“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye
have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that
the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they
shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them,
as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye,
brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a
thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we
are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as
do others; but let us watch and be sober.”
I Thessalonians 5:1-6
“And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and
they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing
will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.”
Genesis 11:6
“Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and
though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down,
saith the Lord.”
Obadiah 1:4
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:
not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:27
In this issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter, we will
conduct another sobering study on today’s current events. The world as
we know it today is filled with great turbulence, disorder, and uproar.
We see a world that despite its amazing advancements seems to be
deteriorating at a rapid pace. This downward spiral continues even as
institutions such as the United Nations promise the world peace and
safety.
On September 21, 2016, the United Nations observed the
35th annual International Day of Peace. In the days leading up to this
event, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, urged
the world to adopt its 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development insisting
that these ambitious goals, which essentially amount to the
establishment of a one world government, are the
“building blocks” for peace. (1) “Sustainable development
is essential for lasting peace, and both depend on respect for human
rights. All of us can be sustainable development advocates,” Mr. Ban declared. He further went on to say,
“On this International Day of Peace, express your commitment to
peace by becoming a champion for the SDGs. (Sustainable Development
Goals.)” (2)
Meanwhile, soon to be outgoing, American President
Barack Obama gave his final address before the United Nations on
September 20, 2016. In this speech, Obama urged the world to embrace a
globalist agenda.
“And so I believe that at this moment we all face a choice. We can
choose to press forward with a better model of cooperation and
integration. Or we can retreat into a world sharply divided, and
ultimately in conflict, along age-old lines of nation and tribe and race
and religion,” Obama said. He later went on to say,
“We can only eliminate extreme poverty if the sustainable
development goals that we have set are more than words on paper. Human
ingenuity now gives us the capacity to feed the hungry and give all of
our children – including our girls – the education that is the
foundation for opportunity in our world. But we have to put our money
where our mouths are. And we can only realize the promise of this
institution’s founding – to replace the ravages of war with cooperation –
if powerful nations like my own accept constraints.” In another portion of the speech, Obama told his audience that
“young people need a global education in order to thrive.” (3)
It is interesting to note that rumors have circulated in recent months
that claim Barack Obama would like to be the next Secretary-General of
the United Nations. Perhaps this speech by Obama was an audition for the
part. His goals certainly align with the United Nations, and we know
that the UN is continually working to establish a global government.
As it turns out, Barack Obama was not the only notable
figure who was busy on September 20, 2016. On this day, Pope Francis
joined other religious leaders in the town of Assisi, Italy, to take
part in an event called the World Day of Prayer for Peace. The event was
also attended by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of the Eastern
Orthodox religion, and Justin Welby, who is the Archbishop of
Canterbury. (4) Also present at the assembly were leaders of Islam,
Judaism, and Buddhism. (5) At this event, the pope declared that
“the world thirsts for peace.” (6)
From what I have seen and heard of Pope Francis, I do
believe that he is a man who is determined to unite the religions of the
world. Yet, religious leaders have been gathering each year in Assisi
for the last thirty years, and there is still a profound lack of peace
in the world. The United Nations has been observing an International Day
of Peace for thirty-five years and still has not wrought peace in the
world. There is no peace in Syria, there is no peace in Iraq, there is
no peace in Israel, there is no peace in Afghanistan, there is no peace
in numerous regions of Africa, there is no peace in Venezuela, and there
is not even peace in the United States right now. How can we have
peace? Uniting the religions of the world is not the answer, nor is
establishing a one world government. Yet, there is a genuine peace of
God that is unlike the highly sought after peace of the world. In John
14:27, Jesus tells us,
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world
giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it
be afraid.” If you have not yet found this peace, I urge you to turn to God, repent of your sins, and dedicate your life to Him.
Perilous Times In America!
When we read or watch the news in the United States,
the headlines we see are quite distressing. Indeed, the opening stories
for local news broadcasts will often recount numerous murders and acts
of violence. In many large cities in this country, violent crime has
risen exponentially. This development prompted the New York Times to
publish a story on September 9, 2016, which declares,
“Murder Rates Rose in a Quarter of the Nation’s 100 Largest Cities.”
According to the story, murder rates began trending upward in 2015,
with the most drastic increases occurring in Baltimore, Maryland;
Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; Houston, Texas; Milwaukee,
Wisconsin; Nashville, Tennessee; and Washington, D.C. (7)
The aforementioned report indicates that much of the
increase in crime is drug related. During the month of April 2015, as
the city of Baltimore, Maryland, was suffering from rioting, industrious
thieves used the opportunity to steal 315,000 doses of drugs from
pharmacies and medical clinics. This flooded the market with illegal
drugs, which in turn led to violent crimes as competing factions
jockeyed for territory in Baltimore. (8) However, drug use is not just a
problem in large cities like Baltimore or Chicago. My hometown of
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, which is located just ninety minutes away from
Milwaukee, is now suffering the detrimental consequences of heroin
abuse. Following the deaths of two people who overdosed on heroin in
early 2016 in Beaver Dam, plus two more deaths within the county line,
Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt was quoted as saying,
“It’s everybody from teens to people in their 50s. We’ve definitely seen an increase. I’ve never seen it this bad.”
This ordinarily quiet region of Wisconsin suffered twenty deaths from heroin overdoses in 2015. (9)
Meanwhile, the racial tension in the United States is
palpable. This tension has grown worse in the month of September 2016 as
two black men were shot and killed by police officers. The first
incident occurred on September 16, 2016, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when a
white female police officer inexplicably shot and killed an unarmed 40
year-old black man by the name of Terence Crutcher as his car idled on
the road. In the aftermath of this shooting, the police officer, Betty
Shelby, has been charged with first degree manslaughter. (10)
The second shooting occurred on September 20, 2016, in
Charlotte, North Carolina. According to reports, a 43 year-old black
man by the name of Keith Lamont Scott was shot and killed by a black
police officer after refusing repeated orders to drop a gun he was
carrying. (11) The shooting led to violent rioting and protests in the
city of Charlotte that lasted at least three nights. One protestor was
reportedly shot by another protestor in Charlotte on September 21, 2016,
and eventually died. (12) In response to the uproar, North Carolina
Governor Pat McCrory activated the National Guard, and riot police were
also on hand to stem the violence. (13)
“We are going to be a lot more proactive. We made 44 arrests last night because we are not going to tolerate the behavior,”
declared Charlotte Chief of Police Kerr Putney. (14)
Sadly, the prevalent racial tension in America is
stoking the flames of hatred once again. For example, a man claiming to
be the brother of the man who was shot in North Carolina is featured in a
video that surfaced on the Internet. In this video, the man is heard to
say,
“Just know that all white people are (expletive) devils. All white cops are (expletive) devils and white people.”
(15) This statement was made despite the fact that the police officer
who was involved in the shooting, Brentley Vinson, is a black man. (16)
When Barack Obama became the first black president in
the United States, there was an expectation from many people that he
would be a leader who unites the country and alleviates racially
motivated strife. Oddly enough, since Obama became president in 2009,
there have been at least ten race riots in the United States, and it has
been increasingly common to see National Guard soldiers patrolling the
streets in America’s largest and most volatile cities. In 2016, riots
erupted in Charlotte, North Carolina; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and St.
Paul, Minnesota. In recent years, there were riots in such places as
Baltimore, Maryland, and Ferguson, Missouri. (17) It seems that there
are forces behind the scenes that are determined to fracture the United
States and reshape the country to their liking. According to a report in
the Washington Times, this includes the elitist billionaire George
Soros who has been privily funding protests via backchannels dating back
to the unrest of Ferguson in 2014. (18) Perhaps it is a scheme to
establish order from chaos. In any case, we know that Satan loves to
watch people destroy each other, and he is ultimately the driving force
behind the hatred that is so common in our world today.
Is Hillary Clinton’s Health In Question?
For many months, there has been speculation that
American presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is suffering from
serious health conditions. People have wondered if this is the real
reason she has avoided holding press conferences and is often reluctant
to speak with reporters. For most of this time, mainstream news sources
have not covered these rumors. In fact, one reporter, who formerly wrote
for the liberal news outlet known as the Huffington Post, was
terminated from his employment in late August 2016 after he wrote two
articles which questioned the health of Clinton.
“I’ve written hundreds of stories, filed hundreds of stories over my
years as a journalist and pundit, and I’ve never had this happen,” said reporter David Seaman. He further went on to say,
“A couple of times in the past, I’ve had legal concerns with
something I’ve reported on so there was discussion with something I’d
reported on… but they didn’t simply delete the articles, make them
disappear from the Internet and revoke my access. I’ve honestly never
seen anything like this, and this is happening in the United States in
2016. It’s frankly chilling. I’m a little scared.” (19) It
certainly was stunning that these reports were squashed so quickly, but
it is not surprising considering the penchant of Hillary Clinton to
silence all opposing voices by any means necessary.
Events that transpired in September 2016, however,
forced the media to report on Clinton’s condition. The first of these
events occurred on September 5, 2016, when Hillary Clinton delivered a
speech in Cleveland, Ohio. As she began her remarks, Clinton was
pestered by a persistent cough that simply would not go away for a
lengthy period of time. Clinton blamed her coughing fit on allergies and
even told the audience,
“Every time I think about (Donald) Trump I get allergic.” Her voice remained shaky and weak for the duration of her speech, and MSNBC news anchor Ari Melber was quoted as saying,
“She had quite a coughing fit. That’s one of the worst coughing fits I have seen from her.” ((20)
Of course, everyone has a coughing fit from time to time, so the fact
that Clinton suffered from one does not necessarily mean she is in poor
health. However, less than a week later, Clinton’s health was again
called into question when she attended a memorial in New York City on
September 11, 2016. According to reports, Clinton had to leave the event
early because she was feeling overheated. As Secret Service agents
attempted to escort her to a vehicle, she fainted. The agents were then
forced to transport her to the vehicle while hoping to avoid unwanted
attention, but this entire fiasco was captured on video and widely
viewed by audiences all over the world. In the aftermath of Clinton’s
fainting episode, her physician, Lisa R. Bardack, issued a statement
saying,
“Secretary Clinton has been experiencing a cough related to
allergies. On Friday, during a follow up evaluation of her prolonged
cough, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. She was put on antibiotics, and
advised to rest and modify her schedule. While at this morning’s event,
she became overheated and dehydrated. I have just examined her and she
is now re-hydrated and recovering nicely.”
(21) After Clinton’s mishap in New York, the mainstream media
finally began to question her health. A headline from the Washington
Post that was published on September 11, 2016, declares,
“Hillary Clinton’s health just became a real issue in the presidential campaign.”
(22) Of course, this was not the first time Clinton has fainted. In
late 2012, Clinton fainted, suffered a concussion, and was eventually
found to have a serious blood clot. (23) Perhaps the weight of Clinton’s
sins and treachery are affecting her health. Without question, attempts
have been made by Clinton and her campaign to hide the truth of her
condition, but the truth always seems to come out eventually.
“Though Thou Set Thy Nest Among The Stars”
WWe live in a world today that is continually
advancing by way of extraordinary technology and amazing capabilities.
However, sometimes a society can advance too far. In the eleventh
chapter of the book of Genesis, we learn that a one world government
once existed. This was an advanced society where everyone spoke the same
language, and the people assumed that there was nothing that could stop
them. It was at this time that these people decided to build the Tower
of Babel which they said would reach the heavens and thus prevent God
from destroying them with another flood such as the one He had caused in
Noah’s day. It was at this point that God looked down at the endeavors
of man, and His reaction is found in Genesis 11:6 which tells us,
“And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one
language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained
from them, which they have imagined to do.” It was at this point
that God made the decision to scatter the people by confounding their
languages, and then He further emphasized this separation by dividing
the land mass of the Earth. We live in a world today where technology is
reuniting the world and removing language barriers.
Once again, man is reaching for the stars, so to
speak, with the expectation that even the average man or woman will soon
be able to visit outer space. In fact, Jeff Bezos, who is the
well-known founder of the famous Internet retailer known as Amazon.com,
has ambitions that go far beyond selling books, electronics, appliances,
groceries, and household items. In addition to Amazon, Mr. Bezos also
owns a space exploration company known as Blue Origin. This company has
already been launching rockets into space, and plans are underway to
develop special transport capsules suitable for space travel that will
allow tourists to venture beyond our planet for the first time.
Incredibly, it is expected that Blue Origin will have these space
vehicles ready by the year 2018. It is the hope of Mr. Bezos that the
human race will someday expand beyond the constraints of earth.
“I wish there were a trillion humans in the solar system. Think how
cool that would be. You’d have a thousand Einsteins at any given moment –
and more. There would be so much dynamism with all of that human
intelligence. But you can’t do that with the resources on Earth or the
energy on Earth. So if you really want to see that kind of dynamic
civilization as we expand through the solar system, you have to figure
out how to safely move around and use resources that you get in space,”
Bezos said. (24) This plan is obviously quite ambitious, and it sounds
too fantastical to believe, yet men such as Jeff Bezos believe such
plans will really be possible someday. Could this be another attempt by
man to outsmart God? Perhaps they think that if the earth is destroyed,
they can simply move into space. Considering the inability of the human
race to live peacefully on earth, perhaps ambitions to expand into space
are not such a good idea. When I ponder this thought, I cannot help but
think of the words we find in Obadiah 1:4 which declares,
“Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy
nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.”
Human Transportation May Soon Change Forever!
In last month’s issue of the Last Trumpet Newsletter,
we covered some of the rapid development now occurring in the field of
autonomous vehicles or driverless cars. If you read last month’s issue,
you are well aware that an autonomous vehicle taxi service is now being
tested in Singapore, and the ride service company known as Uber is
testing driverless cars in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Just how close are
we to such vehicles reaching the mainstream? We are so close to this
becoming reality that the federal government of the United States has
issued new guidelines for the usage of such vehicles in this country.
“We’re saying that when the software is operating the vehicle, that
is an area that we intend to regulate. When a human being is operating
the vehicle, the traditional laws that have conventionally applied will
still apply,” stated Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. The
government has promised to expedite requests from vehicle and technology
companies for approval and guidance on how to use new autonomous
vehicle technology. (25) The iconic Ford Motor Company is planning to
use driverless cars to shuttle its employees around its facilities
beginning in 2018. They also plan to release such vehicles to the
general public in 2021.
“Strides in this technology have the potential to improve safety on
our roads and reduce congestion in urban areas. We also look forward to
collaborating with states on areas that complement this national
framework,” Ford said in a statement. (26)
When people hear all this talk of driverless cars,
they might think it will just be an unusual novelty that will never
really catch on. However, the mainstream news media outlet known as
Bloomberg recently published a story with an ominous headline which
declares,
“Get Ready for Freeways That Ban Human Drivers.” (27) According
to the article, it is fully expected that people will be forced to use
autonomous vehicles in the future and no longer be allowed to drive!
“In city centers, you don’t want non-automated vehicles: they would
just ruin the whole point of why you have a smart city. It makes it a
dumb city,” opined Kristin Schondorf, a consultant at the
professional services company known as EY. (27) It has even been
proposed that a 150 mile stretch of Interstate Highway 5 that goes from
Seattle, Washington, to Vancouver, British Columbia, ban all human
drivers.
“Problems with drivers not paying attention or getting sleepy or
getting drunk are really ripe for autonomous to do a better job than
humans,”
declared Ron Medford, who is the safety director at Google’s self-driving car division. (28) His peers echoed this sentiment.
“Long term, these vehicles will drive better than any human possibly
can. We’re not there yet, but we will get there sooner than we
believe,” insisted Danny Shapiro, a senior director at Nvidia
Corporation. (29) Finally, Raj Rajhumar, who is co-director of the
General-Motors-Carnegie Mellon Autonomous Driving Collaborative Research
Lab was quoted as saying,
“Behind the wheel, we are only human and we are expected to screw
up. There will come a point in time where we should not be allowed to
drive.” (30)
A world where human beings are no longer allowed to
drive vehicles would be an ideal situation for an oppressive one world
government. In essence, people would be surrendering their autonomy to a
machine. Whether or not we actually reach our destination would
suddenly depend on if we were allowed to go where we wanted to go. It
would also certainly be most difficult to live off the grid away from
the prying eyes of Big Brother. Yet, this could be the condition of our
world very soon.
IIn closing, there are many things happening in this
world that cause great anxiety. We live in a troubled world. While I do
not know what the future may hold, I do know that ultimately, God is in
control. I find great comfort in the words of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. In John 16:33 he tells us,
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have
peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I
have overcome the world.” Note that Jesus warns us that we will
have tribulation, but He also tells us that we will have peace at the
same time. The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ is not the same peace they
talk about at the United Nations. It is a peace that cannot adequately
be explained with words. For as it says in Philippians 4:7,
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Thank you all for your continued support of this
ministry. We could not do what we do without your help. By the grace of
God, we will continue this ministry, which began so many years ago, for
as long as we possibly can. If you have any prayer requests, you can
send them our way through the mail or email. We always give each prayer
request individual attention. We know that God hears us when we call on
Him. Grace and peace be unto you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Samuel David Meyer
Acknowledgements
01. UN News Centre, September 16, 2016, By UN News Centre, http://un.org.
02. Ibid.
03. Time Magazine, September 20, 2016, By Katie Reilly, http://time.com.
04. PBS News, September 23, 2016, By PBS News, http://pbs.org.
05. Ibid.
06. AFP, September 20, 2016, By Catherine Marciano and Ella Ide, Assisi, Italy.
07. The New York Times, September 9, 2016, By Haeyoun Park and Josh Katz, http://nytimes.com.
08. Ibid.
09. Fond du Lac Reporter, March 14, 2016, By Nate Beck, http://fdlreporter.com.
10. Associated Press, September 22, 2016, By Associated Press, Tulsa, OK.
11. The Washington Post, September 21, 2016, By
Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Derek Hawkins, and Lindsey Bever,
http://washingtonpost.com.
12. CBS Local News, September 22, 2016, By CBS Local News, http://newyork.cbslocal.com.
13. ThinkProgress, September 22, 2016, By Alan Pyke, http://thinkprogress.org.
14. AFP, September 21, 2016, By Michael Mathes, Charlotte, NC.
15. The Blaze, September 21, 2016, By Chris Enloe, http://theblaze.com.
16. Charlotte Observer, September 21, 2016, By
Langston Wertz Jr., Rick Rothacker, and Maria David,
http://charlotteobserver.com.
17. The Daily Caller, September 24, 2016, By Justin Caruso, http://dailycaller.com.
18. The Washington Times, January 14, 2015, By Kelly Riddell, http://washingtontimes.com.
19. The Daily Caller, August 29, 2016, By Christian Datoc, http://dailycaller.com.
20. Real Clear Politics, September 5, 2016, By Ian Schwartz, http://realclearpolitics.com.
21. NBC News, September 11, 2016, By Monica Alba, Kristen Welker, Ali Vitali, and Hasani Gittens, http://nbcnews.com.
22. The Washington Post, September 11, 2016, By Chris Cillizza, http://washingtonpost.com.
23. Ibid.
24. The Washington Post, September 15, 2016, By Christian Davenport, http://washingtonpost.com.
25. The Detroit News, September 20, 2016, By Melissa Nann Burke and Michael Wayland, http://detroitnews.com.
26. Ibid.
27. Bloomberg News, September 22, 2016, By Keith Naughton, http://bloomberg.com.
28. Ibid.
29. Ibid.
30. Ibid.
