Ever since 1948 with the establishment of the state of Israel and the extremely popular book, The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey in 1970, we have been exposed to the various component stages being set for the events leading up to the rapture and seven-year tribulation. God in His grace, saved me at 18 years old in 1993 and I immediately began to grow in my understanding of prophecy. I feasted on books by John Walvoord, Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Chuck Missler, Randall Price and Thomas Ice (among others). I was so excited as a teenager that I began to collect newspaper articles in a binder that connected to Biblical prophecy and used it as an evangelism tool. I realized very soon that my binder was too small! 

Soon after, I had the privilege of being called to be a pastor in Illinois and attend Moody Bible Institute. Even though I had come to see the logical consistency of classical Dispensationalism, I was able to study it more in depth at Moody which was ardently dispensational at that time. I majored in Jewish studies under Michael Rydelnik which provided me with solid instruction in not only Jewish studies and evangelism, but with understanding the prophetic significance of the modern state of Israel and its future. Sadly, so much of the contemporary church (mainly national denominations) is losing its Biblical understanding of the role of Israel in future prophecy. They are participating in the boycott and divesting initiatives without properly taking into consideration that one day Israel will receive Jesus as Messiah and be saved (Rom 11:25-26); after the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jer 30:7) and the completion of the 70^th week of Daniel (9:24-27). 

God has always given me a love for the glorious land of Israel and has provided me the opportunity to earn a master’s degree in Near Eastern Archaeology and Languages from Trinity International University near Chicago, IL. It’s been a joy over the last 20 years to do archaeological work and field study in Greece, Turkey, the Island of Patmos, Israel, Jordan, Peru and all over Egypt. I have been to Israel seven times and as a tour leader four times, being able to take churches and other groups to experience the spiritual wonder of visiting God’s land. My longest stint was a month in Israel where I was able to participate in the excavations at Tell es-Safi (also known as Gath where Goliath was from). 

Back in 2014, I became connected to the work that L.A. Marzulli was doing on the elongated skulls of Peru. We spent many years preparing documents and much paperwork to satisfy the requirements of the National Ministry of Culture in order to obtain permission to extract additional samples and remove them from the country for ancient DNA analysis. Our findings from the DNA as well as other multi-disciplinary approaches proved to be extremely significant in showing that the elongated skulls were genetically modified and contrary to typical human skeletal structures. It truly was groundbreaking research which has been ignored by many of the mainstream universities or research institutes. 

Having the privilege to pastor at churches in Illinois, Washington, and Lake Tahoe, Nevada has helped me to see the absolute need to make sure God’s people in the church and beyond are trained properly in the various facets of eschatology. Events are escalating at an increasingly rapid pace in both intensity and frequency as Jesus said it would in His analogy of birth pains (Matt 24:8). Jesus scolded the Pharisees for not recognizing the signs of the times (Matt 16:1-3) and no doubt He commanded all of His followers to be watching at all times (Matt 24:42). When God’s people are being alert to the signs of the times, it will cause them to grow in holiness and purity as they await their Lord’s return (1 John 3:2-3; 2 Peter 3:11). When it comes to eschatology and specifically the rapture, God instructs us through Paul that we are not to be ignorant of these things (1 Thess. 4:13). Our growth and knowledge will equip us to not just satisfy our own intellectual interests, but to evangelize those around us with the gospel. 

Personally blessed by the work of Prophecy Watchers through the years, it is an honor and privilege to join the excellent team God has put together. Their vision to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, along with the focus of educating and directing everyone to be watching for Jesus’ soon return excites me. Your prayers would be much appreciated as we continue to share Jesus’ command to be watching with as many people as possible (Mark 13:37).

On a side note, even though our eternal salvation was purchased once and for all by Jesus on the cross (John 19:30), we all know that we are going to stand before Jesus at the judgment (Bema) seat of Christ to receive our rewards (2 Cor 5:10; Rom 14:10; 1 Cor 3:5-15). I spent 5 years writing the most extensive and user friendly study guide ever written on C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters. Besides the Bible itself, I have never taught through a study so many times at different churches and had such amazing opportunities to see people grow in their faith and also their understanding of human temptation. You can get more information in our bookstore:

https://prophecywatchers.com/product/new-from-mondo-gonzales-the-screwtape-letters-a-study-guide-and-commentary-an-all-time-classic-work-years-in-the-making/

And at my website: screwtapestudyguide.com.

I am also the director of our Psalm 19 Project where we are using state of the art astronomy equipment to scan and photograph the heavens in order to proclaim the Glory of God. You can learn more about that here: https://prophecywatchers.com/the-psalm-19-project/

Maranatha! 

– Mondo