Tribute to Chuck Missler

There are lots of preachers out there; Bible thumpers, proselytizers, revivalists, evangelists. I can’t recall very many of their names. Usually I come across them while in the car scanning my radio dial. They normally range from somewhat entertaining, to mildly interesting. It depends, of course, on where my head-is-at on a particular day, but some are quite intriguing. (Tony Evans, Th.D. comes to mind.)

 

Most are representatives of a specific Christian denomination who seem just as interested in “promulgating-for-profit” as they are in enthusiastically promoting “Bible lessons.” Some, however, only seek to teach the Bible and spread the Word of God from that Good Book without much emphasis on collecting donations or enlisting fresh faces into their church. These are often referred to as occasional or “itinerant” preachers.

 

One such non-denominational Bible teacher was Chuck Missler, Ph.D., Biblical expositor extraordinaire (1934-2018). Notice I said “teacher” and not “preacher,” though determining the difference between them can be tricky. There is a definite “occasional” and “itinerant” aspect to Dr. Missler because,  due to the demands of his professional career, he and his family moved 25 times during 37 years. But I wouldn’t really call him “preachy.”

 

I never met him in person. Instead I’ve learned a lot about the man and his work from watching his many presentations on YouTube. He has an engrossing and enlightening approach to unraveling the intricacies of Scripture and in demonstrating their timeless significance as (what he calls) "an integrated message system."

 

This exemplar of Bible scholarship came into-his-own after a lifetime of immersion into its depths. At nine-years old Missler became infatuated with the Bible. He had continued with his personal study over the course of a lifetime and the fruits of this pursuit have made his familiarity with the Bible staggering to the mind of the common person.

 

As a youth he also demonstrated an aptitude for technical interests, viz., airplanes, ham radio, and computers. He would go on to develop a successful career involving engineering and business. But Bible study always remained a loved avocation during a life that lasted close to 84 years. And Dr. Missler incorporates his knowledge of both classical and quantum physics, together with an in-depth background of computers, into each excursus he may take into the text of the Bible—a rare skill indeed among “itinerant preachers.”

In fact, Chuck Missler was a U.S. Naval Academy graduate. Moreover, he earned a Masters Degree in engineering at UCLA with additional post-graduate studies in applied mathematics, advanced statistics and information sciences. Then he completed his doctoral studies at Louisiana Baptist University where he was awarded a Ph.D.

 

Even if those explicating the Bible have a basic working knowledge of ancient Hebrew and Greek (as Dr. Missler does) they still need the ability to connect everything up into an organically cohesive, living whole which presents the Bible as the transformative tool that it actually is. That’s exactly what this fellow has done in his many books and lectures.

 

Chuck Missler married right after graduating from the Naval Academy. He and his wife, Nancy, soon had four children. She was eventually drawn into earnestly searching out Biblical truth, especially concerning the nature and application of Agape or God’s love, as she wrestled with her own personal issues revolving around marital difficulties. Through her, Chuck learned a lot and he grew to appreciate Nancy as never before. They remained “in love” until the very end; sadly, Nancy passed on in 2015.

In the early 1970’s Chuck and Nancy founded the Koinonia House, a non-denominational institute and ministry whose mission it is to promote Bible literacy among 21^st Century Christians. Again, Chuck Missler is non-denominational. He only wants people—people of any and all stripes—to "get" the Bible. And he was (and still is) a Bible teacher par excelence.

 

Apprehending the Bible is hard work. It takes time, energy, focus, and the ability to read and research. Fortunately, our load has been much lightened by expositors such as Chuck Missler. Still, the rewards of doing so are great; if Bible study is undertaken seriously, one cannot help but become an ardent believer—not only in every conviction contained in the Apostles' Creed—but also as a pre-millennial with a strong dispensational understanding concerning the Tribulation and the Second Coming of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, thus ushering in His thousand year reign.

 

Preachers go on preaching; people go on listening and believing. But let it be known that belief can be significantly deepened by awe, which is exactly what a believer experiences as one’s knowledge of the God-designed Bible grows in orders of magnitude. One aspiring to learn the many profundities of Holy Scripture can only stand in Dr. Missler’s shadow as a neophyte student of the Bible. Enough said. Rest in peace, great man!