"The time is coming," he said with a soft confidence. "People need to get ready. Christ is coming, and he's coming soon. Some will be called up while others are left behind. "
Morgan, in a sense, is responsible for the colorful flyers that ended up in seemingly every mailbox in Calhoun County this month. He is leading a four-week lecture series on Bible prophecy at Crowan Cottage in Anniston that will conclude Sept. 11. Topics for the remainder of the series include "The Time of the End," "The Mark of the Beast," The Seven Last Plagues," "Fire in the Sky," "The Millennial Reign" and "When a Woman will Rule."
Donnell and his wife, Vansie, founded Hope for Tomorrow Ministries in Maplesville. Morgan spends most of his time traveling the South, preaching Bible prophecy. His seminars are funded by donations given both to him directly and those collected through his affiliation with the umbrella group BibleProphecySeminars.com.
Morgan grew up in the Third Ward of New Orleans. He said he was abused as a child, became an addict, joined a gang, sold drugs and eventually served time in New Orleans' infamous Angola Prison. That was before he came across a video of Kenny Cox, a Seventh Day Adventist preacher from California. Through Cox's tutelage, Morgan learned to read the signs of the coming Apocalypse.
From the Antichrist to 666, Armageddon to the Four Horsemen, the beasts and doomsday signs have entered the pop-culture vernacular, but all are rooted in the ancient texts of Revelation, which author Jonathan Kirsch calls "the single scariest book in all of scripture."
Recent movies 2012 and Legion leaned heavily on its imagery, while the Left Behind series has become a cottage industry. The Apocalypse is big business for one reason, said Bible prophecy author and radio host Danny Hubbard. It sells.
"Revelation is filled with terrible things — demonic activity, plagues, natural disasters — the kind of stuff movie directors love … even our superheroes are demons," he said. "There's always been a lot of talk and curiosity about the end of the world. It's funny to me that people will pay attention to the Mayan calendar (which inspired the movie 2012) but don't bother reading the Bible."
Morgan believes that many are drawn to such movies and books because of a deep inner-yearning. "There are things happening in the world today," he said. "People are concerned. They want answers, but they may not like what they find out … the truth is in the Bible, not the movie theater."
Hubbard hosts a local radio program on Truth Radio 91.3, in which he discusses Bible prophecy. Revelation, Hubbard said, can't be treated like the rest of scripture. "If someone just sits down and tries to read Revelation, they aren't going to understand it. It requires intense study, more than any other book in the Bible. It requires meditation, which is what God wants."
In bad times, many turn to end times
A Time/CNN poll found that more than one-third of Americans say they are paying more attention now to how the news may relate to the end of the world, and have talked about what the Bible has to say on the subject. Fully 59 percent said they believed the events in Revelation are going to come true, and nearly 25 percent think the Bible predicted the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
"Oh, I absolutely believe it's true, that Christ will return and lay waste to the non-believers," said 44-year-old Christa McClain, who plans to attend the final week of the local lecture series. "I don't necessarily believe in such literal interpretations as the Four Horsemen or 666 being carved in someone's forehead — that's symbolism written during the time of (Christian persecution) — but I do believe that Christ will stand in judgment of the sins of mankind."
Such strong beliefs can be dangerous when held by radicals who grow impatient, choosing instead to bring about the end of the world themselves. This includes self-proclaimed "prophets" like Charles Manson, Jim Jones and David Koresh.
According to an article in the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture by Mervyn Bendle, in November 1999, the FBI published Project Megiddo (named after the hill in northern Israel where Christian prophecy claims the battle of Armageddon will take place).
"The report described the widespread influence of apocalyptic ideas in American society, and focused particularly on the threat posed by militant millennialist groups," Bendle wrote. "It warned that some Christian militants might carry out terrorist actions in order in initiate an apocalypse."
Revelation is easily manipulated
It was 1969 when Monty Clendenin experienced his first true immersion in Revelation.
Clendenin was a student at Dallas Baptist College (now Dallas Baptist University) when he began attending evening seminars led by William Everett of Fielder Road Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. For three years, Clendenin listened to the preacher's unique take on a book known mostly for its description of dark horrors and destruction.
"(Williams) pointed out that the reason God kept wrapping up his judgments in bowls, scrolls, seals and books was God's efforts to delay judgment on humanity," Clendenin said. "God would issue a judgment and then wait for people to 'get right.' After a time of waiting and no change, God would wrap up another set of warnings. So, instead of the book of Revelation primarily being a book of judgment, it was a book of God's desire to show grace."
Even among devout, educated Christians, Revelation is often met with a mixture of curious skepticism, fear and confusion.
"It's is a very complicated book, and I have avoided it like the plague," Clendenin said. "It's so subject to manipulation and retooling that I find it better not to preach on it, because every jackleg pseudo-preacher twists its message to fit their view."
Current events, ancient prophecies
Revelation has always been a powerful tool, according to Hirsch, author of "A History of the End of the World."
"The book of Revelation cannot be dismissed as a biblical oddity that belongs only to professional theologians, media-savvy preachers and a few religious crackpots," he wrote. "Revelation has come to be regarded by certain men and women in positions of power and influence as a source of inspiration, if not a divine handbook for the conduct of war, diplomacy and statecraft in the real world."
Ronald Reagan once referred to a coup in Libya as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy, saying, "That's a sign that the day of Armageddon isn't far off. It can't be long now."
Recently on Fox News, Mike Huckabee interviewed Tim LeHaye, co-author of the "Left Behind" series. LaHaye discussed the creation of a "global religion" followed by a global economy and the prediction that Russia and the Islamic nations would align against Israel. Bible prophecy, LeHaye said, is "history written in advance."
Such warnings aren't meant to frighten, but rather to prepare Christians and to save unbelievers, Hubbard said. "I'm not an alarmist, but I am sounding an alarm," he said. "As Christians, we need to be about telling people about Christ so that nobody has to go through these horrors."
While Monty Clendenin may not preach on the prophecies of Revelation, that doesn't mean he discounts then, seeing the images of rapture and final judgment as a way of encouraging Christians during times of stress and personal turmoil.
"I do not think Revelation or any of the rest of scripture is 'coded,' just waiting for some guru with the right template to come along and open the mystery," he said. "I think the intent of scripture is to communicate with mankind, not to confuse us."
Contact Brett Buckner at brett.buckner@yahoo.com.
The Seventh Day Adventist connection
Seventh Day Adventists have a deep history with biblical prophecy and End Times evangelism.
William Miller was arguably the greatest American preacher of the Apocalypse, preaching that Christ would soon return to Earth and begin a thousand-year reign prior to the End Times.
Miller held giant tent revivals preaching his doctrine of "pre-millenialsm," attracting millions of followers, known as Millerites.
In January 1843, he predicted the Second Coming would take place between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844. When nothing happened, Miller rechecked his math and changed the date to Oct. 22, 1844 … still nothing.
This failed prophecy became known as the Great Disappointment.
"Our fondest hopes and expectations were blasted and such a spirit of weeping came over us as I never experienced before," said Hiram Edson, a farmer and disappointed Millerite.
After the Great Disappointment, most followers abandoned Miller, who died a few days before Christmas 1849. But Ellen Gould White was among the few who kept the faith. White was only 17 years old when she experienced the first of her more than 2,000 visions. White was certain Miller had been right about the year, but wrong about what would happen.
Instead, White believed Christ chose 1844 to fulfill a prophecy in Revelation that was intended as preparation for the Day of Judgment: "And the temple of God was opened in heaven and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake and great hail."
The more she read and interpreted Revelation with its references to the number 7, White came to believe God was commanding Christians to observe the Jewish Sabbath, explains Jonathan Kirsch, author of "A History of the End of the World."
"She insisted that anyone who hoped to be numbered among the saints on Judgment Day must prepare for salvation by renouncing coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, abstaining from masturbation and embracing sexual purity and begetarianism," Kirsch wrote. "By 1863, Ellen White and her husband, a preacher named James White, founded a church of their own — the Seventh Day Adventists.
"Their 'text of choice' was the book of Revelation."
— Brett Buckner
End of World Prophecies: Lecture series hosted by Donnell Morgan.
WHEN: Through Sept. 11: 7 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday (except Thursday).WHERE: Crowan Cottage Center, 1401 Woodstock Ave., Anniston.
HOW MUCH: Admission is free.
MORE INFO: www.hopeftm.com, www.bibleprophecyseminars.com.
