| Friday, April 5,
2013, Dave Hunt drew his final breath and entered into the presence of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. His beloved wife Ruth was at his side.
Born in 1926, David Charles Haddon Hunt enjoyed the
advantages of a godly upbringing and placed his trust in Jesus Christ as his
personal Savior and Lord in his early teens.
As a young man, he served in the military toward the end
of World War II. Afterward, he attended UCLA and received a degree in
mathematics. It was during that time that he met the love of his life, Ruth
Klassen. In 1950, they were married, and since both loved the outdoors, they
enjoyed a beautiful honeymoon hiking in the High Sierras--perfect for two young
people madly in love and with very little money to their name. Marriage was soon
followed by the birth of two sons and two daughters. Ruth was a busy mother and
also a gifted writer herself. She had a tremendous interest in and knowledge of
history, an ability that would help Dave further down the road. Dave's own
career path led him into a position as a CPA/management consultant and later as
the manager of several corporations.
Along with church-related activities, Dave initiated and
became involved in numerous campus ministries and meetings in their home, with a
special outreach to Jewish young people and foreign students. Many of these have
stayed in touch with Dave and Ruth through the years, fondly recalling those
Bible studies at the Hunts' house.
Dave and Ruth also traveled abroad, spending time in
various locations throughout Europe, meeting with believers there and
ministering in many ways while raising their own family. Dave also brought
Bibles and other materials into the Soviet Union during a time when it was very
difficult to do so. Throughout his later years, he and Ruth traveled extensively
as he was invited to speak in churches and fellowships, large and small, all
over the world. Often they stayed in people's homes, dining with them, learning
their customs, and sharing God's Word and God's love.
The desire of Dave's heart was ultimately to be involved
in fulltime ministry, especially since he saw firsthand everywhere he went the
breaking down of the true church as the world began to work its way into her
midst. He began to write in 1973, warning believers about the incursion into
Western culture and into the church itself of Eastern religion, psychological
and selfist philosophies, ecumenism, and other unbiblical teachings.
The ministry of The Berean Call was founded by Dave in
1992. It grew out of a previous organization, of which Dave was also a founding
member since 1986. With T.A. McMahon working alongside him at The Berean Call,
Dave was able to share his love for and defense of Christ in the subsequent
newsletters, books, videos, and speaking engagements that resulted from this
ministry. Dave and T.A. wrote three books together, including the best-known
The Seduction of Christianity, which was groundbreaking in its boldness,
exposing false teachings in the church and daring to identify the names of the
ones behind the deception.
By the early 2000s, Dave's love for Christ and his desire
to defend the name of the Lord had grown even stronger, and his concern over
Islamic politics and religion are reflected in many of his articles, lectures,
books, and interviews.
Then Richard Dawkins and the "new atheists" came onto the
scene with a vengeance, seeking to destroy the very concept of God in the minds
of everyone. Dave began to write and teach and speak more passionately than ever
about the absolute truth that is in the Word of God and our need to immerse
ourselves in it daily in order to prevent being taken up in the evolutionist
delusion that is sweeping the world.
One of Dave's favorite activities was to see whom God
would seat next to him on airplanes as he traveled and spoke. He often said that
he "could prove the existence of God" just by these providential occurrences.
While writing about Islam, he would end up seated next to a Muslim who didn't
really understand what Islam was about but was eager to hear the difference
between the Bible and the Qur'an. When writing about creation vs. evolution, the
Lord would bring him, as a seat companion, an atheistic scientist who thought he
had all the answers and was very surprised that there was another verifiable
explanation to this universe.
Dave's bold yet loving approach to any situation allowed
him entrance into these conversations where many others would have been shut
out. His love for Jesus, for Israel, and for people in general was obvious to
all. His enthusiasm for the truth, along with his anger over the sin and
wickedness that he knew was robbing people of what God wanted for them, flamed
his desire to share the Lord with anyone with whom he had contact.
At least 4 million copies of his books have been sold,
many of them translated into more than 50 languages. They include: The Cult
Explosion; The God Makers (with Ed Decker); The Seduction of Christianity
(with T.A. McMahon); Global Peace and the Rise of Antichrist; Peace,
Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust; The New Spirituality (with T.A.
McMahon); Whatever Happened to Heaven?; Occult Invasion; A Woman Rides the
Beast; A Cup of Trembling; In Defense of the Faith; An Urgent Call to a Serious
Faith; To Russia with Love (with Hans Kristian); What Love Is
This?; Countdown to the Second Coming; Seeking and Finding God; Honest Doubts;
Judgment Day!: Islam, Israel, and the Nations; Yoga and the Body of
Christ; and his final book, Cosmos, Creator, and Human
Destiny.
He also wrote two novels, The Mind Invaders
(formerly The Archon Conspiracy) and Sanctuary of the Chosen,
along with a children's book called The Money Tree, illustrated by
his daughter Karen.
This is by no means a complete listing of all of Dave's
works. One of his videos, Israel, Islam & Armageddon, has become a
tremendous tool for churches and for anyone interested in helping to spread the
truth about events prior to and since the attack on the World Trade Center. His
video A Woman Rides the Beast is a favorite among those who are
witnessing to Catholics, a group for whom Dave had a deep love and sorrow,
desiring to see them come to the knowledge of the truth.
Dave Hunt's own drive to find and then deliver the truth
is evident in everything he did. His impeccable research and recognized
scholarship were based on in-depth studies of original documents and
publications, interviews with key experts from around the world, and extensive
travel-including to South America, Australia, Europe, India, and throughout the
Middle East.
Dave has left us a legacy of inestimable value. We are
blessed to be able to see and hear and read what he has taught about the
evidence for God in a breathtaking number of materials. From explaining about
the history of Christianity, to exposing the deception that has crept into the
church, to teaching about the prophecies that are being fulfilled even today,
this humble, brilliant man will go on teaching us for a very long time. We look
forward to the day when we will see him again.
Note:
There
are no public services scheduled at this time. There will be a time to remember
Dave at our conference this summer, August 23-24 in Bend, OR.
In
lieu of flowers or other gifts, Ruth requests that we rejoice with her that Dave
is now with his Savior.
Would
you like to share a memory or story about Dave? Please click here.
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