IT TAKES ONLY ONE WORD to explain how this book came into being: God. God set us on a journey to prepare the Church and warn the world of the end-times events coming to planet earth and the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. In addition to the Lord, we want to thank the following people who have been on this astonishing journey with us.
I (David) dedicate this book to Esther, a warrior in her own right, my incredible wife. She has been with me on an astounding forty-plus-year journey around the world to some of the most far-flung and exotic places on the planet. And, of course, to my wonderful and longsuffering kids: Micah, Catarina and Melissa, along with their spouses: Andrea, Andrew and Luis, in addition to my four grandchildren, who are all amazing.
I (Troy) dedicate this book to my beautiful, wise and purehearted wife, Irene, whose prayers, enthusiasm and steadfast belief that the Lord has plans for The Military Guide to Armageddon far greater than any of us can imagine have been a source of great encouragement for those involved in this incredible project. I also dedicate this book to our charming and delightful daughters, Marlee and Ashley.
There are many along with us on this journey who need thanks. To my best friend of more than 45 years, mentor, pastor and confidant, Coco Perez. He led me to Christ! To Pastor Glen Cole, now in heaven with Christ, who was an enormous influence on me in so many ways.
To my many chaplain friends, peers, bosses and associates. These include my good friend, mentor and leader, and former military chaplain endorser for the Assemblies of God, Scott McChrystal. To the current great Assembly of God military chaplain endorser, Jim Denley. To Manny Cordero, the senior endorser and leader of all Assemblies of God chaplains. To Pete Brzezinski, Mike Dugal, Rod Mills, Terry Austin, Rod Mills, Bob Marsi and Layden Colby, my fellow chaplains and friends.
To my great staff at Installation Command Headquarters, San Antonio; to the greatest and best sergeant major you could ever ask for, Pam Wilson; and to the hardworking Mike Swingler, my deputy and friend.
To my Army commanders and chaplain bosses, who were the best. My last commander was Lieutenant General Ken Dahl and his deputy, the inimitable Major General Warren Patterson, both incredible men and officers. My boss at the Pentagon is the former chief of chaplains, Doug Carver, a great man of God. My other colonel chaplain bosses at the Pentagon were also incredible: Richard Pace, Dave Smartt and Alan Buckner. I want to make special mention of the Chief of Staff for the Chief of Chaplains, Lamar Griffin, who passed away too soon from this life; and to my good friend over the years and current Army Chief of Chaplains, Major General Tom Solhjem.
To the talented Dr. Tim Hager, vice president and dean of the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. To retired Major General Bob Dees for the time he took to be interviewed for the book.
We would also like to thank others who graciously took time to do interviews for the book, including Rabbi Jonathan Bernis, Sid Roth, Joel Richardson, Dr. Robert Jeffress, John Ramirez, Dr. Robert Mawire, Lieutenant General Ken Dahl, Colonel Pete Brzezinski, and Lieutenant Colonel Scott Koeman.
In addition, we would like to thank everyone who agreed to endorse the book, including Joel Richardson, Major General Bob Dees, Sid Roth, Rabbi Jonathan Bernis, Dr. Robert Jeffress, Dave Roever, Dr. Thomas R. Horn, Paul McGuire and Michael Snyder.
Special thanks to Pastor Matt Hagee, who wrote the foreword.
Troy:
I would like to thank our Bible study group in Irvine, California, led by David and Esther, who prayed for the Lord’s guidance and blessings over this project. I would further like to thank our 45-member Film Prayer Warriors team who prayed for a spiritual covering over The Military Guide to Armageddon. I would also like to thank Pastor Jerry Moses, assistant to the president at Movieguide, for his Holy Spirit–inspired wisdom, prayers and belief in this project, along with Movieguide founder Dr. Ted Baehr, who graciously invited me to attend Movieguide’s “How to Succeed in Hollywood (Without Losing Your Soul)” screenwriting class.
Further I would like to thank our team at GODSPEED magazine, including publisher Jeremy Lamont, editor-in-chief David Aikman, chief operations officer Jim Weiss, vice president of production Jake Gleim, director of ministry support Rebecca Lamont, and social relations manager Deborah Flook, for their overwhelming support of this project and dedicating the July 2020 “Remnant” issue largely to The Military Guide to Armageddon, as well as the Lord’s calling on Todd Smith, senior pastor at Christ Fellowship Church in Dawsonville, Georgia, and leader of the North Georgia Revival spreading across the nation, to “build Me an army I can use” in the last days.
We would also like to thank our awesome literary agent, Bryan Norman, president of Alive Literary Agency, for his belief in this project. “Exciting stuff,” Norman told us as we were writing the book. “Really pumped about this book.”
Also I would like to thank Paul McGuire, co-author of our bestsellers The Babylon Code and Trumpocalypse, who gave us his blessing for this project, mentored me for many years, and imparted the prophetic wisdom he gained over a lifetime of studying and living the Word of God—setting an example of biblical courage for us all during these perilous times.
Finally we would like to thank our incredible team at Chosen Books, including marketing manager Deirdre Thompson, associate marketing manager Stephanie Smith, marketing and publicity assistant Mycah McKeown, copywriter Rachael Wing, and our amazing editor, Jane Campbell, editorial director of Chosen, who decided to personally edit The Military Guide to Armageddon. We would like to thank her for her enthusiasm for the book and confidence that the Lord plans to use this “magnificent and marvelous work to prepare readers for the battle ahead.”