Surprise: Who does Robert Downey Jr. 'love'?

These days, if an individual or organization gets a "shout-out" from a $75 million actor on a television program, the time between the acknowledgment and its reappearance on social media often is measured in seconds.

But not for Chuck Missler, the former business executive who with his wife Nancy founded Koinonia House, where biblical prophecy isn't a seminary class but a daily watchword.

Following an acknowledgment from "Iron Man" actor Robert Downey Jr. on Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" of Downey's respect for Missler – "Love Chuck" is how Downey put it – there was no followup from Missler or his organization.

No Tweets, no emails, nothing – even though arguably one of the hottest actors today ("Sherlock Holmes," three "Iron Man" episodes, "The Avengers" and more) had just expressed great admiration.

Weeks passed, still nothing.

WND asked about the interaction between Downey and Missler, and an associate of the ministry organization responded.

"We've had very limited contact with Robert Downey Jr. I believe he may have sent a letter or two to Chuck at the ministry in the late 90s when he was in rehab, but that's it. Chuck was thrilled to get the 'shout out' but we haven't pursued it any further."

So much for the enamor of Hollywood's glamour for Missler, whose work includes "Church in the End Times," "Angels," "The Kingdom, Power, and Glory," "Twilight's Last Gleaming," "Return of the Nephilim," "Prophecy 101," "The Rapture," "How We Got Our Bible," "Learn the Bible in 24 Hours" and a long list of Bible book studies.

Koinonia House explains its goals are to "create, develop, and distribute materials to stimulate, encourage, and facilitate serious study of the Bible as the inerrant Word of God."

The name comes from the New Testament word often translated as "communication," "fellowship" or "communion."

The Misslers founded the ministry after Chuck Missler, a Naval Academy graduate and former branch chief in the Department of Guided Missiles, completed a 30-year career in which he served as the CEO of six public companies. The Misslers moved their organization to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, after a 1992 earthquake demolished their home in Big Bear, Calif.

An agent for Downey declined multiple telephone requests from WND asking for a comment on his reference to Missler.

The Christian Post posited that Downey may be tracking end times prophecy from Missler.

"Prophecy News Watch took the opportunity to post a short video clip of Downey's Missler reference on the show and write about current events in the Middle East," the report said.

The agency's director, Kade Hawkins, told the news site: "To those who teach Bible prophecy such as Chuck Missler, the events in Syria, Iran, Israel and throughout the Middle East are considered a foreshadowing of bigger events yet to happen – events that were [prophesied] thousands of years ago but possibly may now be just around the corner."

PNW said in a statement that two Bible prophecies of note have been getting attention, including the Isaiah 17 forecast about the destruction of Damascus, Syria.

Chuck Missler

"Many students of the Word of God see a major alignment of ancient prophecies regarding the end times being fulfilled right before our eyes," Carl Gallups, pastor, radio host and author of "The Magic Man in the Sky: Effectively Defending the Christian Faith," told WND. "More importantly, we are the first generation in history to see such dramatic and striking alignments."

He pointed out that Isaiah 17 tells of a day when Damascus, often cited as the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, will be utterly destroyed.

"Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap," states the ancient prophet Isaiah. "The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts."

PNW also noted the prophecy of a coalition of nations coming against Israel.

The prophecy organization said: "In this particular future conflict Iran is a major player referred to by its ancient name: Persia. Iran continues to play a proxy war with Israel in Syria by propping up Bashar al-Assad and arming Hezbollah. Any future conflict with Hezbollah could easily draw Iran into a conflict with Israel."

On the video, Downey was responding to a question about being an optimist.

"Here's what I heard. This was a discussion between a Russian military guy and Chuck Missler, who's a Christian. … Love Chuck. … He asked the Russian guy is there hope for Western civilization," Downey said.

"The Russian guy said you have to understand the difference between an optimist and a pessimist. The optimist believes the future is uncertain. The pessimist is always right. So it's our duty to be optimists but clearly the pessimist has more information, because he's always right."

According to online reports, Downey fought drugs and drink for several years during the late 1990s, and actually was in danger of losing his career entirely when he rebounded and started turning in performances that enabled films to gross $500 million apiece.

According to the New York Times, Downey has described his faith as "Jewish-Buddhist," but he also has expressed interest in Christianity, we well as the Hare Krishna sect.

He is a close friend of conservative actor Mel Gibson. Downey explained to a New York reporter his perspectives changed during the time he was battling drugs, spending time in jail and trying to rebuild.

"I have a really interesting political point of view, and it's not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you can't go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal. You can't. I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone else, but it was very, very, very educational for me and has informed my proclivities and politics every since."

Forbes notes that Downey tops its highest-paid actors list, with an estimated $75 million in earnings from June 2012 to June 2013.