are horrific occurrences but he still was determined to trust in the Lord. And that is bold faith for sure.

Robert Morgan: Well, we know what’s going to happen ultimately. We know about the return of Christ; we know about the New Jerusalem. We know about all of those things ultimately, which gives us peace. But in the short term, we don’t know what’s going to happen with the United States. We don’t know what’s going to happen with our various elections. We don’t know what’s going to happen with the state of the geopolitical crises that are occurring. We don’t even know what’s going to happen with our own family or with our health, or with the world economy, or with the US economy. We just don’t know these things. But whatever happens, we can conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

Tim Moore: What a tremendous testimony and frankly, you have lived that because you mentioned family or health. Some of our viewers today are going through crisis of health or crisis within their family. You told us even previously how your wife has gone ahead to be with the Lord. And so, that’s a tremendous loss in this life. But you’ve said, I look forward to being reunited with her and the Lord. So again, having the long view puts even these momentary tragedies into perspective.

Robert Morgan: It does. I have pictures of Katrina up all over the house. If they made me sad, I really think I would take most of them down. And she passed away from multiple sclerosis and complications in 2019 and she’s in Heaven but when I see those pictures, and I think it’s just the blessing of God, but I think back to the wonderful times we had, and I look forward to the times we’re going to have. And so it doesn’t make me sad, it gives me joy on both occasions.

Tim Moore: Yeah.

Robert Morgan: Particularly the looking forward. The last thing that I said to her as she was passing away, I whispered in her ear and I said, “You go on to sleep and when we both wake up or when we’re both in Heaven, we’ll take a walk hand in hand by the crystal river.” And I made that date with her just like I made a date with her when we were, you know, when we first met. And I intend to keep it.

Tim Moore: You will.

Robert Morgan: And I anticipate that. I can visualize it and it gives me a lot of joy. So the Lord gives us tremendous hope and the Book of Philippians is full of joy, it’s full of hope, it’s full of Christ, it’s full of courage, it’s full of these things. But against the awareness that in the short run, we don’t always know what’s going to happen.

Tim Moore: What a tremendous testimony that is. I had a sister who lost a little boy born right here in Tennessee and it was a momentary tragedy that lasted as an ache for the rest of her life. And yet even her neighbors who were not believers said, “How can you have such peace in the midst of this great loss?” And she said, “Oh, let me tell you not how but who. Who can give me that peace?” And it became an opportunity to share testimony. And so Robert, you continue to share living testimony of your faith in the one who is our blessed hope. And frankly, even as we look forward to His coming, we are assured a crown of righteousness credited to us by Him. And so I’m sure you will have many crowns and Ms. Katrina already is wearing some before you.

Robert Morgan: Well, I don’t know about me but I think she will and…

Tim Moore: I know you’ll have a crown of righteousness because you’re anticipating the Lord’s return!

Robert Morgan: That’s right. That’s right. And I hope this book will encourage many people. We have a study guide to go with and it’d be a tremendous book for small-group studies. Whatever Happens is the name of it. And I hope it’ll be a great encouragement to people.

Tim Moore: How can our viewers get a copy of that book or where would they be able to connect with your ongoing ministry?

Robert Morgan: You can get a copy of the book wherever you buy your books, but we have copies available as well as other resources at my website robertjmorgan.com.

End of Program