Remembering Chuck Missler
It was a good facebook friend who notified me of Chuck Missler's passing just short of an hour after the news had been officially released. I couldn't describe how I was feeling. A great part of me was so happy for Chuck because I knew where he was. I knew how much he loved the Lord and how much he longed to be reunited with his wife Nancy and two sons, who were all there waiting for him. But I was also very sad. I couldn't imagine Chuck not being here anymore, although it's probably not that long before we'll catch up to him.
I was introduced to Chuck Missler in 1994 through a short series of VHS-recorded lectures that he gave on signs in the heavens and the mysteries of the planet Mars. I wasn't told anything about them except, "You need to watch this." It was definitely a pivotal moment in my spiritual walk. I remember as I watched the amateur video come into focus, I saw what looked like a classroom environment. A man in his 50's, wearing a suit and tie, stood behind a teacher's podium. I remember thinking that he looked to me like a man with an intelligence background. (It turns out that he WAS a man with an intelligence background, but I didn't know that at the time.) He held in his hand the remote-control to the classroom's slide-projector. On the massive screen behind him was a chart of the heavens. He wasted no time getting to the point. For the next three hours, I was "Red-Pilled" about a great many historical and scientific subjects of Biblical relevance; irrefutable and ground-breaking information that I had never heard before from either school or church.
I was not an impressionable person. It's never been in my nature to attach immediate fandom onto a public personality, especially when it came to ministry. I've always been very guarded and heavily critical when listening to anyone in ministry speak. Somehow, Chuck Missler had managed to work around the walls I had built up. He didn't come across as a pastor. He didn't come across as some deep theologian. Rather, he came across as a learned scientist and researcher with an intelligence background and an expertise in the information sciences who couldn't wait to share with the rest of us what he had discovered in his research.
After my exposure to Chuck through this amateur video, I got my hands on a set of audio cassette tapes that were released officially from Chuck's ministry, Koinonia House. They were a set of 24 individual lectures which studied the entire Gospel of John, chapter by chapter and verse by verse. I had never been exposed to anything like this. Each lecture was usually around 90 minutes long. There were no announcements, no pleas for funding, no cheesy worship music, no spiritual cliche's, just a straight-forward 90-minute Bible study. I would learn more Biblical truth in one lecture than I had ever learned in a lifetime of church attendance.
After obtaining this set of tapes from Koinonia House, I started receiving their free monthly news letter in the mail. Each issue was filled with over 40 pages of articles and transcripts of Chuck's various lectures. At the back of the magazine was an order form where I could find a full inventory of every book of the Bible for which Chuck had published lectures, as well as various topical studies like the one I saw on the mysteries of Mars. I saw titles such as, "Genesis & The Big Bang" and "The Flood Of Noah" and "The Creator Beyond Time And Space." I was hooked.
I was still a young man back in those days, inundated with countless conflicting interests, so I didn't race through the materials like I do today. It took me about 2 years to get through all 24 tapes on the book of John. I listened to bits and pieces with my morning coffee. I listened as I traveled around Texas in my 91 Ford Ranger. It's amazing to me now as I reflect back on those days, how clearly I can hear Chuck's voice from memories that are decades old.
One of the tapes in that first set was a primer for those just getting started. It was called, "Why Take The Bible Seriously." In this lecture, Chuck made so many points for which he is now famous. It was in this lecture that I first heard about the hidden message in the genealogy of Genesis 5. It was in this lecture that I first heard about the science of the creation, the science of God, the physics of hyperspace and the scientific / mathematical impossibility that is called evolution. To this day, I can still hear Chuck say with great conviction, "Our school science books are filled with fraud, not mistakes, FRAUD, because there are equations in them that violate every known law of science. When you take their equations and plug into them what we now know about the size and age of the universe and it's mass, it turns out that there hasn't been enough time, there isn't enough space and there isn't enough material." From this tape, I also learned about the law of entropy which states that all things go from order to disorder - the exact opposite of what the theory of evolution presumes. It was also from this tape that I first heard Chuck's famous "Peanut Butter" analogy. (If memory serves, I think Chuck actually wound up using a jar of Gerber Baby Food this time around, but most of the time he used a jar of Peanut Butter.)
This particular tape is a priceless treasure to me today. The lecture on Mars may have been my introduction, but "Why Take The Bible Seriously" was the first tape that I heard that made me go back, listen to it again, take notes, and then listen again and again and again. Sadly, this lecture is no longer available in it's original version. As recording equipment improved, Chuck re-gave many of his older lectures for the newer formats. They're just as good, many of them are superior. But for the sake of nostalgia, I'm so glad I still have my original copy.
In 1996, I bought the lecture set for Revelation. I got through those tapes a little faster than the book of John. By this time, I had already bought a new Bible and started taking notes. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into this heavy study.
In 1998, I became a subscriber to Chuck's K-Rations package which sent out a weekly tape of whatever the latest Bible study was. The book of Hebrews was the current lecture series Chuck was in the process of doing at the time. With this weekly Bible study came a short and concise news summary of current events of Biblical relevance. Only us Chuck Missler people know what it feels like to come home from work, open your mailbox and see that thick brown envelope with red letters "K-Rations" stamped on it. When that tape arrived, you knew exactly what you were going to do for the next 2 hours. (15 minutes: strip and quick shower, 15 minutes: cook a quick supper, 90 minutes: Bible Study with Chuck Missler.)
In that same year, I splurged an entire bonus check on a massive pile of individual briefing packs. Each package was a 2-tape set, each tape between an hour to 90 minutes long, covering individual topics of special interest. Among the briefings I ordered, one in particular caught my curiosity. The picture on the cover was a picture of Stonehenge with three flying saucers hovering overhead. The title of this briefing was, "Return Of The Nephilim." This was the first time I ever heard that word. Based upon the historical, scientific and Biblical accuracy of everything else Chuck had taught so far, I couldn't wait to find out what this was all about. I remember where I was, the room I was in, even the space of the room that my eyes were fixed upon when the reality of this teaching sank in. Shortly after that, I ordered and read the book, "Alien Encounters" for FULL DISCLOSURE.
By the turn of the 21st century, Chuck Missler began phasing out the audio cassette tapes for MP3 downloads and/or CD-ROMS. During this time period, I worked as a data processor for an insurance company. It was very repetitive work and mind numbing. Fortunately, we were allowed by the task masters to wear earphones. So I brought Chuck Missler to work with me. I listened to around 3 to 4 tapes (or MP3's) per day.
In December of 2005, three friends and I took a road trip to the Dallas area to meet Chuck in person. When we arrived at the church where he was scheduled to speak, we walked into the foyer and noticed a long table where stacks of books, tapes and CD-ROMS were sitting to pick up and purchase. There were two men who were standing in front of the table. Both of them had their backs to us when we walked in. The one on the left was sipping hot coffee from a small styrofoam cup. The one of the right was stooped over the table reading titles and product descriptions. The man on the right said, "You know, the stores won't carry any of this, not even the Christian stores, so it's very refreshing to see all of this here for sale." Then the man on the left, as he lifted his cup of coffee to his lips, said, "Well you know, it wouldn't be a temple court without money changers." As they both laughed, that's when I noticed the fellow with the coffee was Chuck Missler.
I walked up to him and extended my hand to shake his and said, "Dr. Missler?" He grabbed my hand and said, "Yes..." I said, "It's nice to finally meet you in person. I've been listening to your materials for more than 10 years." He smiled and laughed from his belly and said, "...and you came anyway! That's impressive!" I laughed and asked, "I've already bought a copy of your book 'Alien Encounters' but I see here that it's been updated. What's in here that's new?" He took the book out of my hand and said, "Oh! Let me show you! It's the smoking gun!" He turned to the back of the book and showed me new digitally enhanced photographs of Gen. Ramey holding a piece of paper which when enhanced, the phrase "victims of the wreck" and "in the disk they will ship" could be seen.
On a sidenote, so you'll understand the humor in what I'm about to share with you, Chuck always loved to say somewhere in his lectures on the UFO phenomenon that one of the most commonly asked questions he gets during a Q&A session is, "What really happened at Roswell." I heard Chuck say this in the briefing pack, "Return Of The Nephilim" and again during the "Alien Encounters Conference" which was recorded and packaged in a tape set back in 1997. Chuck says, "Whenever I travel and give a lecture or do a Bible study, most of the time there's a Q&A session after. And one of the most common, if not THE most common question I get is, 'What really happened at Roswell?' The truth is, we don't know what happened at Roswell because it's classified information. But we do know what happened exactly 9 months after Roswell... Al Gore was born." As the audience laughs, Chuck usually says, "It turns out he really was. I'm not implying there's actually a connection of any kind, but it's just one of those interesting little facts that I thought you'd find entertaining."
After Chuck and I finished talking about the smoking gun in the back of the book, I decided to go ahead and purchase the book and asked if he would autograph it for me. He said, "Sure! I'd be glad to. My pleasure." He wrote, "In His Name. Chuck Missler."
Then as he handed the book back to me, he had a gleam in his eye and a mischievous smile. I smiled back at him curiously. He leaned over and whispered, "I was wondering if you would do me a favor." I said, "Anything." He said, "After the lecture, during the audience Q & A, I want you to get first in line and ask me, "What really happened at Roswell?" I smiled and asked, "Is that the reason why it's the most common question you're ever asked?" He smiled and said, "That's right." LOL!! That was an unforgettable event.
I was always fond of Chuck's style of humor. One of my favorites is the story he likes to tell about a late night conversation he had with Hal Lindsey. They both knew full well that Jesus emphatically said that no man knows the day or the hour. But Chuck said to Hal, "Hal, I don't know the day, but I think I've determined the hour. It's 2 AM" So Hal, stirring his coffee, thought about what Chuck had said and mulled it over, thought about it, thought some more, and then Hal asked, "Wait a minute, Chuck. WHERE will it be 2 AM?" And Chuck said, "That's the part I haven't figured out yet."
Between 2008 and 2009, I hosted a political talk show at Blog Talk Radio that I called, "JPA Live." As politics became more and more confusing without the infusion of Biblical insights, I started interjecting the Bible into the program. I lost a lot of listeners because of that, but I also gained some listeners. (This is what eventually led to the creation of Founding Word.) In November of 2009, one of my co-hosts surprised me when she told me she had reserved Chuck Missler as a guest on the JPA Live program. Most of the listeners in my audience back then didn't know who he was, but I made sure they found out. Once I had finished my introduction and asked Chuck a question, he took over the show. It was a blast!
By 2010, most of Chuck Missler's lectures came to me through podcasts and YouTube videos. For a short while, I was subscribed to their "Online Berean Fellowship" program.
Starting around 2012 or so, I bravely began to step out into deeper waters and began listening to other good Bible teachers and prophecy watchers. I relied upon the Bible and Spiritual discernment to separate the wheat from the chaff. But as I began to become more acquainted with these newer teachers, I soon learned that the one thing they all had in common was their mutual love and respect for Chuck Missler. He has inspired so many.
In 2014, Chuck started a weekly Q & A webcast with Ron Matsen in New Zealand. These were a huge blessing to me. I never missed an episode. These video sessions with Chuck seemed far more close and intimate than what we were used to seeing. Chuck was getting older and didn't try to hide it. Close associates of the ministry were also dealing with painful issues of the times. Chuck and Ron dared to dive deeply into these issues as all of us within the body of Christ were experiencing more and more of what Paul called, "Perilous times."
In 2015, Chuck's beloved wife Nancy passed away. I could tell this took a major toll on Chuck as he loved her very much. Their relationship is a whole other story I could write about, but I won't do that here. Let's just say, it's a beautiful testimony to what God can do for any marriage when He's put first and foremost at the center of it. On April 30, 2018, Chuck was reunited with his wife.
The body of Christ has lost a great and wonderful teacher, but Jesus taught us that our REAL teacher is the Holy Spirit. The REAL reason we all loved Chuck so much was because of how much God, through Chuck, brought us closer to Himself and His Word. That's a valuable, precious, life-altering gift like nothing no one else can give. Chuck and Nancy fulfilled their mission statement to the letter, which was "To create, develop, and distribute materials to stimulate, encourage, and facilitate serious study of the Bible as the inerrant Word of God." They did just that. With their mission accomplished, God called them home.
The earliest recordings of Chuck's Bible commentaries are available online at no charge. More recent editions of Chuck's Bible commentaries are available for purchase at the Koinonia House Store or available to stream on demand at K-House TV.
One last story about Chuck. He used to tell the joke about the Apostle Paul being from the south, but not from Texas. He said, "You can tell that Paul was a southerner because he always signed his letters, "Grace and peace to you all." But we know he's not from Texas because he said in Philippians 4:11 that whatsoever state he found himself therewith to be content."
During Chuck's visit to Dallas, after the Q & A, he said how much he had enjoyed his stay and looked forward to coming back. So I said, "Then you can't tell any more jokes about Paul not being from Texas." He pointed to me and said, "Oh yes I can."
I was introduced to Chuck Missler in 1994 through a short series of VHS-recorded lectures that he gave on signs in the heavens and the mysteries of the planet Mars. I wasn't told anything about them except, "You need to watch this." It was definitely a pivotal moment in my spiritual walk. I remember as I watched the amateur video come into focus, I saw what looked like a classroom environment. A man in his 50's, wearing a suit and tie, stood behind a teacher's podium. I remember thinking that he looked to me like a man with an intelligence background. (It turns out that he WAS a man with an intelligence background, but I didn't know that at the time.) He held in his hand the remote-control to the classroom's slide-projector. On the massive screen behind him was a chart of the heavens. He wasted no time getting to the point. For the next three hours, I was "Red-Pilled" about a great many historical and scientific subjects of Biblical relevance; irrefutable and ground-breaking information that I had never heard before from either school or church.
I was not an impressionable person. It's never been in my nature to attach immediate fandom onto a public personality, especially when it came to ministry. I've always been very guarded and heavily critical when listening to anyone in ministry speak. Somehow, Chuck Missler had managed to work around the walls I had built up. He didn't come across as a pastor. He didn't come across as some deep theologian. Rather, he came across as a learned scientist and researcher with an intelligence background and an expertise in the information sciences who couldn't wait to share with the rest of us what he had discovered in his research.
After my exposure to Chuck through this amateur video, I got my hands on a set of audio cassette tapes that were released officially from Chuck's ministry, Koinonia House. They were a set of 24 individual lectures which studied the entire Gospel of John, chapter by chapter and verse by verse. I had never been exposed to anything like this. Each lecture was usually around 90 minutes long. There were no announcements, no pleas for funding, no cheesy worship music, no spiritual cliche's, just a straight-forward 90-minute Bible study. I would learn more Biblical truth in one lecture than I had ever learned in a lifetime of church attendance.
After obtaining this set of tapes from Koinonia House, I started receiving their free monthly news letter in the mail. Each issue was filled with over 40 pages of articles and transcripts of Chuck's various lectures. At the back of the magazine was an order form where I could find a full inventory of every book of the Bible for which Chuck had published lectures, as well as various topical studies like the one I saw on the mysteries of Mars. I saw titles such as, "Genesis & The Big Bang" and "The Flood Of Noah" and "The Creator Beyond Time And Space." I was hooked.
I was still a young man back in those days, inundated with countless conflicting interests, so I didn't race through the materials like I do today. It took me about 2 years to get through all 24 tapes on the book of John. I listened to bits and pieces with my morning coffee. I listened as I traveled around Texas in my 91 Ford Ranger. It's amazing to me now as I reflect back on those days, how clearly I can hear Chuck's voice from memories that are decades old.
One of the tapes in that first set was a primer for those just getting started. It was called, "Why Take The Bible Seriously." In this lecture, Chuck made so many points for which he is now famous. It was in this lecture that I first heard about the hidden message in the genealogy of Genesis 5. It was in this lecture that I first heard about the science of the creation, the science of God, the physics of hyperspace and the scientific / mathematical impossibility that is called evolution. To this day, I can still hear Chuck say with great conviction, "Our school science books are filled with fraud, not mistakes, FRAUD, because there are equations in them that violate every known law of science. When you take their equations and plug into them what we now know about the size and age of the universe and it's mass, it turns out that there hasn't been enough time, there isn't enough space and there isn't enough material." From this tape, I also learned about the law of entropy which states that all things go from order to disorder - the exact opposite of what the theory of evolution presumes. It was also from this tape that I first heard Chuck's famous "Peanut Butter" analogy. (If memory serves, I think Chuck actually wound up using a jar of Gerber Baby Food this time around, but most of the time he used a jar of Peanut Butter.)
This particular tape is a priceless treasure to me today. The lecture on Mars may have been my introduction, but "Why Take The Bible Seriously" was the first tape that I heard that made me go back, listen to it again, take notes, and then listen again and again and again. Sadly, this lecture is no longer available in it's original version. As recording equipment improved, Chuck re-gave many of his older lectures for the newer formats. They're just as good, many of them are superior. But for the sake of nostalgia, I'm so glad I still have my original copy.
In 1996, I bought the lecture set for Revelation. I got through those tapes a little faster than the book of John. By this time, I had already bought a new Bible and started taking notes. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into this heavy study.
In 1998, I became a subscriber to Chuck's K-Rations package which sent out a weekly tape of whatever the latest Bible study was. The book of Hebrews was the current lecture series Chuck was in the process of doing at the time. With this weekly Bible study came a short and concise news summary of current events of Biblical relevance. Only us Chuck Missler people know what it feels like to come home from work, open your mailbox and see that thick brown envelope with red letters "K-Rations" stamped on it. When that tape arrived, you knew exactly what you were going to do for the next 2 hours. (15 minutes: strip and quick shower, 15 minutes: cook a quick supper, 90 minutes: Bible Study with Chuck Missler.)
In that same year, I splurged an entire bonus check on a massive pile of individual briefing packs. Each package was a 2-tape set, each tape between an hour to 90 minutes long, covering individual topics of special interest. Among the briefings I ordered, one in particular caught my curiosity. The picture on the cover was a picture of Stonehenge with three flying saucers hovering overhead. The title of this briefing was, "Return Of The Nephilim." This was the first time I ever heard that word. Based upon the historical, scientific and Biblical accuracy of everything else Chuck had taught so far, I couldn't wait to find out what this was all about. I remember where I was, the room I was in, even the space of the room that my eyes were fixed upon when the reality of this teaching sank in. Shortly after that, I ordered and read the book, "Alien Encounters" for FULL DISCLOSURE.
By the turn of the 21st century, Chuck Missler began phasing out the audio cassette tapes for MP3 downloads and/or CD-ROMS. During this time period, I worked as a data processor for an insurance company. It was very repetitive work and mind numbing. Fortunately, we were allowed by the task masters to wear earphones. So I brought Chuck Missler to work with me. I listened to around 3 to 4 tapes (or MP3's) per day.
I walked up to him and extended my hand to shake his and said, "Dr. Missler?" He grabbed my hand and said, "Yes..." I said, "It's nice to finally meet you in person. I've been listening to your materials for more than 10 years." He smiled and laughed from his belly and said, "...and you came anyway! That's impressive!" I laughed and asked, "I've already bought a copy of your book 'Alien Encounters' but I see here that it's been updated. What's in here that's new?" He took the book out of my hand and said, "Oh! Let me show you! It's the smoking gun!" He turned to the back of the book and showed me new digitally enhanced photographs of Gen. Ramey holding a piece of paper which when enhanced, the phrase "victims of the wreck" and "in the disk they will ship" could be seen.
On a sidenote, so you'll understand the humor in what I'm about to share with you, Chuck always loved to say somewhere in his lectures on the UFO phenomenon that one of the most commonly asked questions he gets during a Q&A session is, "What really happened at Roswell." I heard Chuck say this in the briefing pack, "Return Of The Nephilim" and again during the "Alien Encounters Conference" which was recorded and packaged in a tape set back in 1997. Chuck says, "Whenever I travel and give a lecture or do a Bible study, most of the time there's a Q&A session after. And one of the most common, if not THE most common question I get is, 'What really happened at Roswell?' The truth is, we don't know what happened at Roswell because it's classified information. But we do know what happened exactly 9 months after Roswell... Al Gore was born." As the audience laughs, Chuck usually says, "It turns out he really was. I'm not implying there's actually a connection of any kind, but it's just one of those interesting little facts that I thought you'd find entertaining."
After Chuck and I finished talking about the smoking gun in the back of the book, I decided to go ahead and purchase the book and asked if he would autograph it for me. He said, "Sure! I'd be glad to. My pleasure." He wrote, "In His Name. Chuck Missler."
Then as he handed the book back to me, he had a gleam in his eye and a mischievous smile. I smiled back at him curiously. He leaned over and whispered, "I was wondering if you would do me a favor." I said, "Anything." He said, "After the lecture, during the audience Q & A, I want you to get first in line and ask me, "What really happened at Roswell?" I smiled and asked, "Is that the reason why it's the most common question you're ever asked?" He smiled and said, "That's right." LOL!! That was an unforgettable event.
I was always fond of Chuck's style of humor. One of my favorites is the story he likes to tell about a late night conversation he had with Hal Lindsey. They both knew full well that Jesus emphatically said that no man knows the day or the hour. But Chuck said to Hal, "Hal, I don't know the day, but I think I've determined the hour. It's 2 AM" So Hal, stirring his coffee, thought about what Chuck had said and mulled it over, thought about it, thought some more, and then Hal asked, "Wait a minute, Chuck. WHERE will it be 2 AM?" And Chuck said, "That's the part I haven't figured out yet."
Between 2008 and 2009, I hosted a political talk show at Blog Talk Radio that I called, "JPA Live." As politics became more and more confusing without the infusion of Biblical insights, I started interjecting the Bible into the program. I lost a lot of listeners because of that, but I also gained some listeners. (This is what eventually led to the creation of Founding Word.) In November of 2009, one of my co-hosts surprised me when she told me she had reserved Chuck Missler as a guest on the JPA Live program. Most of the listeners in my audience back then didn't know who he was, but I made sure they found out. Once I had finished my introduction and asked Chuck a question, he took over the show. It was a blast!
By 2010, most of Chuck Missler's lectures came to me through podcasts and YouTube videos. For a short while, I was subscribed to their "Online Berean Fellowship" program.
Starting around 2012 or so, I bravely began to step out into deeper waters and began listening to other good Bible teachers and prophecy watchers. I relied upon the Bible and Spiritual discernment to separate the wheat from the chaff. But as I began to become more acquainted with these newer teachers, I soon learned that the one thing they all had in common was their mutual love and respect for Chuck Missler. He has inspired so many.
In 2014, Chuck started a weekly Q & A webcast with Ron Matsen in New Zealand. These were a huge blessing to me. I never missed an episode. These video sessions with Chuck seemed far more close and intimate than what we were used to seeing. Chuck was getting older and didn't try to hide it. Close associates of the ministry were also dealing with painful issues of the times. Chuck and Ron dared to dive deeply into these issues as all of us within the body of Christ were experiencing more and more of what Paul called, "Perilous times."
In 2015, Chuck's beloved wife Nancy passed away. I could tell this took a major toll on Chuck as he loved her very much. Their relationship is a whole other story I could write about, but I won't do that here. Let's just say, it's a beautiful testimony to what God can do for any marriage when He's put first and foremost at the center of it. On April 30, 2018, Chuck was reunited with his wife.
The body of Christ has lost a great and wonderful teacher, but Jesus taught us that our REAL teacher is the Holy Spirit. The REAL reason we all loved Chuck so much was because of how much God, through Chuck, brought us closer to Himself and His Word. That's a valuable, precious, life-altering gift like nothing no one else can give. Chuck and Nancy fulfilled their mission statement to the letter, which was "To create, develop, and distribute materials to stimulate, encourage, and facilitate serious study of the Bible as the inerrant Word of God." They did just that. With their mission accomplished, God called them home.
The earliest recordings of Chuck's Bible commentaries are available online at no charge. More recent editions of Chuck's Bible commentaries are available for purchase at the Koinonia House Store or available to stream on demand at K-House TV.
One last story about Chuck. He used to tell the joke about the Apostle Paul being from the south, but not from Texas. He said, "You can tell that Paul was a southerner because he always signed his letters, "Grace and peace to you all." But we know he's not from Texas because he said in Philippians 4:11 that whatsoever state he found himself therewith to be content."
During Chuck's visit to Dallas, after the Q & A, he said how much he had enjoyed his stay and looked forward to coming back. So I said, "Then you can't tell any more jokes about Paul not being from Texas." He pointed to me and said, "Oh yes I can."
