A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO 7 PROPHETIC SCHOLARS WAITING ON THE OTHER SIDE

AS WE RAPIDLY APPROACH OUR HOMECOMING DAY, WHEN WE ARE GOING TO SEE OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR, FACE TO FACE, I FEEL STRONGLY LED TO PAY TRIBUTE TO 7 BIBLE PROPHECY SCHOLARS, WHO HAVE GREATLY IMPACTED MY SPIRITUAL LIFE, BUT HAVE RECENTLY GONE HOME TO BE WITH OUR LORD. ALL OF THESE WONDERFUL PEOPLE SHOULD BE WELL-KNOWN TO MOST OF YOU. PLEASE JOIN ME IN PAYING TRIBUTE TO THEM, BY READING HOW THESE GREAT MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD HAVE GREATLY IMPACTED MY SPIRITUAL LIFE.

SEVEN IS GOD'S NUMBER OF COMPLETION. IT IS MY PRAYER THAT THIS LIST OF GREAT PROPHETIC SCHOLARS IS NOW COMPLETE, BEFORE WE GO HOME TO OUR PROMISED LAND, TO MEET WITH THEM ONCE AGAIN. IN REVERSE ORDER, HERE IS MY COMPLETE LIST OF THE 7 MOST INFLUENTIAL DECEASED BIBLE PROPHECY SCHOLARS WHO HAVE GREATLY INFLUENCED MY LIFE, ALL OF WHOM OUR LORD HAS SEEN FIT TO RECENTLY CALL HOME:

1. Rev. David Wilkerson. He died a year or so ago, in a tragic car accident. He was about 80. Many called him a modern-day prophet, probably more so, than any other person. He has famously written about his vision of the destruction coming upon the United States, because of our sin. The night BEFORE (not AFTER) the infamous date of 9--11--01, he led a group to prepare thousands of sandwiches because of the tragedy that the Lord was showing him would happen the very next day. Back in the 60's, he founded an inner-city mission in New York City. He was the author of such books and movies as "The Vision", and "The Cross and the Switchblade". Truly, David Wilkerson was a real man of God, whom many considered to be the world's foremost Prophet.

2. Bonnie Gaunt. Bonnie was the author of over 20 books. Most of her books dealt with Bible gematria, and also delved into Bible Prophecy. She certainly was one of the world's most prolific writers and scholars on this subject. She made hundreds of brand new discoveries that were dealt with extensively in her well-written, well-received, and profound books. She made an appearance on The 700 Club TV show. She was an occasional contributor to 5 Doves. Bonnie died less than a year ago, at age 82.

I had the privilege to become friends with Bonnie, back in 1999. We lived in the same county in Michigan. She and I held a countywide Bible Prophecy Crusade in our home county. Every Saturday night during the summer of 1999, we held services. After the song service, she would have a slide presentation. She held a strong conviction that 1999 was the end of the 2000 years since Christ, and that Jesus would be returning during the Fall of 1999. After her presentation, I would preach. We had great altar services where many people were saved every week. What a privilege and honor to share these services with Bonnie Gaunt, during the summer of 1999. Fantastic memories.

My wife and I had the privilege of visiting her for a couple of days, eight years ago, in her new home in Arkansas. She took us canoeing, and insisted, at age 74, on rowing her own canoe, by herself. Bonnie, you were a real woman of God, so sweet, so humble, so dedicated, so studious, and with such an ability to communicate the message that the Lord was laying on your heart. You are missed by so many, and we look forward to meeting you again, very, very soon.

3. Rev. Grant Jeffrey. He died a few months ago. He died in his early 60's, much too young, as he was within one year of being my age. In the late 1980's and all through the 1990's, we attended numerous Bible Prophecy conferences. Two Prophecy scholars were always the most sought-after, and most popular speakers. One was Grant Jeffrey and the other one is listed below. How tragic that both are no longer with us, in the flesh. Ah, but their messages live on, with their awesome books and tapes. Grant Jeffrey appeared often on Christian TV.

His books and tapes are some of the most profound and amazing that you will ever want to read, or listen to. He was one of the most respected and admired men of God whom I have ever met. Grant Jeffrey was the 2nd most Bible Prophecy scholar, author, and speaker, whom I have learned the most from. I still cannot believe that he has been taken so soon and so suddenly from our midst. Grant, your messages will live on throughout all eternity. Thanks for sharing with all of us an abundance and wealth of insight and knowledge that you had gained from the Lord. Your rewards will be GREAT in Heaven.

4. Dr. Hilton Sutton. My very first Bible Prophecy Conference was in a hotel in Detroit, Michigan, where I was living and working, and going to a night Bible School at the time, in about 1977. Hilton Sutton was the speaker. And oh, how this man impacted my life. I was so fascinated and impressed by this man of God, that I bought every single tape that he had ever made, even though I could not afford it. He made Bible Prophecy come alive and be exciting. It was well worth the money.

Hilton inspired an interest in me on end-times Bible Prophecy like nobody ever had before. I devoured his tapes, and it only increased my passion to learn more. He was the person responsible for my believing that the Sudden Destruction and the Rapture would be at the same time. I heard him say, more than once, "As the nuclear bombs are coming down, the Bride of Christ will be going up." Since then, my studies in the Prophetic Scriptures have convinced me that the Rapture and Sudden Destruction will be simultaneous. He also, a few years ago, had a Bible Prophecy show on Christian TV. He died about a year or so ago, at about age 84, or 85. Thank you brother Hilton. More than any other person, you were responsible for igniting my intense interest in end-times Bible Prophecy, during these past 35 to 40 years. You will always be greatly admired in my eyes.

5. Dr. Charles Taylor. He is the only one on this list, who did not really die recently, as it was a few years back. But I felt that I should not leave him out. I am not sure of his age, at his death, but my best guess is late 70's, or early 80's. His ministry was based in California. If someone could please jog my memory on the name of his ministry, I would greatly appreciate it. He hosted a Bible Prophecy nationwide radio program, and was a speaker and author.

The reason he is the 3rd most influential Bible Prophecy scholar on my list is because of what he did for me personally. His was one of several ministries that used my Bible Prophecy tracts all throughout the 1990's. He would put my tracts in his newsletters, and in orders that he received. He also was a blessing to our Maranatha Ministries, by playing songs from my wife's All-Rapture music cassettes, on his nationwide radio program.

My middle daughter, who is currently a missionary, was pleasantly surprised, when, one day in the 1990's, as she was a 1st year student in Bible College, she was riding home with a few other students, from Minnesota to Michigan, listening to Christian radio in the car. She was shocked, when, all of a sudden, her own mother was singing on the radio, as Dr. Taylor's program was on. The song was a fast-moving Rapture song, entitled, "The Party's Over". Her fellow classmates in the car were as equally impressed, as my daughter was shocked and proud.

It was days before I was leaving to attend a Bible Prophecy Conference down south. I was a little bummed out because the Conference director would not let me have a display table for my Maranatha Ministries material, including my tracts, because the tables were for only the speakers. When Dr. Charles Taylor discovered this, he told me to bring my material down to the Conference, as he would share his table at the Conference with me. What a tremendous blessing that turned out to be. It was generous gestures like this, by several leading Prophecy ministries that allowed my ministry to flourish and accomplish things for the Lord. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Dr. Taylor. You had a passion for tthe 2nd Coming of Christ like few others I have ever met. You were a great example and had a big influence on my life. I greatly look forward to seeing you again in the very, very near future.

6. Rev. J. R. Church. He passed away about 17 months ago. J. R. is the one mentioned above, with Grant Jeffrey. At Bible Prophecy Conferences, he was the one speaker that nobody wanted to miss. His was the one display table that was always the most surrounded. He always electrified the crowd each year, because he always had brand new discoveries, just like Grant Jeffrey, to share with us. His slide presentations included five large screens in a semi-circle, and were always fascinating and extremely well-organized.

He was a most prolific author, speaker, and discoverer of previously hidden truths from the Word of God. In my opinion, nobody has ever dug deeper into the Word for hidden Prophetic truths and new discoveries than the team of J. R. Church and his cohort, and successor, Gary Stearnum. Every month I would devour his monthly publication, "Prophecy in the News", and rarely came away disappointed. He had a nationwide Christian TV show, with the same name.

He is the author of many of the most popular Bible Prophecy books ever written, including "Prophecies in the Psalms". There may have been a couple of names in the Bible Prophecy world more well-known, than J. R. Church. But there were none more well-received at Bible Prophecy conferences, none more prolific with his writings, none that made more astonishing and relevant discoveries from the Prophetic Word of God, and none that shed more light on the Prophetic end-time Word, than dedicated author and speaker, J. R. Church.

J. R. and I had many conversations at these conferences, and I always came away amazed and impressed. He had a true heart for seeing souls saved, often giving an invitation for salvation after he spoke. J. R., I have learned more about end-times Bible Prophecy from several of your well-written and amazing publications, your presentations, and listening to dozens and dozens of your excellent, and extremely informative and relevant tapes, than from anyone else. I pay you tribute, my good brother, for having the 2nd most influence on my life and growth in the world of end-times Bible Prophecy. You were a tremendous blessing to so many worldwide. Only eternity will reveal the overwhelming positive influence you and your dynamic ministry has had on so many people. Thank you, J. R. Church, for being such a humble, obedient, and influential man of God. You are missed greatly already.

7. Dr. Ray Brubaker. Ray died a few years ago, in his early eighties. He was a very unassuming man, and not really a great speaker. However, Ray Brubaker is Number 1 on my list of influential Bible Prophecy scholars in my own life, for many reasons. Here are a few:

1. His nationwide Christian TV show, "God's News Behind the News", based in St. Petersburg, Florida, reached millions and millions of people. His faithfulness in reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ was matched by very few.

2. Putting on a quality successful Bible Prophecy Conference, year after year, is a difficult challenge, to say the least. But every year, he was willing to put forth the time and effort to host the world's foremost and most popular, and most well-attended International Bible Prophecy Conference in the world. He was able to get the best, and most well-known speakers in the world on end-times Bible Prophecy. His conference was 2nd to none, I can assure you of that.

3. At two or three different times, he used different tracts that I had written, by putting them in his ministry newsletters. Each time he would do this, our Maranatha Ministries would experience a substantial increase in tract orders, which would result in a growth of our ministry.

4. Every year when it was his turn to speak, he would pound home the message to all of his attendees, that not all Christians would be going in the Rapture. The Scriptural passages that supported his message were so compelling and convincing, that he soon had me convinced. It is not a popular message, and not necessarily one shared by all of the other speakers. But he remained faithful to what he was convinced the Word of God taught, that he preached it every single year that I attended.

5. The very first God's News Behind the News International Bible Prophecy Conference that I attended was probably in 1990. I had just written my very first end-times Bible Prophecy tract, entitled, "What in the World is Happening?" I gave Ray a copy of my tract, and the next day I asked him if he had read it. He said that he had read it, and was quite impressed with it. I had brought a few tracts along with me, so he allowed me, before the first session of the day, to place one of my tracts on each of the several hundred seats in the auditorium. What a blessing that turned out to be. Ray Brubaker was the springboard to my tract ministry, as several people wrote a check to our address on the back of the tract, ordering some of them. From there, we went on to write a total of 37 different tracts, with a total of almost 10,000,000 in circulation, all on the subject of the 2nd Coming of Christ and end-times Bible Prophecy, and each with the plan of salvation on it. More than any other person, Ray Brubaker was the main impetus for our tract ministry.

6. It was usually the policy of Bible Prophecy Conferences to allow a display table only to the speakers at the Conference. Ray Brubaker's Conference was no exception. Except that he decided to make an exception in our case, because our ministry was so unique. Not only did we bring along several large boxes of tracts, always giving away free samples, we also brought Rapture music tapes, sung by my wife, Rapture bumper stickers, small florescent orange oval stickers, saying, "Jesus is Coming Soon, Are You Ready?", Rapture T-Shirts, and several other Rapture items. Being allowed a display table every year for many years at the largest and best Bible Prophecy Conference in the world was such a tremendous blessing to us and our tract ministry. And Ray Brubaker deserves all the credit in the world, for stepping out in faith and allowing us an annual display table.

7. One day, in 1993 or 1994, I was surprised to receive a phone call from Ray Brubaker, and he began telling me what an honor it was to have me at the conference every year, displaying our ministry material. Then he went on the say what an honor it was to speak with me on the phone. I was flabbergasted. I felt so unworthy of him saying that to me. I have always held him in such high esteem and considered it a real honor to be the recipient of a personal phone call from him. But there he was, trying to lift me up. But that was always the way that Ray Brubaker was, so humble and unassuming.

8. The next year, 1995, he went one step further, and wrote a short letter to me, saying that the Board of Directors of the Bible Prophecy Conference had decided to ask me to be one of the speakers at the next Conference. It was certainly not something that I had asked for, or ever expected, in my wildest dreams, to happen. I felt very unworthy to sit on the same platform with Jack Van Impe, Hal Lindsay, Perry Stone, Grant Jeffrey, Hilton Sutton, and J. R. Church. But that is the kind of guy that Ray was. He was always willing and attempting to help out new ministries and speakers. He was willing to give them a chance. It is a rare trait in the world of Bible Prophecy. Unfortunately, the timing of this invitation was terrible. I was having marital difficulties, and was also suffering from burnout from dedicating oftentimes over 40 hours per week to my ministry. This was in addition to working full-time and raising a family. For almost two years, I stopped writing tracts and quarterly newsletters.

9. Regrettably, for these reasons, I had to turn Ray down. But I will never, ever forget that kind and generous offer from a true and humble servant of God. Ray Brubaker, you are greatly missed. Your passion for the 2nd Coming of Christ was unparalleled. Your passion, dedication, sincerity, humility, and friendliness had a tremendous impact on my life. You and your sweet wife were the perfect example of a true and happy Christian marriage. What a testimony your life was! You had more impact on my life and my ministry than any other Bible Prophecy scholar. You were greatly admired by so very many people. You are one of the first people whom I hope to meet in Glory Land. Thank you so much for having faith in me, and being a living example of one who had a real and genuine passion for Christ and for His Second Coming.

I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to read my tribute to the 7 most influential Bible Prophecy scholars and teachers in my life, who have recently passed away. Just by reading this, you have paid your own tribute to these wonderful, dedicated, and loved men and women of God. Be sure to say a prayer, thanking God for them, for their dedicated service and for the tremendous positive influence they have had on so many lives. Each of them have each done a GREAT service for the Kingdom of God. May we meet them again VERY, VERY SOON in our Heavenly home!