Watchman on the Wall

Southwest Radio Ministries: Welcome to Watchman on the Wall, a daily outreach of Southwest Radio Ministries and swrc.com.

It's anniversary week at Watchman on the Wall and Southwest Radio. 93 years ago, Dr. E. F. Webber hosted the first broadcast of this program and said the words that have been repeated for almost a century: "God is still on the throne and prayer changes things."

This week as we celebrate God's faithfulness these past nine plus decades, we'll hear classic programs and teaching from former host Dr. David Webber, our founder Dr. E. F. Webber, and longtime host and author Noah Hutchings. Will you help us celebrate our 93 years of ministry with a special anniversary gift of $93?

Your birthday present of $93 this week will help Watchman on the Wall and its message of hope continue to go out around the world. Please give your gift commemorating our 93rd anniversary by calling 1-800-652-1144 or by visiting swrc.com. Today we kick off anniversary week with a special time of reflection, gratitude, and encouragement.

Josh Davis: Greetings friends, it's anniversary week here at Southwest Radio Ministries. I'm privileged to be joined by two wonderful men who have served with SWRC for a number of years. First, I have joining me in studio the Director of our Operations, Edward Webber. Edward, thanks for joining us.

Edward Webber: Thanks for having me, Josh. It's really good to be here.

Josh Davis: And over the phone, we have joining us the host of Watchman on the Wall, Pastor Larry Spargimino. Pastor Larry, thanks so much for joining us as well.

Larry Spargimino: Always a privilege to be on the air with you guys.

Josh Davis: Well, this is a special week here at the ministry as we highlight our legacy and as far as we know, Edward, correct me if I say this incorrectly, but we are one of the longest-running, or should I say continuously running, Christian radio programs in the world. Isn't that right, Edward?

Edward Webber: Yes, it is. I actually Googled that the other day and it actually told me, yes, we are the longest continuously running program.

Josh Davis: Oh, that's awesome. So since April 1933, Southwest Radio Ministries has been on the air proclaiming that God is still on the throne and prayer changes things, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with a special emphasis of Bible prophecy.

Since 1933, the ministry has faithfully tried to honor that. Pastor Larry, you've been a major part of that. Why don't you highlight some of your time with Southwest Radio Ministries and the blessing it's been to serve the Lord here?

Larry Spargimino: Well, thank you. I officially started as an employee for Southwest Radio Church on May 1st, 1998, though I had spoken in conferences before that and was on the radio as a guest. Before coming to Southwest Radio Church, I was attending seminary in Fort Worth and graduated in 1983 with a PhD in New Testament.

Now I left Texas because I had been hired to teach theology at Graham Bible College in Bristol, Tennessee. So that brought me into Tennessee. The college was right next to the Bristol International Raceway. I got to know Dr. Hill at that time. Dr. Hill was a board member at Graham Bible College, and actually, he and my family lived across the street from each other. So the Lord really worked that out in a beautiful way.

That was really a great time in my life and ministry. My wife and daughter loved upper East Tennessee and southwest Virginia. I also pastored for a couple of years in Johnson City, Tennessee, and I can remember some of the shareathons that I took part in. They were held in the old building on Weaver Pike, kind of small compared to our current Bluntville location. Dr. Hutchings loved to fish. He and his wife Kimchee would often come to East Tennessee to be on the radio. He fished in Boone Lake. That's where I first met him in person, in an unusual meeting.

On WHCB 91.5 FM, I had two shows. They were regularly airing shows. The one in the morning was Profiting From the Word. It had a five-minute devotional and Dr. Hill gave me five additional minutes, so I had ten minutes Monday through Friday, and Mark Ferguson did the recording. He's a dear friend, we got to know each other.

Then from 9 to 10 PM, I had a one-hour show, Point and Counterpoint. It was live. It often became Punch and Counterpunch, very exciting. One of my frequent guests was Dave Hunt. He was a tremendous author and writer. One of the events that I was involved in was moderating debates. I moderated a very exciting debate between Dave Hunt and Gary DeMar. Dave Hunt was, of course, a premillennialist and Gary DeMar was a moderate preterist. He had just published his magnum opus, Last Days Madness.

We talked about that and the debates were at the Cameo Theater on State Street. Those were special times. Very interesting that Gary attacked all the prophetic madness and sensationalism, and I think it was a good corrective. But I think Gary threw the baby out with the dirty water because I know that there are credible premillennial scholars who are textual and exegetical like Josh and me and all the ones that we have on the show.

So we're not all into sensationalism. We believe in Bible prophecy and we believe in reading the prophetic scripture like we would read any other scripture, trying to understand the language, the context, what was happening at the time, and what the applications are at the present time. Praise the Lord for premillennialism. I'm one of those.

Josh Davis: Amen. Well, thank you so much, Pastor Larry, for sharing your story with SWRC and highlighting some of the special memories over the years. Friends, it's anniversary week here at Southwest Radio Ministries. We have been on the air since April of 1933. As we're entering into this 93rd anniversary and celebrating that fact, we do so knowing that it's the Lord who sustains us.

This is a listener-supported effort. There's no large denomination, there's no large corporation that supports SWRC. We're fully listener-supported. That means we can only stay on the air, we can only continue doing the kinds of ministry that we do, thanks to listeners like you, dear friends.

So if you'd like to give a special gift in honor of this anniversary celebration, we encourage you to do so by going to our website, swrc.com. That's swrc.com or give us a call today, 1-800-652-1144. That's 1-800-652-1144.

Now, some of you may be new listeners and not really sure how we came to be. Let me share a little bit of that history because that leads into our next guest, Edward Webber, and his amazing story with Southwest Radio Ministries. It was Dr. E. F. Webber—and yes, that's a special connection to Edward as we'll share and let him share his story here in just a few minutes—but it was Dr. E. F. Webber who started Southwest Radio Ministries Church of the Air Incorporated back in April of 1933. Their first broadcast went out over the airwaves in Oklahoma City. It began as a regional broadcast and then began to expand over the years.

It was in the 1950s and especially in 1959 when Dr. E. F. Webber went home to be with the Lord that his two sons, Charles and David Webber, began to run the ministry along with their mother Lelia. They all had a part in the Watchman on the Wall broadcasts and the Southwest Radio Ministries Church of the Air. Dr. Noah Hutchings came on staff in 1951 and served with the ministry until the Lord called him home in the 2010s. And then as Pastor Larry shared that he came on board in 1998 as part of the team as well.

Edward, you have a special connection with your dad, David Webber, being with the ministry since its beginning and you've been with Southwest Radio Ministries basically your whole life in one form or another. So what's on your heart that you'd like to share with our audience today?

Edward Webber: Thank you, Josh. I'd like to share that I've been with the ministry 56 years. Yes, and of course I'm 56 years old. But you know what I mean, I've been born into this ministry and it was just such a blessing and such an education to be able to travel with my father. He loved to travel to different cities and meet people and just share the word of God with everyone that he met. My dad was David Webber. He took over the ministry after my grandfather passed away like you stated. He was there about 35 years.

He passed away in 2004. I'd like to thank Larry and Noah Hutchings for really being with me after my dad passed away and helping me through that really dark time that I was in. It was a very dark time I kind of put myself in back then. It was just the grace of God and the love of Noah Hutchings and Dr. Spargimino that really got me through that and brought me back to the ministry where we are today, which brings me to how blessed I am.

I feel so humbled and blessed to be here at the ministry. I met my wife here, Kim Webber, and my daughter Hannah Holt, my stepdaughter. My stepdaughter just had a baby six weeks ago today. We have a very beautiful perfect granddaughter. I'm a proud granddad. So it's just amazing to be alive right now, to be a part of this ministry.

I really want to thank all the listeners and supporters of this ministry over the years that just keep us going and encourage us and give us encouragement to just keep going and keep preaching the word, keep evangelizing. I know these are the end times. We all agree these are the end times.

When you look at politics, what's going on with Iran, with the Middle East, it's always in turmoil. We always pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We love Israel. This ministry's always been one that supports Israel. I remember going to Israel five times. I've been to Israel with this ministry over the years. It's just an amazing place. We're going again this year. Josh is taking a tour this year. So that's a really good thing that you guys should sign up for. I know it will be calmer by the time you go there. It will be. Even if it's not much calmer, they keep the tourists safe. Tourism is their lifeblood. It's very safe no matter what's going on there.

Josh Davis: Absolutely. Yeah, thank you so much, Edward. We'll get some more of your story as well. I think that leads in very well with what Pastor Larry wanted to share some about SWRC's biblical stance that we have held, especially related to Israel and those kinds of things. Pastor Larry, what's on your heart related to that?

Larry Spargimino: Southwest Radio Church and WHCB radio really, I think, are amazing because we're one of the few people who take a biblical stand on Israel. God made an unconditional covenant with Abraham. It includes a people and a land. I think we see what's happening. We look at Israel's history, we look at what happened in 1979 after the radicals took over in Iran. In fact, the first thing that happened was that they started killing Christians in Iran. The second thing was that they made plans to destroy Israel.

Here's a fact: God never gave any other land or region to anyone. God did not give George Washington or Abraham Lincoln or President Trump the land of America, but God did give Israel a land. So when you visit Israel—and probably now is not the best time—but when you visit Israel and put your feet on the ground, that's God's land. You know, the first time I went, and that was many, many years ago, I won a free trip at seminary back in the early eighties. But you know, when you get off the plane and put your feet on the ground, that's God's land. Now that's not true of any other land or region.

I love Oklahoma, I love Tennessee, but God never gave Oklahoma or Tennessee by covenant to anyone. We ought to pray, of course, for all the cities of the world. There are a lot of cities all over the world, a lot of people who need Christ. But God never says that we ought to pray for any city by name except Jerusalem. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem," Psalm 122 verse 6. I think that's so very significant. It's a unique place. As soon as Israel became an independent state in 1948, I believe there were four nations that invaded. I think it was Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. That tells you something. Why is all of this going on? Well, I know why, because that's God's land and God's people, and the devil doesn't want success. He wants to take that out of the way.

Israel's neighbors can't stand Israel now, but just wait and see what happens when Israel claims all the land that they own by covenant. I'm speaking about the end of Genesis chapter 15. We read of the land and territories given to Abraham and his descendants by God. It's much, much larger than present-day Israel. I get excited about Israel. As a matter of fact, at the church I pastor, Trinity Chinese Baptist Church, we all love Israel. We all know why Israel is very special.

Most people don't realize, but the underground church in China is in a movement. It's called the Back to Jerusalem Movement. The underground Chinese really believe what the Bible says about Israel. So all that's going on in the underground church is actually an activity to take the land, the 10/40 window from Beijing to Jerusalem for Christ Jesus. There are so many Americans who can't get that straight, even American Christian replacement theology people. But that underground church in China has it right. Praise the Lord. You know why they have it right? Because they read the Bible and they believe the Bible. God bless Israel.

Josh Davis: Amen. Thank you, Pastor Larry. This is anniversary week at Southwest Radio Ministries and friends, we are fully listener-supported. That means there's no big corporation or church denomination that supports this ministry. It's fully faith-based, listener-supported. So we depend on listeners like you to continue the ministry of Southwest Radio Church. We are so grateful for your partnership with us, sustaining this ministry since April 1933.

As far as we can tell, it's one of the longest continually running Christian radio programs in the world. We give God the glory for that. We are thankful to him for allowing this ministry to continue these many years. I think one of the reasons he's allowed it to continue as it has through ups and downs, through highs and lows, is because of the commitment to the word of God, to accurately proclaiming the scriptures, especially related to Bible prophecy.

When there are so many confusing voices in the world today, we want to be here as a beacon of hope, a beacon of truth, pointing people to God's word and to his truth. Our ministry has done that in a number of ways over the years, whether it be through radio primarily, but now in our modern era, we're using all kinds of technological means: podcasts, our mobile app, our website, so many other means that people can access this content than just the terrestrial radio signals that they can tune in and listen.

Edward, I'd like to talk a little bit about that. I know that you've been involved in many of the mission trips and have seen and been around a lot of the emphasis that SWRC has placed on missions. Currently, we have our ongoing missions out-reaches: our Pakistan Christian school that we support—and Pastor Larry, you can maybe speak some about that—our prison ministry outreach that I help to head up, and also our prayer ministry.

As we said, our slogan, our motto has been: "God is still on the throne and prayer changes things." That's not just a slogan, it's not just a motto, it's not just a sign that we have hanging on the wall. It really is the way of life, that prayer changes things. So Edward, could you speak to some of the history of missions that SWRC has been involved in and how that's been a staple of this ministry for many years?

Edward Webber: Yes, of course. I'd like to speak about the prison ministry. That's one dear to my heart right now. We send pretty much anything a prisoner asks for material-wise: newsletters, books, calendars. There are 1,200 people on our prisoner mail list. We send them once a month, we send them a newsletter, and then they write back and they ask for Josh's book, Larry's book, and we send it to them at no charge. That's all due to listeners supporting this ministry.

You can make a special donation to the prison ministry, but even if we don't get enough funds for the prison ministry in, it doesn't matter, we still take care of our prisoners. And that's near and dear to my heart. The prisoners, they're stuck in a bad place. They put themselves there, they're paying for their crimes. We're trying to help them get over what they've gone through, whether it's drug addiction, bad family life, just bad decisions in general.

With help, they will get out of prison and they will become upstanding citizens. With God, we know prayer changes things. We know God is on the throne and prayer changes things. I love how you said that, but my dad said it the best, no offense.

Josh Davis: Oh, no offense taken.

Edward Webber: But I will say that my dad will be on the radio, an old program of his this week. So tune in for that. You'll love hearing his voice. I love hearing his voice. I know we're talking about prisons, but I'd like to throw this out there—I'm not supposed to say "free" on the radio—but it just came over me.

I think if you write in, call in, go on the website, we'll send you a free new listener welcome packet. It's not just a really dinky welcome packet. It's got a calendar, it's got a magazine, it's got our newsletters. You name it, it's in there. I'm not supposed to say "free" on the radio. They might edit this out, but no, free newsletter. Call in, our operators are standing by.

Josh Davis: Yes, absolutely. That is something that we do mention. For all of our new listeners, we want you to contact us, get on our mailing list. You'll start receiving our monthly Prophetic Observer newsletter in your mailbox every month, free of charge. That's one of the big ministries that we do. Edward's very involved with that, Pastor Larry's very involved with that. Me and him typically will write the articles for the Prophetic Observer.

But as Edward was saying, included in that new listener packet is a free issue of the Prophecy in the News magazine, a free calendar from our ministry, and the Prophetic Observer newsletter, plus more information about our ministry. Give us a call today, 1-800-652-1144. That's 1-800-652-1144. Visit our website, swrc.com.

Edward, you mentioned some of the special programming. Let me highlight that for our listeners. And then, Pastor Larry, we'll turn back to you and let you share some more thoughts that are on your heart. Coming up this week, we have some special programming as we turn back the clock and revisit some of the classic broadcasts and the classic hosts of Southwest Radio Ministries.

The next couple of days, we'll be hearing from Noah Hutchings, a special anniversary edition of his book, The Great Pyramid, that sold millions of copies. Then on Thursday of this week, we'll have a classic episode featuring Dr. David Webber. Then on Friday this week, instead of the headlines from the end times, we'll be hearing from SWRC's ministry founder Dr. E. F. Webber and a special broadcast that he had.

So stay tuned this week for some wonderful classic programming from Southwest Radio Ministries. Pastor Larry, we just have a few minutes remaining. What's on your heart that you'd like to share with our audience?

Larry Spargimino: Well, I love revival. Josh, I enjoyed your recent article on revival awakenings. The spirit is moving on campuses. But I've always been fascinated with the Hebrides Revival, 1949 to 1952. It was centered on the Isle of Lewis on the northwest frontier of Scotland. It was so obviously a work of God. Not much hype, not much fanfare, but God was working in a mighty way. I think one of the things that we learn from the Hebrides Revival is that God can use the most unlikely people. There were actually two elderly sisters who were deeply troubled by the absence of the manifest presence of God in their church.

Peggy Smith, one of the sisters, was 84 years old and blind. Her sister Christine was 82. She suffered from arthritis and was bent over. Despite their infirmities, they held all-night prayer meetings from 10 PM to 3 AM the next day. So what could these elderly ladies do? Not much, but they could make an appeal to heaven, and that's exactly what they did. One night Peggy had a vision. She saw a church crowded with young people and also saw a particular preacher, Duncan Campbell. The sisters shared their vision with their pastor, James Murray Mackay, who was very discouraged by the way, but he arranged for Duncan Campbell to come to the Isle of Lewis.

Campbell arrived around 9 PM one evening. Before he got much-needed rest, he went to the church. He couldn't believe what he saw. There were hundreds and hundreds of people inside and outside the church. There was a real heavy fog. You know Scotland. It was an all-night meeting. The crowds finally dispersed around 5 AM the next morning. Campbell said it was an obvious work of God. There were no mass mailings, no TV spots, but the people came by the hundreds every night.

These two sisters made an appeal to God, and that's what prayer is: an appeal to God. As you all probably know, George Washington's first flag is called the Pine Tree flag. It had a pine tree on it and above the tree were the words "An Appeal to Heaven." It was flown on American naval ships. Of course, back then, we certainly needed heaven's help when our few small ships with little cannon went against King George's mighty navy. But I do believe we're seeing signs of revival now as you point out, Josh, in your article.

I think it's going to grow. I think we're seeing the Charlie Kirk effect. I think we've even seen some amazing movies coming out of Hollywood, real good Christian movies. More and more people are hearing about the Lord Jesus Christ. So I'm praying for revival and we need to remember there's a cost. There's a cost. You have to adjust. You have to confess your sins. You have to be right with God. You have to cry out to Jesus and you have to make an appeal to heaven, and God will hear. So praise the Lord for revival.

Josh Davis: Amen. Thank you, Pastor Larry. That's my heart as well. I'm looking forward to being with you and Edward's going to join us as well. Lord willing, we'll be together in Wichita, Kansas, coming up very soon. Friends, we want to see you there. We're going to be at the Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, May 1st and 2nd. That's all day Friday, all day Saturday.

A wonderful Bible prophecy conference with our friends at Bible Truth and Prophecy. The registration is free—there's another "freebie", Edward—and so you can register today at swrc.com. Click on Events, click on this particular event. We need to know that you're coming so that we bring enough resources with us. To use the word "free" again, we've got some giveaways planned as well. So we hope to see you in Wichita at the Sunrise Christian Academy, May 1st and 2nd.

Edward, thank you so much for joining us today. You got any closing thoughts you want to give to our audience?

Edward Webber: Sure. I just want to say thank you audience. Thank you so much for keeping us here on the air all these years. I'd like to give a shout-out to Marvin. He edits this program, he records Larry Spargimino there in Oklahoma City. He does such a wonderful job for this ministry and he's been here 35, 40 years, something like that. That's awesome. Marvin doesn't get a whole lot of credit, so I'd just like to shout out to Marvin. Thank you, man.

Josh Davis: Yeah, thank you Edward and thank you, Marvin. Pastor Larry, you got any closing thoughts today?

Larry Spargimino: Yes. That is to say that my life has been greatly enriched by being a part of Southwest Radio Church and all the things we do. I've gone places, I've spoken to people, written books. It's really an adventure to be a dedicated Christian. Praise the Lord for that fact. God is faithful.

Josh Davis: Amen. Thank you both so much and thank you dear friends for joining us as we kick off our anniversary week 2026, celebrating our 93rd anniversary and proclaiming: God is still on the throne and prayer changes things.

Southwest Radio Ministries: It's anniversary week at Watchman on the Wall and Southwest Radio Ministries. April 1933, Dr. E. F. Webber hosted the first broadcast of this program and said the words that have been repeated for almost a century: "God is still on the throne and prayer changes things."

Friends, will you help us celebrate our 93 years of ministry with a special anniversary gift of $93? Your birthday present of $93 this week will help Watchman on the Wall and its message of hope continue to go out around the world. Please give your gift commemorating our 93rd anniversary by calling 1-800-652-1144 or visit swrc.com.

Anniversary week continues tomorrow when Josh Davis and Noah Hutchings team up in a unique way to celebrate the milestone date of one of Dr. Hutchings' best-selling books. Be sure to tune in by downloading our free SWRC mobile app or by subscribing to our daily Watchman on the Wall podcast. Watchman on the Wall is a production of Southwest Radio Ministries and is supported by faithful listeners like you. To learn more, visit swrc.com.